The mega yearbook 2017 current affairs & general knowledge for competitive exams 2nd edition by M.A.SRI SURIYANARAYANAN

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fter the immense success of the first edition, Disha’s Mega Yearbook 2017 presents a thoroughly revised and updated edition. The new edition has been enriched not only in terms of content but in terms of presentation and structure also. The MEGA Yearbook 2017 is acclaimed as one of the most authoritative and comprehensive compendiums of high-quality reference materials on all subjects and segments. The MEGA Yearbook 2017 has been designed to cater to aspirants of various competitive exams like Civil services, Banks, Railways, UPSC and PSC exams and Quiz Competition across the country. It equally serves teachers, researchers, media persons, planners, avid readers and laymen. The book keeps you informed about today’s world— the constant changes, significant events, and dramatic developments that make history. It helps you uncover it all. The book has a very vast coverage that includes everything and anything related to current affairs and general knowledge. The book can be divided into 2 broad parts: Part A - Current Affairs; Part B - General Knowledge. Current Affairs contains articles on hot issues, India Timelines, World Timelines, People in news, Events, Ideas and Issues, Bills & Acts, Policies & Schemes, Emerging Trends, INDIA - SWOT, Paradoxes, Cause & Effects, Mysteries(Resolved & Unresolved), Coming Up 2017 etc. General Knowledge contains India Panorama, World Panorama, People Forever, History, Polity, Economy, Business, Geography, General Science, Ecology and Environment, Art & Culture, Sports, Healthcare, Communication, Media & Transport, Film Industries, Education & Career, IT & Computers, English Language, General Aptitude & Personality Development, Technology & its Applications, etc.

Unique Features of the New Edition: • • • • • • • • •

Game Changers: Highlights the people/ ideas that were or may be Game Changers Donald Trump, Demonetization, GST, PMMKY, etc.. Global Economy Outlook: Covers a thorough update on the Top 10 global economies of the World. India & World 2016 At a Glance: Captures the most trending social, economic & political news. Top 20s India & World: Lists the Top 20 Rich People, Institutes, Industries, Companies, etc. 10 Analytical Articles: Captures the hottest of the issues of 2016. Indian & World Panorama: Captures the unique features of states and countries along with various superlatives. India’s Journey 70 Years (Since 1947): Chronological listing of Historical, Political, Scientific, Economic, Demographic, Social developments in the past 70 years. Sectional Mindmaps: Presents the structure of each of the sections in a graphical pattern for better retention. 500 Infographics: Diagrammatic representation of various facts and information for better retention.

• • • • •

English Language: Captures the basic definitions and rules of Grammar, Parts of Speech etc. along with day-to-day’s useful idioms, phrases, words, foreign words and confusing words. General Aptitude & Personality Development: Highlights the various techniques we should work on to build aptitude and personality. Also covers Ethics, Personal Interview & Group Discussion. QUIZ/ MCQ-400: General Knowledge Quizzes on India, World, Science and Finance. Coming Up 2017: Captures the important scheduled events to come. Things to look for in 2017: Lists various ideas, events or issues of 2016 whose impact on the world is looking forward to. For example - Effects of demonetization, Changes with Trump’s presidency, COP23 Summit, etc.

Disclaimer The information contained in the Disha’s Mega Yearbook 2017 is of a general nature and is not intended to address the circumstances of any particular individual or entity. The views and opinions expressed in the book are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the publishers. The content in the book is not intended to ‘malign or glorify’ any individual, religion, organization or company. It is not our intention to do harm to any person, injure, defame, or libel anyone or anything. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy of the information published in the book, the authors/ publishers should not be held responsible for any error(s) or omission(s), if any. Disha Experts

CURRENT AFFAIRS ## A Glimpse of 2016 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

India At a Glance: Social-Economic-Political (Infographics) World At a Glance: Social-Economic-Political (Infographics) Emerging Trends Global Economic Outlook Causes and Effects Game Changers Paradoxes of India Quote - Unquote Mysteries Unresolved Mysteries Resolved SWOT Analysis – Indian Social Climate SWOT Analysis – Indian Economic Climate SWOT Analysis – Indian Political Climate Demonetization (Infographics) GST 2016 (Infographics) Books & Authors 2016 Popular Terms Important Appointments 2016 Awards & Honours 2016 Obituary in 2016

## Modi’s visits to Nations

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## Article : In Indian Universities, Politics and Education go hand in hand CA-68–69 ## Article : Employment - The Indian demographic dividend may lead to its fallout CA-70–72 ## Top 20 • • • • • • •

Top 20 Rich people in India - 2016 Top 20 Rich people in World - 2016 Top 20 Universities of India Top 20 Universities of the World Top 20 Industries of India @Growth % Top 20 Companies of India/World @ Turnover Top 20 Sports Personalities of India

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## National Events Diary 2016

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## International Events Diary 2016

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## Union Budget 2016-17 (Infographics)

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## Railway Budget 2016-17 (Infographics)

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## Article : Are fundamental rights above religion?

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## Article : Make Reservation Quota Objective and Practical to uplift Real Backwards

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## Bills & Acts 2016

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## Policies & Schemes 2016

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## Article : Automation & Robotics: A way to Freedom or slavery?

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## Article : Is Digital India Campaign in India, a country that ranks 97 in the Global Hunger Index, just a fantasy?

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## PEOPLE in 2016(National & International)

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## EVENTS in 2016 (National & International)

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## Blood and Water cannot go together : Indus Water Treaty as Handle to Deal with Pakistan

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## ISSUES in 2016 (National & International)

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## Carbon Sinks – Protection shields against Global Warming

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## IDEAS in 2016 (National & International)

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## COMING UP in 2017

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## Things to look for in 2017

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GENERAL KNOWLEDGE ## PANORAMA

GK-1–56

• Indian Panorama: Indian States and Union Territories, National Symbols, India’s Journey 70 years (Economic, Political, Agricultural, Scientific, Demographic, Social, Space-43 yrs); Defence and Security, Atomic and Nuclear Science, National days, Awards, Books and Authors, Scientists, Power Stations, First in male/ Female others, Superlative, Founders, Heritage Sights, Different Scientific Revolutions, Sobriquets. • World Panorama: World countries, Geographical Discoveries, National animals of countries, Countries’ official books, International Awards, Books and Authors, 7 wonders, Countries’ Intelligence Agencies, Fathers of different fields, Superlatives, Landmarks, National Emblems, International days, Sobriquets.

## PEOPLE FOREVER

GK-57–88

istorical, Discoverer, Political, Social, Religious , Businessmen, Geographical, Artists, H Sports persons, Space Travellers, Literary.

## HISTORY

GK-89–124

## POLITY

GK-125–180

## GEOGRAPHY

GK-181–242

## ECOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT

GK-243–268

## ECONOMY

GK-269–302

• Indian : Ancient History, Medieval History, Modern History • World : Ancient History, Medieval History, Modern History

• I ndian Polity: Constitution – Making, Features of Its Framework, Statutory/Constitutional bodies, Governments (Types and levels), Institutions, Elections, Political Parties, Pressure Groups, E-Governance, E-Courts, Lokpal, NITI Ayog, Reservation, RTI, Foreign Policy, Neighbours. • World Polity: International Organizations, United Nations, International Relations, Important Summits, Parliaments and Political Parties of countries. • P hysical: Universe–Developmental theories, Solar Systems, Earth, Seasons, Rocks, Mountains, Precipitation, Plains, Oceans, Atmosphere. • India: Physiography, Drainage, Soil, Climate, Vegetation, Agriculture, Industry, Minerals, Energy, Census – 2011. • World: Continents, Languages, Religions, Climatic Zones, Industrial Regions, Geographical superlatives.

E cosystem and its types; Biodiversity and its types/Loss/Conservation; Endangered species, National Parks/Sanctuaries ; Biosphere Reserves, Environmental Issues, Pollution, Global Warming, India’s initiatives; International Conventions on climate, Animal welfare, Environmental laws, Disaster Management. Micro-Macro Economics, Public Finance, Indian Economy, World Economy.

## Major Policies/Acts – At a Glance GK-303–310 Various Development and Employment programmes in India –At a Glance; Women Employment programmes, Policies.

## BUSINESS

GK-311–224

## Foreign Trade & Investment In India

GK-325–334

## GENERAL SCIENCE

GK-335–412

usiness Entities, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Companies, Income Tax, Balance sheet, B Sources of Funds, SMEs, E-commerce, MNC, Business Terms and concepts, Startup India, 19-point Action plan. Fore ign Exchange Reserves; India’s Foreign Trade, Balance of Payments.

• P hysics: Units and Dimensions, Mechanics, Properties of matters; Heat, Waves, Optics/ Light, Electricity, Magnetism, Semiconductors • Chemistry: Nature of matter, Structure of Atom, General Concepts, Elements, Acids/Bases/Salts, Metals/Non-metals, Electrochemistry, Minerals • Biology: Cell Biology and Genetics, Human blood, Human physiology, Respiration, Digestion, Excretion, Circulation, Skeleton, Sense organs, Reproduction, Plant Kingdom, Diseases, Logies in science.

## Technology and Its Application

GK-413–426

Biotech and Medical Innovations, Innovations in Physics–Chemistry-Biology, Technology, Space science, Defence, Infrastructure, Agriculture, Education, Transport, Banking, Business.

## Information Technology & Computer GK-427–434 IT-BPM Industry, Digital Literacy, Digital India, Supercomputing, IT Trends, Net Neutrality, Biometric sensors, Mobile Trends, Google Pixel, Reliance Jio, UPI, Common Terms

## Art and Culture

GK-435–446

## Sports

GK-447–458

rt forms, Indian Painters, Musics, Dances, Theaters and Tourist places, Handicrafts, A Festivals, Architecture.

Trophies, Players in Games, National sports, Olympic Games (Summer & Winter), Paralympics, Commonwealth, Asian Games, Cricket World Cup, IPL, FIFA, Hockey, Tennis, etc.

## Healthcare

GK-459–466

## Communication, Media & Transport

GK-467–482

## Film Industry

GK-483–488

## Education & Career

GK-489–502

## English Language

GK-503–516

## General Aptitude & Personality Development

GK-517–524

## Quizzes

GK-525–549

Infrastructure, Health programs, Major disease outbreaks recently Post office, Telecommunication, Media–Print, Electronic and Social. Transports-Landways (Roads and Railways), Waterways and Airways. • Indian film Industry • World Film Industry

10+2 and Graduation-Specialization and their scope (Infographics), Most Wanted Careers (Infographics), Education System in India/MHRD, CBSE, CISE, IB, NCERT, NIOS, AICTE, UPSC, SSC, IBPS, NEET, JEE , etc. Grammar, Idioms and Phrases, Word Formations/Substitutions, Prefixes, Suffixes, Phobias, Logies.

• • • •

National International Science Finance

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EMERGING TRENDS IN 2016

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EMERGING TRENDS IN 2016

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CAUSES AND EFFECTS

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GAME CHANGERS 2016

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GAME CHANGERS 2016

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GLOBAL ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

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GLOBAL ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

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GLOBAL ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

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GLOBAL ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

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PARADOXES OF INDIA

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QUOTE – UNQUOTE

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Mysteries Unresolved Disappearance of Indian Air Force AN-32 aircraft

n July 22, 2016, the ill-fated aircraft of the IAF had gone missing over Bay of Bengal. The aircraft carried 29 personnel on board, including four officers. As per the claims of Indian Air Force, aircraft was in touch till about 9.30 am post which it lost the contact. The ETA (expected time of arrival) of the flight was 11.30 am. The plain was on its way to Port Blair from Chennai. The plane got disappeared soon after taking off from Tambaram air base. Despite the involvement of multiple aircraft and ships of the IAF in search operation, no clue of the lost aircraft was found. Many Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guards braved high winds and choppy monsoon seas while scouring the waters in the last known location of the aircraft (150 nautical miles east of Chennai). Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar was personally monitoring the situation. But all the efforts brought no result. The search and rescue teams failed to obtain any leads.

Subhash Chandra Bose’s Death

he cause of Subhash Chandra Bose’s death remains shrouded with mystery till date. There have been various theories about the cause of his death, yet there has so far been no confirmation to any of these theories. Official records state that Netaji died in a plane crash in 1945. Some photos taken during the Tashkent Declaration of 1966 indicate a man resembled Bose. The person was the part of the Indian entourage that accompanied the then Prime Minister of India, Lal Bahadur Shastri. London based Sidhartha Satbhai commissioned Neil Millar, a former veteran of the Royal Signals Regiment of the British Army, conducted image analysis on video and photographic material. The footage pertains to an individual referred to as ‘The Tashkent Man’. Through modern scientific and facial analysis, the investigation points to the possibility that the bespectacled man could be Netaji. If Netaji was present in the Tashkent Declaration in 1966, he could not have died in the plane crash on August 18, 1945.There is another belief that he returned to India and lived as a sadhu. Nobody knows the truth. There are many questions which are still lying unanswered in the minds of Indians. Did Bose actually die in a plane crash in Taipei? Is it true that Bose returned to India and lived as a wandering monk? Why did Indian government keep the files relating to his death secret for 70 years? The Mystery underlines various controversies and surmises if the Bose mystery is an International conspiracy of silence or if Indian government already knows the answers?

Cyrus Mistry’s ouster from TATA

here were no substantial reasons given for the ouster of leadership of Cyrus Mistry who had been brought in with much fanfare. Mistry was appointed in December 2012 and his removal in less than four years has sent shockwaves across the business world. Adding to that, there is no clarity as of now why this drastic decision was taken. Despite

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MYSTERIES UNRESOLVED

accusations and public letters by Cyrus Mistry, the matter is still not clear. It is believed that Tata Sons was unhappy with Mistry’s approach of shedding non-profit businesses. This also includes the conglomerate’s steel business in Europe. As speculations surround the media about why the Tata’s decided to go in for this drastic step. Certain theories are doing the rounds. Though, Tata might be India’s most recognised brand name but its financial performance has not been the best during Mistry’s four-year chairmanship. Speculation has it that Ratan Tata and Cyrus Mistry relations became stiff pertaining to their different approaches. The mystery still remains. Nobody has been able to find the concrete reason behind Cyrus Mistry’s ouster from TATA Sons.

The Lost City of Atlantis

tlantis was a utopian city wiped out in a single night due to an unearthly cataclysm. Atlantis is the only famous mythical lost cities. The first written source for the myth of Atlantis came from the Athenian philosopher Plato (427- 437) BC. He explained that the people of Atlantis lived in a prosperous island beyond the Pillars of Hercules. So, it is assumed that Atlantis was located somewhere between Europe and America. That puts it somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean. It is mostly doubted if an advanced civilization like the one described by Plato existed. It is believed by many that the story is a myth. It was on purpose created by Plato in order to illustrate his theories about politics. In contrast, many insist that it is very well based on the historical disaster. In short, the idea of a city obliterated overnight is so powerful it seems to show up everywhere. Despite many under sea discoveries matching with the concept of Atlantis, people are still not able to reach on the decisive conclusion so as to consider it a fact. Mystery of Atlantis still exists as a myth.

NASA’s Moon Landing

orld remembers the historic event when Neil Armstrong set his foot on the moon. It’s now been nearly four decades since Neil Armstrong made this move for the mankind. But there exist some doubters who believe that US government faked the lunar landings with Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. They acted out their mission on a secret film set that is located either high in the Hollywood Hills or deep within Area 51. US government did this in desperation to beat the Russians in the space race. With the photos and videos of the Apollo missions only available through NASA, there’s no independent verification that the lunar landings were a reality or a hoax. These accusations are based on the Film of Aldrin planting a waving American flag on the moon. Many critics say that his very act proves that he was not in space. According to them, movement of flag clearly shows the presence of wind. It is not possible for a flag to flutter vacuum. NASA responds to this by saying that movement of flag was caused by Aldrin who was twisting the flagpole to get the moon soil. Theorists have even suggested that filmmaker Stanley Kubrick may have helped NASA fake the first lunar landing, given that his 1968 film 2001: A Space Odessey proves that the technology existed back then to artificially create a space like set. Three astronauts (Virgil I. Grissom, Edward H. White and Roger B. Chaffee) who died in a fire while testing equipment for the first moon mission is also being seen as executed by the U.S. government because they feared about the disclosure of truth.

MYSTERIES UNRESOLVED

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Mysteries Resolved Malaysia Airlines Flight 17

alaysia Airlines Flight 17, a scheduled international passenger flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was shot down on the unfortunate day of July 17, 2014. The incident resulted in killing of all 283 passengers and 15 crew on board. Boeing 777-200ER airliner lost contact for about 50 km (31 mi) from the Ukraine–Russia border. It crashed near Torez in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, 40 km (25 mi) from the border. The airlines crash occurred in the warzone in Donbass. This area is controlled by the Donbass People’s Militia. The crash is the deadliest airliner shutdown. It was Malaysia Airlines’ second aircraft loss during 2014. In October 2015, it was concluded by the Dutch Safety Board (DSB) that the airliner was downed by a Buk surface-to-air missile. It was launched from pro-Russian separatistcontrolled territory in Ukraine. In September 2016, the Dutch-led Joint Investigation Team (JIT) confirmed the same. They said that the Buk missile system had been transported from Russia on the day of the crash. It was fired from a field in a rebel controlled area and after the use to shoot down MH17, Buk was returned to Russia. The JIT had established the identities of around 100 people who were linked or involved to the transporting of the Buk. But they also said that their evidence “must stand before a court”. Ukraine and US intelligence, in 2014, had also said that Russia had supplied the Buk missile to pro-Russian insurgents, who had mistakenly shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17.

Vincent Van Gogh paintings

n September 30, two stolen Vincent Van Gogh paintings worth millions of euros have been recovered in an Italian country house belonging to an alleged mafia drug smuggler. Italian investigators displayed the recovered artworks - a seascape at Scheveningen and Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church in Nuenen. Each painting is worth an estimated 50 million Euros ($56 million).The paintings of combined value of $100 million, were stolen from the Van Gogh museum on December 7, 2002. Prosecutors have informed that the paintings were found wrapped in a cloth inside a safe in a country house south of Naples. The house belonged to Raffaele Imperiale, a 41-year-old businessman who is accused of running an international cocaine trafficking ring together with high-ranking mobsters. After a heist, the paintings vanished in 2002. The thieves used a ladder to climb onto the Van Gogh Museum’s roof and break into the building. They escaped by sliding down a rope in a robbery. Two men involved in the robbery were later caught and convicted, but the paintings were not recovered. Colangelo informed that the artworks were found “a few days ago”, and Italian and Dutch experts were called in to authenticate the stolen works.

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GAME CHANGER 2016

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GAME CHANGER 2016

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GAME CHANGER 2016

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DEMONETIZATION

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GST 2016

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GST 2016

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BOOKS AND AUTHORS 2016 The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad– Twinkle Khanna Driven: The Virat Kohli Story–Vijay Lokapally

Democrats and Dissenters–Ramachandra Guha One Indian girl–Chetan Bhagat

Six Machine (I Don’t Like Cricket I Love It)–Chris Gayle His Bloody Project–Graeme Macrae Brunet AB The autobiography–AB De Villiers Citizen and Society–Hamid Ansari

The Ocean of Churn: How the Indian Ocean Shaped Human History–Sanjeev Sanyal R D Burmania: Panchamemoirs–Chaitanya Padukone India Rising: Fresh Hope, New Fears–Ravi Velloor

The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable–Amitav Ghosh

Courage & Commitment–Margaret Alva

India vs Pakistan: Why Can’t we just be Friends?–Husain Haqqani

Chaos and Caliphate: Jihadis and the West in the Struggle for the Middle East–Patrick Cockburn A Call to Mercy: Hearts to Love, Hands to Serve–Mother Teresa The Unseen Indira Gandhi–Dr KP Mathur

A Life in Diplomacy–Maharajakrishna Rasgotra

Blood on my Hands: Confessions of Staged Encounters–Kishalay Bhattacharjee The Making of India: The Untold Story of British Enterprises–Kartar Lalvani A State in Denial–BG Verghese

The Kiss of Life–Emraan Hashmi

Anything But Khamosh: The Shatrughan Sinha Biography–Bharathi S Pradhan Gandhi: An Illustrated Biography–Pramod Kapoor

Fixed! Cash and Corruption in Cricket–Journalist Shantanu Guha Ray “Who was Shivaji?”–Govind Pansare

A Kingdom for His Love–Vani Mahesh, Shinie Antony

Nathuram Godse: The Story of an Assassin–Anup Ashok Sardesai

The Turbulent Years, Volume II–President Pranab Mukherjee The Z Factor–Subhash Chandra

Jawaharlal Nehru and The Indian Polity in Perspective–Hamid Ansari Maru Bharat Saru Bharat–Jain Acharya Maharaj

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POPULAR TERMS Augmented Reality: Augmented reality (AR) is a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented (or supplemented) by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. It is also known as the computer term, Kudzi 3.0. It is related to a more general concept called mediated reality, in which a view of reality is modified (possibly even diminished rather than augmented) by a computer.

Benami properties: Benami essentially means property without a name. In this kind of transaction the person who pays for the property does not buy it under his/her own name. The person on whose name the property has been purchased is called the benamdar and the property so purchased is called the benami property. The person who finances the deal is the real owner. Black Friday: Black Friday is the day

following Thanksgiving Day in the United States (the fourth Thursday of November). Since 1952, it has been regarded as the beginning of the Christmas shopping season in the U.S., and most major retailers open very early (and more recently during overnight hours) and offer promotional sales.

COP22: COP 22 (Conference of the Parties) was held in Marrakech, Morocco, on 7–18 November 2016. Main issues: water scarcity, water cleanliness, and waterrelated sustainability, a major problem in the developing world, including many African states. China’s Singles Day: Singles’ Day or

Guanggun Jie is an entertaining festival widespread among young Chinese people, to celebrate the fact that they are proud of being single. The date, November 11th (11/11), is chosen because the number “1” resembles an individual that is alone.

Crony-Capitalism: Crony capitalism is a term describing an economy in which success in business depends on close

relationships between business people and government officials. It may be exhibited by favoritism in the distribution of legal permits, government grants, special tax breaks, or other forms of state interventionism.

CIVETS:

An acronym given to the countries Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey and South Africa, which are predicted by some to be among the next emerging markets to quickly rise in economic prominence over the coming decades.

Democratic socialism: It is a political ideology that advocates political democracy alongside social ownership of the means of production, often with an emphasis on democratic management of enterprises within a socialist economic system. Decacorn: A decacorn is a word used for companies valued over $10 billion.

EAGLES: Emerging and growth-leading

economies of Korea, Indonesia, Mexico, Turkey, Egypt and Taiwan along with the BRIC countries Brazil, Russia, India and China. BBVA expected these countries to generate 50% of the global economic growth through 2020, whereas it expected the G7 countries of France, Germany, the United States, Canada, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom to generate just 14%.

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO): It is an extracorporeal

technique of providing both cardiac and respiratory support to persons whose heart and lungs are unable to provide an adequate amount of gas exchange to sustain life.

Frontier market: A frontier market is a type of developing country which is more developed than the least developing countries, but too small to be generally considered an emerging market. Geneva III (Geneva peace talks on Syria): The Geneva peace talks on Syria, also known as Geneva III, are intended

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peace negotiations between the Syrian government and opposition in Geneva under the auspices of the UN.

Hectocorn: A Hectocorn is the appropriate term for such a companies valued over $100 billion. Liquid biopsy: A medical test in which

blood cells are taken from the body and examined to find out if they are healthy.

MINTs: An acronym coined by the major investment firm Fidelity in 2011 for a group of four countries—Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey—that are expected to show strong growth and provide high returns for investors over the coming decade. The MINTs have been grouped together because of their large populations, favorable demographics and emerging economies. The MINTs have smaller economies than the BRICs.

Mercalli intensity scale: The Mercalli intensity scale is a seismic scale used for measuring the intensity of an earthquake. It measures the effects of an earthquake. Net Zero Energy Buildings (NZEB): A

zero-energy building, also known as a zero net energy (ZNE) building, net-zero energy building (NZEB), or net zero building, is a building with zero net energy consumption, meaning the total amount of energy used by the building on an annual basis is roughly equal to the amount of renewable energy created on the site, or in other definitions by renewable energy sources elsewhere.

Populism: It is a political doctrine that

stems from a viewpoint of struggle between the populace and ruling faction. Populism is most common in democratic nations.

Political radicalism: The term denotes political principles focused on altering social structures through revolutionary means and changing value systems in fundamental ways.

Quantitative Easing: Quantitative easing (QE) is a monetary policy used by central banks to stimulate the economy. It is usually

Popular Terms used when standard monetary policy has become ineffective. Quantitative easing is considered when short-term interest rates are at or approaching zero, and does not involve the printing of new bank notes.

Servergate: The term refers to the controversy surrounding Hillary Clinton’s private server. The term comes from the combination of “server” and “watergate”, which was the political controversy that led to President Richard Nixon’s resignation. TIMP: TIMP’ stands for ‘Turkey, Indonesia,

Mexico and Philippines.’ Similar to BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China), the acronym was coined by an investor/ economist to group fast-growing emerging market economies in similar states of economic development.

Trans Pacific Partnership: The TransPacific Partnership (TPP) or Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) is a trade agreement among twelve of the Pacific Rim countries—notably not including China.

Thanksgiving Day: Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday celebrated in Canada, in the United States, in some of the Caribbean islands and in Liberia. It was originally celebrated as a day of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year. Similarly named festival holidays occur in Germany and Japan. Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States, and around the same part of the year in other places. Although Thanksgiving has historical roots in religious and cultural traditions, it has long been celebrated as a secular holiday as well. Unicorn: A unicorn is a start-up company

valued at over $1 billion. According to VentureBeat, there were 229 unicorns as of January 2016. The largest unicorns included Uber, Xiaomi, Airbnb, Palantir, Snapchat, Dropbox and Pinterest.

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IMPORTANT APPOINTMENTS 2016 JANUARY Jan 1, 2016 Jan 4, 2016

Amitabh Kant appointed CEO of NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog. RK Mathur sworn in as 8th Chief Information Commissioner (CIC).

Jan 25, 2016

K Durga Prasad appointed as DG of CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force).

Feb 2, 2016

Archana Ramasundram becomes 1st woman DG of Sashastra Seema Bal.

Feb 13, 2016

Ashok Chawla appointed as new Chairman of TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute).

Feb 3, 2016

Feb 23, 2016 Feb 25, 2016 Feb 29, 2016

FEBRUARY

DJ Pandian appointed AIIB (Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank) VicePresident. KN Vyas appointed as Director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. Rajendra Singh appointed as DG of Coast Guard.

Former CJI HL Dattu takes over as Chairman of NHRC (National Human Rights Commission).

MARCH

Mar 2, 2016

Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain appointed as Chief of Staff of Eastern Naval Command.

Mar 12, 2016

Lt Gen N P S Hira appointed Deputy Chief of Army.

Mar 11, 2016

Mar 15, 2016 Mar 23, 2016

Justice Balbir Singh Chauhan appointed as Chairman of 21st Law Commission of India. Htin Kyaw elected as first civilian President of Myanmar.

Justice Permod Kohli appointed as Chairman of Central Administrative Tribunal.

APRIL

April 7, 2016

CP Gurnani appointed as Chairman of NASSCOM (National Association of Software and Services Companies).

May 3, 2016

Bhupendra Kainthola takes charge as FTII (Film and Television Institute of India) Director.

May 31, 2016 June 3, 2016

June 15, 2016

MAY

Admiral Sunil Lanba takes charge as Navy chief.

JUNE

Navin Agarwal appointed as DG of NADA (National Anti Doping Agency).

Peter Thomson elected as President of 71st session of United Nations General Assembly.

Hollywood actress Anne Hathaway appointed as UN Women Goodwill Ambassador.

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June 22, 2016 June 23, 2016 June 27, 2016 June 28, 2016

Important Appointments 2016 Ken Miyauchi appointed as President and COO of SoftBank Group.

BCCI appoints Anil Kumble as the head coach of Indian Cricket Team.

Sujoy Bose appointed as first CEO of NIIF (National Investment and Infrastructure Fund). NS Vishwanathan appointed as deputy governor of RBI.

JULY

July 4, 2016

Sudarshan Sen appointed Executive Director of RBI.

July 13, 2016

Theresa May appointed as PM of the United Kingdom.

July 11, 2016

July 14, 2016 July 19, 2016 July 21, 2016

D Rajkumar appointed as CMD of BPCL (Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd). Rakesh Kumar Chaturvedi appointed as Chairman of CBSE.

Guruprasad Mohapatra appointed as Chairman of Airports Authority of India. Ajay Bhushan Pandey appointed as CEO of UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India).

AUGUST

Aug 1, 2016

Rani Singh Nair appointed as Chairman of CBDT (Central Board of Direct Taxes).

Sep 4, 2016

Urjit Patel assumes charge as 24th Governor of Reserve Bank of India.

Sep 28, 2016

World Bank reappoints Jim Yong Kim for second term as President.

Sep 19, 2016

SEPTEMBER

Alka Sirohi appointed UPSC chairman.

OCTOBER

Oct 3, 2016

S Sivakumar appointed as full-time member of 21st Law Commission of India.

Oct 14, 2016

Portugal’s Antonio Guterres appointed UN Secretary-General.

Oct 6, 2016

Oct 18, 2016 Oct 21, 2016 Oct 27, 2016

Sushil Chandra appointed CBDT Chairman.

Amandeep Singh Gill appointed as India’s Ambassador to UN Conference on Disarmament, Geneva. Vice Admiral SV Bhokare assumes office as the Commandant of Indian Naval Academy. Karnal Singh appointed as Director of Enforcement Directorate.

NOVEMBER

Nov. 7, 2016

M Rajeshwar Rao new RBI Executive Director.

Dec 5, 2016

Senior AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam appointed as the new AIADMK chief and the new Tamil Nadu Chief Minister.

Nov. 24, 2016 Yudhvir Singh Malik appointed as new Chairman of NHA.

DECEMBER

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AWARDS & HONOURS 2016 Gallantry Awards

President Pranab Mukherjee has conferred the country’s highest peacetime gallantry award Ashok Chakra to Lance Naik Mohan Nath Goswami posthumously. On the eve of 67th Republic Day celebrations President has approved 365 Gallantry awards and other Defence decorations to Armed Forces personnel and others. It includes one Ashoka Chakra, 4 Kirti Chakras and 11 Shaurya Chakras. Ashok Chakra: Lance Naik Mohan Nath Goswami (Posthumous). He belonged to 9 PARA (Special Force) and laid down his life while fighting LeT militants in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir. Kirti Chakra: Subedar Mahendra Singh of 9 PARA (Special Force). Sepoy Jagdish Chand (Posthumous) of 546 DSC Platoon. Shaurya Chakra: Colonel Santosh Mahadik (Posthumous) of 41 Rashtriya Rifle (PARA). Major Praphul Kumar Bhardwaj of 12 PARA (Special Force). Major Sandip Yadav of 55 Rashtriya Rifle (Armed). Major Anurag Kumar of 9 PARA (Special Force). Lieutenant Harjinder Singh of 3 KUMAON. Naik Satish Kumar (Posthumous) of 21 Rashtriya Rifle (Guards). Naik Kheem Singh Mehra of 21 KUMAON. Sepoy Dharma Ram (Posthumous) of 1 Rashtriya Rifle(MAHAR).

73rd Annual Golden Globe Awards

The 73rd Annual Golden Globe Awards ceremony was organized at Beverly Hills, California, United States (US) on January 10, 2016. Golden Globe Awards are the annual awards that honour the best in Motion Pictures and Television for the previous year. In this edition of awards, The Revenant won the maximum 3 awards followed by The Martian and Steve Jobs winning 2 awards each.

The winners of various awards are as follows:

Best Motion Picture Drama: The Revenant. Best Motion Picture Musical/Comedy: The Martian. Best Director in Motion Picture-Drama: Alejandro Inarritu for The Revenant. Best Actor in Motion Picture-Drama: Leonardo DiCaprio for The Revenant. Best Actress in Motion Picture-Drama: Brie Larson for Room. Best Actor in Motion Picture or Musical or Comedy: Matt Damon for The Martian. Best Actress in Motion Picture Musical or Comedy: Jennifer Lawrence for Joy. Best Actor in a Supporting role in Motion Picture: Sylvester Stallone for Creed. Best Actress in a Supporting role in Motion Picture: Kate Winslet for Steve Jobs. Best Original Score Motion Picture: Ennio Morricone for The Hateful Eight. Best Foreign Language Film: Son of Saul (Hungary).

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AWARDS & HONOURS 2016 61st Britannia Filmfare Awards

The grand Annual 61st Britannia Filmfare Awards event was organized in Mumbai, Maharashtra on 7th February 2016. Bajirao Mastani with 8 awards was the film wining highest number of awards.

Awards in various categories are

Best Actor: Ranveer Singh (Bajirao Mastani). Best Actress: Deepika Padukone (Piku). Best Film: Bajirao Mastani. Best Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali (Bajirao Mastani). Lifetime Achievement: Moushumi Chatterjee. Best Debut Director: Neeraj Ghaywan (Massan). Best Debutant (Male): Sooraj Pancholi (Hero). Best Debutant (Female): Bhumi Pednekar (Dum Laga Ke Haisha). Critics Award for Best Film: Piku Critics Award for Best Actor (Male): Amitabh Bachchan (Piku). Best Actor Female Critics Choice (Female): Kangana Ranaut (Tanu Weds Manu Returns). Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Female): Priyanka Chopra (Bajirao Mastani) Best Story: V Vijayendra Prasad (Bajrangi Bhaijaan). Best Singer (male): Arijit Singh (Sooraj dooba hai from ‘Roy’). Best Singer (female): Shreya Ghoshal (Deewani mastani from ‘Bajirao Mastani’). Best VFX: Prana Studios (Bombay Velvet). Best Dialogue: Anupam Roy (Piku). Best Action: Sham Kaushal (Bajirao Mastani). Best Cinematography: Manu Anand (Dum Laga Ke Haisha). Best Choreography: Birju Maharaj (Bajirao Mastani). Best Edit: Talvar. Best Production Design: Sujit Sawant, Saloni and Sriram Iyenger (Bajirao Mastani). Best Costume Designer: Anju Modi and Maxima (Bajirao Mastani).

Padma Vibhushan 2016 S. N

Name

Field

Ms. Yamini Krishnamurthi

Art- Classical dance

Smt. Girija Devi

Art-Classical Vocal

2. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

10.

Shri Rajinikanth Shri Ramoji Rao

Dr. Viswanathan Shanta Shri Shri Ravi Shankar Shri Jagmohan

Dr.Vasudev Kalkunte Aatre

Shri Avinash Dixit (Foreigner)

Late Shri Dhiru Bhai Ambani (Posthumous)

Art-Cinema

Literature & Education-Journalism Medicine- Oncology Spiritualism

Public Affairs

Science & Engineering

Literature & Education Trade & Industry

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AWARDS & HONOURS 2016 Padma Bhushan 2016 11.

Shri Anupam Kher

Art-Cinema

13.

Shri Ram V. Sutar

Art-Sculpture

12. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. S. N.

Shri Udit Narayan Jha

Art-Playback Singing

Shri Heisnam Kanhailal

Art-Theatre

Shri Vinod Rai

Dr. Yarlagadda Lakshmi Prasad

Prof. N. S. Ramanuja Tatacharya Dr. Barjinder Singh Hamdard Prof. D. Nageshwar Reddy Swami Tejomayananda Shri Hafeez Contractor

Shri Ravindra Chandra Bhargava Dr.Venkata Rama Rao Alla Ms. Saina Nehwal Ms. Sania Mirza

Civil Service

Literature & Education Literature & Education

Literature & Education - Journalism Medicine-Gastroenterology Spiritualism

Architecture

Public Affairs

Science & Engineering Sports-Badminton Sports-Tennis

Ms. Indu Jain

Late Swami Dayanand Sarawasati (Posthumous) Shri Robert Blackwill (Foreigner)

Shri Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry (NRI/PIO)

Trade & Industry Spiritualism

Public Affairs

Trade & Industry

Padma Shri 2016

Name

Field

30.

Smt. Prathibha Prahlad

Art- Classical Dance

32.

Shri Sribhas Chandra Supakar

Art- Textile Designing

31.

33.

34.

35.

36.

37.

38.

39.

40.

Shri Bhikhudan Gadhvi Shri Ajay Devgn

Ms. Priyanka Chopra Pt. Tulsidas Borkar Dr. Soma Ghosh

Shri Nila Madhab Panda Shri S.S. Rajamouli

Shri Madhur Bhandarkar

Prof. M. Venkatesh Kumar

Art- Folk Music Art-Cinema

Art-Cinema

Art-Classical Music Art-Classical Vocal

Art-Film Direction and Production

Art-Film Direction and Production Art-Film Direction and Production Art-Folk Artist

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AWARDS & HONOURS 2016

41.

Ms. Gulabi Sapera

Art-Folk Dance

43.

Ms. Malini Awasthi

Art-Folk Music

42.

44.

45.

46.

47.

48.

49.

50.

51.

52.

53.

54.

55.

56.

57.

58.

59.

60.

61.

62.

63.

64.

65.

66.

67.

68.

69.

70.

71.

72.

73.

74.

75.

Smt. Mamta Chandrakar Shri Jai Prakash Lekhiwal Shri K. Laxma Goud

Shri Bhalchandra Dattatray Mondhe Shri Naresh Chander Lal

Shri Dhirendra Nath Bezbaruah Shri Prahlad Chandra Tasa Dr.Ravindra Nagar

Shri Dahyabhai Shastri

Dr.Santeshivara Bhyrappa Shri Haldar Nag

Shri Kameshwaram Brahma Prof. Pushpesh Pant

Shri Jawaharlal Kaul Shri Ashok Malik

Dr.Mannam Gopi Chand Prof. Ravi Kant

Prof. Ram Harsh Singh

Prof. Shiv Narain Kureel Dr.Sabya Sachi Sarkar

Dr. Alla Gopala Krishna Gokhale Prof. T.K. Lahiri

Dr. Praveen Chandra

Prof. (Dr) Daljeet Singh Gambhir

Dr.Chandrasekar Shesadri Thoguluva Dr. (Mrs.) Anil Kumari Malhotra Prof. M.V. Padma Srivastava Dr. Sudhir V. Shah Dr. M. M. Joshi

Prof. (Dr) John Ebnezar

Dr. Nayudamma Yarlagadda Shri Simon Oraon

Shri Imitiaz Qureshi

Art-Folk Music

Art-Miniature Painting Art-Painting

Art-Photography

Art-Theatre & Cinema

Literature & Education Literature & Education

Literature & Education -Journalism Literature & Education-Journalism

Literature & Education-Journalism Literature &Education

Medicine-Cardio Thoracic Surgery Medicine-Surgery

Medicine- Ayurveda

Medicine- Paediatric Surgery Medicine –Radiology

Medicine-Cardiac Surgery

Medicine-Cardio Thoracic Surgery Medicine-Cardiology Medicine-Cardiology

Medicine-Gastroenterology Medicine-Homeopathy Medicine-Neurology Medicine-Neurology

Medicine-Ophthalmology

Medicine-Orthopaedic Surgery Medicine-Paediatric Surgery Environment Conservation Culinary

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AWARDS & HONOURS 2016 76.

Shri Piyush Pandey

Advertising & Communication

78.

Shri Ravinder Kumar Sinha

Wildlife Conservation

77. 79. 80. 81. 82. 83. 84. 85. 86. 87. 88. 89. 90. 91. 92. 93. 94. 95. 96. 97. 98. 99.

Shri Subhash Palekar Dr. H.R. Nagendra Shri M. C. Mehta

Shri M. N. Krishna Mani Shri Ujjwal Nikam

Shri Tokheho Sema Dr. Satish Kumar

Dr.Mylswamy Annadurai Prof. Dipankar Chatterji

Prof.(Dr.) Ganapati Dadasaheb Yadav Smt. (Prof.) Veena Tandon

Shri Onkar Nath Srivastava Ms. Sunita Krishnan

Shri Ajoy Kumar Dutta Shri M. Pandit Dasa

Shri P. P. Gopinathan Nair

Smt. Madeleine Herman de Blic

Shri Srinivasan Damal Kandalai Shri Sudhakar Olwe Dr. T.V. Narayana

Shri Arunachalam Murugantham Ms. Deepika Kumari

100. Shri Sushil Doshi

101. Shri Mahesh Sharma

102. Shri Saurabh Srivastava 103. Sh Dilip Sanghvi

104. Dr. Keki Hormusji Gharda

105. Late Shri Prakash Chand Surana (Posthumous)

Farming Yoga

Public Affairs Public Affairs Public Affairs Public Affairs

Science & Engineering Science & Engineering Science & Engineering Science & Engineering Science & Engineering

Science and Engineering Social Work Social Work Social Work Social Work Social Work Social work

Social Work Social Work Social Work

Sports-Archery

Sports-commentary Trade & Industry Trade & Industry Trade & Industry Trade & Industry

Art -Classical Music

106. Late Shri Saeed Jaffrey (NRI/PIO/Posthumous) Art-Cinema 107. Shri Michael Postel (Foreigner)

108. Shri Salman Amin Sal Khan(NRI/PIO) 109. Smt. Hui Lan Zhang (Foreigner)

110. Shri Predrag K. Nikic (Foreigner)

111. Dr.Sundar Aditya Menon (NRI/PIO)

112. Shri Ajaypal Singh Banga (NRI/PIO)

Art-Archaeology

Literature & Education Yoga

Yoga

Social Work

Trade & Industry

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AWARDS & HONOURS 2016 66th Berlin International Film Festival 2016

66th edition of Berlin International Film Festival was held in Berlin, Germany from 11 February to 21 February 2016. American actress Meryl Streep was the President of the Jury. Italian documentary film Fuocoammare (Fire at Sea) directed by Gianfranco Rosi was awarded prestigious Golden Bear, the top prize of the festival.

Other Prizes

Honorary Golden Bear: Michael Ballhaus. Silver Bear for Best director: Mia Hansen-Løve (France) for Things to Come. Silver Bear for Best Actress: Trine Dyrholm (Denmark) for The Commune. Silver Bear for Best Actor: Majd Mastoura (Tunisia) for Hedi. Silver Bear for Best Script: Tomasz Wasilewski for United States of Love. Jury Grand Prix (Silver Bear): Death in Sarajevo by Danis Tanović. Alfred Bauer Prize (Silver Bear): A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery by Lav Diaz. Crystal Bear or the best short film: El inicio de Fabrizio for Argentinian film Fabrizio’s Initiation.

58th Grammy Awards 2016

he 58th Annual Grammy Awards were announced on December 7, 2015 by the Recording Academy announced at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California (USA). The ceremony has recognized the best recordings, compositions and artists in the eligibility year, which was from October 2014, to September 2015. The 2016 Award ceremony was held on February 15, 2016 at Staples center in Los Angeles.

List of Top Grammy Awards Winners Category

Album

Artist

Record of the Year

Uptown Funk

Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars

Song of the Year

Thinking Out Loud

Ed Sheeran & Amy Wadge

Album of the Year Best New Artist

1989

Best Pop Solo Performance

Thinking Out Loud

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album

The Silver Lining: The Songs Of Jerome Kern

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance Best Pop Vocal Album

Best Dance Recording Best Dance/Electronic Album

Uptown Funk 1989

Where Are Ü Now Skrillex and Present Jack

Diplo

Taylor Swift

Meghan Trainor Ed Sheeran

Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars Tony Bennett & Bill Charlap Taylor Swift

Skrillex and Diplo with Justin Bieber Skrillex and Diplo

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AWARDS & HONOURS 2016 69th BAFTA Awards 2016

The 69th British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) held on 14 February 2016 at the Royal Opera House in London (U.K). This year the BAFTA awards were conferred for the outstanding performances in films and documentaries screened at British Cinemas in 2015. 69th different awards are given toBest Film: The Revenant.

Outstanding British Film: Brooklyn.

Best Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu (The Revenant). Best Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant). Best Actress: Brie Larson (Room). Best Supporting Actor: Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies). Best Supporting Actress: Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs). Best Original Screenplay: Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer (Spotlight). Best Adapted Screenplay: Adam McKay and Charles Randolph (The Big Short). Best Editing: Margaret Sixel (Mad Max: Fury Road). Best Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki (The Revenant). Best Production Design: Mad Max: Fury Road. Best Costume Design: Jenny Beavan (Mad Max: Fury Road). Best Original Music: Ennio Morricone (The Hateful Eight). Best Makeup and Hair: Damian Martin and Lesley Vanderwalt (Mad Max: Fury Road). Best Sound: The Revenant. Best Visual Effects: Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Best Film Not in the English Language: Wild Tales (Argentina). Best Animated Film: Inside Out. Best Documentary: Amy. Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director, or Producer: Naji Abu Nowar (Writer/Director) and Rupert Lloyd (Producer) – Theeb. Best British Short Film: Edmond. The EE Rising Star Award: John Boyega. Most awards: The Revenant (5 wins). Most nominations: Bridge of Spies and Carol (9 nominations each).

Vyas Samman Award 2015

Hindi scholar and writer Sunita Jain was conferred with the prestigious 25th Vyas Samman 2015. She was presented with the award by West Bengal Governor K N Tripathi. She was bestowed with this prestigious literary award for her poetry collection Kshama (published in 2008). Through her poetry collection, she portrays the fine emotions between poet Tulsidas and his wife Ratnavalli. Using very fine language in the poetry, she has managed to aptly convey the sentiment of forgiveness between Tulsidas and his wife.

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AWARDS & HONOURS 2016 Oscar Awards 2016: 88th Academy Awards

The 88th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) was held on February 28, 2016 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. The Academy Awards (commonly referred as Oscars) were presented in twenty four categories. They are : Best Picture: Spotlight Best Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant). Best Actress: Brie Larson (Room). Best Supporting Actor: Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies). Best Supporting Actress: Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl). Best Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu (The Revenant). Best Original Screenplay: Tom McCarthy (Spotlight). Best Adapted Screenplay: Adam McKay (The Big Short). Best Original Song: Writing’s on the Wall (Spectre). Best Original Score: The Hateful Eight (Ennio Morricone). Best Production Design: Colin Gibson and Lisa Thompson (Mad Max: Fury Road). Best Editing: Margaret Sixel (Mad Max: Fury Road). Best Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki (The Revenant). Best Sound Editing: Mark A. Mangini and David White (Mad Max: Fury Road). Best Sound Mixing: Chris Jenkins, Gregg Rudloff and Ben Osmo (Mad Max: Fury Road). Best Foreign Language Film: Son of Saul (Hungary). Best Documentary Feature: Amy. Best Documentary Short Subject: A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness. Best Live Action Short Film: Stuttered. Best Visual Effects: Mark Williams Ardington, Sara Bennett, Paul Norris and Andrew Whitehurst (Ex Machina). Best Animated Feature Film: Inside Out. Best Animated Short Film: Bear Story. Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Lesley Vanderwalt, Elka (Mad Max: Fury Road). Best Costume Design: Jenny Beavan (Mad Max: Fury Road). Most awards: Mad Max: Fury Road (6 Awards) followed by The Revenant (3) and Spotlight (2). Most nominations in 88th Academy Awards: The Revenant (12), Mad Max: Fury Road (10) and The Martian (7).

Dadasaheb Phalke Award 2015

Veteran Film Actor and Director Manoj Kumar has been selected for the prestigious 47th Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2015. He was unanimously selected by a five member jury consisted of Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Salim Khan, Nitin Mukesh and Anup Jalota. This award was given by the president Pranab Mukherjee at the 63rd National Film Awards on 3rd May 2016 in New Delhi.

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AWARDS & HONOURS 2016 10th Asian Film Award 2016

The Asian Film Awards are presented annually by the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society to recognize Asian film professionals. The 10th edition of Asian film Awards, one of the Asia’s leading film awards was held on 17th March 2016 in the Venetian Casino and Hotel in Macau, China. The Assassin has bagged 8 awards in different categories in the 2016 Asian film Awards. It is a 2015 martial arts film based on story of highly trained female assassin and is directed by Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-Hsien.

List of winners

Best Film: The Assassin. Best Director: Hou Hsiao-Hsien (The Assassin) from Taiwan. Best Actor: Lee Byung-hun (The Inside Men). Best Actress: Shu Qi (The Assassin). Best Newcomer: Jessie Li (Port of Call). Best Supporting Actor: Tadanobu Asano (Journey to the Shore). Best Supporting Actress: Zhou Yun (The Assassin) Best Screenplay: Jia Zhangke (Mountains May Depart). Best Cinematography: Mark Lee Ping-bing (The Assassin) Best Production Design: Hwarng Wern-ying (The Assassin). Best Original Music: Lim Giong (The Assassin). Best Editing: Chu Ka-yat, William Chang Suk-ping, Liao Ching-sung, Wong Hoi, Philip Yung (Port of Call). Best Visual Effects: Prasad Sutar (Bajirao Mastani). Best Costume Design: Lee Ji-yeon and Shim Hyun-seob (The Throne). Best Sound: Tu Duu-chih, Chu Shih-yi and Wu Shu-yao (The Assassin). Lifetime Achievement Award: Yuen Wo-ping and Kirin Kiki

Abel Prize 2016

British mathematician Andrew Wiles (62) was named as the winner of the prestigious 2016 Abel Prize. He was selected by the Norwegian Academy of Sciences and Letters for solving a centuries old hypothesis (equation), Fermat’s Last Theorem.

Man Booker International Prize 2016

South Korean author, Han Kang, has won the 2016 Man Booker International Prize for her novel ‘The Vegetarian’. With this Han becomes the first South Korean to win this prestigious literary prize. The writer and her British translator Deborah Smith shared the 72,000 dollars prize money. Han’s novel ‘The Vegetarian’ tells a story of a wife (Yeong-hye lead character) who decides to become a vegetarian. The decision provokes cruelty from her husband, and from her father, and obsession from her sister’s husband, as the woman, she dreams obsessively about becoming a tree.

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AWARDS & HONOURS 2016 63rd National Film Awards 2015

The 63rd National Film Awards for year 2015 were announced on 28 March 2016. Baahubali: The Beginning (Tamil, Telugu) directed by S. S. Rajamouli was selected as the Best feature film. Bajrangi Bhaijaan (Hindi) directed by Kabir Khan was selected as the Best Popular film providing wholesome entertainment.

The 63rd National Film Awards in the various categories are as follows Best Actor: Amitabh Bachchan (Piku). Best Actress: Kangana Ranaut (Tanu Weds Manu Returns). Best Direction: Sanjay Leela Bhansali (Bajirao Mastani). Best Film on Social Issues: Niranayakam (Malayalam) directed by V. K. Prakash. Best Supporting Actor: Samuthirakani for the film Visaranai (Tamil). Best Supporting Actress: Tanvi Azmi for the film Bajirao Mastani (Hindi). Best Children’s Film: Duronto (Hindi) directed by Soumnedra Padhi. Best Child Artist: Gaurav Menon for the film Ben (Malayalam). Special Jury Award: Margarita with a Straw (Hindi) directed by Kalki Koechlin. Best Cinematography: Remo D’Souza for the film Bajirao Mastani (Hindi). Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director: Neeraj Ghaywan for the film Masaan (Hindi). Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration: Nanak Shah Fakir (Punjabi) directed by Sartaj Singh Pannu.

Saraswati Samman 2015

Dogri Poetess and novelist Padma Sachdev (76) has been chosen for the prestigious Saraswati Samman for the year 2015. She has been chosen for her autobiography ‘ChittChete’ written in Dogri language and published in 2007.

Pen Pinter Prize 2016

Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, and environmental activist Margaret Atwood was chosen for the prestigious 2016 Pen Pinter Prize. She will formerly receive the award at a public event scheduled to be held on 13 October 2016 at the British Library.

51st Jnanpith Award 2016

President Pranab Mukherjee conferred the 51st Jnanpith Award on renowned Gujarati writer and litterateur Dr. Raghuveer Chaudhari on July 11, 2016 at a function in New Delhi. He was awarded with the India’s highest literary honour carrying a cash prize, a citation plaque and a bronze replica of Goddess Saraswati for the year 2015. Mr. Chaudhary is the fourth Gujarati litterateur to bag this prestigious award after Uma Shankar Joshi (1967), Pannalal Patel (1985) and Rajendra Shah (2001)

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AWARDS & HONOURS 2016 Pulitzer Prize 2016

The Pulitzer prizes are given for achievements in newspaper, magazines and online journalism, literature, etc. in the U.S.A. It is administered by Columbia University in New York. The Sympathizer, a debut novel of Vietnamese American professor Viet Thanh Nguyen has won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. While, Associated Press has won two prestigious Pulitzer prize in Public Service for coverage for an investigation of severe labour abuses tied to the supply of seafood to American supermarkets and restaurants.

List of 2016 Pulitzer Prize Winners

Books, Drama and Music Fiction: The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen. Drama: Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda. History: Custer’s Trials: A Life on the Frontier of a New America by T.J. Stiles. Biography: Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life by William Finnegan,. Poetry: Ozone Journal by Peter Balakian. Music: In for a Penny, In for a Pound by Henry Threadgill.

Journalism

Public Service: Associated Press. Breaking News Reporting: Los Angeles Times Staff. Investigative Reporting: Leonora LaPeter Anton and Anthony Cormier of the Tampa Bay Times and Michael Braga of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. National Reporting: The Washington Post Staff. International Reporting: Alissa J. Rubin of The New York Times.

Man Booker Prize 2016

Paul Beatty (54) has won the 2016 Man Booker Prize. With this he became the first US author to win this prestigious literary award. He was bestowed with this award for his racial satirical novel ‘The Sellout’ at a ceremony held in London’s Guildhall. His novel tells the story of a young black man who tries to reinstate slavery and racial segregation in a suburb of Los Angeles. It is given for fiction by Man Group focussed on literacy and education.

Nobel Prize 2016

Peace: The current President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, was awarded Nobel Peace Prize for his resolute efforts to bring the country’s more than 50-year-long civil war to an end, a war that took away the lives of at least 2,20,000 Colombians and displaced nearly six million people. Physics: British trio of physicists David Thouless, F Duncan M Haldane and Michael Kosterlitz have won the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physics. Economics: Two economists Oliver Hart and Bengt Holmstrom have won the 2016 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. Chemistry: Trio of Jean-Pierre Sauvage, J Fraser Stoddart and Bernard L Feringa have won the prestigious 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Literature: American singer-songwriter, artist and writer Bob Dylan (75) has won the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature. He is the first American to win the prize since novelist Toni Morrison in 1993. Medicine: Yoshinori Ohsumi (71) of Japan has won the 2016 Nobel Prize for physiology or Medicine for his pioneering work on autophagy.

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AWARDS & HONOURS 2016 Ramon Magsaysay Award 2016

Two Indians, social activist Bezwada Wilson and musician TM Krishna, have won the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award 2016. They are among the total six awardees selected for the 2016 Ramon Magsaysay Award, often regarded as Asia’s Nobel Prize.

The 6 Awardees are:

Bezwada Wilson (India): He has been recognized for asserting the inalienable right to a life of human dignity. He is the National Convener of the Safai Karmachari Andolan (SKA). He has done remarkable work in liberating scores of people engaged in manual scavenging across the country. Thodur Madabusi Krishna (India): He has been recognized for ensuring social inclusiveness in culture. He is a Carnatic music vocalist. Conchita Carpio Morales (Philippines): She has been recognized for restoring faith in the rule of law. Dompet Dhuafa (Indonesia): She has been recognized for expanding the transformative impact of zakat. Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (Japan): The organisation has been recognized for building a world of genuine solidarity. Vientiane Rescue (Laos): The organisation has been recognized for volunteering to save lives at risk.

National Sports Awards 2016

The Union Government bestows National Sports Awards every year to recognize and reward excellence in sports in India.

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award

Recipients are: PV Sindhu (Badminton), Sakshi Malik (Wrestling), Dipa Karmakar (Gymnastics) and Jitu Rai (Shooting). 2016

Dronacharya Award

Recipients are: Nagapuri Ramesh (Athletics), Sagar Mal Dhayal (Boxing), Raj Kumar Sharma (Cricket), Bishweshwar Nandi (Gymnastics), S. Pradeep Kumar (Swimming) and Mahabir Singh (Wrestling) 2016

Arjuna Award

Recipients are: Rajat Chauhan (Archery), Lalita Babar (Athletics), Sourav Kothari (Billiards & Snooker), Shiva Thapa (Boxing), Ajinkya Rahane (Cricket), Subrata Paul (Football), Rani (Hockey), Raghunath V.R. (Hockey), Gurpreet Singh (Shooting), Apurvi Chandela (Shooting), Soumyajit Ghosh (Table Tennis), Vinesh (Wrestling), Amit Kumar (Wrestling), Sandeep Singh Mann (Para-Athletics) and Virender Singh (Wrestling).

2016 Dhyan Chand Award

Recipients are: Satti Geetha (Athletics), Sylvanus Dung Dung (Hockey) and Rajendra Pralhad Shelke (Rowing). 2015-16

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy Recipient: Punjabi University, Patiala.

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OBITUARY IN 2016 Jan 7, 2016 Jan 10, 2016 Jan 19, 2016 Jan 21, 2016 Jan 25, 2016 Feb 2, 2016 Feb 2, 2016 Feb 9, 2016 Feb 18, 2016 Feb 19, 2016 Mar 4, 2016 Mar 5, 2016 Mar 16, 2016 Mar 26, 2016 Apr 5, 2016 Apr 14, 2016 Apr 21, 2016 Apr 27, 2016 May 11, 2016 May 27, 2016 Jun 3, 2016 Jun 12, 2016 Jun 22, 2016 Jun 29, 2016 Jul 1, 2016 Jul 20, 2016 Jul 28, 2016 Jul 28, 2016 Aug 14, 2016 Aug 8, 2016 Aug 9, 2016 Aug 22, 2016 Sep 2, 2016 Sep 5, 2016 Sep 24, 2016 Sep 27, 2016 Sep 28, 2016 Oct 13, 2016 Nov 22, 2016 Nov 25, 2016 Nov 25, 2016 Dec 5, 2016

Mufti Mohammad Sayeed Former-Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister. David Bowie–Legendary artist. Ravindra Kalia–Noted Hindi writer. Mrinalini Sarabhai–Legendary dancer. Kalpana Ranjani–Noted Malayalam film actress. S S Tarapore–Former RBI Deputy Governor. Intizar Hussain–Veteran Urdu writer. Sushil Koirala–Former Nepal Prime Minister. Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan–Veteran singer of Gwalior Gharana. Bhubaneswari Mishra–Renowned singer. Purno Agitok Sangma–Former Lok Sabha Speaker. Ray Tomlinson–inventor of E-mail. Ustad Ali Ahmad Hussain–Famous Shehnai exponent. Jim Harrison–Renowned American author. Barbara Turner–Hollywood actress and screenwriter. Satyanand Munjal–Hero Group co-founder. Prince Rogers Nelson–Music legend. V T Thomas–Kerala cartoonist. Tony Cozier–Renowned commentator. RG Jadhav – Noted Marathi writer. Muhammad Ali–American Boxer. Achyut Lahkar–Noted Playwright and Actor. Amjad Sabri–a famed Pakistani Qawwal. KG Subramanyan–Renowned painter. Ramchandra Chintaman Dhere–Eminent Marathi literary scholar. Mohammed Shahid – Indian Hockey legend. Mahasweta Devi–Writer and social activist. Pandit Lacchu Maharaj–Veteran tabla maestro. Na Muthukumar–Tamil Lyricist. Mahim Bora–Eminent Assamese litterateur. Kalikho Pul–Former Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh. Sellapan Ramanathan–Singapore’s longest serving president. Islam Karimov–President of Uzbekistan. Lindsay Tuckett–World’s oldest cricketer. Reoti Saran Sharma–Hindi and Urdu writer. Syed Shamsul Haq–Renowned Bangla writer. Shimon Peres–Former Israeli Prime Minister. Bhumibol Adulyadej–King of Thailand. M. Balamuralikrishna–Indian Carnatic musician and composer Fidel Castro - Cuban Politician, Prime Minister. Dilip Padgaonkar–Journalist, Editor in Chief. Jayalalithaa Jayaraman- Indian actor and Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

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MODI’S VISITS TO NATIONS Place Belgium Date 30 March 2016 Purpose Bilateral meeting that focus on further enhancing the economic partnership. w Restart and expedite talks on a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty and Highlights an extradition treaty to fight terrorism. w Invited the Belgian government and companies to take part in India’s ambitious projects, including Digital India, Start Up India and Skill India. w Amending protocol that makes the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) more comprehensive and contemporary. w Technical activation of an optical infrared telescope in Devasthal in India, jointly developed by ARIES (Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences) of India and the Belgian company AMOS (Advanced Mechanical and Optical Systems). w MoU between the Department of Biotechnology of India and the Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO) for cooperation in the field of Biotechnology. w E-Tourist visa facility extended by India to Belgian nationals to promote tourism.

Brussels Place Date 30 March 2016. Purpose 13th EU-India Summit Agreements w “EU-India Agenda for Action 2020” as a common roadmap to jointly guide and strengthen the India-EU Strategic Partnership in the next five years. w Establish and implement an Indo-European Water Partnership (IEWP). w Referring to the ‘100 Smart cities’ flagship programme and EU urban policy development experience, enhance EU-India cooperation on Urban Development. w Consolidate the good cooperation on fusion energy research, in particular on JET(Joint European Torus), under the Euratom-India Fusion Cooperation Agreement; as well in ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor). w Finalise and start implementing the EURATOM-India agreement for research and development cooperation in the field of the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. w Create synergies between the “Digital India” initiative and the EU’s “Digital Single Market”. w Strengthen dialogue and cooperation on education including through India’s GIAN programme and EU’s Erasmus+ programme. w Merge the EU-India Security Dialogue and Foreign Policy Consultations into “Foreign Policy and Security Consultations”. w Decided to establish a Common Agenda on Migration and Mobility (CAMM) between India and the EU and the participating EU Member States.

MODI’S VISITS TO NATIONS

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Place Washington (United States ) Date 31 March - 1 April 2016 Purpose Nuclear Security Summit Highlights w Announced several key initiatives taken by his government in the area of nuclear security and non-proliferation, including countering nuclear smuggling and deployment of technology to deter nuclear terrorism. w India will host a meeting of Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism in 2017. w India will support IAEA’s central role in nuclear security by a further contribution of US$ 1 million to the nuclear security fund. A workshop with IAEA experts on International Physical Protection Assessment Service (IPPAS) will also be held in India.

Place Riyadh (Saudi Arabia.) Date 2 and 3 April Purpose Deepening the bilateral relations and strengthening business ties. Agreements w Agreement on Labour Co-operation between the Ministry of Labour of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Ministry of External Affairs of the Republic of India for Recruitment of General Category Workers.

w Technical Cooperation Program between the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO).

w Executive Program for Cooperation in the Field of Handicrafts between the Export Promotion Council for Handicraft (EPCH) in the Republic of India and Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage.

w MoU between Financial Intelligence Unit - India and the Financial Intelligence Unit-Saudi Arabia concerning Cooperation in the Exchange of Intelligence related to Money Laundering, Terrorism Financing and Related Crimes Highlights

w Framework for Investment Promotion Cooperation between Invest India and the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA).

w Attended a business event in Riyadh. w Visited the Masmak Fortress.

w Reached out to the workers at L&T Residential Complex. w Visited the TCS All Women IT & ITES Center in Riyadh.

w Shri Narendra Modi was conferred Saudi Arabia’s highest civilian honour, the King Abdulaziz Sash.

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MODI’S VISITS TO NATIONS

Place Tehran ( Iran) Date 22-23 May 2016 Purpose Focus mainly on connectivity and infrastructure, energy partnership with Iran, boosting bilateral trade, promoting regular consultations on peace and stability particularly in our region and extended neighbourhood, and encouraging people-to-people contacts and relations between the two countries. Agreements w India-Iran Cultural Exchange Programme. w MoU between the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) of India and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) of Iran on Policy Dialogue between Governments and Interaction between Think Tanks. w MoU between Foreign Service Institute, MEA and the School of International Relations, Iran’s MoFA to enhance cooperation between the two parties for training of diplomats and exchange of eminent speakers. w Implementation Protocol between Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of S&T and Iran’s Ministry of Science, Research and Technology on Cooperation in the Fields of Science and Technology. w MoU between Indian Council for Cultural Relations and Islamic Culture and Relations Organizations of the IR Iran. w Bilateral contract on Chabahar Port for port development and operations between IPGPL [India Ports Global Private Limited] and Arya Banader of Iran. w MoU between EXIM Bank and Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization [PMO] for the purpose of credit of US$ 150 million for Chabahar port. w MoU between ECGC [Export Credit Guarantee Corporation] Limited of India and the Export Guarantee Fund of Iran (EGFI) for supporting and encouraging foreign trade and foreign investment between India and Iran. w MoU between National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) and the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) to jointly explore the possibility of manufacturing aluminium metal by setting up of a smelter on joint venture basis in Iran and/or entering into tolling arrangements with smelters in Iran or any other form of business collaboration including sale of alumina etc. w MoU between IRCON and Construction, Development of Transport and Infrastructure Company (CDTIC) of Iran to provide requisite services for the construction of Chabahar-Zahedan railway line which forms part of transit and transportation corridor in trilateral agreement between India, Iran and Afghanistan. w MoU for cooperation between the National Archives of India and the National Library and Archives Organisation of the Islamic Republic of Iran for facilitation of exchange of information and knowledge in the field of archival matters through exchange of manuals, guidelines, rules, publications and other special literature on archival topics. Highlights w Inaugurated an international conference titled ‘India-Iran: Two Great Civilizations - Retrospect and Prospect’ in Tehran which was organized by ICCR with Academy of Persian Language and Literature and other Iranian partners. w The Prime Minister also released a rare Persian manuscript brought out by ICCR at the event.

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Place Herat (Afghanistan) Date 04 June 2016 Purpose Inaugration of Salma Dam Highlights w Jointly inaugurated the Afghan-India Friendship Dam, earlier known as Salma Dam, with President of Afghanistan Dr. Ashraf Ghani in Herat province in Western Afghanistan. w Discuss situation in Afghanistan and how the two countries can cooperate further for promoting peace and stability in that country.

Place Doha (Qatar) Date June 04-05, 2016 Purpose Broaden and deepen bilateral engagement in diverse fields of mutual interest. Agreements w MoU between National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), Ministry of Finance, Government of India and Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) for facilitating participation of Qatari institutional investors in Infrastructure projects in India under NIIF. w Agreement on Cooperation and Mutual Assistance in Customs Matters between the Government of Republic of India and Government of the State of Qatar. w MoU between Financial Intelligence Unit – India (FIU-IND) and the Qatar Financial Information Unit (QFIU) concerning cooperation in the exchange of intelligence related to money laundering, terrorism-financing and related crimes. w MoU between the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, the Government of Republic of India and the National Qualifications Authority/Supreme Education Council, Government of the State of Qatar for Cooperation in Skill Development and Recognition of Qualifications. w MoU on cooperation in Tourism between the Government of the Republic of India and Government of the State of Qatar. w The First Executive Programme for MoU in the field of Youth and Sports between the Government of Republic of India and Government of the State of Qatar.

Place Geneva (Switzerland) Date 06 June 2016 Purpose Strengthen the bilateral relations of two countries. Highlights w Raised the black money issue with Swiss Government . w Support for Indian claim to NSG membership.

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MODI’S VISITS TO NATIONS

Place Washington ( United States) Date 6-8 June 2016 Purpose Deepening strategic partnership between the United States and India. Agreements w Arrangement between the Multi-Agency Centre/Intelligence Bureau of the Government of India and the Terrorist Screening Center of the Government of the United States of America for the exchange of Terrorist Screening Information. w MoU between the Government of India and the Government of the United States of America to enhance cooperation on Energy Security, Clean Energy and Climate Change. w MoU between the two Governments to enhance co-operation on Wildlife Conservation and Combating Wildlife Trafficking. w MoU between Consular, Passport and Visa Division of the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India and US Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security of the United States for the Development of an International Expedited Traveler Initiative (the Global Entry Programme). w Technical Arrangement between the Indian Navy and the United States Navy concerning Unclassified Maritime Information Sharing. w MoU between the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India and the Department of Energy of the United States of America for Cooperation in Gas Hydrates. w Information Exchange Annex (IEA) between the Ministry of Defence, Government of India and the Department of Defense of the United States of America to the Master Information Exchange Agreement concerning Aircraft Carrier Technologies. Highlights Prime Minister’s speech at the US Congress.

Place Mexico Date 09 June 2016 Purpose To enhance bilateral relations between both the countries. Highlights w Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto announced his country’s support to India’s membership for the elite NSG. w Talks in a range of areas including trade and investment, information technology, energy and space. w Welcomed the opportunities offered by the convergence between the National Digital Strategy of Mexico and the Digital India Initiative, which share common objectives. w Welcomed collaboration in space science, earth observation, climate and environmental studies.

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Place Tashkent ( Uzbekistan) Date 23-24 June 2016 Purpose Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit . Highlights w To seek China’s support for India’s membership at the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) that controls access to sensitive nuclear technology. w India’s entry into SCO as a full member will provide it an opportunity to have extended cooperation with member countries in areas of defence, security and counter-terrorism.

Place Mozambique Date 7 July, 2016 Purpose To strengthen India’s ties with Mozambique Highlights w India and Mozambique have signed three Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) in areas of drug trafficking, pulse trading and sports. Place Africa Date 8-9 July, 2016 Purpose Agenda was to boost economic ties with South Africa Highlights India and South Africa have signed Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) and agreements in four areas of bilateral co-operation. Signed agreements: w MoU on Tourism. w MoU on Grassroot innovation (Science and Technology) w MoU on Information and Communication technology (ICT). w Both countries also signed Programme of Cooperation in Arts and Culture

Place Tanzania Date 10 July 2016 Purpose Agenda was to improve India-Tanzania relations and held talks with the President Highlights India and Tanzania have signed five agreements to accelerate bilateral ties between both nations. Signed Agreements are: w MoU for Establishment of Vocational Training Centre at Zanzibar w MoU on Visa waiver agreement for Diplomatic/Official passport holders w MoU on Cooperation in the field of water resource management and development w Line of Credit (LoC) of US 92 million dollars for rehabilitation and improvement of water supply system in Zanzibar w Agreement on Joint Action Plan (JAP) between National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) of India and Small Industries Development Organization (SIDO) of Tanzania.

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MODI’S VISITS TO NATIONS

Place Kenya Date 11 July, 2016 Purpose To deepen and expand cooperation in a wide range of areas between India and Kenya. Highlights India and Kenya have signed seven agreements: w MoU on Defence Cooperation. w MoU in the field of Space Technology partnership. w Revised Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA). w Bilateral agreement on exemption of Visa for holders of Diplomatic passports w MoU on Cooperation in the field of National Housing Policy Development and Management. w MoU on Cooperation in the field of expertise sharing, standardisation and mutual trade between Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and Bureau of Kenya Standards (BKS). w Line of Credit (LoC) Agreement for US $29.95 million to Kenyan Government for upgradation of Rift Valley Textiles Factory (RIVATEX East Africa Limited) in Kenya. w LoC Agreement for US $15 million (first tranche of $30 million) to Kenya’s IDB Capital Limited for development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Kenya.

Place Vietnam Date September 3, 2016 Purpose To make agreements in different areas of cooperation to boost bilateral relations. India and Vietnam have signed 12 agreements in different areas of Highlights cooperation like: w Exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes, double taxation avoidance, co-operation on UN peacekeeping operation. w Health, cyber security, advanced IT training, sharing of shipping information between the Navies of the two countries and mutual recognition of standards.

Place China Date 4-5 September, 2016 Purpose To attend the 2016 Group of Twenty (G20) Summit held in Hangzhou, China from 4th to 5th September 2016 in order to discuss efforts to reform global economic governance. Highlights Key Highlights of 2016 G20 Summit: w G-20 leaders have pledged to continue to work for a globally fair and modern international tax system, foster growth and refrain from competitive devaluation of currencies. w They will continue the work on addressing cross-border financial flows derived from illicit activities, including deliberate trade mis-invoicing, which hampers the mobilisation of domestic resources for development. w They vowed to go ahead on the ongoing co-operation on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS), exchange of tax information, tax capacity-building of developing countries and tax policies to

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promote growth and tax certainty. w They also vowed to use all policy tools to achieve the goal of strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth. w They agreed at the summit that refugees are a global issue and the burden must be shared. They called for strengthening humanitarian assistance for refugees. w The 2017 G20 summit will be held in Hamburg, Germany from 7-8 July 2017.

Place Vientiane, Laos Date 7–8 September, 2016 Prime Minister Narendra Modi had represented India at the 14th Purpose ASEAN-India summit. Highlights ASEAN-India adopted a document aiming at politically cohesive, economically integrated, socially responsible and people oriented people centered ASEAN-India Community. w The document recognizes the vital importance of the planned review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods (AITIG) Agreement. w It seeks to ensure that the agreement is trade-facilitative and remains relevant to the current global trading practices. w The document also emphasizes the importance of maintaining peace, security and stability, unimpeded commerce, freedom of navigation in and overflight above the South China Sea. w Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed deep concern over the rising export of terror in an apparent reference to Pakistan.

Place Japan Date 10-12 November, 2016 Purpose Bilateral meeting that focus on further enhancing the economic partnership. Highlights w Deal has been signed by which Japan can export nuclear technology to India giving it an edge over its neighbours so far as the use of civil nuclear energy is concerned. w This deal makes India the first non-NPT signatory to ink a nuclear pact with Japan. Japan’s ‘friendliness’ towards India was tested in 1991, after it bailed India out of its balance of payments crisis. w The India-Japan civil nuclear deal will be watched closely by China as Beijing shares territorial concerns with both New Delhi and Tokyo. This deal has come at a time when China is increasingly looking to expand its footprint in the South China Sea. The perception of US President Donald Trump regarding his South Asia policy is also likely to keep China on its toes. w India aims to ramp up nuclear capacity ten-fold by 2032 and is in negotiations with Westinghouse Electric, owned by Japan’s Toshiba. w India plans to build six nuclear plants in the south. The nuclear deal takes India a step further in this direction. w PM Modi’s visit to japan wasn’t about the nuclear deal alone. The Indian PM, accompanied by Shinzo Abe, travelled to Kobe by the Shinkansen bullet train. The same technology will be deployed for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Railway.

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In Indian Universities, Politics and Education go Hand in Hand n Gurleen Garelli

olitics is a very significant aspect of educational institutions. Its purpose is to produce better leaders who could carry the legacy of such leaders who have dedicated their lives to the cause of the people of the country. It is both a study to acquire skill to understand the administration of power and to manage public affairs. It is an integral part of the functioning of public education. It is not just about electing student representatives but it is an integral part of our system for shaping young minds in order to build a better future. The introduction of student council elections has resulted in a healthy student voice with the effective participation of the young people. The youth today is more informed, more conscious of the society and hence there are varied perspectives and political interests that prevail in a campus. In any democracy, campus politics, political parties and student organizations are given a significant importance. The students acquiring knowledge in the campus become aware of the social and political scenario in the country and are able to make better decisions with regard to the interests of the people of their country. That is what democracy is. In many democratic nations, the age of franchise has been lowered to provide students an opportunity to choose

the representatives of people who could work in the interests of the people. The functioning of the democratic system can be better understood by means of politics in the campus. It gives a clear picture of the execution of the governing institutions of the country and gives it a better direction if they remain in contact with the day to day changing scenario of the country’s politics. The youth make up a great proportion of the voting population and the choices that they make would directly affect the citizens of their country. Therefore it is imminent that they should be aware of the political scenario of their country. Politics in the campus helps them enhance their understanding of the government and the democratic processes that form the core of the institutions that prevail in any social system. Lesser participation in politics and abstinence from it would amount to misrepresentation at both local as well as national level. It provides them a fundamental opportunity to devise the course of politics in their country. The ignorance in being able to kindle the spirit of knowledge about the concerns for society and the political system that governs it would pave way to the rise of undemocratic principles that read a country on the path to tyranny. In a country like India which is considered to be the largest democracy of the world, student politics is more relevant. Since independence, India has witnessed the genesis of varied political ideologies and affiliations which play a major role in determining the national mood towards the making and execution of policies. Also, it is significant in the sense that it provides a suitable platform in order to draw the government’s attention towards specific student’s issues such as student welfare at large, admission policies, academic freedom

IN INDIAN UNIVERSITIES, POLITICS AND EDUCATION GO HAND IN HAND in particular. There is another dimension to the student politics in India. It has become a good launching pad for new leaders in the political arena to prove their mettle through their leadership in the educational campuses. While the role of student unions in the struggle for independence must be recognised as raising awareness against the repression of the British government, it must be noted that after 70 years of independence, education institutions needed it evermore to ensure the welfare of the students and not be rendered as pawns whose sole objective is to propagate their self-interests in the name of student welfare. While student politics in India cannot be seen as undesirable, it has nevertheless lead to certain undesirable consequences. In today’s times, the student politics in educational campuses in India have also been characterised by the ills that have plagued the politics in the country. Frequent display of money-muscle power, boycott of classes, roadblocks, manipulation of voters and violence has become a commonplace phenomenon during the student council elections in the educational institutions. There has been a recent spurt in incidences of violence, strikes, protest movements in our educational institutions like Jawaharlal Nehru University, Film and Television Institute Of India, Hyderabad University etc. albeit for different reasons. Sedition charges on students who allegedly shouted anti-India slogans in JNU. In HCU, the Centre was accused of forcing the administration’s hand in suspending five students, one of whom, Rohith Vemula, eventually committed suicide. Vemula was a Dalit PhD scholar and a member of the Ambedkar Students Association at HCU. There were agitations and protests by students for appointing Gajendra Chauhan as chairman of FTII. His appointed was controversial on the pretext of being seen as a way to saffronize the institute. It is sad how various political parties use educational campuses as place for propaganda of their ideologies and garner a voting base by establishing a strong hold in the campuses. The issue is not the association of students with various political parties. If one observes, student politics

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is highly desirable in a democracy but it demands an educated and highly aware youth in order to effectively participate and reform our system. This should be integral to student politics in the campuses. But the infestation of student politics with the malice of the larger political system in our country has resulted in the prevalence of corruption in the system at large. As a result the common students are subjected to violence and fear in the campus and it also affects the quality of education which suffers on account of the disruption of education at the hands of the various political bodies which resort to undemocratic methods in order to fulfil their own self-interests. Most of the student bodies are units of larger political parties today and hence are more focussed on becoming the mouthpieces of their parent political parties and as a result are more embroiled in the conflicts of the mainstream political parties which is taking a toll on the academic standards of the educational institutions. A student cannot be indifferent to the political and social scenario of the country, so to suggest that they should be completely away from politics is not appropriate. One should rather try and inculcate the values of selfless devotion towards one’s country and the ability to fight against any value that questions the democratic spirit of one’s country. Politics is nourished and nurtured in the educational institutions. Therefore to oppose principles which uphold their academic and social life is not inappropriate. After all, it is a matter of determining the future of the country’s political scenario and also, it is relevant to maintain the integrity of the institutions that produce them. Therefore the only way to ensure the possibility of building a better efficacy in terms of politics in the educational campuses is to quash the forces which undermine the academic freedom and knowledge. Regardless of how genuine or not-so-genuine the reason of recent controversies is, the situation raises some very important topic of discussion. We need to draw a line how much politicisation is desirable in academia.

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Employment - The Indian Demographic Dividend may Lead to its Fallout n Shruti Suman

or a nation like ours, a demographic dividend is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and can lead to making or marring of its citizens’ present and future. Land, labour, capital and time are needed to be leveraged for creating surplus and well-being as per economics and each one has different relative value and productivity level, which need to be combined for the forces to multiply. But, we have placed consistent faith in India’s demographic dividend over the past few years, expecting it to lead us to economic superdom.

YOUNG INDIA

The country accounts for a ifth of the world’s youth 400 350

355.3

Population aged 10-24 (in million)

278.6

300 250

World 1,797 million

200 150 100 50.9

50 0

India

China

23.3

Brazil Russia

14.6 SA

On one hand where the share of the working-age population is rising, the dependents (under the age of 15 and over 60) are falling and this facilitates the workers to save and invest and also increases the savings share in GDP. This further enhances the growth rate of our

nation. For this dynamic to sustain long, our working age population needs to earn more than their parents and for this they must be in jobs more productive than agriculture. Even if they are in agriculture, it also needs to be enhanced and more productive to bear the fruits for the surpassing population. Furthermore, all such jobs require additional skills and higher educational levels which lack in our population apparently. This can be a reason why India’s potential dividend might risk becoming a liability. India’s demographic dividend has been much in talks recently. Its working age population (15-59) years largely consists of youth aged between 15-34 years and will aid the economy to grow quicker as compared to other countries, including China. With 100 crores employable people by 2050, it gives a tough stand to USA with 27 crores employable people and Europe with 45 crores. Less than 20% of our workforce at present is formally or non-formally skilled and rest stands unskilled. Out of the unskilled population, majority is counted to be employed but the fact is that more than half of them are incorrectly counted as employed in agriculture! While the service sector has about 50% as job to GDP ratio, the non-service industries have around 70% of the same. The service sector and the industry do not have more scope of contribution to the GDP and to job creation and is generally over represented in its share to GDP.

Demographic Dividend of India from 1961 to 2011

Age Group

1961

2001

14 yrs

41%

35.3%

Decrease by 5.7%

Above 60 yrs

5.6%

7.4%

Rise by 1.8%

15-59 yrs

53.3%

56.9%

2011

Difference in percentage points Rise by 3.6%

EMPLOYMENT - THE INDIAN DEMOGRAPHIC DIVIDEND MAY LEAD ... Out of over 470 million of our workforce, just over half is either illiterate or has not completed primary education. As per the National Sample Survey Report, the share of workforce that has any vocational/formal/informal training is merely 10%. There is also an estimate that this demographic dividend will last only another 25 years or so. India’s Labour Force as per Indian Labour Report 653 mn

526 mn

472 mn

2006 2011 2031

As per the Indian Labour Report, by 2025, 300 million youth would enter the labour force and in the next three years, 25% of the world’s workers would be Indians. Also, the growth rate of the labour force will continue to be higher than that of the population until 2021.

The tragedy which we as a ‘nation in making’ face is that in spite of all the promises made by the previous Prime Minister, for launching of missions on vocational education and skill development through ITIs and polytechnics; the only thing that materialised was the creation of the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC)—a private-public partnership in 2010; which went on to train over a million people by raising hundreds of private vocational training providers. In 2013, the number of ITIs have increased from 2000 to 10,000; but this has hampered the quality of professionalism to a great extent. The capacity of the total

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private and public institutions does not exceed 5 million/annum, so the estimated reasonable target of 200 million to be trained implies that we need to train 20 million each year till 2022. To achieve this target, a paradigm shift is required from the government-driven approach to a private sector-driven one.

Loopholes

No industry participation Little practical training Poorly qualified instructors for decades ensured that only 3% of students from senior secondary level were in vocational education. Weakly motivated, poorly paid and frequently absent teachers. Problem of infrastructure in education. Poor planning and long-term inadequate spending. Furthermore, it’s only in 2035, that the percentage of the 15-59 age group reaches its peak (64.6%) and tapers off gradually over the next 15 years to 61.6% in 2050. Thus, one thing is sure that the promise of demographic dividend won’t last long in any case, beyond 2050. Also, it is a mere presumption that sufficient capital will flow in the economy by skilling people in order to create more jobs. The argument is that even if the capital flows, the absorptive capacity within a time frame remains a challenge. The enrolment for skilling will happen only in case of a line of sight of jobs.

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EMPLOYMENT - THE INDIAN DEMOGRAPHIC DIVIDEND MAY LEAD ...

How can our demographic dividend become our strength? In order to gain strength from our demographic dividend, we need to focus on:

Infrastructure creation

By large-scale and sustained long-term investment in infrastructure and energy, the capital and labour surplus will be absorbed relatively. Deployment into infrastructure, energy and water management through large capital will flow into the service industry in a sustained manner.

Manufacturing sector

By becoming a global-scale manufacturing hub, India can earn large and sustained surplus which will further help in capital build up for deployment in manufacturing and infrastructure.

Sustenance of agricultural jobs

Through large-scale re-generation of arable land, world-class water harvesting and irrigation and crop productivity, jobs can be created and sustained in agricultural sector.

Science and Technology

Inventions and innovations driven by science and technology will help reach global markets with apt pricing power.

Peace

By sustaining long periods of relative internal and external peace, the scarce

resources of capital and time will be saved. We need to know that capital, land and labour come together to create value when it happens. In this regard, the government’s initiative through “Make in India” will only create the number of jobs that stands nowhere close to 1 million per month. More and more youth if educated, will want to stay away from agriculture, so non-agricultural jobs must be created. With a rising share of those educated at least up to the secondary level, being girls, appropriate non-agriculture jobs such as in garment manufacturing or modern services are required to be created. Absorption of the unskilled population who leave agriculture and migrate, is needed, thence through investment in rural and urban infrastructure, housing and rural public works, they can be absorbed in construction. Focusing on skilling disproportionately is not a clever move and remains an unresourceful approach to job creation and poverty alleviation. If the labour is not leveraged and deployed, it will be a dead weight. So, we need to set our priorities right in order to gain another 50 years of sustained growth; without which our demographic dividend will turn into a burden; whether we skill our people or not. Good governance further helps in resolving conflict between social equity and economic development.

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TOP 20 RICH PEOPLE IN INDIA-2016 Rank 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Name

Mukesh Ambani Dilip Shanghvi Hinduja family Azim Premji Pallonji Mistry Lakshmi Mittal Parmeshwar Godrej Shiv Nadar Kumar Birla Cyrus Poonawalla

Net worth

Origin of Wealth

$22.7 B

Petrochemicals, Oil & Gas : Reliance Industries LTD

$16.9 B

Pharmaceuticals : Sun Pharmaceuticals

$15.2 B

Oil and gas, Banking and Finance, IT, Real Estate, Hinduja Group of Industries

$15 B

Software Services : Wipro LTD

$13.9 B

Construction : Shapoorji Pallonji Group

$12.5 B

Steel : Arcelor Mittal

$12.4 B

Oil, Vanaspati and Bakery Fats, Real Estate, Godrej Group.

$11.4 B

Software Services : HCL and Shiv Nadar Foundation.

$8.8 B

Commodities : Aditya Birla Group

$8.6 B

Paediatric Vaccines : Poonawalla Group

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11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.

TOP 20

Uday Kotak Sunil Mittal Gautam Adani Benu Gopal Bangur Anand Burman Shashi & Ravi Ruia Rahul Bajaj Subhash Chandra Savitri Jindal Desh Bandhu Gupta

$8.3 B

Banking : Kotak Mahindra Bank

$6.6 B

Insurance, Real Estate, Malls, AgroBest,Telecom : Bharti Enterprises

$6.3 B

Commodities, Infrastructure : Adani Group

$5.9 B

Cement : Shree Cements

$5.85 B

Consumer Goods : Dabur Industries

$5.8 B

Energy, Metal & Mining. Infrastructure: Essar Global Fund Limited

$5.7 B

Motorcycles : Bajaj Group

$5.6 B

Media: Cinema Essel Group

$5.3 B

Steel : Jindal Steel & Power Limited

$5.1 B

Pharmaceuticals : Lupin Limited

Source: http://www.forbes.com/india-billionaires/list/

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TOP 20

TOP 20 RICH PEOPLE IN WORLD-2016 Rank

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Name

Bill Gates Amancio Ortega Warren Buffett Carlos Slim Helu Jeff Bezos Mark Zuckerberg Larry Ellison Michael Bloomberg Charles Koch

Net worth

Source

Country of Citizenship

$75 B

Microsoft

United States

$67 B

Zara

Spain

$60.8 B

Berkshire Hathaway

United States

$50 B

Grupo Carso

Mexico

$45.2 B

Amazon.com

United States

$44.6 B

Facebook

United States

$43.6 B

Oracle

United States

$40 B

Bloomberg LP

United States

$39.6 B

Koch Industries

United States

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10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18.

19.

20.

TOP 20

David Koch Liliane Bettencourt Larry Page Sergey Brin Bernard Arnault Jim Walton Alice Walton S. Robson Walton Wang Jianlin Jorge Paulo Lemann Li Ka-shing

$39.6 B

Manufacturing, Trading Investment: Koch Industries

United States

$36.1 B

L’Oreal

France

$35.2 B

Google

United States

$34.4 B

Google

United States

$34 B

LVMH

France

$33.6 B

Wal-Mart

United States

$32.3 B

Wal-Mart

United States

$31.9 B

Wal-Mart

United States

$28.7 B

Movie, Theater operator, Real Estate: Dalian Wanda Group

China

$27.8 B

Beer

Brazil

$27.1 B

Retail, Infrastructure, Energy, & Telecommunication: CK Hutchison Holdings

Hong Kong

Source: http://www.forbes.com/billionaires/list/

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TOP 20

TOP 20 UNIVERSITIES OF INDIA Rank

Name

Est.

City

Weighted Score

Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore

1909

Bengaluru

91.81

Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) New Delhi

1969

New Delhi

86.46

4 5 6 7 8 9

Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai

University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad Tezpur University, Tezpur University of Delhi, Delhi

Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi

Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani

Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh Visva Bharati, Kolkata

Panjab University, Chandigarh

Pondicherry University, Puducherry Bharathiar University, Coimbatore North Eastern Hill University, Shillong

King Georges Medical University, Lucknow Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi

Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore Goa University, Goa

1933

Mumbai

1974

Hyderabad

1922

Delhi

1994 1916 2007 1964

1920

1922

1882

Tezpur

Varanasi

Thiruvananthapuram

81.22 78.83

76.11

Chandigarh

Shillong

Coimbatore

1905

Lucknow

1989

New Delhi

1985

83.19

Kolkata

Aligarh

1973

2003

84.31

76.85

Puducherry

2005

85.45

Pilani

1985

1982

87.58

Mumbai

Coimbatore Goa

76.62

76.07

74.44

74.32

72.42

72.24

72.09

71.46

71.03

69.90

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TOP 20

TOP 20 UNIVERSITIES OF THE WORLD Rank

Name

City

University of Oxford

United Kingdom

Stanford University

United States

2 4 5 6 7 8

California Institute of Technology

United States

University of Cambridge

United Kingdom

Harvard University

United States

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Princeton University

United States United States

Imperial College London

United Kingdom

University of California, Berkeley

United States

Yale University

United States

11 13 14 15

ETH Zurich – Swiss Federal

Institute of Technology Zurich

University of Chicago

University of Pennsylvania

University of California, Los Angeles

United States

Johns Hopkins University

United States

Duke University

United States

United Kingdom

Columbia University

United States

University College London

16 17

Switzerland

Cornell University

Northwestern University

United States United States United States United States

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TOP 20

TOP 20 INDUSTRIES OF INDIA @GROWTH% Sl.

Industry Sector

Business House

Healthcare

The Apollo Hospitals

Oil and Gas

BPCL (Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited)

16.89

Sun Pharma

Biotechnology

Biocon

CAGR (%)

Education

Educomp

Media and Entertainment

Zee Entertainment

14.3

DuPont India

13.8

Reliance Retail Ltd.

10.

11.

Pharmaceutical

Research & Development Agriculture

Infrastructure

Retail

Consumer Market

Tata Motors

Larsen & Toubro

Hindustan Unilever

13.1 13

12.

Insurance

LIC / ICICI Prudential

12 – 15

14.

Bank

HDFC (Housing Development Finance Corporation)

11.14

Nestle India

13.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

Real Estate

Manufacturing

Food Processing

Aviation

ITES

Automobiles

Cement

DLF

Aditya Birla Group

11.2

11.1

Indigo Airlines

10.5

The Escorts Group

9.4

TCS (Tata Consultancy Services)

ACC Cement House

9.5

6.7

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TOP 20

TOP 20 COMPANIES OF INDIA/WORLD @TURNOVER Sl.

3. 4.

Company /Country

Walmart/USA

CEO’s Name

C. Mcmillon

Sinopec Group/China

Fu Chengyu

Saudi Aramco/Saudi

Amin Nasser

China National Petro- Wang Y. leum Corporation/ China

State Grid/China

Liu Zhenya

Samsung/South Korea

Royal Dutch Shell/Lon- Ben Van Beurden don

10. 11.

Vitol/Europe

Exxon Mobil/USA

Kuwait Petroleum/ Kuwait

Volkswagen/Germany

Ian Taylor

Rex Tillerson

Oil and Gas

1,636,532

428

Oil and Gas

60,000

338

Power

305

Oil and Gas

94,000

273

Commodities

5,441

270

Oil and Gas

75,300

268

Automotive

5,72,800

245

Bob Dudley

Ivan Glasenberg

Total/Europe

Patrick Pouyanne

John gren

Consumer Electronics

Automotive

Oil and Gas

Commodities

Oil and Gas

Conglomerate

18.

McKesson/USA

19.

China Railway/China

Transport

Philips 66/USA

333

4,89,000

Berkshire Hathaway/ Warren Buffet USA

20.

1,564,000

Matthias Uller

Akio Toyoda

17.

455

252

Toyota/Japan

16.

3,58,571

482

45,000

13.

Glencore/Europe

2,20,000

Turnover (US$)bln.

Oil and Gas

Tim Cook

15.

Oil and Gas

Employee Strength

Nizar Adsani

Apple/USA BP/UK

Retail

Dr. Oh – Hyun Conglomerate Kwon

12. 14.

Industry

1,15,000

234

3,44,109

227

83,900

1,81,000

1,00,307

3,16,000

Hammer- Pharmaceuti- 32,000 cals

Sheng Guangzu Greg Garland

Oil and Gas

2,045,600 13,500

223

221

212

211 179

163

161

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TOP 20

TOP 20 SPORTS PERSONALITIES OF INDIA Sl. 1.

Name Sachin Tendulkar

Sport Cricket

Milkha Singh

Athletics

Leander Paes

Tennis

Awards / Titles / Honours Bharat Ratna

The ‘Flying Sikh’

Vishwanathan Anand Chess

Padma Vibhushan

Balbir Singh Sr.

Hockey

Olympic Record – Most Goals

Pullela Gopichand

Badminton

Padma Bhushan

Sania Mirza

Tennis

Padma Bhushan

11.

Baichung Bhutia

Football

Padma Shri

10. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.

Kapil Dev

Prakash Padukone

Saina Nehwal Dhyan Chand Sushil Kumar

Sourav Ganguly

Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Jeev Milkha Singh PV. Sindhu

Abhinav Bindra Sakshi Malik

Dipa Karmakar

Cricket

Badminton

Badminton Hockey

Wrestling Cricket Cricket Golf

Badminton

Air Rifle Shooting Wrestling

Gymnastics

Padma Bhushan

Arjuna Award

Padma Bhushan Dhyan Chand Award was started to felicitate him Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Arjuna Award Padma Shri Padma Shri

Silver in Olympic 2016 Padma Bhushan

Silver in Olympic 2016 Arjuna Award

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GST: A Powerful Source to Curb Black Money and Corruption in India n Gurleen Garelli

ndia is notorious for its complex tax system. Presently, the Constitution empowers Central Government to levy excise duty on manufacturing and service tax on the supply of services. It empowers the State Governments to levy sales tax or value added tax (VAT) on the sale of goods. This division of fiscal powers has given birth to a complex multiplicity of indirect taxes in the country. In this complex system, it becomes impossible for government to navigate through various direct and indirect taxes for new businesses and startups. In current indirect tax structure, there is cascading of taxes due to ‘tax on tax’. At manufacturing stage, no credit of excise duty and service tax paid is made available to the traders while paying the State level sales tax or VAT, and vice versa. Furthermore, no credit of State taxes paid in one State can be availed in any of the other States. Hence, this leads to artificial inflation of taxes to the extent of tax on tax. Constant changes to taxes like Service Tax make things even worst. Now, things are set to change with new Goods and service tax regulation – called GST bill.

What is GST?

The GST (Goods and Services Tax) is a comprehensive tax system levied on goods and services at national level. This

system is based on collecting taxes at the consumption-level. At this level, consumers buy the goods and services from a retailer or a service provider. It is one single tax system that will replace all different kinds of indirect taxes.

What will the GST do?

Right now taxes are managed differently by the Centre and State Governments. There are taxes like, customs duties, central excise duty and service tax at the central level, and VAT (value-added tax), luxury tax, lottery taxes or entertainment tax at the state level on the same commodity or service. This results in making the goods and services costlier. With GST, the tax base will be comprehensive. That means all goods and services will be taxable, with minimum exemptions.

GST: The Game Changer

GST will be a revolutionary reform for the Indian economy. By creating a common Indian market, GST will reduce the cascading effect of tax on the cost of goods and services. Since GST collects taxes only at the purchase level, it may reduce the overall cost of goods manufacturing or running the business. Along with tax compliance, it will impact the tax structure, tax computation, tax payment, credit utilization and reporting. It may result in a complete overhaul of the current indirect tax system. Accounting to all the above mentioned factors attached to GST, it will result in reducing corruption and inflow of black money that exists in the current tax system.

Existence of black money in the current tax system

There are certain means through which black money is generated in present

GST: A POWERFUL SOURCE TO CURB BLACK MONEY AND CORRUPTION ... tax system. For instance, VAT, excise, and service tax are not reported to the tax department. As a result, incomes through such transactions go unrecorded in the income book. It benefits tax defaulters by conveniently avoiding paying direct as well as indirect taxes. Sometimes, to save taxes illicitly, both traders and customers indulge in transactions through kaccha and pakka bills. Such bills are written on a plain piece of paper and are never accounted for. Currently, VAT charges on goods are somewhere between 5% and 20%, depending on the type of the product and in conformity with state law. However, the Government misses out on such incomes. Considering mutual benefits, traders aim at increasing their margin by skipping the tax net and customers go for lowering their product cost.

How unaccounted transactions affect the business ecosystem

Entrepreneurs lower product costs through unaccounted transactions. Indulgence of entrepreneurs in illegitimate activities gives birth to poor quality of goods. This unhealthy practice impacts the entire business ecosystem. Currently, the tax rates on commodities vary from one state to another. Traders are bound to pay central sales tax on buying goods from another state. Owing to the system of different tax levels across states, people give in to various illegal means in order to avoid paying taxes.

How would it account for black money?

A well implemented Goods and Services Tax (GST) system is aimed to deliver a well established IT-enabled system. A system that is capable of connecting with multiple administrative databases such as imports, exports, RBI, banks and income tax, just at the click of a button. In GST system, every penny in transaction is accounted from the source till the last stage of consumption.

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The GST system holds that every supply of goods and services is to be taxed at the source of origination and at every stage of further supply. It will enable every registered reseller or user to claim full credit of taxes paid on earlier stages, provided the same is used for further sale or used in manufacturing of goods or provision of service. In GST, the dual monitoring involving the Centre and the states will also curb income tax evasions. So, just in case, any set of tax authorities overlook evasion, there is the possibility that the other authority would readily detect it. Under GST, usage of PAN and Aadhar will be more frequent. It will be required to file GST returns. This will assist the income tax department to track transactions. There can be intense data mapping for audit by the revenue authorities. E-filings would bring an end to back dating of any document furnishing incomplete details. This will also curb changing documents or information at a later stage, bypassing the prescribed procedure under law. With limited avenues to circumvent laws, there would be meager chances to engage in corrupt practices. Real estate sector generates maximum amount of black money. The uniform tax structure will improve tax compliance by local builders, investors, property dealers and occupiers. The mandatory paper trail created under GST will improve tax compliance to a great extent. GST strikes at the root of transactions where black money gets generated. Under GST, it is mandatory to get registered where threshold limit of `10 lacs is crossed. The system automatically generates purchase register for the buyer and allows tax credit to the purchaser, only after the seller uploads details of the organisation’s sales

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GST: A POWERFUL SOURCE TO CURB BLACK MONEY AND CORRUPTION ...

to another buyer who is registered. This linking continues to the consumer who is the last link in the supply chain. If a vendor fails to upload his/her sales, the buyer would lose the tax credit. Hence, the system dissuades the buyer to buy from a vendor who does not declare his/her sales. GST drives the tax evader out of business. In this way GST is not just a fiscal reform. It is the beginning of a new era. The era where corruption will gradually

How will GST benefit consumer?

subside and the common man will retain his right for equality and justice. GST would create a self policing system with uniformity in the tax system across different states which would eliminate instances of tax arbitrage. Contrary to the present tax system, GST’s objective of simplifying the procedure and bringing in transparency to the tax structure will curb every scope of black money and corruption in India.

Present tax collection system. Example

GST Collection system. Example

Stage 1: In the process of creating jeans, the manufacturer buys raw materials for `100 & adds value to the materials he started out with. Let us take this value or/margin/profit added by him to be `30. The gross value of his good would, be `130 (100 + 30). At a tax rate of 10%, the tax on output will be `13. Here good sold to wholesaler for `143 (130+13).

Stage 1: Under GST, Manufacturer can set off this tax (`13) against the tax he has already paid on raw material/inputs (`10). Therefore, the effective GST on the manufacturer will be only `3 (13 – 10). He will sell good to wholesaler for `133 (100 + 30 + 3). Stage 2: Wholesaler adds margin of `20 on good. Its value = `153(133 + 20) Under GST, he can set off the tax on his output (`15.30) against the tax on his purchased good from the manufacturer (`13). Thus, the effective GST incidence on the wholesaler is only `2.30 (15.30 – 13). He will set it to retailer for `155.30(153 + 2.30)

Stage 2: The wholesaler purchases it for `143, and adds on value (his ‘margin’) of, say, `20. The gross value of jeans he sells would then be `163 (`143 + 20) A 10% tax on this amount will be Stage 3: `16.3. Retailer adds margin of `10 on good. Its value = He will sell it to retailer for `179.30. `165.3(155.3 + 10) Tax 10% = 16.53 (163 + 16.3). But by setting off this tax (`16.53) against the tax on his purchase from the wholesaler (`15.30), the Stage 3: To retailer purchase price of `179.30, retailer brings down the effective GST incidence on he adds margin, of `10. The gross himself to `1.23 (16.53 –15.30). Here good total value of jeans goes up to `189.30 value = 165.30 + 1.23 = 166.53. i.e consumer buys (` 179.3 + 10). The tax on this, at it for `166.53. So, the total GST on the entire value chain from 10%, will be `18.93. He will sell it to consumer for the raw material/input suppliers through the manufacturer, wholesaler and retailer is, ` 10 + `208.23 (189.3 + 18.93). 3 +2.30 + 1.23, or `16.53.

Result : In current Tax system Consumer buys good for `208.23 while in GST for `166.53 only. Thus, Consumer saves `41.70(208.23–166.53)

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Globalization v/s Protectionism: Is it a Right Choice to Shut Global Gates to Trade? n Gurleen Garelli

oday the entire world is divided on the grounds of globalization and Protectionism. People across the globe are of two minds about globalization. In principle, most of the people believe it holds great opportunities for the development of their country but in practice, many citizens of advanced economies are not so sure if it is good for them personally.

Globalization is the free transposition of tradable products (goods and services) ideas, ideals, culture and people across the world, in seamless and integrated manner. Globalization can be termed as the result of opening up to the global economy and the increase in trade between nations. Countries liberalize their import protocols and welcome foreign investment into sectors that are the pillars of its economy. Under globalization, Countries liberalize their visa rules to permit the free flow of people from country to country. Moreover, globalization results opening up the unproductive sectors to investment and the productive sectors to export related activities. Hence, it is a win-win situation for the interest of economies of the world. This results in an increasing communion and integration of the economies of the world. Globalization accounts for the flattening of the World. With the advent of information technology and seamless communications, any country in the world that has a pool of educated workers can seamlessly emerge in globalization pattern. Countries like

India successfully leveraged the power of IT and communications to plunge the intermediate stage of manufacturing power. It is required for economies to become absolute powerhouses.

Recent time has witnessed the growth of phenomena that stands as a contrast to the concept of globalization. Protectionism is the economic policy of constraining trade between countries by using methods such as restrictive quotas, tariffs on imported goods and various government regulations. Protectionist policies predominantly, protect the producers, jobs, businesses and working class of the import-competing sector in a country from foreign competitors. This skepticism exists prominently among Americans, Japanese and some Europeans. This school of thought poses serious domestic political challenges for the transatlantic and the transpacific trade deals.

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GLOBALIZATION V/S PROTECTIONISM: IS IT A RIGHT CHOICE TO SHUT GLOBAL ...

Countries use a variety of ways and methods to protect their trade. One such way is to enact tariffs, which tax imports. Second way is the government subsidizes local industries with tax credits or even direct payments. Third method is by imposing quotas on imported goods. Fourth type of trade protectionism is a deliberated attempt by a country to lower its currency value and eventually making its exports cheaper and more competitive. This can be done through a fixed exchange rate, like China’s yuan, or by creating enough national debt that it has the same effect, like the U.S. dollar decline. Fifth is restricting the entry of migrant and curbing their opportunities to do business, hence raising chances of more employability to the local residents

Recently, protectionist rhetoric is gaining traction amongst the voting population, majorly in Europe with Brexit and in the US with US Presidential Elections. For many decades, it was uncommon to witness such instances where electorate turned to the extreme left and right. Victory of Donald Trump in US presidential elections resound the fact that citizens of US are bent towards protectionism and are highly skeptical about opening gates to Globalisation. Though his victory has sent shock waves for the World and for industries like airlines, cars and IT outsourcing that rely on open trade. His victory is being received as a serious threat to Globalization. In the long run, trade protectionism weakens the industry. Without competition, companies won’t innovate and improve their products or services. Eventually, consumers will pay more for a lower quality product than they would get from foreign competitors. In America and Britain, inward-looking protectionist policies have attracted growing support. With that, an era of globalization may be drawing to a close or to the shift that happened at the

start of the 20th century. At that time, World War I gave push back to open trade, and protectionist policies ushered in, during the Great Depression of the 1930s.

US Presidential candidates won votes with promises of enlightening the spirit of protectionism and deporting migrants from the states. Such an approach fits well in the populist rhetoric of Donald Trump. He focused on the unjust advantages accrued to other countries, moving towards impairment of domestic labour market. Rising levels of disaffection can be seen as the common denominator behind the rising political risks in the World. United States Republican Party presidential candidate Donald Trump has attacked the proposals for trade and investment liberalisation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) signed by 12 states. He is also against negotiations between the US and European Union for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). It can be stated that European anti-immigration rhetoric and Republican candidate Donald Trump’s success stem from a disaffected population looking for change.

Apart from Britain and US, even Singapore has shown resentment for new immigrants and foreign workers. Singapore has benefited to the core from open markets, a country known as an immigrant society, having ageing population with a declining birth rate. Immigrants are still seen as elements causing overcrowding, competing for jobs and reducing opportunities for locals. This has forced a cutback in the employment of foreigners and the setting of more modest targets for GDP growth. Surprisingly, an economy which has benefited from marketopening measures and whose trade is three times its GDP, witnessed the opposition Singapore Democratic Party rejecting the TPP at campaign rallies during the general election. The opposition was also seen

GLOBALIZATION V/S PROTECTIONISM: IS IT A RIGHT CHOICE TO SHUT GLOBAL ... criticizing free-trade agreements, such as the India-Singapore Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), for leading to an inflow of foreign workers. Another instance of growing spirit of protectionism is objections faced by CETA from the French-speaking Belgians in Wallonia. Recently, the European Union and Canada signed a free trade agreement with the objective to generate jobs and growth. It is a step that would enable a provisional implementation with the removal of most import duties.

It is understandable that it is an issue of huge concern for countries where citizens

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lose jobs as a result of manufacturing jobs overseas. But the answer is not to halt globalization and adopt protectionism. The solution is to create new jobs and introduce training programs that qualify workers for those jobs. There is a need to adjust rather than resist. Countries will not benefit if an extended number of opinion leaders and elected officials use partial views of inequality and try to lead country into a future of slower growth, higher unemployment and zone of isolation. Instead, All country leaders should focus on how the nation can use the rapidly expanding economy to support citizens who have suffered from globalization to get the education, training and opportunities in new industries. The specter of protectionism and global trade wars is terrifying and must be taken seriously. Protectionism is a poor economic policy, and that it would have the effect of weakening global growth, paradoxically affecting all those common people who are favouring it. Shutting global gates to trade is no solution. The world just cannot stomach a dark age of protectionism. Countries need to benefit rather than suffer from globalization.

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NATIONAL EVENTS DIARY 2016 JANUARY

1 January: India and Pakistan exchanged the list of their nuclear installations under a bilateral agreement that bars them from attacking each other’s atomic facilities. 2nd January: President Pranab Mukherjee gave nod to the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act; the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act; the Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts Act; The Atomic Energy (Amendment) Act; and the Payment of Bonus (Amendment) Act, 2015. 4 th January: Former defence secretary R.K. Mathur sworn in as the eighth Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) by President Pranab Mukherjee at a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi. 4th January: Sarosh Homi Kapadia, the 38th Chief Justice of India, passes away in Mumbai. 6th January: Union Cabinet approves the closure of the iconic HMT Watches and offered a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) to its employees as per the 2007 pay scales. 7th January: Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Mufti Mohammad Sayeed passed away of multiple organ failure in New Delhi. 8th January: President Pranab Mukherjee g ive s h i s a s s e n t t o t h e S u g a r C e s s (Amendment) Bill, 2015. 9th January: Jammu and Kashmir Governor N.N. Vohra imposed Governor’s Rule in the State as efforts to persuade PDP president Mehbooba Mufti to take oath as Chief Minister failed. 11 th January: Former Gujarat cadre IAS officer Devender Kumar Sikri takes oath as the Chairman of Competition Commission of India. 12th January: Kerala declared as the country’s first state to achieve cent percent primary education. 15th January: The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 has come into force and repeals the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000. 15th January: State Bank of India (SBI) has launched dedicated specialized branch for st

start-ups called ‘SBI InCube’ in Bengaluru, Karnataka. 16 th January: Prime Minister Narendra Modi launches the ambitious ‘Startup India’ campaign to improve the situation of entrepreneurship. 16th January: The DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2016 has been conferred upon Anuradha Roy for her novel ‘Sleeping on Jupiter’ at the Fairway Galle Literary Festival in Sri Lanka. 17 th January: NASA/NOAA/European Jason-3 successfully launches SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California (USA). 19th January: Ministry of Shipping launches ‘Project Green Ports’ which will help in making the Major Ports across India cleaner and greener. 20th January: Bihar Government approves 35% reservation for women in government jobs in the state including reserved and unreserved category. 20 th January: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launches PSLV-C31 rocket successfully, carrying 5th satellite (out of 7) of India Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), the IRNSS-1E from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), Sriharikota, near Chennai. 20th January: ‘Nai Manzil’ Scheme launched in Jammu and Kashmir. 21st January: Andhra Pradesh Government launches Giriputrika Kalyana Pathakam Scheme to support the tribal women in their quest for livelihood. 22nd January: Prime Minister Narendra Modi flags off a new train, Mahanama Express, connecting Varanasi to the national capital through Lucknow. 26th January: International Customs Day was celebrated by the custom organizations. 26 th January: India celebrates its 67th Republic Day amidst tight security in view of the terror attacks in Paris and at the Pathankot air base. French President Francois Hollande was the chief guest at the Republic Day parade. 26th January: The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015 comes into force.

NATIONAL EVENTS DIARY 2016 29 th January: J.S. Deepak appointed as the Secretary of the Department of Telecommunications. He will replace Rakesh Garg, who has been moved to Minority Affairs Ministry, almost ten months ahead of his retirement.

FEBRUARY

1 st February: Indian filmmaker Kanu Behl directorial “Titli” won the Best First Foreign Film Award conferred by the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics 2016 (FSCC). The awards were held on 1st February in Paris. 2nd February: Former RBI Deputy Governor S S Tarapore passes away. 4 th February: World Cancer Day was observed to increase awareness of cancer and to support its prevention, detection, and treatment. 4th February: State Bank of India has joined hands with travel company Thomas Cook India as it launched a recurring deposit product for holiday savings. 5th February: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 2016 South Asian Games in Guwahati. The event is scheduled to take place from 5th February to 16th February 2016 in Guwahati and Shillong. 8th February: Gujarat state government to set up India’s first-ever aviation park with facilities including an airstrip, training school, helipad and space for setting up small manufacturing units, among others to strengthen the aviation sector. 8th February: Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State for Culture and Tourism and Civil Aviation launched the “24×7 Toll Free Tourist Infoline in 12 International Languages. 8 th February: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) barred telecom service providers from charging differential rates for data services, effectively prohibiting Facebook’s Free Basics and Airtel Zero platform by Airtel in their current form. 9 th February: Chhattisgarh government launched ‘Udyam Aakansha’ Scheme for promoting micro, small and medium enterprises in the state. 10th February: National Deworming Day observed, a groundbreaking initiative focused on reducing the threat of parasitic worm infections. 11th February: Health Ministry launched the National Framework for Malaria Elimination

CA-89 (NFME) in order to eradicate mosquitoborne diseases from India. 11th February: Karnataka bagged the gold prize for its Mobile One service at the World Government Summit in Dubai. 13th February: World Radio Day observed. The day was proclaimed on 3rd November 2011 by UNESCO’s 36th General Conference after originally proposed by the Kingdom of Spain. 14th February: West Indies wins the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup for the first time with five-wicket victory over three-time winner India in the final in Mirpur. 17th February: Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways launches the Website for Maritime India Summit 2016 www.maritimeinvest.in at the Ports and Shipping seminar at Make in India (MII) Summit. 17 th February: Minister of State of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar launches the Environment Information System (ENVIS) portal at the inauguration of the national interactioncum-evaluation workshop for ENVIS system. 21 st February: Jaypee Punjab Warriors clinched the 2016 edition of the Coal India Hockey India League after beating the Kalinga Lancers 6-1 in the final at the Astro Turf Stadium in Ranchi. 22nd February: Malayalam film ‘Ottal’ has been named the best children’s film at the Berlin International Film Festival and honoured with the Crystal Bear award in the ‘Generation KPlus’ section. 23rd February: India’s leading private lender Yes Bank has received the inaugural Green Bond Pioneer Award. 24th February: The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval for establishment of Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) and Self Employment and Talent Utilisation (SETU) in NITI Aayog with appropriate manpower. 26th February: Dr Avinash Chander, Former Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister and ex-DRDO chief, received the prestigious Astronautical Society of India’s Aryabhata Award. 28th February: Former CAG Vinod Rai appointed first Chairman of the Banks Board Bureau.

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NATIONAL EVENTS DIARY 2016 MARCH

1 st March: Raisina Dialogue’s inaugural session held in New Delhi. 3rd March: The Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill, 2016 was introduced by Minister of Finance, Mr. Arun Jaitley, in Lok Sabha. 4th March: Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, launched “Setu Bharatam” – an ambitious programme with an investment of 50,000 crore to build bridges for safe and seamless travel on National Highways. 4th March: India’s pioneering film archivist and film scholar P.K. Nair, the founder and former director of the National Film Archive of India (NFAI), passed away due to prolonged illness. 5th March: Mahindra & Mahindra Chairman and Managing Director Anand Mahindra has been conferred with Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour). 7th March: Air India flew the “world’s longest” all-women operated and supported flight from the national capital to San Francisco. 7th March: Maneka Sanjay Gandhi, Minister of Women and Child Development launched “Mahila e-Haat”, an online marketing platform for women in New Delhi. 9th March: Rajya Sabha passes the National Waterways Bill 2015. 9 th March: Lok Sabha passes the Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2016. 10th March: Justice Balbir Singh Chauhan, a former judge of the Supreme Court appointed Chairman of the 21st Law Commission. 10th March: ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle successfully launched the 1425 kg IRNSS-1F, the sixth satellite in the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota. 11th March: Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu launched the “Clean My Coach” Service that allows travellers to get their compartments cleaned by sending an SMS or by using an app or a designated website. 12th March: Chief of the Army’s Northern Command, Lt Gen N P S Hira has been appointed as Deputy Chief of Army Staff and would assume office on March 14. 12th March: Kerala Tourism’s new campaign based on responsible tourism has bagged

the prestigious ‘Golden City Gate Award’ at the world’s leading travel trade show ITB in Berlin. 14th March: The Strategic Forces Command of the Services launched an Agni-I missile from the Wheeler Island of the Odisha coast. It is a strategic missile that carries a nuclear warhead. 15th March: Lok Sabha approves the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2016 that seeks to create a set of rights and obligations for both the consumers and developers. 16th March: Renowned Shehnai specialist Ustad Ali Ahmad Hussain Khan passed away following prolonged illness. He was 77 years old. 19 th March: Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu was conferred the Skoch Lifetime Achievement Award. 21st March: Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare launched Bedaquiline – new anti-TB drug for Drug Resistant TB as part of the RNTCP (Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program) on the eve of ‘World TB Day’. 23 rd March: Union Cabinet gives its expost facto approval for a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to mobilise up to $75 billion long-term investment in the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF). 26th March: Health Ministry launches the country’s first, indigenous rotavirus vaccine to combat diarrhoeal deaths. 29th March: The Haryana Assembly passes the Haryana Backward Classes (Reservation in Services and Admission in Educational Institutions) Bill, 2016 to provide reservation for Jats and four other communities in government jobs and education. 30th March: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Belgian counterpart Charles Michel remotely launched Asia’s biggest optical telescope, the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (Aries) that’s located in India and built with Belgian assistance.

APRIL

2nd April: A UNIDO report ranks India sixth among the world’s 10 largest manufacturing countries, up by three positions.

NATIONAL EVENTS DIARY 2016 3rd April: Prime Minister Narendra Modi conferred the Arabian country’s highest civilian honour — the King Abdulaziz Sash. 4th April: Mehbooba Mufti, president of the Peoples Democratic Party, takes oath as the first woman Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. 4th April: India and Saudi Arabia sign five agreements, including a key pact on terror financing and money laundering. 5 th April: April 5th was observed as the National Maritime day across India. 5 th April: The much-awaited Gatiman Express which will cover the distance from Agra to Nizamuddin station in 90 to 100 minutes flagged off. 5th April: The ‘Start Up India’ initiative for SC/ST, women was launched by PM Narendra Modi. The initiative is aimed at boosting entrepreneurship in India. 7th April: April 7th was celebrated as the World Health Day, a global health awareness day. 7 th April: The Rajasthan Urban Land (Certification of Titles) Bills 2016 was passed by the state assembly of Rajasthan. 7 th April: Veteran journalist and author Yogendra Bali passed away in New Delhi. He was 86. 8 th April: Rajasthan government passes the Rajasthan Urban Land (Certification of Titles) Bills 2016 in the state assembly. 9th April: Union Government gives its nod for setting up India’s first personal rapid transit (PRT) network for Gurgaon, Haryana. 10th April: Priyadarshini Chatterjee announced as the winner of FBB Femina Miss India World. 11th April: General JJ Singh, former Chief of Army Staff of India conferred the highest French civilian distinction, ‘Officier de l’Ordre national de la Légion d’Honneur’ (Officer of the Legion of Honour). 12th April: Jammu-born poet and novelist Padma Sachdev chosen for the prestigious Saraswati Samman for the year 2015 for her autobiography in Dogri language. 13 th April: The Maharashtra Assembly passes the Prohibition of Social Boycott Bill. 13th April: An Implementation Agreement for Ganga Rejuvenation under the Namami Gange Programme was signed between the Ministry of Water Resources, River

CA-91 Development and Ganga Rejuvenation and German International Cooperation (GIZ) of Germany. 13th April: Chess legend Viswanathan Anand honoured with the Hridaynath Mangeshkar Award. Maharashtra Governor C. Vidyasagar Rao presented the award in Mumbai. 14th April: Prime Minister Narendra Modi launches the “Gramoday se Bharat Uday” Abhiyan in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh. 14th April: PM Narendra Modi inaugurates the Maritime India Summit to be held at the Bombay Convention and Exhibition Centre in Goregaon from April 14 to 16. 15th April: The ‘Bhimrao Ambedkar Awas Yojana’ for widows was launched on the 125th birth anniversary of B R Ambedkar. 16 th April: Google extends free internet service through WiFi to 10 railway stations as part of its tie up with Railtel, the internet provider arm of Indian Railways. 17 th April: Delhi Government launches second phase of odd-even car rationing scheme to check pollution in the national capital. 18th April: Maharashtra government makes it mandatory to have a ‘track and trace’ mechanism, and hologram on liquor bottles to ensure the stuff inside is genuine. 18th April: The Government releases a ` 200 commemorative coin and a `10 circulation coin on the occasion of the Martyrdom day of Tatya Tope, one of the outstanding Indian leaders of the 1857 revolt against the British. 19th April: The 2016 Laureus World Sports Awards in Berlin with Novak Djokovic winning the World Sportsman of the Year Award while Serena Williams wins the Female Sportsperson of the Year Award. 20th April: The Government merges Rajiv Gandhi Khel Abhiyan (RGKA), launched by the previous UPA government, with the Khelo India programme for development of sports. 20 th April: The Government gives its approval for signing the Paris Agreement adopted at the 21st Conference of Parties held in Paris in December 2015. 20th April: India and Mauritius ink a MoU to promote cooperation in traditional medicine and homeopathy. 21st April: Scientists at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, India’s premier rocket lab manufacture the world’s

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NATIONAL EVENTS DIARY 2016

lightest material called silica aerogel or ‘blue air.’ 21st April: India ranks at the 133rd position on the 2016 World Press Freedom Index, which assessed how much freedom the media holds in 180 countries. 22nd April: The Government sets up a panel to prepare a blueprint for doubling farmers’ income by 2022. 22 nd April: The Government approves operationalisation of new Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) at Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. 22nd April: 22nd April is celebrated every year as the Earth day. 25 th April: The Eleventh Indo-Mongolia joint training Exercise, ‘Nomadic Elephant 2016’ starts to promote military associations between India and Mongolia. 25th April: World Malaria Day (WMD) is an international observance commemorated every year on 25 April. 27th April: Government decides no mobile phone can be sold in the country without an in-built panic button and global positioning system (GPS) from January 1, 2017, and January 1, 2018, respectively. 28th April: PSLV-C33, ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle launched the 1425 kg IRNSS-1G, the seventh satellite in the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota. 28th April: The World Day for Safety and Health at Work is an annual international campaign held on 28 April and has been observed by the International Labour Organization (ILO) since 2003. 29th April: India and Papua New Guinea sign four agreements in the areas of healthcare and information technology.

MAY

1st May: Indian shooters bag three gold and a bronze medal on the opening day of the ISSF Junior World Cup. 1st May: International Workers’ Day, also known as Labour Day celebrated. 1 st May: The National LED programme - Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) launched in Madhya Pradesh by Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

1st May: The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana launched at Ballia by PM Modi. 1 st May: India and New Zealand sign air services agreement opening the door for direct flights between the two countries which will boost tourism and trade sectors. 1 st May: Mongolia conferred its highest civilian award “North Star” on two noted Indian scholars-Lokesh Chandra and Mansura Haider for their contribution to Mongolian studies. 2nd May: Gujarat Government to provide 10 % reservation to economically backward of higher castes. 2 nd May: The Underground Metro Route f ro m C u b b o n Pa r k- M a g a d i Ro a d i n Bengaluru flagged off by Union Minister for Parliamentry Affairs Venkaiah Naidu, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah, Union Minister Ananth Kumar. 3 rd M ay: Worl d P res s Freed om Day proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in December 1993, following the recommendation of UNESCO’s General Conference. 3rd May: Three Indians among fifty scientists elected as Fellows of The Royal Society, a premier scientific academy of the U.K. and the Commonwealth. 4th May: Andhra Pradesh Agriculture Project wins the prestigious World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) 2016 prize in the e-Agriculture category. 5th May: ICICI Bank signs a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a strategic partnership with the New Development Bank (NDB). 6 th May: Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL), launches Shourya, the fifth of a series of six Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs), designed inhouse and being built by GSL, for the Indian Coast Guard (ICG). 6th May: SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket placed Sky Perfect JSat’s JCSat-14 commercial telecommunications satellite into transfer orbit, with the rocket’s first stage landing gracefully on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. 7 th May: Railways launches the Bharat Darshan Tourist train for pilgrims to visit Shirdi, Tirupati, Jagannath Puri, Gangasagar, Baidyanath Dham and Jyotirlingams among others.

NATIONAL EVENTS DIARY 2016 8th May: India ranks ninth in crony-capitalism with crony sector wealth accounting for 3.4 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP), according to a new study by The Economist. 10th May: India and Mauritius sign a protocol to amend taxation methods for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and capital gains. 10th May: The World Migratory Bird Day 2016 celebrated with the theme “Stop the Illegal Killing, Taking and Trade of Migratory Birds”. 11 th May: Rajya Sabha passes the major economic reform Bill i.e. ‘Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.’ 12th May: The Government gives its approval for signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), Abu Dhabi for mutual co-operation and technical assistance between the two regulators. 12th May: ICICI Bank announces the launch of contactless business credit card in association with Jet Airways for small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) and their employees. 13th May: The National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy approved laying the future roadmap for intellectual property in India. 13th May: The World Bank Board approves a $625 million loan to support the Government of India’s program to generate electricity from widespread installation of rooftop solar photo-voltaic (PV). 13th May: Former ISRO Chairman Prof UR Rao becomes the first Indian to be given the ‘Hall of Fame’ award by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF). 14th May: ‘Simhastha Declaration’ released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena at Ninora village in Ujjain. 14th May: The Air Forces of India and the U.S. concluded their four-week “Red Flag” aerial combat exercises at Alaska in the U.S. 16th May: India successfully test-fires its indigenously developed Advanced Air Defence (AAD) supersonic interceptor missile from Abdul Kalam Island launch complex in Balasore. 16th May: India and the US hold their first Maritime Security Dialogue focussing on

CA-93 boosting cooperation in the challenging sector with Washington rebalancing its military assets to Asia Pacific. 17th May: Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari launches ePACE, INFRACON and an updated version of INAMPRO, three innovative IT initiatives of the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, developed in-house by NHIDCL( National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd.). 17 th May: Rakesh K Jain, a 65-year-old Indian American scientist is set to receive the prestigious ‘National Medal of Science’ award from US President Barack Obama. 17 th May: The Income Tax department launches a special electronic grievance redressal system called ‘e-nivaran’ to fast track taxpayer grievances and ensures early resolution of their complaints. 18th May: A solar power plant spread over 42 acres on the Dera Baba Jaimal Singh (Radha Soami Sect) premises inaugurated, which the Government claimed is the world’s largest single rooftop facility. 20th May: The indigenously developed fecal incontinence management system ‘Qora’ launched. 20th May: The US House of Representatives gives its nod to a bipartisan legislation to improve defence ties with India. 21th May: India’s idea of putting a red line on antibiotic packages to curb their over-thecounter sale is now being cited as a model that can be used globally to counter the rising threat of superbugs. 22nd May: International Day for Biological Diversity 2016 observed across the world. 23 rd May: ISRO launches RLV-TD from Sriharikota, first step towards reusable space shuttle made in India. 26 th May: The Government approves establishment of a National Investment and Manufacturing Zone (NIMZ) in Odisha. 29th May: Indian Air Force successfully test fires an advanced version of BrahMos landattack supersonic cruise missile system in the western sector of Rajasthan. 30 th May: Trinamool Congress Mamata Banerjee sworn in as chief minister of West Bengal for the second consecutive term. 31st May: Scientists discover a new property of Light based on Angular Momentum.

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NATIONAL EVENTS DIARY 2016 JUNE

2 June: V.O. Chidambaranar Port bags National Award for Excellence in Cost Management for the year 2015 from The Institute of Cost Accountants of India under the category of Public Service Sector- Small. 3 rd June: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali passed away at a hospital in the US city of Phoenix, Arizona. 4 th June: Haryana Government launches Asia’s first Gyps Vulture Reintroduction Programme. 4 th June: The International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression is commemorated across the world on 4 June every year. 4th June: India, Singapore agree to enhance scale of military interaction of existing bilateral military interaction, at a time when freedom of navigation in international waterways has emerged as a major concern. 4th June: India ranks 70th on 2015 Good Country Index; Sweden voted as the best country in the world when it comes to serving the interests of its people and contributing to the common good of humanity. 5 th June: Indian-origin professor Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya awarded Regius Professorship by Queen Elizabeth II for his outstanding contribution in manufacturing. 5th June: World Environment Day is celebrated annually on June 5 to educate global awareness to take positive environmental action to protect nature and the planet Earth. 6th June: Himachal Pradesh becomes the first state in the country to have a State Data Centre (SDC), designed using green data centre concept, to offer 101 people-oriented service online through an integrated data base. 6th June: Axis Bank launches India’s first certified green bond at London Stock Exchange after it launched India’s first internationally-listed certified green bond to finance climate change solutions around the world. 7th June: India signs a $120 million loan agreement with the Asian Development Bank to modernize irrigation and improve water management in Odisha. 7 th June: Thailand becomes first Asian country to eliminate mother to child HIV and syphilis. nd

8 th June: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the joint session of the US Congress. 8 th June: India becomes third largest oil consumer surpassing Japan with demand of 4.1 million barrels a day (bpd). 8th June: The World Oceans Day is observed globally on 8th June every year. 9 th June: The government decides to introduce International Yoga Award Scheme with a view to promote yoga starting from 2017. 10th June: SBI and Spain’s Caixa Bank ink pact to provide loans to Indo-Spanish joint ventures and local enterprises. 11th June: SEBI issues stricter KYC, disclosure norms for P-Notes. 12 th June: Indian Diabetes specialist Shashank S Shah wins Vivian Fonseca Scholar Award 2016. 12 th June: The World Day against Child Labour is observed every year on June 12. 14 th June: RBI introduces a ‘Scheme for Sustainable Structuring of Stressed Assets’ 14th June: SBI and Master card Partners with Centrum for distribution of its prepaid forex card. This partnership will aid the distribution strength of the Bank for its multicurrency prepaid card and will largely target the corporate customers of the bank. 14 th June: World Blood Donor Day is observed every year on June 14. 14th June: Ministry of Railways signs a JV Agreement with Government of Odisha for formation of Joint Venture Company for development of Railway Infrastructure in the State. 15 th June: The Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) launches a scheme for setting up of 1000 Mega Watt (MW) Wind Power Project connected to transmission network of Central Transmission Utility (CTU). 15th June: The Government gives its approval for the Civil Aviation Policy. This is the first time since Independence that an integrated Civil Aviation Policy has been brought out. 15th June: The Memorandum of Understanding between Department of Space / Indian Space Research Organization (DOS/ISRO) and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) on cooperation in the field of outer space.

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NATIONAL EVENTS DIARY 2016 15th June: Andhra Pradesh becomes the first state to start Internet-based phone service and it can issue phone numbers starting with the ‘797’ series from August this year. 16 th June: A mobile app to help senior citizens in distress launched by HelpAge India in connection with World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. 16 th June: VIDYANJALI- A new initiative launched to involve volunteers into the coscholastic activities of schools. 17th June: Cochin Shipyard (CSL) delivers Fast Patrol Vessel “ICGS” to Indian Coast Guard 95 days ahead of the contractual schedule. 19 th June: The Government to promote Cargo transport through Coastal Shipping and Inland Waterways. A National workshop on ‘Promotion of Modal Shift of Cargo to Coastal Shipping and Inland Waterways’ organised. 20th June: Each year 20th June is observed internationally as World Refugee Day to raise awareness of the situation of refugees throughout the world. 21st June: Second International Yoga Day is being hosted at the Capitol Complex in Chandigarh, designed by French architect Le Corbusier with the participation of PM Modi. 22 nd June: The Drugs and Cosmetics (Amendment) Bill, 2013 is to be withdrawn. Several recommendations are to be made in the Bill by the Standing Committee of Parliament after being examined thoroughly. 22nd June: A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Steinbeis GmbH Co. KG for Technologietransfer, Germany approved on technology resourcing in manufacturing, including sub-sectors of Capital Goods. 22nd June: The Southern Naval Command celebrates the World Hydrographic Day by following a theme which emphasizes on managing the sea and waterways in an efficient way. 23rd June: Indian cricket board appoints former skipper and spin legend Anil Kumble as the national coach for a term of one-year, thereby ending the 16-year tradition of giving foreigners the role. 23rd June: A Pilot Programme in the country to run two wheelers on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) is launched to curtail rising air pollution in Indian cities.

24th June: G.D. Birla Award for Prof. Sanjay Mittal from the Department of Aerospace Engineering, IIT Kanpur for Scientific Research for 2015. 25th June: Social entrepreneur Zubaida Bai bags UN honour for Corporate Sustainability Initiative among 10 “Champions and Pioneers.” 26 th June: Argentina’s skipper and ace footballer Lionel Messi announces his retirement from international duty after missing a penalty shootout as Argentina lost a fourth major final in nine years. 26th June: India, Nepal consent to use global navigation satellite system for border pillars. Over 8,000 pillars decided to be linked along the India-Nepal border to a global navigation satellite system. 27th June: India joins the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) as a full member, after it failed to get NSG membership due to stiff opposition from China and a few other countries. 28th June: NS Vishwanathan appointed as the new deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet chaired by PM Narendra Modi. 29th June: Supreme Court sends an appeal seeking quashing of a penal provision that criminalises consensual sexual acts between adults of the same sex before the Chief Justice of India to choose whether a Constitution Bench should hear the appeal. 29 th June: The govt considers Model Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Bill, 2016. 29th June: Indigenously-built heavyweight anti-submarine torpedo Varunastra successfully inducted in the Indian Navy. 29th June: NS Vishwanathan appointed as deputy governor of the RBI. He will have a term of three years and will succeed Harun R Khan.

JULY

1st July: Two indigenously developed Tejas Light Combat Aircraft are set to join the Indian Air Force as part of the first squadron. 2nd July: The International Driving Permit (IDP) issued by the State transport department has almost become an invalid document as some countries, including the United States, are yet to include Telangana

CA-96 in the list of Indian States in their official database. 3rd July: The Ministry of Environment and Forests said the Adani Port and SEZ Ltd (APSEZ), may have to pay a fine far greater than what was fixed by the UPA government in 2012, for the environmental damage caused by the construction of its port project in Mundra, Gujarat. 4 th July: Supreme Court asked the NDA government to investigate the “barriers” preventing disabled persons from entering government service, especially into the higher ranks, as it’s state’s obligation to provide them at least 3% reservation in public sector jobs. 4 th July: India’s first insurance policy covering public liability to an atomic power plant operator has been issued to Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL). The total premium came around ` 100 crore for a risk cover of ` 1,500 crore. 5th July: The Kerala Government Cabinet clearing The Legislative Assembly (Removal of Disqualifications) Amendment Bill. 5 th July: Union HRD Ministry launches Prashikshak, an online teacher education portal 6 th July: The Supreme Court held the railway administration liable for the tragic deaths of 19 youths who fatally hit a footover bridge while travelling on the roof of an express train, which failed to stop even after the incident. 8th July: Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh launched an online portal designed to monitor functioning of Krishi Vigyan Kendra’s (KVKs) also known as farm-science centres. 9 th July: Captain Radhika Menon, first woman captain of the Indian Merchant Navy will receive International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea. 10th July: Meghalaya Governor V.Shanmuganathan launched the Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan(PMSMA) in the East KhasiHills District. 11 th July: President Pranab Mukherjee conferred the 51st Jnanpith Award on renowned Gujarati writer and litterateur Dr. Raghuveer Chaudhari at a function in New Delhi.

NATIONAL EVENTS DIARY 2016 12th July: The urban development ministry has approved an assistance of ` 658 crore for five major infrastructure projects aimed at unclogging key stretches in Delhi. 13th July: SC quashes Arunachal Pradesh Governor’s order, restores Nabam Tuki govt. to power. 14th July: Operation Sankat Mochan: 143 Indians evacuated from South Sudan. It is the first big evacuation effort in a year after Operation Rahat evacuated hundreds of citizens of India and other countries in July 2015. 14th July: Centre clears deck for IIMC to become a deemed media university. 14 th July: India’s Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) successfully conducted proof firing tests of a new towed gun currently being developed for the Indian Army. 16 th July: The Union Home Ministry has decided to disband the Special Task Force on womens safety in Delhi, a move which Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) termed as “highly retrograde” and “anti-women”. 16th July: Lifeline Express, touted to be the world’s first hospital-train, started in 1991 to provide medical aid and relief to far-flung and inaccessible areas, completed 25 years of its operation. 17th July: K. Keshavulu, director, Telangana State Seed Certification Agency, Hyderabad, has been elected as the member of the executive committee of the International Seed Testing Association (ISTA) for a threeyear term (2016– 2019). 18 th July: Khangchendzonga National Park (KNP) in Sikkim has been named a world heritage site by the World Heritage Committee (WHC) of UNESCO. 18 th July: The Union Cabinet under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill 2016. 19 th July: Multiple life term will run concurrently, not consecutively pronounced SC. Like any human being, a convict too has only one life and cannot serve consecutive sentences of life imprisonment. 20th July: The Supreme Court has dragged the moribund Board of Control for Cricket in India kicking and screaming into the 21st century.

NATIONAL EVENTS DIARY 2016 20 th July: An Indian Air Force AN-32 transport plane went missing with 29 people on board. 21st July: The merits of India’s candidature have been recognised by a majority of the NSG members, including in formal bilateral Joint Statements, minister of state for external affairs VK Singh said in Rajya Sabha. 22nd July: The ‘Solar Power Tree’, a unique concept to generate electricity by harnessing the solar energy, has been launched by the Union Ministry of Science and Technology. 24 th July: The West Bengal Government honoured singer and music director Bapi Lahiri with this prestigious award, on the 36th death anniversary of Uttam Kumar. 25 th July: The Institutes of Technology (Amendment) Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha. 26th July: The reputed Scimago Institutions Rankings Report ranked the Council of Scientific Industrial Research (CSIR, India) as the 12th best government institution, on a global index, comprising of 746 institutions. 27th July: Under the aegis of the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY), The Union Cabinet has sanctioned the establishment of a All India Institute of Medical Sciences at Bhatinda in Punjab. 28th July: A defence deal has been signed between the US and India to purchase four additional P -8I aircrafts, renowned for anti – submarine warfare, anti – surface warfare, long – range marine surveillance and reconnaissance. 28th July: Father of Hybrid Sorghum in India, Dr. Neelamraju Ganga Prasad Rao, aged 89, passed away in Telangana, Hyderabad. 29th July: International Tiger Day celebrated. 29th July: In Jhajjar, the Haryana Government has launched an insurance cover scheme for cattle breeders in the state, under the nomenclature, Pashudhan Bima Yojana. 30th July: A 114 – km long eco – friendly rail corridor launched in Rameswaram – Manamadurai stretch in Tamil Nadu.

AUGUST

2 nd August: Supreme Court directed the Odisha government to pay additional compensation to victims of the 2008 antiChristian violence in Kandhamal.

CA-97 3rd August: The Constitution Amendment Bill (122nd) passed by the Rajya Sabha to enable a uniform Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime throughout India. 6 th August: The Supreme Court directed the Central Government for amending the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and the Indian Penal Code to incorporate penal provisions making adulteration of milk with chemicals - adversely affecting the health of the people - punishable with life imprisonment. 7th August: Vijay Rupani, sworn in as the 16th Chief Minister of Gujarat. 7th August: Kerala Congress (M) [KC(M)] has decided to sever its ties with the United Democratic Front (UDF) for all practical purposes and will form a separate block in the Assembly. 8th August: Eleven years after the GST was first proposed by former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, in 2005, Parliament on 8th August 2016 passed the Bill. 8th August: Dr. Dhrubajyoti Ghosh, the first Indian environmental activist to receive the Luc Hoffman award. 10th August: Russian President Vladimir Putin, PM Narendra Modi, and CM Jayalalithaa through a video conference dedicated the first unit of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) to the nation on 10th August after 28 years of Russia and India signed the agreement to set up the plant. The 1,000MWe KNPP-1 is the largest single unit of electrical power in India. 11 th August: The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation will introduce an airconditioned sleeper (Carona) bus between Kukke Subrahmanya and Bengaluru August 17, 2016. 11th August: The Gujarat Land Acquisition Bill 2016, that dilutes the Centre’s stringent provisions of the Land Acquisition Act 2013, has been given approval by the President and will take effect on Independence Day. 12th August: The Assam Assembly unanimously passed the Constitution Amendment Bill on GST on Friday, becoming the first State to ratify the crucial tax reform legislation. 13th August: Pramukh Swami, the 95-yearold founder of Akshardham temples and a saint of the Swaminarayan sect, passed away after prolonged illness at the Sarangpur temple.

CA-98 15th August: Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a sharp attack on Pakistan for its support to terrorism and thanked the people of Balochistan, Gilgit and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) for their recent messages of support. 18th August: P.V. Sindhu into the final of the women’s singles with a 21-19, 21-10 win over Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara on 18th August. Sindhu will meet Carolina Marin of Spain on 19th August for gold medal match. 18th August: Sakshi had earned a bronze after losing to Valeriia Koblova Zholobova. It was the first medal for an Indian woman wrestler at the Olympics, and the fourth overall after Karnam Malleswari (weightlifting, Sydney 2000), Saina Nehwal (badminton) and M.C. Mary Kom (boxing), both in London 2012. 19 th August: Rising silicosis deaths in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal a concern. 189 silica dust affected workers have been identified in Minakhan so far and 20 of them (excluding Paik) died due to silicosis. 20th August: The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) announced the appointment of Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor Urijit Patel, a macro-economist as successor to Governor Raghuram Rajan. 21st August: A Curative Bench, led by Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur, has upheld a 2014 Supreme Court verdict that men cannot be “automatically” arrested on dowry harassment complaints filed by their wives. 25th August: On the decision of the NITI Aayog to scrap the MCI and replace it with the National Medical Commission, Dr. Jayshree Mehta, president of the Medical Council of India termed it the “remedy more dangerous than the disease.” 26 th August: “Women be permitted to enter the sanctum sanctorum of the Haji Ali Dargah at par with men”, ruled the Bombay High Court in a landmark verdict allowing the entry of women up to the mazar in the revered Sufi dargah in south central Mumbai. 27th August: The Madras High Court has decided to digitise around 20 crore pages of case bundles as well as administrative files and store them digitally for easy access. An experienced private company has been engaged to scan all the documents. 28th August: India on 28th August became only the fourth nation to flight-test a

NATIONAL EVENTS DIARY 2016 scramjet engine, a technology that scientists claim could change the way space travel is undertaken from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. 29 th August: India, Myanmar to build bridges, sign pact for 69 bridges, including approach roads in the Tamu-Kyigone-Kalewa section of the Trilateral Highway, which will establish better connectivity between India and Southeast Asia. 29 th August: The West Bengal Assembly passed a resolution changing the name of the State to Bengal in English and Bangla in Bengali. Despite the Trinamool Congress government’s efforts to forge a consensus on the resolution, the Congress, the Left Front, and the BJP did not support the resolution. 30 th August: The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has decided to appoint Olympic silver medallist P. V. Sindhu as its brand ambassador. 31st August: The Supreme Court quashed the CPI (M)-led West Bengal government’s acquisition of 997 acres of agricultural land for industry captain Tata Motors’ Nano plant in Singur.

SEPTEMBER

1st September: Railway launched an insurance scheme at a premium of `1 for passengers travelling on e-ticket. The insurance cover will be up to `10 lakh. 1st September: Chairman of Reliance Industries Limited, Mukesh Ambani formally launched company’s telecom service Reliance Jio. 2nd September: The first BRICS Film Festival started at the Sirifort Auditorium Complex, New Delhi. 2nd September: The Guinness World Records has officially designated Assam’s Majuli as the largest river island in the world. It is situated on the Brahmaputra River. 3rd September : The Election Commission of India (ECI) has granted national party status to All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) Party led by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. 4th September: Nobel laureate Mother Teresa formally declared as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church by Pope Francis at Vatican City.

NATIONAL EVENTS DIARY 2016 5th September: India celebrates Teachers’ Day on the birth anniversary of the country’s second President Dr RadhaKrishnan. 5th September: Urjit Patel has taken the charge as the 24th Governor of Reserve Bank of India, succeeding Raghuram Rajan. 6th September: The Union Health Ministry has recently launched the “Leprosy Case Detection Campaign (LCDC)” to eradicate leprosy from the country. 9th September: Union Government opens the nomination process to general public. Now all citizens can recommend any achiever for the prestigious Padma Awards. 10th September: The Union Government has launched Urja Mitra Helpline through which customers can get information on power outages from distribution companies by dialing 14401. 11th September: The first BRICS Wellness Workshop has begun in Bengaluru, Karnataka from September 10, 2016. National Fair on comprehensive Indian Medicine system (AROGYA) was also inaugurated. 12th September: Arunachal Pradesh Governor Jyoti Prasad Rajkhowa removed from post. 12th September: Deepa Malik became the first Indian woman Paralympic medallist when she won silver medal at the 2016 Rio Games in the women’s shot put event. 13th September: The Union Cabinet has given its approval for signing of the Bilateral Technical Arrangement (BTA) between India and Switzerland on the identification and return of Indian and Swiss Nationals and its implementation. 14th September: Reliance Communications announced that it will merge its wireless telecom businesses with Aircel, which will create India’s third biggest telecom operator in terms of subscriber base. 14th September: India’s Devendra Jhajharia creates a new world record in the javelin throw F46 event at the Rio Paralympics. He won the Gold medal with 63.97 metres throw. 14th September: India Blue team wins the Duleep Trophy after defeating India Red by 355 runs. 16th September: Vice President Hamid Ansari has reached Venezuela to attend the 17th NAM Summit.

CA-99 17th September: Indian Navy’s indigenously built warship ‘Mormugao’ launched in Mumbai. 18th September: Seventeen soldiers killed in a terror attack at an army base in Jammu and Kashmir’s Uri near the Line of Control. All four terrorists were killed during the attack. 18th September: Spain defeated India 5-0 in the Davis Cup World Group Play-off to enter the World Group. 19th September: Union Human Resource Development Minister, Prakash Javadekar launched PARAMISHAN supercomputing facility at IIT Guwahati. 20th September: India successfully test fired long range surface-to-air Barak-8 missile, jointly developed with Israel from Chandipur near Balasore, Odisha. 21st September: The 7, Race Course Road where Prime Minister of India lives in Delhi has been renamed as ‘Lok Kalyan Marg’. 22nd September: Tamil film Visaranai will be India’s official entry in the Foreign Language Film category at the Oscars in 2017. 22nd September: India played 500th Test match in Kanpur against New Zealand. September: Indian spinner 25th Ravichandran Ashwin becomes the second fastest bowler to claim 200 Test wickets. Ashwin achieved the milestone in his 37th Test match. 26th September: Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) successfully launched eight satellites in two different orbits in a single mission from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikotta. 27th September: Gujarat’s World heritage site ‘Rani ki Vav’ acknowledged as the cleanest monument in country under Sawachh Bharat Abhiyan. 28th September: Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) becomes the first airport in the Asia Pacific region to achieve carbon neutral status. 28th September: World’s largest solar power plant opens in Kamuthi, Tamil Nadu. This project has been commissioned by Adani Power.

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29th September: India carried out surgical strikes across the Line of Control in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and kills 38 terrorists

OCTOBER

1st October: The 2016 Indian Super league starts with an opening ceremony in Guwahati, Assam. 1st October: 3 Star Club Nepal beat East Bengal Club, Kolkata 2-1 in the final to win the 64th Bharat Ratna Gopinath Bordoloi Trophy Football Tournament. 2nd October: International Day of Non Violence observed across the world to mark the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi. 4th October: The Reserve Bank of India cut its repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.25% from 6.5% which is lowest in last 6 years. 5th October: The Union Cabinet on 5 October 2016 approved the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and the African Asian Rural Development Organization (AARDO) for capacity building programmes in the field of rural development. 6th October: Manipur-based theatre legend Heisnam Kanhailal passed away on 6 October 2016 following a brief illness in Imphal. He was 75. 6th October: Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) announced on 6 October 2016 that the Terminal 3 of Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) achieved Platinum rating from Indian Green Building Council (IGBC). 8th October: The 84th Indian Air Force Day observed across India. 8th October: Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung dissolves Delhi Waqf Board 10th October: Virat Kohli becomes first Indian captain to score two double centuries. 10th October: Indian shooter Jitu Rai awarded with the ‘Champion of Champions’ title for pistol shooting in 2016 by the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF). 11th October: Philanthropist and businesswoman Adi Godrej died at the age of 70 in Mumbai. 13th October: The Union Cabinet approved the establishment of Indian Institute of

Management (IIM) at Jammu. The institute will a temporary campus at Old Government College of Engineering and Technology from academic year 2016-17. 13th October: Global Hunger Index 2016 released: India ranked at 97th position 13th October: Renu Pall appointed as Ambassador of India to Austria. 15th October: 8th BRICS Summit started in Goa. 15th October: India and Russia signed 16 agreements including ` 39,000 crore defence deal to procure most advanced antiaircraft defence system the S-400 Triumph. 18th October: Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal has been appointed as a member of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Athletes’ Commission. 18th October: Ashok Leyland Ltd built and unveiled India’s first all electric bus. 21st October: Bengaluru FC became the first Indian football club to reach the final of AFC Cup. Bengaluru FC defeated defending champions Johor Darul Ta’zim 3-1 in the second leg of the semi-final in Bangalore. 22nd October: India beat Iran 38-29 in the final to win the Kabaddi World Cup 2016. 24th October: Ratan Tata appointed as the Chairman of Tata Sons for four months after removal of Cyrus Mistry from the post. 25th October: Union Government raised the salary of President from the current ` 1.5 lakh to ` 5 lakh in a month. The Vice President’s salary will increase to ` 3.5 lakh a month from the existing ` 1.10 lakh a month. 26th October: Virat Kohli became the fastest batsman to reach 7,500 ODI runs. He achieves this milestone in just 167 innings. 30th October: India defeated Pakistan 3-2 in the final of the Asian Champions Trophy Hockey tournament to win the title for second time. 31st October: Rashtriya Ekta Diwas Celebrated to mark the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

NOVEMBER

2nd November: Kerala declared as the third Open Defecation Free (ODF) state in India. 3nd November: The Government has

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NATIONAL EVENTS DIARY 2016 finalised the Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates with a low of 6, followed by 12, 18 and a high of 26 per cent. 3nd November: Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented the Ramnath Goenka Awards for Excellence in Journalism in New Delhi. 3nd November: Sarabjit Singh Marwah became the first Sikh to be appointed to the Senate of Canada. 5th November: The Indian women’s hockey team defeated China 2-1 in the final of Women’s Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament to win the title. 5th November: Indian lawyer Aniruddha Rajput elected among the 34 individuals by the General Assembly as members of the International Law Commission. 6th November: Bengaluru FC defeated by Iraq’s Air Force Club in the final of the AFC Cup by 1-0 in Doha. 7th November: British Prime Minister Theresa May arrived India on a three-day visit. 8th November: Demonetisation of `500 and `1000 banknotes by the Government of India. 8th November: Delhi’s wicket keeperbatsman Rishabh Pant creates record of the fastest ever hundred by an Indian in a firstclass game by hitting a 48 ball ton against Jharkhand in a Ranji Trophy match. 9th November: Pramila Jayapal became the first Indian-American woman to be elected to the U.S. House of Representative. 9th November: California’s Attorney General Kamala Harris became the first India American to win the U.S. Senate seat from the state. 10th November: The Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has launched of Pradhan Mantri Yuva Yojana (PMYY) to scale up an ecosystem of entrepreneurship for youngsters. 10th November: The Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) launched Smart India Hackathon 2017. It is the world’s largest digital national building initiative. 11th November: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe signed the civil nuclear agreement in Tokyo. 11th November: The Supreme Court has scrapped Punjab Termination of Water

Agreements Act, 2004 which unilaterally allows Punjab to stop sharing Ravi, Beas waters with other States 12th November: India’s first banking robot, Lakshmi was launched by the Kumbakonam-based City Union Bank (CUB) in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Lakshmi will be first on-site huamanoid (robot) in India. 14th November: The World Diabetes Day observed across the world. 14th November: Children’s Day is celebrated on the 127th birthday of India’s first Prime Minister Jawahar lal Nehru. 15th November: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has formed Special Task Force to speed up the process of recalibration of automated teller machines (ATM) to dispense the new denomination notes. 15th November: International Master Padmini Rout has won the 2016 National Women Premier Chess Championship. 17th November: The Supreme Court dismissed a plea filed by Tamil Nadu to review a 2014 apex court judgment banning Jallikattu. 18th November: The Indian Navy formally inducted four types of indigenously developed sonars that will boost its underwater surveillance capability. 18th November: Iran surpassed Saudi Arabia to become India’s top crude oil supplier. 23th November: Veteran Carnatic Music exponent M Balamuralikrishna passes away 24th November: Yudhvir Singh Malik appointed as new Chairman of NHAI. 26th November: Union Government constitutes Amitabh Kant Committee to push cashless transactions. 26th November: Veteran Journalist Dileep Padgaonkan passes away. 29th November: Union Government Introduces Taxation Laws. (Second Amendment) Bill, 2016.

DECEMBER

5 December: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK Chief Jayalalithaa Jayaraman passes away after suffering from a cardiac arrest at Apollo Hospitals, Chennai. nd

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INTERNATIONAL EVENTS DIARY 2016 JANUARY 2nd January: Grammy-winning singer Natalie Cole passed away. 4th January: Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic ties with Iran. 5th January: Real Madrid appointed former France footballer Zinedine Zidane as the coach of its Football team. 6th January: North Korea claims that it had successfully tested a hydrogen bomb for the first time. 6th January: Sri Lanka, Pakistan signed 8 MoUs to enhance bilateral cooperation. 7th January: California declared state of emergency in Los Angeles after methane gas leak. 7th January: Pierre Boulez, French conductor and composer, died. 8th January: In order to protect children, Kenya published new broadcast regulations that place strict limits on sexual content. The regulations also ban preachers from soliciting money from audiences in exchange of blessings and prayers on air. 8th January: Miguel Tabuena wins Hilton Asian Tour Golfer of the Month. 9th January: South Korea’s Parliament adopts a resolution denouncing DPRK’s fourth nuclear test. 9th January: India’s Sania Mirza and her Swiss partner Martina Hingis wins the Brisbane International Tennis Tournament after defeating German pair of Angelique Kerber and Andrea Petkovic by 7-5, 6-1. 11th January: Legendary British singer and songwriter David Bowie died at the age of 69. 11th January: 73rd Golden Globe Awards: Leonardo DiCaprio wins best actor in a drama, while The Revenant wins the Best motion picture, drama. Brie Larson wins Best performance by an actress in a motion picture, drama for the movie Room. 12th January: The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) notified revised petition fees for H-1B and L-1 visas. 12th January: Barcelona forward Lionel Messi wins the Ballon d’Or award for the world’s best player for the fifth time.

13th January : US, Jordan sign Joint Action Plan on cooperation to counter Nuclear Smuggling 14th January: India’s Sania Mirza and Swiss Martina Hingis have created a world record with 29 successive victories as they advanced to the final of the Sydney International. 15th January: Actor Alan Rickman, known for films including Harry Potter, Die Hard and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, died of cancer in London, England. He was 69. 15th January: The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared West Africa free from Ebola outbreak. 16th January: Tsai Ing-wen elected as the first women President of Taiwan. 17th January: Jet Airways and Bangkok Airways entered into Frequent Flyer Partnership. 18th January : West Indies batsman Chris Gayle equals the record of Yuvraj Singh after scoring fastest fify in 12 balls in Big Bash Twenty20. 19th January : French President Francois Hollande declared economic emergency. 21th January: Union Cabinet approved MoU between India & UK on cooperation in governance reforms. 22nd January: Moldovan parliament appointed Pavel Filip as Prime Minister of Moldova. 22nd January : 2016 NTI Nuclear Security Index released. 23rd January: Japan lifted nuclear sanctions from Iran. 24th January: UNESCAP released World Economic Situation and Prospects 2016 report. 24th January: French President Francois Hollande arrived in India for a three-day official visit. 25th January : India and France sign a deal of `60,000 crore agreement to purchase 36 Rafale fighter jets from France. 26th January : The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) launched a 2.8 billion US dollar appeal to reach 43 million children in humanitarian emergencies worldwide. 28th January : Australian batsman David Warner wins the prestigious Allan Border Medal and best Test Player of the Year Award for Australia.

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INTERNATIONAL EVENTS DIARY 2016 28th January : A team of astronomers of UK, USA and Australia discovered the widest planet system so far comprising of lonely planet named 2MASS J2126 in a huge orbit around its star TYC 9486-927-1. 28th January : French Army becomes the first foreign army to participate in India’s Republic Day parade. 30th January: Angelique Kerber of Germany defeated Serena Williams by 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to win the 2016 Australian Open Women’s final. 30th January: Leslie Berland appointed as Chief Marketing Officer of Twitter Inc 31st January: Novak Djokovic beats Andy. Murray by 6-1, 7-5, 7-6 to win the sixth Australian Open title at Melbourne Park.

FEBRUARY

2nd February: WHO issues preventive measures against Zika virus for South-East Asian countries. 4th February: World Cancer Day (WCD) observed with the theme ‘We can. I can’. 7th February: The ICC suspended Pakistan leg spinner Yasir Shah for three months after tested positive for banned substance. 11th February: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and European Union (EU) have signed an agreement to improve Cooperation in Cyber Defence to counter modern forms of hybrid warfare. 12th February: Physicists at LIGO announced that gravitational waves have been detected which will help to understand how the Universe is shaped by mass. 13th February: Scientist for the first time have discovered Gravitational Waves (GW) that were hypothesised by Albert Einstein in 1916. 13th February: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has banned Pakistani umpire Asad Rauf for five years after its disciplinary committee found him guilty of corrupt practices. 14th February: West Indies wins the Under-19 ICC Cricket World Cup after defeating India in the final by 5 wickets in the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka. 16th February: The 58th Grammy Awards were given to the winners. 1989 by Taylor Swift selected as the Album of the Year. 19th February: Google’s Project Loon began its operations in Sri Lanka after first helium-filled balloon landed in Pupuressa area in Gampola town.

19th February: Japan successfully launches ASTRO-H space observation satellite to probe mysterious black holes. The satellite was launched by H2A rocket after it had successfully lifted off at the Tanegashima Space Centre. 20th February: Christine Lagarde (60) from France has been appointed as the Managing Director (MD) of the international Monetary Fund for a second five-year term. 24th February: The Parliament of Pakistan becomes the first Parliament in world to run fully on solar power. 27th February: Gianni Infantino was elected as the President of FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) in Zurich. 29th February: Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland wins the 2016 Dubai ATP Tennis title in the men’s singles category.

MARCH

2 March: Microsoft’s co-founder Bill Gates continued as the world’s richest person in the Forbes’ annual ranking of billionaires with a net worth of $75 billion. 3rd March: World’s costliest train station Oculus is opens for the residents of New York City. The station is built on the same location where the New York twin tower was situated. 6th March: The inventor of E-mail and the @ symbol Raymond Samuel Tomlinson passed away in Washington at the age of 74. 8th March: International Women’s Day celebrated across the world. 8th March: Five times Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova provisionally suspended after she admits that she tested positive for banned drug during Australian Open. 13th March: China’s Lin Dan wins the All England badminton title after defeating Tian Houwei. 16th March: Madame Tussauds announces that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s wax figures will be shown at Madame Tussauds museum in London, Singapore, Hong Kong and Bangkok from the month of April. 18th March: British mathematician Sir Andrew Wiles named as the winner of the 2016 Abel Prize by the Norwegian Academy of Sciences and Letters in Oslo. 20th March: For the first time in Pakistan, Sindh province has declared a public holiday on the occasion of Holi. nd

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22nd March: World Water Day (WWD) observed globally. 22nd March: At least 34 killed in suicide terror attacks at the airport and metro station in Brussels. 25th March: Australian all-rounder Shane Watson (34) declared his retirement from all forms of International Cricket after the end of his team’s campaign in the ongoing ICC World Twenty20. 29th March: Russian grandmaster Sergey Karjakin has wins the prestigious FIDE World Chess Candidates Tournament held in Moscow. 29th March: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Unites States Agency for International Development (USAID) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for development of solar parks in India. 30th March: Htin Kyaw (69) sworn in as the first elected civilian (non-military) President of Myanmar after 53 years of military rule. Myanmar’s Army was in power since 1962 coup. 31st March: Faustin Archange Touadera (58) took the oath of office as the new President of Central African Republic (CAR).

APRIL

1 April: Vietnam’s National Assembly (NA) has elected Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan as the country`s first female house speaker. 3rd April: West Indies defeat England by four wickets to win their second T20 world cup in Kolkata. 3rd April: West Indies defeat Australia by eight wickets to win their maiden title at the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 in Kolkata. 4th April: World Number One tennis player Novak Djokovic of Serbia wins the 2016 Miami Open Title in the men’s singles category. 5th April: Tran Dai Quang sworn in as the ninth President of Vietnam after he was elected by country’s National Assembly. He succeeds Truong Tan Sang and shall have term of five years. 7th April: Iceland ruling coalition government has named Sigurdur Ingi Johannsson (53) as the new Prime Minister after igmundur Gunnlaugsson stepped down . 7th April: Nguyen Xuan Phuc elected as the new Prime Minister of Vietnam. st

8th April: Hashim Thaci sworn in as the President of Kosovo after he was elected by the parliament in March 2016. He succeeds Atifete Jahjaga. 10th April: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Kate Middleton arrive in India. 11th April: Lee Chong Wei wins the Malaysia Open 2016 men’s singles title after defeating China’s Chen Long. 11th April: Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk announces his resignation in the wake of a month-long political crisis. 12th April: Danny Willett (28) from England wins the prestigious 2016 US Masters Golf tournament. 14th April: The Republic of Nauru, a tiny South Pacific island nation in Pacific Ocean becomes the 189th member of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, i.e. Bretton-Woods institutions. 15th April: Real Madrid, Manchester City, Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich reach the semifinals of Champions League. 18th April: Australia wins the 25th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup after defeating India by 4¬0 in the final held in Malaysia. 21st April: The Sympathizer, a debut novel of Vietnamese American professor Viet Thanh Nguyen has won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. 22nd April: Earth Day celebrated across the globe with the theme “Trees for the Earth. Let’s get planting.” 22nd April: Famous musician Prince passed away at his home in Minnesota at the age of 57. 25th April: Ace tennis player Rafael Nadal from Spain wins the 2016 Barcelona Open title of Tennis. 25th April: World Health Organization declares Europe as the first Malaria free zone. Europe had become the first region to report zero cases of malaria in 2015. 27th April: The Tibetan government-inexile re-elects Lobsang Sangey (48) as the Prime Minister for a second consecutive term. 29th April: Pakistani women’s rights activist from Swat valley Tabassum Adnan wins the prestigious 2016 Nelson Mandela Graça Machel Innovation Award.

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INTERNATIONAL EVENTS DIARY 2016 MAY 1st May: Egyptian professional squash player Nour El Sherbini (20) becomes the youngest ever Women’s squash World champion. 3rd May: Leicester City wins the English Premier League for the first time in the club’s 132 year history. 4th May: Ace snooker player Mark Selby (World No. 1) from England wins the 2016 World Championship title of Snooker. 4th May: Australian entrepreneur and computer scientist Craig Wright publicly identifies himself as the creator of virtual currency Bitcoin. 6th May: Britain’s Labour Party candidate Sadiq Khan becomes London’s first Muslim mayor after elected by voting. 7th May: Taoiseach Enda Kenny re-elected as Prime Minister of Ireland. 8th May: Scientists detect atomic oxygen in the atmosphere of Mars for the first time since the last observation 40 years ago. It was detected using an instrument onboard the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). 14th May: FIFA (Federation of International Football Association) appoint Senegalese UN diplomat Fatma Samba Diouf Samoura as its first female Secretary General (SG). 15th May: Max Verstappen becomes the youngest driver in F1 history to win a grand prix after winning the Spanish Grand Prix at the age of 18. 16th May: China successfully launches Yaogan-30 remote-sensing satellite into sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) using the Long March-2D rocket. 16th May: Andy Murray (World No.3) from Britain wins the 2016 Italian Open title of Tennis in the men’s singles category. It was Murray’s first Italian Open title. 17th May: South Korean writer Han Kang wins 2016 Man Booker International Prize for the novel ‘The Vegetarian’. 20th May: Tsai Ing-wen sworn in as first female president of Taiwan. 21st May: United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appoints Mary Robinson and Macharia Kamau as UN’s Special Envoys for El Nino and Climate. 23rd May: FC Barcelona defeat Sevilla by 2-0 in the final to win 28th Copa Del Rey Title.

26th May: Jose Mourinho appointed as the manager of Manchester United. He will replace Louis van Gaal. 26th May: Bioengineer Frances Arnold from United States (US) wins the prestigious 2016 Millennium Technology Prize. 27th May: China has signed two agreements with Sudan, its close ally in Africa to build 600-megawatt (MW) atomic reactor. It was the first of its kind project to be built by China in African country. 29th May: Real Madrid wins the Champions Trophy for 11th time with a 53 penalties victory over Atletico Madrid, after a 11 draw in the Champions League. 30th May: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) successfully deployed the first experimental inflatable room attached to the International Space Station (ISS).

JUNE

1 June: The world’s longest and deepest rail tunnel has officially opened in Switzerland. It is a 57km (35-mile) twinbore Gotthard base tunnel will provide a high-speed rail link under the Swiss Alps between northern and southern Europe. 3rd June: An international team of astrophysicists have discovered an unusual astronomical object — an Einstein ring. This phenomenon was predicted by Einstein’s theory of General Relativity and has been given its own name “The Canarias Einstein ring”. 4th June: All time boxing great Muhammad Ali passed away at the age of 74 in an Arizona hospital. 4th June: Garbine Muguruza wins the French Open for the first time by defeating Serena Williams. 5th June: Novak Djokovic wins the French Open Men’s Single after defeating Andy Murray. 5th June: The French pair of Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic wins the French Open women’s doubles title after defeating Russian pair of Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina. 5th June: Malaysian shuttler Lee Chong Wei and Chinese Taipei’s Tai Tzu Ying win the men’s singles and women’s singles titles respectively in the Indonesia Open Superseries. st

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INTERNATIONAL EVENTS DIARY 2016

9th June: Russia honour UN SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-Moon with Order of Friendship Award. 11th June: Legendary Canadian ice hockey player Gordie Howe passed away at Toledo, US. He was 88. 13th June: China successfully launches a 23rd BeiDou Navigation Satellite to support its global navigation and positioning network. 14th June: The Islamic State (IS) terrorist group’s leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been killed in an air raid in Syria by the US led coalition. 14th June: Mercedes racing driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain win the Formula 1 Canada Grand Prix title. 15th June: Peter Thomson of Fiji elected as the President of the of the next session of the UN General Assembly, which will choose the successor to Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. 17th June: Indian-origin diplomat Kamala Shirin Lakhdhir nominated as the next American Ambassador to Malaysia by US President Barack Obama. 21st June: Second International Yoga Day celebrated across the World. 21st June: Virginia Raggi elected as Rome’s first female mayor. 21st June: China’s Sunway TaihuLight supercomputer is the world’s most powerful supercomputer system. 24th June: British Prime Minister David Cameron announced that he will resign in October, 2016 after Britons voted to leave the European Union. 26th June: International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking observed globally. 27th June: Defending champion Chile wins the 2016 Copa America Football tournament by defeating Argentina in a penalty shootout. 27th June: Argentina football star Lionel Messi announces his retirement from international football. 30th June: Rodrigo Duterte was sworn in as the 16th President of Philippines. He will have tenure of six years.

JULY

1 July: Argentina women’s team wins the 2016 Champions Trophy title of Hockey by defeating Netherlands in the final match played at the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in London, UK. st

2nd July: World’s largest international maritime exercise named RIMPAC (Rim of the Pacific) 2016 began in Pacific Ocean at Hawaii, United States. 4th July: NASA’s Juno spacecraft has successfully entered into the orbit of Jupiter and started orbiting solar system’s most massive planet. 4th July: Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton from Great Britain wins the 2016 Austrian Grand Prix title of Formula One. It was his third title of the 2016 season after Monaco Grand Prix (May 2016) and Canadian Grand Prix (June 2016). 7th July: China inducted its largest indigenously-built transport aircraft named as Y-20, marking a crucial step in its Air Force history for improving its strategic power projection capability. 9th July: Serena Williams defeated Angelique Kerber in the women’s singles final to win her 22nd Grand Slam singles title. She equals the records of Steffi Graf for winning highest numbers of Grand Slams. 10th July: Andy Murray wins the 2016 Wimbledon men’s single title after defeating Milos Raonic in the final. 11th July: Portugal wins the UEFA Euro 2016 after defeating host nation France by (1-0) in the final. 12th July: In a ruling by the five member panel at The Hague rejected China’s claim over the waters of South China Sea. 13th July: Theresa May becomes the second woman Prime Minister of Britain after Margaret Thatcher. 14th July: 84 people killed and more than 100 others are injured in Nice city in France when a truck rammed into a crowd celebrating Bastille Day. 16th July: The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the UN cultural agency added nine new sites on its World Heritage List. Decision in this regard was taken at the 40th session of The World Heritage Committee meeting in Istanbul, Turkey. 19th July: Malcolm Turnbull sworn in as the Prime Minister of Australia for another term. 20th July: Researchers from Laval University based in Quebec City, Canada going to conduct the world’s first Zika vaccine test on humans. They are first international

INTERNATIONAL EVENTS DIARY 2016

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11th August: Legendary Pakistan Test batsman Hanif Mohammad passes away at a Karachi hospital at the age of 81. 14th August: Michael Phelps ends his career with a total of 23 gold medals in the Olympic Games. He has clinched a total of 28 Olympic medals which makes him one of the greatest Olympian of all times. 15th August: Jamaican Usain Bolt wins the men’s 100m race in Rio Olympics with 9.81 seconds. Bolt is the first athlete to win the 100m gold at three straight Olympics. 15th August: Andy Murray becomes the first player to win two Olympic tennis singles gold medals after defeating Juan Martin del Potro. 16th August: China launches the world’s first quantum satellite named Quantum Experiments at Space Scaler (QUESS) satellite. 17th August: China and ten member countries of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agree to form a framework for a code of conduct to ease tension in disputed South China Sea. 17th August: The first South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Youth Parliamentarians Conference on `Peace and Harmony for Development’ was held in Islamabad, Pakistan. AUGUST 18th August: The world’s largest (longest) 1st August: Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton aircraft the Airlander 10 has embarked its from Great Britain has won the 2016 maiden flight at an airfield in Cardington in German Grand Prix title of Formula One. central England. It is a hybrid airship made 2nd August: Novak Djokovic (World No. by Hybrid Air Vehicles in United Kingdom. 1) of Serbia wins the 2016 ATP Toronto 19th August: Barcelona beats Sevilla by 3-0 Masters also known as the Rogers club title to win the Spanish Super Cup. in the men’s single category. 20th August: Usain Bolt wins the third 4th August: Communist Party of Nepal gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics in 100m, Maoist Chairperson (CPN MC) Pushpa 200m and 4x100m men’s relay titles. He th Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ elected the 39 completed this achievement for a three Prime Minister of Nepal. consecutive Olympic events. th 5 August: Rio Olympics 2016 starts with st than 11,000 athletes from 206 countries 21 August: Indo-Canadian Sikh MP Bardish Chagger becomes the first woman in Canada taking part in this mega event. 6th August: American shooter Virginia to hold the post of Leader of the government Thrasher wins the first gold medal of 2016 in Canada’s House of Commons. 22nd August: The world’s highest and Rio Games. 9th August: American swimmer Katie longest glass-bottomed bridge was opened Ledecky set a new world record to fetch to visitors in central China. The bridge gold in the women’s 400 metres freestyle at connects two mountain cliffs known as the Avatar Mountains in Zhangjiajie, Hunan the Rio Olympics. 10th August: American swimmer Michael province. Phelps wins his first gold medal in the 24th August: The 2016 Summer Olympics 4 × 100 m freestyle relay in Rio Olympics, concluded with a ceremony held at the Maracana Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. his 19th Olympic gold medal overall. researchers team in the world to complete all of the steps in the regulatory process for the test. 22nd July: Social networking giant Facebook’s Internet drone named ‘Aquila’ passes its first full-scale test. This was the first time using the full-scale drone. The flight test was undertaken in Yuma, Arizona (US) 24th July: Nepal’s Prime Minister K P Oli resigned ahead of a noconfidence vote. 25th July: Verizon Communications, an American telecom company buys Yahoo’s core business for $4.83 billion in an allcash deal. Yahoo will be a part of AOL. 27th July: The World Health Organisation (WHO) officially declares Brazil free of measles, after no case of the disease was registered in the year 2015. 28th July: The European Union (EU’s) executive has appointed Michel Barnier, as its Chief Negotiator for the United Kingdom’s exit from the bloc. 31st July: Skydiver Luke Aikins makes history by becoming the first person to jump 25,000 feet without a parachute. He completed the stunt landing almost in the middle of a 100ft by 100ft net.

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INTERNATIONAL EVENTS DIARY 2016

24th August: United State tops the medal table in the 2016 Rio Olympic with a total of 121 medals. Next two positions are held by Great Britain and China respectively. 27th August: Scientists in Japan studying earthquakes for the first time have detected a rare deep-Earth tremor, known as an S (secondary) wave microseism. Microseisms are very faint tremors. 29th August: NASA’s solar-powered Juno spacecraft successfully executes its first flyby of Jupiter. 29th August: Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg from Germany has won the 2016 Belgian Grand Prix of Formula One.

SEPTEMBER

1st September: Michel Temer sworn in as the President of Brazil after the removal of Dilma Rousseff from the office through the Senators’ voting. 3rd September: Canada’s British Columbia province has become the first foreign government to issue of masala bonds, a rupee-denominated bond. It had issued ` 500 crore rupee denominated overseas bonds (masala bond) on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) 4th September: Leaders from 20 major economic countries take part in the G20 summit in Chinese city of Hanghzou. 4th September: Nobel laureate Mother Teresa formally declared as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church by Pope Francis at Vatican City. 6th September: World’s first face transplant done on Isabelle Dinoire in French. 8th September: 2016 Paralympic Games begins at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 8th September: The United States (US) and China have ratified the 2015 Paris agreement on Climate Change to cut global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. 9th September: The 28th and 29th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit was held in Vientiane, Laos from 6th to 8th September 2016. 11th September: Angelique Kerber of Germany defeats Karolina Pliskova to win the US Open Women championship. 12th September: Stan Wawrinka (World No. 3) from Switzerland wins the 2016 US Open men’s singles title. This is Wawrinka’s maiden US Open title and his third major title.

14th September: Army Green has won the 2016 Durand Cup Football Title by defeating Neroca FC. It was the 128th edition of the Durand Cup. 16th September: The International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer observed for the preservation of the Ozone Layer. 17th September: Writer Meghna Pant wins the Fellows of Nature (FON) South Asia Short Story Award in Nature writing. 19th September: China and Russia have carried out joint naval exercises dubbed as Joint Sea-2016 in the resource-rich South China Sea (SCS) off China’s southern Guangdong province. 25th September: The world’s largest radio telescope began operating in mountainous region of Guizhou in China. The Five hundred metre Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope will search for signs of intelligent life in space. 25th September: The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) formally announced that the Japan’s Aichi prefecture and its capital city Nagoya will be the cohosts of the 2026 Asian Games. 28th September: Jim Yong Kim has been reappointed as President of World Bank for a second five-year term beginning 1 July 2017. 28th September: The Colombian Government and left-wing FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) rebels have signed a historic agreement that formally brings an end to 52 years of civil war. 29th September: The world’s first threeparent baby was born in Mexico to a Jordanian couple with the help of a controversial new fertility technique that incorporates DNA from three people in the embryo.

OCTOBER

1st October: The European Union (EU) ministers have approved the ratification of Paris Agreement (on Climate Change). This decision brings the Paris Agreement closer to entering into force. 2nd October: Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to be the next chief guest at India’s Republic Day parade of 2017. 2nd October: International Day of Non Violence observed across the world to mark the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi. 3nd October: Yoshinori Ohsumi of Japan wins the 2016 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine for work on cell ‘recycling’.

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INTERNATIONAL EVENTS DIARY 2016 4th October: British scientist David Thouless, Duncan Haldane and Michael Kosterlitz win the 2016 Nobel Prize for Physics for studies of unusual states of matter. 5th October: JeanPierre Sauvage, Bernard Feringa and Sir Fraser Stoddart win Nobel Prize in chemistry for the development of nano machines, made of moving molecules. 7th October: Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has been awarded with the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize. 8th October: The United States lifts sanctions against Myanmar after two decades. 10th October: British Oliver Hart and Bengt Holmstrom form Finland wins Nobel in Economics for work on contracts. 13th October: American music legend and song writer Bob Dylan wins the Nobel Literature Prize. He is the first songwriter to win the prestigious award. 13th October: King of Thailand Bhumibol Adulyadej passed away at the age of 88 in Bangkok. 14th October: The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) formally electe Antonio Guterres (67) as the new Secretary-General of the United Nations. 20th October: Noted British statistician Sir David Cox (92) awarded inaugural International Prize in Statistics. 20th October: The World Bank has pledges 2 billion US dollars aid package to Bangladesh to tackle climate change over the next three years. The aid package is part of the World Bank’s fund for the poorest countries. 23rd October: The first woman to conquer Mount Everest Junko Tabei of Japan has passed away at the age of 77. 26th October: Paul Beatty becomes the first American writer to win the Man Booker prize for his novel “’The Sellout”. 28th October: Two Yazidi women Nadia Murad Basee and Lamiya Aji Bashar selected for European Union’s prestigious Sakharov Prize for Human Rights for year 2016. 31st October: The Ross Sea of the Southern Ocean in Antarctica is declared as world’s largest Marine Protected Area (MPA).

NOVEMBER

5th November: Latvia becomes the first country in the Baltic Sea area to sign a Memorandum of Understanding to link up

with China’s One Belt and One Road (OBOR) Initiative. 6th November: Bengaluru FC defeated by Iraq’s Air Force Club in the final of the AFC Cup by (1-0) in Doha. 8th November: World’s first hydrogenpowered and zero-emission passenger train named Coradia iLint unveiled in Germany. 9th November: Republican Party candidate Donald Trump has been elected as the 45th president of USA. 11th November: China successfully launches experimental X-ray pulsar navigation satellite XPNAV-1. It is world’s first pulsar navigation satellite or spacecraft. 14th November: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif inaugurates the operational activities of the revamped strategic Gwadar port in the south-western Balochistan Province. 15th November: Facebook’s Connectivity Lab has set a world record transmitting at nearly 20 Gbps for 13.2 kilometers using Milli Meter Wave (MMW) technology. 16th November: The International Day for Tolerance is observed globally to generate public awareness of the dangers of intolerance. 17th November: China’s ‘Sunway Taihulight’ has won the fastest supercomputer title in the recently released 48th edition of Top500 list of supercomputers. 17th November: Russia officially withdraws from International Criminal Court (ICC) after President Vladimir Putin signed an executive order in this regard. 22th November: Thai Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn conferred with the first ‘World Sanskrit Award’ for her contribution towards promotion of the language. 24th November: China successfully launches fourth data satellite Tialnian I-04. 26th November: Cuba’s Former President Fidel Castro Passes away. 28th November: Lt. Gen. Qamar Bajwa appointed as Pakistan Army Chief.

DECEMBER

1 December: Scientists in Israel have created the first ‘water-wave laser’ that emits a beam through the interaction of light and water waves. st

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UNION BUDGET 2016

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UNION BUDGET 2016 Finance minister Arun Jaitley presented the Union Budget 2016-17 in the Lok Sabha on 29th February 2016. Here are some of the highlights of the budget: • Amidst global headwinds, the Indian economy has held its own • Infaltion has come down even though there was a fall in monsoons • Foreign exchange reserves are at highest ever level • CPI inflation has declined to 5.4% • The growth of GDP has accelerated to 7.6% • Government has to prioritize expenditure. Focus on the rural and social sectors, infrastructure and recapitalization of bank • Recapitalization of banks will be done during next financial year • Nominal premium and highest ever compensation in case of crop loss under the PM Fasal Bima Yojana • Aim to double the income of farmers in five years. ` 35,984 crores total allocation for farmers’ welfare • Farm, rural sector, infra, social sector to have more government expenditure • Dedicated irrigation fund worth ` 20,000 crore to be set up under NABARD • A unified agriculture market e-platform will be dedicated to the nation on the birthday of Dr. BR Ambedkar • 5 lakh acres to be brought under organic farming over three years • 65 eligible habitats to be connected via 2.23 lakh km of road. Current construction pace is 100 km per day • Government is launching a new initiative to provide cooking gas to BPL families with state support • Will enact a law to confer benefits on deserving sections on aadhar platform. • Govt to provide incentive for deepwater gas exploration • Work for passage of insolvency and bankruptcy laws, to undertake significant reforms • Allocation of Pradhanmatri Gram Sadak Yojna to be increased to ` 19,000 crore • ` 38,500 crores allocated to MNREGA

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` 5,500 crores allocated to PM Fasal Bima Yojana 300 rurban clusters to be set up under Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission 100% rural electrification to be achieved by 1st May, 2018 ` 87,765 crores for rural development as a whole have been allocated in the budget 6 crore additional households to be covered under digital literacy scheme in next 3 years Appreciation for 75 lakh middle class and lower middle class for willingly giving up LPG subsidy New restructured scheme to increase the governance capabilities of PRIs to be launched: Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan ` 9,000 crores allocated to Swaccha Bharat Abhiyaan Allocation of ` 35,984 crore for farm sector Govt to set apart ` 412 crore to encourage organic farming ` 2.87 lakh crore to be given grant-in-aid for gram panchayats and municipalities; it is quantum jump of 228% Stand Up India scheme allocated ` 500 crore for SC, ST and women entrepreneurs 2 projects under Stand Up India to be promoted per bank branch per category 62 new Navodaya Vidyalayas will be opened in the next 2 years National Skill Development Mission has imparted training to 76 lakh youth. 1,500 multi skill training institutes to be set up Objective to skill 1 crore youth in the next 3 years under the PM Kaushal Vikas Yojana Health insurance of upto ` 1 lakh per family. 300 generic drug stores to be opened under PM Jan Aushadi Yojana 85% of stalled road projects back on track ` 97,000 crore allocated to road sector including PMGSY Total outlay for infrastructure ` 2,21,246 crores in 2016/17

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Target of 10,000 km of national highway and upgradation of 50,000 km of state highways in 2016/17 ` 1,000 crore for higher education financing Govt drawing a comprehensive plan to exploit nuclear energy to be implemented in the next 15-20 years 100% FDI to be allowed through FIPB route in Food Products Produced and Marketed in India New Financial Data Management Centre to facilitate integrated data analysis Department of Disinvestment to be renamed as Department of Investment and Public Asset Management RBI Act to be amended to give statutory backing for monetary policy Amount sanctioned under PM Mudra Yojana has reached ` 1 lakh crore to cover 2.5 crore borrowers by Feb, 2016 25,000 crore for recapitalization of public sector banks DBT on pilot basis in fertilizers to be introduced in some districts A bill on targeted delivery of financial services using Aadhar to be introduced FDI Policy: Changes proposed in areas - Insurance & Pension, Asset Reconstruction Companies, Stock Exchange More number of benches of Security Appellate Tribunal to be introduced by amending SEBI Act to reduce pendency Fiscal deficit for FY 2016-’17 targeted at 3.5% Tax proposals to provide relief to small taxpayers through rebates Ceiling of tax rebate for tax payers with up to ` 5 lakh annual income to be raised to ` 5,000 from ` 2,000 Relief of ` 3,000 per year to taxpayers with income below ` 5 lakh per year, 1 crore tax payers to benefit Deduction for rent payers raised from ` 20,000 to ` 60,000 to benefit those living in rented houses Consolidation roadmap for public sector banks next year

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Suitable changes to be made in customs and excise duty rates to improve competitiveness and boost Make in India Incentives for new manufacturing companies and smaller enterprise companies Service Tax Exemption for services under the Deen Dayal Gram Jyoti Yojana HRA deduction up from 24,000 to 60,000 per annum 100% deduction for profits of undertakings from housing projects in cities during Jun’16 - Mar’19 Krishi Kalyan cess to be imposed on all taxable services for agricultural sector 15% surcharge on income tax for those with incomes exceeding 1 crore per annum Clean energy cess increased from ` 200/ton to 400/ton on coal, lignite and peat Limited period compliance window for taxpayers to declare undisclosed income. Declarations to have immunity from prosecutions Govt to introduce bill to amend Companies Act for ease of doing business; to enable registration of companies in a day Clean Energy Cess to renamed as Clean Environment Cess Limited tax compliance window: 45% including surcharge and penalties and immunity from prosecution Levy of heavy penalty for non payment of tax has led to high litigation. Proposal to modify scheme for penalties To reduce multiplicity of taxes and cascading - 13 taxes with collection less than ` 50 crore a year abolished Income tax department will expand e-sahyog to assist small taxpayers Govt will pay interest rate of 9% over 6% if delay is more than 90 days Net revenue gain of ` 19,610 crores due to surplus from indirect taxes 14 crore farmers to be brought under soil health card scheme by March, 2017

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RAILWAY BUDGET 2016

RAILWAY BUDGET 2016 Railway Budget 2016 was presented on February 25, 2016 by Suresh Prabhu, the Railway Minister of India. Here are the highlights of the rail budget 2016: • No hike in passenger fares. • Swacch Bharat: 17000 biotoilets and additional toilets in 475 stations before the close of this financial year. • Wifi at 100 stations this year and 400 stations next year. • 33% reservation to women in reserved quota in Railways to be introduced. • Deen Dayal coaches for long distance trains for unreserved passengers. These coaches will include potable water and higher number of mobile charging points. • Janani Sewa: Children’s menu, baby foods, baby boards to be made available for travelling mothers. • Overnight double-decker train Uday Express to be introduced on busiest routes, carrying capacity to be 40% more. • Porters not to be called “coolies” but be called “sahayaks” now; will be trained in soft skills. • Railways to increase lower berth quota for senior citizens by 50%. • Ajmer, Amritsar, Gaya, Mathura, Nanded, Nashik, Puri, Tirupati, Varanasi, Nagapattinam and other pilgrim stations to be beautified. • Bar-coded tickets to be introduced at select stations on pilot basis to tackle nuisance of ticketless travel. • Two elevated suburban railway corridors – Churchgate-Virar and CST-Panvel to be constructed in Mumbai; Ring railway covering 21 stations to be revived with state participation. • GPS-based digital display in coaches for showing upcoming stations. • North-East India, especially Mizoram and Manipur, to be connected through broad gauge soon.

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1,600 km of electrification this year and 2,000 km proposed for the next year. Introduced 1,780 Automatic Ticket Vending Machines, mobile apps & GoIndia smartcard for cashless purchase of UTS and PRS tickets, enhanced capacity of e-ticketing system from 2,000 tickets per minute to 7,200 tickets per minute and to support 1,20,000 concurrent users as against only 40,000 earlier. Propose to invite FM Radio stations for providing train-borne entertainment; extend ‘Rail Bandhu’ to all reserved classes of travelers and in all regional languages. Security through helplines & CCTVs; Safety - 350 manned level crossings closed, eliminated 1,000 unmanned level crossings, 820 ROB/RUB completed in the current year and work going on in 1,350 of them. SMART (Specially Modified Aesthetic Refreshing Travel) Coaches are redesigned coaches with redesigned bio-vaccum toilets, vending machines, advertising boards, PA system, dustbins, ergonomic seating. Clean my Coach: Passengers will be able to demand cleaning of a toilet via SMS. The audit will be done by third party and action to be taken based on passenger feedback. Tejas: It will showcase the future of train travel in India with operating speeds of 130 kmph. Rail Mitra Sewa: Expanding Sarathi Seva in Konkan Railway to help the old and disabled passengers, strengthening the existing services for enabling passengers to book battery operated cars, porter services, etc. on a paid basis in addition to the existing pick up and drop, and wheel chair services.

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Are Fundamental Rights Above Religion?

uring our freedom struggle, the freedom fighters had realized the importance of rights and demanded that the British rulers should respect the rights of the people. The Motilal Nehru Committee had demanded a Bill of Rights in 1928. Hence, when India became Independent, and the constitution was being prepared, it was very obvious to include rights in the constitutions. The constitution listed the rights that would be specially protected and called FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS. The word “Fundamental” suggests that these rights are so important that the constitution has separately listed them and made special provisions for their protection. The constitution itself ensures that they are not collated by the government. These are contained in the PART III of the constitution and include as follows: Fundamental Rights – Rights to Equality, Right to Freedom, Right against Exploitation, Right to freedom of Religion, Cultural and Educational Rights and Right to constitutaional Remedies. Recent discussions and debates have come up with a major question – ARE THESE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS ABOVE RELIGION ? This question sparks off the very nature of secularism in India. Many cases have been fought and a lot has been written on

n Asha Prasad

this burning topic. Constitution declares that every citizen has the right to live with freedom and dignity in any part of the country. Yet in reality many forms of exclusion and discrimination continue to persist. Nearly 4000 Sikhs were massacred in Delhi and other parts of the country in 1984, Several thousands of Kashmiri Pandits have been forced to leave their homes in Kashmir valley and have not been able to return home for more than 2 decades. Nearly 2000 muslims were massacred in Gujarat in 2002. These are all examples of discrimination in one form or other. Members of one community are targeted and victimised on account of their religious identity. Basic freedom of these citizens is denied. These incidents are instances of religious persecution. When we take our discussion further we find many such cases which show a direct confrontation of fundamental Rights with religion. Supreme Court in 2015 stated that Right of Religion is not above public moratity. Confirming the sacking of a government servant for bigamy, the supreme Court ruled that the Fundamental Right to Religion did not include practices which ran counter to public order, health and morality. A petition had been filed by Khurcheed Ahmed Khan against Uttar Pradesh government’s decision to remove him from services as Irrigation Supervisor for contracting a second marriage when his first marriage was still in existence. Mr. Khan challenged the constitutionality of the provision in the 1956 rules and argued that it violated his

ARE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS ABOVE RELIGION? right to freely practise his religion. But the judge (Justice A. K. Goel) dismissed his challenge quoting that “a practice did not acquire a sanction of religion because it was permited. What was protected under Article 25 was the religious faith and not the practice which may seen counter to public oder, health or morality. Polygamy was not an integral part of religion and monogamy was a reform within the power of the state under Article 25. Sharp distinction must be drawn between religious faith and belief and religious practices. What state protects is religious faith and belief. If the religious practices run counter to public order, morality or health or a policy of social welfare upon which the state has embarked then the religious practice must give way before the good of the people of the state as a whole. The Indian Constitution guarantees special protection for the several religious and cultural minorities in India. But it is seen that discriminatory practices exit against these communities. Dalits or the untouchables cannot enter the temples of India (Though the Fundamental Rights prohibit such discrimination). Even women were not allowed to enter certain shrines and temples (Sham temple in Maharashtra or the Haji Ali in Mumbai). Muslim personal

Law provides that muslim men can have up to 4 wives and even enjoy the right to divorce their wife by way “ Triple Talaq”. In such case, the court holds the view that

CA-115 these personal laws are based on original religious texts and hence are not subject to any kind of judicial review. Article 13 of the Indian constitution states that any law that violates a fundamental right is void. The Bombay High Court (State of Bombay v/s Narasu Appa Mali, 1952) distinguished personal Laws from custom and need that Article 13 would not cover personal Laws in their unadulterated form. This provision of the personal law was void due to which Hindus and Muslims were equally placed. The Bombay High Court thereby rejected the argument on the ground that Muslim personal Laws could not be subjected to Fundamental Rights. If it is done so, then this would imply automatic validation of practices such as untouchability, thereby not explaining the introduction of Article 17 which abolishes untouchability. In the early 1970’s, the shah Bano case had invoked the criminal Law for interim maintenance which made no distinction on ground of religion. The Personal Law had to bend to give way to the statutory Right meant for women unable to make a living. Sayara Bano Case aims higher. It has questioned the constitutional validity of the discriminatory practices sanctioned under the Muslim Personal Law. The supreme Court is set to examine triple talaq, polygamy, and other discriminatory practices against women. When the constitution was drafted, the Indian society was in total chaos and confusion. India was partitioned and communal riots were rampant. In such a situation, it was the utmost duty of the constitution makers to draft such policies so that the discrimination between the different communities could be eliminated. Article 44 tried to minimize discrimination arising from personal laws. Article 25 ensured that religious freedoms were subject to fundamental rights such as right to equality.

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Make Reservation Quota Objective and Practical to Uplift Real Backwards n Puneet Kapoor

“If you give education to those strata of Indian Society which have a vested interest in maintaining the Caste System for the advantages it gives them, then the Caste System will be strengthened. On the other hand, if you give education to the lowest strata of Indian Society which are interested in blowing up the Caste System, the Caste System will be blown up.”

eservation is indelibly branded as a welfare programme giving handouts to a set of caste-marked “beneficiaries” and those who receive this benefit - the “reserved category” - are deviant exceptions who fall outside the normal or ‘general category’ of caste-less citizens which constitutes the nation. It is this caste-less nation that gives reservation to certain castes to compensate for the “historical wrongs” done to them in the distant past, and to help them overcome their backwardness. The idea of reservation as a public promise of social inclusion was focused on sources of power and social status within the purview of the state, such as the legislature, government jobs and higher education. Whatever its original good intentions, today reservation has outlived its usefulness, it is a welfare programme gone rogue, perpetuating casteism and strangling merit. The reservation system finds its origin in the age-old caste system of India, which at its birth was meant to divide people on the basis of their occupation like teaching and preaching (Brahmins), kingship and war (Kshatriya) and lastly business (vaish) etc; but soon it became an instrument to divide the society on caste-basis, creating various walls between different sections of the society. After independence, the reservation policy became more explicit and clear as the Constitution of India listed some groups as Scheduled Castes (SC),

Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC). The framers of the Constitution believed that, due to the caste system, SCs, STs and OBCs were historically oppressed and denied respect and equal opportunity in Indian society and were thus under-represented in nation-building activities.

Objectives of Reservation:

Uplift lower strata of society Ensure proper political representation of minority groups Ensure that minorities are not discriminated in job selections and promotion The reservation system aims to uplift the lower sections of society which, through the ages, have been exploited and deprived of rights and basic amenities. By providing these minorities reservation in government jobs and colleges, they are supposed to become a part of mainstream society and it is expected that people will start accepting them. But recent events and today’s political scenario have raised a big question on the existing reservation system in India. The reservation system that we see today provides roughly 15% of the seats for Scheduled Castes (SCs), 7.5% for Scheduled Tribes (STs) and 27% for Other Backward Classes (OBCs). This leaves just about 50% of seats for the ‘general’ category which can also be occupied by the minorities. Due to the relatively small number of seats for minorities,

MAKE RESERVATION QUOTA OBJECTIVE AND PRACTICAL TO UPLIFT ... the cut-off percentages for their seats are lower than the general category. However, reservation continues to be a controversial social and political issue and has resulted in many protracted legal disputes and multitude of legal interpretations. The statistics related to reservation are: Population

8.2% ST 16.2% SC 75.6% Rest

Fig: Population of India split up by caste Reservation Split 7.5% ST 15% SC 27% OBC

50.5% General

Fig: Reservation percentage split by caste Supreme Court of India has already made it clear that no state should pass the 50% barrier in reservation and in past it reminded state to follow its guidelines. Despite warning from apex court many times different state governments have

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tried to cross this limit. Two of Indian states (Tamil Nadu & Rajasthan) have already crossed this limit. In August 1999, the Supreme Court ruled that for admissions at the super-specialty level in medicine and engineering faculties, no special provisions like reservations for SCs, STs and BCs were permissible. Even among the quota for reservations, there are also sub-quotas. For example, in Andhra Pradesh, 15% of the seats in each course of study reserved for Scheduled Castes are in turn allotted, in proportion to their population, to four categories of SCs classified as A, B, C and D. Similarly, 25% of the seats reserved for Backward Classes are allocated to four categories of BCs – labeled as A, B, C and D. Besides caste based reservations, there are also varieties of reservation and quota system, for example, Nonresident Indians (5%), Women (30%), Physically handicapped, Migrants from J & K, NCC Quota, Sports Quota, Anglo-Indian Community, Children of Political Sufferers, Children of Defence personnel, Children of Ex servicemen, Government of India Nominees etc. In the 21st century, it is quite debatable if the caste of a person even forms a reasonable basis for reservation in government jobs and colleges. Many people of lower castes have stepped up the social ladder and are now on an equal footing with the ‘general’ population. On the other hand, many upper castes are still suffering from poverty and illiteracy. However, the caste-based reservation cannot be claimed to be completely irrelevant as the time in

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MAKE RESERVATION QUOTA OBJECTIVE AND PRACTICAL TO UPLIFT ...

which it was created India had many discriminatory laws and rules made by religious heads on various levels. But the country needs a better basis of reservation which includes the poor and the backward groups and excludes the rich and the dominating sections among all castes. Though “lower strata” term is relative, the reservation system has not changed anything drastically when comparison of poverty rates and income of the bottom 20% of society is relatively the same compared over the last 40 years and this is more evident in rural areas. The reservation benefits are cornered by the creamy layer in SC and ST. One view is that since the objective of reservation has not been achieved, it should be continued for a few more decades. The other view is that it is time to phase out reservations slowly. This can be done either by removing the creamy layers or by letting the reservation percentages taper off to a vanishing point. General contention is that theoretically, it is inadmissible and practically difficult to scrap the policy of reservation. However, the policy of reservation has to be scientific and rational. In the given economic and political structure, caste (or birth or family) should not determine one’s life chances. It is assumed that SCs (and for that matter STs and OBCs also) represent a homogeneous group but actually they are a heterogeneous group. Therefore it may be suggested that: 1. Not caste but income should be given importance in determining backwardness.

2. The concept of creamy layer should be applied to SCs and STs also. 3. Reservation should be restricted only to the first generation beneficiaries. The candidates whose parents have already availed reservation facilities in securing a job should not be given the facility again. 4. Concession of scholarship may be provided to SC, ST and OBC students securing more than the specified percentage of marks (say, 48%) in high school and graduate courses for getting quality education in good institutions. All these measures will benefit those who really deserve help. True purpose of reservation should not be removal of poverty or unemployment but removal of imbalance in governance and administration and removal of inequality. It’s high time that the mirage of poverty as ‘criterion’ for reservation must be abolished. Governments should sincerely and holistically undertake and efficiently implement practical measures such as scholarships (based on merit not caste) and thus harmoniously contribute to the creation of the ambience facilitating the optimal development of India.

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BILLS AND ACTS 2016 Maternity Benefits (Amendment) Bill, 2016

The Constitution (122nd Amendment) (GST) Bill, 2014

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Rajya Sabha has passed this bill on August 11, 2016 which aims to raise maternity leave for women from 12 to 26 weeks. The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, protects the employment of women during the time of maternity and entitles them of a full paid absence from work to take care for the child. The amendment bill seeks to increase maternity leave to 26 weeks in all establishments, including private sector. The act is applicable to all establishments employing 10 or more persons. The bill also provides 12 weeks leave for commissioning and adopting mothers and makes it compulsory to provide crèche facility for establishment where the number of workers is 50 and above. Adopting mother is the woman who legally adopts a child below 3 months of age. A commissioning mother is a biological mother who uses her egg to create an embryo implanted in another woman. There is already a provision of 26-week or 6-month maternity leave for the government employees, most private sector firms offer maximum three months of such leave. The bill may also have an enabling provisions to allow working mothers to exercise workfrom-home option.

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Lok Sabha passed a bill on August 9, 2016 and Rajya Sabha on August 11, 2016 to include Nagaland under the jurisdiction of Imphal Central Agriculture University (CAU) to help the north-eastern state achieve higher growth in animal husbandry sector. The Bill proposes to amend the Central Agricultural University Act, 1992. The Act provides for the establishment of a University in the north eastern region for the development of agriculture.

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Central Agricultural University (Amendment) Bill, 2016 •

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Rajya Sabha gave its approval on August 3, 2016 and Lok Sabha on August 8, 2016 for the crucial 122nd Constitutional Amendment to turn the bill into law. The Lok Sabha had already passed the key provisions of the bill on May 06, 2015. The Bill amends the Constitution to introduce the goods and services tax (GST). Parliament and state legislatures will have concurrent powers to make laws on GST. Only the Centre may levy an integrated GST (IGST) on the interstate supply of goods and services, and imports. Alcohol for human consumption has been exempted from the purview of GST. GST will apply to five petroleum products at a later date. The GST Council will recommend rates of tax, period of levy of additional tax, principles of supply, special provisions to certain states, etc. The GST Council will consist of the Union Finance Minister, Union Minister of State for Revenue, and state Finance Ministers. The Bill empowers the Centre to impose an additional tax of up to 1%, on the inter-state supply of goods for two years or more. This tax will accrue to states from where the supply originates. Parliament may, by law, provide compensation to states for any loss of revenue from the introduction of GST, up to a five year period. India’s 29 states currently levy their own sales taxes, dividing the Indian market. GST aims to provide a uniform tax structure across the country.

Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill, 2016 •

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval on August 03, 2016 for Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill 2016.

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The fine for driving without license goes up ten times to ` 5,000 while penalty for drunken driving increases fivefold to ` 10,000. The significant provisions include increase in compensation for Hit & Run cases from ` 25000 to ` 2 lakhs. It also has provision for payment of compensation up to ` 10 lakh in road accidents fatalities. For offences by juveniles, the guardian/ owner shall be deemed to be responsible. They will have to pay a fine of ` 25,000 apart from three-year imprisonment. The juvenile will be tried under the Juvenile Justice Act and registration of his or her motor vehicle will be cancelled. In the area of road safety, bill proposes to raise penalties to act as restraint against traffic violations. Stricter provisions are being proposed in respect of offences like juvenile driving, drunken driving, driving without license, dangerous driving, over-speeding, overloading, etc. Stricter provisions for helmets have been introduced along with provisions for electronic detection of violations. To bring agreement of the registration and licensing process, it is proposed to create National Register for Driving Licence and National Register for Vehicle registration through “Vahan” & “Sarathi” platforms. This will assist uniformity of the process across the country.

Benami Transaction Bill 2016 •

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The Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Bill, 2016 was passed by the Rajya Sabha. It was already passed by Lok Sabha in the last week of July 2016. The bill has provision for confiscating ‘benami’ (proxy) assets. The bill seeks to establish adjudicating authorities and an appellate tribunal to deal with benami transactions as also specify penalty for entering into benami transactions. The bill is part of measures planned by the Government to tackle the problem of black money.

Bills and Acts 2016 •

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A transaction is considered as benami (meaning nameless) where a property is transferred to or is held by a person and the consideration for such property has been provided or paid by another person. People keeping ‘benami’ properties to evade taxes will get up to seven years rigorous imprisonment and fine, as per a new law aimed at checking black money in real estate sector.

Institutes of Technology (Amendment) Bill, 2016 • • • • •

The Institutes of Technology (Amendment) Bill, 2016 was introduced in Lok Sabha on July 19, 2016. The Bill seeks to amend the Institutes of Technology Act, 1961, which declares certain Institutes of Technology as institutions of national importance. The Bill also seeks to add six new Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) in Tirupati, Palakkad, Goa, Dharwar, Bhilai, and Jammu. It seeks to bring the Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad within the ambit of the Act. All these institutions will be declared as institutions of national importance. The Bill provides for the incorporation of IIT (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad. It states that until the statutes in relation to IIT (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad are made under the Act, the statutes applicable to IIT Roorkee will apply to it.

Indian Medical Council (Amendment Bill), 2016 • • •

The Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2016 was introduced by Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Mr. Jagat Prakash Nadda in Lok Sabha on July 19, 2016. The Bill seeks to amend the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956. The MCI regulates: (i) standards of medical education, (ii) permission to start colleges, courses or increase the number of seats, (iv) registration of doctors, (v) standards of professional conduct of medical practitioners, among others.

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Bills and Acts 2016 • • • • •

The provisions of the bill will come into force from May 24, 2016. The Bill seeks to introduce a uniform entrance examination for all medical educational institutions. This would be applicable at the undergraduate and the post-graduate level. The Bill has the provision in case a state has not opted for the uniform entrance examination, then the examination will not be applicable at the undergraduate level for the academic year 2016-17. This provision will apply to state government seats in government and private medical colleges.

NIT, Science Education & Research (Amendment) Bill, 2016 • • • • •

The National Institutes of Technology (NIT), Science Education and Research (Amendment) Bill, 2016 was passed by the Parliament on August 2, 2016. The bill was first passed in Lok Sabha in July 2016. Now the bill will go for presidential assent as per Article 111 of Constitution. The Bill seeks to establish the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Andhra Pradesh as an institute of national importance. The NIT, Andhra Pradesh will be established under the National Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research (NITSER) Act, 2007. The NIT will be deemed as an institute of national importance status as on August 20, 2015, the day on which the Union government approved its establishment.

Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill, 2016 • •

The Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill, 2016 was passed on July 29 by the Parliament after it was approved by the Rajya Sabha. The bill provides for establishment of funds under the public accounts of the Centre and State levels for compensatory afforestation.

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It establishes National Compensatory Afforestation Fund (NCAF) under the Public Account of India, and a State Compensatory Afforestation Fund under the Public Account of each state. The payments into the funds include compensatory afforestation, net present value of forest (NPV), and any project specific payments. The NCAF will get 10% of funds collected and the remaining 90% will go to respective State Fund. The collected funds will be utilised for afforestation, regeneration of forest ecosystem, wild life protection and forest related infrastructure development. It establishes National and State Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authorities to manage the funds. The determination of NPV will be delegated to an expert committee constituted by the Central Government.

Lokpal and Lokayukta (Amendment) Bill, 2016 •

The Lokpal and Lokayukta (Amendment) Bill, 2016 was passed by the Lok Sabha on July 27, 2016. • The bill seeks to amend the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act, 2013 which provides Lokpal (at Centre) and Lokayukta (at States) statutory backing to inquire into allegations of corruption against certain public functionaries and for related matters. Key Provisions • The bill enables the leader of the single largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha in the absence of a recognised Leader of Opposition to be a member of the selection committee that would select the ombudsman. • It amends section 44 of parent Act that deals with provision of furnishing of details of assets and liabilities of public servants within 30 days of joining the government service. • The amendment has removed the period of 30 days. Now the public servants will make declaration of their assets and

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liabilities in the form and manner as prescribed by government. It gives extension of the time given to public servants and trustees and board members of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to declare their assets and those of their spouses. In this case public servants and trustees and board members of NGOs must be receiving government funds of more than ` 1 crore or foreign funding of more than ` 10 lakh.

Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2016 • • •

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Lok Sabha has passed the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2016, despite opposition by several MPs. The Bill, passed by the Rajya Sabha on July 19, 2016. The Bill seeks to improve the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, which prohibits the employment of children below 14 years in 83 hazardous occupations and processes. The amendment extends this ban on employment of children under 14 across all sectors, prohibits the employment of adolescents aged 14-18 years in risky occupations and introduces more severe jail term and fines for offenders: a jail term of six months to two years and a fine of ` 20,000 to ` 50,000. The opposition by members was mainly to the fact that children under 14 years will be allowed to work in family businesses, outside of school hours and during holidays, and in entertainment and sports. MPs objected to the definition of family which includes not only parents and siblings but also the siblings of either parent. The Bill brings down the list of hazardous occupations from the earlier 83 to just three: mining, inflammable substances, and hazardous processes under the Factories Act. Read together, with the family enterprises clause, critics say, children can be made to work in carpet, zari and bidi units, mica or diamond cutting, scavenging, brick kilns, slaughterhouses, handling e-waste or as domestic help. Several MPs objected to the

Bills and Acts 2016 clause that also gives the Centre the right to add to the list of non-hazardous work.

Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016 •

The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016 was approved by the Union Cabinet on July 21 to protect transgenders from discrimination. Through this Bill the Union Government has evolved a holistic mechanism for the social, economic and educational empowerment of marginalized transgenders community. Key Facts • The Bill will benefit a large number of transgender persons, mitigate the stigma, discrimination and abuse against them and also bring them into the mainstream of society. • It will lead to greater inclusiveness and will make the transgender persons productive members of the society. • The Bill will make all the stakeholders responsive and accountable for upholding the principles underlying the Bill. • It will bring greater accountability on the part of the Union Government and State Governments/UT administrations for issues concerning Transgender persons. • Background Transgender community is among one of the most marginalized communities in the country because they don’t fit into the stereotypical categories of gender of ‘men’ or ‘women’. • They face problems ranging from social exclusion, ostracism and discrimination, as well as verbal, physical and sexual abuse. • They also lack of access to education and employment opportunities, ending up into organised groups, forced begging or demanding money.

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code Bill, 2016 • •

Rajya Sabha passed the major economic reform Bill moved by the Government i.e. ‘Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016’ on 11th May 2016. The Lok Sabha had earlier passed the Bill on 5th May, 2016.

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Bills and Acts 2016 •

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The objective of the new law is to promote entrepreneurship, availability of credit, and balance the interests of all stakeholders by consolidating and amending the laws relating to reorganization and insolvency resolution of corporate persons, partnership firms and individuals in a time bound manner and for maximization of value of assets of such persons and matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. The essential idea of the new law is that when a firm defaults on its debt, control shifts from the shareholders/ promoters to a Committee of Creditors, who have 180 days in which to evaluate proposals from various players about resuscitating the company or taking it into liquidation. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code is a comprehensive and systemic reform, which will give a quantum leap to the functioning of the credit market.

Anti-Hijacking Bill, 2016

The Anti-Hijacking Bill, 2016 was passed by the Lok Sabha on May 10 2016 to widen ambit of law dealing with this antihijacking crime. The Bill was first passed in the Rajya Sabha. Now the Bill will go for Presidential assent as per Article 111 of Indian Constitution. Key provisions of the Bill • The Bill defines hijacking as seizing control of an aircraft in service, unlawfully and intentionally, by coercion, technological means or by exercising force or any other form of intimidation. • It covers several acts within the definition of hijacking. • It includes (i) attempt and abetment of hijacking (ii) organizing or directing others to commit hijacking and (iii) making a credible threat to commit hijacking. • The Bill provides for the death penalty for hijackers even if ground airport personnel and handling staff are killed during such acts. • Under it, hijacking and the related offences shall be extraditable which

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means that for such offences, one country may transfer the accused to another country’s legal jurisdiction. The Bill will not allow refusing the request for extradition on the ground that hijacking is a political offence or is connected to a political offence. The current law, The Anti-Hijacking Act, 1982 which was last amended in 1994, will be repealed after passage of this new Bill. The Bill has been framed in line with the International convention including Beijing Protocol, 2010. It was introduced for more vigilant for the safety and security of passengers in case of hijacking. It will help to overcome drawbacks of the existing crisis management system in dealing with cases of hijacking.

Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill, 2016 • • • •

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Parliament passed the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill 2016. The Bill amends the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957. The Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on 16th March 2016 and in the Rajya Sabha on 2nd May 2016. The Bill allows for the transfer of mining leases which have been granted through procedures other than auction, and where the minerals are used for captive purpose. The Bill adds a definition of leased area, as the area within which mining operations can be undertaken. This will also include the non-mineralised area required for the activities defined under mine in the Mines Act, 1952. The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 regulates the mining sector in India and specifies the requirement for obtaining and granting leases for mining operations.

Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 •

Rajya Sabha passed the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill,

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2016 which aims to guard the interests of numerous aspiring house buyers alongside enhancing the credibility of construction industry by promoting transparency, accountability and efficiency in execution of projects. The Bill seeks to set up an effective regulatory mechanism for orderly growth of the sector which is the second largest seasonal employer after agriculture. It provides that 70% of sale proceeds will have to be kept aside by the developer in an escrow account which is a financial instrument held by a third party on behalf of the other two parties in a transaction. The Bill will set up state-level real estate regulatory authorities and appellate tribunals to monitor transactions relating to both residential and commercial projects and their timely completion and handover. It will also look after complaints at both appellate tribunals and regulatory authorities within 60 days ensuring timely resolution of disputes. The Real Estate Bill enables the people meet their genuine aspirations of owning a house including those of urban poor by giving a fillip to affordable housing initiative under which the Government intends to enable construction of 2 crore by the year 2022 under Prime Minister’s Awas Yojana (Urban).

Industries (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2015 •

The Industries (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2015 was passed by the Parliament on April 29, 2016. The Bill amends the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951. It was first was passed in Lok Sabha in December 2015 and later in Rajya Sabha in April 2016. Now it will go for Presidential assent as per Article 111 of the Indian Constitution. Key facts • The bill seeks to bring industries engaged in the manufacture of potable alcohol under the exclusive control of States in all respects.

Bills and Acts 2016 •

The bill amends 1st schedule of the parent Act to bring required changes for regulating industries manufacturing potable alcohol. However, Union Government will continue to be responsible for formulating policy and regulating foreign collaboration for all products of fermentation industries, including industrial and potable alcohol.

Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951 •

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It provides for development and regulation of certain industries including telecommunications, transportation, metallurgical, fermentation (which includes production of alcohol) among others. The 1st schedule of the Act includes all industries that are regulated under the Act Background In the Bihar Distillery versus Union of India case (1997), Supreme Court had demarcated the regulation of production of alcohol between Centre and states. The apex court had ruled that Union Government should regulate the production of alcohol for industrial use and states should regulate the production of alcohol for potable purpose (domestic consumption). It also had held that where the removal or clearance is for industrial purposes, the levy of excise duty and all other control should be with the Union Government. The Bill conforms to the Supreme Court’s decision.

Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2016 •

Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2016 was passed by the Parliament on April 28 to include certain communities in the list of Scheduled Castes (SC) from 4 states. The bill seeks to amend Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 to include certain communities from Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Kerala and West Bengal in the list. It also has provisions for exclusion of certain communities from Odisha and removal of area restriction in respect of certain communities.

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Bills and Acts 2016 Key facts • In Chhattisgarh, it includes Sais, Sahis, Sarathi, Soot-Sarathi, Thanwar communities in the list. • In Haryana, the bill seeks the inclusion of (i) Aheria, Aheri, Hari, Heri, Thori, Turi and (ii) Rai Sikh communities in the list. • In Kerala, it includes Peruvannan community in the list and Modification in the area of specification of Malayan community. • In West Bengal, the bill seeks the removal of area restriction of Chain community. • In Odisha, exclusion of Bariki and Kummari communities in the list. • Article 341 empowers Parliament to include or exclude castes from the list of Scheduled Castes in the notification. It also empowers the President to specify castes which will be deemed as Scheduled Castes through a notification.

Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2016 •

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The Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2016 which was introduced in Rajya Sabha on March 15, 2016 by the Minister of Home Affairs, Mr. Rajnath Singh. The bill was passed by the House on March 16, 2016. It seeks to amend the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925. The bill introduced in Rajya Sabha envisages amending 91-year-old Sikh Gurdwaras Act to exclude Sehajdhari Sikhs from voting in elections to Sikh religious bodies. The bill proposes to remove the exemption given to Sehajdhari Sikhs in 1944 to vote in the elections to select the members of the board and the committees constituted under the act.

Social Boycott (Prevention, Prohibition & Redressal) Bill 2016 •

The Maharashtra Prohibition of People from Social Boycott (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Bill, 2016 was unanimously passed by the Maharashtra legislature on April 14 to end the menace social boycott practised by extra-judicial institutions like caste and community panchayats. With this Maharashtra became first state in the

country to adopt a comprehensive law to root out oppression carried out by parallel justice delivery system (kangaroo court) in the name of age-old traditions, caste and religion. Key Features of the Bill • The Bill terms social boycott as a crime and says anybody indulging in it would face imprisonment maximum up to three years and a fine of 1 lakh rupees or both. • The bill disallows social boycott of any individual or groups by caste panchayats or groups of individuals or gavki or by its members or by social or economically influential persons. • Persons involved in practice of social boycott for reasons like rituals of worship, inter-caste marriage, any connection to lifestyle, dress or vocation will face stringent punishment. • The offence registered under the act will be congnizable and bailable. It will be tried by a judicial magistrate of the first class. • The victim of social boycott or any member of the victim’s family can file a complaint either to police or directly to the magistrate. • The bill has indicated speedy trial within six months of filing chargesheet in such cases in order to ensure timebound results. • Government will recruit social boycott prohibition officers to ensure monitoring and to detect offences and assist the magistrate and police officers in tackling such cases. • In recent times, Maharashtra had witnessed an increasing number of incidents of social boycott and violence at the behest of caste panchayats. However, existing laws were found to be inadequate in dealing with such practices. For years, number of activists and academicians in the state were demanding stringent law to root out menace of social boycott from the state.

Jat Reservation Bill

The Haryana Backward Classes (Reservation in services and admission in educational institutions) Bill, 2016 was unanimously

CA-126 passed by the Haryana Legislative Assembly in May 2016. Key Provisions of the bill • It seeks to provide reservation in services and admission in educational institutions to persons belonging to backward classes including Jats and five other castes. • The backward classes have been divided into three blocks as Block A, Block B and Block C. Jats, Jat Sikhs, Ror, Bishnoi, Tyagi and Mulla/Muslim Jat have been included in the Block C. • It provides to give 10% reservation to these castes for class III and class IV posts and 6% in class 1 and class 2 posts. • These castes will be given 10% reservation for admission in educational institutions. State Legislative Assembly also passed Haryana Backward Classes Commission Bill, 2016 for institution of a permanent Backward Classes Commission.

Bills and Acts 2016 •

Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2016 • • •

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Aadhaar Act, 2016

The Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and other Subsidies, benefits and services) Act, 2016 has been notified by the Union Government on March 28. The Act will provide statutory backing for transfer of subsidies and benefits to eligible people having Aadhaar (UID) number. Key facts • The act seeks to provide efficient, transparent and targeted delivery of subsidies, benefits and services to individuals residing in India by assigning them unique identity numbers (UID) or Aadhaar number. • It will be used for all benefit that will be linked to consolidated fund of India or the expenditure incurred from it. • Both Central and state governments can use Aadhaar for disbursal for benefits and subsidies. However the Aadhaar number cannot be used as a proof of citizenship or domicile. • The Act gives statutory for establishment of the Unique Identification Authority of India consisting of a Chairperson (part time or full time) and two Members (part time).

Those individuals not having Aadhaar number shall be offered alternate and viable means of identification for delivery of the subsidies, benefits or service.

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Lok Sabha passed the Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2016 on 9th March 2016. The Bill seeks to amend the Enemy Property Act, 1968 and the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971. The Enemy Property Act 1968 was enacted to take over the properties owned by people who left for Pakistan or China when India was at war with the two countries. Such properties were vested in the Mumbai-headquartered Custodian of Enemy Properties (CEP). Approximately 16,000 properties across the country have either been or are being taken over by the CEP under the 1968 Act. Of these, the process to take over 9,400 properties –estimated to be worth ` 1 lakh crore, or ` 1,000 billion – has been completed. The amendments states that once an enemy property is vested in the Custodian, it shall continue to be vested in it as enemy property irrespective of whether the enemy, enemy subject or enemy firm has ceased to be an enemy due to reasons such as death. The new Bill ensures that the law of succession does not apply to enemy property; that there cannot be transfer of any property vested in the Custodian by an enemy or enemy subject or enemy firm and that the Custodian shall preserve the enemy property till it is disposed of in accordance with the Act.

Carriage by Air amendment Bill, 2015 • •

The bill which will enhance compensation for air travellers in case of death, injury, loss of baggage and even inordinate delay in flights was passed by the Rajya Sabha on 2nd March 2016. The Carriage by Air (Amendment) Bill, 2015 was introduced in Lok Sabha on

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7th August 2015 by the Minister of Civil Aviation, Mr. P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju. The Bill amends the Carriage by Air Act, 1972. The Act regulates carriage by air and gives effect to the Warsaw Convention, 1929, the Warsaw Convention as amended by the Hague Protocol, 1955, and the Montreal Convention, 1999. Civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju remarked that the bill would bring legislative character to international character with respect to compensation for air passengers.

of atrocities, such as tonsuring of head, moustache, or similar acts, which are derogatory to the dignity of members of the SC/ST community, garlanding with chappals, denying access to irrigation facilities or forest rights, dispose or carry human or animal carcasses, or to dig graves, using or permitting manual scavenging, dedicating an SC/ST woman as devadasi, abusing in caste name, perpetrating witchcraft atrocities, imposing social or economic boycott, preventing SC/ST candidates from filing of nomination to contest elections, hurting an SC/ST woman by removing her garments, forcing a member of these communities to leave house, village or residence, defiling objects sacred to members of SC/ST, touching or using words, acts or gestures of a sexual nature against members of the community.

Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2016 •

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The Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2016, introduced by Law Minister DV Sadananda Gowda, seeks to amend Section 11 of the Delimitation Act, 2002 and Section 9 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950. The bill seeks to amend two electoral laws to allow a limited delimitation exercise in West Bengal for granting voting rights to people who became Indian citizens following the exchange of enclaves with Bangladesh. With the term of the 294-member West Bengal Assembly ending on 29th May and elections to be held ahead of that, there is need for early passage of the bill and the Government is hopeful that it would be passed by both the houses in the next two days without discussion.

Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015 •

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The amended law for prevention of atrocities against the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes was enforced from January 26, 2016 after the Central Government’s approval. The SC/ST Bill was unanimously passed by the Rajya Sabha on December 21, 2015 without a debate, and had been awaiting a formal notification. The Lok Sabha had passed the bill on 4thAugust, 2015. After the enforcement, there will be stricter prosecution for new offences

The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 •

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The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 has come into force from January 15, 2016 and repeals the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000. The Bill was passed by Lok Sabha on 7th May, 2015 and Rajya Sabha on 22nd December, 2015 and received Presidential assent on 31st December, 2015. Under Section 15, special provisions have been made to tackle child offenders committing heinous offences in the age group of 16-18 years.

President assent to the Sugar Cess (Amendment) Bill, 2015 • • •

President Pranab Mukherjee gave his assent to the Sugar Cess (Amendment) Bill, 2015 on 8th January, 2016. This will raise the ceiling of the impost from ` 25 to ` 200 per quintal, a measure that will help sugarcane growers and cash starved mills. The Sugar Cess (Amendment) Bill, 2015 was introduced in the Lok Sabha by Mr. Ram Vilas Paswan, Minister of

CA-128 Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution on December 11, 2015. The Bill proposes to amend the Sugar Cess Act, 1982.

Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016 •

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Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave its approval for introduction of the “Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016” on 24th August. The Bill will regulate surrogacy in India by establishing National Surrogacy Board at the Central level and State Surrogacy Boards and Appropriate Authorities in the State and Union Territories. The legislation will ensure effective regulation of surrogacy, prohibit commercial surrogacy and allow ethical surrogacy to the needy infertile couples. All infertile Indian married couple who want to avail ethical surrogacy will be benefited. Further the rights of surrogate mother and children born out of surrogacy will be protected. The Bill shall apply to whole of India, except the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The major benefits of the Act would be that it will regulate the surrogacy services in the country. While commercial surrogacy will be prohibited including sale and purchase of human embryo and gametes, ethical surrogacy to the needy infertile couples will be allowed on fulfillment of certain conditions and for specific purposes. As such, it will control the unethical practices in surrogacy, prevent commercialization of surrogacy and will prohibit potential exploitation of surrogate mothers and children born through surrogacy. No permanent structure is proposed to be created in the Draft Bill. Neither there are proposals for creating new posts. The proposed legislation, while covering an important area is framed in such a manner that it ensures effective regulation but does not add much vertically to the current regulatory structure already in place at the Central as well as states. Accordingly, there will

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not be any financial implications except for the meetings of the National and State surrogacy Boards and Appropriate Authorities which will be met out of the regular budget of Central and State governments. The 228th report of the Law Commission of India has also recommended for prohibiting commercial surrogacy and allowing ethical altruistic surrogacy to the needy Indian citizens by enacting a suitable legislation.

Admiralty (Jurisdiction and Settlement of Maritime Claims) Bill, 2016

The Union Cabinet has given its approval to enact Admiralty (Jurisdiction and Settlement of Maritime Claims) Bill 2016. The proposal to enact to this bill was forwarded by Union Ministry of Shipping to repeal five archaic admiralty statutes. Admiralty jurisdiction is related to the powers of the High Courts in respect of claims associated with transport by sea and navigable waterways. The Bill consolidates the existing laws relating to admiralty proceedings on maritime claims, admiralty jurisdiction of courts, arrest of vessels and related issues. This legislative proposal will also fulfil a long-standing demand of the maritime legal fraternity. It also repeals five obsolete British statues on admiralty jurisdiction in civil matters. They are (i) Admiralty Court Act, 1840 (ii) Admiralty Court Act, 1861, (iii) Colonial Courts of Admiralty Act, 1890, (iv) Colonial Courts of Admiralty (India) Act, 1891, and (v) Provisions of the Letters Patent, 1865,

Salient Features of Admirability Bill, 2016 • • •

Confers admiralty jurisdiction on High Courts located in coastal states of India, thus extending upto territorial waters. The jurisdiction will be extendable by the Union Government notification upto exclusive economic zone (EEZ) or any other maritime zone or islands constituting part of India. It applies to every vessel irrespective of place of domicile or residence of owner. It does not apply to naval auxiliary, warships and vessels used for noncommercial purposes. Inland vessels

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and vessels under construction are excluded from its application. But it empowers Union Government to make it applicable to these vessels also by a notification. It lists the jurisdiction for adjudicating on a set of maritime claims. A vessel can be arrested in certain circumstances in order to ensure security against a maritime claim.

HIV and AIDS (Prevention and Control) Bill, 2014

The Union Cabinet has given its approval to introduce amendments to the HIV and AIDS (Prevention and Control) Bill, 2014. • Prevent and control the spread of HIV and AIDS. It prohibits discrimination against persons with HIV and AIDS. No person will be compelled to disclose his HIV status except with his informed consent, and if required by a court order establishments keeping records of information of PLHIV must adopt data protection measures. • Obligations on establishments to safeguard rights of persons living with HIV arid create mechanisms for redressing complaints. Lists various grounds on which discrimination against HIV-positive persons and those living with them is prohibited. • These include the denial, discontinuation, termination or unfair treatment with regard to employment, educational establishments, health care services, renting property etc. Prohibits, requirement for HIV testing as a prerequisite for obtaining employment or accessing health care or education. • Prohibits any individual from publishing information or advocating feelings of hatred against HIV positive persons and PLHIV.

National Water Framework Bill, 2016

The Central Government has brought final draft of the National Water Framework Bill, 2016 to provide uniform national legal framework to manage water in a better and efficient way. The comprehensive draft Bill

proposes model law for all states. However, water being a State subject under VII Schedule of Constitution the law will be not binding on States for adoption. Key Features of Bill • •

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Every person has a right to sufficient quantity of safe water for life within easy reach of the household regardless of his/her socio-economic factors. All basin states have equitable rights over the use of river water provided such use does not violate the right to water for life of any person in the river basin. States must recognise the principle that the rivers are public trustees and not owned by the basin-States. All the basin States are equal in rights and status, and there is no hierarchy of rights among them. Here equality of rights means not equal but equitable shares in river waters. Managing water at river basin-level and right measurement of State’s contribution to river system in order to resolve conflicts. Establishing River Basin Authority (RBA) for each inter-State basin to ensure optimum and sustainable development of rivers and valleys. Establishing institutional arrangements to deal with inter-state water disputes in order to “obviate” disputes through negotiations, mediation or conciliation. Proposes other mechanisms such as National water quality and footprint standards, Integrated river basin development and management plan and graded pricing system.

Merchant Shipping Bill, 2016

Union Cabinet approved the introduction of Merchant Shipping Bill, 2016 in the Parliament. Simultaneously, the Cabinet also approved repealing of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 and the Coasting Vessels Act, 1838. The Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 has been amended 17 times between 1966 and 2014 resulting in an increase in the number of sections to more than 560 sections. However, these provisions have been shortened to 280 sections in the Bill.

CA-130 Salient Features • It allows substantially-owned vessels and vessels on Bare Boat-cum-Demise (BBCD) to be registered as Indian flag vessels. • It recognises Indian controlled tonnage as a separate category. • It provides for issuing the licences to Indian flag vessels for coastal operation and for port clearance by the Customs authorities. • It calls for making separate rules for coastal vessels to develop and promote coastal shipping. • It introduces welfare measures for seafarers by providing them with the wages till they are released from hostage captivity of pirates and reach back home safely. • It directs owners of vessels to take insurance of crew engaged on vessels including fishing, sailing, etc. This applies for the vessels whose net tonnage is less than 15 tons. • It says that the requirement of signing of articles of agreement by the crew will no longer be necessary. • It calls for registration of few residuary category of vessels not covered under any statute and makes provisions for security-related aspects. • It adds provisions relating to seven different conventions- Intervention Convention 1969, Search and Rescue Convention 1979, Protocol for Prevention of Pollution from Ships Annex VI to Marine Pollution Convention, Convention for Control and Management of Ships Ballast Water and Sediments 2004, Nairobi Wreck Removal Convention 2007, Salvage Convention 1989 and International Convention for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage, 2001. • It also provides for survey, inspection and certification of vessels to enable simplified regime for convenience of Indian shipping industry.

Bills and Acts 2016 Taxation Laws (Second Amendment) Bill, 2016 The Union Government has introduced the Taxation Laws (Second Amendment) Bill, 2016 in the Parliament. The bill amends existing tax laws to impose a higher rate of tax and penalty in respect of undisclosed incomes. It proposes, Taxation and Investment Regime for Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, 2016 (PMGKY), an anti-poverty scheme. It seeks to attract more people to disclose their unaccounted cash and also to put in a framework in place to use that for the welfare of the people especially in the rural areas. It also ensures that tax defaulting assessees and black money holders are subjected to tax at a higher rate and stringent penalty provision Key features of Bill • Mandatory for black money declarants to deposit 25% of amount disclosed in Pradhan Mantri Garibi Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) 2016 for a 4 year lock-in period without interest. • Those who choose to declare their ill-gotten wealth stashed till now in banned `1,000 and Rs. 500 currency notes under the PMGKY scheme will have to pay a tax at the rate of 30% of the undisclosed income. • Additionally, 10% penalty will be levied on the undisclosed income and PMGK Cess (Surcharge) at the rate of 33% of tax (33% of 30%). • Further, the declarants will have to deposit 25% of the undisclosed income in a scheme to be notified by the government in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). • The money from PMGK will be used for projects in irrigation, infrastructure, primary education, primary health, housing, toilets and livelihood so that there is justice and equality. • For those who continue to hold onto undisclosed cash and are caught they will be levied with flat 60% tax plus a surcharge of 25% of tax (15%), which will amount a levy of 75%. • Besides, if the assessing officer can charge a 10% penalty in addition to the 75% tax.

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POLICIES AND SCHEMES 2016 Pashudhan Bima Yojana Haryana Government launched the Pashudhan Bima Yojana in Jhajjar on 29th July. The Yojna was launched by the state’s Animal Husbandry and Dairying Minister, O P Dhankar. The Yojana was started in accordance to the recommendations made in Swaminathan Report. Animal Husbandry and Dairying Department has set a target to cover one lakh cattle under Pashudhan Bima Yojana. Key Facts • Pashudhan Bima Yojana will provide insurance cover to cattle breeders in the state at different premium rates for different animals. • Insurance cover will be provided at a premium of ` 100 for cows, buffaloes, bulls, camels and at ` 25 for sheep, goat and pig for a period of three years. • Under it, the insurance companies would give compensation in case of death of animal (cattle). The scheme is free of cost for cattle breeders from the scheduled castes. • The state Animal Husbandry and Dairying Department has set a target to cover one lakh cattle under Pashudhan Bima Yojana.

Sewage & Waste Water Policy in Rajasthan

Rajasthan has become the first state to give go-ahead to the sewage and waste water policy, in the country. The state cabinet meeting chaired by the Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje in Jaipur approved the first-of-its-kind policy. Key Facts • Under this policy, all district headquarters, heritage cities, and cities in the state which have more than one lakh population will be included. • Waste water treated under it will be used in irrigation and agricultural work. The requirement of next 30 years will be covered in this poilcy.

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It will be compulsory for every house in the state to connect with sewage system in those cities which have 100% sewage system in next five years.

KVK Portal

The Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Radha Mohan Singh formally launched Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) portal (http://kvk.icar.gov.in) on 8th July in New Delhi. Features of the Portal • The portal provides provisions for online monitoring of KVKs which will include reporting of major events on regular basis and submission of monthly reports online. • The portal will also provide information on different services being provided by different KVKs. • Weather and Market related informations can also be accessed by the farmers and others. • The forthcoming programmes will also be available on the website which will benefit farmers and youth in joining different training programmes being organized by KVKs. • Question and answer facility will also be available for the farmers. • Agriculture related information of the districts will also be available on the portal. • The farmers and the Agricultural Officers may register themselves and seek different informations related to KVKs.

‘Namami Gange’ programme

Union Minister Uma Bharti on 7th July launched 43 projects worth ` 250 crore under Namami Gange programme in Uttarakhand. The Government has lined up 1,000 projects in different states including Delhi, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal as part of the National Mission for Clean Ganga. Bharati

CA-132 said the second phase of the project will begin by October 2018. Key Facts • The Namami Gange Programme aims at cleaning the holy river and ensuring its unfettered flow. Union Government has allocated ` 20,000 crore budget for it. • Under it, projects such as modernization and redevelopment of ghats, crematoriums and other development activities will be undertaken. • Besides it will also undertake project for development of sewage infrastructure and treatment, tree plantation, afforestation, pilot drain project, interceptor drain project, trash skimmers and conservation of biodiversity. • The projects were launched simultaneously in five basin states of the river Ganga viz. Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. Besides, projects were also launched in Delhi and Haryana through which Ganga’s largest tributary Yamuna passes. • In Uttar Pradesh alone total 112 projects were launched through this ambitious scheme. 47 projects were inaugurated at various locations in Uttrakhand. 20 projects were inaugurated at various locations in West Bengal. 26 projects were inaugurated in Bihar.

National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved a National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme on 5th July. The Scheme has an outlay of ` 10,000 crore with a target of 50 lakh apprentices to be trained by 2019-20. Features of the scheme • The Scheme would be implemented by Director General of Training (DGT) under Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE). It provides for incentivizing employers to engage apprentices. 25% of the total stipend payable to an apprentice would be shared with employers directly by Government of India. It is for the first time a scheme has been designed to

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offer financial incentives to employers to engage apprentices. In addition, it also supports basic training, which is an essential component of apprenticeship training. 50% of the total expenditure incurred on providing basic training would be supported by Government of India. The Scheme will catalyze the entire apprenticeship ecosystem in the country and it will offer a win-win situation for all stakeholders. It is expected to become one of the most powerful skilldelivery vehicle in the country. The National Policy of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, 2015 launched by the Prime Minister focuses on apprenticeship as one of the key components for creating skilled manpower in India. The present scheme also aims to achieve the objective as stated in the National Policy, 2015. The policy proposes to work pro-actively with the industry including MSME to facilitate ten fold increase opportunities in the country by 2020.

Interest Subvention Scheme

Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the Interest Subvention Scheme for farmers for the year 2016-17 on 5th July. The Government has earmarked a sum of ` 18,276 Crore for this purpose. This will help farmers getting short term crop loan payable within one year up to ` 3 lakhs at only 4% per annum. Salient features • The Central Government will provide interest subvention of 5% per annum to all farmers for short term crop loan upto one year for loan upto ` 3 lakhs borrowed by them during the year 2016-17. Farmers will thus have to effectively pay only 4% as interest. In case farmers do not repay the short term crop loan in time they would be eligible for interest subvention of 2% as against 5% available above. • The Central Government will give approximately ` 18,276 crores as interest subvention for 2016-17.

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In order to give relief to small and marginal farmers who would have to borrow at 9% for the post harvest storage of their produce, the Central Government has approved an interest subvention of 2% i.e an effective interest rate of 7% for loans upto 6 months. To provide relief to the farmers affected by Natural Calamities, the interest subvention of 2% will be provided to Banks for the first year on the restructured amount.

National Green Highways Mission

Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari launched the initial plantation drive on 1,500 km of National Highways at a cost of about ` 300 crore under the National Green Highways Mission in New Delhi on 1st July. Key features • NGHM was launched under the Green Highways Policy, 2015 to provide a holistic vision of developing ecofriendly and green National Highways. • The mission aims to provide a green canopy along 100,000 km of highways and create jobs for 1 million youth. • It has been initiated to engage corporates, Public Sector units, Government organizations and other institutions for developing green corridor along National Highways through plantation and allied activity on median, avenue and other available nearby land patches . • The funds for the mission will be met by Green Fund corpus which is 1% of the total project cost set aside for plantation purposes. The afforestation across National Highways is expected to help in sequestering approximately 12 lakh metric ton carbon annually. • It will also generate jobs and can be a game-changer for agriculture and rural economy. In future, the mission will be linked with the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee (MNREG) scheme.

Ramayana Circuit & Krishna Circuit under Swadesh Darshan Scheme

The “1st Meeting of National Committee on

CA-133 Ramayan Circuit and National Committee on Krishna Circuit” under Swadesh Darshan Scheme of Ministry of Tourism held under the chairmanship of the Minister of Tourism & Culture Dr. Mahesh Sharma on 14th June. Key facts • Under Ramayana Circuit, 11 destinations spread across 6 states have been proposed. The destinations covered are: Ayodhya, Nandigram, Shringhverpur & Chitrakoot (Uttar Pradesh); Sitamarhi, Buxar & Darbhanga (Bihar); Jagdalpur (Chattisgarh); Bhadrachalam (Telangana); Hampi (Karnataka); and Rameshwaram (Tamil Nadu). Expert committee suggested to include Chitrakoot (Madhya Pradesh), Nashik & Nagpur (Maharashtra) and Mahendragiri (Odisha) in the proposed circuit. • Under Krishna circuit, 12 destinations spread across 5 states have been proposed. The destinations covered are: Dwarka (Gujarat); Nathdwara, Jaipur & Sikar (Rajasthan); Kurukshetra (Haryana), Mathura, Vrindavan, Gokul, Barsana, Nandgaon & Govardhan (Uttar Pradesh); Puri (Odisha). The destinations were approved by the expert committee. • Further, projects worth more than Three Hundred Crores Rupees were approved in-principle in Uttar Pradesh under both the circuits. • The Ministry of Tourism has launched the Swadesh Darshan Scheme in 201415 with an aim to develop theme based tourist circuits in the country on the principles of high tourist value, competitiveness and sustainability in an integrated manner by synergizing efforts to focus on needs and concerns of all stakeholders to enrich tourist experience and enhance employment opportunities. • Under the Swadesh Darshan scheme, thirteen thematic circuits have been identified, for development namely: North-East India Circuit, Buddhist Circuit, Himalayan Circuit, Coastal Circuit, Krishna Circuit, Desert Circuit, Tribal Circuit, Eco Circuit, Wildlife Circuit, Rural Circuit, Spiritual Circuit, Ramayana Circuit and Heritage Circuit.

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Chandranna Bima Yojana Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has launched Chandranna Bima Yojana in Vijayawada on 1st May. The Yojana launched on the occasion of May Day is an insurance scheme for the working class people. Salient features of the scheme • All unorganised workers in the State in the age group of 18 to 70 years are eligible to be registered as unorganised workers and enrolled as beneficiaries of the Chandranna Bima Scheme. • All unorganised workers will be registered under the Unorganised Workers Social Security Act, 2008 and enrolled as beneficiaries under Chandranna Bima Scheme. • SERP shall facilitate registration of unorganised workers and their enrollment in the Chandranna Bima Scheme, data entry, maintenance of data base, hard copies of signed applications and other connected matters. • Assistant Labour Officer of the Labour Department shall be the Registering Authority. • The registered unorganised workers will be enrolled as members under State Accident Death and Disability Scheme and under Aam Admi Bima Yojana (AABY) and will also be covered under the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY).

UJALA Scheme

The National LED programme – Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) was launched by the Union Government on May 1. The scheme was launched by Union Minister for State (IC) for Power, Coal and Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. Key facts • The UJALA scheme is being implemented by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture of PSUs under the Union Ministry of Power. • It is LED based Domestic Efficient Lighting Programme (DELP).

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Under the scheme, 3 crore LED Bulbs will be distributed in Madhya Pradesh in the next 6 months. People of Madhya Pradesh will get subsidised 9W energy efficient LED bulbs by paying just 85 rupees per LED bulb. The scheme will help reduce electricity bills of consumers, contribute to the energy security of India and also help in environment protection. It will help in saving energy around 24 crore units every year.

Bhimrao Ambedkar Awas Yojana

The Bhimrao Ambedkar Awas Yojana for widows was launched on 14 April by the Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das. The objective of the scheme is to create equality and harmony in society, ensuring all round development. Highlights of the Yojana • The programme is with a budget allocation of 80 crore rupees and a target of 11000 units (houses) for widows was set in 2016-17 financial year. • An amount of 75000 rupees would be granted to build a house in districts in hilly terrains and 70000 rupees in plains and the amount would be distributed among the beneficiaries in three instalments in their bank accounts. • The widows would also get pension.

Adarsh Vidyalaya Project

Adarsh Vidyalaya (AV) project was launched by the Odisha Government on April 7 to provide modern schools facilities on the lines of Kendriya Vidyalayas in the underdeveloped rural areas of the state. It was launched by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at Sasan Ambagaon village in his home constituency Hinjli in Ganjam district. Key features •

Schools under AV project will provide free education to students of the classes from VI to XII along with free uniforms and other study materials.

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These schools will be affiliated under the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and shall have hostel facility in future. Under this project, one Adarsh Vidyalaya will be set up in each of the 314 revenue blocks of the state. They will be managed by the Odisha Adarsh Vidyalaya Sangathan (AVS) and will be formed on the lines of the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS). In these schools, English will be the first language and Odia will be the second language as medium of instruction. The project will be implemented in phases and in the first phase 100 such schools will start functioning on 5 April 2016. The teacher-pupil ratio of these schools will be 1:25 and classroom-student ratio of 1:40. 50 per cent of total seats will be reserved for the girls and scheduled categories.

One Rank One Pension Scheme

One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme was given ex-post facto approval on 7 April by the Union Cabinet for implementation of retrospectively with effect from 1st July, 2014. Decision in this regard was taken by Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. OROP will provide ex-servicemen of the same rank and same length of service uniform pension regardless of date of retirement. Key facts • The benefits of OROP will be given with effect from 1st of July 2014 and it will benefit ex-servicemen of all three services- Army, Navy and Air Force. • The benefits will also be extended to family pensioners including war widows and disabled pensioners. • All arrears will be paid in four halfyearly instalments. However all widows, family pensioners including those in receipt of Gallantry award will be paid arrears in one instalment. • Pension will be re-fixed every five years and future enhancements in rates of pension would be automatically passed to the past pensioners.

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Armed forces personnel who retire voluntarily would be not covered under OROP scheme. However, it will be applicable to personnel who have already retired prematurely.

Stand up India scheme for SC/ST & Women

The Stand-up India scheme was launched on April 6 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide credit to Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), and women borrowers in the non-farm sector. The scheme is intended to promote entrepreneurship among SC/ST and women and further gives a push to government’s financial inclusion programme.

Main features of the scheme • Composite loan between 10 lakh rupees and up to 1 crore rupees will be provided to SC/ST and women and also inclusive of working capital component for setting up any new enterprise. • Debit Card (RuPay) for withdrawal of working capital: Credit history of borrower to be developed of these under-banked sections of society. • Refinance window through Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) with an initial amount of 10,000 crore rupees. • Creation of a corpus of 5,000 crore rupees for credit guarantee through National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC). • Handholding support for borrowers with comprehensive support for pre loan training needs, facilitating loan, factoring, marketing, etc. • Web Portal for online registration and support services will be provided. • Under the scheme, 1.25 lakh bank branches will provide loans up to 1 crore rupees to SC/ST and women entrepreneurs. Thus it will help in creating 2.5 lakh entrepreneurs throughout the country.

Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana – Gramin

The implementation of the rural housing scheme of Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-

CA-136 Gramin was given approval by the Union Cabinet on March 25. Under the scheme, financial assistance will be provided for construction of pucca houses to all houseless and households living in dilapidated houses. Key facts • The expenditure involved in implementing the project is ` 81975 crore in a span of 3 years from 2016-17 to 2018-19. • Under the scheme, it is proposed to provide assistance to one crore households for construction of pucca house. • It will be implemented in rural areas throughout the country except in Delhi and Chandigarh. • The beneficiaries will be identified using Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC)-2011 data ensuring total transparency and objectivity. • The cost of houses would be shared between Centre and States Governments in the ratio 60:40 in plain areas and 90:10 for North Eastern and hilly states. • Under this scheme, annual list of beneficiaries will be identified from the total list through participatory process by the Gram Sabha. • Funds will be transferred electronically directly to the account of the beneficiary. • He will be able to track the progress of his payments through the app. Inspection will be done through a mobile app. • Locally appropriate house designs, will be mainly practised to address the natural calamities. • The beneficiary is entitled to 90 days of unskilled labour from MGNREGA. This will be ensured through a server linkage between PMAY and MGNREGA. • The additional requirement of building materials, bricks using cement stabilised earth or fly ash will be taken up under MGNREGA. • National Technical Support Agency will be established to provide technical support to the Centre and States to ensure their quality of construction of the houses.

POLICIES AND SCHEMES 2016 Mukhyamantri Santwana Harish Yojana Mukhyamantri Santwana Harish Yojana was launched on March 8 by the Karnataka Government to provide free treatment to road accident victims for the first 48 hours in the nearest government or private hospital. The scheme is named after Harish Nanjappa, who donated his eyes moments before his death in a road accident in February 2016. Highlights of the scheme • The scheme will provide assistance to victims of road accidents across the state irrespective of their financial status or nationality. • Immediate medical relief will be provided to victims during the Golden Hour with financial aid up to 25000 during the first 48 hours of treatment. • The victims will receive medical care for first 48 hours and get treatment at any hospital. All hospitals will be directed not to reject accident victims. • •

A software covering hospital registration, patient registration, claims submission and packages will be installed for the proper implementation of the scheme. Emergency toll free helplines will also be set up to help accident victims.

Swachh Himachal Padhai bhi, Safai bhi

‘Swachh Himachal – Padhai bhi, Safai bhi’ campaign was launched by Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) on February 20 in Dharamsala. With this unique campaign, HPCA became the first cricket association in the country to work towards Swatch Bharat Abhiyan initiated by the Union Government. Key facts • •

The campaign aims at involving youth to promote good health and sanitation in urban and rural areas in the Himalayan state. Its objective is to showcase Himachal’s beauty as India’s cleanest and greenest state.

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POLICIES AND SCHEMES 2016 •

Under the scheme, the game of cricket will be linked with Swatch Bharat Abhiyan and youth will be termed as Swatch Captain and teachers as Swatch Coach. They will start cleanliness drive with the help of students from universities, educational institutes and then in their local neighbourhood.

Udyam Aakansha scheme

Chhattisgarh Government has launched ‘Udyam Aakansha’ Scheme for promoting micro, small and medium enterprises in the state on February 9. Highlights of the scheme • • • • •

The scheme would facilitate free online registration and self-certification to the investors interested in investment on micro, small and medium enterprises and service businesses. The investors can enrol themselves online through website of the Industries department which will be based on selfcertification process. For the online registration, investors need not submit any documents nor have to pay any fee. Chhattisgarh is among some leading states where this scheme has been initiated. Keeping in view the objective of promoting the ease of doing business, the process of registration and selfcertification for entrepreneurs has been simplified.

National Capital Goods Policy 2016

National Capital Goods Policy 2016 was unveiled by Union Ministry of Heavy Industries on 15 February 2016. The policy, with the theme Building India of Tomorrow, seeks to achieve the vision of Make in India initiative and establishes India as a global manufacturing hub by unlocking the potential for capital goods sector. Main Features • Vision: To increase the share of capital goods contribution from present 12 to 20% of total manufacturing activity by 2025. • Mission: To become one of the top capital goods producing nations of the

• • • • •

• •

world by raising the total production to over twice the current level. To raise exports to a significant level of at least 40% of total production and thus gain 2.5% share in global exports of capital goods. To improve technology depth in Indian capital goods from the current basic and intermediate levels to advanced levels. Objectives: Increase total production to achieve total production in excess of 5 lakh crore rupees by 2025 from the current 2.2 lakh crore rupees. To increase domestic employment from the current 15 lakhs to at least 50 lakhs by 2025 thus providing additional employment to over 35 lakhs people. To increase the share of domestic production in India’s capital goods demand from 56% to 80% by 2025 and in the process improve domestic capacity utilization to 80-90%. To improve skill availability by training 50 lakhs people by 2025. To improve ‘technology depth’ in capital goods sub-sectors by increasing research intensity in India from 0.9% to at least 2.8% of GDP.

Bihar joins UDAY Scheme •

• •

•

Bihar has become the sixth state to join Union Government’s UDAY (Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana) Scheme for financial restructuring of debt of power distribution companies. Other 5 states are Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat to become part of the scheme. A tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Bihar government, State Power Distribution companies (DISCOMs) and Union Power ministry. Under the scheme, Bihar government would take over 75% or 2,332 crore rupees of the state DISCOM’s total debt of 3,110 crore rupees as of September 2015. The balance 778 crore rupees outstanding debt will be re-priced or issued as state

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• •

guaranteed DISCOM bonds at coupon rates of around 3%. The debt restructuring of state DISCOMs will lead to annual saving in interest cost to the tune of around ` 117 crore. The financial restructuring of debt under this scheme will help Bihar to speedily provide power to around 160.60 lakh households in 1,152 villages that are still without electricity.

Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan

Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan was introduced by the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on 29 February 2016 in the Union Budget for 2016-17. The scheme is aimed at energising rural India and transforming lives of rural population.

Key Features of the scheme • The scheme seeks to develop governance capabilities of Panchayat Raj Institutions (PRIs) to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals. • Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan has been proposed with allocation of ` 655 crore. • The scheme will help Panchayat Raj Institutions deliver Sustainable Development Goals. • It will cover 52,000 village panchayats.

Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana

Under the Yojana, the Union Ministry of Rural Development will launch skill development training centres on a large scale to address the problem of unemployment particularly in rural India. Main Highlights of the Rural Scheme • The Yojana aims at training 10 lakh (1 million) rural youths for jobs in three years, that is, by 2017. • The minimum age for entry under the Yojana is 15 years compared to 18 years under the Aajeevika Skills Programme. • Skill development training centres to be launched so as to address the unemployment problem in the rural area.

POLICIES AND SCHEMES 2016 •

•

The skills imparted under the Yojana will now be benchmarked against international standards and will complement the Prime Minister’s Make In India campaign. The Kaushalya Yojana will also address the need for imparting training to the differently-able persons and chip in private players including international players to impart the skills to the rural youths.

Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Antyodaya Yojana for urban areas

It extends the coverage to all the 4041 statutory cities and towns, there by covering almost the entire urban population. Currently, all the urban poverty alleviating programmes covered only 790 towns and cities. Main Highlights of the Urban Scheme The scheme will focus on • Imparting skills with an expenditure of 15000 rupees to 18000 rupees on each urban poor. • Promotion of self-employment through setting up individual micro-enterprises and group enterprises with interest subsidy for individual projects costing 2 lakhs rupees and 10 lakhs rupees for group enterprises. • Training urban poor to meet the huge demand from urban citizens by imparting market oriented skills through City Livelihood Centres. • Enabling urban poor form Self-Help Groups for meeting financial and social needs with a support of 10000 rupees to each group.

National Dialysis Services Programme

With an aim to help poor patients suffering from renal (kidney) disease, who require regular dialysis, the government has started a ‘National Dialysis Services Programme’.

Highlights of the scheme • The scheme will provide health cover up-to ` 1 lakh per family.

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POLICIES AND SCHEMES 2016 • • • •

•

For senior citizens of the age 60 years and above belonging to this category, an additional top-up package up to ` 30,000 will be provided. About 2.2 lakh new patients of end stage renal disease get added every year resulting in additional demand for 3.4 crore dialysis sessions. With approximately 4,950 dialysis centres in India, largely in the private sector and concentrated in the major towns, the demand is only half met. Every dialysis session costs about ` 2,000 - an annual expenditure of more than ` 3 lakh. Besides, most families have to undertake frequent trips, often over long distances, to access dialysis services, incurring heavy travel costs and loss of wages. Finance Minister has also proposed to exempt certain parts of dialysis equipment from basic customs duty, excise/CVD and SAD to further reduce the cost.

•

Pradhan Mantri Yuva Yojana

The Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) launched the Pradhan Mantri YUVA Yojana to boost up an ecosystem of entrepreneurship for young people. Highlights of the Yojana • • • •

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana

On May 1, the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) was launched. The scheme will benefit the poor, especially the women. The scheme aims to provide cooking gas connections to five crore below-povertyline beneficiaries over the next three years. Salient features of the scheme • Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved 8000 crore rupees for the next 3 years starting from financial year 2016-17. • PM Ujjwala Yojana will provide 5 crore LPG connections to BPL Families. • A budgetary provision of the scheme is 2000 crore rupees. • 5 crore LPG connections will be provided to BPL families with a support of 1600 rupees. • Connections will be given in the name of women beneficiaries. • Identification of BPL families will be made in consultation with State Governments and Union territories.

EMI Facility for meeting the cost of Stove and Refill cost.

• •

The scheme was launched for the time period of over five years (2016-17 to 2020-21) with a project cost of 499.94 crore rupees. It will offer entrepreneurship education and training to around 7 lakh students in 5 years through 3050 Institutes. It will also offer easy access to information and mentor network, credit and advocacy to build a way-out for the youngsters. The institutes under the Yojana include 2200 Institutes of Higher Learning (colleges, universities, and premier institutes), 300 schools, 500 ITIs and 50 Entrepreneurship Development Centres. These institutes will carry out the training through Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). Other Launches The Ministry also unveiled the guidelines for State Engagement under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 2.0 (2016-2020). It allocated around 3000 crore rupees for the States to achieve its target of training 10 million people in over 4 years. It also launched the Lab Guidelines towards standardisation of lab equipment across skill development training centres in India. MSDE announced the institutionalisation of National Entrepreneurship awards for first generation achievers below 30 years for the very first time. The Entrepreneurship Awards will be given on 16 January 2017.

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Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan The scheme aims at providing pregnant women ante-natal services and required treatment for free at government health centres and hospitals on 9th of every month. The scheme had also found its mention in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s monthly radio address Mann Ki Baat in June 2016.

Salient Features • To provide healthy life to pregnant women • To lower the maternity mortality rate • To make pregnant women aware of their health issues and diseases • To ensure safe delivery and healthy life of the baby

POLICIES AND SCHEMES 2016 • • • •

The Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan is applicable for all pregnant women. It will provide medical checkups completely free to pregnant women. The checkups will take place at the medical centres, government and private hospitals and private clinics across the country. These free of cost tests will include blood pressure, sugar level, weight, haemoglobin test, blood test and screening. Women will be marked differently using coloured stickers based on their health problems so that doctors can easily detect the problem.

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Automation & Robotics: A way to Freedom or Slavery?

hether robotics or automation is a blessing or a curse to humanity has been a topic of huge debate over the past couple or even more decades. In order to be able to solve this puzzle, it is important that we understand robotics as well as its basis; henceforth we would be using the terms automation and robotics synonymously. The basis of automation is convenience; for instance, I have to talk to somebody who is in a different city or country or continent; I pick up the phone, or use video calling and have the necessary conversation - how very convenient. Automation, simply defined, is the application of control systems to operate equipment or software with no or minimal human intervention. Given that automation began with the intent of freeing up people from basic chores which combinedly took up a lot of manhours, let us begin with looking at the pros of automation: To start with, the major benefit of having automated systems is that it frees us up from spending a lot of time at a lot of our daily chores: want your clothes washed, just put them in the washing machine and it will do everything from rinsing to washing to drying them; feeling hungry, just put a couple of slices in the toaster and your snack is ready; want your house clean, just switch on the vacuum cleaner and in less than an hour, you have every nook and corner of your abode sparkling clean; these are the most basic benefits of having automated systems. Having automated systems also brings consistency to the tasks undertaken, be it the basic chores mentioned above, or major industrial usage; without automated systems and robots, would it have been possible to have such a large scale

n Gurleen Garelli

production of anything from a packet of chips to a luxury sedan - no; the precision and consistency of robots is impossible to achieve through human labour; it would be both monotonous and taxing to the human brain. Also, having automated systems means being able to undertake dangerous tasks like mining, tunnelling, lifting etc. without having to be physically involved. Tasks like building huge structures and mining out resources, which once claimed many lives, are now performed with ease, precision, and minimal risk. Had it not been for robotics, it would never have been possible to make the progress we have made in the field of structural engineering, or discover and draw on the natural resources that we presently have.

Another advantage of having robotic systems is being able to achieve more in lesser time, without losing out on precision. This has proved advantageous in the fields of automobiles, structural engineering, and even art; the last two, hugely benefiting from automated concepts like 3D printing, precision cutting laser systems, etc. which have allowed designers and artists, the freedom to imagine and fulfil way beyond what they ever could have. Automated systems like huge wind turbines and ducts have allowed us to recreate various weather phenomena like hurricanes, cyclones, and tornadoes, helping understand all of these better and

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AUTOMATION & ROBOTICS: A WAY TO FREEDOM OR SLAVERY?

also deal with them with minimal loss of life and property. Having automated systems like satellites and rovers have allowed us in monitoring and managing everything from communication to travel to weather changes well in time, besides allowing us access and knowledge about areas and planets that we would otherwise have never been able to reach. Automated systems have also helped us store and use data and statistics better so that all known scenarios are accounted for when making decisions; this would otherwise have been impossible given the limited control we have of our subconscious. These systems have also made us become more organized by helping us maintain schedules and appointments with ease and precision, and that per our individual preferences. Despite all of the mentioned advantages, there are also various drawbacks to having robotic systems (no mention any apocalyptic scenario where in skynet takes over the world): The first and major downside of having automated systems is becoming overly dependent on them; given that these systems are now used in almost every aspect of our daily routine, not having them even for a few hours seems to cause panic. Having all of these automated systems like escalators, washing machines, vacuum cleaners, etc... means the body does not get basic exercises like walking, washing clothes, climbing stairs, etc... which adds up overtime, making us lethargic and is the cause of many physical ailments like obesity and psychological ones like depression.

To avoid any sort of discrepancy in the functioning of these systems, it is imperative that these be maintained well and updated as and when required, which many a time results in a major dent in our pockets. Having way too many automated systems also means not so much work for handcrafting artisans and physically driven labourers. These systems have gradually begun to eat into the employment of skilled labour as well, as these systems hold advantages like precision, pace, and perseverance, to levels which would manually be impossible to achieve. Another shortcoming of automated systems is that these are pro-data and mechanical; these systems consider only those data that have been fed into them, either as part of the program that runs them, or the data input provided to them. It would thus be disastrous to trust or use them for decision making with regard to critical or sensitive situations. An extremely major disadvantage of these systems is the threat of hacking, which could lead to loss of critical information or resources, and even disaster (in case these systems are associated with largely destructive weapon arsenal). Going back to our introductory example of using phones or video calls to converse with people based in a different city, country, or continent: though that would be a boon, using the same phone to converse with somebody in the same room as you or the next room would be moronic. Thus, just like every tool developed by humans, robotic or automated systems too have their positives and negatives, and it is up to us users to use them sensibly. To quote, in the end, one of the greatest minds of the millenium, Albert Einstein: “I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots.” It is thus in our hands, whether to use technology as a tool or be a tool in the hands of technology.

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Is Digital India Campaign in India, a Country that Ranks 97 in the Global Hunger Index, just a Fantasy? n Mahima Kohli

witness a huge transformation in the way its government and people interact and function. Digitalisation is a crucial step to bring in transparency, better governance, and to reduce corruption and red tape in the country. But with every grand vision, there are hidden complications and consequences, and Digital India is no exception. In a country that ranks 97th out of 118 countries on the 2016 Global Hunger Index (GHI), the idea of spending Rs 1.13 lakh crore (roughly $17 billion) on digitalising the entire nation does feel more like a fantasy than a prudent plan.

n 1 July 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi outlined his vision for a Digital India, “where high-speed digital highways unite the nation; 1.2 billion connected Indians drive innovation; technology ensures the citizen-government interface is incorruptible.” The campaign has been launched with the aim of creating a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy and bringing good governance to citizens through synchronized and co-ordinated engagement of the entire government. It comprises three components: creation of a digital infrastructure, delivering services digitally, and digital literacy. Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL), the custodian of Digital India, is creating basic infrastructure for the same through its National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) project, which was launched in 2011 to provide broadband and mobile connectivity to all 2.5 lakh Gram Panchayats of India.

India’s dismal performance on the Global Hunger Index

The Global Hunger Index (GHI), developed by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), describes the state of countries’ hunger situation. India’s score on the GHI scale has consistently been dismal, with the country being rated with ‘serious’ hunger levels in the latest

If all these plans are implemented to even a certain level of efficiency, India will

GLOBAL HUNGER INDEX

(score on index) Rank Argentina (1st)

Iran (23rd)

China (29th)

Nigeria (84th)

Bangladesh (90th)

India (97th)

1992 5.8

17.5

26.4

49.5

52.4

46.4

2000 5.3

13.7

15.9

40.9

38.5

38.2

Note: Score ranges from 0 (no hunger) to 100 (the worst): 16 countries are ranked 1 on the index Source: Global Hunger index, IFPRI

2008 <5

8.8

11.5

33.6

32.4 36

2016 <5

6.7

7.7

25.5

27.1

28.5

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IS DIGITAL INDIA CAMPAIGN IN INDIA, A COUNTRY THAT RANKS 97 ....

report. In 2015, India ranked 80th out of 104 countries, much behind Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh, and only better than North Korea, Pakistan, Timor-Leste and Afghanistan in the whole of Asia. Its rank is also the lowest among all BRICS nations. In 2013, India’s position was rated as “alarming”, but it has shown some improvement over the years. In 2016, India’s GHI score was 28.5 which was improved from 36 in 2008. India is slated to become the world’s most populous nation in another six years, and it is crucial to meet this milestone with reassurance that the expected 1.4 billion Indians will have enough nutritious food to lead healthy, successful lives.

Obstacles in India’s march towards a digitalised economy The conjecture underlying the Digital India campaign seems to be that 71% of rural India owns mobile phones. But the fact that 75% of rural India also survives on Rs. 33 a day complicates matters. Moreover, the World Economic Forum places India at No. 91 in readiness to transform into a digitalised economy. Indeed, internet penetration as a percentage of the total population in India is a mere 19%, with total mobile internet users being even lesser at 16%. In addition to that, out of the 10% Indians who speak English, only 2% reside in rural areas, the rest being dependent on vernacular languages. But as of now, email addresses on the internet can only be created in the English language. So, to effectively connect the rural population with Digital India, the government is trying

to compel email services providers like Gmail and Rediff to provide email addresses in regional languages. Meanwhile, an Indian company, Data Xgen Technologies Pvt. Ltd., has recently launched the world’s first free linguistic email address under the name ‘DATAMAIL’, which provides email addresses in 8 Indian languages, in addition to English, Arabic, Russian, and Chinese. This is undoubtedly a positive step towards driving a larger share of the rural population towards digital literacy.

Positive potential of Digital India for the government and the poor In many ways, Digital India shows great potential for improving the efficiency of governmental functioning and implementation of schemes for the poor. The NIC is working on a master database, called Servam, on which everything from educational certificates and health records to land documents will be stored. On this server, data from the National Population Register (NPR), which contains information on a person’s name, father’s name, occupation and marital status, will be combined with the Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) list that provides information on households, such as income levels and total land holdings. Servam will thus make it much easier to identify beneficiaries and transfer money directly into their bank accounts under the DBT scheme, helping to prevent corruption and duplication in payments. Using Aadhaar numbers and latest technology, it’ll also make identification of bogus ration cards easier. Until now, every ministry and state largely handled its own digital affairs, creating considerable disparity in the levels of progress in the implementation of programs in different regions and departments. Centralisation of databases is expected to streamline and transform the digital landscape within the government.

IS DIGITAL INDIA CAMPAIGN IN INDIA, A COUNTRY THAT RANKS 97 ....

The government has also recently launched a video conferencing platform called Pragati, which is revolutionising government meetings through its 400 video conferencing studios that conduct 28,000 video conferencing calls every month. This saves unprecedented amounts of money, time and effort that go into organising official tours, meetings, etc. Of course, in the end, the labour required to lay down optical fibres and other infrastructure for the campaign will generate employment, especially in rural areas, encouraging rural youth and labour to avoid distress migration and find work near home.

Long way to go to make Digital India truly successful

There are many issues underlying the implementation of Digital India that need deeper pondering and planning. The foremost is of fiscal prudence. It is still unclear how much the campaign is actually going to cost, though the government has announced a budget of Rs 1.13 lakh crore. Given India’s growing fiscal deficit year after year, the government must exercise judiciousness in its financial allocation to grand schemes of digitalisation while

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its population suffers from immediate economic troubles. Digitalising will also give rise to unparalleled amounts of e-waste. Digital India campaign must include a plan to limit e-waste generation and its careful disposal, because e-waste includes many toxic substances that are hazardous to the environment and human health if not handled in an environmentally sound manner. Another potentially catastrophic event could occur if Servam were to be hacked, because governmental data is a goldmine for national and international hackers with invariably malicious intent. Appropriate and state-ofthe-art technological innovations must be employed, therefore, to make the servers impenetrable for the sake of the country’s strategic, economic and technological security. Notwithstanding the sorry state of India’s fight against poverty and hunger, the idea of Digital India is futuristic and certainly holds merit. While India is making slow progress on both socio-economic and technological fronts, there are significant challenges ahead that need careful handling and prioritising by the government to make India a digital power with a well-fed population.

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PEOPLE 2016

PEOPLE 2016 NATIONAL

Anuradha Roy Indian writer Anuradha Roy has won the prestigious $50,000 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2016 for her novel ‘Sleeping on Jupiter’. This year’s DSC Prize Festival was held in Sri Lanka on 16th January. Her novel Sleeping on Jupiter deals with the subject of violence against women with story revolving around girl named Nomi and is set in Jarmuli, a city of temples. Anuradha Roy is novelist, journalist and editor. Her first novel ‘An Atlas of Impossible Longing’ has been translated into 15 languages across the world. Till date she has authored three novels viz. An Atlas of Impossible Longing (2008), The Folded Earth (2011) and Sleeping on Jupiter (2015).

The DSC Price for PV Sindhu India’s ace shuttler Pusarla Venkata Sindhu won the silver medal in women’s singles badminton event at 2016 Rio Olympics. In the final match of women’s singles badminton event, Sindhu lost to Spain’s Carolina Marín (World No.1) by 21-19, 12-21, 15-21 score. Earlier in her quarterfinal match, she had defeated Japan’s Wang Yihan (World No.2) by 22-20, 21-19 score. She also won china open on 19 November, 2016. PV Sindhu was Born on 5 July 1995 in Hyderabad, Telangana. She had received international attention after getting listed into the Top 20 list of Badminton World

Federation rankings in 2012. In 2013, she created history by becoming first Indian women’s singles badminton player to win a bronze medal at the 2013 World Championships. She was awarded with Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian honor in March 2015.

Rekha Bollywood actress Rekha was honoured with the third Yash Chopra Memorial Award on 26th January 2016. The Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao presented the award to the actress in recognition of her talent and contribution to the film industry. Bhanurekha Ganesan was born on 10 October, 1954 in Chennai, better known by her stage name Rekha, is a well known film actress. Noted for her versatility and acknowledged as one of the finest actresses in Hindi cinema. Rekha started her career in 1966 as a child actress in the Telugu film Rangula Ratnam. She is an alumnus of the popular Church Park Convent in Chennai. She considers Telugu to be her mother tongue. She also speaks Hindi, Tamil and English fluently. Aurobindo Mukherjee Veteran film director Aurobindo Mukherjee passed away on 11th February, 2016 at his residence in Kolkata. A. Mukherjee was the maker of cult Bengali classics like ‘Mouchak, ‘Agniswar” and ‘Nishipadma’, all of them starred matinee idol Uttam Kumar in the early 1970s. He was younger brother of famous novelist Balaichand Mukhopadhyay who is popularly

PEOPLE 2016 known as Bonophool. He had joined Tollywood in 1950s. Mukherjee is also credited to have introduced a young Jaya Bhaduri to movies in ‘Dhanyee Meye’ in 1971. Lance Naik Hanamanthappa Siachen braveheart Lance Naik Hanamanthappa Koppad passed away on 11th February, 2016 three days after he was miraculously rescued from beneath 35 feet of snow after an avalanche hit his post in Siachen Glacier at the height of 19,600 feet. Koppad was the lone survivor among 10 soldiers buried by the avalanche in Siachen on 3rd February. He was flown to Delhi in an IAF aircraft and was admitted to R&R Hospital. He had slipped into a deeper state of coma after his pneumonia worsened and his kidneys became non-functional. He belonged to the 19th Battalion of Madras Regiment and is survived by his wife Mahadevi Ashok Bilebal and two-year-old daughter Netra Koppad.

Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan Renowned Hindustani classical vocalist Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan passed away on February 18, 2016. He was 107. He was a highly acclaimed Hindustani classical singer of Gwalior Gharana who had created around 2,000 compositions and was also a prolific writer and poet under the pseudonym Rasan Piya. Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan was Born in Uttar Pradesh in 1908 in a family of musicians. He was a descendant (16th generation) of Tansen, a classical music composer in the court of the Mughal Emperor Akbar. He had received his initial training from his father Chhote Yusuf Khan and uncle Bade Yusuf Khan and also from other elders of their family. Alok Kumar Verma Senior IPS officer Alok Kumar Verma (58) took charge as the new Commissioner of Delhi Police on 29th February, 2016. He succeeded B S Bassi who had been at conflict with the AAP government on a range of issues in the last one year. He has assumed charge of Delhi Police during the ongoing criticism over handling of the JNU row. Verma is a 1979 batch IPS officer of the AGMUT (Arunachal PradeshGoa-Mizoram and Union Territory) cadre and was previously serving as the Director General of Tihar jail. He became the 20th police commissioner of the Delhi police

CA-147 force which has strength of over 80,000 personnel.

Pandit Ram Narayan Padma Vibhushan Pandit Ram Narayan has been chosen for the prestigious Bharat Ratna Pandit Bhimsen Joshi Classical Music Award for 2015-2016 in sarangi. The eight-member panel of jury which unanimously recommended Pandit Ram Narayan for the prestigious award comprised of industry experts such as Pandit Suresh Talwalkar, musicologist Nath Naralkar and others. He recorded solo albums and toured America and Europe in the 1960s. Narayan also taught Indian and foreign students. He was awarded India’s second highest civilian honour, the Padma Vibhushan, in 2005.

P K Nair Renowned film archivist and film scholar P.K. Nair, who had won the epithet ‘celluloid man’ for his impeccable body of work as the founder of the National Film Archive of India (NFAI) passed away on 4th March 2016 at Sahyadri Nursing Home in Pune. He started working with the NFAI in 1965 as assistant curator and later became its director in 1982. He retired in April 1991 and is said to have collected over 12,000 films, of which 8,000 were Indian. These include the works of legendary filmmakers such as Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen, V Shantaram, Raj Kapoor and Guru Dutt. Nair was awarded the Satyajit Ray Memorial Award in 2008. ‘Celluloid Man’, a documentary on Nair was made by Shivendra Singh Dungarpur had won two National Awards at the 60th National Film Awards, including Best Biographical Film and Best Editing. The film was released in India on 3 May, 2013 to coincide with the centenary of Indian cinema. Ritu Beri Noted designer Ritu Beri has been appointed advisor to the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) on 15 June, 2016 for promotion of khadi in India and across the world. The Commission appointed the star fashion designer for a period of one year during which she will advise on ways to promote khadi. In her 25 year stint in the fashion industry Beri has designed clothes for international and national celebrities including Bill

CA-148 Clinton, Prince Charles, Nicole Kidman and Ivana Trump.

P. Susheela Renowned playback singer P. Susheela Mohan entered the Guinness Book of World Records and Asia Book of Records for singing most number of songs in Indian languages. Susheela has over 30,000 songs to her credit which include solo, duet and chorus backed songs in over six Indian languages. Guinness Book of Records credited her for singing 17,695 songs (solo, duet and chorus backed songs) in twelve Indian languages, Asia Book of Records has recognised her for singing close to 17,330 songs. She made her singing debut in 1952 Tamil film “Petra Thai”, and went on to give classics such as “Missamma”, “Savaale Samaali”, “Siri Siri Muvva” and “Meghasandesham”. She has been conferred with various awards and honours which include five National Awards and the Padma Bhushan honour in 2008.

Lt Gen N P S Hira Lt Gen N P S Hira, Chief of the Army’s Northern Command has been appointed as the Deputy Chief of Army Staff. He assumed office on 14th March. 2016 He commanded his Battalion in Assam (Op. Rhino) during the high violence period. The unit bagged 32 gallantry awards and COAS (Chief of Army staff) citation under his command. Hira also commanded 12 Infantry Brigade which was deployed on the Line of Control in Uri sector. The Brigade earned an Ashok Chakra, Kirti Chakra, Shaurya Chakra and many more gallantry awards during his command. He also commanded the 10 Infantry Division in Jammu and Kashmir on the Line of Control with distinction for which he was awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal.

Padma Sachdev Jammu-born poet and novelist Padma Sachdev has been chosen for the prestigious Saraswati Samman for the year 2015 for her autobiography in Dogri language. Her autobiography ‘Chitt-Chete’, published in 2007, was selected from 22 works in as many languages published between the years 2005-2014. Sachdev has published her several poetry collection including Meri Kavita Mere Geet (My Poems, My Songs) that has won the

PEOPLE 2016 Sahitya Akademi Award in 1971. She has also received the Padma Shri, the Indian fourth highest civilian award in 2001. The Kabir Samman for poetry for the year 2007-08 was also awarded to her by the Government of Madhya Pradesh. Deepak Mishra Deepak Mishra, IPS has been apponted as Additional Director General of CRPF from the date of assumption of charge of the post and upto 30.11.2018 (i.e. date of his retirement on superannuation) or until further orders. Mishra is IPS officer of the 1984 batch of the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre. Rahul Johri BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) has appointed media professional Rahul Johri as its first chief executive officer (CEO). After spending two decades in the media industry, Johri will assume his new role on 1st June 2016. Johri will be based at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai and will report directly to the Honorary Secretary, Anurag Thakur. Johri was the Asia Pacific’s executive vicepresident and general manager for South Asia with Discovery Networks where he had been working for 15 years.

Dipa Karmakar The 23 year Tripura girl, Dipa Karmakar created history by becoming the first Indian woman gymnast to qualify for Olympics as she booked a berth for the Rio Games after a strong performance at the final qualifying and test event. She garnered a total score of 52.698 points in the Olympics qualifying event to book a berth for artistic gymnastics in Rio Games. Dipa had created history by becoming the first Indian woman gymnast to win a medal - a bronze, in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014. She then became the first Indian woman gymnast to feature in the finals of World Championships. MC Mary Kom Indian woman boxer MC Mary Kom added another honour to her list of accolades as she was named one of the eight ambassadors for the upcoming World Championships by the International Boxing Association (AIBA).

PEOPLE 2016 Originally known as Mangte Chungneijang, Mary Kom was born on 1 March, 1983, in Churachandpur district of Manipur. She is nicknamed Magnificent Mary and is 5 time World Amateur Boxing Champion. She is the only woman boxer to have won a medal in each one of the six world championships. Mary Kom had won a bronze medal in 2012 London Olympics in the flyweight (51 kg) category and was only Indian woman boxer to qualify for this category.

Sunil Lanba The Government has appointed Vice Admiral Sunil Lanba, presently Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-in-C) Western Naval Command as the next Chief of the Naval Staff with effect from May 31, 2016. The present Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral RK Dhowan will superannuate from service on May 31, 2016. Vice Admiral Lanba’s Sea Command includes commanding the minesweeper INS Kakinada, frigate INS Himgiri and Executive Officer of INS Viraat, the aircraft carrier. Before taking over as FOC-in-C, Western Naval Command, he was FOC-in-C, Southern Naval Command, Vice Chief of the Naval Staff and Commandant, National Defence College. Lanba is a qualified specialist in navigation and direction course. He attended the course at the Royal College of Defence Studies, UK. He is a recipient of Param Vishist Seva Medal and Ati Vishist Seva Medal. Raghuveer Chaudhari President Pranab Mukherjee conferred the 51st Jnanpith Award on renowned Gujarati writer and litterateur Dr. Raghuveer Chaudhari on July 11, 2016 at a function in New Delhi. He was awarded with the India’s highest literary honour carrying a cash prize, a citation plaque and a bronze replica of Goddess Saraswati for the year 2015. Chaudhari’s literary work has been influenced by works of Gowardhan Ram Tripathi, Kaka Kalelkar and Suresh Joshi. He has authored more than 80 books and some of his notable novels include Amrita, Venu Vatsala, Uparvas, Purvarang and Laagni Samjyaa Vinaa Chuuta Padvanu. He also had worked as a columnist for numerous newspapers such as Sandesh, Janmabhumi, Nirikshaka and Divya Bhaskar.

CA-149 Bezwada Wilson & TM Krishna Two Indians TM Krishna and Bezwada Wilson have received the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay prize for the year 2016. They were among six persons/organisations who received the prestigious award, often regarded as Asia’s Nobel Prize. Bezwada Wilson is the National Convener of the Safai Karmachari Andolan (SKA). He was awarded for asserting the inalienable right to a life of human dignity. He has done remarkable work in liberating scores of people engaged in manual scavenging across the country. Thodur Madabusi Krishna is a Carnatic music vocalist. He was bestowed with this award ensuring social inclusiveness in culture.

Mariyappan Thangavelu Mariyappan Thangavelu has won India’s first gold medal at the 2016 Rio Paralympics in Brazil. He won the gold medal in the Men’s High Jump T-42 event with jump of 1.89 metres. With this, Thangavelu became the first Indian high-jumper to win gold at the Paralympics. This was India’s overall third gold at the Paralympics and the first after 12 years. In addition, India’s Varun Singh Bhati won the bronze medal in same event with the jump of 1.86 metres to finish third. Sam Grewe of United States won the silver medal. India had won its first ever Paralympics Gold medal in the 1972 Heidelberg Games. It was won by Swimmer Murlikant Petkar. Devendra Jhajharia Devendra Jhajharia (36) has won gold medal in the men’s javelin throw, F46 event held at the 2016 Rio Paralympics. With this, he becomes only the second gold medallist at the Paralympics for India. He won the gold medal with world-record throw of 63.97 metres. Devendra Jhajharia’s left hand amputated after he had met with accident in his childhood. He was awarded the Arjuna award in 2004 and the Padma Shri in 2012, becoming the first Paralympian to receive the honour. He last participated in the Paralympics 12 years ago i.e. in 2004, however the F46 event did not feature in the 2008 and the 2012 editions of Paralympics.

CA-150 Ajinkya Rahane & Rohit Sharma Cricketers Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma were conferred with the Arjuna Award for their contributions to sport of cricket. The award was bestowed upon them by Union Sports Minister Vijay Goel in New Delhi. Sharma was bestowed with the award for the year 2015 and Rahane for the year 2016. Earlier, both were not able to receive awards from the President Pranab Mukherjee as they were participating in international tournaments. Ajinkya Madhukar Rahane is an international cricketer who represents India and is the vice captain in the Test format of the game. Rohit Gurunath Sharma is an Indian cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and an occasional right-arm off break bowler who plays for Mumbai in domestic cricket. He is the captain of the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League. Alka Sirohi IAS officer Alka Sirohi has been appointed as chairman of Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) with effect from September 21, 2016 as per Article 316 of Constitution. She will replace Deepak Gupta who demits office on 20th September, 2016. She will be in office till completion of her term as member on January 3, 2017. She is a retired IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre. Prior to this appointment she was member of the UPSC. Before joining the UPSC as a member in January 2012, she was Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). Rohith Vemula Rohith Vemula was a 26-year-old PhD scholar at the Hyderabad University, who committed suicide on 17 January, 2016, after he and four other students were suspended from the college hostel following a disciplinary action initiated by the University administration on the complaint of a ABVP student leader lodged in August 2015. The ABVP student had alleged that Vemula and other members of the the Ambedkar Students Association (ASA) had roughed him up and demanded an apology for posting an ‘angry’ Facebook post, after the ASA protested against the hanging of Yakub Memon. After the ABVP leader’s complaint, the University’s proctorial board launched an enquiry into the matter and recommended strict action against Vemula and others.

PEOPLE 2016 Zakir Naik Zakir Naik has been under the scanner of Indian law enforcement authorities ever since Bangladesh asked for an investigation into his speeches and his writing, following a claim that a terrorist involved in the recent terror attack in Dhaka was his follower who was inspired by his speeches. Mr. Naik’s speeches are aired on ‘Peace TV’ from Dubai, run by his Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation. Britain and Canada have banned Mr. Naik from visiting their countries several years ago while Malaysia banned his lectures fearing that they could instigate inter-racial tensions. Born on 18 October 1965 in Mumbai, Dr. Naik attended the Kishinchand Chellaram College in Churchgate, and later studied medicine at Topiwala National Medical College, and BYL Nair Charitable Hospital. Arnab Goswami

Arnab Goswami left the ‘Times Now’ channel on 1st November, 2016 following differences with its owners, the Jains - Sameer, Vineet Kumar and Raj - of Bennett Coleman & Co, Ltd. He is one of the most popular TV journalists in India. He is the news anchor and chief editor of the Indian news channel ‘Times Now’. The program ‘News Hour’ a live debate hosted by Arnab at 9 pm during weekdays, is the most watched news program in India. He also anchors a special TV program ‘Frankly Speaking with Arnab’. Subrata Roy

Subrata Roy was released on parole in May 2016 to attend the last rites of his deceased mother. The court kept extending his parole on the condition of depositing money with the SEBI towards refunding investors. On 26 February, 2014, the Supreme Court of India ordered the arrest of Subrata Roy, chairman and founder of Sahara India Pariwar, for failing to appear in court in connection with the `24,000 crore deposits his company failed to refund to its investors as per a Supreme Court order, after a legal dispute with the Indian market

PEOPLE 2016 regulator SEBI. He was eventually arrested on 28 February, 2014 by Uttar Pradesh police on a Supreme Court warrant. After spending over two years in jail, Roy was released on parole when his mother died in May 2016. His parole, as well as that of directors Ashok Roy Choudhary and Ravi S Dubey, was subsequently extended on the condition that they should deposit money for refunding investors at regular intervals. Yudhvir Singh Malik The Union Government has appointed Yudhvir Singh Malik as the Chairman of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). Prior to this appointment he was posted as special secretary in NITI Aayog. Prior to joining NITI Aayg, he was CEO of FSSAI from October 2014 to September 2015. His tenure marked with Maggi noodle ban issue which had brought food regulator into limelight. Ravichandran Ashwin

As per ICC ranking India’s off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has ended 2015 as the number one Test bowler and all-rounder. Bishan Bedi, an ICC Hall of Famer, is the only India bowler to ever top the Test bowling table, while Bhagwath Chandrasekhar, Kapil Dev and Anil Kumble peaked at number-two during their careers. Ashwin was born on 17 September, 1986 in a Tamil family. He lives in West Mambalam, Chennai. He did his schooling from Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan and St. Bede’s. He attended SSN College of Engineering and graduated with a BTech in Information Technology. His father Ravichandran played cricket at the club level as a fast bowler. Sanjay Subramanian Veteran South Indian classical vocalists Sanjay Subrahmanyam has been conferred with the 2015 Sangita Kalanidhi award on 2nd January. It was presented by the mathematician Manjul Bhargava at 89th annual conference of the Madras Music Academy in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. This honour is considered one of the highest awards in Carnatic music. Sanjay Subrahmanyan was born on 21 January, 1968 in Chennai to S. Sankaran and Aruna Sankaran who learned music from Rukmini

CA-151 Rajagopalan, Rajaram Iyer, Maruthuvakudi Rajagopala Iyer and Mayavaram Saraswati. His father S. Sankaran, popularly known as Burma Sankaran, was a member of the drama troupe led by Cho Ramaswamy.

Gurdeep Singh Gurdeep Singh was appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of NTPC Ltd. on 28 January, 2016. Singh will be the first person to be appointed to the top job at a Maharatna company through a search committee route. Gurdeep Singh is a Mechanical Engineer. He has over 28 years of experience in power sector. He has worked at various levels both in Indian and Multi-national Companies in the power sector. He started his career with NTPC Limited and has worked at various levels both in Indian and Multinational Companies namely Powergen, CLP, IDFC, CESC and AES. He has worked in different areas of Power Sector ranging from business development, projects and operations. Prior to joining NTPC, Shri Singh was Managing Director, Gujarat State Electricity Corporation Limited. K Durga Prasad K Durga Prasad was appointed as the Director General (DG) of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) 2nd February, 2016. Prasad, an IPS officer of 1981 batch from Andhra Pradesh cadre. Earlier, Prasad served as the director of the Special Protection Group (SPG). SPG provides security to the Prime Minister, former Prime Ministers and their family members. CRPF is the largest Central Armed Police Forces in India. At present, CRPF is the world’s largest paramilitary force with 228 battalions and over three lakh personnel.

Sudhir Tailang Cartoonist Sudhir Tailang died on 6 February, 2016 due to brain tumor in Gurgaon. He was 55. Tailang, who chronicled contemporary Indian politics with humour, was awarded Padma Shri in 2004. Recently, he also launched a book of cartoons titled ‘No, Prime Minister’, with a set of cartoons on former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Born in Bikaner on 26 February, 1960, Tailang came out with his first cartoon in 1970 but started his carrier as a cartoonist

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with the ‘Illustrated Weekly’ of India in Mumbai in 1982. Later, he worked with many newspapers like Navbharat Times, Times of India, Hindustan Times and the Indian Express. His last assignment was with the Asian Age.

Homi Bhabha Science and Technology Award 2006, DAE Awards in the years 2007, 2008, 2012 and 2013. He is also a Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineers.

KN Vyas Distinguished Scientist KN Vyas on 23 February, 2016 took charge as Director of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). He joined Fuel Design and Development Section of Reactor Engineering Division of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre after getting graduated from the BARC Training School. He had a vast experience of 36 years in design and analysis of nuclear reactor fuels. He has worked extensively in thermal hydraulics and stress analysis of critical reactor core components. He has also participated in design and analysis of the Test Blanket Module planned to be installed in ITER, France. He was conferred many awards, some of which are Indian Nuclear Society Outstanding Service Award 2011,

Manoj Kumar Veteran Film Actor and Director Manoj Kumar was conferred with the 47th Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2015. Kumar was born in Abbottabad, a town in the North-West Frontier Province (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Pakistan, then part of prepartition India. His original name was Harikishan Giri Goswami. When he was 10, his family had to migrate from Jandhyala Sher Khan to Delhi due to the Partition. His family lived as refugees in Vijay Nagar, Kingsway Camp and later moved to Old Rajendra Nagar area of New Delhi. After graduating from Hindu College, University of Delhi, he decided to enter the film industry.

Rajendra K Pachauri Former Director General of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) Rajendra Kumar Pachauri on 8 February, 2016 was appointed as the Executive Vice-Chairman of the organisation with the immediate effect. The post of Executive Vice Chairman has been recently created and Pachauri will be the first to hold the post. R.K Pachauri was born in Nainital. He was educated at La Martiniere College in Lucknow and at the Indian Railways Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering in Jamalpur, Bihar. He belongs to the Special Class Railway Apprentices, 1958 Batch, an elite scheme which heralded the beginning of mechanical engineering education in India. He began his career with the Indian Railways at the Diesel Locomotive Works in Varanasi. He joined North Carolina State University in Raleigh, United States, where he obtained an MS in Industrial Engineering in 1972, and a PhD with co-majors in Industrial Engineering and Economics in 1974. His doctoral thesis was titled, A dynamic model for forecasting of electrical energy demand in a specific region located in North and South Carolina. He lives in Golf Links, New Delhi. He is a strict vegetarian, largely because of “the environmental and climate change implications.”

Haldar Nag Haldhar Nag, the 66-year-old poet in Kosli language, was in news in the last week of March 2016. He came in news after President Pranab Mukherjee on 28 March, 2016 conferred Padma Shri 2016 on him at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. He was bestowed with third highest civilian honour for his contribution in Literature & Education section. In Odisha, he is known as Lok Kabi Ratna and has penned down 20 epics and several poems. He remembers all his creations and can recite them at any point of time. He wrote his first poem ‘Dhodo Bargachh’ (The Old Banyan Tree) in 1990, which was published in a local magazine. He wrote it while selling stationeries and eatables for school students from a small shop owned by him. Born in a poor family of Ghens in Bargarh district of Odisha in 1950, Nag could attend school only up to Class-III. Five scholars have based their PhD research on his works. He draws his themes from the rustic surroundings and mostly writes on nature, society, religion and mythology. He also takes up the cause of the oppressed and social reforms through his writings. Besides, Sambalpur University is coming up with a compilation of his writings, titled Haldhar Granthabali-2. This compilation will be a part of the university’s syllabus.

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Dinesh Sharma India’s Dinesh Sharma has been elected to the board of directors of the Chinasponsored Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). He has been elected to the 12-member board through a secret ballot. This is the first board of directors of AIIB in which 57 nations are founding members including India. Presently, Dinesh Sharma is serving as Additional Secretary of Union Ministry of Finance. Pankaj Patel

Pankaj Patel was elected as the President of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) for the year 2017. He will take over after incumbent Ambuja Neotia. Group Chairman Harshavardhan Neotia completes his term in December 2016. At present Pankaj Patel is Chief Managing Director of Zydus Cadila. He is actively involved in various educational institutions and is on advisory committees and academic councils of several educational institutions such as IISER (Kolkata), IIM Ahmedabad etc. He is also the Vice President, Executive Chairman and Trustee of the Gujarat Cancer Society and Chairman of the Gujarat Cancer and Research Institute, one of the largest of its kind regional Cancer Centre in India.

Devender Kumar Sikri Devender Kumar Sikri was appointed as Chairman of fair-trade regulator Competition Commission of India (CCI) on 7 January 2016. He succeeds Ashok Chawla, whose tenure as the Chairman of CCI ended on 7 January 2016 itself. Devender Kumar Sikri is a former IAS officer of Gujarat cadre. He has held various positions in his cadre state Gujarat as well as in Centre. He was superannuated as Secretary, Department of Justice in July 2013. He had also served as Secretary in the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development, and Registrar General of Census (RGC). The CCI was established to eliminate practices that adversely affect competition in different industries and protect interests of consumers

and ensure freedom of trade. It is statutory body established under The Competition Act of 2002. It was established in 2003 and became fully functional in 2009. Urjit R Patel

Union Government appointed Dr. Urjit R Patel as the 24th governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 20 August, 2016. He will be having tenure of three years with effect from 4 September, 2016. He will succeed the present RBI Governor Dr. Raghuram Rajan, the former International Monetary Fund chief economist. At present, Dr Patel is the Deputy Governor of RBI and is holding this assignment since 2013. With this appointment, he also becomes the eight Deputy Governor to be elevated as the Governor at RBI. Patel obtained his Bachelor’s in Economics from the London School of Economics, M. Phil. degree from Oxford University in 1986. He received his doctorate in Economics from Yale University in 1990. He was at IMF India desk during the 1991–94 transition period. He was posted to IMF country mission in India 1992–95. He has also been a nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution since 2009. Mahudha in Kheda district of Gujarat is his ancestral village. Patel is unmarried. Binny Bansal

India’s biggest e-commerce company, Flipkart, announced the promotion of current Chief Operating Officer Binny Bansal to the post of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) on 11 January, 2016. On the other hand, Sachin Bansal, who has been the CEO since inception, will now take on the newlycreated role of Executive Chairman. Binny Bansal is from the capital of Punjab and Haryana State, Chandigarh and was brought up there as well. He studied at St. Anne’s in Chandigarh and later went to the Indian Institute of Technology at Delhi (IIT-Delhi). Binny Bansal, along with this business partner, was named as the 86th richest person in India by Forbes India Rish List, with a total net worth of more than $1.3 billion.

CA-154 Atulesh Jindal Senior revenue service officer Atulesh Jindal was appointed chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on 21 January, 2016. Jindal will succeed A K Jain, who completes his term at the end of January 2016. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Jindal as chairman of the apex policy-making body of the income tax department. Jindal is a 1978 batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer. He is currently working as member (revenue) in the CBDT. He will have a tenure of six-months until he retires in July 2016. The Central Board of Direct Taxes is a statutory authority functioning under the Central Board of Revenue Act, 1963.

Aruna Sethi Aruna Sethi, the Principal Adviser (Cost) took over charge as the head of Indian Cost Accounts Service (ICoAS) on 1 February 2016. With this appointment, she became the first woman to occupy the post. Prior to the present elevation, Aruna, a 1985 batch ICoAS officer, held important portfolios in Government of India including Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Ministry of Defence etc.

Amit Mitra The Finance Minister of West Bengal Amit Mitra was named the chairman of the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers on Goods and Services Tax (GST) on 19 February, 2016. He will be the second chairman of the panel, tasked with framing rules for roll out of the GST regime, which will subsume all indirect taxes and create one national market, from West Bengal. Amit Mitra is an Indian economist and politician representing All India Trinamool Congress and the current Finance, Commerce & Industries Minister of the Indian state of West Bengal. He is the incumbent MLA in the West Bengal state assembly from the Khardaha state assembly constituency. Previously he served as the Secretary General of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). Son of Hari Mitra, a former Deputy Speaker of the West Bengal legislative assembly and Bela Mitra, his maternal grandfather

PEOPLE 2016 was Suresh Chandra Bose, elder brother of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. Both Suresh Chandra Bose and Haridas Mitra were part of the secret service team of Azad Hind Fauj. Satyanand Munjal Satyanand Munjal, co-founder of Hero Cycles group, died a natural death on 14th April, 2016 at the age of 99 in his residence in Model Town, Ludhiana. Munjal was popularly known as ‘mahatma’ for being devoted to several social causes related to the Arya Samaj. Apart from building a business empire, his philanthropic acts such as Bahadur Chand Munjal (BCM) Arya schools, Hero DMC Heart Institute, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) remain his most notable works. He undertook several new initiatives by keeping a regular track of the functioning of these institutions. Munjal also propagated teachings of the Arya Samaj extensively.

Sushil Chandra The Union Government has appointed senior Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Sushil Chandra as the Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). Sushil Chandra is IRS officer of 1980 batch. Prior to this appointment he was serving as member of CBDT. He will succeed Rani Singh Nair, who will retire on October 31, 2016. Aditya Puri Aditya Puri has been ranked 36th among 50 global corporate heads by Fortune Magazine in its annual ‘Business person of the Year’ compilation. Aditya Puri is the Managing Director of HDFC Bank, India’s largest private sector bank. He assumed this position in September 1994, making him the longest-serving head of any bank in the country. He has worked in the banking sector for 40 years, in India and other countries, and became CEO of Citibank, Malaysia in 1992. In September 1994 he returned to India as Managing Director of HDFC Bank. He presided over HDFC’s acquisitions of Times Bank Limited in 2000 and of Centurion Bank of Punjab in 2008.

Abidali Neemuchwala IT giant Wipro, India’s third largest IT services exporter, on 4 January, 2016 appointed current Chief Operating Officer

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PEOPLE 2016 (COO) Abid Ali Neemuchwala as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and member of the board. Neemuchwala gets his surname from Neemuch, a small town in Madhya Pradesh. He grew up in Delhi and Mumbai. He enjoys travelling, Indian music, reading fiction, and playing golf. He is married, has three children. Neemuchwala had joined Wipro as COO in April 2015. Prior to Wipro, he held a long tenure of over 23 years with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). In TCS, he headed the business process services unit of India’s biggest outsourcer. He obtained an engineering degree in electronics and communication from NIT, Raipur and holds a master’s degree in industrial management from IIT Mumbai.

NS Vishwanathan NS Vishwanathan has been appointed as the new deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet which was chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Vishwanathan succeeded HR Khan, on July 3rd, 2016. He was appointed executive director in April 2014 and is currently looking after oversees banking and nonbanking regulation departments. He has also served as the Principal Chief General Manager in the Department of non-banking supervision. He was also positioned as Director of Punjab National Bank from September 6, 2012 to May 31, 2013. Vishwanathan also worked as the Nominee Director at Dena Bank and was also Chief General Manager of Vigilance at IFCI. Parmeshwar Godrej Parmeshwar Godrej, 70, known as the dynamic face of the Godrej clan, breathed her last at Mumbai on Oct 11, 2016. She is survived by her husband and Godrej Group chairman Adi Godrej, daughters Tanya Dubash and Nisa Godrej, and son Pirojsha Godrej. Godrej was frequently described as one of India’s premier socialites and power brokers. She was known for her work combating AIDS in India through the Heroes Project, an initiative she launched in 2004 with Hollywood actor Richard Gere and support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Clinton Global Initiative.

Vijay Mallya Business tycoon and Rajya Sabha member, Vijay Mallya, is in trouble for his escape from the country right around the time he is wanted by the Enforcement Directorate for money laundering. Mallya, known for his extravagant lifestyle and Kingfisher brand of liquor, is in debt with 17 public sector banks for an estimated amount of `9,091 crore, who have moved the Debt Recovery Tribunal against him. Upon the banks’ plea, the Supreme Court has issued a notice to Mallya seeking the disclosure of his assets and seizure of his passport. Earlier the liquor baron had made a quiet exit to London via Delhi on March 2. Now, Mallya is being chased by almost every institution in the country for `9,000 crore that he owes to the lenders. Cyrus Mistry

The board of India’s largest conglomerate Tata Sons Ltd has removed Cyrus Pallonji Mistry (48) as Chairman. However he will remain a director of the individual companies. The board has replaced him with his predecessor Ratan Tata as interim chairman for four months. Mistry had shortest tenure as Chairman so far at the group. Mistry had replaced Ratan Tata as chairman in December 2012. He was only the sixth group Chairman in nearly 15 decades and the first from outside the Tata family to be appointed to top most post of Tata group. Ashok Chawla

Former Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla has been appointed as the new Chancellor of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) University. The decision of his appointment was taken in the governing council meeting of TERI. Ashok Chawla is former Union Finance Secretary. He is former Chairman of the Competition Commission of India (CCI). He was IAS officer of 1973 batch of Gujarat cadre. He is currently serving as the Chairman of TERI since February 2016.

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HL Dattu

curb pollution in New Delhi. Kejriwal was the only Indian leader to feature in the list.

Former CJI Handyala Lakshmi narayanaswamy Dattu was appointed as the next Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission on 23rd February. Dattu was selected by a committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the committee consisting of Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Rajya Sabha deputy chairman P J Kurien and Rajya Sabha Opposition leader Ghulam Nabi Azad. He served as the Chief Justice of India from September 28, 2014 to December 2, 2015. Dattu enrolled as an advocate in 1975 and began practising in Bangalore and dealing with all types of matters including civil, criminal, tax and Constitutional cases. Vinod Rai

Former Comptroller & Auditor General of India Vinod Rai has been appointed as the first chairman of Banks Board Bureau on February 28, 2016, which will advice the government in appointing heads of public sector banks and also on banking reforms. Rai served as the Comptroller and Auditor General between January 2008 and May 2013, during which a number of CAG reports led to revelation of various scams including the telecom and coal sector scams. Arvind Kejriwal

Arvind Kejriwal has been named among World’s 50 Greatest Leaders by Fortune Magazine. Fortune Magazine released its third annual list of the World’s Greatest Leaders on 24th March, 2016. The list of 50 CEOs, heads of state, activists and other leaders consisted of nearly half women with 23 this year, compared with 15 in 2015 and 19 in 2014. Aam Aadmi Party chief and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal ranked 42nd on the list and is the sole leader from India. The AAP supremo was lauded for his odd-even pilot project to

Narendra Modi Prime Minister Narendra Modi was named among the 30 most influential people on the Internet by the TIME magazine. The magazine described him as an “Internet star” who used social media to “conduct diplomacy”. He is the 14th and current Prime Minister of India, in office since 26 May 2014. Modi, a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was the Chief Minister of the western Indian state of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014, and is currently a Member of the Parliament from Varanasi. Donald Trump was declared as the Time’s person of the year 2016, beating Modi in the final race. Mehbooba Mufti Mehbooba Mufti, president of the Peoples Democratic Party, took the oath as the first woman Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir on 4th April. Alongside Mehbooba, 22 other ministers were sworn-in by Governor N N Vohra, bringing to an end the three-month President’s Rule in the state. BJP’s Dr Nirmal Singh, who was Deputy CM in late Mufti Mohammed Sayeed’s government, will continue in that position. Mehbooba is India’s second Muslim woman chief minister after Syeda Anwara Taimur of Assam. Mehbooba Mufti is the president of the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Mamata Banerjee Trinamool Congress Mamata Banerjee sworn in as the chief minister of West Bengal for the second consecutive term on 27th May, 2016. Mamata Banerjee was administered oath of office and secrecy by state Governor Keshri Nath Tripathi. First Chief Minister role taken by Mamata Banerjee in 2011 when she led an alliance of Trinamool Congress, Congress Socialist Unity Centre of India – Communist against Left Front Rule. Second time consecutive won in 2016 election by Mamata Banerjee lead the Trinamool Congress with 211 out 294 seats which is two thirds majority mark.

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Iron Sharmila’s ends her protest against the Armed Forces. The 44 year old Irom Chanu Sharmila had been fasting since last 16 years, protesting against the anarchy spread in Manipur due to the Armed Forces. Sharmila, hailing from Manipur, had demanded repeal of the Armed Forces since 2000. The lion – hearted lady’s appeal have been heard and she would break her fast on the morning of 9th August, before a judicial magistrate, following which she would be released from the judicial custody. To ensure that the iconic rights activist is alive, she was forcibly fed through a nasal tube since 2000.

Jayalalithaa Jayaraman

Jaylalithaa’s life in politics is well documented. Her steady growth from a party secretary to a member of Rajya Sabha to the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu is a long saga of adventure, struggle and success. Whatever one might judge her and her politics, it is impossible to disassociate Jayalalithaa’s name from the politics of modern India. Once a classical dancer, later a popular actress, she became the face of the state’s politics in the 21st century. Jayalalithaa revered as ‘Amma’ by lakhs of her loyalists has had one of the most interesting expeditions any modern politicians have had. However the great saga of the Iron lady came to end as Amma is no more. Jayalalithaa who suffered a cardiac arrest passed away on 5 December 2016. She was 68. Jayalalitha was born in Mysore on 24 February 1948. She hails from a Tamil Iyengar family. Her father Jayaram, a lawyer by profession, passed away when she was just two years old. She completed her schooling from Bishop Cotton Girls’ High School, Chennai, and Sacred Heart Matriculation School in 1964. However, she took up films shortly after that. Her career saw her working in films of different languages, including English, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu. In 1982, Jayalalitha became a member of the AIADMK, a party founded by M.G. Ramachandran. It marked her entry into politics. In 1984, Jayalalitha came to the forefront during the elections to the Lok Sabha and the Legislative Assembly in Tamil Nadu in December 1984. On 24 June 1991, she became the youngest ever and the second female Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. She held the position till 12 May 1996. The 1998 general election of the Lok Sabha saw the AIADMK and its alliance securing 30 out of 40 seats. In February 2002, she was elected from the constituency of Andipatti. She remained the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 2 March 2002 to 12 May 2006. Again in the 2011 Legislative Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, the AIADMK and its allies bounced back, winning 203 seats out of 234, with the AIADMK securing 150 seats on its own. Jayalalitha had to step down from her post of the Chief Minister in September 2014 when a trial court in Karnataka held her guilty in an 18-year-old disproportionate assets (amounting to ` 66.65 crore) and corruption case. The court had sentenced her to a four-year jail term with a fine of ` 100 crore, but she challenged this verdict in Karnataka High Court. On 11 May 2015, the Karnataka High Court acquitted Jayalalitha in the Disproportionate Assets case. J. Jayalalitha was sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for a record-equaling fifth time on 23 May 2015. Again she took oath as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu for a record sixth time on 23 May 2016. No one can deny the fact that she worked tirelessly for her party. She has passed away at a lesser age, but her legacy will stay forever.

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PEOPLE 2016 O Panneerselvam

AIADMK leader O. Panneerselvam, 65, was sworn in as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu following the death of Chief Minister Jayalalithaa. He was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao at a solemn ceremony held in the Raj Bhavan, Chennai on 6th Dec 2016. This is for the third time he has sworn in as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Panneerselvam was born on January 14, 1951 in Periyakulam, Tamil Nadu. He started his political career as chairman of Periyakulam Municipality (1996 to 2001). Previously in Jayalalithaa’s government he had served as Minister of Revenue Department (March 2002 to December 2002), Minister for Public Works (December 2002 to May 2006) and Finance Minister (May 2011 to September 2014). Earlier he had served CM for two brief periods from 2001-02 and 2014-15 after Jayalalithaa was unseated from the post by the courts on various grounds. Panneerselvam has been a trusted aide of AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa. After her death, he was elected the leader of the Legislature Party. He will have remaining four years term of the Jayalalithaa Government.

Mufti Mohammad Sayeed Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed passed away on 7 January, 2016 at the AIIMS hospital in New Delhi. He was 79. Sayeed founded the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Born on 12 January, 1936, the leader had been a member of the Indian National Congress party until 1987. In 1987, he quit the Congress party to join V. P. Singh’s Jan Morcha. He became the first Muslim Minister for Home Affairs in the Union Cabinet of India in 1989. He rejoined the Congress under P V Narasimha Rao. However, Sayeed left the Congress in 1999 along with daughter Mehbooba Mufti to form his own party, Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party.

Kalikho Pul Kalikho Pul was sworn in as the ninth Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh on 19 February, 2016. Pul was sworn in as the CM with the support of 18 rebel Congress MLAs, and two Independents and 11 BJP MLAs who gave outside support. Pul was born on 20 July, 1969 in the Walla village of Hawai, Anjaw district and belonged to the Kaman Mishmi ethnic group. Pul was 13 months old when his mother Koranlu died in 1967. His father Tailum died when he was around six years old after which he lived with his aunt’s family and helped support the family by collecting firewood. He left school and when he was 10 years old to join a carpentry course at the Hawai Craft Centre. He also worked as a

tutor there on a temporary basis. He joined a night school and one day in a function held at the school he delivered a welcome speech and sang a patriotic song in Hindi where education minister Khapriso Krong and Lohit Deputy Commissioner D S Negi were present. Upon Negi’s insistence the school officials had Pul admitted to a day boarding school. While still studying, Pul took up the job of watchman at the Circle Office. Pul later earned a living by opening a paanshop, making bamboo fences and thatched houses, and building concrete structures. He graduated in economics and also studied law. PA Sangma

Former Lok Sabha Speaker Purno Agitok Sangma died on 4 March, 2016. He was 68 years old. He is survived by daughter Agatha Sangma, former Minister of State in the UPA-led Government and Conrad Sangma, the Leader of the Opposition in the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly. P. A. Sangma was born on 1st September, 1947 in village Chapathi in West Garo Hills, Meghalaya to Dipchon Ch. Marak and Smt. Chimri A. Sangma. He did his graduation in B.A. (Hons.) from St. Anthony’s College, Shillong. Rakesh Kumar Chaturvedi Rakesh Kumar Chaturvedi was appointed as new Chairman of CBSE on July 14, 2016 and Vijay Kumar Dev the new Deputy Election

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PEOPLE 2016 Commissioner as a bureaucratic reshuffle of 19 Additional Secretaries and 29 Joint Secretaries was carried out. Chaturvedi, a 1987 batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh, has been appointed for a period of five years. K B Hanumantharayappa On 8th August, 2016, K B Hanumantharayappa was inducted as the Chairman of the Central Silk Board, Union Ministry of Textiles, for tenure of three years. Hanumantharayappa is the 25th Chairman of the Central Silk Board. Hailing from a traditional silk – weaving family

in Karnataka, besides being a sericulturist and a weaver, Hanumantharayappa is also a senior political persona from the BJP. He is born and brought up in Doddaballapura Karnataka.

Jagdish Singh Khehar Present Chief Justice of India, T.S. Thakur has recommended the name of Justice JS Khehar to be the next Chief Justice Khehar is the senior most judge of the Supreme Court. He will be sworn in as CJI on January 4, 2017. He will be 44th CJI.

INTERNATIONAL

David Warner Australia’s opening batsman David Warner has won the Allan Border Medal and also the Test Player of the Year on 27th January. He became the 11th player to receive the Allan Border Medal for 2016, Australian cricket’s greatest individual honour. David Andrew Warner, born on 27 October 1986 is an Australian cricketer and the vice captain of the team in all 3 formats of the game. An explosive left-handed opening batsman, Warner is the first Australian cricketer in 132 years to be selected for a national team in any format without experience in first-class cricket. He currently plays for New South Wales, the Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Sydney Thunder. He became vice-captain of Australia across Test and ODI formats of the game, in August 2015.

Angelique Kerber Germany’s Angelique Kerber won her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open on 30th January. She won against world no. 1 serena williams. The seventh seeded Kerber won the thrilling final by 6-4 3-6 6-4 at Melbourne Park. This made her the first German to win a major singles title since Steffi Graf at the 1999 French Open. Angelique Kerber is a German professional tennis player who is currently ranked world No.1 in women’s singles tennis by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA). Having made her professional debut in 2003, Kerber rose to prominence upon reaching the semifinals of the 2011 US Open, at which time she was ranked no. 92 in the world.

Novak Djokovic World number one and defending champion Novak Djokovic won the 2016 Australian Open. Djokovic defeated Andy Murray 6-1, 7-5, 7-6 in the final. With this win Djokovic clinched his sixth Australian Open title and 11th Grand Slam trophy which puts him 5th at the all-time leading Grand Slam title winners. Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who is currently ranked world No. 2 in men’s singles tennis by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He is considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time. Geetakshi Arora Geetakshi Arora, a post graduate student of the South Asia Institute at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London has won the first Noor Inayat Khan Prize for 2016. She won the prize which consists of £1,000 and a certificate for her dissertation on “Goddess Myths in Graphic Novels: Reimagining Indian Feminity”. Noor Inayat Khan worked as a secret agent during the Second World War and was sent to Nazi-occupied Paris in 1943 where she worked as a wireless operative sending intelligence reports to the Allies. She was betrayed, arrested and killed in Dachau Concentration Camp at the age of 30. She was a descendant of Tipu Sultan. Noor Inayat Khan Memorial Trust has inaugurated the Noor Inayat Khan Prize in memory of the second world war heroine. Shrabani Basu is the founder and chair of the trust. The prize consists of 1000 pounds and a certificate.

CA-160 Mother Teresa The Vatican announced on 15th March that Pope Francis will declare Mother Teresa of Kolkata a saint on 4 September, 2016 one day before the 19th anniversary of her death.The Pope cleared the way for Mother Teresa’s canonization last December, after deciding that the 2008 healing of a Brazilian man with a brain infection and kidney disease had been due to her intercession. St. John Paul II beatified Mother Teresa in 2003, after recognizing as miraculous the healing of an Indian woman whose caregivers had prayed to the late missionary. Affectionately known as the “saint of the gutter” for her unconditional love for the poor, abandoned and marginalized, Mother Teresa earned several international honours, including the “Nobel Peace Prize” in 1979. She had founded the Missionaries of Charity, a religious order dedicated to care of the “poorest of the poor,” in Kolkata, in 1950. Andrew Wiles British mathematician Sir Andrew Wiles has won 2016’s Abel prize which is widely regarded as the Nobel for mathematics. Wiles won the Abel Prize from the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters for providing a proof for Fermat’s Last Theorem. His work and life are also described in great detail in Simon Singh’s popular book Fermat’s Last Theorem. Wiles became hooked on Fermat’s Last Theorem as a tenyear-old when he read about it in a book called “The Last Problem” by ET Bell at his local library in Cambridge.

Ashley Judd Hollywood actress and activist Ashley Judd was appointed as the goodwill ambassador for the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) on 15th November. Judd was commended by the UNFPA for her strong dedication to social justice and passionate advocacy of the right of every girl and boy to enter adulthood safely and empowered. Ashley Judd is an American actress and political activist. She grew up in a family of successful performing artists as the daughter of country music singer Naomi Judd and the sister of Wynonna Judd. While she is best known for an ongoing acting career spanning

PEOPLE 2016 more than two decades, she has increasingly become involved in global humanitarian efforts and political activism. Prince Legendary American musician Prince passed away on 21st April, 2016 in Chanhassen, Minnesota, US after suffering from flu-like symptoms for over two weeks. He was 57. Prince sold tens of millions of albums worldwide in a career that spanned several decades. The artist rose to superstar status with the release of his landmark album “Purple Rain.” That album sold millions of copies and spent 24 consecutive weeks at the top of the Billboard 200, in part because of songs “When Doves Cry” and “Let’s Go Crazy.”In 2004, Prince was inducted into the Rock and Roll of Fame, which hailed him as a musical and social trailblazer.

Muhammad Ali The former world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali died on 3rd June, 2016, in the US city of Phoenix. He was former three times world heavyweight champion (1964, 1974 and 1978) who had recordsetting boxing career, which had made him one of the best-known figures of the 20th century. He was also known globally for his civil rights activism. Muhammad Ali was born as Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. on January 17, 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky, US. He had started his boxing career at young age of 12 years. Margaret Atwood Margaret Atwood, Canadian author has won 2016 Pen Pinter Prize for her contribution towards political activism, speeches and act against violation of Human Rights. PEN Printer prize and Pinter International writer of Courage Award was establised by English PEN in the year 2009. Lionel Messi

Argentina’s skipper and ace footballer Lionel Messi announced his retirement from international duty after missing in a penalty shootout as Argentina lost a fourth major final in nine years. Messi is a five-time FIFA player of the year, winner of four

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PEOPLE 2016 Champions League titles and eight Spanish La Liga crowns with Barcelona. Messi holds the records for most goals scored in La Liga, a La Liga season (50), a calendar year (91), a single season (73), a Champions League match (5), and most Champions League seasons (5). Yoshinori Ohsumi Yoshinori Ohsumi (71) of Japan has won the 2016 Nobel Prize for physiology or Medicine for his pioneering work on autophagy. With this he becomes the 23rd Japanese national to win a Nobel prize and overall the sixth Japanese medicine Nobel laureate. Mr. Ohsumi had received a PhD from the University of Tokyo in 1974. Currently, he is a professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology (TIT).

David Thouless, F Duncan M Haldane and Michael Kosterlitz British trio of physicists David Thouless, F Duncan M Haldane and Michael Kosterlitz have won the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physics for their work on exotic states of matter. They will share the 8 million Swedish kronor prize. David J Thouless is Emeritus Professor at the University of Washington, Seattle, US. Duncan M. Haldane is the Eugene Higgins Professor of Physics at Princeton University, US. J Michael Kosterlitz is the Harrison E. Farnsworth Professor of Physics at Brown University, US. Jean-Pierre Sauvage, J Fraser Stoddart and Bernard L Feringa Trio of Jean-Pierre Sauvage, J Fraser Stoddart and Bernard L Feringa have won the prestigious 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing molecular machines. Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has chosen them for this award for their individual efforts in developing molecular machines. These three laureates will share the 8 million Swedish kronor (around $933,000) prize equally.

Juan Manuel Santos The 2016 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos. He was selected for the prestigious award by the Norwegian Nobel Committee for his resolute efforts to bring the more than 50-year-long civil war of Colombia to an end. He is second Colombian to win Nobel Prize after writer Gabriel Gracia Marquez who had won the literature Prize in 1982. Santos is also second Latin American to receive Nobel Peace

Prize after Guatemala’s Rigoberta Menchu had won it in 1992. He was born on 10 August, 1951 in Bogota, capital city of Colombia. He was elected Colombian President for first time in 2010 and was re-elected in 2014. Earlier he had served as defence minister from 2006 until 2009. Bob Dylan

American singer-song writer, artist and writer Bob Dylan (75) has won the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature for “having created new peotic expressions with the great American song tradition”. He is the first American to win the prize since novelist Toni Morrison in 1993. He was born as Robert Allen Zimmerman on May 24, 1941 in Duluth, Minnesota. His debut album was ‘Bob Dylan’ released in 1962. He had adopted the name Dylan after the poet Dylan Thomas. He is one of the best-selling artists (musician) of all time and has sold more than 100 million records. He has 58 singles, 37 studio albums, 11 live albums and 6 collaborations to his name. Besides, his lyrics have incorporated various political, social, philosophical and literary influences.

Paul Beatty Paul Beatty (54) has won the 2016 Man Booker Prize. With this he becomes the first US author to win this prestigious literary award for his social satire “The sellout”. He was born in Los Angeles in 1962. He had received an MFA in creative writing from Brooklyn College and an MA in psychology from Boston University. His novels are The White Boy Shuffle (1996), Tuff (2000), Slumberland (2008) and The Sellout (2015). In 2016, he was bestowed with the National Book Critics Circle Award (Fiction) for his novel ‘The Sellout’. Kate Atkinson

British writer Kate Atkinson on 4 January, 2016 won the novel-ofthe-year prize at Britain’s Costa Book Awards 2015 for the second time in three years. She fetched the award for (A God in Ruins) a story of war and its aftermath. With this, Atkinson became the first author to receive the Costa novel prize three times: for ‘A God in Ruins’ in 2016, ‘Life After Life’ in 2013 and ‘Behind the Scenes at the Museum’ in 1995. Kate Atkinson was born in 1951 in York, England. She studied English literature at

CA-162 the University of Dundee and obtained her master’s degree in 1974. She subsequently studied for a doctorate in American literature, entitled ‘The post-modern American short story in its historical context’. Her first novel, ‘Behind the Scenes at the Museum’, won the 1995 Whitbread Book of the Yearahead of Salman Rushdie’s ‘The Moor’s Last Sigh’.

Alan Rickman Actor Alan Rickman, known for films including ‘Harry Potter’, ‘Die Hard’ and ‘Robin Hood’: Prince of Thieves, died of cancer on 14 January, 2016 in London, England. He was 69. One of the best-loved and most warmly admired British actors of the past three decades, Rickman gained wider notice for his film performances as Hans Gruber in Die Hard and Severus Snape in the Harry Potter film series. Rickman was born in West London, to a working-class family, the son of Margaret Doreen Rose (née Bartlett), a housewife, and Bernard William Rickman. Rickman’s father was a factory worker, house painter and decorator, and former WWII aircraft fitter. His ancestry was English, Irish and Welsh; his father was Catholic and his mother a Methodist. Rickman’s family also included brothers David and Michael, and sister Sheila. When he was eight years old, Rickman’s father died of lung cancer, leaving his mother to raise him and his three siblings mostly alone. He played romantic leads like Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility and Jamie in Truly, Madly, Deeply. However, he often was praised for playing roles of numerous villains in Hollywood big-budget films, like German terrorist Hans Gruber in Die Hard and the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. In 1995, he earned a Golden Globe Award, an Emmy Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award for his portrayal of the title character in Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny. He won a BAFTA Award for his role in Robin Hood.

Marvin Minsky Marvin Minsky, the pioneer of artificial intelligence, died on 24 January 2016. The mathematician and the scientist died at the age of 88. Minsky, a professor emeritus at the MIT Media Lab, helped in work that helped inspired the creation of the personal computer and the Internet. Marvin Lee Minsky was born in New York City, to an eye surgeon father, Henry, and

PEOPLE 2016 to a mother, Fannie, who was an activist of Zionist affairs. His family was Jewish. He attended the Ethical Culture Fieldston School and the Bronx High School of Science. He later attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. He then served in the US Navy from 1944 to 1945.

Intizar Husain Veteran Urdu fiction writer and poet Intizar Hussain died on 2 February, 2016 in Lahore. He was 92. He was born on 7 December 1923 in India; he migrated to the newly formed Pakistan in 1947. He was among the 10 finalists for the Man Booker International Prize for fiction in 2013. He was the first Pakistan national and the first Urdu writer ever to be nominated for the international award. He was conferred upon the Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French Ambassador to Pakistan Philppe Thiebaud in September 2014. His acclaimed novel Basti was published in 1979 and later translated into English. He also addressed the history of Pakistan and the subcontinent. He was a regular literary columnist for Pakistan’s leading English-language daily Dawn. H Deep Saini Renowned Indian scholar and plant physiologist H Deep Saini on 9 March, 2016 was appointed as the Vice Chancellor of the prestigious University of Canberra. Currently the Vice-President of the University of Toronto and Principal of the University of Toronto Mississauga campus in Canada he will succeed Vice Chancellor Stephen Parker in September 2016. Hargurdeep Saini, also known as Deep Saini, is a notable scientist and plant physiologist. He has previously served as the dean of the Faculty of Environment at the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario. An alumnus of Punjab Agricultural University in Ludhiana, and later the University of Adelaide, Australia, he joined many Indian-origin educationists holding high positions in Canadian universities. He began his academic career in Canada in 1982 when he joined the University of Alberta as a post-doctoral fellow. He is currently a member of the NSERC’s Biological Systems and Functions grant selection panel, the Associate Editor of the Canadian Journal of Botany. Merrick Garland President Barack nominated appeals court judge Merrick Garland to be the next US Supreme Court Justice on 16 March 2016.

PEOPLE 2016 63-year-old Garland will be 113th Supreme Court justice of the US. Garland, who is the Chief Judge on the US Court of Appeals in D.C. Circuit, will succeed Justice Antonin Scalia who died on 13 February 2016. Justice Garland is viewed as a moderate and has won praise from senior Republican figures. The appointment has to be ratified by the Senate, but its Republican majority has vowed to block a vote on any Supreme Court nominee from Obama.

Ray Tomlinson American programmer Ray Tomlinson who has been credited with the invention of email system and the man who popularised the @ symbol for addresses passed away on 5th March, 2016. He implemented the first email program on the ARPANET system, the precursor to the Internet, in 1971. He popularised the use of the @ sign to separate the user name from the name of their machine, a scheme which has been used in email addresses ever since.Tomlinson was inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame in 2012. Jim Yong Kim Jim Yong Kim has been re-appointed as President of World Bank for a second fiveyear term beginning 1 July, 2017. He was unanimously chosen by the Executive Directors of the World Bank. He was the only candidate in a process. Jim Yong Kim is a South KoreanAmerican physician and anthropologist. He is the 12th President of the World Bank and for first time was appointed in 2012. He was a global health leader and was formerly the Chair of Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Leslie Berland Leslie Berland was appointed as the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of Twitter Inc, an online social networking site on 26 January, 2016. Before Berland’s appointment, the marketing operations was overseen by the Twitter’s CFO Anthony Noto. Prior to this appointment, she was working at American Express (AmEx) as an executive vice-president of global advertising, marketing and digital partnerships.

CA-163 Saroj Kumar Jha An Indian national Saroj Kumar Jha was in news as he was appointed as the Senior Director for the Fragility, Conflict and Violence Group at the World Bank on 1 February, 2016. He was appointed to provide strategic leadership to address the challenge of fragility, conflict and violence, working across the Bank Group and in close collaboration with partners. The WB President Jim Young Kim assigned him the new role. Earlier to this, he was the World Bank Regional Director for Central Asia based in Almaty, Kazakhstan since February 2012. He also worked as the World Bank’s Global Manager for Disaster Risk Management Practice.

DJ Pandian Former chief secretary of Gujarat DJ Pandian was appointed vice-president and chief investment officer of the newly-created Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) on 3rd February, 2016. His appointment as vice-president and chief investment officer was approved by AIIB. The retired 1981-batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre had worked on deputation with the World Bank in Washington. He was also the MD of Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC).

Davinder Singh Indian-origin lawyer Davinder Singh in the second week of February 2016 was appointed as a vice-chair of the International Chamber of Commerce’s Commission on Corporate Responsibility and Anti-corruption. With this appointment, Davinder Singh, a citizen of Singapore, became one of three vice-chairs of the commission. Other two vice-chairs are François Vincke of Belgium and Iohann Le Frapper of France. He has graduated from the National University of Singapore, and was admitted to the Singapore Bar in 1983. He litigated cases in the Singapore Courts in almost every area of the law, including landmark cases. He also has an active international arbitration practice involving complex commercial disputes and multiple jurisdictions. Christine Lagarde Christine Lagarde, who steered the IMF through some troubled times including the Eupropean financial crisis, has been reappointed as its Managing Director for a second five-year term after an uncontested

CA-164 election on Feb 2016. Ms. Lagarde for first time was appointed MD in 2011 after IMF Board had initiated selection process on merit-based and transparent process. She was first woman to head the top post of IMF since its inception in 1944. Lagarde was born in Paris, France, into a family of academics. Her father, Robert Lallouette, was a Professor of English; her mother, Nicole, was a Latin, Greek and French literature teacher. Lagarde and her three brothers, all younger, spent their childhood in Le Havre where she attended the Lycée François 1er and Lycée Claude Monet. As a teenager, Lagarde was a member of the French national synchronised swimming team. After her baccalauréat in 1973, she went on an American Field Service scholarship to the Holton-Arms School for girls in Bethesda, Maryland. Gianni Infantino Gianni Infantino has been elected as the President of FIFA for the remainder of the current term of office (until 2019) by the Extraordinary FIFA Congress held in Zurich. He was elected as the ninth FIFA President after the second ballot with 115 of 207 total votes. Gianni Infantino was born on 23 March, 1970 in Brig, Canton of Valais, Switzerland and holds Swiss and Italian nationality. Prior to becoming FIFA President, he was General Secretary of UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) since 2009 and was associtated with it for past 15 years.

Sushil Koirala Sushil Koirala, former Prime Minister of Nepal passed away on 9 February, 2016. He was suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and succumbed to the disease. He served as the Prime Minister of Nepal from 11th February, 2014 to 10th October, 2015 and was the President of the Nepali Congress party from 2010 until his death. Koirala played a key role in the adoption of Nepal’s new constitution in September 2015.

Htin Kyaw Htin Kyaw was sworn in as the president of Myanmar at a ceremony in the capital Naypyidaw on 30th March, 2016. Kyaw is the

PEOPLE 2016 first civilian leader after more than 50 years of military rule. He is a close aide of Aung San Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy (NLD) party achieved victory in the historic elections in November 2015. Kyaw won with 360 of the 652 votes cast in the two houses of parliament and dedicated the victory to Aung San Suu Kyi who was barred from the post by a clause in the military-drafted Constitution that forbids people with foreign relatives from holding the office. Sushila Karki Sushila Karki became the first female acting Chief Justice of Nepal’s Supreme Court ending the male domination of top posts in the judiciary. In September 2015, a specially elected Constituent Assembly approved the first post-monarchical constitution, which gave women the right to “proportional inclusion” in all government organs. 63-year-old Sushila Karki, the seniormost judge in Nepal’s Supreme Court, has done her Masters in Political Science from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan The crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan will be the chief guest for the 68th Republic Day celebrations on 26 January, 2017. In this regard, announcement was made by Union Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in New Delhi after the crown prince accepted invitation. This is the first time that a leader of the United Arab Emirates would be honored with the invitation of being the chief guest at India’s Republic Day parade.

Kersti Kaljulaid The parliament of Estonia has elected Kersti Kaljulaid (46) as the President of the Baltic country. With this, she became Estonia’s first female president. She had won vote 81-0, with 20 members absent in the parliamentary voting. Kersti Kaljulaid is trained biologist specialising in genetics and also holds an MBA from University of Tartu. In the late 1990s she had worked as investment banker at Hansapank that was later taken over by Swedbank. In 1999, she had joined the office of then Estonian Prime Minister Mart Laar as an economic policy adviser. Pramila Jayapal Pramila Jayapal, the frontrunner for the State of Washington’s 7th Congressional

PEOPLE 2016 District seat, could become the first Indianorigin woman to sit in the U.S. Congress. She is an Indian-American activist and politician from the state of Washington. As a member of the Democratic Party, she has represented the 37th legislative district in the Washington State Senate since 2015. She founded Hate Free Zone, which later became OneAmerica, a group organising and advocating for many diverse communities of colour.

Kamala Harris California’s Attorney General Kamala Harris (51) created history by becoming the first India-American to win the US Senate (upper chamber) seat from the state. She defeated fellow Democrat Loretta Sanchez from her own party. She will replace Barbara Boxer who had announced her retirement in 2014 after serving more than two decades in the Senate. Kamala Harris is an American politician, lawyer and member of the Democratic Party. She is the daughter of an Indian-American mother Dr. Shyamala Gopalan Harris and a Jamaican-American father Donald Harris. Dilma Rousseff Brazilian incumbent President Dilma Rousseff was re-elected for her second four-year term on 26 October, 2014. She belongs to the center-left Workers’ Party and her second term will finish in December 2018. Rousseff who is 66 years old first became President in 2010, thus becoming the first woman President of Brazil. She is popular among the poor in Brazil because of her government’s welfare policies. Dilma Rousseff (66) after being elected as a President in 2010 became the first female President of Brazil. Prior to her appointment as President, she was chief of staff to former President Lula da Silva, since 2005. She served as the Minister of Energy under former President Lula da Silva. Her political spine developed as a Marxist militant who opposed the 19641985 dictatorship.

Donald Trump Real estate mogul-turned politician and Republican Party candidate Donald Trump (70) was elected as 45th President of United States of America (USA) on 8th November, 2016. Donald Trump was

CA-165 born as Donald John Trump on June 14, 1946 in New York City, United States. He is the chairman and president of Trump Organisation, a principal holding company for his real estate ventures and other business interests. He had joined his father’s company in 1968 after graduating in economics from University of Pennsylvania. In 1971, he took control of company and renamed it Trump Organisation. As of 2016, Forbes Magazine had listed him as the 324th wealthiest person in the world and 156th in the US.

Fidel Castro Cuba’s former president and leader of the Communist revolution Fidel Castro passed away due to old age on 25 November, 2016. He was 90. He was commander in chief of the 1959 Cuban revolution 1959 and had successfully built a communist state on the doorstep of the United States during Cold War. He had ruled Cuba as a one-party state for almost half a century (from 1976 to 2008) before handing over the powers to his brother Raul Castro in 2008 due to ill health. He was born as Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz on August 13, 1926 in Birán, Holguin Province, Cuba. In 1953, he was imprisoned after leading an unsuccessful rising against Batista’s regime. However was released in 1955 from prison under an amnesty deal. Qamar Javed Bajwa Lt. Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa was appointed Pakistan’s new army chief (or Chief of Army Staff, COAS) on 10th December, 2016. He will succeed Gen. Raheel Sharif who has formally retired from service. He was elevated to the rank of four-star general by the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Gen. Bajwa has extensive experience of handling affairs in Pakistan-ocupied Kashmir and the northern areas of Pakistan. He belongs to infantry’s Baloch Regiment. He has commanded the 10 Corps, Pakistani army’s largest corp responsible for the area along the Line of Control (LoC). He has also served with a UN mission in Congo as a brigade commander alongside former Indian army chief Gen Bikram Singh. Harinder Sidhu Indian-origin Harinder Sidhu has been appointed as Australian High Commissioner to India. She replaces outgoing High Commissioner Patrick Suckling. She is second envoy from Australia with Indian roots after Peter Varghese who had

CA-166 ancestral roots to southern Indian state of Kerala. Harinder Sidhu’s was born in Singapore and later migrated to Australia. Her family hailed from Punjab. She holds a Bachelor of Economics and Bachelor of Laws degrees from the University of Sydney. Prior to this appointment, she was serving as s senior career officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. She was also serving as First Assistant Secretary of the Multilateral Policy Division. Previously, she had served overseas in Moscow (Russia) and Damascus (Syria). In her previous roles she also had served as First Assistant Secretary in the Department of Climate Change. She also had served as Assistant Director-General in the Office of National Assessments and Senior Adviser in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Tsai Ing-wen Tsai Ing-wen was sworn-in as the President of Taiwan on 20 May, 2016. With this, she became the first woman to hold the post in Taiwan. Tsai was born in Zhongshan District, Taipei, Taiwan, on 31 August 1956, the youngest of 11 children of her father. Her given name, Ing-wen, could be translated as “heroic literature” or “English language”. During her middle school period, she studied in Taipei Municipal Zhongshan Girls High School. She studied law at the behest of her father. After graduating at the College of Law, National Taiwan University, in 1978, Tsai obtained a Master of Laws at Cornell University Law School in 1980 and then a Ph.D. in law at the London School of Economics (1984). Upon her return to Taiwan, she taught law at the School of Law of Soochow University and National Chengchi University, both in Taipei. She was also appointed to the Fair Trade Commission and the Copyright Commission. She served as consultant for the Mainland Affairs Council and the National Security Council. She also led the drafting team on the Statute Governing Relations with Hong Kong and Macau. Boutros Boutros-Ghali The former United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali passed away on 16 February, 2016 in Cairo, Egypt. He was 93. Boutros-Ghali served as UN Chief from January 1992 to December 1996 and became the first secretary general to be deprived of a second term as he struggled to impose the UN’s writ

PEOPLE 2016 in a post-cold war world. He was the first African to hold the position. He helped secure peace deals between Israel and Egypt. Born on 14 November 1922 in Cairo, Egypt, Boutros Boutros-Ghali was an Egyptian politician and diplomat who was the sixth Secretary-General of the UN. An academic and former Vice Foreign Minister of Egypt, he oversaw the UN at a time when it dealt with several world crises, including the break-up of Yugoslavia and the Rwandan Genocide. In 1992, he submitted An Agenda for Peace, a suggestion for how the UN could respond to violent conflict. However, he was criticised for the UN’s failure to act during the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, which officially left over one million people dead, and he appeared unable to muster support in the UN for intervention in the continuing Angolan Civil War.

Faustin Archange Touadera Faustin Archange Touadera has won the 2016 Presidential election of Central African Republic (CAR) held on 14 February, 2016. Born 21 April 1957, Faustin-Archange Touadéra is a Central African politician and academic who served as Prime Minister of the Central African Republic from January 2008 to January 2013. He received his secondary education at the Barthelemy Boganda College in Bangui before attending the University of Bangui and the University of Abidjan. He earned a mathematics doctorate in 1986, supervised by Daniel Gourdin at the Lille University of Science and Technology in France and another doctorate, also in mathematics, which was supervised by Marcel Dossa at the University of Yaoundé I in Cameroon in 2004. Sigurdur Ingi Johannsson Iceland ruling coalition on 6 April 2016 named Sigurdur Ingi Johannsson as the Prime Minister of the country. The coalition also decided to hold elections in the autumn. Johannsson, 53, is Agriculture and Fisheries Minister and deputy leader of the Progressive Party (PP). Earlier, the polls were scheduled to take place in the spring of 2017. He will succeed Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson who resigned on 5 April 2016 after his name was leaked in the Panama Papers. The leaked documents from a Panamanian law firm, Mossack Fonseca, showed Gunnlaugsson owned an offshore firm with his wife that held millions of dollars in debt from failed celandic banks.

CA-167

EVENTS 2016

EVENTS 2016 NATIONAL

103rd Indian Science Congress Place: Mysuru, Karnataka Agenda/Issue: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 103rd edition of the Indian Science Congress (ISC) on January 3, 2016 in Mysuru, Karnataka. The theme of this edition of the Congress was “Science and Technology for Indigenous Development in India.” Target/Application: During the inaugural speech Prime Minister gave a new mantra and target five Es – “Economy, Environment, Energy, Empathy and Equity”. The Congress aims to bring together eminent scientists, research scholars to popularize science and foster a scientific temperament. This was a 5 day event which ended on 7 January, 2016 that witnessed deliberations and presentation of papers by the scientific fraternity from across the globe. Many scientists from different universities and research delivered plenary talks at the congress on subjects like Space Science, Nano Science, Technology & Applications for the Swachh Bharat Mission and Diseases and drug development.This will help to integrate and fuse various application of sciences into the governmental schemes and policies. 24th World Book Fair

Place: New Delhi Agenda/Issue: The 24th edition of New Delhi World Book Fair held at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi from January 7-9. This year the theme of fair was “Vivid Bharat – Diverse India” based on Cultural Heritage of India.

Target/Application: The message of IndiaChina partnership for the New Delhi Book Fair 2016 was “Renaissance of CivilizationsUnderstanding through exchanges“. Over 1,000 titles in major Indian languages from ancient to contemporary times were displayed with the intention to help promoting culture and languages.

Padma Awards Place: New Delhi Agenda/Issue: President of India announced the names of recipients of year 2016 Padma awards and approved conferment of 112 Padma Awards on 26 January, 2016. Target/Application: The Padma awards are conferred by the President of India at the Rashtrapati Bhawan around March/ April every year. Padma Awards, the country’s highest civilian awards, are conferred in three Categories viz. Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. This year’s list comprises 10 Padma Vibhushan, 19 Padma Bhushan and 83 Padma Shri Awardees. The Awards were given in various disciplines: art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service which will inspire other luminary to excel in these fields.

Giriputrika Kalyana Pathakam Scheme Launched Place: Andhra Pradesh Agenda/Issue: Andhra Pradesh Government has launched Giriputrika Kalyana Pathakam Scheme to support the tribal women in their quest for livelihood on 22 January, 2016. The scheme seeks to reduce rampant infant mortality and child marriages among tribal people.

CA-168 Target/Application: The scheme will provide a onetime financial assistance of ` 50,000 to each tribal woman who gets married. The amount will be directly disbursed to the bank accounts of the beneficiary through District Tribal Welfare Office. To avail the benefits of this scheme, each beneficiary would have to fulfil some mandatory conditions.

BSNL 4G Service Launched Place: Chandigarh Agenda/Issue: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has started 4G services at Chandigarh in Punjab circle promising a speed of up to 100 Mbps on Jan 13, 2016. With this launch, BSNL became fifth telecom service provider in India to launch 4G service after Airtel (1st), Aircel (2nd), Vodafone (3rd) and Reliance Jio (4th). Target/Application: Now, customers will be able to download large files upto 1 GB within few seconds which at present takes hours on current 2G/3G networks. BSNL will also provide 4G services to government agencies for video camera surveillance, traffic management solutions and homeland security service in India. India’s First Aviation Park Launched Place: Gujarat Agenda/Issue: District to strengthen the aviation sector, Gujarat is going to have a aviation park, on 10th Feb, 2016. It is an integrated aviation park that aims to provide a single platform for manufacturing activities and human resources related to the aviation sector. Target/Application: The first phase of the park is scheduled to get operational by the end of fiscal year 2016-2017. Gujarat State Aviation Infrastructure Company Ltd (GUJSAIL) is planning to develop this park on Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.This aviation park will have slew of facilities including an airstrip, helipad, training school and space for setting up small manufacturing units among others. It has immense potential to create direct and indirect employment for highly-skilled resources in the area of aerospace and avionics. Udyam Aakansha Scheme Launched Place: Chhattisgarh Agenda/Issue: The Chhattisgarh government has launched Udyam Aakansha Scheme for promoting micro, small and medium

EVENTS 2016 enterprises in the state on Feb 9, 2016. The scheme would facilitate free online registration and self-certification to the investors interested in investment on micro, small and medium enterprises and service businesses. Target/Application: CM Raman Singh had issued directives to simplify the process of registration and self-certification for entrepreneurs so that they could take its advantage. The scheme would facilitate free online registration and self certification to the investors interested in investment on micro, small and medium enterprises and service businesses. The investors can enroll themselves online through website of the Industries department which will be based on self certification process. ENVIS Portal Launched Agenda/Issue: A new Environment Information System (ENVIS) portal and mobile application is launched on 17 February, 2016. It is a central sector Scheme of the MOEFCC implemented since 1982. Target/Application: The portal http:// envis.nic.in runs parallel with the Digital India Objective, which works on improving the digital literacy in the environment sector and deliver services digitally all over the country. The purpose of the scheme is to integrate country-wide efforts in environmental information collection, storage, collation, retrieval and dissemination. 2016 Hockey India League Place: Ranchi. Agenda/Issue: Jaypee Punjab Warriors clinched the 2016 edition of the Hockey India League after beating the Kalinga Lancers on 21 February, 2016. In the final match played at the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Ranchi, they defeated Kalinga Lancers by 6-1 goals. Target/Application: Hockey India League (HIL) is a professional field hockey league in India organized by Hockey India, the governing body for the sport in India. The league was established in 2013 and is sanctioned by International Hockey Federation (FIH). Currently, there are six franchisee based teams having players from India and around the world. 2015 edition of the league was won by Ranchi Rays. Rupinder Pal Singh (Delhi Waveriders) was

EVENTS 2016 Player of the Tournament. Mark Knowles (Punjab Warriors) was Man of the Match. Armaan Qureshi (Punjab Warriors) was Goal of the Match. Armaan Qureshi was . emerging Player of the Match. Ranji Trophy 2016

Place: Pune Agenda/Issue: Mumbai won the Ranji Trophy for a record 41st time over Saurashtra on 26 February, 2016. With this victory, Mumbai clinched Ranji title for record 41st time (10 of them being won with innings wins) after playing in record 45 finals. Target/Application: Shreyas Iyer was the highest run scorer of the series with 1321 runs. Shahbaz Nadeem with 51 wickets was the highest wicket taker of the competition. Ranji Trophy is a domestic first-class cricket championship played in India between teams representing regional cricket associations. The trophy is named after England and Sussex cricketer Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji and was first played in 1934. At present, the championship is played between 27 teams which include 21 states (of 29 Indian states) and Delhi (UT). The format of Ranji Trophy is Round-robin. Kerala First Digital State Declaration

Place: Kerala Agenda/Issue: The President declared Kerala as the first digital state in the country on 27 September, 2016. It was announced by President after launching a digital empowerment campaign of state at a function to be held in Kozhikkode. The campaign aims at bridging the digital divide by 2020. Target/Application: The President lauded Kerala’s progress in becoming digitally enabled, after the launching of the pilot Akshaya e-literacy project in Malappuram district in 2002. Kerala was able to achieve this feat due to the combined efforts of the government and various social organizations in the state. Kerala has successfully linked all villages in the state with broadband connectivity under the National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) project. It is first state in country to do so. The broadband connectivity has helped to provide high-speed internet in all gram panchayats and remote areas of the state.

CA-169 Setu Bharatam Project Launched Agenda/Issue: PM Narendra Modi launched the ` 50,000 crore ‘Setu Bharatam’ project to make all national highways free of railway crossings by 2019 on 4 March, 2016. This project will be implemented by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. Target/Application: The project aims to make all national highways free from railway level crossing by 2019 to ensure road safety. Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways already has launched an Indian Bridge Management System to map 1,50,000 bridges across the country. So far inventory of 50,000 bridges has been prepared under it and the first cycle of condition survey will be completed by June 2016. IRNSS-1F Satellite Launched Place: Sriharikota. Agenda/Issue: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully launched India’s sixth navigation Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS) 1F satellite on 10th March, 2016. It was launched by ISRO’s workhorse satellite launch vehicle, PSLV-C32 rocket from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SHAR), Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. It was PLSV’s 34th mission. Target/Application: The IRNSS will provide accurate position information service to users in India and the region extending up to 1,500 km from the border. IRNSS 1F satellite is part of the space segment satellites of the IRNSS system that has total constellation of seven satellites. It has a 12 year mission life. It will be located in the Geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) in the space with a 20,657 km apogee (farthest point to Earth) and 284 km perigee (nearest point to Earth).

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana Launched Agenda/Issue: The Union Government launched Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) for providing free of cost LPG (cooking gas) connections to women from BPL Households on 1st May, 2016. It was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the tagline-Swachh Indhan, Behtar Jeevan. Target/Application: A sum of ` 8000 crore has been sanctioned for providing five crore

CA-170 LPG connections to BPL households. Under PMUY, each of the beneficiaries will receive monetary support of about 1,600 rupees to get a connection of cooking gas. It includes administrative cost, pressure regulator booklet and safety hose. The scheme seeks to empower women and protect their health by shifting them from traditional cooking based on unclean cooking fuels or on fossil fuels to clean cooking gas. 2016 Asia Cup T20 Trophy Place: Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka. Agenda/Issue: India clinched their sixth Asia Cup title on 6th March at the 2016 edition of the Asia Cup tournament held in Bangladesh on 6 March, 2016. Target/Application: India won all of its matches played in Asia Cup 2016 beating Bangladesh twice, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and UAE once. The continental title was held in Bangladesh from 24 February to 6 March 2016. It was the 13th edition of the Asia Cup. It was the fifth to be held in Bangladesh and the first to be played using the T20 format. 3rd Season of Pro Kabaddi League Place: New Delhi Agenda/Issue: Patna Pirates won their maiden Pro Kabaddi League title after defeating U Mumba 31-28 on 6th March, 2016. Target/Application: Patna Pirates had a splendid run during the third season of the Pro Kabaddi League. Rohit Kumar of Patna Pirates was awarded Best Raider and Mohit Chillar of U Mumba the Best Defender of the Match. 70th Santosh Trophy

Place: SEC Railway Stadium, in Nagpur Agenda/Issue: Services retained the Santosh Trophy National Football Championships title after beating hosts Maharashtra 2-1 in the final on 14th March, 2016. Target/Application: National camper Arjun Tudu scored twice in the space of 11 minutes (26th and 37th) to help Services clinch their fifth title overall. Santosh Trophy is an annual Indian football tournament played in India and was founded in 1941. The Trophy is named after the late Maharaja Sir Manmatha Nath Roy Chowdhary of Santosh.

EVENTS 2016 Indian Coast Guard Ship Arnvesh Place: Visakhapatnam Agenda/Issue: ICGS Arnvesh, the fast patrol vessel (FPV) of the Indian Coast Guard was commissioned at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh on 21 March, 2016. The ship is primarily intended to undertake coastal patrol, surveillance at sea, anti-smuggling, anti-piracy operations and search and rescue operations. Target/Application: It is propelled by triple Rolls Royce Kamewa water jets and can achieve a maximum speed of 33 knots, and carry a crew of five officers and 34 men. The vessel is fitted with the state-of-the-art navigational and communication equipment including night vision capabilities. Its main armament comprise 40/60 Bofors guns. 2016 Hockey India Annual Awards Agenda/Issue: At the Hockey India second annual awards, Indian hockey team’s goalkeeper PR Sreejesh and Deepika of the women hockey team won the Dhruv Batra Player of the Year award for men and women, respectively on 28 March, 2016. Target/Application: Asunta Lakra Upcoming Player of the Year Award (Women under 21) was presented to Preeti Dubey, and the Jugraj Singh Upcoming Player of the Year Award (Men - under 21) was presented to Harjeet Singh. 63rd National Film Awards 2015 Agenda/Issue: The 63rd National Film Awards 2015 were announced on 28th March, 2016. Awards were given in three categories; Feature Films, Non Feature Films and Best Writing on Cinema. Target/Application: Best Feature Film: Baahubali Best Debut Film of A Director: Masaan Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment: Bajrangi Bhaijaan Asia’s Largest Optical Telescope ARIES Place: Nainital Agenda/Issue: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Belgian counterpart Charles Michel remotely launched Asia’s biggest telescope, the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (Aries), built with Belgian assistance in Nainital District, Uttrakahnd on 30 March, 2016. Target/Application: Aries, the largest optical telescope of its kind in Asia, is a

EVENTS 2016 product of Indo-Belgian collaboration. It will be used to study star structures and magnetic field structures of stars. It has been located at a height of 2,500 metres at Devasthal in Nainital district. The site was chosen for getting a clear view of the sky. The ARIES optical telescope has mirror of 3.6 m diameter. The telescope facility has been incorporated with high end technology which enables it to be operated with the help of remote control from anywhere in the world. White Tiger Safari Opened in Madhya Pradesh

Place: Mukundpur, Madhya Pradesh Agenda/Issue: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan inaugurated the World’s maiden ‘White Tiger Safari’ at Mukundpur in Satna district on 3rd April, 2016. The first of its kind safari is situated adjacent to the Mukundpur Zoological Park. It is spread over an area of 25 hectares and has been built at the cost of 50 crore rupees. Target/Application: The sanctuary at Mukundpur, 20km from Rewa, is currently home to only one white tiger, Vindhya. The safari houses three white tigers, including two females named Vindhya and Radha and one male named Raghu. Gatiman Express Flagged Off

Place: New Delhi Agenda/Issue: Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu flagged off the much-awaited Gatiman Express on 5th April, 2016 which will cover the distance from Agra to Nizamuddin station in 90 to 100 minutes. Target/Application: The NizamuddinAgra Gatiman Express is the first semi-high speed service in railways, which will run at a speed of 160 kilometer per hour. It covers the 200 km distance between two destinations in one hours and 40 minute (100 minutes). The train will run six days a week except Friday in both directions. It has high-power emergency braking system, automatic fire alarm, GPS—based passenger information system and sliding doors in the coaches. Stand up India Scheme Launched for SC/ST, Women Agenda/Issue: Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the ‘Start Up India’ initiative

CA-171 aimed at providing credit to Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), and women borrowers in the non-farm sector on 5th April, 2016. The scheme is intended to promote entrepreneurship among SC/ST and women and further give a push to government’s financial inclusion programme. Target/Application: A Web Portal for online registration and support services will be provided. Under the scheme, 1.25 lakh bank branches will provide loans up to 1 crore rupees to SC/ST and women entrepreneurs. Thus it will help in creating 2.5 lakh entrepreneurs throughout the country.

2016 Asian Nations Cup Chess Tournament Agenda/Issue: Indian men won the Asian Nations Cup Chess tournament with a 3-1 victory over Vietnam in the final round by 3-1 score played in Abu Dhabi on 6th April, 2016. In the final round match, Indian Grandmasters S P Sethuraman and K Sasikiran won the 2nd and 4th boards while, B Adhiban and Vidit Santosh Gujrathi drew their respective matches. Target/Application: This was the third time that Indian men won the event. They won at Esfahan, Iran in 2005 and Kolkata in 2009. World Health Day Agenda/Issue: April 7th was celebrated as the World Health Day a global health awareness day. This year’s focus was-scale up prevention, strength care, enhance surveillance. 3rd Asia Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation Place: New Delhi. Agenda/Issue: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurate the 3rd Asia Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation which took place in New Delhi from April 12-14, 2016. Target/Application: The conference is being co-organized by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, National Tiger Conservation Authority, Global Tiger Forum, Global Tiger Initiative Council, Wildlife Institute of India, WWF and Wildlife Conservation Trust.

CA-172 Twitter Seva Launched By Union Government For Start-Ups Agenda/Issue: The Union Government has launched a “Twitter Seva” to address issues and grievances of startups, exporters and importers, and other stakeholders on 22nd April, 2016. In this regard, an institutionalised mechanism with a special Twitter cell has been created in the Ministry of Commerces Industry. Target/Application: Queries on matters relating to Department of Commerce and Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) will be answered through this service. It will also address queries regarding the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), , SEZs, Directorate General of supplies and Disposals, tea, rubber, coffee, spices, Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA). World Earth Day

Agenda/Issue: 22nd April is every year celebrated as the Earth day all over the world to demonstrate support for environmental protection. Target/Application: Earth year 2016’s theme is ‘Trees for the Earth.’ 2016 Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament

Place: Ipoh, Malaysia Agenda/Issue: Australia dashed India’s hopes to clinch their ninth Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey title with a thumping 4-0 win on 16 April, 2016. India settled at the second position and was followed by New Zealand (defending champion) at the third position. This was the second time India had finished with the silver medal in seven final appearances. Target/Application: Earlier, Australia had won the Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament in 1983, 1996, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2013 and 2014. They also hold record of most titles win of this tournament. The Sultan Azlan Shah Cup is an annual international men’s field hockey tournament held in Malaysia. It began in 1983 as a biennial contest. The tournament became an annual event after 1998.

EVENTS 2016 6th Heart of Asia Conference Place: New Delhi Agenda/Issue: The 6th Heart of Asia (HoA) - Istanbul Ministerial Process was held in New Delhi on 26 April, 2016 with the objective of bringing peace and stability to Afghanistan. The conference was attended by officials of a number of countries and is likely to deliberate on a host of issues like combating challenge of extremism and terrorism. Target/Application: The main objective of the conference is to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan and speeding up its reconstruction with a focus on enhancing investment and connectivity to the country. HoA conference is a part of the Istanbul Process established in 2011 which provides a platform to discuss an agenda of regional cooperation with Afghanistan at its centre. The 14 member countries of HoA engage in result-oriented cooperation for a peaceful and stable Afghanistan and, by extension, a secure and prosperous region as a whole. The 14 participating countries are Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Azerbaijan and Turkey. World Intellectual Property Day Agenda/Issue: World Intellectual Property Day is annually celebrated on 26th April to highlight importance of intellectual property rights (patents, trademarks, industrial designs, copyright) in encouraging innovation and creativity. Target/Application: It is celebrated to raise awareness of how patents, copyright, trademarks and designs impact on daily life and to celebrate creativity, and the contribution made by creators and innovators to the development of societies across the globe.

Asia’s First Rice Technology Park in Gangavati Place: Karnataka Agenda/Issue: Karnataka Government has decided to set up Asia’s first Rice Technology Park in Gangavati in Koppal district on 9th May, 2016. Apart from it the state government has decided to set upa Maize Technology Park at Ranebennur in Haveri district. Both parks will be established on

EVENTS 2016 the public-private participation model as a one-stop solution to all problems of rice and maize growers. Target/Application: These parks would pave the way for opening new avenues for rice and maize growers to add value to their produce and get better returns and also enhance quality of the produce. SAIEVAC Ministerial Meeting Place: New Delhi Agenda/Issue: The fourth edition South Asia Initiative to End Violence Against Children (SAIEVAC) Ministerial Meeting took place in New Delhi from 9-11 May, 2016. The meeting assessed progress and developments of the past decade of regional effort of SAIEVAC and identify priorities for SAIEVAC for the next five years. Target/Application: SAIEVAC is apex body of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) nations created to bring governments of the region into active engagement for child protection against violence. It will set strategies and agree on commitments to ensure the security and protection of the children of the region.

Air Defence Interceptor Missile, Ashwin Place: Abdul Kalam Island, Balasore. Agenda/Issue: Indigenous Advanced Air Defence interceptor missile, Ashwin successfully test fired on 16th May, 2016. The test was the twelfth test of interceptor missiles fired from a warship in the Bay of Bengal. Of the 11 tests held earlier, 9 were successful. The interceptor missile was test fired from the complex of Abdul Kalam Island (formerly known as Wheeler Island) in Balasore district off Odisha coast. Target/Application: Advanced Air Defence (AAD) interceptor missile, Ashwin is the advanced version of low altitude supersonic ballistic interceptor missile. It is indigenously developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and is capable of destroying any incoming hostile ballistic missile. It is capable of destroying any incoming hostile ballistic missile is 7.5-meter long and weighs around 1.2 tonnes. It has a diameter of less than 0.5 meter. It is single-stage solid rocket propelled guided missile. It is equipped with a hi-tech computer, a navigation system and

CA-173 an electro-mechanical activator. The missile also has its own mobile launcher, secure data link for interception, independent tracking and homing capabilities and sophisticated radars.

Single Rooftop Solar Power Plant Place: Amritsar Agenda/Issue: World’s largest Single Rooftop Solar Power Plant inaugurated in Amritsar in Punjab on 18th May, 2016. The plant has been set up with the cost of 139 crore rupees and would generate clean and green energy sufficient to power approximately 8,000 homes. It will also help in abating 4-lakh tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the next 25 years. Target/Application: The Rs 139-crore solar energy plant here has become country’s largest, with solar panels spread over 82 acres on eight rooftops of sheds and a capacity to generate 19.5 MW. The clean power produced from this plant will be purchased by the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL). The first phase (7.5 MW) of this project was launched in September 2013 and was synchronised with the grid in April 2014. Green-concept Based State Data Centre Agenda/Issue: Himachal Pradesh became the first state in the country to have a State Data Centre (SDC), designed using green data centre concept on 5th June, 2016. The SDC will offer 101 people-oriented services online through an integrated data base. It would integrate the websites of various departments and all services can be accessed through the integrated data base. Target/Application: It is a major green initiative as all services would be provided online and paperless governance will become a reality. It is first SDC in the country which has been designed using green data centre concept to minimise power requirement and increase power utilisation efficiency. World Environment Day Agenda/Issue: World Environment Day was celebrated on June 5 to educate global awareness to tiger-express take positive environmental action to protect nature and the planet Earth. The Theme for 2016 is ‘Go Wild for Life (Zero Tolerance for the Illegal Wildlife Trade)’.

CA-174 Target/Application: WED was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972 to mark the opening of United Nations Conference on the Human Environment 1972 which began in Stockholm. World Oceans Day Agenda/Issue: The World Oceans Day was observed globally on 8th June every year to raise global awareness about oceans problems. Target/Application: The day also seeks to provide a unique opportunity to honour, protect, and conserve the world’s oceans. The theme for 2016 is “Healthy oceans, healthy planet”.

Thailand Eliminated Mother to Child HIV Place: Thailand Agenda/Issue: WHO announced, Thailand has become the first country in Asia to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis on 8th June, 2016. Previously, Cuba was the only other country and first country in the world to eliminate mother-to-child transmission under the WHO’s criteria back in July 2015. Target/Application: Globally, 220,000 new cases of HIV were recorded in babies in 2014 and syphilis caused some 200,000 stillbirths and neonatal deaths in 2012. The chances of mother-to-child transmission of HIV to their children during pregnancy are 15-45% if they are untreated. The risk of transmission of virus in the new born can reduced with the medication of antiretroviral medicines. Teacher Education Portal Prashikshak Launched Place: New Delhi Agenda/Issue: Union HRD Ministry launches Prashikshak, an online teacher education portal for District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs) on 30 June, 2016. It seeks to strengthen DIETs and bring quality teachers into the school education system. Target/Application: It is an open online platform for collecting and reporting data from all DIETs which will help in the establishment of a strong monitoring mechanism. Prashikshak users will comprise pre-service teacher educators,

EVENTS 2016 DIET faculty and principals, policy makers at district, state and national level and the general public.

NIVARAN Portal Launched Agenda/Issue: The Indian Railways has launched NIVARAN portal to address different grievances on 1st July, 2016. Target/Application: It is an online system for redressal of service related grievance of serving, and former railway employees. The system’ will also provide employees of Indian Railways facility for lodging appeal to the higher authority in case the decision is not found satisfactory. Highest controlling authorities will also be able to monitor the progress of grievance redressal by field offices through this system. Khangchendzonga National Park Place: Istanbul ,Turkey. Agenda/Issue: Khangchendzonga National Park (KNP) in Sikkim has been named a world heritage site by the World Heritage Committee (WHC) of UNESCO on July 18, 2016. Khangchendzonga National Park (KNP) was added in the mixed heritage site category of the list i.e. it exhibits qualities of both natural and cultural significance. With this, it became the first ‘mixed’ heritage site from India to make it to the list. Target/Application: The park exhibits one of the widest altitudinal ranges of any protected area worldwide. It has a unique diversity of lowlands, steep valleys and snow-clad mountains and the world’s third highest peak, Mt. Khangchendzonga. PATA Awards Place: Indonesia Agenda/Issue: The reputation of Kerala Tourism has increased after being conferred with two gold gongs at the Pacific Asia Travel Association Awards (PATA) on 21 July, 2016. Kerala Tourism won the awards in the Travel Advertisement Broadcast Media and E-Newsletter categories respectively. Target/Application: Kerala had also featured in the awardees’ list last year for the Murizis Heritage Project. Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) awards are given by Pacific Asia Travel Association and are sponsored by Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO). These awards are presented every year in recognition of the achievements of 25 separate organisations and individuals.

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EVENTS 2016 Kundakulam Nuclear Power Project Place: Tamil Nadu Agenda/Issue: On 11th August, 2016, Unit 1 of the Kundakulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) became India’s single largest nuclear generation unit with capacity of 1000 megawatt (MW). The KKNPP is located in Tirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu, around 650 km from Chennai. It is built under India-Russian Nuclear agreement of 1988. Target/Application: This power project has been designed to cater to the power supply requirement in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. KKNPP is India’s nuclear power plant to use imported PWR technology. It has VVER (Water-Water Energetic Reactor) type light water reactors. The reactors are built by the NPCIL (Nuclear Power Corporation of India) and Russia’s Atomstroyexport Company, a subsidiary of Rosatom. The first Wi – fi Enabled Village Gumthala Garhu

Place: Haryana Agenda/Issue: Gumthala Garhu near Pehowa in Kurukshetra district became the first Wi – fi enabled village in Haryana on 3rd September, 2016. Target/Application: This facility uses bandwidth of 10 mbps through BSNL’s state of the art network and since it is a hotspot, multiple users can access the benefits simultaneously. Mission Bhagiratha

Place: Telangana Agenda/Issue: The Mission Bhagiratha project was launched by state Government at Komatibanda Village, Gajwel in Medak District of Telangana on 7th August, 2016. Target/Application: The objective of the mission includes providing 100 litres of clean drinking water per person in the villages and 150 litres per person in the urban households. Under it safe drinking water will be provided to about 25000 rural habitations and 67 urban habitations. Apart from providing a sustainable and permanent solution to the drinking water woes, it also aims to rejuvenate more than 45000 water tanks.

2016 Kabaddi World Cup Place: Ahmedabad, Gujarat Agenda/Issue: The 2016 Kabaddi World Cup in Ahmedabad, Gujarat from 7 to 22, October 2016. Target/Application: The tournament featured 12 teams, namely United States of America, England, Australia, Iran, Poland, Thailand, Bangladesh, South Korea, Japan, Argentina and Kenya. India on 22 October, 2016 won the World Cup defeating Iran. E-Library Sugamya Pustakalaya

Agenda/Issue: Sugamya Pustakalaya an online library for persons with visual disabilities has been launched on 24th August, 2016. Target/Application: The online library has been created in collaboration with National Institute of Visually Handicapped (NIVH), member organizations of Daisy Forum of India (DFI), Bookshare and powered by TCS Access. Sugamya Pustakalaya is an online library for Divyang and houses publications across diverse subjects and languages and multiple accessible formats. National Institute of Visually Handicapped (NIVH is a premier Institute in the field of visual disability working under the administrative control of the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. Scramjet Engine Flight Tested

Place: Sriharikota Agenda/Issue: The Advanced Technology Vehicle (ATV), a sounding rocket carrying advanced scramjet engines, was flight-tested from Sathish Dhawan Space Centre Sriharikotta in Andhra Pradesh and has successfully met all the intended parameters on 28th August, 2016. Target/Application: The scramjet uses hydrogen as fuel and oxygen from the atmospheric air as the oxidiser. During the test, Air Breathing Propulsion System (ABPS) using hydrogen as fuel and oxygen from the atmosphere air as the oxidiser, was successfully tested. India has become the fourth country to demonstrate the flight testing of a scramjet engines. This mission is a milestone for ISRO’s future space transportation system.

CA-176 Indira Gandhi International Airport Place: Montreal, Canada. Agenda/Issue: IGI became Asia-Pacific’s first carbon neutral airport on 27th September, 2016. The announcement in this regard was made by the Airports Council International (ACI) during the Airport Carbon Accreditation certificate presentation ceremony to IGI in Montreal, Canada. Target/Application: The IGI airport is managed by private operator Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), a joint venture between the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and GMR Group-led consortium. Indira Gandhi International Airport serves as the primary civilian aviation hub for the National Capital Region of Delhi, India. India Wins Historic 500th Cricket Test Place: Kanpur Agenda/Issue: India has won the test match against New Zealand by 197-runs in their historic 500th cricket Test in Kanpur on 26th September, 2016. Target/Application: This victory was India’s 88th on the home turf. It also gave them a 1-0 lead in the three-Test series.

India, US Joint Military Training Exercise Yudh Abhyas 2016 Place: Ranikhet, Uttarakhand Agenda/Issue: India and United States Joint Military Training Exercise Yudh Abhyas 2016 concluded at the Chaubattia Military Station in Ranikhet, Uttarakhand. It was conducted from 14 to 27 September, 2016. The YudhAbhyas 2016 aimed at strengthening and broadening the interoperability and cooperation between the Indian and US armies. Target/Application: The bilateral military exercise was the 12th edition in the YudhAbhyas series which started in the year 2004 under US Army Pacific Partnership Program. The YudhAbhyas 2016 had witnessed Field Training Exercises of Brigade Headquarter based Command Post Exercise. India and Russia Joint Military Exercise Indra 2016 Place: Vladivostok Agenda/Issue: The eighth edition of joint military exercise ‘Indra-2016’ between

EVENTS 2016 India and Russia has begun in Russian city of Vladivostok on 23rd September, 2016. Target/Application: The main focus of this edition of bilateral military exercise is on Counter-Terrorism Operations in semi mountainous and jungle terrain under United Nations Mandate. Best Horticulture State Award Place: Haryana Agenda/Issue: Haryana has won ‘Best Horticulture State’ award of the Indian Council of Food and Agriculture (ICFA) on 9th September, 2016. The award was bestowed upon the state for its concerted efforts made to increase the income of the farmers in horticulture. Target/Application: At present, about 2.5 lakh hectares of land is under horticulture in Haryana. The state government has ambitious target to increase it up to 9 lakh hectares. For this purpose, state government has decided to set a Horticulture University in the state. Government will set up biggest Horticulture Mandi of the country at Ganaur on the pattern of Shenzhen Mandi of China and Rungis Mandi of France.

India’s First LIGO Laboratory to Come up in Hingoli, Maharashtra Place: Hingoli , Maharashtra Agenda/Issue: India’s first LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) laboratory will be set up in Aundh in Hingoli district of Maharashtra. The proposal is approved on 10th September, 2016. Target/Application: It will be third such laboratory in the world and first outside the United States. The existing two laboratories are located in Hanford, Washington and in Livingston, Louisiana. The LIGO-India laboratory will help to bring considerable opportunities in cutting edge cutting edge technology for Indian industries. Rashtriya Ekta Diwas Agenda/Issue: Rashtriya Ekta Diwas is observed on 31 October to commemorate birth anniversary of Vallabhai Patel. Target/Application: The idea of Rashtriya Ekta Diwas was mooted by PM Narendra Modi in October 2014 to mark the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

EVENTS 2016 Himachal Pradesh Declared India’s Second Open Defecation Free State Place: Himachal Pradesh Agenda/Issue: Himachal Pradesh becomes the second State in the country after Sikkim to achieve the Open Defecation Free State on 28th October, 2016. Target/Application: Himachal Pradesh has successfully achieved total rural sanitation coverage of 100% in the state. Besides, all 12 districts in state were declared as well as verified as ODF.

National Ayurveda Day Agenda/Issue: The first National Ayurveda Day was observed on 28 October on the occasion of Dhanwantari Jayanti. Target/Application: Union Government has decided to celebrate National Ayurveda Day every year on the occasion of Dhanwantari Jayanti. This day marks birth date of Lord Dhanvantari, which occurs before two days before Diwali on Dhanteras.

Judicial Committee on OROP Report Place: New delhi Agenda/Issue: The Union had appointed one man judicial the committee under the Chairmanship of retired Chief Justice of Patna High Court L Narasimha Reddy in December 2015. It submitted its report on 26th October, 2016. Target/Application: The OROP scheme aims to provide ex-servicemen of same rank and same length of service uniform pension regardless of date of retirement provided that the ex-servicemen concerned had retired from the same rank and they had served for an equal number of years. Under this scheme, pension will be refixed every five years of ex-servicemen and future enhancements in rates of pension will be automatically passed to the past pensioners.

India-Sri Lanka Joint Military Exercise Mitra Shakti 2016 Place: Ambepussa, Sri Lanka. Agenda/Issue: The fourth edition of the India-Sri Lanka Joint Military Exercise ‘MITRA SHAKTI 2016’ began at Sinha Regimental Centre in Ambepussa, Sri Lanka on 24th October, 2016. Mitra Shakti series of bilateral exercises is one of the major bilateral defence cooperation initiatives

CA-177 between India and Sri Lanka since 2013. The previous edition of the exercise between both nations was successfully conducted in September 2015 at Pune, Mahrashtra. Target/Application: The main focus of this edition of joint exercise is to enhance interoperability while carrying out Counter Terrorism (CT) and Counter Insurgency (CI) operations under the UN Mandate. This bilateral military exercise will be conducted in two stages in which both armies will get familiar each other’s respective methodology of such operations, arms and equipment and the command and control systems.

India, China Conduct Second Joint Tactical Exercise Place: Ladakh Agenda/Issue: India and China have conducted second joint military exercise “Sino India Cooperation 2016” in Ladakh region along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Jammu and Kashmir on 20th October, 2016. Target/Application: The exercise compliments Hand in Hand series of India-China joint military exercises that aims to enhance cooperation and maintain peace and tranquility along border areas of both countries.

Himansh, India’s Remote, High-altitude Station Opened in Himalayas Place: Spiti, Himachal Pradesh. Agenda/Issue: A high altitude glaciological research station in Himalaya called Himansh began functioning in a remote region in Spiti, Himachal Pradesh on 11th October, 2016. Himansh station will provide much needed fillip to the scientific research on Himalayan glaciers and its hydrological contribution. The research lab has been established by the National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR) in Spiti Valley, one of the most uninhabited parts of the country. Target/Application: Researchers will use this station as a base for undertaking surveys that would digitize the glacier motion and snow cover variations with exceptional precision. The Himalayan region has the largest concentration of glaciers outside the polar caps. It is called the “Water Tower of Asia”.

CA-178 India’s first Social Boycott Bill Passed in Maharashtra Place: Maharashtra Agenda/Issue: The Maharashtra Assembly passed the Prohibition of Social Boycott Bill, which seeks to crack down on extrajudicial bodies on 13th April 2016. With this Maharashtra became first state in the country to adopt a comprehensive law to root out oppression carried out by parallel justice delivery system (kangaroo court) in the name of age old traditions, caste and religion. Target/Application: Under this Act, anyone found guilty of imposing any social boycott on an individual or a group of individuals can be imprisoned up to three years and can be fined Rs1 lakh. It disallows social boycott of any individual or groups by caste panchayats or groups of individuals or by its members or by social or economically influential persons. The offence registered under the act will be congnizable and bailable. It will be tried by a judicial magistrate of the first class.

New Advanced Towed Artillery Artillery Gun System Agenda/Issue: India’s Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) successfully conducted proof firing tests of a new towed gun currently being developed for the Indian Army on 15th July, 2016. Target/Application: The new gun will allegedly be capable of firing five rounds in short duration with a maximum range of 40 kilometers, depending on the ammunition type.

Super Computer PARAM-ISHAN Place: IIT Guwahati Agenda/Issue: PARAM ISHAN has been jointly developed by IIT Guwahati and C -DAC (Centre for Development of Advanced Computing). It has a peak computing power of 250 Teraflops and three hundred tera bites capacity. Target/Application: PARAM ISHAN is the fastest and most powerful computer in North East, Eastern and Southern region of India outside Bengaluru (Karnataka). It was inaugurated on 20th September 2016. It will help to augment the research initiatives and also in creating an ecosystem for attracting right talents to the field of research. It can

EVENTS 2016 be also used for Weather, climate modeling and seismic data processing.

Advanced Guided Missile Destroyer Mormugao launched Place: Mumbai, Maharashtra Agenda/Issue: Indian Navy’s indigenously built most Advanced Guided Missile Stealth Destroyer ‘Mormugao’ was launched in Mumbai, Maharashtra on 17th September, 2016. It has been Christened ‘Mormugao’ after the Mormugao port of Goa, the home State of Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. Target/Application: The stealth vessel was built by government-run Mazgaon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd and belongs to Visakhapatnam class of ships being constructed under Project 15B. Mormugao has a displacement of 7,300 tonne with maximum speed of over 30 knots. It is fitted also with the Barak-8 long-range missiles. It is equipped with surface-tosurface missiles, surface-to-air missiles and anti-submarine rocket launchers. It is also capable of carrying two anti-submarine warfare helicopters. Counter Terrorism Conference 2016 Place: Jaipur Agenda/Issue: President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the Counter-Terrorism Conference on 2nd February, 2016. The conference recognises that terrorism is undoubtedly the single gravest threat that humanity is facing today. Target/Application: He strongly condemned the recent terror attacks in the region and he said the states who encourage and support provide sanctuary to terrorists should be identified and held accountable. The conference recognised that strong measures against such states must be taken. The conference also expressed the need for urgent measures to counter and prevent the spread of terrorism, violent extremism and radicalization. Countering terrorism can be successful by shaping public opinion, society building and growing a concerted and integrated counterterrorism policy. Hydro-Electric Projects in Himachal Pradesh Place: Himachal Pradesh Agenda/Issue: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated three hydro-electric projects (HEPs) with a generating capacity

EVENTS 2016 of 1,732 MW in Himachal Pradesh on 18th October, 2016. Target/Application: These three hydroelectric projects are Koldam HEP: It is 4×200 MW capacity project executed by National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC).Parbati HEP: It is Stage-III project with a capacity of 530 MW of National Hydropower Corporation (NHPC). Rampur HEP: It is 412 MW capacity project of Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN). These three projects will collectively play an important role in boosting the Hydropower sector of Himachal Pradesh.

Smart India Hackathon Launched Agenda/Issue: The Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has launched Smart India Hackathon 2017 on 10th November, 2016. It is the world’s largest digital national building initiative. Through this initiative, HRD Ministry is keen to reach out to all technology institutions in the country and challenge students to offer innovative solutions to some of the daunting problems faced by our nation. Target/Application: The Hackathon aims to find digital solutions by harnessing creativity and technical expertise of over 30 lakh students from technology institutes in remotest parts of India. Besides, it seeks to spark several institute-level hackathons countrywide and help build a funnel for ‘Startup India, Standup India’ campaign. The initiative will help to institutionalize a model for harnessing the creativity and skills of youth for nation-building. India Overtakes Thailand As World’s Largest Rice Exporter Agenda/Issue: India has gone past Thailand as the world’s largest rice exporter in 2015 by exporting 10.23 million tonnes as per Thai rice exporters report on January 28, 2016. It was announced by Charoen Laodhammatas who is a Chairman of Bangkok based Thai Rice Exporters Association Target/Application: Thailand ranked second on the list of the world’s largest rice exporting countries which has exported 9.8 million tonnes of rice to the world market

CA-179 in year 2015 compared to 10.9 million tonnes in year 2014. Vietnam was ranked third largest rice exporter with 6.4 million tonnes. China has remained the number one importer country of rice in the year 2015.

Incredible India Tourism Investors Summit 2016 Agenda/Issue: Incredible India Tourism Investors Summit (IITIS) 2016 began in New Delhi on 21st September, 2016. It was a three day summit that has been organized by the Union Ministry of Tourism in association with Tourism Finance Corporation of India (TFCI) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). Target/Application: The summit was focused on Investment Opportunities in various sectors in India which includes Road, Highways, Oil and Gas, Urban Infrastructure, Railways and many more. IITIS will provide a common platform for domestic and international investors to meet project owners from across Indian states and the private sector. It will host presentations of investible properties, session on why invest in India, Micro of Small and Micro Enterprises (MSME) in tourism sector. Agartala-Akhaura Rail Link Agenda/Issue: Government has sanctioned `580 crore for AgartalaAkhaura railway link Project to connect Kolkata (West Bengal) with Tripura via Bangladesh on 9th February, 2016. It is 15 km long strategic railway route that would connect the Indian Railways with the Bangladesh Railways. Target/Application: The 1,650-km expanse between Agartala and Kolkata will be reduced to only 550 km once the new rail track is linked through Bangladesh. The work on this project is expected to complete by 2017. This project will play important role in India’s ‘Act East’ Policy and is expected to improve connectivity and boost trade between the two countries. It will also reduce the current 1700 km road distance between Kolkata to Agartala via narrow Chicken Neck Siliguri corridor to just 350 km by railway. Yes Bank Wins Green Bond Award Place: London Stock Exchange Agenda/Issue: India’s leading private lender Yes Bank has won the prestigious

CA-180 Green Bond Pioneer Award for being the ‘Pioneers in Emerging Markets-India’ at a ceremony held in London, United Kingdom on 25th February, 2016. Target/Application: Yes Bank was recognised for its pioneering efforts in the Green Bonds market; including the highly successful issuance of India’s first ever Green Infrastructure Bonds. The Green Bond Pioneer Awards for ‘Pioneers in Emerging Markets-India’ were organised by Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI). This award was launched to increase awareness on green bonds in the global investor and corporate community and also to acknowledge global leadership in the sector. Kerala Tourism’s Muziris Heritage Project Place: Kodungalloor, Kerala Agenda/Issue: Presidant Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the first phase of the Muziris Heritage Project at the International Research and Convention Centre at Trissur in Kerala on 27th February, 2016. The project is Kerala Government’s first green Project and India’s largest heritage conservation project. President also launched the website of the MHP. Target/Application: The Government of Kerala has initiated the Muziris Heritage Project to restore the historical and cultural significance of the legendary port of Muziris. Muziris was an ancient seaport and urban centre which dates from at least the 1st century BC and located at the mouth of the Periyar River in Kerala. It was a key centre for trade and hub of the spice route in ancient times between southern India on one side and Egyptians, Phoenicians, Greeks and Roman Empire on the other side. Defence Expo 2016 Place: Goa Agenda/Issue: During the ninth edition of Defence Expo India-2016 Defence Procurement Policy was unveiled on 28th March, 2016. This is for the first time, the Expo is being held outside the national capital New Delhi. Defence Expo 2016 is the 9th edition of the series of biennial land, naval and internal homeland security systems exhibitions. Target/Application: A total of 204 official delegations from 44 countries and around 750 non-official business delegations are

EVENTS 2016 attending the show. It is India’s biggest ever land, naval and homeland security exhibition Defence Expo. The Expo will see participation of 1,053 companies from 47 countries including major defence production countries like Russia, US, Germany, Italy, Japan and Israel. They will display their warfare in their stalls to each other and demonstrate the capabilities of their defence equipment. It will also see participation of the major public and private sector companies in India including Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Maritime India Summit 2016 Place: Goregaon Agenda/Issue: Maritime India Summit-2016 was inaugurated at the Bombay Convention and Exhibition Centre in Goregaon, Mumbai, Maharashtra on 14th April, 2016. Target/Application: The first Maritime India Summit in Mumbai played a key role in highlighting the role of port led development for faster and sustainable economic growth. The main focus of summit is to give impetus to Make In India and blue economy. South Korea is the partner country for the summit.

India Placed at the Top in FDI Destination In 2015 Agenda/Issue: India has replaced China as a top destination for foreign direct investment by attracting $63 billion worth FDI projects announced in 2015 as per Financial Times Report on 22nd April, 2016. Target/Application: The Make in India campaign and the resultant boost in FDI has resulted in a whopping increase in FDI job creation from 1.16 lakh new jobs in 2013 to 2.25 lakh in 2015. Target/Application: According to the 2016 World Press Freedom Index report Europe still has the freest media, followed distantly by Africa, Americas, Asia and Eastern Europe/Central Asia. Offshore Patrol Vessel IGCS Shourya Launched Place: Panaji, Goa, Agenda/Issue: Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) has launched Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) Shaurya at Panaji on 7th May, 2016. ICGS Shaurya is fifth of a series of six

EVENTS 2016 Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) designed inhouse and built by GSL. Target/Application: This 105-metre new generation OPV is powered by twin diesel engines and is fitted with state-of-the-art navigation and communication equipment. ICGS Shaurya will be commissioned into service in 2017. It will be deployed for search and rescue operations, pollution control and external firefighting. It will also be deployed for monitoring sea lanes of communication and ocean surveillance.

Crony-Capitalism Index Agenda/Issue: India is ranked ninth in 2015 Crony-Capitalism Index with crony sector wealth accounting for 3.4 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP). The index was based on new study by ‘The Economist’ which had used data from a list of the world’s billionaires and their worth published by Forbes on 6th May, 2016. The crony-capitalism index aims to indicate whether the livelihood of the people from certain country or city with a capitalist economy are easily affected by crony capitalism. It is not an internationally recognized index due to its limitations. In this study each individual is labelled as crony or not based on the source of their wealth. Target/Application: In India, the noncrony sector wealth amounts to 8.3 per cent of the GDP, as per the latest cronycapitalism index. In 2014 ranking India stood at the ninth place. Top countries in the list are Russia (1st), Malaysia (2nd), Philippines (3rd) and Singapore (4th). Top ranking in the list indicates countries are engaged more in crony capitalism. Russia ranks worst in the index. The country’s crony sectors amounts to 18 per cent of its GDP. Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code Bill, 2016 Place: New Delhi Agenda/Issue: The Parliament has passed the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code Bill, 2016 on 11th May, 2016. The code seeks to ensure time-bound settlement of insolvency, faster turnaround of businesses and create a unified data base of serial defaulters. Target/Application: The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code is a comprehensive and

CA-181 systemic reform, which will give a quantum leap to the functioning of the credit market. The Code will consolidate and amend existing laws related to insolvency resolution and reorganization of corporate persons, partnership firms and individuals in a time bound manner. It provides for setting up Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) to regulate professionals, agencies and information utilities (IUs) engaged in resolution of insolvencies of companies. As per the code, in case of insolvency the interest of the workers must be fully protected and they should be given dues for 24 months. The code seeks to give a push to the ease of doing business in the country. Country’s 1st Contactless Credit Card Agenda/Issue: India’s largest private sector bank ICICI Bank has launched country’s first contactless business credit card in association with Jet Airways for small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) on 27th January, 2016. The card has been christened as the ‘Jet Airways ICICI Bank Business Advantage Card’. Target/Application: The card is powered by ‘VISA payWave’ contactless technology. The technology enables cardholder to make payments by simply tapping card at contactless enabled terminals in more than 48 countries including India. The card can also be used by dipping or swiping at noncontactless merchants.

Simhastha Declaration Agenda/Issue: India and Sri Lanka released ‘Simhastha Declaration’ at Ninora village in Ujjain on 14th May, 2016. PM Narendra Modi in his address appealed saints to conduct Vichar Kumbh every year with devotees and discuss social issues like the need to educate the girl child or plant trees. Target/Application: Simhastha Declaration has 51 sacred points for betterment of mankind that will start new discourse not only in India but around the world. It is also a prescription on how a duty-centred system that had been the origin of Indian philosophy of life is relevant in today’s India.

CA-182 GST Constitutional Amendment Bill Passed Place: New delhi Agenda/Issue: Rajya Sabha has passed the Constitution Amendment Bill to smoothen the progress of of GST on 8th August, 2016. Target/Application: The primary objective of the GST is to get rid of unnecessary taxation. GST is a uniform indirect tax levied on goods and services across a country.

2016-17 Global Competitiveness Index Agenda/Issue: India ranks 39th in 201617 Global Competitiveness Index among the 138 countries. The index was released as part of the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Competitiveness Report for 2016-17 on 27th September, 2016. Target/Application: India’s overall competitiveness has increased due to improvements in institutions and infrastructure along with recent reforms such as opening the economy to foreign investors and increasing transparency in the financial system. Switzerland (1st), Singapore (2nd), United States (3rd), Netherlands (4th) and Germany (5th).

India Ranks 130th in 2017 Ease of Doing Business Index Agenda/Issue: India has been placed at 130th position among the 190 countries in the recently released World Bank’s ease of doing business index for the year 2017 published on 27th October. Target/Application: The ease of doing business index is annually released by World Bank in its Ease of Doing Business Report. It was introduced in 2004.

President’s Rule in Arunachal Pradesh Place: Arunachal Pradesh Agenda/Issue: President Pranab Mukherjee imposed President’s Rule in Arunachal Pradesh on 26th January, 2016. Under Article 356 (1) of the Constitution after state assembly failed to comply with the provisions of Article 174 (sessions of the state legislature, prorogation and dissolution) of the Constitution. As per the provisions of Article 174, the session of state assembly was to be held six months after the last sitting. But the state assembly

EVENTS 2016 failed to comply with this provision which may lead to constitutional breakdown. Target/Application: The political turning point in Arunachal Pradesh began in December 2015 after 21 out of 47 ruling Congress legislators in the 60-member house rebelled along with 11 BJP and 2 independent legislators and extended support to Kalikho Pul to form new government. Later on Kalikho Pul has been sworn-in as the 9th Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh after Governor JP Rajkhowa used his discretionary powers to appoint him.

India Celebrated its 67th Republic Day Place: New Delhi Agenda/Issue: India celebrated 67th Republic Day on 26th January 2016 by displaying its cultural diversity, economic progress and military might on Rajpath, New Delhi. French President Francois Hollande was the chief guest at the Republic Day parade. With this he beamce 5th highest dignitary from France to be Chief Guest of Indian Republic Day parade. Target/Application: In this Republic Day parade, women empowerment was seen as women contingent of CRPF participated in the parade. Apart from this, women officer’s contingents of Indian Nay, Air Force and Coast Guard also participated as 2nd in command. For the first time in the history of Republic Day parade foreign contingent participated. It was 76-member contingent 35th Infantry Regiment of the French Army led by Lt Col Paul Bury. National Conference on Women Legislation Place: New Delhi. Agenda/Issue: The President inaugurated the first Conference of Women Legislators in New Delhi on 5th March, 2016. The conference intends to hone the skills of legislators to perform their legislative and non-legislative roles with greater effectiveness. Target/Application: The theme of the conference was ‘The Role of Women Legislators in Nation Building” (Mahila Janpratinidhi – Sashakt Bharat Ki Nirmata). The two-day conference will provide women legislators a platform to interact with their counterparts from across the country. It will also bring together women

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EVENTS 2016 union ministers, chief ministers, MPs and eminent women from the judiciary and the bureaucracy.

National Waterways Bill Agenda/Issue: Rajya Sabha passed the National Waterways Bill 2015 on 9th March 2016 to clear decks for the conversion of 106 rivers and creeks across India into transport waterways. Target/Application: The bill will convert 111 rivers across the country into National Waterways which would boost movement of goods and passengers via rivers and reduce the transportation costs substantially. Inland waterways mainly comprise rivers, lakes, canals, creeks and backwaters. It extends about 14,500 km across the country. However, potential of this mode of transport has not been fully exploited so far.

Good Country Index Agenda/Issue: India ranks 70th on 2015 Good Country Index in the list of 163 countries published on 3rd June, 2016. Good Country Index (GCI) is the biannual index founded by Simon Anholt, a British government adviser with an aim is to find ways of encouraging countries to collaborate and co-operate more, and compete less. The index seeks to measure how countries contribute to the global good. Target/Application: Sweden has been voted as the best country in the world when it comes to serving the interests of its people and contributing to the common good of humanity while India figured low at 70th position on a list of 163 nations. Afghan-India Friendship Dam Place: Herat Agenda/Issue: PM Narendra Modi, Ashraf Ghani inaugurates Afghan-India Friendship Dam in Herat province in Western

Afghanistan on 4th June, 2016. India has a strategic partnership with Afghanistan and is implementing number of infrastructure projects worth 2 billion dollars to help rebuild the country’s infrastructure. As part of India’s goodwill diplomacy it has been supporting an Afghanistan-led, Afghanistanowned, broad-based and inclusive process of peace and reconciliation. Target/Application: The Afghan-India Friendship Dam, earlier known as Salma Dam, on the river Chist-e-Sharif in western Herat neighbouring Iran, will irrigate 75,000 hectares of land and generate 42MW of power. 8th BRICS Summit Concludes in Goa Place: Goa Agenda/Issue: The eighth BRICS summit was held in Goa from 15 to 16 October 2016. The summit concluded with adaptation of Goa Declaration. The two day summit was attended by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Brazilian President Michel Temer and South African President Jacob Zuma. The theme for the summit was “Building Responsive, Inclusive and Collective Solutions”. Target/Application: BRICS nations condemned terrorism in all its forms and stressed that there can be no justification for such acts. International terrorism, especially the Islamic State (IS) is an unprecedented threat to international peace and security. BRICS nations reaffirmed the commitment to increase effectiveness of the UN counter terrorism framework. Firstever BRICS-BIMSTEC Outreach Summit was also held on side-lines of 2016 BRICS Summit. The ninth BRICS Summit will be hosted by China in 2017.

INTERNATIONAL

International Customs Day Agenda/Issue: The International Customs Day (ICD) has been observed on January 26 every year to recognize the role of custom officials and agencies in maintaining border security. The theme of the celebration of the International

customs day 2016 was “Digital Customs: Progressive Engagement”. Target/Application: The day was instituted by the World Customs Organization (WCO) to commemorate the day in 1953, Belgium. It focuses on the working conditions and challenges that customs officers face in their jobs. The 2016 theme is “Digital Customs – Progressive Engagement”.

CA-184 The Largest Known Solar System Discovered Agenda/Issue: Scientists have discovered the largest known solar system in the form of gas giant located one trillion kilometres away on 1st February. This solar system has large planet known as 2MASS J2126-8140 that takes nearly a million years to orbit its star. Target/Application: The planet 2MASS J2126-8140 has mass between 12 and 15 times of Jupiter and is located about 100 light-years away from Earth. Astronomers by using lithium signature have estimated the age of planet somewhere between 10 million and 45 million years old. The newly discovered solar system is 140 times wider than Pluto’s path around our Sun.

12th South Asian Games Place: Guwahati Agenda/Issue: Prime Minister inaugurated the 12th edition of South Asian Games (SAG) at the Indira Gandhi Athletics Stadium in Guwahati, Assam on 5th February, 2016. This event is being jointly hosted by Guwahati and Meghalaya capital, Shillong in which over 2,500 athletes from 8 SAARC nations viz. India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives are participating in it. Tikhor, a one-horned rhino that represents endangered fauna of Assam found in Kaziranga National Park was the mascot of the event. Target/Application: South Asian Games is biennial multi-sport event held among the athletes from 8 South Asian (SAARC) countries. It is often hyped as the South Asian version of Olympic Games. India has ruled over this multi-sport event right from the beginning and has bagged the most number of medals – 1,728 which includes 900 Gold, 542 silver and 286 bronze. World Cancer Day Agenda/Issue: World Cancer Day (WCD) was observed on 4 February across the world to raise awareness of cancer and to encourage its prevention, detection, and treatment. The theme for year 2016 WCD was “We can. I can” Target/Application: The main aim of the World Cancer Day is to significantly decrease illness and death caused by cancer by 2020.

EVENTS 2016 The Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) had founded the WCD in 2008 by formally writing the goals of the World Cancer Declaration. The primary goal of observing the day is to reduce illness and death caused by it by 2020. UICC is a Geneva based leading international non-governmental organisation (NGO) founded in 1933.

West Indies Wins ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup 2016 Place: Mirpur Agenda/Issue: West Indies won the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup for the first time over three-time winner India by five wickets played at Mirpur (Bangladesh) on 14th February, 2016. Target/Application: Acemen Ryan John and Alzarri Joseph each took three wickets as West Indies bowled out India for 145 after the West Indian captain chose to field first on winning the toss. This was the 11th edition of the tournament and overall 17th edition of international U-19 cricketing teams participated. It was held in Bangladesh. Indian side was captained by Ishan Kishan. 66th Berlin International Film Festival Place: Berlin, Germany. Agenda/Issue: The 66th Berlin International Film Festival was held in Berlin, Germany from 11 February to 21 February 2016. American actress Meryl Streep was the President of the Jury. Target/Application: The jury consisted of American actress Meryl Streep as the President of the Jury, Lars Eidinger, Nick James, Brigitte Lacombe, Clive Owen Alba Rohrwacher and Małgorzata Szumowska. Other prizes include, Honorary Golden Bear: Michael Ballhaus. Silver Bear for best director: Mia Hansen-Løve (France) for Things to Come. Silver Bear for Best Actress: Trine Dyrholm (Denmark) for The Commune. Silver Bear for Best Actor: Majd Mastoura (Tunisia) for Hedi. Silver Bear for Best Script: Tomasz Wasilewski for United States of Love. Jury Grand Prix (Silver Bear): Death in Sarajevo by Danis Tanović. World Wildlife Day Agenda/Issue: World Wildlife day was observed across the world on 3rd March. It is designated as World Wildlife Day to celebrate and raise awareness of the world’s wild fauna and flora.

CA-185

EVENTS 2016 Target/Application: The theme for 2016 theme was “The future of wildlife is in our hands”, with African and Asian elephants being the main focus of global campaigns. The date is the day of the adoption of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1973, which plays an important role in ensuring that international trade does not threaten the species’ survival.

International Women’s Day Agenda/Issue: International Women’s Day was observed on 8th March to highlight the achievements of women while calling for greater equality. The 2016 theme is “Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality”. Target/Application: It reflects acceleration of the 2030 Agenda, building momentum for the effective implementation of the new Sustainable Development Goals. International Women’s Day was first observed as a popular event after 1977 after the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has proclaimed to observe March 8 as the UN Day for Women’s Rights and World Peace. World’s Longest all-women Flight Agenda/Issue: Air India flew the “world’s longest” all-women operated and supported flight from New Delhi to San Francisco on 6th March, 2016. The flight was operated as part of International Women’s Day celebrations. Target/Application: The flight travelled a distance of around 14,500 kilometre in close to 17 hours ahead of the International Women’s Day celebrations on 8th March.

ExoMars 2016 Spacecraft Agenda/Issue: An unmanned spacecraft named ExoMars 2016 was successfully launched jointly Europe and Russia to search for biosignatures on Mars (or Martian life) in past or present on 14th March, 2016. The spacecraft was launched on a Proton-M rocket operated by Russia’s Roscosmos from Baikonur, Kazakhstan. ExoMars 2016 is the first of a two-phase of ExoMars (Exobiology on Mars) program. Target/Application: ExoMars program is an astrobiology mission of European Space Agency (ESA) and Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos). Its primary Goal is

to address the question of whether life has ever existed on Mars. Its sole purpose is to search (trace) evidence of methane (CH4) and other atmospheric gases that could be signatures of active biological or geological processes on Mars. 10th Asian Film Awards

Place: The Venetian Casino and Hotel in Macau. Agenda/Issue: The 10th Asian Film Awards ceremony was held at the Venetian Theatre in The Venetian Casino and Hotel in Macau China on 17th March, 2016. The Assassin has bagged 8 awards in different categories in the 2016 Asian film Awards. It is directed by Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-Hsien. Target/Application: The award show is held annually by the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society to recognize the excellence of the film professionals in the film industries of Asian cinema. It was Inaugurated in 2007. It is held in Hong Kong for last seven years and the 8th moved to one of Asia’s fastest growing entertainment hubs, Macau. West Indies Clinch 2016 ICC World T-20

Place: Kolkata Agenda/Issue: West Indies clinched their second World T20 title after beating England in the final by 4 wickets in the final match played at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on 27th March, 2016. With this win, West Indies became the only team to win the ICC World Twenty20 title twice. Earlier it had won its first title in 2012 by defeating Sri Lanka. Target/Application: West Indies became the first team to win both the men’s and women’s World Twenty20s. Player of the match was Marlon Samuels (West Indies). Player of the series was Virat Kohli (India).

Lee Chong Wei Wins 2016 Malaysian Open

Agenda/Issue: Lee Chong Wei won his 11th Malaysia Open title by defeating world number one Chen Long from China 10th April 2016. Target/Application: The title is Chong Wei’s 11th Malaysia Open crown after having won in 2004, 2005, 2006 and consecutively from 2008-2014.

CA-186 Indo-Mongolia joint exercise ‘Nomadic Elephant’ 2016 Place: Mongolia. Agenda/Issue: The 11th Indo-Mongolia joint training Exercise, ‘Nomadic Elephant - 2016’ has started on 25th April. It seeks to promote military associations between India and Mongolia. The first joint exercise was held in 2004 and since then it is annually held. Target/Application: Aim of exercise is to develop synergy and interoperability between the two armies to fight in Counter Insurgency and Counter Terrorism (CICT) environment under the United Nation mandate. In this edition, a platoon of the Kumaon Regiment of the Indian Army along with a team of two observers is taking part in the event. World Refugee Day Agenda/Issue: Each year 20th June is observed internationally as World Refugee Day. It is observed to raise awareness of the situation of refugees throughout the world. Target/Application: The observance of the day seeks to draw attention to the plight of refugees and also to celebrate their courage and resilience and renew commitment to solve refugee problems.

Global Human Capital Index Agenda/Issue: India ranked 105th out of 130 countries on global human capital index on the 2016 Human Capital Index (HCI), which was released in the World Economic Forum (WEF) report on 28th June, 2016. The report was released by Geneva-WEF in the Chinese city of Tianjin at its Annual Meeting of New Champions which is also known as `Summer Davos’ summit. Target/Application: Finland, Norway and Switzerland hold the top three positions, utilising around 85 per cent of their human capital. Japan leads when it comes to 55 yearolds and over. India has got better rankings HCI’s indicators such as quality of education system (39th), staff training (46th) and ease of finding skilled employees (45th).

2016 UEFA European Football Championship Place: Paris, France Agenda/Issue: Portugal has won the 2016 UEFA European football championship

EVENTS 2016 (Euro Cup 2016) by defeating host France. on 10th July, 2016. It was Portugal’s first UEFA European Championship title. Target/Application: With this victory, Portugal has earned the right to compete at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup hosted by Russia. Golden Boot: Antoine Griezmann (France) – 6 goals, 2 assists. Silver Boot: Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) – 3 goals, 3 assists. Bronze Boot: Olivier Giroud (France) – 3 goals, 2 assists. Young Player of the Tournament: Renato Sanches (Portugal) – aged 18.

Airlander 10: World’s Biggest Aircraft’s First Flight Place: Cardington, England. Agenda/Issue: The first flight of Airlander 10 is a historic success and marks the commencement of Airlander 10’s Flight Test Programme at an airfield in Cardington in central England on 17th August, 2016. It is a hybrid airship made by Hybrid Air Vehicles in United Kingdom. Target/Application: Airlander 10 has been widely hailed as an innovation that will have a hugely positive impact on the world by providing low carbon aviation and brand new capabilities in the sky. It can fly at up to 4,880 metres and reach speeds of 148 kilometres per hour. It can also carry a 10-tonne payload. It can stay airborne for more than two weeks unmanned and up to five days if manned. World Risk Index 2016 Agenda/Issue: India ranks 77th on 2016 World Risk Index among the 171 countries. The index was released as part of the World Risk Report 2016 released by the United Nations University Institute for Environment (UNUIE) and Human Security (UNU-EHS) and Bundnis Entwicklung Hilft in cooperation with the University of Stuttgart in Germany on 25th August, 2016. Target/Application: The no.1 position on the index has gone to the Island state of Vanuatu, which displayed the greatest risk in 2016.

First Russia-Pakistan Military Exercise Druzhba-2016 Place: Pakistan Agenda/Issue: The first military exercise between Russia and Pakistan named Druzhba-2016 (Friendship-2016) completed

EVENTS 2016 in Pakistan on 10th October, 2016. The military exercise is taking place at the Army High Altitude School in northern Pakistan’s Rattu and at a special forces training centre in Cherat. Target/Application: The two week long joint military drills aims at bolstering and building military cooperation between the two countries. It will involve experience sharing and develop coordination in carrying out practice combat tasks in a mountainous environment, including operations against illegal armed groups. With this, Pakistani Army and Russian Ground Forces (RGF) have come together for the first time in military exercises reflecting growing military ties between two former Cold War rivals.

China-Russia Joint Naval Exercises Place: Guangdong, China Agenda/Issue: China, Russia conduct joint naval exercises Joint Sea-2016 in South China Sea of China’s southern Guangdong province on 19th September, 2016. The eight-day naval exercises (from September 13 to 19) were held in a non-disputed area in SCS off China’s southern Guangdong province. Target/Application: The exercises follow a spike in tensions after Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague rejected China’s claims in the SCS and slammed it for causing environmental damage there. They had carried out live-fire drills, sea crossing and island landing operations, and island defence and offence exercises among other. International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer Agenda/Issue: The International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer is observed every year on September 16 for the preservation of the Ozone Layer Target/Application: 2016 theme: “Ozone and climate: Restored by a world united”. It recognizes the collective efforts of the parties to the Montreal Protocol and Vienna Convention towards the restoration of the ozone layer over the past three decades and the global commitment to combat climate change. Antartica’s Ross Sea Declared as World’s Largest Marine Protected Area Place: Hobart, Australia. Agenda/Issue: Antartica’s Ross Sea was

CA-187 declared as world’s largest Marine Protected Area (MPA) to protect the Earth’s most pristine marine ecosystem on 28th October, 2016. It was declared in Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) meeting in Hobart, Australia. Target/Application: The Ross Sea is one of the last intact marine ecosystems in the world. It covers 1.6 million square kilometers. Ross Sea in the Southern Ocean is home to 38% of the world’s Adelie penguins, 30% of world’s Antarctic petrels and around 6% of world’s population of Antarctic minke whales. India on 133rd Position in 2016 World Press Freedom Index Agenda/Issue: India was placed at the 133rd position on the 2016 World Press Freedom Index on 20th April, 2016.

Naval Exercise IBSAMAR 2016 between India, South Africa, Brazil Place: Goa Agenda/Issue: The fifth edition of IBSAMAR naval exercises between Brazil, India and South Africa held in Goa on 19th February, 2016. IBSAMAR is abbreviated as India-Brazil-South Africa Maritime. This is the for the first time the exercise is held in India as all the previous editions were held in South Africa since it began in 2006. Target/Application: The primary aim of the exercise is to increase interoperability amongst the three navies, as well as develop common understanding and procedures for maritime security operations. The thrust of the exercises will be on antisubmarine warfare (ASW), air defence, flying operations, surface firing, search and rescue and tactical procedures. Indian navy is represented by INS Mumbai– a missile destroyer, INS Shalki– a Shisuhumar class diesel electric submarine and INS trishul– a stealth frigate. Afghanistan’s Highest Civilian Honour Agenda/Issue: PM Narendra Modi conferred Afghanistan’s highest civilian honour Amir Amanullah Khan Award on 5th June, 2016. The award was bestowed upon him at the inaugural function of the Afghan-India Friendship Dam (Salma Dam) by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

CA-188 Target/Application: It is the Highest Civilian honour bestowed by Afghan government to Afghan national as well as foreigners in appreciation of their services. Amanullah Khan. He was the ruler of the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1919-1929. His rule was marked by dramatic political and social change. He was the first Afghan ruler who attempted to modernize Afghanistan on Western designs.

2016 Red Flag Aerial Combat Exercises Place: Alaska, U.S. Agenda/Issue: The multilateral Red Flag Aerial combat exercises between US, NATO and allied forces and India Air Force (IAF) concluded in Alaska, US on 13th May, 2016. Objective of IAF’s participation in this inter-continental exercise was to showcase its capability in undertaking integrated air operations and gain also operational lessons. Target/Application: Exercise Red Flag is an advanced aerial combat training exercise hosted at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. Red Flag – Alaska is held at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, being a successor to the previous COPE THUNDER exercise series in the Western Pacific and Alaska. The exercise was conducted multiple simulated scenario to provide realistic settings with a Red Force, defending their airspace and assets and a Blue Force acting as offensive side. Red Force was constituted by US F-16 fighters, while the IAF planes along with other USAF aircraft such as F-15, F-16 and F-22 and US Navy F-18, constituted the Blue Force.

RIMPAC 2016 Place: Hawaii, United States. Agenda/Issue: World’s largest international maritime exercise named RIMPAC (Rim of the Pacific) 2016 began in Pacific Ocean at Hawaii, United States on 30th June, 2016. RIMPAC 2016 will see participation of Navies from 26 countries. This year it is the 25th edition of biennial exercise in the series that began in 1971. Target/Application: This year it is the 25th edition of biennial exercise in the series that began in 1971. “Capable, Adaptive, Partners” was the theme of RIMPAC 2016. The RIMPAC is the world’s largest international maritime warfare exercise. It is held

EVENTS 2016 biennially during June and July of evennumbered years from Honolulu, Hawaii. It is hosted and administered by the United States Navy’s Pacific Fleet (headquartered at Pearl Harbur) in conjunction with the Marine Corps, the Coast Guard, and Hawaii National Guard forces under the control of the Governor of Hawaii.

RIO Paralympics 2016 Agenda/Issue: The 2016 Summer Paralympic Games began on 7th September 2016 and concluded on 18th September 2016. Deepa Malik has created history by winning silver medal in Women’s shotput at the 2016 Rio Paralympics. With this she becomes first Indian woman to win a medal at the Paralympics. It is India’s 3rd medal in the ongoing Paralympics games at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Mariyappan Thangavelu has won India’s first gold medal at the 2016 Rio Paralympics. He won the gold medal in the Men’s High Jump T-42 event with jump of 1.89 metres. Target/Application: India had won its first ever Paralympics Gold medal in the 1972 Heidelberg Games. It was won by Swimmer Murlikant Petkar. Besides, India had claimed Gold and Bronze medals at 2004 Athens Paralympics. The Gold medal was won by Javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia and the Bronze medal was won by Rajinder Singh in powerlifting event. In the last edition of Paralympics held in London in 2012, India had won just a silver medal.

Gotthard Base Tunnel Operationalised Agenda/Issue: The world’s longest and deepest railway tunnel Gotthard Base Tunnel was inaugurated in Switzerland on 1st June, 2016. The full service of twinbore tunnel will begin in December 2016. The Gotthard Base Tunnel is 57-kilometer long and connects northern and southern Europe and also shortens travel time for many rail routes. It has overtaken Japan’s Seikan tunnel, which measures 53.9 kilometers, as the longest rail tunnel in the world. Target/Application: The twin-bore Gotthard Base Tunnel is the first flat lowlevel route through the Alps Mountain and is situated 2.3 km deep under the Alps. It was built in 17 years by 2,400 workers, at a cost of over 12 billion dollars as a part of

EVENTS 2016 the AlpTransit project, also known as New Railway Link through the Alps (NRLA).

The 2016 Global Citizen India Festival Agenda/Issue: The 2016 Global Citizen India festival has started at MMRDA Grounds in Mumbai, Maharashtra on 19th November, 2016 that will bring together popular culture and public policy in one of the largest gatherings for a social cause. Global Citizen India is a social action platform for a generation that wants to solve the world’s biggest challenges. Target/Application: The festival will conclude a two-month long campaign in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. It will mark the beginning of a 15-year-long journey to activate and mobilize young Indians to ensure India leads the fight against extreme poverty.

Summer Olympics 2016: Rio de Janeiro The 31st Summer Olympic Games officially began on 5 August, 2016 with inaugural ceremony held at the Maracana Stadium in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro. The Game was declared open by Brazil’s Acting President Michel Temer in the presence of International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach and United Nations chief, Ban-Ki Moon. Nearly 11000 athletes, including a firstever refugee team, will took part in the 17-day extravaganza featuring 306 events in 42 sport disciplines. The Refugee team competed under the Olympic flag and has members from South Sudan, Syria, Congo and Ethiopia. With this, Rio de Janeiro became South America’s first Olympic host city, while the African continent is yet to host the Olympic Games. Other major geographic regions which have not hosted the Olympics include the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, the Caribbean, and Southeast Asia. The United States topped the medal table for the fifth time in the past six Summer Olympics, winning 46 gold medals and 121 medals overall. Great Britain and China finished in second and third respectively. Indian bagged a total of two medals, one silver and one bronze, in the games, and stood at the 67th place in the medal

CA-189 tally. Badminton player P V Sindhu won historic silver medal in women’s singles badminton event. With this, she became the first Indian woman to clinch a silver medal in Olympics. Wrestler Sakshi Malik secured a bronze in the 58 kg category to become India’s first female wrestler to win an Olympic medal. India had qualified one artistic gymnast into the Olympic competition for the first time since 1964. Dipa Karmakar became the first Indian female ever to book an Olympic spot in the apparatus events and all-around event at the Olympic Test Event. She narrowly missed out in the bronze medal, finishing 4th in the finals of the event with a score of 15.066. Abhinav Bindra came fourth in the Men’s 10m Air Rifle singles event after losing a shootoff for the top 3 to Serhiy Kulish, who finally won the silver. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, Indian long distance runner Lalita Babar scored a time of 9:19.76 in her heat, qualifying to the final. With this, she became the first Indian in 32 years to enter a final in any track event. At the final, she finished 10th with a time of 9:22.74. The 2020 Summer Olympics will be held in Tokyo, Japan. Colombia Plane Crash A chartered plane, carrying 77 people, including a top Brazilian football team, crashed on its approach to the city of Medellin in Colombia late night on November 28, 2016. The British Aerospace 146 short-haul plane, departed Santa Cruz, Bolivia, carrying members of the Chapecoense team from southern Brazil to play in the final of the Copa Sudamericana, against Medellin team Atletico Nacional which was due to be played on November 30, 2016. The plane was carrying 68 passengers and nine crew members. Among the passengers, only six were reported to survive. The plane was given priority to land but did not reach the airport, according to Alfredo Bocanegra, the head of Colombia’s civil aviation authority. According to the initial report the aircraft was suffering electrical problems although investigators were also looking into an account from one of the survivors that the plane had run out of fuel about five minutes from its expected landing at Jose Maria Cordova

CA-190 airport outside Medellin. Brazil’s president Michel Tamer has declared three days of national mourning, and offered support and sympathy to the families of those killed.

World Robot Olympiad in India Place: New Delhi Agenda/Issue: India hosted the 13th edition of the World Robot Olympiad on the sidelines of trade fair in New Delhi on 25th November. This is for first the time India hosted World Robot Olympiad. It has been organised by National Council of Science Museums (NCSM), Ministry of Culture in collaboration with the India STEM Foundation (ISF). Target/Application: The theme of the event is ‘Rap the Scrap’ selected in line with Union Government’s Swachh Bharat Mission. It will see participation of over 2000 students from 54 countries. Students in age group of 9 to 25 years will participate in this fair. It is a global robotics competition that seeks to bring together young minds from across the world to develop their creativity and problem solving skills through challenging and educational robotics competition. Alphabet Inc overtakes Apple Agenda/Issue: On February 1, Alphabet Inc. has replaced Apple Inc. to become the world’s most valuable company in the world. Alphabet has made a profit of $4.9 billion in the fourth quarter and was valued at 548 billion dollars followed by Apple which was valued 534 billion dollars. Target/Application: Alphabet Inc came in existence in October 2015, after search engine giant Google had announced Alphabet as its parent company. It was formed as part of Google’s new organisational structure. Apple had over taken, earlier in 2012, Exxon Mobil to become the most valuable company in the world and in 2015 Apple became the first company to reach a market value of $700 billion.

First Silk Road Train Arrives in Tehran Place: Tehran Agenda/Issue: The first train to connect China and Iran arrived in Tehran reviving the ancient Silk Road on February 15. The train had started its journey from China’s

EVENTS 2016 eastern Zhejiang province and it took 14 days to reach final destination. It had covered around 9,500-kilometre distance and passed through two Central Asian countries Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. Target/Application: It marks the revival of the ancient Silk Road and gives impetus to China’s ambitious One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative part of revived Silk Road diplomacy. This train’s journey was 30 days shorter compared to time taken by sea voyage from Shanghai to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas. It also will boost to bilateral trade between both countries after they had agreed to build economic ties worth up to 600 billion dollars within the next 10 years.

Nuclear Security Summit Place: Washington Agenda/Issue: The fourth Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) took place in Washington, D.C. from 31 March to 1 April, 2016 to discuss issues pertaining to nuclear security. In this edition of summit, heads of about 53 countries and representatives of five international organisations including the UNO, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), European Union (EU), Interpol took part. Target/Application: It is a world summit, aimed at preventing nuclear terrorism around the globe. The first summit was held in Washington, D.C., United States, on April 12–13, 2010. The summit highlighted achievements and commitments of several countries towards safeguarding nuclear devices and technologies and reducing the threat of nuclear terrorism. This edition of summit took stock of the measures to safeguard nuclear materials and facilities and also prevent non-state actors gaining access to them. Saudi Arabia’s Highest Civilian Honour Conferred upon PM Narendra Modi Place: Saudi Arabia Agenda/Issue: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred Saudi Arabia’s highest civilian honour, the King Abdulaziz Sash on 3rd April. The prestigious award was bestowed upon Indian Prime Minister by incumbent Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz at the Royal Court. Target/Application: The honour is named after founder of the modern Saudi

EVENTS 2016 state, Abdulaziz Al Saud, the founder of the modern Saudi state. The award is bestowed upon citizens of Saudi Arabia and foreigners for meritorious service to the Saudi Kingdom.

India Placed at 44th Position in 2016 Global Connectivity Index Place: Shenzhen, China. Agenda/Issue: India ranked 44th with total score of 30 among 50 different countries in the 2016 Global Connectivity Index (GCI) report compiled by Chinese telecom giant Huawei on April 12. The index benchmarks 50 countries on the basis of its ICT infrastructure including broadband, data centers, cloud services, big data and IoT in the scale ranging from 0 to 100. These 50 countries, account for 90 percent of global GDP. Target/Application: India with a GCI score of 30 ranks low 44. However, India’s flagship initiatives like ‘Digital India’ are driving growth and improved broadband penetration. Such initiative will enable lastmile connectivity.

Nauru joins IMF as the 189th Member Agenda/Issue: South Pacific island nation Nauru has become the 189th member of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank on April 12. Its initial subscription quota for IMF will be of SDR (Special Drawing rights) 2 million or about $2.81 million. It will be the second smallest member of the Fund, after Tuvalu. Target/Application: By joining the World Bank, Nauru gains access to financial support, technical support and special expertise in dealing with Pacific area issues, such as water and sanitation and disaster risk management amid the threat of climate change and rising sea levels. By joining the IMF Nauru can benefit from the IMF’s crisis lender’s advice on managing government finances and monetary policy.

India becomes Third Largest Oil Consumer Agenda/Issue: India has surpassed Japan to become the world’s third-largest oil consumer on June 8. With demand of 4.1 million barrels a day (bpd), India is the third-largest consumer behind the United States (19.39 million bpd) and China (11.96 million bpd).

CA-191 Target/Application: India accounted for 4.5% of world oil consumption in 2015 and its oil demand galloped 8.1% in 2015. Oil remained the world’s leading fuel, accounting for 32.9% of global energy consumption. Coal is the second-largest fuel by market share (29.2%).

Gaofen – 3 Place: Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, Shanxi Agenda/Issue: A high – resolution Synthetic Aperture Radar Gaofen – 3 has been launched by China on August 9 from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in northern Shanxi Province on the back of a Long March 4C rocket. It was 233rd flight mission by a Long March carrier rocket. Target/Application: The Gaofen – 3 is China’s first low orbit remote sensing satellite, with a lifespan of eight years. It will provide high-definition remote sensing data for its users over long periods of time. It has 12 imaging modes that will provide high-definition observation satellite is capable of taking wide pictures of earth and photographing detailed scenarios of specific areas.

Micius, the World’s First Quantum Satellite Place: Gobi Desert Agenda/Issue: Micius, the world’s first quantum satellite was launched on August 16 by China, in a quest to harness the power of particle physics. This satellite is dubbed as Quantum Experiments at Space Scaler (QUESS) satellite. It was launched on board of Long March-2D rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the remote northwestern province of Gansu. Target/Application: The QUESS satellite has been nicknamed as Micius after a 5th century BC Chinese philosopher. It will be located in sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 500 km and will circle the Earth once every 90 minutes. The satellite will help China to establish hack-proof communications system by transmitting uncrackable keys from space to the ground. This satellite will find application in defence, military and finance. Flipkart acquires Jabong Agenda/Issue: Homegrown e-commerce giant Flipkart acquired online fashion portal Jabong through its fashion unit Myntra. It is

CA-192 said that Jabong on July 27 was acquired by Flipkart in a cut-price deal that values the online fashion store at 70 million dollars. Target/Application: Jabong was founded in 2012. It was owned by Global Fashion Group (GFG). It offers more than 1,500 international high-street brands, sports labels, Indian designer and ethnic labels and over 150,000 styles from more than 1,000 sellers. Verizon buy Yahoo

Agenda/Issue: One of the most important companies of the first dot-com boom, Yahoo, has reached the end of its life as an independent company. Yahoo’s board approved the sale of Yahoo’s core business to Verizon in a deal valued at $4.8 billion on 25th July, 2016. The company’s shareholders and regulators must still approve the deal — the companies expect it to close in early 2017. Target/Application: After the Verizon acquisition, signature Yahoo properties like its search engine, email service, photo sharing site Flickr, and blogging platform Tumblr will presumably continue operating Raisina Dialogue 2016 Place: New Delhi Agenda/Issue: The first Raisina-Dialogue 2016, a flagship conference on Geopolitics and Geo-economics began in New Delhi on march 2. The three day conference is joint initiative of Union Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Observer Research Foundation (ORF), an independent think tank based in India. Target/Application: The conference was attended by around 120 speakers from over 40 countries and is government’s attempt to compete with rival conferences around the world that attract global players. It will provide platform to explore prospects and opportunities for Asian integration as well as Asia’s Integration with the whole world. The name of conference comes from Raisina Hill which is the elevation in New Delhi where presidential palace of India, Rashtrapati Bhavan is located.

EVENTS 2016 2016 ASEAN Summit Held in Vientiane, Laos Place: Vientiane, Laos Agenda/Issue: The 28th and 29th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit was held in Vientiane, Laos from 6th to 8th September 2016. The theme of the summit was “Turning Vision into Reality for a Dynamic ASEAN Community”. Target/Application: The summit was attended by the leaders of all 10-member nations of ASEAN viz. Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, Lao PDR (host), Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia. ASEAN-India adopted a document aiming at politically cohesive, economically integrated, socially responsible and people oriented people centered ASEANIndia Community. The document recognizes the vital importance of the planned review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods (AITIG) Agreement. It seeks to ensure that the agreement is trade-facilitative and remains relevant to the current global trading practices. United Nations Day Agenda/Issue: The United Nations Day is being observed globally on October 24. Target/Application: It entered into force on 24 October 1945 after it was ratified by the original five permanent members of the Security Council—China, France,Russia, United Kingdom, and United States. This year’s United Nations Day will high light concrete actions people can take to help achieve the sustainable Development Goals.

Group of 7 (G-7) Agenda/Issue: The Group of 7 (G-7) countries’ foreign ministers have issued Hiroshima Declaration on April 11 that calls for a world without nuclear weapons. The foreign ministers G-7 countries’ signed this joint declaration after meeting in Japan’s Hiroshima. G7 countries include Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK and US. Target/Application: Hiroshima Declaration reaffirms commitment of G-7 countries’ to seek a safer world for all and create the conditions for a world without nuclear weapons to promote international stability. It calls for creating the conditions without

EVENTS 2016 nuclear weapons in a way that promotes international stability. It has citied North Korea’s repeated provocations as a key challenge to achieve the goal of safer world for all.

India, France ink deal for 36 Rafale Fighter Jets Agenda/Issue: India and France have signed an Inter-Governmental Agreement for the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets on September 23 at a cost of 7.87 billion Euros. Target/Application: The defence deal includes the aircraft in fly-away condition, simulators, weapons, spares, maintenance, and Performance Based Logistics support for five years. The Rafale is a twinengine fighter, multi-role fighter aircraft manufactured by French aviation company Dassault. These aircrafts is capable of carrying out all combat missions such as interception, air defence, in-depth strikes, ground support, reconnaissance, anti-ship strikes and nuclear deterrence.

Procurement of 145 Ultra Light Howitzers Guns from the US Agenda/Issue : The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has given its approval to purchase 145 Ultra-Light Howitzers (ULH) guns from the US on 1st December. The procurement of ULH will be through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route from the US and it will cost around 750 million dollars. Target/Application: Ultra-Light Howitzers (ULH) Guns is being manufactured by BAE Systems’ Global Combat Systems division. It is smaller and lighter. It weighs 4,100 kg and can be easily transported by helicopters. It has effective firing range of 24 km. It will be deployed in high altitude areas in Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh, bordering China under the Mountain Strike Corps (raised in 2013). Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) is an apex body of Union Defence Ministry for clearing defence procurement proposals forwarded by the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force. COP22 Adopts Marrakech Action Proclamation Agenda/Issue: The COP22 was held 7-18 November in Marrakech, Morocco. Nearly 200 nations attending the COP22

CA-193 to the UNFCC have adopted Marrakech Action Proclamation for Our Climate and Sustainable Development. The adaptation of Marrakech Action Proclamation sends out a strong signal to the world on climate action and shift towards a new era of implementation and action on climate and sustainable development. India has welcomed Marrakesh Action Proclamation as most of its demands including the issue of providing finance to developing nations to tackle climate change has been incorporated. Target/Application: Countries affirmed their commitment to full implementation of the Paris Agreement which also reflects respective capabilities in light of different national circumstances of countries. They proclamated that It is urgent duty of countries to respond global warming which is warming the climate at an alarming and unprecedented rate. It is necessary for rapid entry into force of the Paris Agreement with its ambitious goals, its inclusive nature and its reflection of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities. World Economic Forum Agenda/Issue: The annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting took place from 20 to 23 January in Swiss resort of Davos, Switzerland with participation of political leaders and business from around the world. In this edition of WEF meeting, the agenda includes the outlook of the global economy and measures to fight terrorism. Target/Application: Leaders from about 40 countries and more than 2,500 business people attended the meeting. The 4-day conference covered the discussions on tumbling oil prices and China’s uncertain economic prospects. It also discussed the issue of growing terror threats in the wake of the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris (France) and influx of migrants and refugees in Europe. Talgo Train Trial Run Agenda/Issue: Indian Railways has conducted the first ever trial run for highspeed Talgo trains of Spain on the 90-km Bareilly-to-Moradabad stretch in Uttar Pradesh on May 28. Target/Application: The first phase of trial run was conducted at speeds between 80

CA-194 KMPH and 115 KMPH (km per hour) by a joint team of the Railway Design Standards Organisation (RDSO) and Spanish train manufacturer Talgo. It consisted of ninecoach Talgo train hauled by a 4500 HP diesel engine. The train covered 90-km distance in 1 hour 10 minutes. In the second and third phase, Indian Railway’s is going to conduct trail run on Mathura-Palwal (Rajdhani) route and Mumbai-Delhi route respectively to test the riding, safety and stability of Talgo trains. Colombia and FARC Rebels Deal Agenda/Issue: Colombia has signed a revised peace agreement with FARC rebel groups on September 26 aimed at ending half a century of war that has killed more than 220,000 and internally displaced millions. The agreement has been reached less than two months after a plebiscite narrowly rejected the original agreement. The talks to reach the deal were taking place in Havana (Cuba) for the past four years. Target/Application: The new agreement aims to satisfy all those objections made by millions of Colombians who rejected the original deal in the referendum. President Juan Manuel Santos, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last month for his efforts to end the war. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Colombia’s largest rebel group was founded in 1964 as the armed wing of the Communist Party.

2016 G-20 Summit Agenda/Issue: The 2016 Group of Twenty (G20) Summit was held in Hangzhou, China from 4th to 5th September 2016 to discuss efforts to reform global economic governance. It was the eleventh meeting of the G20. It was the first ever G20 summit to be hosted in China and the second Asian country after 2010 G20 Seoul summit was hosted in South Korea. The theme of 2016 G20 Summit was “Toward an Innovative, Invigorated, Interconnected and Inclusive World Economy”. Target/Application: G-20 leaders have pledged to continue to work for a globally fair and modern international tax system, foster growth and refrain from competitive devaluation of currencies. They will continue the work on addressing crossborder financial flows derived from illicit

EVENTS 2016 activities, including deliberate trade misinvoicing, which hampers the mobilisation of domestic resources for development.

Postponement of 19th SAARC Summit Agenda/Issue: Pakistan has postponed the 19th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit on 15-16 November after India and four other countries announced to boycott the Summit. The summit was schedule to be held on November 9th and 10th, 2016 in Islamabad, capital city of Pakistan. Target/Application: Pakistan’s decision is a boost for India’s diplomatic efforts to corner Pakistan over the terror attack at Uri. It also comes a day after Pakistan suffered humiliating Indian cross-border raids (surgical strikes) on terrorist launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Earlier India and three other countries Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Bhutan in a synchronized effort, had informed the SAARC Secretariat that their leaders will not attend the summit citing concerns over cross-border terrorism in the region.

India and Japan Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement Agenda/Issue: India and Japan have signed a bilateral Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement on 11 November, 2016. With this, India has become the first non-NPT country with which Japan has signed a Civil Nuclear Agreement. The civil nuclear agreement between the two countries was not realized so manly because India did not fit into Japan’s ‘Hikaku San Gensoku’ or three non-nuclear principles. These principles adopted in a resolution by Japanese parliament provide that Japan would neither possess nor manufacture nuclear weapons, nor shall it permit their introduction into Japanese territory. Target/Application: The talks for Civil Nuclear Agreement between the two countries had started when a joint statement in 2006 with joint statement by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. However, the discussions took five years to move to negotiation stage in 2010. The cause of delay was political opposition within Japan from anti-nuclear lobbies and media. Till now, India has also signed

EVENTS 2016 civil nuclear deal with 10 other countries viz. United States, Russia, South Korea, Mongolia, France, Namibia, Argentina, Canada, Kazakhstan, and Australia. India joins the Hague Code of Conduct Agenda/Issue: India has joined the Hague Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation (HCoC), a global ballistic missile proliferation regime on June 2. India has joined the Code highlighting its readiness to further strengthen global nonproliferation objectives. However, India has made it clear that it will not have any impact on the national security as well as country’s missile programmes. Target/Application: Hague Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation (HCoC) is a voluntary, legally non-binding international confidence building and transparency measure that seeks to prevent the proliferation of ballistic missiles that are capable of delivering weapons of mass destruction (WMD). It was established on 25 November 2002 as a result of international efforts to regulate access to ballistic missiles which can potentially deliver WMDs Heart of Asia Conference Place: Amritsar Agenda/Issue: The Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process (HoA) was founded on November 2nd, 2011 in Istanbul, Turkey. The Heart of Asia provides a platform for sincere and results-oriented regional cooperation by placing Afghanistan at its center, in recognition of the fact that a secure and stable Afghanistan is vital to the prosperity of the Heart of Asia region. This platform was established to address the shared challenges and interests of Afghanistan and its neighbours and regional partners. The Heart of Asia is comprised of 14 participating countries, 17 supporting countries, and 12 supporting regional and international organizations. The Sixth Heart of Asia Ministerial Conference which began on 3rd Dec has adopted the “Amritsar Declaration” with its prime focus on terrorism. It stresses on all the countries concerned to take an account of the deteriorating situation and enhance regional economic cooperation.

CA-195 PM Narendra Modi had picked Amritsar as the venue in line with his policy of hosting international conferences outside the capital to open the world closer to other cities of India. In addition, Amritsar was the apt choice as it adds to the theme of connectivity as the city has been on the Grand Trunk Road which once connected Sonargaon in Bangladesh to Peshawar in Pakistan. Target/Application: Three significant issues which were discussed in the conference are elimination of terrorism and all its manifestations which include dismantling of all terrorist safe havens and disruption of all kinds of financial, tactical and logistical support for terrorist activities. The declaration also enumerated the grave challenges posed to the region emanate from terrorism, violent forms of extremism, radicalization, separatism and sectarianism. It mentioned that together these pose a serious threat to territorial integrity, economic development, sovereignty, bilateral and regional cooperation. The need for highly effective de-radicalization and counterradicalization strategies was also felt. Concerns were also felt over growing violence in Afghanistan by groups like Al Qaeda, LeT, JeM etc. The MoU between China and Afghanistan on Jointly Building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road was also welcomed by the declaration. Almost all the participating and supporting countries along with international organizations attended the conference. Guest countries included Austria, Bulgaria, Latvia and Uzbekistan. The Sixth Ministerial Conference of the Heart of Asia Process ended with the adoption of the annual Miniseterial Declaration, which sets the course for the upcoming year of the Process. The Declaration reiterates the committment of the participating countries, supporting countries, and supporting regional and international organizations to the Heart of Asia Process. It also recognizes the central role of this platform in enchancing regional cooperation to address shared challenges and to promote security, stability and socioeconomic development in the Heart of Asia region.

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Blood and Water cannot go together: Indus Water Treaty as Handle to Deal with Pakistan

ndus water treaty was signed between India and Pakistan on Sep 19, 1960 by Indian PM JawaharLal Nehru and Pakistan president Ayub Khan to share the waters of six rivers between both the countries. The Indus agreement deals with six rivers according to which the waters of eastern rivers of Ravi, Satluj and Beas are allocated to India and the waters of western rivers- Indus, Jhelum and Chenab are allocated to Pakistan. The pact has survived three major wars between both countries but is now under threat of breakdown. It was one of the most liberal pacts as India allows more than four times of water to flow to Pakistan as compared to the availability to India but still there has been bickering over sharing of water. India’s concerns has been that it is a lower riparian state when it comes to Himalayan rivers like the Bramaputra, the water becoming centre point of Kashmir issue, and that no punitive measures such as turning off the Indus tap works to mend Pakistan’s ways. The recent tensions between both the countries following a terrorist strike in Kashmir where an army base was attacked in the garrison town of Uri near the Line of control and 18 Indian personnel were killed. The questions has been raised by some Indian spokespersons to scrap the treaty as a tactic to warn Pakistan to stop using violent ideology against India but there is another school of thought which believes that scrapping the treaty is not a good diplomatic option to handle Pakistan’s intentions. PM Narender Modi made a statement reviewing the treaty that ‘Blood and water cannot

n Anjali Chahal

flow simultaneously’. A meeting was held to weigh India’s options to hit back at Pakistan in aftermath of Uri attack. Official sources say India might use provisions in Indus water treaty to turn the heat on Pakistan. One of the measures taken by the government has been that the Indus commissioners will meet only in the absence of terrorism which implies that if the meetings don’t happen, any redressal of grievance won’t happen at the first stage and any dispute that arises won’t be resolved. Modi’s government is also reviewing the suspension of the Tulbul project according to which India can control the water of Jhelum that would disrupt things for Pakistan. But can India easily scrap the pact without any grave repercussions for both the countries? Pakistan’s dependence on the Indus system cannot be overstated. About 65% of its geographical area, including the entire Punjab province, is part of the Indus basin. The country has the world’s largest canal irrigation system, thanks to its development of the basin, which accounts for more than 90% of its irrigated area. Turning the tap off can be detrimental

BLOOD AND WATER CANNOT GO TOGETHER: INDUS WATER TREATY .... to India’s interests also in the long run. There is already strong discomfort in Pakistan with the fact that India controls its rivers despite the fact that India has always obliged to the provisions of the treaty. Any tinkering with the treaty is likely to intensify Pakistan based activities in Jammu & Kashmir. Also it might affect the other water sharing pacts with India’s neighbouring countries. Indus water treaty was mediated by the World Bank and hence any action taken by India can also be seen as violation of International law by the World Bank. Some officials are of the opinion that the government is not revoking the treaty immediately but India can try to use provisions of the treaty to construct hydro-power plants along three rivers that flow into Pakistan without misusing the provisions. Even though Indian government should take a tough stand against terrorism propagated by Pakistan and should defend its territories and citizens of the country but sending threats of revoking the water treaty might give a wrong message further to Pakistan and inflate it’s terrorist and violent activities. Since peace and stability are dependent upon good neighbourly relations and the only way forward is through constructive dialogue. Pakistan has always been suspicious that India

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can misuse it’s geographic advantage of controlling water in an event of hostility between the two nations and the recent events have heightened the anxiety and fears for Pakistan. As has been predicted by various experts that after the war on oil internationally, this century might witness war on water between countries sharing a hostile history, the question arises whether India should deal with the security and water issues separately or whether it should go ahead with sending a message to Pakistan as a warning against its terrorist activities. The key aspect of the treaty was setting up the mechanisms to adjudicate future disputes over the allocation of water through structured negotiations, which has worked very well till date. Both the countries need to be restrained in the actions and consider progressive diplomatic foreign policy over disputed issues especially water sharing because both the countries cannot afford to wage a war with each other.

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NATIONAL

Increasing the Sugar Cess Date: 8 January, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Agriculture Issue: Sickening Sugar Production Effects: Boost production It was observed that the mill owners are not paying the long standing dues of the sugar cane farmers. An enhancement in rate of cess been necessitated to meet the increasing liabilities and finance interventions to ensure timely payments of cane dues to farmers. But the move would not help the cane growers in any way as the sugar mills, closed down for a long time, have still not been reopened. Collection of more funds by increasing the cess on sugar would go against the interest of the common man, who is already financially overburdened. However the move may serve a short term solution and country needs to a macro-economic view on this as more than 2.6 million people are directly involved in the sugar industry. The principal Act provides for the imposition of a cess as an excise duty on the production of sugar. The principal Act specifies the ceiling on the cess at 25 rupees per quintal under the Act. The Bill proposes to increase this ceiling to 200 rupees per quintal of sugar. The cess was proposed to be increased in order to

meet the government’s expenditure on interventions to ensure payment of dues to sugarcane farmers.

Sex Ratio in Haryana Date: 17 January, 2016 Place: Haryana Problems: Female foeticide As per the 2011 census women in Haryana, continue to be subordinated, subjugated and deprived, as evidenced in the extremely low sex ratio, high level of anaemia among women and children and prevalent violence against women. The state has the dubious distinction of ranking at the bottom of the scale amongst the Indian States in respect of sex ratio. Having a sex ratio of 861 in 2001, Haryana ranked 30th and is better positioned only in respect to the Union Territories of Andaman and Nicobar. The demographic scenario is heavily loaded in favour of males, with males constituting 53.73 per cent of the total population and females constituting merely 46.27 per cent of the total population. It is encouraging that for the first time in 10 years, sex ratio in Haryana has shown a mounting crossing the 900 mark with 903 girls per 1,000 boys as compared to earlier 879 females per 1,000 males. Different measures are taken by the state government to save the girl child and promote gender balance. Only strict laws and educating people can provide a solution to the issue.

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ISSUES 2016 Cauvery Water Dispute

Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are living in rivalry for 125-years. This rivalry over the water of Cauvery river has raised its head again and again. Currently, this has been raging since the order of the Supreme Court asking Karnataka to release 15,000 cusecs of water per day to Tamil Nadu. The dispute over sharing Cauvery water dates back to the British era. The dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over sharing Cauvery was close to a solution when in 1924, the two sides, Mysore princely state and Madras Presidency, reached an agreement. Mysore was permitted to build a dam at Kannambadi village to trap 44.8 thousand million cubic feet of water. The agreement was supposed to be valid for 50 years with a review thereafter. Core of the issue Karnataka claims that the British-era agreement was not correct since it did not get its due share of water. Whereas, Tamil Nadu believes that it needs the water to sustain extensive farming that has resulted in increase because of Karnataka’s commitment to provide sufficient water. Karnataka wants to triple its water share from the river, that originates from Kodagu and flows through Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala. This means there Tamil Nadu’s portion will reduce. Present agitation The dispute escalated when monsoon failed, as there is lesser water to share. Adding to the fire, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have received less rainfall during the monsoon. Karnataka denies releasing water to TN for agriculture, saying it needs it for drinking water purposes.

India Ranks 76 in Corruption

Date: 26 January, 2016 Place: Berlin Field: Social Problem Issue: Corruption India is the 76 least corrupt nation out of 175 countries, according to the 2015 Corruption Perceptions Index reported by Transparency International. Corruption Rank in India averaged 75.14 from 1995 until 2015, reaching an all time high of 95.00 in 2011 and a record low of 35.00 in 1995. Corruption in India is an issue that adversely affects its economy. A study conducted by the Transparency International in 2005 shows that more than 62% of Indians had a firsthand experience of paying bribes or influence peddling to get jobs done in public offices successfully. In a study conducted in 2008, Transparency International reports that about 40% of Indians had firsthand experience of paying bribes or using contacts to get jobs done in public offices. The causes of corruption in India include excessive regulations, complicated tax and licensing systems, numerous government departments each with opaque bureaucracy and discretionary powers, monopoly of

government controlled institutions on certain goods and services delivery, and the lack of transparent laws and processes. There is significant variation in the level of corruption and in the government’s efforts to reduce corruption across India. Corruption is the main hindrance of growth. Recently different majors like, digital India, demonetization, etc. are taken by the government to check the age old practice. As per the recent index India shares its rank along with six other countries: Brazil, Burkina Faso, Thailand, Tunisia and Zambia. China fared worse than India and Brazil at rank 83 with a score of 37. Controversial Anti-Terror Bill Withdrawn Date: 27 January, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Administration Issue: Terrorism GUJCOC Bill, 2015 is a modified version of the original 2003 Gujarat Control of Organized Crime Bill. It still contains the provisions that had led to its rejection by Presidents in the past. The bill aims to empower the law enforcing authorities to intercept and record phone calls as evidence. It also puts the onus of proving

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the innocence on an accused. Clause 14 of the Bill mentions that evidence collected through interception of wire, electronic or oral communication shall be admissible as evidence against the accused in the court. Background in 2004, the bill was passed for first time and was returned by then President APJ Abdul Kalam after he had objected clause-14. He had asked state government to remove the clause. In 2008, the bill was again passed after clause 14 was deleted as per recommendation of President. However, then President Pratibha Patil again rejected it and had suggested to eliminate the provision related

to confession made before a police officer to be admitted in the court as evidence. In 2009, the bill was again passed for third time without making recommended amendments and was sent for President’s assent. It is still pending with the President for assent. Recently the controversial anti-terror bill passed by the Gujarat assembly and earlier rejected by two Presidents, has been withdrawn by the Union Home Ministry, four months after it had sent it for President’s approval. Several provisions of the GCTOC were not in conformity of Central law, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

JNU Controversy and its effect

What started as a protest by a group of students, against the ‘judicial killing of Afzal Guru’ across the JNU campus, in February; became a national uproar in the next following days. Titled as “The Country Without a Post Office”, the event attended by representatives from most of the JNU’s political outfits was organised to stand in solidarity with the struggle of the Kashmiri people for their democratic right to self-determination and to protest the judicial killing of Maqbool Bhatt and 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru who was hanged secretly in 2013. This culminated into a scuffle between the ABVP and the Left organisations after the slogans were shouted. What was intended to be a peaceful protest through poetry, art and music in form of a cultural evening organised to question the Supreme Court’s working, turned out to be an agitated event and a case of sedition with divisive antinational slogans. A complaint by ABVP members led to the cancellation of the event, yet it happened and urged the ABVP members to shout slogans such as ‘Ye Kashmir Hamara Hai, Saara Ka Saara Hai”. Further, complaint got registered under IPC Sections 124-A (sedition), 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 34 (acts done by several persons with a common intention). After the allegations of ‘anti-national’ sloganeering surfaced against Kanhaiya Kumar, the JNU Students’ Union President, he was arrested on charges of sedition and was ordered three days police custody. Mob wearing lawyer’s robes at the Patiala House courts slapped and kicked supporters of Kanhaiya Kumar and the organiser of the event, Umar Khalid along with other students involved in the event at the campus were charged with sedition charges. Social media and other platforms entitled these aftereffects as intolerance by the government and those who tried to suppress the voice of the students and the protestors. As per reports from various news portals, the JNU event had been organised to protest the judicial killing of Afzal Guru and simultaneously, Supreme Court’s Judgement on Appeal by Guru on August 5, 2005 says, “As criminal acts took place pursuant to the conspiracy, the appellant, as a party to the conspiracy, shall be deemed to have abetted the offence. In fact, he took active part in a series of steps taken to pursue the objective of conspiracy.” Everyone has the freedom of expression in a democracy but that freedom comes with responsibility. The expression of disagreement on the Judicial Killing by few students of JNU is still acceptable but what is not acceptable is the anti-national and destructive slogans being shouted that will hurt the collective conscience of the nation and is strongly condemnable act. Students who gave their time and energy to such protests could better use their resources for raising voice on more important issues faced by over a billion people across the Country. Dissenting anti-national voices need to be suppressed effectively and hence was done with immediate action from the centre.

ISSUES 2016 Gender Park at Kozhikode Date: 25 January, 2016 Place: Kerala Field: Social Justice Issues: Gender Inequalities Gender Park is an autonomous institution promoted by the Department of Social Justice, Government of Kerala State, India, to resolve the gender inequity in development. The Gender Institute would focus on learning, research and capacity development, as part of supporting the efforts of the State and Central Government which would cover issues pertaining to all three genders as per the 2015 gender and transgender policies of the State government. The first Gender University in the country seeks to link knowledge creation to policy-making through a multi-disciplinary research and learning process. Such a park is the need of the hour for women empowerment and overall development of women. The main objective of this Gender Park is to inspire women to take part in developmental and decision making process. The State and Central governments will jointly take efforts for this project to ensuring an inclusive, discrimination free society. This garden covers all issues pertaining in earlier three genders and accordance with the 2015 gender and transgender policies of the state government. The Gender Institute at the park will primarily pay attention on learning, research and capacity development. This project seeks to carry the state civil society and academia on a common platform together in one platform to promote studies and research on gender issues to address the gender issues. This platform will create an environment to share global knowledge and experiences in reducing gender differences. It also aims to create responsiveness of the critical connections which to effectively address gender related issues in national development processes between gender equality, economic growth and poverty reduction. State Government has also planning to launch ‘She Taxi’ under its Gender Policy just for women. ‘Gender Taxi’ had been launched by State government in 2016 which is owned and operated by transgender under its Transgender Policy (first such policy in the country).

CA-201 Project Sunrise Launched in NE States Date: 5 February, 2016 Place: Manipur Field: Health Problems: HIV North Eastern States like Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram account for highest adult (15-49 years) HIV prevalence in the country. National average for prevalence of HIV/AIDS among drug addicts is 7.14%, whereas in Manipur it is 12.9% and in Mizoram it is 12%. Project Sunrise is a five-year programme aimed at complementing the ongoing National AIDS Control Programme (NACP) which is to primarily improve coverage, quality and scale of HIV interventions among People Who Inject Drugs (PWID) in eight North East States. Activities of the project are to be implemented through the existing system in close co-ordination with State AIDS Control Societies (SACS) in the eight States. It will be implemented in the North East in addition to the existing projects of the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO).

Facebook Loses Battle over Free Internet Initiative Date: 8 February, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Social Media Internet.org was rechristened Free Basics in September and it declared itself as an open platform that will give Indian developers the opportunity to make their services and websites available free of cost to those who cannot afford internet access. However, this free access is limited to partner websites and applications. It was launched two years ago globally in partnership with Samsung, Ericsson, MediaTek, Opera Software, Nokia and Qualcomm. But the problem is that, contrary to what it claims, it doesn’t offer equal and unbiased access to all services. Facebook is partnering with ISPs to provide preferential and selective access to a set of app developers and services. Free Basics is a package of essential web services that Facebook offers for free in developing countries in partnership with local telecoms companies. That package, unsurprisingly, includes Facebook and WhatsApp, and is promoted by local firms not as a way of getting underserved communities online, but as a way to get Facebook for free.

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But the telecommunications regulator banned discriminatory tariffs for data services on the basis of content, meaning that Facebook and its local partner will no longer be able to offer the social network for free to Indian consumers as part of its Free Basics product. National Deworming Day

Date: 10 February, 2016 Place: India Field: Health National Deworming Day was observed on 10th February, a groundbreaking initiative

focused on reducing the threat of parasitic worm infections, a widespread health issue affecting over 241 million children in India alone. The day was observed in 11 states and Union Territories including Assam, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, and Haryana. The initiative will be aimed at providing Albendazole tablets to children (half tablet to 1-2 years children and one full tablet for 2-19 years). Along with Albendazole administration the children were advised on change practices in terms of cleanliness, hygiene, use of toilets, wearing shoes/slippers, washing hands etc. to reduce incidents of re-infection.

Haryana Jat Agitation

Date: 20 February, 2016 Place: Haryana Field: Caste based Reservation Issue: Jat Reservation Effects: Violent Agitation Haryana State had been carved out of Punjab in 1966. Among the 90 Assembly constituencies in the state Jats comprise 27% of the electorate and dominate the population of Haryana, being the leading caste. Haryana state, since had seen 10 Chief Ministers, out of which 7 were Jat leaders. Though the present CM Manohar Lal Khattar represents the Punjabi community, the two strong opposition leaders are jatsBhupinder Singh Hooda of the Congress and Abhay Singh Chautala of the Indian national Lok Dal. The Jat-Land basically consists of districts viz; Rothak, Jhajjar, Bhiwani, Panipat, Sonipat and Hissar. Jats are an agricultural community in Haryana and seven other states in North India, notably Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat. The discontent germinated after the 1991 Gurnam Singh Commission report which included Jats in the Backward Classes category along with seven other groups, and after the Congress government under the stewardship of Bhajan Lal withdrew the notification that had been issued for inclusion. There after two more state Backward Classes Commissions excluded the Jats-in 1995 and 201. As a matter of interest Bhupinder Singh Hooda rode to power in 2004, on the poll promise of ‘Reservation to Jats’. In spite of his attempts to fulfill this promise, it didn’t happen in his duration as CM. After an agitation, in April 2011, the government again set up the KC Gupta Commission to re-examine this matter. In 2012, the Commission recommended the inclusion of Jats and four other castes, viz; Jat Sikhs, Ror, Tyagi and Bhishnoi, in the category Special Backward Classes (SBC).The Hooda government accepted the report and 10% quota was granted ,but this was later set aside by the Supreme Court . On 17 March 2015, the Supreme Court quashed the UPA Government’s decision to extend the OBC quota in central government jobs to Jats, refusing to accept that Jats were a backward community. As a fall out of this judgment the Haryana state proclamation for Jats reservation, along with other 8 states was annulled by the Supreme Court. Though Jats comprise of 27% of the Haryanvi population, according to the K C Gupta commission, Jats only had 17.82% representation in Class 1 and 2 government jobs. In the lower grades, however the Jat representation is about 45%. If we look at educational institutions Jats representation is only 10.35%. The literacy rate among Jat men is about 45% and among women is about 30%. The community feels that they are wronged by the previous centre and state governments by excluding them from the OBC list. The Jats have rejected a government offer to include those with annual income of less than Rs 6 lakh under an Economically backward Persons (EBP) category with a 20% quota ,to be shared with four other castes : Tyagis, Rors, Bishnois and Jat Sikhs.

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Out of the 80 castes in Haryana, only 16 - Ahir, Arora, Khatri, Bhisnoi, Brahmin, Gossain, Gujjar, Jat Sikh, kalal, Mahajan /Bhnia, Meo, Muslim, Rajput, Ror, Saini and Tyagi - do not find mention in the lists of Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes notified by the Haryana Government. Naturally the most prominent and powerful caste in Haryana accuse this decision as a treachery against them. The recent Jat Reservation Agitation by Jat people of North India, especially in the state of Haryana started on 12th February, and turned violent on 20th February. The protesters were seeking inclusion of their caste in the Other Backward Class (OBC) category, which would make them eligible for affirmative action benefits. Besides Haryana, the protests also spread to the neighbouring states, such as Rajasthan. The protests have caused a loss of approximately 340 billion (US$5.0 billion) in northern India. The Northern Railways has suffered a loss of 2 billion (US$29 million) while more than 10 lakh passengers have been affected. Jats, Jat Sikhs, Rors, Tyagis and Bishnois, are seeking reservation under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category. They had been promised that the Economically Backward Category (EBC) quota will be increased from 10% to 20% by the state government. In addition to this they were also promised the annual income ceiling from ` 2.5 lakh to ` 6 lakh to accommodate more people under the category.

Aquifer Mapping Date: 22 February, 2016 Place: Haryana Field: Ground water With the climate changes in the recent years, the groundwater sources have gone down to a critical level. To find out the exact location of the Aquifer rocks a new mapping technique is introduced. The Aquifer mapping will help in estimating the quantity and quality of groundwater present inside the rock. Mapping determines the exact location, its size, amount of water that can be stored and its recharge point. Aquifer Mapping information is required to develop a strategy of sustainable groundwater management. The benefits of aquifer mapping include- identifying zones for drilling productive wells; understanding of aquifer vulnerability; identification of streams at risk for reduced base flows as a result of heavy groundwater use; formulation of effective aquifer management plans; identification of areas for groundwater development, rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharge; information sharing with stakeholders. Fast Acting Anti-Rabies Drug Date: 24 February, 2016 Place: Pune Field: Health India will be the first country in the world to have developed a fast-acting anti-rabies

drug which would be launched this year. The drug, called Rabishield, will provide immediate protection in severe dog-bite cases by instantly deactivating the rabies virus. The drug has been developed by Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) and US-based Mass Biologics of the University of Massachusetts Medical School. A ready antibody was required for immediate protection because the present vaccine generally takes 14 days to produce antibodies. Combat Drug Resistant TB Date: 21 March, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Health Bedaquiline Drug the new anti-TB drug combat Drug Resistant TB as part of the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program (RNTCP). It is a new class of drug is a diarylquinoline that specifically targets Mycobacterial ATP synthase, an enzyme essential for supply of energy to Mycobacterium tuberculosis and most other mycobacteria. It will available at six identified tertiary care centres across the country. These sites have advanced facilities for laboratory testing and intensive care for patients. It will be given to multi-drug resistant TB patients with resistance to either all fluoroquinolone and/or all second line injectables and extensive drug resistant TB. Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare on 21st March launched Bedaquiline – new anti-TB drug for Drug

CA-204 Resistant TB as part of the RNTCP (Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program) on the eve of ‘World TB Day’.

New Environment Standards for Gensets is a Necessity Date: 22 March, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Environment Diesel exhaust contains more than 40 toxic air contaminants, including many known or suspected cancer-causing substances, such as benzene, arsenic, and formaldehyde. It also contains other harmful environmental pollutants, including nitrogen oxide, currently the single most important ozonedepleting emission. Nitrogen oxide is unregulated by the Montreal Protocol. In relation to human health, it is estimated that up to 70% of cancer risk attributable to inhalation of toxic air pollutants. Exposure to diesel exhaust has been linked to lung cancer in occupational settings. Noise from a genset can be a significant problem, depending upon the location and how it affects people in nearby locations. Noise comes from four sources: the engine, generator, cooling fan, and exhaust. Noise from the engine and generator can be reduced by providing baffles, a rigid sealed enclosure, or a rigid sealed enclosure lined with sound absorption material. The address adverse health and environmental effects of electricity generators a new environment standards for Gensets working on Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) / Natural Gas (NG), Diesel with LPG / NG and Petrol with LPG / NG operated in various cities / towns in the country is released. The new standards for Gensets seek to control air and noise pollution emanating from the operation of Gensets. These new standards were recommended by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) after consultations with industries and other stakeholders. These standards will help control the air and noise emission across different category of Gensets and would be revisited in 4-5 years once air and noise emission quality data and technological details pertaining to Gensets are available. Ban on Sale of Country-made and Spiced Liquor Date: 31 March, 2016 Place: Patna Field: Health Issue: Liquor consumption

ISSUES 2016 Drinking in public, drinking and driving, creating nuisance after drinking are issues of common interest, hence the government should and must interfere. Critics argue that absolute ban on drinking per se is an overreach by the government. During framing of the Constitution, the Article 47, governing liquor ban, was included in the Directives Principles of State Policy, but most of the states eventually removed the ban on liquor owing to loss in Excise revenue, electoral loss, smuggling of liquor, deaths due to spurious liquor, bootlegging and loss of jobs. Going back on this is politically convenient for Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s decision is a welcome step. The women folk of Bihar are happy with the ban. The number of accidents and crimes will come down. As if the crimes and accidents across the world happen primarily because of the drinking habits of the people. According to the new ban law the person indulging in manufacturing, trade, transportation, sale and consumption of country-made and spiced liquor across the state will be punished for violating the stringent provisions of the Bihar Excise (Amendment) Act, 2016. Bihar joined a select list of states practising complete or partial prohibition. The states where alcohol prohibition is in force are Gujarat, Nagaland, parts of Manipur and Union territory of Lakshadweep. Kerala has been implementing prohibition in a phased manner since 2014.

10% Reservation to Economically Backward of Higher Castes Date: 30 April, 2016 Place: Gujarat Field: Economic Reservation The debate on reservations often brings up the issue of poorer sections of society from the General Category and what the government is doing for their welfare. Here are two central sector schemes, specifically designed for the Economically Backward Classes (EBCs). The extremely poor people having annual income less than Rs.1.00 lakh and who do not belong to any social category such as SC/ST/OBC, have been categorized as Economically Backward Classes (EBCs). In this direction Gujarat government will bring an ordinance to provide 10 per cent

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ISSUES 2016 reservation for economically backward classes (EBC) among upper castes. Families that earn less than Rs 6 lakh per year will qualify for the quota. This new reservation will not affect the present reservation available to Scheduled Castes (SC) /

Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC). This decision will break Supreme Court’s reservation limit of 50 per cent as the State Government is even now provides 50 per cent reservation to SC, ST and OBC.

Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation

Date: 25 July, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Constitutional Problems: Child Labour India is sadly the home to the largest number of child labourers in the world. The census found an increase in the number of child labourers from 11.28 million in 1991 to 12.59 million in 2001. In 2009–10 a nationwide survey found child labour prevalence had reduced to 4.98 million children (or less than 2% of children in 5–14 age group). The 2011 national census of India found the total number of child labour, aged 5–14, to be at 4.35 million, and the total child population to be 259.64 million in that age group. The child labour problem is not unique to India; worldwide, about 217 million children work, many full-time. Millions of children around the world are trapped in child labour, depriving them of their childhood, their health and education, and condemning them to a life of poverty and want. Of course, there is work that children do to help their families in ways that are neither harmful nor exploitative. But many children are stuck in unacceptable work for children – a serious violation of their rights. Child Labour Act is amended laying a complete framework for the absolute prohibition of employment of children below the age of 14 but allowing minors to work in family enterprises. The original Child Labor Prohibition Act of 1986 banned employment of children below 14 in only 18 hazardous industries. The Bill passed with drastically cuts down on the number of industries that are considered hazardous for children, from 83 to just 3, effectively knocking off zari work, bangle-making, garment industry, leather and tanneries among others in the list. The amended Child Labour Act prohibits the employment of children (below 14 years of age) in all occupations except in nonhazardous family enterprises or the entertainment industry. The government has made the amendments based on the premise that education and work for children can go hand in hand, but this defeats the very purpose of protecting children from exploitation. According to the statistics made available by CRY, only 33 out of 100 children are completing Class 12. The amendments to the Child Labour Act make the situation grimmer.

Channelization of the Forest Development Corpus Date: 25 July, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Constitutional Problems: Deforestation Massive deforestation in India has posed a serious threat to our environment. Despite several attempts no significant improvement was marked. Lack of fund and proper channelization of money for this purpose is an important factor for not achieving the desired goal. Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill will facilitate make available more than Rs.

6,000 crores per annum to the States/UTs for conservation, protection, improvement and expansion of forest and wildlife resources of the country. Availability of these amounts will not only help the States/ UTs and local communities to ensure better management of their forest resources but will also result in creation of more than 15 crores man-days of direct employment. A major part of these amounts will be used to restock and improve quality of degraded forests, which constitutes more than 40% of the total forest cover of the country. This Bill establishes National Compensatory Afforestation Fund (NCAF) under the Public

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Account of India, and a State Compensatory Afforestation Fund under the Public Account of each state. The collected funds will be

utilised for afforestation, regeneration of forest ecosystem, wild life protection and forest related infrastructure development.

Complaints against SC, HC Judges may Go to Panel

Date: 1 August, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Judicial A system is going to set up to deal with complaints against judges in the apex court and in all 24 high courts in the country in spite of conflict from the Chief Justice of India (CJI) and the Supreme Court collegiums. The terms for a secretariat have been included in the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) for appointment of judges. Including retired judges, the secretariat will be tasked with evaluating complaints against the judiciary and recommending action. It will also screen candidates to be considered for selection in the apex court and high courts. The CJI and the collegium have been resisting such a mechanism as the higher judiciary believes it will impinge on their independence. After striking down the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act last year, the SC had asked the Government to frame the MoP incorporating five key factors, including a mechanism to ensure transparency in appointments, a secretariat and a mechanism to deal with complaints.

South India’s First Children’s Court

Date: 24 August, 2016 Place: Hyderabad Field: Judiciary South India’s first Children’s Court in Hyderabad is going to dispose of children related cases on a war-footing basis. Telangana has become the third state after Goa and Delhi to have a child friendly court and sixth in the country with features like separate waiting rooms for children and a video camera trial for the accused, mandated under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POSCO) Act-2012. POCSO stipulates child-friendly court rooms be put in place across all states at the earliest in the interest of children in need of care. Earlier due to lack of such courts the children criminals had to face serious violation of human rights. Displaced People from PoK Date: 28 August, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Home Affairs Those people forced to leave their homes in what now constitutes the Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) in 1947 after the tribal raids. Subsequently, there were two more phases of movement after the 1965 and 1971 wars between India and Pakistan. While those

who migrated from the then West Pakistan were given ‘refugee’ status and settled by the Indian Government elsewhere in the country, those who migrated from PoK (mainly from Muzafarabad and Mirpur areas) are yet to be settled and live even today without ‘refugee’ status. The government’s position has been that, since they have migrated from PoK, which is legally a part of India, they are technically not qualified to be categorized under the ‘refugee’ bracket. The Govt. has proposed a ` 2,000-crore package for people displaced from PoK living in India. Bihar to Link Exams to Aadhaar Number Date: 3 September, 2016 Place: Patna Field: Education To clean up the examination system, post the toppers scam in the state, the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) has decided to begin a new process in a fullfledged manner from next year by linking Aadhaar card number of the students with their examination forms to avoid duplication. This new initiative is the first to be implemented by any state board in the country. The move will not only add to greater transparency in the exam process but also facilitate easy access to documents.

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ISSUES 2016 Commercial Surrogacy

The term generally refers to any surrogacy arrangement in which the surrogate mother receives compensation for her services, beyond reimbursement of medical expenses. The alternative to commercial surrogacy is altruistic surrogacy. In altruistic surrogacy, a woman volunteers to carry a pregnancy for intended parents without any monetary compensation in return. PROS Commercial surrogacy allows women to be compensated fairly for their yearlong • commitment to intended parents. Commercial surrogacy is legally regulated to protect the rights of the surrogate as • well as the intended parents. Commercial surrogacy is an alternative for intended parents who do not want to • take favors from close friends or family members to make the sacrifices required for altruistic surrogacy. In commercial surrogacy, contracts are thoroughly negotiated. Monetary • compensation to be received by the surrogate is determined ahead of time. This can prevent disputes over reimbursements during and after the pregnancy. It influences harmony, since most of women pursue surrogacy because they want to • help build other families. CONS Commercial surrogacy is more expensive than altruistic surrogacy. • • Some opponents of commercial surrogacy are of the opinion that it exploits vulnerable women. Commercial surrogacy is illegal in some countries which forces some intended • parents to pursue international surrogacy. This may result in legal and ethical complications. Commercial surrogacy, carried out legally and ethically, can be a wonderful way for people to come together to help hopeful parents. Recently, in India, a bill to ban commercial surrogacy was introduced in the Lok Sabha. The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016 was presented by Health Minister J P Nadda. The bill is intended to focus on protecting women from exploitation and ensure the rights of the child born through surrogacy. If it is approved, commercial surrogacy will face a ban in India. Under special circumstances, only infertile couples with medical letters will be allowed to approach surrogate mothers. Even those that meet these criteria go through further restrictions .Few of the required conditions are that the couple has to be Indian and the woman must be aged between 23 to 50 and the man’s age must be between 26 and 55. There is also a clause which states that the couple has to be married for at least 5 years.

Minimum Support Price of Gram is ` 4,000 a Quintal Date: 18 September, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Agriculture Minimum Support Price (MSP) is a form of market intervention by the Government of India to insure agricultural producers against any sharp fall in farm prices. The minimum support prices are announced by the Government of India at the beginning of the sowing season for certain crops on the basis of the recommendations of the

Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP). Recently in many parts of India Green gram and black gram cultivated on rain-fed tracts are now being harvested. But, the farmers are disappointed over the yield. Against the normal yield of 400 kg per acre, this year’s yield is put at 50 to 150 kg. To address the issue the Chief Economic Advisor (CEA)-led panel asked the Centre to immediately announce higher minimum support price (MSP) of gram (chana) to for Rs.4,000 a quintal rabi 2016 and Rs.6,000 a quintal for both urad and tur for kharif season 2017.

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National Waterways Project Threatens Gangetic Dolphins

Date: 24 September, 2016 Place: Patna Field: Ecological Conservation The development of the Ganga is beneficial for India but it is the natural habitat of dolphins. Due to construction of dams and barrages on the river for shipping their numbers are rapidly decreasing. The Central Government plans further to develop a 1600-km waterway between Allahabad and Haldia. The first phase of the project spanning 1300 km, from Varanasi to Haldia is now under implementation. It envisages to improve the navigability of the river as it passes through Northern India. However this stretch is also home to the endangered dolphin. According to the scientists and wildlife conservationists, the National Waterways (NW) project possesses serious environmental threat to Gangetic river dolphins. The development NW1 in the River Ganga is considered as single-largest threat to the survival of the species, whose numbers are declining in most parts of their natural habitat. River dolphins are found in Ganga and Brahmaputra and its tributaries. It has been declared endangered species and is protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. To tackle threat to dolphins, Union Ministry of Environment and Forest Conservation in 2016 had launched Endangered Species Recovery Plans for four species of global importance. During the development of National Waterways, some measures will be listed such as safeguards, mentioned issues like minimising dredging. Movement of cargo vessels will be restricted through protected habitat areas through river, monitoring systems and sound mufflers will be installated to reduce underwater noise. Nesting grounds, breeding and spawning grounds of dolphins will be identified and development projects activity will be minimised in those areas.

Aadhaar Card Must for LPG Subsidy Date: 5 October, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Public Distribution It has been observed that people who are not eligible getting subsidy of LPG. In order to curb this illegal practice the Supreme Court has already directed in favour of Adhar Link. Now, the government has made Aadhaar mandatory for availing cooking gas (LPG) subsidies. Currently 12 cylinders of 14.2kg each are given at subsidised rates per household in a year. The subsidy on every cylinder is transfered in advance directly into bank accounts of individuals, who then buy the cooking fuel at market rates. As LPG subsidy is an expenditure incurred from Consolidated Fund of India therefore the use of Aadhaar card is a mandatory requirement for availing of the benefit. T.N. Tops List of Endemic Flowering Plant

Date: 3 October, 2016 Place: Tamil Nadu Field: Ecology

According to Botanical Survey of India (BSI) almost one of every four species of flowering plants found in India is endemic to the country. Tamil Nadu garners the highest number of species with 410. Tamil Nadu is followed by Kerala with 357 and Maharashtra with 278. Four different varieties of roses, two herbs and two climbers and 12 species of jasmines are exclusively found in India. There are also 40 species of bamboos, which are endemic to India. A total of 58 generea of flowering plants have been found to be endemic to India. The Botanical Survey was formally instituted on 13 February 1890 under the direction of Sir George King, who had been superintendent of Royal Botanic Garden, Calcutta since 1871. King was the first exofficio Director of BSI. Whitener in Uttarakhand Banned

Date: 25 October, 2016 Place: Uttarakhand Field: Judicial Whitener is a new addiction among young teenagers in India today. Sniffing shoe whitener, or eraser white ink has caught

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ISSUES 2016 on among many kids in India today. This substance is poured on a handkerchief or into a bag and then inhaled. Doing this for some time makes the sniffer dizzy, high and disconnected. The chemical toluene is what affects the sniffer as it has a hallucinatory effect on the sniffer. What makes white ink or WINK attractive to teenagers is how cheap white ink is and the effect it has on them. The Uttarakhand High Court

has ordered a complete ban on the sale of whitener in the state. The decision came following the death of a teenager (14-yearold) in Bhowali town of Nainital district after he sniffed an excess of whitener for a kick. Besides, the court also ordered that items such as Iodex and Feviquick should not be sold to children below 18 years of age in view of prevalent abuse of these among teenagers.

BCCI- Lodha Committee

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the national governing body for cricket in India. It was formed in1928 as a society, registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act. It is an organization of state cricket associations and the state associations who select their representatives. They in turn elect the BCCI officials. Board of Cricket Control in India has been working more like a private body with significant opacity. It is country’s most powerful and richest sport body. The 2013 IPL scandal motivated judicial effort to curb BCCI’s powers, reform it structurally and operationally and introduce accountability. Justice Lodha Committee The Lodha committee, comprising former CJI Lodha and former Supreme Court judges Ashok Bhan and R. Raveendran, was set up by the apex court to look into the BCCI’s affairs with an objective to curb corruption and improve their workings. Justice Lodha’s recommendations are in the form of BCCI’s constitutional amendments. The recommendations are aimed at making reforms and altering the year old elite formation of BCCI. The key recommendations of the report are: BCCI should come under RTI. • • Cricket betting should be legalized. More than two consecutive terms for holding office positions should be stopped. • • Bar Ministers or Government servants from holding office positions in BCCI. • One person shall hold one post. • No proxy voting of individuals. Only the cricket bodies representing states to have full membership and voting • rights in BCCI. All India Universities, Railway Sports Promotion Board, etc. should be only associate • members without voting rights. • Separate governing bodies to be appointed for IPL and BCCI. The recommendations are aimed at bringing transparency in the administration of cricket body. In response to these recommendations, BCCI filed an appeal in the SC against the report. Latest Development Special Bench of Chief Justice T.S. Thakur, Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud is hearing the Supreme Court-appointed former Chief Justice of India R.M. Lodha-led committee’s recommendation to oust the entire opaque and cash-rich Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).This also includes its president and BJP MP Anurag Thakur.

SC Freezes BCCI’s Financial Transactions Date: 21 October, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Legal

For a long time a tussel is going on between BCCI and the Supreme Court. After Lalit Modi’s corruption case a transparent board was required.

CA-210 Supreme Court on 21 October 2016 froze all financial transactions between the BCCI and state cricket associations. The apex court directed the apex cricket body not to disburse any funds, even for the match purposes, till BCCI resolved to abide by Justice RM Lodha panel recommendations. The apex court also directed BCCI president and Secretary to give undertaking on affidavit, before the Lodha panel and apex court by 3 December, 2016, stating how much time they would need to implement reforms. It directed the Lodha panel to ask the auditors to scrutinise the high-value contracts given by BCCI and also fix a ceiling of high-value contracts involving media rights. It asked the Lodha panel’s secretary to send a copy of the apex court order to the ICC chairman Shashank Manohar. Boxing Federation of India Gets Recognitition as National Sports Federation for Boxing Date: 28 October, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Sports In this regard The Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has recognized Boxing Federation of India (BFI) as the National Sports Federation (NSF) for Boxing. This decision will give massive fillip to the recently-formed BFI and also give a boost to the sport of boxing which had suffered due to absence of an NSF in the discipline since 2012. AIBA, the International Body for boxing had recognized these newly elected office bearers of BFI. Considering the election report and other documents submitted by BFI, the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports granted recognition as NSF for Boxing. BFI will help Indian boxers prepare for 2020 Olympics with more national & international exposure, and training. Women could also be Prosecuted under Domestic Violence Law Date: 7 October, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Legal It has been observed that not only men but also women are hugely responsible of domestic violence. Taking note of the serious issue the Supreme Court ruled that not only men, but women can also be prosecuted under the Protection of Women against Domestic Violence (DV)

ISSUES 2016 Act. The Apex court has struck down the words “adult male” from the pertinent provision in the DV Act to lay down that a woman can also file a complaint against another woman, accusing her of domestic violence. Under Section 2(q) of the 2005 Act, a complaint can be made only against an “adult male person”, thereby insulating women from being accused of offences mentioned under the law. Minimum Wage for Farm Worker Rs 350 Per Day Date: 1 November, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Agriculture Farm workers in India were neglected for a long time. The states were free to fix wages for various categories of workers as there was no benchmark minimum wage across the country. The Union Labour Ministry now decided to fix the minimum wage at `350 per day for unskilled agricultural labour in C-class towns in central sphere to be effective from November 1, 2016. Currently, agriculture workers in the central sphere are paid as per the rates prescribed under the national floor level minimum wage, which is `160 per day. Construction Near Uttarakhand Glaciers Date: 8 November, 2016 Place: Nainital Field: Environment and Ecology The Himalayan state of Uttarakhand alone has 968 glaciers spread across an area of 2,857 sq km. These glaciers are a source of major rivers including the Ganga and the Yamuna. In recent times these glaciers are facing severe problem of rapid reduction in snow cover due to climate change and the melting of ice. Taking note of the fact the Uttarakhand HC imposed a blanket ban on any construction within a radius of 2 km from major lakes in Nainital. The HC also ordered a ban on cutting of trees within a five km radius of the lake and directed the Haridwar district police chief to remove an illegally constructed mosque in the district within 48 hours. All the municipal boards and Nagar Panchayats have been ordered to set up sewage treatment plants within 6 months. Plastic in any form within 20 km of the glaciers and burning of fossil fuel within 10 km from the glaciers has also been banned by the High Court Bench.

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ISSUES 2016 NDTV goes off air

As per the breach of the programme code that governs the content in news channels, the leading Hindi news channel-NDTV was ordered to be taken off air for a day by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The imposition referred to a rule introduced in June 2015 that concerned advisories to all news channels regarding coverage of antiterrorist operations. The inter-ministerial panel comprising I&B ministry, mentioned the channel’s coverage of the Pathankot terror attack in January in which seven soldiers and six armed fighters were killed and held that the channel had revealed crucial and strategically sensitive information while the IAF base was facing the terror attack. The channel broadcast included Government’s offensive against terrorists, sensitive operational details like the location of ammunition depot, the place where the terrorists were holed up and the location of school and residential areas while the armed forces were trying to kill the terrorists. Such crucial information holds the potential of instigating considerable harm not just to the national security but also to the lives of civilians and defence personnel. The earlier decision of panel was to take the channel off for 30 days but later settled for imposing restrictions for a day. This decision gained uproar as a direct violation of the freedom of the media and the citizens, but the fact is that the Government has from time to time routinely asked the entertainment TV channels to censor words it deems too offensive for local audiences. Even in the India-administered Kashmir, a local newspaper-‘The Kashmir Reader’ has been banned for more than a month on the pretext of its contents inciting violence.

Helicobacter Pullorum Bacterium in Chicken Date: 13 November, 2016 Place: Hyderabad Field: Health Chicken is widely used in India as a nutritious food. But a recent research in Hyderabad have identified Helicobacter pullorum bacterium in chicken that may be source of transmission of the multidrug resistance pathogen to humans. The pathogen was found in broiler and free-range chickens sold in the Indian Market, which besides being untreatable, could also cause cancer and gastrointestinal infections in humans. It is being suspected that H. pullorum is resistant wide range of antibiotics such as fluoroquinolones, cephalosporins, sulfonamides and macrolides. CBSE Class X Board Exam to be Re-introduced Date: 14 November, 2016 Place: Rajasthan Field: Education The policy of no-detention upto Class X is likely to be scrapped with the

reintroduction of CBSE board examinations for students. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Class X examination was scrapped in 2010 and replaced with the current Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) that provides for tests and grading through the year as a means to reduce pressure on students. The State governments will be given the authority to reintroduce class V and VIII board examinations, a proposal related to it will be tabled in the Cabinet and then in Parliament. The main focus of HRD Ministry is on improving the quality of school education, specifically of Government schools. Government of India Impose 5 year Ban on Zakir Naik’s NGO Date: 15 November, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Broadcasting, Hate Speech Zakir Naik has been under the scanner of Indian law enforcement authorities ever since Bangladesh asked for an investigation into his speeches and his writing, following a claim that a terrorist involved in the recent terror attack in Dhaka was his follower who was inspired by his speeches.

CA-212 Mr. Naik’s speeches are aired on ‘Peace TV’, run by his Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation from Dubai. Britain and Canada have banned Mr. Naik from visiting their countries several years ago while Malaysia banned his lectures fearing that they could instigate inter-racial tensions. The Government on November 15, 2016 decided to declare a 5 year ban on his (NGO), Islamic Research Foundation (IRF). The action is taken under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act for its alleged terror activities. The NGO was allegedly having suspected links with Peace TV, an international Islamic channel, accused of propagating terrorism despite delivering many provocative speeches. Naik also transferred IRF’s foreign funds to Peace TV for making “objectionable” programmes mostly which were Made in India, containing alleged hate speeches of Naik. Maharashtra Police has also registered criminal cases against Naik for his alleged involvement in brainwashing of youths and tempting them into terror activities. SC Refuses to Remove Ban on Jallikattu Date: 16 November, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Judicial Jallikattu is a bull taming sport played in Tamil Nadu on Mattu Pongal day as a part of Pongal celebrations i.e. harvest festival. It is one of the oldest living ancient tradition practiced in the modern era. Jallikattu has been derived from the words ‘calli’ (coins) and ‘kattu’ (tie), which means a bundle of coins is tied to the bull’s horns. In Sangam literature the sport is called as ‘Yeru thazhuvuthal’ (means to embrace bulls). In older times Jallikattu was popular amongst warriors during the Tamil classical period. Recently the Supreme Court has dismissed a plea filed by Tamil Nadu to review a 2014 apex court judgment banning Jallikattu. The apex court questioned the need to “tame” a domestic animal like the bull and further held that Jallikattu has nothing to do with exercise of the fundamental right of religious freedom. It also held that Jallikattu runs counter to the concept of welfare of the animal, which is the basic foundation of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. However, the State government countered that Jallikattu was defined as an act of “taming” of bulls under

ISSUES 2016 the Tamil Nadu Regulation of Jallikattu Act, 2009 and it does not amount to cruelty. This law was introduced to stop any kind of torture and taming a bull is not torture. What is issue? The Supreme Court had banned Jallikattu in May 2014 and held that bulls could not be used as performing animals. It ordered to completely stop use of bulls for Jallikattu events or bullockcart races across the country. The ban was imposed by SC as it violated provisions of The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960; fundamental duty Article 51A (g): compassion towards animal; Article 21 (Right to Life), which prohibits any disturbance to the environment, including animals as it is considered essential for human life. However, in January 2016, the Union Government through notification lifted this ban and allowed use of bulls for Jallikattu events or bullock-cart races in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. But, the apex court put on hold of the Union Government’s notification. Hindu Widow’s Adopted Kid can Claim Only to Her Assets Date: 17 November, 2016 Place: Delhi Field: Judicial As per the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, family members must get their share in the ancestral property to which they were entitled to before the child was adopted. In this regard the Supreme Court on, November 17, 2016, regulated that a child who is adopted by a Hindu widow would not have any rights on the property of the woman’s expired husband and could only lay claim over the property inherited by his mother. The apex court held that with the adoption of a child, the rights and interests of other members of the family would not be harmed. Worst Train Accident in Six Years Date: 21 November, 2016 Place: Kanpur Dehat Field: Transport In the recent times train accidents are growing in numbers which has imposed a question mark on the Indian Railways. Compensations cannot solve the issue. A co-ordinated action oriented approach is needed to tackle the issue.

ISSUES 2016 The Indore-Patna Express train derailed in Kanpur Dehat district of Uttar Pradesh early morning about 3.10am on November 21, 2016. It is one of India’s worst train accidents in six years with nearly 133 people killed and more than 200 injured when 14 coaches of the express train derailed near Pukhrayan, about 100 km from Kanpur. In 2010, a passenger train crashed into a freight train in Bengal, killing 146. S1, S2, S3 and S4 suffered severe damage while four AC coaches were derailed too. National Organic Farming Research Institute Date: 5 Febrary, 2016 Place: Gangtok, Sikkim Field: Agriculture There is scientific evidence that organic agriculture differs from conventional agriculture not only gradually but fundamentally. Implementing organic methods consequently seems to provide a new quality in how the agro-ecosystem works. Organic farming seems to improve soil fertility in a way and to an extent which cannot be achieved by conventional farming even if the latter consistently respects some ecological principles. Sikkim was declared the country’s first wholly organic state this year after it converted around 75,000 hectares of agricultural land into sustainable cultivation. Therefore the idea of setting up National Organic Farming Research Institute (NOFRI) for extending technological support to organic farming in the country at Gangtok, Sikkim is an encouraging move. The organization will offer research and technological support to organic production system in the country in general and north-eastern region in particular. It will also give vocational and advanced training to stakeholders for promotion of organic farming in the country. Sikkim is the only state in the country which has adopted organic farming on a universal basis. TRAI against Differential Pricing Date: 8 February, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Telcom, Net neutrality Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on 8th February decided in favour

CA-213 of net neutrality from charging differential rates for data services which will prohibit Facebook’s Free Basics and Airtel Zero platform by Airtel in their current form. All service providers are barred from offering or charging discriminatory tariffs for data services on the basis of content. US, Chile, Netherlands and Brazil have adopted net neutrality which doesn’t allow discrimination of the Internet content or charge users differently based on the content, site, or platform they consume. Tarun Ramadorai Committee Date: 4 August, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Finance In India household finance has been seen through the lens of financial inclusion, which has come to mean access of low income households to finance with an accent on credit and savings products. However, there is much more going on in the field of household finance. The first dimension is the intensive vs. extensive margin. Do households really use the market as much as they should, or as efficiently as they could? A second dimension is the range of products. This is related to the kind of products that households use. These range from credit (accessing loans through informal sources instead of formal), payments, insurance (relying on kinship networks or savings instead of insurance products in times of crisis), derivatives (risk transfer), and investment (using real estate or gold instead of financial products). In each of these areas, we need to understand what households are doing and why. A third dimension is the income heterogeneity. Most often, access to finance is seen as low income households not being able to access bank accounts, or formal credit. However, access to finance issues also pervade middle income and rich, rural and urban households as well. Poor people have intermittent incomes and face high risk. They need sophisticated finance, but are very often cut off from it. Most wealth is with the rich, where faulty financial decisions at the level of the household, and failures of the financial system, can give inefficient resource allocation at the level of the country. Research on household finance, should not

CA-214 restrict itself to the problems of low-income households. Household finance is a part of finance as a field, not just a part of poverty studies. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has constituted a committee to look at various facets of household finance in India. The Committee will be chaired by Tarun Ramadorai, Professor of Financial Economics, University of Oxford. The Committee will assess the role of new financial technologies and products. Avinash Kant Committee for e – commerce Date: 11 August, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Commerce Recently the e-commerce and FDI is taking a pivotal role in India. Therefore it was necessary to review the pros and cons of this sector. In this direction Amitabh Kant will head a committee to ease the policy regime for the e-commerce players, including FDI rules. Other members of the committee will include representatives from four states, including Maharashtra and Karnataka along with delegates from the Union Commerce Ministry and Department of Electronics and IT. This committee will examine the various grievances in the e-commerce sector alongside making recommendations for further policy liberalization.

India’s Economic Growth Slowed down in First Quarter of Current Fiscal Year Date: 1 September, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Economy India’s economy grew at its slowest pace in five quarters in the April-June period, falling below expectations amid sluggish investment and farm output. That dents the prospects of hitting the 8 per cent mark for the full financial year but the Government is hopeful that a bountiful monsoon and increased pay and pensions along with various structural reforms could still take growth closer to that figure. Hower, India’s gross domestic product (GDP) slowed to 7.1 per cent for the first quarter of this fiscal, from 7.5% in the like period of 2015-16, due to mainly lower activity in farm, mining and construction sectors. In terms of gross value added (GVA) - considered a better measure of

ISSUES 2016 economic performance, as it excludes taxes and subsidies - the growth was a bit higher at 7.3 per cent, against 7.2 per cent in the previous year. UIDAI Bans Sharing of Aadhaar Details Date: 13 September, 2016 Place: Hyderabad Government of India now comprehends the dangers of identity thefts and misusing of data when it comes to Aadhaar cards. In one of the strongest worded warnings Government. has stopped public agencies from any unauthorized usage of Aadhaar card data, and have declared that consent of the user is must before using the data for any purpose. Violation of this rule can attract heavy penalty as well as prison term. Earlier, Government. had stopped merchants from unauthorized collection of Aadhaar data, and had issued warning for the same. UIDAI, the organization which issues and maintains Aadhaar data has laid special emphasis on the user’s consent before using the data. And once the consent has been issued, the external agency which collects the data can only use the data for the specific purpose for which consent has been provided. Using Aadhaar card data for identity theft is also punishable by law now. This strict warning was long overdue, especially in the wake of increasing Aadhaar related fraud and identity thefts. At a time when all railways tickets will have compulsory Aadhaar authentication and when people are going to use Aadhaar based digital lockers, then such diktat on public usage of data is indeed commendable. In this regard Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) asked agencies in possession of Aadhaar number of an individual to not publish or post the information publicly. The core biometric information, collected by the Authority, cannot be shared with anyone for any reason. Any violation of the Aadhaar Act will constitute an offence and is punishable under the Act. The agencies that collect the Aadhaar number will also have to specify whether submission of the number or proof of Aadhaar is mandatory or voluntary. The regulations also provide for obtaining consent of the Aadhaar number holder for collection, storage and use of the same for specified purposes.

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ISSUES 2016 India’s fight against black money

The Union Government has intensified its fight against black money since the day it came to power and has thereby launched and cumulated several big and small measures to create a coordinated strike against black money. It’s no more a new tale that the black money generated in the country is stored mostly in India and a part of it is held in overseas. Hence, the Government has made efforts on both fronts-domestic and foreign stored black money. The foundation laid by the Government as soon as it came in power in May 2014 is quite evident through the measures it took in a methodical manner. In its first Cabinet Meeting, the Government constituted a Supreme Court Monitored Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Black Money; which was followed by the launch of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) on August 28, 2014. Through his personal interest in the scheme, Mr. Modi made it a mission to make it a success. The Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015 is to effectively deal with the issue of black money stashed away abroad. Introduction of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Bill, 2015 enables confiscation of Benami property and provides for prosecution. The Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015 came into force on July 1, 2015, to specifically and more effectively deal with undisclosed income. Further, the Government proactively made global efforts to combat tax evasion, black money by joining the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement with USA. The Government is also trying to automate information exchange with several countries, including Switzerland, to clamp down on black money. The Income Declaration Scheme, 2016 was announced which enables citizens to declare their undisclosed income. The Government also signed the revised tax treaty with Mauritius under which India will impose capital gains tax on investments routed through the island nation in a bid to curb tax evasion. Considering the present scenario of Demonetization of the currency notes of `500 and 1000, it is another step to extinguish fake currency that has been generated till now in the market. This scheme will be of immense help leading to a rise in transactions from banks. Rural villagers will be helped by opening of accounts in the remote areas. On the contrary, if the bank accounts would not have been opened, it would have created immense trouble for the villagers. In order to rein in corruption, the Government linked aadhar card with all the social welfare scheme payments, and other benefits from various schemes run by Government of India. They include – Direct Benefits Transfer (DBTL), subsidies for commodity products, MNREGA, various tribal welfare schemes, pensions, etc. Meanwhile, the government came under increased attack from opposition parties for scrapping these high-denomination notes. The Congress has been spearheading this charge. However, going down in history, the UPA’s record on black money and corruption has also been dismal. Around $213 billion of black money was stashed abroad during UPA regime but no serious efforts were made to bring back the money. Some of the more recent major scams during congress regime include chopper, coal block allocation, railgate, 2G spectrum, commonwealth games, Satyam Computer Services, Adarsh Housing society, cash-for-votes scandal, etc. the list is endless. Now as an endorsement from the people of Maharashtra and Gujrat, the BJP swept the local bodies elections in both states. Even in by-polls, BJP increased its tally from 3 to 5. As PM Modi termed it as the ‘biggest crusade’, this demonetisation is not the end but the beginning of a long, deep and constant battle against black money and corruption and will benefit the poor and the common man.

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ISSUES 2016 Bank Deposits Cross ` 100 lakh crore First Time

Date: 15 October, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Banking It is a good sign that fixed deposits and recurring deposits are growing in Indian banks. But the issue is that, the sudden rise is due to government’s declaration of certain tax evacuation on voluntary declaration. RBI recently declared that India’s banking system reported total deposits of ` 100 lakh crore for the first time ever in September. Demand deposits crossing ` 10 lakh crore and time deposits crossing the ` 90 lakh crore mark, the month saw the highest-ever monthly rise of ` 5.32 lakh crore —more than the total deposits in the banking sector 20 years back. Although ` 100 lakh crore is a big milestone, historical data reveal deposit growth slowed down considerably over the last five years. While banks’ deposits grew at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 12.88% in the last five years, they had grown at a CAGR of 19.9% in the previous five years.

TATA’s Mistry Controversy Date: 25 October, 2016 Place: Mumbai Field: Corporate India’s largest conglomerate Tata Sons Ltd has removed Cyrus Pallonji Mistry as Chairman. However he will remain a director of the individual companies. The board has replaced him with his predecessor Ratan Tata as interim chairman for four months. Mistry had shortest tenure as Chairman so far at the group. He had replaced Ratan Tata as chairman in December 2012. He was only the sixth group Chairman in nearly 15 decades and the first from outside the Tata family to be appointed to top most post of Tata group. Besides, the board also named a five-member search committee to choose a successor within four months. It has given time of four months to choose a successor. Cyrus Pallonji Mistry is son of the billionaire Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry. Prior to his appointment as chairman he was deputy chairman of Tata Sons. He had remained the director of Tata Sons since 2006. Billionaire Pallonji Mistry, along with his sons, Shapoor Mistry and Cyrus Mistry are owners of 18.5% stake in Tata group. They are largest shareholders on individual basis of group. He also had served as chairman of Tata Motors, Tata Chemicals, Tata Steel and Tata Global Beverages. The matter has become controversial and raises many questions. Did Cyrus Mistry act in the interest of minority shareholders of Tata group companies when he blew the

whistle as many might say on the accounts of Tata-led companies and spoke of a $18-billion write-down? Does Tata Sons act primarily in its own interests as a closely held company or as a custodian of minority shareholders of the companies it indirectly controls and manages for most part? It is worthwhile recalling that Ratan Tata faced a controversy in the 1990s when Tata Sons wanted group-led companies to pay fees for the use of the Tata brand. Shareholders were not exactly happy. Tata Sons continues to get brand fees. Questions are bound to be raised on what Tatas bring to the table. Banks to Report Frauds of ` 1 crore and Above to CVC Date: 1 November, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Banking With several high-ticket alleged frauds like Vijay Mallya loan default case coming to fore, Central Vigilance Commission has now made it mandatory for the public sector banks to report to it all such matters involving funds over ` one crore. The banks have been asked to share their reports of Fraud Monitoring and Reporting (FMR) mechanism with the CVC in the suspected fraud cases of ` one crore and above. Till now this report was shared with the RBI only. With this, the banks will have to report the modus operandi of all the alleged frauds to the CVC, which will share these details with other banks to prevent such cases being repeated. Besides, the Commission

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ISSUES 2016 also decided to call regular monthly meetings of senior officials of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), CBI and banks to monitor probe in suspected bank frauds of 50 crore rupees and above. GST Council Approves 4 Tier Rate Structure for GST

Date: 3 November, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Taxation The introduction of GST has undergone many troublesome phases. So many changes has taken place in the original draft. Recently GST Council approved a four-tier GST tax structure of 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%, with lower rates for essential items

and the highest for luxury and de-merits goods that would also attract an additional cess. Goods and Services Tax is a proposed system of indirect taxation in India merging most of the existing taxes into single system of taxation. The lowest rate of 5% would be for common use items while there would be two standard rates of 12% and 18% under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime targeted to be rolled out from April 1, 2017. The highest tax slab will be applicable to items which are currently taxed at 3031% (excise duty plus VAT). As per the rate structure agreed upon by the council, a zero tax rate will apply to 50% of the items present in the consumer price index basket, including food grains such as rice and wheat.

` 500 and ` 1000 Currency no Longer Legal Tender

Date: 8 November, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Economy In order to eliminate black money and corruption from the country Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi addressed an unscheduled announcement to the nation on November 8, 2016 that the ` 500 and ` 1000 currency notes currently in use will no longer be legal tender from midnight 8th November, 2016. These notes will not be accepted for any kind of transactions from midnight onwards. The aim behind such move is to curb corruption, black money, money laundering, terrorism creating an environment of panic. However one hundred, fifty, twenty, ten, five, two and one rupee note will remain legal tender and will not be affected by the decision. On recommendation of RBI, government of India has decided to issue ` 2000 notes and new notes of five hundred for circulation. Ishaat Hussain Replaces Cyrus Mistry as Interim Chairman of TCS Date: 9 November, 2016 Place: Mumbai Field: IT services, IT consulting TATA is passing through a turbulent time. An internal conflict is going on between Ratan Tata and Cyrus Mistry. Tata Sons, the largest shareholder in Tata Consultancy Services, with 73.26% stake, has removed Cyrus Mistry as the chairman of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), and nominated Mr. Ishaat Hussain as the interim chairman of the IT major with immediate effect. Mr. Hussain will remain

chairman until a new person is appointed in his place. Mr. Mistry was replaced without holding any board meeting. TCS did not require to hold a board meeting to replace Mistry as Chairman because Article 90 of the company’s Articles of Association allows its majority shareholder to nominate a chairman without board resolution. Tata Sons which holds 28.01 % stake in IHCL also decided to hold an extraordinary general meeting for the removal of Cyrus P Mistry as director from the board of the Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), the company which runs the Taj group of hotels. Cyrus Mistry and Ratan Tata is having some tussel regarding the management decisions.

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ISSUES 2016

2,071 Industrialists owe ` 3.89 lakh crore to Banks Date: 22 November, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Banking It is hard to know that ` 3.89 lakh crore loan pending on 2,071 industrialists. It is estimated that each of the industrialist has borrowed ` 50 crore or more. It is equally ironical that the amounts have turned into non-performing assets (NPAs), or

Date: 4 July, 2016

bad loans. In terms of instructions of RBI, every bank has to have its own recovery policy, including the manner and procedure of write-offs. Loans are written off after appropriate provisions have been made to take advantage of tax benefits and capital optimization. In respect of technical writeoffs, RBI has permitted write-offs at the head office level while recovery efforts are still continued at the branch level. Therefore it is clear that these loans are taken for tax benefits.

Implementing Uniform Civil Code

Place: Delhi

Field: Constitutional

Uniform Civil Code is a proposal to have a generic set of governing laws for every citizen without taking into consideration the religion. Article 44 of the Constitution says that there should be a Uniform Civil Code. According to this article, “The State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India”. Since the Directive Principles are only guidelines, it is not mandatory to use them.

Uniform Civil Code was one of the key issues debated during the writing of the Constitution, with passionate arguments on both sides. However, unable to arrive at a solution, a directive principle was struck regarding this in the constitution. But, several members of the Constituent Assembly disagreed vehemently with the compromise and argued that one of the factors that have kept India back from advancing to nationhood has been the existence of personal laws based on religion which keep the nation divided into watertight compartments in many aspects of life. Though, after independence, few governments tried to have a UCC, religious conservative groups did not allow governments to proceed ahead in this regard.

India needs a Uniform Civil Code for the following reasons: A secular republic needs a common law for all citizens rather than differentiated rules based on religious practices. Another reason why a uniform civil code is needed is gender justice. The rights of women are usually limited under religious law, be it Hindu or Muslim. The practice of triple talaq is a classic example. Many practices governed by religious tradition are at odds with the fundamental rights guaranteed in the Indian Constitution. Courts have also often said in their judgements that the government should move towards a uniform civil code including the judgement in the Shah Bano case. India being a secular country guarantees its minorities the right to follow their own religion, culture and customs under Article 29 and 30. But implementing a Uniform Code will hamper India’s secularism. What is unfortunate is the demand for UCC has always been framed in the context of communal politics. Many see it as majoritarianism under the garb of social reform. This is the first time a government has asked the Law Commission, which has a crucial advisory role on legal reform, to look into the politically controversial issue of a uniform civil code.

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ISSUES 2016 Electoral Reforms

Electoral reform is an amendment in electoral systems to enhance the channel through which public desires are expressed in election results. Reforms include: • Voting systems, citizen initiatives, referendums , recall elections, • Vote-counting procedures • Rules about political parties, typically changes to election laws • Eligibility to vote • Nomination rules and ballot access • Electoral constituencies and election district borders • Ballot design and voting equipment • Election monitoring by candidates, political parties, etc. • Safety of voters and election workers • Measures against bribery and conflicts of interest • Financing of candidates and referendum campaigns • Factors affecting the rate of voter participation • State funding to political parties Major electoral reforms: Election staff deemed to be on deputation: The election staff is now deemed to be on deputation of Election Commission for the duration of elections. In this period, all such staff personnel are under superintendence of the Election Commission. Towards this purpose, the RoPA was amended in 1988 and a new section {Section 13CC} was included in the same. More proposers in Upper House Elections: Number of electors required to sign as proposers in nomination papers for elections to Rajya Sabha and State Legislative Councils has been increased to 10% of the electors of the constituency. Similarly, ten such electors, whichever is less, are required to prevent impractical candidates. RoPA amended to facilitate EVM: The Representation of the Peoples Act (RoPA) 1951, was amended to facilitate use of Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) in elections. ECI given teeth to tackle booth capturing: Section 58A has been inserted in the Representation of the Peoples Act, 1951. This has been done by providing adjournment of poll or countermanding of elections because of booth capturing. On such reports, Election Commission may declare the poll at the particular polling station as void and appoint a date for fresh poll or override election in that constituency. Insult to national honor may lead to disqualification: Any offence of insulting the Indian national flag or the Constitution of India or offence of preventing singing of national anthem are impending insults to National Honour Act, 1971. This shall hereafter lead disqualification for contesting elections to Parliament and state legislatures for a period of six years. Increase in security deposits and number of proposers: As a measure to check the multiplicity of non-serious candidates, the security amount has been increased. In the case of an election to the House of the People, the amount of security has been increased from `500 to `10,000 for the general candidate and from `250 to `5,000 for a candidate who is a member of a Scheduled caste or Scheduled Tribe. For elections to a State Legislative Assembly, the general candidates will make a deposit of `5,000 and `2,500 if they belong to a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe. Number of Proposers increased for Presidential Elections: Under the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections (Amendment) Ordinance, 1997, the number of proposers and seconders for presidential candidates have been increased to 50 each (as against the earlier 10), and the security deposit to ` 15,000 (earlier deposit ` 2500).

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ISSUES 2016

For the Vice-Presidential candidates the number of proposers and seconders is 20 and amount of the security deposit has been increased `15,000. It is a must for proposers and seconders to be members of the Electoral College comprising elected members from the state assemblies and Parliament. Restriction on contesting election from more than two constituencies: Under eligibility conditions, a candidate is not allowed to contest election from more than two parliamentary or assembly constituencies at General Election. Provisions on Death of candidate: No election recalled on the death of a contesting candidate. If the deceased candidate was from a recognized national or state party, the party will be given an option to nominate another candidate within seven days of the issue of a notice. Taking arms to or near to Polling station is Cognizable Offense: carrying any kind of arms as defined in Arms Act 1959 within the neighbourhood of a pooling station is now a cognizable offence. It is punishable with imprisonment up to two years or with fine or with both. Holidays on Polling Day: All registered electors who are employed in any business, trade industrial undertaking or any other establishment shall be entitled to a paid holiday on the day of poll. The daily wagers will also receive their wages for that day. Prohibition on sale of liquor: No liquor or intoxicants shall be sold, given or distributed at any shop, eating place, hotel or any other place, whether public or private, within a polling area during the period of 48 hours ending with the hour fixed for the conclusion of poll. Model Code of Conduct: The Code of Conduct lays down guidelines as to how political parties and candidates should conduct themselves during elections. This includes: From the time the elections are announced by the Commission, Ministers and other authorities cannot announce any financial grant, promise construction of roads , lay foundation stones of projects of schemes, , carry out any appointments in government and public undertakings which may influence the voters in favour of the ruling party. The Commission has been effectively using the MCC as a tool to ensure honest, free and fair elections in India.

32 Years too old, for UPSC Date: 29 July, 2016 Place: New Delhi Issue: Change of civil service age is a major long standing issue. Recently UPSC-appointed Committee has recommended to the Union Government that the upper age-limit for appearing in the examinations such as the IAS and IPS be reduced to 26 years from the current 32 for general category students over the next 5-7 years. Over the years, the age limit for the general category has gone up from 24 years to 32 in the year 2014. However, nothing has been mentioned about the age criteria for SC/ST, for whom the upper age limit is 37 years. The current upperlimit for general, able-bodied candidates is 32. The Committee recommended it be reduced to 27 over five years after being followed for two years. This suggestion was

made because thousands of students who spend years preparing for the examination might find their careers at stake, if suddenly declared ineligible.

17000 Public Toilets In Delhi Date: 29 July, 2016 Place: Delhi Field: Sanitation The Delhi Government is planning to make the national capital open defecation free, on account of which 17000 toilets will be constructed at a cost of Rs. 150 crore. Around 211 locations have been identified for this purpose by the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB). A database of toilets have been prepared in such localities and the agency is about to start the construction work. This initiative will also educate slum dwellers not to defecate in the open, regarding the problems associated with the same.

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ISSUES 2016 Committee for Seventh Central Pay Commission Issues Date: 13 September, 2016 Place: New Delhi The 7th Pay Commission report is considered controversial by different experts. It spans a big controversy that has to do with the near monopoly currently enjoyed by the IAS and how to end it, once and for all. This controversy has acquired increased urgency after the turf war between the officers of the Indian administrative and revenue services. As per the 7th Pay Commission, IAS officers get two extra increments at promotion stages and it wanted to extend the same to the IPS and the Indian Forest Service. Other all-India Services and Central Services (Group A) are not getting proper representation either. The IAS officers always had a two-year edge compared to other services.

The solution that the 7th Pay Commission panel unveiled said that all personnel who have put in 17 years of service should be given equal opportunity for Central staff. The panel was overwhelmed by the reactions of Group A Services, who demanded that the services should have equal opportunities to man the senior-most posts and it should not be the preserve of a small group. In this regard a 22-member panel is formed to look into the issue. The panel will be headed by DoPT (Department of Personnel and Training) secretary. From the Government side, it will have Member (Staff) Railway Board, secretaries of Department of Telecommunications and Department of Posts, Financial Adviser, Defence Ministry, two joint secretaries from DoPT and another Joint Secretary (Personnel) in Finance Ministry as its members. From the staff side a Deputy Secretary of the DoPT will be MemberSecretary of the panel which has 13 people.

Unrest in Kashmir

The 2016 unrest in Kashmir,is also being referred to as Burhan aftermath. A series of violent protests in the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir started with the killing of Burhan Wani. Burhan Wani was a militant commander of the Kashmirbased Hizbul Mujahideen. He was killed by Indian security forces on 8 July 2016. His killing triggered anti-Indian protests in all 10 districts of the Kashmir Valley. Protesters spurned curfew with attacks on security forces and public properties. With imposing curfew in all 10 districts of the valley, mobile services were suspended by the Government. Kashmir valley remained under 53 days of consecutive curfew which was lifted from all areas on 31 August. However, it was reimposed in some areas the next day. In order to control the violence and repeated attacks on police, Jammu and Kashmir Police and Indian paramilitary forces used pellet guns, rubber bullets, tear gas shells and assault rifles. This resulting in deaths of more than 85 civilians, with over 13,000 civilians injured. Two security personnel died and over 4,000 personnel were injured in the riots. Neighbouring country, Pakistan tried to take advantage of the situation and tried to make the issue a butt of criticism across the World.Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif expressed “shock” over the killing of Burhan Wani and other civilians by the Indian security forces. He also said that it was “deplorable that excessive and unlawful force was used against the civilians”. The Indian Government responded to the strategic indulgence of Pakistan by saying that the Pakistan Government’s view on Wani’s killing reflected its association with terrorism and strictly advised it to refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of India.

Punjab Govt Includes Few Castes in Backward Classes List Date: 26 September, 2016 Place: Chandigarh Field: Caste Based Reservation

When caste based reservation is a debatable issue in India recently the Punjab Government has approved the inclusion of Gosai/Goswami, Yadav/Aahir and Rabari Communities in the list of Backward Classes of the state. The Cabinet also decided

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ISSUES 2016

Date: 10 November, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: National Security Considering Naga underground factions’ increased indulgence in extortion and inter-factional rivalry, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs has extended Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in three districts of Arunachal Pradesh. The districts (Tirap, Changlang, and Longding) have been specified as ‘disturbed areas’

under Section 3, AFSPA. The Parliament had enacted AFSPA in 1958 to confer special powers upon the armed forces in disturbed areas declared under the Act. It provides army officers and jawans legal immunity for their actions in disturbed areas. Under this act, a member of the Indian armed forces cannot be prosecuted or tried in any criminal or civil court for any act committed by him or her while performing duty in a disturbed area. Moreover, no court or quasi-judicial body can question the government’s decision to declare any area disturbed. Presently, the AFSPA is in force in Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, Nagaland, Manipur (except Imphal municipal area), Arunachal Pradesh (in above 3 districts plus a 20-km belt bordering Assam) and Meghalaya (along 20-km area bordering Assam). Earlier in August 2015, the Union Government had signed a ‘framework agreement’ with NSCN-IM to find a final solution to the six-decade-old Naga issue.

End of Ebola Outbreak in West Africa Date: 13 January, 2016 Place: Geneva Field: Health Issue: Disease World Health Organization (WHO) declared the end Ebola virus disease in Liberia, stating that all known chains of transmission have been stopped in West Africa. Guinea was birthplace of deadliest Ebola outbreak in history and was initially centred on country’s remote south-eastern region of Nzerekore in 2013. Later it had spread to its neighbouring countries Liberia and Sierra Leone and also seven other countries. It has already claimed the lives of more than 11,300 people and infected over 28,500, according to the reports by WHO. The epidemic in West Africa has already caused more than 20 thousand deaths. World’s Most Expensive Train Station Date: 27 February, 2016 Place: New York Field: Transport

The world’s most expensive train station is going to be functional in New York. It is ready for its grand opening. Constructed at the cost of $4 billion, nearly twice the original estimate, the World Trade Center Transportation Hub is ready for the thousands of PATH commuters who will flow through the facility that connects to 11 subway lines. Designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, the centerpiece of the hub is the Oculus, a cavernous hall that features white steel ribs reaching to the structure’s apex to form a skylight called the Wedge of Light. The skylight will open 22 feet on a nice spring day as well as in observance of 9/11. The expansive space sits on a heated, white Italian marble flooring. Outside of the heart of transportation hub, steel arches jut from the center of the rib-like structure in a design that appears to be a bird being released from a child’s hands. Sized at 350 feet long, roughly the size of a soccer field, the Oculus will have 75,000 square feet of retail space. Once complete, the whitewinged building will also be used as an event space, likely hosting fashion shows, concerts or food tastings. The design of the

to extend the Bhagat Puran Singh Sehat Beema Yojna to provide health insurance to 40 lakh blue card holders, farmers, traders and labourer families which was expiring on October 31. Henceforth the Cabinet gave its nod to extend this policy from November 1, 2016 to October 31, 2017. This decision may encourage other states to take this type of decision. AFSPA Extended to 3 Districts of Arunachal Pradesh

INTERNATIONAL

ISSUES 2016 most expensive train station is described as a “message of love to the city” inspiring optimism and exemplifying the tenacity to rebuild after the devastating terror attacks of 9/11. The WTC Transportation Hub will see 250,000 people move through the facility a day.

Maria Sharapova Suspended Failing Drugs Test Date: 8 March, 2016 Place: Los Angeles Field: Sports Issue: Drugs Abuse Maria Sharapova has been temporarily banned from tennis after she tested positive at in a drug test ahead of the Australian Open for a recently banned drug that she has been taking for 10 years for health reasons. She had been taking the drug called meldonium under the name of mildronate and was unaware of both the different name and the fact it is on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s banned list until she received a letter notifying her of the positive test 10 days ago. According to Tennis Anti-Doping Programme and Wada guidelines Sharapova can face a ban up to four years

India Ranks 118th on UN’s World Happiness Index 2016 Date: 20 March, 2016 Place: New York Issue: Social People live happily in a society which stands on equality. Discrimination, caste prejudice and economic inequality made the people of India unhappy. Therefore India was ranked 118th in the list, down one slot from last year on the index. The report takes into account the GDP per capita, life expectancy, social support and freedom to make life choices as indicators of happiness. Switzerland was ranked second on the list, followed by Iceland (3), Norway (4) and Finland (5). The report said that India was among the group of 10 countries witnessing the biggest happiness declines, along with Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Yemen and Botswana. India comes below Somalia (76), China (83), Pakistan (92), Iran (105), Palestinian Territories (108) and Bangladesh (110). The U.S. is ranked 13th, coming behind Australia (9) and Israel (11).

CA-223 World Sparrow Day Date: 20 March, 2016 Place: Mumbai Field: Biodiversity conservation Issue: Extinction 20th March was observed as the World Sparrow Day to raise awareness across the world about the house sparrow (Passer domesticus) and other common birds in the urban environments, and the threats to their diminishing populations. The international initiative was taken up by the Nature Forever Society of India in association with the Eco-Sys Action Foundation (France) and numerous other national and international organisations across the world. The first World Sparrow Day was celebrated in 2010. On 14th August 2012 the house sparrow was declared to be the state bird of Delhi at the launch of the Rise for the Sparrow Campaign by the Nature Forever Society. This year’s theme is ‘Rise for the SPARROW-Experience the power of one.’ The theme has been inspired by the hope that more and more of us will celebrate the relationship between People and Sparrows. World Water Day Date: 22 March, 2016 Place: New York [UN] Field: Water conservation Water scarcity affects every continent at least one month out of every year. More than 1.2 billion people lack access to clean drinking water. March 22nd was celebrated as World Water Day to generate global awareness among people on the importance of fresh water and advocates for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. The theme of World Water Day 2016 is “Water and Jobs,” a campaign coordinated by the International Labour Organization (ILO) on behalf of UN-Water. It will focus on how enough quantity and quality of water can change workers’ lives and livelihoods - and even transform societies and economies. International Day of Forests Date: 21st March, 2016 Place: UN Field: Conservation of Nature Forests cover one third of the Earth’s land mass, performing vital functions around the world. Around 1.6 billion people - including

CA-224 more than 2,000 indigenous cultures depend on forests for their livelihood. In order to address the issue, 21st March was observed as the International Day of Forests to raise awareness about all types of forests, and trees outside forests, for the benefit of current and future generations. The theme of the 2016 is “forests and water”. The day was observed for the first time on March 21, 2013 after the resolution of the United Nations General Assembly on November 28, 2012. World Tuberculosis Day Date: 20th March, 2016 Place: Geneva Field: Health Tuberculosis kills about 2 million people each year. The breakdown in health services, the spread of HIV/AIDS and the emergence of multidrug-resistant TB are contributing to the worsening impact of this disease. In this direction, World Tuberculosis Day was observed on 24th March to build public awareness about the worldwide epidemic of tuberculosis (TB) and efforts to eradicate the disease. The theme for World TB Day 2016 was Unite to End TB. The day commemorates the astounding discovery of the cause of tuberculosis, i.e. the TB bacillus in 1882 by Dr Robert Koch which opened the way towards diagnosing and curing TB. Dengue Vaccination Date: 4 April, 2016 Place: Philippines Field: Health Sanofi’s dengue vaccine is the first WHO approved vaccination for dengue. It has been proved effective against all four serotypes of the disease. The vaccine can prevent more than 80% of hospitalisations and up to 93% of severe dengue cases in the targeted 9-year and older, at-risk population. With this approval world’s first public dengue vaccination programme was launched in Philippines. Several hundred children aged 9-10 were administered the injection. Dengue or haemorrhagic fever, the world’s most common mosquito-borne virus, infects an estimated 390 million people in more than 120 countries each year, killing more than 25,000, according to the World Health Organization.

ISSUES 2016 Indo Germany Agreement on Ganga Rejuvenation Date: 13 April, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Environment & Ecology Problems: Pollution An Implementation Agreement for Ganga Rejuvenation under the Namami Gange Programme was signed in New Delhi between the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation and German International Cooperation (GIZ) of Germany. For a long time the pollution of Ganga has been imposing a greater threat to marine eco-system and human beings. This problem could not be solved by the Government despite several initiatives. ‘Namami Gange’ Programme, is a flagship programme of Government of India with a renewed impetus to decrease river pollution and conserve the revered river ‘Ganga’.

22% Increase in Global Tiger Population in 100 Years Date: 12 April, 2016 Place: Gland, Switzerland Field: Tiger Conservation Across their range, tigers face unrelenting pressures from poaching, retaliatory killings and habitat loss. They are forced to compete for space with dense and often growing human populations. Despite countries such as India, Nepal, Russia and Bhutan registering a spike in tiger population, the status of the animal remains endangered. According to the WWF, hundred years ago there were 100,000 wild tigers. By 2010, there were as few as 3,200. According to recent report of the WWF and the Global Tiger Forum there has been a 22% rise in the tiger population across the world. The number of wild tigers has increased to 3,890 an increase of almost 22% which is an increase in the number of the tigers for the first time in 100 years. India recorded an increase of over 500 tigers during this six-year period and continues to be home to the highest number of wild cats. The increase in world tiger population has been attributed to multiple factors including increases in the tiger populations in India, Russia, Nepal and Bhutan, improved surveys and enhanced protection.

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ISSUES 2016 Europe Becomes World’s First Region to End Malaria: WHO Date: 20 April, 2016 Place: Copenhagen Field: Health In the year 2015, there were 214 million cases of the malaria across the world and it had killed around 438,000 people, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa. WHO (World Health Organisation) has declared that Europe has become the world’s first region to wipe out malaria, with zero cases reported last year. When a country has zero locally acquired malaria cases for at least three consecutive years, it is eligible for official certification of malaria elimination by the WHO. World Day for Safety and Health at Work Date: 28 April, 2016 Place: Globally Field: Health Every day, 6,300 people die as a result of occupational accidents or work-related diseases – more than 2.3 million deaths per year. 317 million accidents occur on the job annually; many of these resulting in extended absences from work. The human cost of this daily adversity is vast and the economic burden of poor occupational safety and health practices is estimated at

4 per cent of global Gross Domestic Product each year. To create awareness in this regard the World Day for Safety and Health at Work is an annual international campaign observed on 28 April and has been observed by the International Labour Organization (ILO) since 2003. The annual World Day for Safety and Health at Work promotes the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases globally. The theme for World Day for Safety and Health at Work 2016 is “Workplace Stress: a collective challenge”. World Malaria Day Date: 25 April, 2016 Place: Worldwide Field: Health World Malaria Day (WMD) is an international observance commemorated every year on 25 April and recognizes global efforts to control malaria. The day was established in May 2007 by the 60th session of the World Health Assembly. WMD is one of eight official global public health campaigns currently marked by the World Health Organization (WHO), along with World Health Day, World Blood Donor Day, World Immunization Week, World Tuberculosis Day, World No Tobacco Day, World Hepatitis Day and World AIDS Day.

India 5th Largest Producer of e-waste in World

Date: 25 May, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Environment Problems: e-Waste In India, e-waste management assumes greater significance not only due to the generation of its own e-waste but also because of the dumping of e-waste from developed countries. e-waste generation in India is approximately 1,46,000 tonnes to 3.3 lakh tonnes a year and is expected to touch 4.7 lakh tones. The projected growth for e-waste generation for India is about 34% per year. Of the total e-waste generated in the country, western India accounts for the largest population at 35%, while the southern, northern and eastern regions account for 30, 21 and 14%, respectively. The top states in order of highest contribution to waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) include Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Delhi, Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab. The city-wise ranking of the largest WEEE generators is Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkatta, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pune, Surat and Nagpur. The rising levels of e-waste generation in India have been a matter of concern in recent years. With more than 100 crore mobile phones in circulation, nearly 34% up in e-waste annually. India emerged as the fifth largest producer of e-waste in the world, but the second largest mobile market with 1.03 billion subscribers as per the ASSOCHAMKPMG joint study.

CA-226 World Migratory Bird Day Date: 10 May, 2016 Place: Globally Field: Biodiversity Many bird species migrate in order to survive. However, migration is a perilous journey and involves a wide range of threats. Only a small number of birds are actually threatened by natural events. Sad but true, human activities are the source for most dangers migrating birds are exposed to. And as diverse as people and their habits in different countries are, so are threats the birds face. The loss of habitats due to pollution or exploitation caused by encroachment for settlement, agriculture, grazing etc. is the main threat migrating birds face, as they are dependent on finding suitable breeding and wintering grounds as well as stopover sites along their flyways where they can rest and feed. This year the World Migratory Bird Day was celebrated on 10th May. The theme for WMBD 2016 is “Stop the Illegal Killing, Taking and Trade of Migratory Birds”. World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) was initiated in 2006 and is an annual awareness-raising campaign highlighting the need for the conservation of migratory birds and their habitats. Zika Virus Clone Date: 13 May, 2016 Place: Texas, USA Field: Health The rise in the spread of Zika virus has been accompanied by an unprecedented rise in the number of children being born with unusually small heads—identified as microcephaly. In addition, several countries, including Brazil, reported a steep increase in Guillain-Barré syndrome—a neurological disorder that could lead to paralysis and death. According WHO Zika virus infection during pregnancy is a cause of congenital brain abnormalities, including microcephaly; and that Zika virus is a trigger of Guillain-Barré syndrome. Zika virus continues to spread geographically to areas where mosquitoes are present that can transmit the virus. Up to now there is specific medication for this disease. Recently scientists for the first time cloned the Zika virus, a development that could bring a desperately needed vaccine within closer reach. The mosquito-borne virus-

ISSUES 2016 which can also be sexually transmittedhas torn through Latin America in recent months, bringing an increase in microcephaly, a condition in which babies are born with abnormally small heads and underdeveloped brains. The U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has created a trial vaccine for similar viruses that can be used as a starting point for a Zika vaccine, and the Jenner Institute has conducted trials with mice and aims to hold clinic trials by 2017. World Wildlife Crime Report

Date: 24 May, 2016 Place: Vienna Field: Wildlife In more than 50 years of conservation, the world has never seen wildlife crime on such a scale. Illegal wildlife trade has exploded to meet increasing demand for elephant ivory, rhino horns, and tiger products, particularly in Asia. Controlled by dangerous crime syndicates, wildlife is trafficked much like drugs or weapons. Wildlife criminals often operate with impunity, making the trade a low-risk/high-profit business. Today, it is the fifth most profitable illicit trade in the world, estimated at up to $10 billion annually. Recently launched World Wildlife Crime Report highlights how the poaching and illegal trade of thousands of different species across the globe present real environmental dangers. The report also urges shared responsibility in tackling this crime given how products made from illicit flora and fauna such as fashion items, furniture, food, and pets, may be hidden in plain sight. The World Wildlife Crime Report sheds light on seven specific areas which best illustrate the scale of wildlife and forest crime. They are seafood; pets, zoos and breeding; food, medicine and tonics; art, décor and jewellery; cosmetics and perfume; fashion; and furniture. 39 Unreported Sources of SO2 Pollution Date: 2 June, 2016 Place: USA Field: Science The unreported sources of toxic sulfur dioxide emissions are clusters of coalburning power plants, smelters and oil and gas operations in the Middle East, Mexico and Russia that were found recently. The emissions were two or three times higher

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ISSUES 2016 than those reported from known sources in those regions. The unreported and underreported sources accounted for about 12% of all human-made emissions of sulfur dioxide. The discrepancy could have a large impact on regional air quality. The satellite-based data is the first to provide regular annual information on these volcanic emissions as they are located on remote locations and not monitored. Operation ‘Sankat Mochan’ Date: 13 July, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Foreign Affairs There are over 550 Indians at Juba and another 150 in areas where the oil wells are located. South Sudan has been hit by violence which has claimed hundreds of lives till now. The conflict is because of clashes between government troops and forces loyal to Vice President Riek Machar. Thousands of Indians are working in the Gulf countries and they are in serious threat due to growing militarism of ISIS. In this regard Operation Sankat Mochan is the first big evacuation effort in a year after Operation Rahat that evacuated hundreds of citizens of India and other countries in July 2015. ‘Sankat Mochan’ will evacuate Indian citizens stranded in South Sudan’s capital Juba. Sankat Mochan in Hindi means reliever from troubles. The operation is

being undertaken by Indian Air Force (IAF) and will be headed by Union Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs General (Retd.) VK Singh. Antarctic Ozone Hole Date: 1 July, 2016 Place: Australia Field: Environment The seasonal thinning of the ozone layer of the earth’s atmosphere above Antarctica, allowing abnormal amounts of ultra-violet light to reach the earth’s surface in those regions. The Antarctic ozone hole is a dramatic thinning of ozone in the stratosphere over Antarctica each spring. This damage is not only due to the availability of ozone-depleting substances in the stratosphere, but also specific meteorological conditions that facilitate the destruction of ozone over Antarctica. The ozone holes in 2000 and 2006 were the largest on record, measuring around 29.8 and 29.6 million square kilometres respectively more than three and a half times the size of Australia, and at times extended over populated areas. For the first time it is found that the thinning in the ozone layer above Antarctica is starting to heal. The healing of ozone layer was due to the long term phasing out (banning) of ozone-destroying chemicals (ODCs) such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in Montreal Protocol 1987.

Pakistani Artists Controversy

The Uri attack on 18th September 2016, that happened to be the deadliest attack on security forces in two decades, not just became the centre of unrest for the beautiful valley of Kashmir, but also brought consistent turmoil and outrage in the country. The matter escalated after the ultimatum from MNS stated all Pakistani artists to leave India with immediate effect and stalling of their projects with Bollywood. While on one side our army announced surgical strikes across the Line of Control in POK, on the other side, filmmakers and artists from the tinsel town were repeatedly forced by MNS and outrageous civilians to do away with all their connections with the Pakistani artistes. The centre of the controversy remained the much talked about Pakistani actor, Fawad Khan who played a special role in Karan Johar’s Diwali release ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’. Social media and other platforms got trolled over with comments by citizens who went over emotional and carried away by the political voice of the MNS and went in favour of banning all Pakistani artists and actors in Bollywood. The Bollywood actors like Om Puri, Salman Khan and Karan Johar who supported the Pakistani actors working in the industry also got immediate response in the form of anguish from the citizens. While terrorism remains a scourge on the society, we all need to realize that nothing can justify this terror act and boycotting Pakistani artistes is no solution to terrorism. Instead the larger forces should come together and sort the situation through mutual talks and a middle path rather than shooting arrow in the dark.

CA-228 International Day against Nuclear Tests Date: 29 August, 2016 Place: Globally Field: Nuclear Tests The International Day against Nuclear Tests is observed on August 29. It was established on December 2, 2009 at the 64th session of the United Nations General Assembly by the resolution 64/35, which was adopted unanimously. The Day is meant to galvanize the United Nations, Member States, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and the media to inform, educate and advocate the necessity of banning nuclear weapon tests.

Toxic Air Pollution Particles in Human Brain Date: 6 September, 2016 Place: London Field: Environmental Pollution Scientists have for the first time discovered tiny magnetic particles from air pollution lodged in human brains – which could be a possible cause of Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers at Lancaster University found abundant magnetite nano particles in the brain tissue from 37 individuals aged three to 92-years-old who lived in Mexico City and Manchester and this strongly magnetic mineral is toxic and has been implicated in the production of reactive oxygen species (free radicals) in the human brain, which are associated with neuro degenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s disease. The particles that found are strikingly similar to the magnetite nano spheres that are abundant in the airborne pollution found in urban settings. These results indicate that magnetite nano particles in the atmosphere can enter the human brain, where they might pose a risk to human health, including conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease. The issue is crucial as air pollutants are affecting the human brain that many cause a serioius threat. Nearly 50 million Children Uprooted Worldwide – UNICEF Date: 7 September, 2016 Place: UN, New York Field: Migration The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on 7 September 2016 released the report titled Uprooted: The growing

ISSUES 2016 crisis for refugee and migrant children. According to the report, nearly 50 million children have been uprooted across the globe and millions more migrating in the hope of finding a better, safer life. Children make over half of all the refugees who have been displaced by wars and conflicts. These children represent a growing proportion of those who have sought refuge outside their countries of birth. Last year, nearly 45 per cent of all the child refugees came from Syria and Afghanistan. India Ranked 143rd Position in the Latest Health Index Date: 26 September, 2016 Place: UN Field: Health A new index developed to assess each country’s achievement on a range of health indicators ranks India at 143 in a list of 188 countries. This first global analysis to assess countries on sustainable development goal (SDG) health performance was launched at a special event at the UN General Assembly. India was placed just ahead of Pakistan and Bangladesh which were ranked 149th and 151st respectively. India’s poor performance on hygiene, air pollution and mortality were among the factors that placed it lower than countries like Bhutan, Botswana, Syria and Sri Lanka.

9 Out of 10 People in World Breathing Polluted Air – WHO Date: 27 September, 2016 Place: Geneva Field: Pollution It is pathetic to know that more than 9 out of 10 people worldwide live in areas with excessive air pollution, contributing to strokes, heart disease, lung cancer and other problems, says WHO Report on Ambient Air Pollution 2016. The new report says that 92 per cent of people live in areas where air quality exceeds WHO limits, with southeast Asia, eastern Mediterranean and western Pacific regions hardest hit. Turkmenistan has the highest rate of deaths per capita due to ambient air pollution in the WHO’s classification, followed by Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Egypt and China. India alone accounting for over 75 per cent of the casualties caused by cardiovascular diseases and lung cancer.

ISSUES 2016 India Formally Joined the Paris Climate Change Agreement Date: 3 October, 2016 Place: UN Field: Environment The Paris Agreement calls on countries to take actions post-2020 to combat climate change and intensify their efforts needed for a sustainable low carbon future. It is meant to limit global warming “well below” 2 degrees Celsius and as close to 1.5 degrees Celsius as possible to increase economic ability to adapt to extreme climate. India has decided to formally join the Paris Climate Change Agreement. It is been done by submitting its instrument of ratification at UN headquarters in New York on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. India accounts for about 4.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Highest Number of People Living Below Poverty Line in India Date: 4 October, 2016 Place: Washington DC Field: Poverty India has the world’s largest poor population for the same reason why it has the world’s second largest non-poor population. In the past 20 years, India has been quite fast in bringing down the number of poor. In 1981, nearly half were under the World Bank’s poverty line. Now, the numbers are less than 20%. That is significant. The only other major country to pull off poverty this drastically is China. In 1981, about 400 million Indians were above the World Bank defined poverty line. Today, the number above that line is close to 1 billion. In short, 600 million Indians got above the poverty line somewhere in the last generation. As per World Bank’s recent report India accounted for the largest number of people living below international poverty line in 2013, with 30 per cent of its population under the $1.90-a-day poverty measure. Global Hunger Index, India Ranks 97/118

Date: 13 October, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Poverty While India has improved its score on various parameters over the past few years,

CA-229 two out of five children below five years of age are stunted in India. Stunting measures chronic malnutrition and affected children’s height would be considerably below the average for their age. However, India ranked 97th out of 118 countries on the International Food Policy Research Institute’s (IFPRI) Global Hunger Index (GHI) in 2016. The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is a multidimensional statistical tool used to describe the state of countries’ hunger. The GHI measures progress and failures in the global fight against hunger. The GHI is updated once a year. Cybersecurity Engagement Centre in India

Date: 22 October, 2016 Place: US Field: Cybersecurity Cyber security condition in India is detoriating day by day. As there is no concrete and comprehensive agency to monitor the issue the culprits easily carry on their mission. In this regard Microsoft has launched its first full-scale Cybersecurity Engagement Center (CSEC) in Delhi. It is first-of-its-kind Cybersecurity Centre in India and overall 7th in the world including in Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing, Singapore, Berlin and Washington DC. The CSEC will bring together Microsoft capabilities to foster deeper Cybersecurity collaborations with public and private sector organisations. It will offer services such as cyber monitoring, threat detection using machine learning based technology and take evasive measures to combat cyber threat. India Ranks 87th on the WEF’s Global Gender Gap Report 2016

Date: 26 October, 2016 Place: Geneva Field: Gender Equality India is among the 20 worst performing countries on labour force participation front and ranks low in terms of earned incomes by women. Also in literacy rate and sex ratio at birth, India scores low. India’s labour participation rate fell to 29 per cent in 2010 from 37 per cent in 2005. Many explanations have been offered that give a rosy picture than the likely reality.

CA-230 In women’s education, there are hindrances from primary school stage, the dropout rates of girls is higher because of lack of separate toilets for girls in most villages. Girls’ safety concerns in travelling long distances from home to schools are also a consideration in withdrawing girls from schools at puberty. Girls are taught to look after siblings, cooking and to help around the house because of the age old marriage and child bearing role assigned to them. Most businesses are male owned and there are only a handful of women at the helm of family businesses. Perhaps it is a cultural issue also. On the whole, India cannot hope to shine if half the population is deprived, insecure, and anaemic and has many barriers to entry in paid jobs as compared to men. What the Gender Gap Index shows is a reflection of reality that no matter how rapidly India grows, women’s status in society needs faster improvement. India was ranked low at 87th place globally in terms of gender equality despite a jump of 21 places from last year largely due to progress on the education front while Iceland has topped the chart. China Unveiled J – 20 Stealth Jet Fighters Date: 2 November, 2016 Place: Zhuhai, China Field: Defence The J-20 fighter is called Beijing’s answer to the US F-22 stealth fighter and the F-35 that would be soon bring into the action in the Pacific by the United States and Japan. It is a long-range, radar-avoiding stealth combat aircraft, first flew in 2011 but had not been shown to the public. The unmanned systems would be another feature. India being deeply concerned with this latest development is acquiring fighter aircraft with stealth features and this is why the Rafale aircraft being acquired from France which has special stealth features. Freedom of the Press Declining Date: 3 November, 2016 Place: Washington Field: Freedom of Press

ISSUES 2016 According to the latest Freedom of the Press report the number of countries showing a decline in freedom for the year is 72, the largest since the 10-years. Just 43 countries made gains. Over the past 10 years, 105 countries have seen a net decline, and only 61 have experienced a net improvement. Ratings for the Middle East and North Africa region were the worst in the world in 2015, followed closely by Eurasia. Over the last decade, the most significant global reversals have been in freedom of expression and the rule of law. The report says, only 13 per cent of the world’s population enjoys a free press, which means places where coverage of political news is robust, the safety of journalists is guaranteed, state intrusion in media affairs is minimal, and the press is not subject to onerous legal or economic pressures. In terms of stories related to environment and land development, the report highlighted the story of two Indian journalists, namely Sandeep Kothari and Jagendra Singh, who were killed. The Global Climate 2011-2015: Hot and Wild

Date: 8 November, 2016 Place: Geneva‎, Switzerland Field: Environment, Health The year 2015 made history, with exhausted temperature records, intense heatwaves, unusual rainfall, destructing drought and unusual tropical cyclone activity, according to the World Meteorological Organization. That record-breaking trend has continued in 2016. The record temperatures were accompanied by rising sea levels and decrease in Arctic sea-ice extent, continental glaciers and northern hemisphere snow cover. The average temperature in 2015 had already reached the 1 degree-Celsius mark. We just had the hottest five-year period on record, with 2015 declaring the title of hottest individual year announced by WMO. The global average surface temperature in 2015 broke all previous records by a wide marging, at about 0.76° Celsius above the 1961-1990 average because of a powerful El Niño and human-caused global warming. With 93% of excess heat stored in the oceans, ocean heat content down to 2 000 meters also hit a new record.

ISSUES 2016 Australia Ratifies Paris Climate Change Agreement Date: 10 November, 2016 Place: Canberra, Australia Field: Environment Australia is on the track to beat 2020 target and committed to meet 2030 targets under the agreement. In order to meet the goal Australia ratified the Paris climate change agreement, on 10 November, 2016 to curb carbon emissions and reduce the risk of dangerous climate change. With the ratification, Australia aims towards limiting global warming to two degrees and set five-yearly targets for cutting emissions and reduce 2005 levels emissions by 26 to 28 per cent by 2030. More than 100 nations representing 70 per cent of the world’s emissions and threequarters of global GDP, have ratified the deal. However, Donald Trump’s election to the US presidency has put the global action on climate change under threat as he would withdraw America from the Paris agreement, and stop spending on UN climate change programs. The Paris Agreement is an agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that deals with greenhouse gases emissions mitigation, adaptation and finance starting in the year 2020. The agreement commits that no country can back out until November 2020 at the earliest. In 2015, 1.6 million Died Due to Pollution in India, China : Greenpeace Date: 2 December, 2016 Place: Delhi Field: Environment Pollution It is shocking to know that around 1.6 million people died in India and China in 2015 due to air pollution caused by fossil fuel, particularly coal, according to recent report of Greenpeace. The use of fossil fuel particularly coal is the main cause behind this tragedy. The report outlines that out of the 10 countries with the highest air pollution death rates, half were middle-income counties including India. Air pollution generally reduces as a country’s GDP increase. But China and India have particularly bad air pollution despite recent economic growth is a major cause of concern.

CA-231 Air pollution is among the top causes of premature death worldwide, causing only slightly fewer deaths than tobacco smoking. In both China and India, indoor air pollution deaths are falling and the rate is now lower than the outdoor air pollution death rate. Nikesh Arora’s Exit from SoftBank Group Date: 21 June, 2016 Place: Tokyo Field: Banking Nikesh Arora’s unexpected departure from SoftBank Group Corp. has raised eyebrows. Earlier he had left Google Inc. and joined SoftBank Group with a huge salary of $135 million. The main reason of his exit is that SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, who handpicked the Silicon Valley deal maker to be his successor. Nikesh Arora also faced a barrage of criticism from investors over lackluster investments, with some shareholders having mounted a campaign to oust him, questioning his record and suggesting his role as an adviser to private-equity firm Silver Lake constituted a conflict of interest. The exit is controversial as Mr. Arora is considered as a highly talented business brain internationally. India Ranked 112th in World Economic Freedom Index Date: 17 September, 2016 Place: Washington DC Field: Economic Freedom The uneven spread of economic freedom in India is a reminder to state-level policymakers that there is much they too can do to improve the welfare of their citizens. Corruptions, black money along with uneven growth are some of the major hindrances of Indian economic freedom. The recent Index shows India has fared badly in all categories i.e. legal system and property rights (86), sound money (130), freedom to trade internationally (144) and regulation (132) except the size of the government (8) as per the Economic Freedom Index. India has slipped by 10 positions to 112th. The Index of Economic Freedom is an annual index and ranking created by The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal in 1995 to measure the degree of economic freedom in the world’s nations.

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ISSUES 2016 Major Product Recall

A product recall is appeal to return a product. This is done in particular after the discovery of product defects that might endanger the consumer safety or put the seller at risk of legal action. Product recall is an effort to control downfall of the corporate image and limit liability for corporate negligence, which can result in significant legal costs. It is hard to determine how firm can be releasing a product that could endanger customer’s life and lead to unwanted publicity. Recalls are highly expensive. Consumer protection laws have specific preconditions with the regard to product recalls. Such requirements include the maker will have to bear the cost; conditions under which a recall is compulsory, or penalties for failure to recall. The firm may also initiate a recall voluntarily. A product recall usually involves the following steps, which may differ according to local laws: • Maker or dealer notifies the authorities about their intention to recall a product. In some cases the government can also request a recall of a product. • The serial numbers or batch numbers, etc. to be recalled is specified. • Product recall announcements are released on the respective government agency’s website (if applicable). • After a consumer group learns of recall, it notifies the public by various means. • The consumer is advised to return the goods, regardless of condition, to the seller to avail full refund. • Conditions for possible consumer compensation depend on the specific laws depending on consumer trade protection and the cause of recall. Recent Recalls and bans of various products 1) Samsumg Note 7 recall: It is the biggest ever in the mobile phone industry. It resulted in various cases of phone catching fire or battery blasts. It is a painful lesson for Samsung to learn from and pay for. The recall is estimated to cost it $6.2 billion — in its quest to dominate yet another industry. 2) Samsung washing machines: Samsung had received 733 reports of washing machines experiencing excessive vibrations or the tops detaching. There were nine reports of related injuries, including a broken jaw and injured shoulder. 3) Hoverboards Recall: The Consumer Product Safety Commission lately announced the recall of more than a half-million hoverboards. The battery-powered machines had been the cause of at least 60 fires. The announcement affects 10 companies that make or sell the products, including Razor and Swagway. These two loss bearers are the leading manufacturers of hoverboards. 4) Takata,– The Japanese airbag manufacturer: This company is at the center of the largest auto safety recall in history. They revised its estimates of a profit in the latest fiscal year to a loss of $120 million . About 70 million vehicles are now being recalled in the United States to fix Takata airbags. Takata airbags explode violently when they deploy. Millions of vehicles have been recalled in other countries. 5) Volkswagen to Recall 8.5 Million Vehicles in Europe: Reacting to pressure from German regulators, Volkswagen recalled its entire fleet of rigged diesel cars in Europe. This happened owing to the carmaker company for its emissions cheating.

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ISSUES 2016 Oil War- Shale Revolution

Back in 2007 the world was predicting the US would only be able to supply oil for another 20 years. Contrary to that, there’s no oil famine in US. The US has so much oil that it is facing storage issues. This has sent the oil industry into its deepest downturn since the 1990s with the oil price collapsing to around $46 a barrel. The answer to this sudden turn of events is the US Shale Gas Boom. After Bush lifted the ban on oil drilling, it triggered the shale gas revolution. Tremendous production of oil and gas resulted from the use of advanced technology to enable horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracking. The effect was so enormous that US domestic production nearly doubled over the last several years. This pushed out oil imports and reduced its dependence on OPEC. But the boom also brought in the issue of oil war between Saudi’s OPEC and US’ shale gas drillers. For years, Saudi had been playing the oil game by cutting or driving up oil exports to the US when they feel like . They did it with the purpose of hurting the US economy in the process. Onset of shale gas cut OPEC’s market share in half. Saudi Arabia needs that market share to have a competitive advantage over the US and keep its dominance in the Middle East. Saudi with the purpose to destroy the US shale gas operators altered its strategy in favour of market share. Goal was to lower oil prices and force shale gas players out of business at any cost. The mantra was- keep pumping and pumping, and the oil price will tumble. A few years ago oil prices were at US$145 a barrel. Life was good for shale gas operators. From 2011-2014, Oil price remained around $100 a barrel. After that, the oil price tumbled to less than $35 a barrel, levels which were not seen since early 2009. More than 50 drilling companies filed for bankruptcy in Texas. OPEC was counting on it. US operators suddenly found themselves caught in an unprofitable system. The industry significantly decreased production and the number of completed oil wells fell 55% and gas wells dropped 37% in 2015 compared to the same time period a year earlier. Additionally, energy efficient cars like Tesla penetrated the market with the hope of displacing petrol cars. So, demand for fuel started to lag contributing to the recent oil price weakness. Contrarily, the shale oil industry not only survived but adapted and became robust. US production actually increased despite the lower rig count. The shale guys have become so efficient to produce much by spending less thus making it easier to make a profit when oil prices are weak. US drilling technology with advanced pad drilling techniques has smart drill bits with computer chips. This has resulted to have brought down costs by 50%. The Saudi led oil war backfired in the sense that it not failed to crush the US shale guys but inadvertently made them leaner. Revolution has had little impact on Saudi Arabia, Iraq, or Kuwait, owing to crude quality. Yet many US refineries are still geared towards the heavier and sour types of crude imported from the Middle East. It can be said that Saudi Arabia’s market share in the US appears to be relatively secure but not invulnerable. Oil war – Shale revolution In a latest development, oil shot up over 10 per cent after OPEC and Russia on 30th November cut a deal to reduce output to drain a global supply glut . The OPEC agreed to reduce its first oil output since 2008 after de-facto leader Saudi Arabia accepted “a big hit” and dropped a demand that arch-rival Iran also slash output. The cut of 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) was at the upper end of expectations (0.7-1.2 million bpd). After the announcements, the price for Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, shot up over 10 per cent from below $50 on 30th November to $51.92 per barrel at 0256 GMT. It is expected that prices could recede as the OPEC and Russia cuts would leave the field open for other producers, especially US shale drillers, to fill the gap.

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ISSUES 2016 South China Sea and UNCLOS

The South China Sea covers an area of nearly four million square kilometres. Every year, US$5 trillion passes through the Sea, making it one of the most important trade routes in the world. South China Sea is a resource battleground with an estimated 11 billion barrels of oil, 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 12% of the global fisheries catch. The Philippines had sought rulings on issues including the source of the parties’ rights and obligations in the South China Sea and the effect of UNCLOS on China’s claims to historic rights within its claimed ‘nine-dash line.’ The International Arbitration Tribunal is constituted under Annex VII to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). It issued its final Award in the compulsory arbitration instituted by the Republic of the Philippines against the People’s Republic of China. The tribunal’s decision was found in the Philippines’ favor. UNCLOS declares the Philippines’ right to operate inside its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and continental shelf without any Chinese harassment. China claims over more than 80% of the South China Sea. It provides Beijing with enough room to continue on its present course in the region. Beijing refused to accept the PCA(Permanent Court of Arbitration) ruling. It hardened its legal and diplomatic positions, and yet refrained from undertaking offensive actions aimed at changing the status quo. China has made an open declaration that will never halt its work on the artificial islands. On the other end, Wang also clarified that China does not appreciate outside interference to “divide relations between China and ASEAN”. This remark is likely addressed to US and Japan.

Global Trade Growth to be Just 1.7% in 2016: WTO Date: 27 September, 2016 Place: Geneva Field: International Trade The World Trade Organization lowered its global trade forecast, warning that anti-globalisation rhetoric and Brexit were pushing trade growth to its slowest pace since the financial crisis. The WTO announced that global trade was now estimated to expand by just 1.7 percent this year, compared to its earlier projection of 2.8 percent. The new figure is also a far cry from a projection a year ago that trade would swell by 3.9 percent this year. The contraction was driven (not only) by slowing GDP and trade growth in developing economies such as China and Brazil but also in North America, which had the strongest import growth of any region in 2014-15, but has decelerated since then was reported by WTO. With expected global GDP growth of 2.2 per cent in 2016, this year would mark the “slowest pace” of trade and output growth since the financial crisis of 2009.

Exchange of Nuclear Facilities List between Indo-Pak Date: 4th January, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Defense Issues: Nuclear Threat Effects: Reduce Tension India and Pakistan exchanged the list of their nuclear installations for the 25th consecutive year under a bilateral agreement that bars them from attacking each other’s atomic facilities. It was exchanged through diplomatic channels simultaneously at New Delhi and Islamabad. Earlier a bilateral agreement was signed between India and Pakistan by the then Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and his Pakistani counterpart Benazir Bhutto. It bars both nations from carrying out any surprise attack or to assist foreign power to attack on each other’s nuclear installations and facilities. Under it both countries inform each other about their nuclear installations and facilities that need to be covered under the Agreement on

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ISSUES 2016

1st January every year. The issues is important as the two neighbouring nations are always in conflict and both are nuclear capable states.

Europe’s Refugee Crisis

Date: 9 February, 2016 Place: EU Field: Human Rights Huge number of refugees and migrants have been shifting to Europe, from many countries like Syria, particularly since 2011. They see Europian Union (EU) as their asylum. With more number of refugees coming in at a time when the natives don’t want any more, the whole situation has developed into a crisis. This crisis is called European Refugee Crisis. Between 2000 and 2015, around 30, 000 refugees have perished along these borders. This figures stand as a witness that this crisis didn’t started only after ISIS emerged. The increasing number of unaccompanied minors seeking asylum in Europe is seen as a dangerous growing trend among refugees. In 2014 alone around 24,000 unaccompanied minors applied for asylum. Many of the children who arrive are at the age group of 15 to 17 with no formal schooling adding more headaches to host countries. Germany and the EU have been pushing for other EU members to work out a plan for asylum seekers. Britain leads among countries which strictly rejects it. The Right-Wing PM of Hungary has appealed to refugees not to try and cross into Hungary which has fenced its borders with razor wire. Bulgaria, Czech, Slovakia and Poland all are reluctant in taking of refugees making the situation grave. Germany is expected to give green signal to almost 1 million applicants for asylum. Initially Europe greeted immigrants with barbed wires, tear gas and police brutality. Only after huge outcry across International media and from human rights and progressive organisations within Europe, eased the curbs on refugees. Europe is the most preferred destination for the people from this war conflicted regions as its economically prosperous, socially secure and has friendly immigration laws. Mostly it’s not because refugees are opportunists that they walk to EU but it’s due to dangerous situation they and their families have to live. Endless wars, conflicts have ruined their countries political, economic and social equilibrium. Continuous dictatorship type regimes and Islamic fundamentalism made Middle East most volatile and a disturbed place on the planet. Western powers in order to make their oil supply smooth and to be part of Gulf Boom started in early 80’s always took a partial stand on these issues. Another villain to already worsened situation was Shia-Sunni divide among people, society and regimes which led to many conflicts. This reason has led many natives to flee as refugees in the past from Palestine, during Iraq-Iran war, Iraq-Kuwait war etc. Emergence of ISIS just sky rocketed the whole thing. Western powers in a way failed to bring stable regimes to these lands. In recent months, Europe has been facing the most severe refugee crisis since the World War-II. The problem has take a drastic political issue as much of the contention regarding resettlement quotas lies in the inability of EU member states to develop a central policy on asylum. Many EU countries have yet to properly implement any standards set previously. But the migrant crisis is reportedly worse than before — there are more people fleeing and the death toll is higher. The USA President elect Mr. Donald Trump has recently taken a critical stand on the issue. He favours to drive out the illegal migrants but this is not possible practically as the number is huge and the magnitude of the problem includes many intricate issues. In the mean time some major developments has taken place in different parts of Europe. The Kenyan Government has decided to close Dadaab refugee camp which is often referred to as the world’s largest refugee camp over the issue national security. The camp is home to 330000 refugees mostly from Somalia who have fled from the civil war in their country. The agreement between the European Union (EU) and Turkey to tackle the migrant crisis has formally come into effect. Under this agreement, migrants arriving in Greece will be sent back to Turkey if their asylum claim is rejected. Republican-dominated US House of Representatives has overwhelmingly voted to bar Syrian and Iraqi refugees from entering the United States over the security concerns. The bill was overwhelmingly voted by 289 in favour to 137 opposed and bill now needs to be passed by the Senate. It seeks to impose more stringent security provisions on already robust screening of Iraqi and Syrian refugees entering US.

CA-236 Nuclear Sanctions Lifted against Iran Date: 16 January, 2016 Place: Washington, D.C. Field: International Issues Problems: Iran’s Nuclear Programme Since Iran’s nuclear programme became public in 2002, the UN, EU and several individual countries imposed sanctions in an attempt to prevent it from developing military nuclear capability. Iran insisted that its nuclear activities are exclusively peaceful, but the world’s nuclear watchdog was been unable to verify this. Iran and world powers agreed an interim deal in 2013 which saw it gain around $7bn in sanctions relief in return for curbing uranium enrichment and giving UN inspectors better access to its facilities. World powers also committed to facilitate Iran’s access to $4.2bn in restricted funds. Recently Iran reinstated from years of economic isolation after world powers lifted sanctions against the Islamic Republic in return for Tehran complying with a deal to curb its nuclear ambitions. Post the lifting of the nuclear sanctions Tehran announced the release of five Americans including Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian as part of a prisoner swap with the United States. US formally lifted banking, steel, shipping and other sanctions on Iran which is a major oil producer and was virtually shut out of international markets for the past five years. The removing of sanctions and the prisoner swap will reduce the hostility between Tehran and Washington. India, Israel to Intensify Coordination to Counter Terrorism

Date: 17 January, 2016 Place: Jerusalem Field: Foreign Relations Terrorism is a global challenge. India is facing the challenge of terrorism for a longtime. Recently India and Israel agreed to intensify coordination to deal with the menace of terrorism. Both the nations have agreed on to continue on the exchange of information. Israeli President Rivlin pushed for a boost in bilateral economic ties and announced

ISSUES 2016 the two partners should quickly finalise the Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The coordination will boost India’s moral. Canada, US, Mexico ink MoU to Cooperate on Climate Change

Date: 13 February, 2016 Place: Canada Field: Environment Issue: Climate change During North American Leaders Summit, Canada, US and Mexico vowed to get half of their energy from clean resources by 2025. This benchmark would be impossible for all three countries to reach separately, but they can reach them together. Currently, Canada has already passed the benchmark, so they will be balancing out the US and Mexico’s deficits. 59 percent of Canadian emissions come from hydropower, and 16 percent come from nuclear power. Right now, about 20 percent of US power comes from nuclear power plants (which are considered clean), while another 13 come from hydroelectric and other renewable energy resources. In Mexico, only 22 percent of the power comes from sources other than fossil fuels. Together, the three countries get 37 percent of their energy from clean energy sources. As per the MoU the three countries will work together and share information in key areas like low-carbon electricity, clean energy technologies, energy efficiency, carbon capture, use and storage, climate change adaptation, and reducing emissions from the oil and gas sector. They will work toward increased electric power grid efficiency, use of green technology and the commitment to create common regulations to control CO2 emissions. Sindh becomes First Pakistan Province to Adopt Hindu Marriage Bill

Date: 16 February, 2016 Place: Islamabad Field: Polity Issue: Minority Right The minority Hindu community in Sindh province of Pakistan is always neglected. They are not recognised and live without any legal security.

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ISSUES 2016 However recently Pakistan’s Sindh Assembly has passed the Hindu Marriage Bill making the province the first in the country to allow the minority community to register their marriages, amid calls from a leading Hindu group to remove a controversial clause in the landmark bill. The bill was passed after several conditions for recognising marriages which include the bride and groom to be 18 years or older, parties to the marriage should to give consent, and two witnesses must be present at the time of the marriage. Any person who fails to get his marriage registered will be liable to pay a fine of Rs1000. Hindus are Pakistan’s second largest religious minority, with an estimated population of 3.3 million. World without G7 Stand

Nuclear

Weapons:

Date: 11 April, 2016 Place: Hiroshima, Japan Field: Nuclear Disarmament A blind contest of nuclear weapons development is a major threat to humanity. Recently the G7 has expressed its concern in this direction. The G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting is an important meeting for foreign ministers to hold discussions on international affairs of the time, which later becomes the base for discussions by the G7 Summit. The 2016 G7 Foreign Ministers’ Summit held from 10 to 11 April 2016 in Hiroshima was the first of ten related ministerial meetings held leading up to the G-7 summit scheduled for May 26 and 27 in the Ise-Shima region in Mie Prefecture. The member countries of the G-7 group are Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Canada, along with the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission. This time the foreign ministers of the Group of Seven, or G7, countries have called for a “world without nuclear weapons” in what was called the “Hiroshima Declaration”. The declaration calls for creating the conditions without nuclear weapons in a way that promotes international stability.

India Abstains on Vote for LGBT Rights at U.N. Date: 2 July, 2016 Place: UN Field: Human Rights LGBT people in India face certain legal and social difficulties not experienced by nonLGBT persons. Sexual activity between people of the same gender is illegal, and same-sex couples cannot legally marry or obtain a civil partnership. India does, however, legally recognize Hijras as a third gender, separate from men or women. As the world’s oldest democracy legalises gay marriage nationwide, it is time for the world’s largest democracy to perform some much needed introspection are we, as a people, society, and country ready to legalise gay marriage? In this regard India avoided taking a position on the need to end discrimination based on sexual orientation at the Human Rights Council of the UN, as the Supreme Court is yet to “pronounce” on the issue of rights of LGBT persons. The issue of LGBT rights in India is a matter being considered by the Supreme Court under a batch of curative petitions filed by various institutions and organisations. The Supreme Court is yet to pronounce on this issue. India has been cited by several human rights reports as one of the countries where the rights of LGBT persons are yet to be secure. China Contradicts NPT Consensus Date: 1 August, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Nuclear Treaty China’s 2013 deal for the Chasma-3 reactor in Pakistan contradicts the consensus document of the 2010 NPT Review Conference, which reaffirms that new supply arrangements for the transfer of nuclear materials and technology should require that the recipient accept International Atomic Energy Agency fullscope safeguards and international legallybinding commitments not to acquire nuclear weapons. It is believed that in aiding Pakistan with its nuclear energy programme, China has chosen to override NSG guidelines and shown no regard for the reservations expressed by its members who control international nuclear commerce.

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ISSUES 2016 Surgical Strikes on Terror Launch Pads across LoC

Date: 18 September, 2016 Place: Uri Field: Defense Terrorists from Pakistan are regularly entering to India and attacking defence bases like Pathankot and Uri. In order to curb down this attempt a surgical strike was much needed. A surgical strike is essentially a swift and targeted attack on specific target that aims to neutralise enemies while ensuring minimum collateral damage to the surrounding areas and civilians. Neutralisation of targets with surgical strikes also prevents escalation to a full blown war. These are part of India’s Cold Start doctrine and have proved effective in foiling a new infiltration bid by terrorists groups across the LoC who were ready to attack several locations in Jammu and Kashmir and other Metro cities in India. The operation in which paratroopers from Special Forces were involved began on 28 September, 2016 around 12.30 am. The commandos were airdropped at the LoC from where they crossed over the Pakistani side. They entered about three kilometers to conduct the surgical strikes in Bhimber, Hotspring, Kel & Lipa sectors, on Pakistans side of LoC. Seven terror launch pads were destroyed in which about 38 terrorists and 2 Pakistani soldiers were killed. The best part of the operation was that no Indian casualties were reported. The strikes were India’s first direct military response to the attack on the Uri army base earlier this month that killed 18 Indian soldiers and was blamed on Pakistan-based militants. The cross-border action came days after New Delhi reviewed its 56-year-old Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan and pulled out of the regional SAARC Summit in Islamabad as part of a wider diplomatic offensive to isolate its nettlesome neighbour. India Boycotts SAARC Summit in Islamabad Date: 28 September, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: International Co-operation Stepping up its diplomatic offensive to isolate Pakistan globally following the Uri terror attack, India has taken its stand not to take part in the upcoming South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit in Islamabad in November. This decision was taken in view of the continuous cross border terrorism by Pakistan which has created environment which is not conducive to successful holding of Summit. India’s reservations over summit are; increasing cross-border terrorist attacks in the region and growing interference in internal affairs of member states by Pakistan. India Decides to Suspend Talks on Indus Waters Treaty Date: 26 September, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Political Decision

The Indian Govt. decided to suspend all talks on India-Pakistan Indus Waters Treaty in the wake of the Uri attack. The treaty deals with sharing of water of six rivers — Beas, Ravi, Sutlej, Indus, Chenab and Jhelum between the two countries. It was signed by then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and President of Pakistan Ayub Khan in Karachi on September 19, 1960. As per treaty, control over three eastern rivers —Ravi, Beas and Sutlej was given to India. While control over three western rivers — Indus, Jhelum and Chenab was given to Pakistan. It allows India to use only 20% of the water of Indus river, which flows through it first, for irrigation, power generation and transport. Most disagreements and disputes have been settled via legal procedures, provided for within the framework of the treaty. The treaty has survived India-Pakistan wars of 1965, 1971 and the 1999 Kargil standoff besides Kashmir insurgency since 1990. It is most successful water treaty in world. The stand is a strong diplomatic move in response to terrorism.

ISSUES 2016 Bangladesh Hangs Islamist Mir Quasem Ali for 1971 War Crimes Date: 4 September, 2016 Place: Dhaka Field: Terrorism Jamaat-e-Islami leader Mir Quasem Ali was executed after deciding not to seek presidential clemency, the last option for a death row convict to avoid the gallows. Ali, a financial backer of the Jamaat and a business tycoon, was hanged at around 10:30 pm (Bangladesh time) at the high security Kashimpur jail in Gazipur district near Dhaka. Quasem, who had led the ruthless Al-Badr militia — that supported Pakistan Army in the port city of Chittagong during nation’s Liberation War in 1971 — became the sixth individual to go to gallows for ‘crimes against humanity’, over four decades after Bangladesh emerged as an independent country through a war against Pakistan .

India Took US Renewable Energy Dispute to WTO Date: 12 September, 2016 Place: Geneva India has complained to the World Trade Organization (WTO) about support given to the renewable energy industry in United States. The complaint alleges these 8 states in US have prop up their renewable sector with illegal subsidies and domestic content requirements, an obligation to buy local goods rather than imports. These 8 US states are Washington, Montana, California, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan and Minnesota. By filing the complaint, India has triggered a 60-day window for US to settle the dispute, after which India could ask the WTO to adjudicate. Earlier in 2013, India had filed questions at the WTO about suspected subsidies in solar programmes in four US states—Delaware, Minnesota, Massachusetts and Connecticut. Colombian Marxist Rebels FARC Sign Peace Deal Date:26 September, 2016 Place: Colombia Field: International Relations Colombia’s center-right government and the Marxist FARC rebel group signed a peace deal to end a half-century war that killed a quarter of a million people. The end

CA-239 of Latin America’s longest-running war will turn the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) guerrillas into a political party fighting at the ballot box instead of the battlefield they have occupied since 1964.

Afghanistan Signs Peace Deal With Hard-Line Militant Group Hezb-e-Islami Date: 22 September, 2016 Place: Kabul Field: Terrorism Afghanistan on 22 Sept, 2016 signed a peace agreement with one of the country’s largest militant groups Hezb-e-Islami led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. This agreement paves the way for Hekmatyar to make a political comeback. As per the agreement, Hekmatyar will be granted amnesty for his offences and the prisoners of Hezb-e-Islami will be released by the government. The deal also includes provisions for his security at government expense. The deal marks a symbolic victory for President Ashraf Ghani, who has struggled to revive peace talks with the more powerful Taliban. Widely known as butcher of Kabul, Hekmatyar was a prominent anti-Soviet commander in the 1980s. He is accused of killing thousands in the Kabul during the 1992-93 Civil War. His forces also carried out attacks against the US and Afghan forces since 2001.

UN Adopts SDG 2030: Beginning of a New Era Date: 25 September, 2016 Place: UN Field: Human Resource Development The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), officially known as Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a set of seventeen aspirational Global Goals with 169 targets between them. Spearheaded by the United Nations, through a deliberative process involving its 193 Member States, as well as global civil society, the goals are contained in paragraph 54 United Nations Resolution. At the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit on 25 September 2015, world leaders adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which includes a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and tackle climate change by 2030.

CA-240 Pakistan Postponed SAARC Summit Date: 1 October, 2016 Place: Islamabad Field: International Relation Pakistan decided to postpone the SAARC meet in the wake of five South Asian countries, including India, expressing their inability to participate in the summit. India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka had already pulled out of the SAARC summit indirectly blaming Pakistan for creating an environment which is not right for the successful holding of the meet. India was the first country to opt out of the SAARC summit. In the wake of September 18 terrorist attack in Uri town of Jammu and Kahsmir, India decided not to participate in the Summit. SAARC member states include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, the Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Indo-Pak Border would be Sealed by 2018

Date: 7 October, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Security Amid the deteriorating relations between India and Pakistan following the Uri cross border terror attack and rising infiltration bids, India has decided to seal the IndiaPakistan border by December, 2018. The Central government has formulated timebound action plan to completely seal the entire stretch of 3,323-km-long border between the two countries. Border between both countries was created based upon the Radcliffe line in 1947. 4 states share this international border with Pakistan. Of this 1,225 km falls in Jammu and Kashmir (including Line of Control), 1,037 km in Rajasthan, 553 km in Punjab and 508 km in Gujarat. An Israel type highly secured fencing may come up along the Indo-Pak border to check infiltration from across the border as the govt. is exploring the possibility of installing such a barrier in the sensitive frontiers of Punjab & Jammu. Economic Sanctions on Myanmar Lifted Date: 7 October, 2016 Place: US Field: International Relations Burma has not traditionally been a top foreign policy concern for Washington,

ISSUES 2016 although it does have some limited effect on U.S. economic and strategic interests as well as on counternarcotics policy. Washington isolated Burma since the State Law and Order Restoration Council came to power in 1988, and especially since it refused to transfer power in 1990 to the National League for Democracy, which had defeated the SLORC in an open election. Burma’s ruling junta officially abolished the SLORC in November 1997, only to replace it with the equally repressive State Peace and Development Council. The United States has refused, among other things, to recognize the government’s change of the country’s name to Myanmar, but it has maintained limited diplomatic and economic ties as well as counternarcotics cooperation with Rangoon. Since 1990 the U.S. policy of isolating Burma has been rejected by America’s trade partners in Asia, who happen also to be Burma’s major trade partners, but it has received some symbolic backing from Washington’s Western allies. Recently U.S. has lifted sanctions against Myanmar that have been in place for nearly two decades. The decision was taken after Obama’s announcement that the US was ready to lift sanctions on the Asian country during Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi’s visit to Washington in September 2016. Kyrgyzstan Govt. Resigned Date: 24 October, 2016 Place: Sputnik, Kyrgyzstan Field: International Politics The government of Kyrgyzstan resigned after Almazbek Atambayev’s party quit the ruling majority coalition. The Social Democratic party, which has the largest faction in parliament, broke up with its allies over their refusal to back proposed constitutional reforms. The proposed amendments raised concerns among the opponents, who claimed Atambayev would go on to take the role of the prime minister after his presidential term ends next year. Gambia Quits International Criminal Court Date: 27 October, 2016 Place: Dakar, Africa Field: International Dispute The ICC, set up in 2002, is often accused of bias against Africa and has also struggled

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ISSUES 2016 with a lack of cooperation, including from the US, which signed the court’s treaty but has never ratified it. Therefore Gambia withdrew from the International Criminal Court, the third African country to declare its departure. The announcement came after similar decisions this month by South Africa and Burundi. India is Non-committal on Economy Status for China

Market

Date: 17 November, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Business The main reason India is reluctant to grant MES to China is that it will severely curb India’s ability to impose anti-dumping duties on “unfairly priced” Chinese imports. It will have negative impact on India’s manufacturers in chemicals, steel, electrical and electronics sectors as they will be severely hurt by unfairly low-priced imports from China. India is not inclined to automatically grant the coveted ‘Market Economy Status’ (MES) to China under World Trade Organisation (WTO) norms in December 2016. Under WTO norms, once a country gets MES status, exports from it are to be accepted at the production costs and selling price as the benchmark. Prior to this status, a country is considered as a Non Market Economy (NME). Gwadar Port in Pakistan

Date: 14 November, 2016 Place: Pakistan Field: China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Gwadar port is an extension of China’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative and encompasses a series of infrastructure, power and transport upgrades that Islamabad hopes will kick start its long-underperforming economy. The Belt and Road or One Belt, One Road is a development strategy and framework, proposed by Chinese paramount leader Xi Jinping. Gwadar port is located strategically at the head of the Arabian Sea. With the development of Gwadar China would be in a position to keep a close eye

on the Persian gulf through which majority of the crude supplies enter the energy markets of Europe, America and Asia. With the development of the Economic corridor through the Karakoram pass China would have access to the seas even for the land locked Xinjiang, Tibet which would provide tremendous economic momentums. It would also provide a gateway to the energy rich caspian region and the markets of the central Asian republics. Strategically it would provide China to encircle India and provide a foothold to play a role in the affairs of the New Delhi, which sees the port as part of the Chinese ‘String of Pearls’ aimed at encircling India, worries that Chinese warships could soon dock at Gwadar, and allow Beijing to have presence in the Persian Gulf through which a majority of the world’s shipping enters the energy markets of Europe, Americas and Asia. But at the moment, we can only wait and watch. Israel Names First Ambassador to Turkey since 2010 Date: 15 November, 2016 Place: Jerusalem Field: International Relation Relations between Israel and Turkey took a downturn during the term of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as Turkish Prime Minister. Though Erdoğan had paid an official visit to Israel in 2005 and initially had maintained businessas-usual relations, his perceived anti-Israeli rhetoric is considered to have symbolized an intentional shift of Turkish interests in the Middle East and realignment from secular Israeli-oriented to Islamist proArab stance of Turkish Republic. However, in December 2015, Turkey and Israel began to negotiate on restoring diplomatic relations by holding a secret meeting, in the aftermath of the 2015 Russian Sukhoi Su-24 shootdown by Turkey the previous month, and the subsequent crisis with Russia and the increasing isolation of Turkey. The two countries reached an agreement on 27 June 2016 to start the process of normalization of ties. In a recent development Israel nominated a new ambassador to Turkey, its first since the two countries normalised ties after the 2010 crisis triggered by Israel’s deadly storming of a Gaza-bound ship.

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ISSUES 2016

India’s NSG Bid covering UN Security Council and MTCR

NSG or Nuclear Suppliers Group is a treaty signed among 48 nuclear supplying countries to ensure nuclear trade for peaceful purposes and non-proliferation in the wake of India’s nuclear test in 1974 at Pokhran. The treaty laid norms for exporting and importing of nuclear materials and technology. It also prevents proliferation by banning the sale of few materials used for weapon making. The recent meet of NSG members on 11th November dashed the hopes of India’s membership and this will continue to be considered next year. Why does India seek its membership? • India wants to become a player in the international arena where nuclear commerce norms are laid. • It will be able to build nuclear reactors and will have access to nuclear materials to fulfil its energy needs. • Through membership, India will access better international market for export as well as for import of nuclear related materials. • Will replace the indigenous technology being used at present for all nuclear based programmes by the sophisticated foreign technologies. Being the third (India-6%, USA-15%, China-24%) largest emitter of greenhouse gases, India can use nuclear power to cut its emissions and reduce air pollution from coal-fired power plants. India by being a member, can sell its indigenous technology and give the ‘Make in • India’ a facelift thereby. Since 2008, India has been attempting to get into the NSG. While US, Switzerland, Japan, France, Germany, Russia, UK and Mexico have been backing India’s membership of NSG, it is being opposed by China, New Zealand, Turkey, Israel, South Africa and Pakistan on the pretext that a country non-signatory of NPT and CTBT should not be given the membership of NSG. China has been arguing that if India is granted a seat in NSG, then all other South Asian countries which are non-signatory of NPT, like Pakistan should also be granted a seat. Pakistan opposes India’s entry because it doesn’t want India to possess high end technologies in the nuclear field and also fears that after becoming a member, India would prevent and down vote its membership as China is currently doing. This fact needs consideration that by accepting this application, the NSG can face problems on the processing of applications from Pakistan and Israel, two non-signatories of NPT. Further, India’s claim to permanent membership to UNSC, needs it to focus singlemindedly on economic growth with concomitant military might. As is evident, all current P5 members of the UNSC, barring Russia, are bigger than India economically. On the other hand, three big global players-Germany, Japan and Brazil; with bigger economies than India have better claim than India to be permanent members. On 27th June, 2016 India joined the 34-nation MTCR, Missile Technology Control Regime as a full member and this came three days after it failed to get the NSG membership due to China’s stiff opposition. Through MTCR-membership, India would have a way to buy high-end missile technology and its aspiration to buy state-of-the-art surveillance drones like U.S. Predator will be more realistic! MTCR aims at restricting the proliferation of missiles, rocket systems, unmanned air vehicles and related technology for the systems that can carry a 500 kg payload for 300 kms distance.

Russia Withdraws from International Criminal Court Date: 15 November, 2016 Place: Russia Field: International Dispute Russia has officially withdrawn from International Criminal Court (ICC) after President Vladimir Putin signed an executive order in this regard. The executive order

mentioned that Russia is pulling out of the 2002 Rome Statute, which establishes the ICC’s status and powers. However, Russia had never ratified the statue meaning it was never member subject to its jurisdiction. Russia was against by ICC’s declaration that It’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula was an armed conflict. Russia is also under international pressure over its campaign of air strikes in Syria over the issue of bombing civilians and civilian

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ISSUES 2016 targets. Russia has denied those allegations. Besides, ICC is also examining allegations of war crimes committed by Russian and Georgian forces during a brief 2008 war. ICC based in Hague, Netherlands is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal. It has the jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for the international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. It was established by the Rome Statute which was adopted in

July 1998 end entered into force in July 2002. ICC is seen as a successor to Nuremburg trials after World War II and ad-hoc UN war crimes tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. The multilateral treaty of Rome Statute serves as the ICC’s foundational and governing document. Currently, there are 124 states which are party to Rome Statute and therefore members of the ICC (India and China are not its members).

Italian Constitutional Referendum -2016

Date: 23 November, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Political Development The Constitution of Italy provides for only two kinds of legally binding referendums, a popular referendum, which can only be called in order to decide on whether to abrogate (i.e., abolish) totally or partially an existing law; a constitutional referendum, which can only be called in order to decide on whether to approve a constitutional law or amendment. A constitutional referendum was held in Italy on Sunday 4 December, 2016. Voters were asked whether they approve of amending the Italian Constitution to reform the appointment and powers of the Parliament of Italy, as well as the partition of powers of State, Regions, and administrative entities. Italy has been besieged by political instability since becoming a republic in 1946. Over that 70 year period the country has had 63 governments. Adding to the instability is the ‘perfectly bicameral’ nature of the parliament whereby any legislation is only passed when both houses, the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic, agree on exactly the same text. Legislation is often bogged down as it goes backwards and forwards between houses in a process called navetta parlamentare (parliamentary shuttle). Italy along with France is one of the Eurozone’s serial non-reformers. Constant changes in government have not been a recipe for sound growth-enhancing policy development over the years. It’s no coincidence that Italy is one of the poorest performing of the world’s major developed economies. Since the Great Recession GDP growth has averaged 0.1% per annum, the unemployment rate is 11.5%, the public debt to GDP ratio is 133% and its banking sector is weighed down by bad debts. On December 4 the country vote in the proposed referendum the most significant political reform since the republic was formed. It was a condition if the referendum is passed the Senate will be reduced in influence and size with representation made up by local government (Regions and Municipalities). Its main focus will become the coordination of legislation between central and local government. Proponents of a “Yes” vote argue this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for stronger government, and with that, greater likelihood of much needed economic reform. Critics argue future governments will have too much power. A strong economic union requires its constituent parts to be strong. Anti-establishment and anti-Europe political groups in Italy, such as the Five Star Movement led by Beppe Grillo would be the primary beneficiaries of further political turmoil in Italy. And remember this comes less than a year before critical elections in France April/May 2017 and Germany no later than October 22nd 2017. The Referrendum was held on the 4th Dec, 2016 and Matteo Renzi was defeated marking a major victory for anti-establishment and rightwing parties. The Eurozone is now trapped in a political chaos with the resignation of the Italian Prime Minister Matteo Ranzi.

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Carbon Sinks: Protection shields against Global Warming

n the current situation of alarming rise in the level of pollution, it is important to take significant steps to save our environment from getting exploited terribly. Considering rising pollution as one of the life threatening issues in the world today, experts are of the opinion that there is a need to introduce some tools to take control of the present situation. One of these tools is carbon sequestration. It is the accumulation of carbon in terrestrial bodies as opposed to atmospheric forms. Basically, carbon is stored in sinks that range from the world’s oceans and forests to agricultural soils. The humans dealing with these storage sites are equally proportionate to global temperatures to a great extent. A carbon sink is anything that absorbs more carbon than it releases as carbon dioxide. It is being seen as a mechanism for tackling climate change and global warming. It accumulates and stores some carbon-containing chemical compound for an indefinite period. Carbon sinks are playing significant role for our environment. Basically, carbon sinks are holding tanks for carbon or carbon compounds, like carbon dioxide. The process by which carbon sinks remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is known as carbon sequestration. There are two types of carbon sequestration. One is natural and the other is artificial. Natural carbon sequestration is a cycle that’s been happening on this planet for billions of years. It is simply the process by which nature achieves a balance of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere suitable for sustaining life. Animals and plants exhale carbon dioxide as a byproduct of respiration, forest fires belch carbon dioxide, volcanic eruptions and magma also pump carbon dioxide into the air. With huge amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, there needed to be a way of removing it otherwise the surface of the

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planet would rapidly overheat. To deal with this, there is a natural counter system called Natural carbon sinks. Nature provided trees, the oceans, earth and the animals themselves as carbon sinks. All organic life on this planet is carbon base. Grasslands, agricultural lands, northern, boreal forests, tropical rainforests, peat bogs, freshwater lakes, wetlands, coastal ecosystems such as seagrass beds, kelp forests, salt marshes and swamps and coral reefs also play role of natural carbon sinks. Green plants play a significant role in controlling carbon dioxide levels, because of the process of photosynthesis. The process occurs in the cells of microscopic organisms and within the leaves of a plant. The process needs sunlight to change carbon dioxide and water into a carbon sugar. It is believed that half of all carbon that is extracted from the atmosphere is through photosynthesis. The problem is that we’ve removed countless trees from this planet and it is going to take a lot of time before the millions of trees planted in the last couple of years mature enough to provide sequestration benefits. The challenge on the part of human being is that instead of rapidly discontinuing the activities responsible for heating our planet; researchers are looking for alternate ways continue lifestyles. One such alternative is artificial carbon sinks.

CARBON SINKS: PROTECTION SHIELDS AGAINST GLOBAL WARMING Artificial carbon sinks are landfills, carbon capture and storage processes. Manmade carbon sinks can be created by existing underground formations, or even the oceans, to store carbon dioxide. Artificial carbon sequestration is a good example of man-made carbon sinks. Artificial carbon sequestration refers to various processes through which carbon emissions are captured and then buried. There are several methods proposed to do so. One proposed method is ocean sequestration. In this method, carbon dioxide is injected deep into the ocean, forming lakes of carbon dioxide. Another method is geological sequestration where the carbon dioxide is pumped into underground chambers like old oil reservoirs and coal seams that are unable to be mined. Another method is Mineral sequestration. In this method, carbon dioxide is injected into areas rich in Magnesium or Calcium. As per researchers, Carbon dioxide will react with the elements and combine to form calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate. Apart from that, a lot of research is going on in areas like, a) Capturing and storing carbon dioxide by injection into the underground empty rock formations that used to hold fossil fuels, like depleted oil reservoirs. b) Replication of natural process of mineral carbonation. c) Fertilizing the surface of southern oceans with iron to stimulate the growth of microorganisms. d) Manufacturing artificial trees complete with leaves treated with chemical compounds. Humans are responsible for a lot of greenhouse gases, disturbed global carbon cycle. In 2007, oil, coal, and gas combustion introduced 8.5 billion tonnes of carbon to the carbon cycle. Until then, this carbon was stored underground for million of years, and away from the atmosphere. To strike a balance in nature, reforestation or planning new forests has been the suggestion made by several experts and international bodies. Carbon sinks is a popular strategy for the nations with large forests interests such as Canada, United States, and Latin American nations and some Asian countries such as Indonesia.

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The major issue that has engulfed the world is that human activities burn fossil fuels like coal and oil are inducing huge levels of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The intensity is much faster to be removed by natural processes. This poses a serious problem because as the concentration of carbon dioxide builds up in the atmosphere, it traps more of the sun’s heat which is one of the reasons of shooting up of the average global temperatures over the last few decades. Man sometimes interferes with carbon sinks in a positive way. Efforts are underway to rejuvenate natural sinks degraded over time. These include reforestation, improved soil conservation, creating new forests, forest conservation etc. The Paris agreement 2015 on climate change was a landmark. It focused on the use of landbased sinks such as forests at the heart of the global blueprint for uprooting global warming. India is working towards making a positive change. The Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) of India has been submitted to the United Nations. It is being discussed at the climate meet in Paris. It proposes the creation of additional carbon sink of 2.5 billion to 3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide. Since, a lot of efforts are being made to control alarming situation of global warming. Researchers warn that if the ocean and forest sinks are not able to keep pace with rising greenhouse gas emissions, then the extra carbon in the atmosphere could increase warming from the range of 5 to 30% more than current rate. Each day, with more carbon pouring into the atmosphere, it is becoming increasingly difficult for the natural sinks to drain it away. With more carbon emissions going in than being used, balancing the carbon budget looks like tougher than ever. It stands as a warning to entire human race to fight the battle against global warming which certainly aims at perishing the existence of Earth and mankind at large.

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IDEAS 2016

IDEAS 2016 NATIONAL

Smart Cities Date: 28 January, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: 1st phase of 20 Cities The core idea behind the Smart Cities is to promote cities that will provide core infrastructure and give a decent quality of life to its citizens, a clean and sustainable environment and application of IT enabled smart solutions. It will improve governance and public services and make the city smart through area-based development. It aims holistic development and will fulfill the aspirations and needs of the citizens of urban areas. It ideally aims to develop all elements contained in the institutional, physical, social and economic infrastructure. This can be a long-term goal and cities can work towards such holistic development, incrementally, by adding on layers of ‘smartness’. Out of 98 shortlisted of the first phase, 20 cities are selected through the Smart City Challenge competition in which Rs 1.52 crore citizens from 97 cities and towns participated. PM Modi launched execution of work on 20 Smart Cities on 25th June, 2016. A total investment of Rs. 50,802 crores over five years is proposed with Public-Private-Partnership. The chosen cities will be equipped with basic infrastructure, efficient urban mobility and public transport, IT connectivity and e-governance mechanisms. The cities are-

--Bhubaneswar, Pune, Jaipur, Surat, Kochi, Ahmedabad, Jabalpur, Visakhapatnam, Sholapur, Davangere, Indore, New Delhi (New Delhi municipal council area), Coimbatore, Kakinada, Belagavi, Udaipur, Guwahati, Chennai, Ludhiana and Bhopal.

Doppler Radar Date: 28 February, 2016 Place: Gopalpur, Odisha Field: Weather forecasting Problems: Cyclones Effects: Advance warning The Doppler effect or the Doppler shift is the change in frequency or wavelength of a wave or other periodic event for an observer moving relative to its source. A Doppler radar is a specialized radar that uses this effect to produce velocity data about objects at a distance. It does this by bouncing a microwave signal off a desired target and analyzing how the object’s motion has altered the frequency of the returned signal. This variation gives direct and highly accurate measurements of the radial component of a target’s velocity relative to the radar. Doppler radars are used in aviation, sounding satellites, meteorology, radar guns, radiology and healthcare and risk assessment etc. Doppler radar to boost the weather forecasting system in the cyclone prone eastern coast will be commissioned in Gopalpur in Odisha. It will be the sixth such radar on the country’s east coast. The others are located in Chennai,

IDEAS 2016 Kolkata, Machilipatnam, Visakhapatnam and Paradip. These observational tools will monitor and predict severe weather events such as thunder storms, hailstorms, cyclones and tornados within a radius of 300 km. It not only gives information about precipitation but also about wind velocity.

HPV Vaccine Programme in Schools Date: 29 February, 2016 Place: Delhi Field: Health Delhi is going to be the first state in the country to launch the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine as a public health programme for school children. The HPV vaccine protects people against the group of 150-odd HPVs, some of which can cause cervical cancer. Human papillomavirus is a DNA virus from the papillomavirus family that is capable of infecting humans. Like all papillomaviruses, HPVs establish productive infections only in keratinocytes of the skin or mucous membranes. Project Mausam Date: 10 March, 2016 Place: Delhi Field: Marine Research Project Mausam aims to explore the multifaceted Indian Ocean ‘world’ – collating archaeological and historical research in order to document the diversity of cultural, commercial and religious interactions in the Indian Ocean – extending from East Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, the Indian Subcontinent and Sri Lanka to the Southeast Asian archipelago. It also aims to promote research on themes related to the study of Maritime Routes through international scientific seminars and meeting and by adopting a multidisciplinary approach. Project ‘Mausam’ aims to understand how the knowledge and manipulation of the monsoon winds has shaped interactions across the Indian Ocean and led to the spread of shared knowledge systems, traditions, technologies and ideas along maritime routes. These exchanges were facilitated by different coastal centres and their surrounding environs in their respective chronological and spatial contexts, and simultaneously had an effect on them. At the macro level, it aims to reconnect and re-establish communications

CA-247 between countries of the Indian Ocean world, which would lead to an enhanced understanding of cultural values and concerns and at the micro level, the focus is on understanding national cultures in their regional maritime milieu. Clean My Coach Service Date: 11 March, 2016 Place: Ahmadabad Field: Transport “Clean My Coach” Service will allow travellers to get their compartments cleaned by sending an SMS or by using an app or a designated website. For any cleaning requirement in the coach, passenger will have to send an SMS on a mobile number 58888 or the passenger can also use android app ‘Cleanmycoach Indian Railways’ or webpage ‘cleanmycoach. com’ for logging the request. A confirmation message is sent by the server to the mobile number of On Board House Keeping (OBHS) staff travelling on the same train along with the details of the passengers such as coach number, berth number. OBHS staff contacts the passengers, carries out the cleaning work as per demand. If the passenger is satisfied, he discloses the code received during acknowledgement and OBHS staff in turn sends the same code through SMS and the complaint is then treated as closed. If the passenger is not satisfied, he doesn’t disclose the code and the complaint is treated as not closed. 112 the Single Emergency Number Date: 28 March, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Telecom The number 112 is the new single emergency number for India. This all-inone emergency number is going to change the lives in India. This is similar to 911 of United States and 999 of United Kingdom. With this, Indian citizens in distress can just dial the single-number 112 for all emergency services such as police, ambulance and the fire department. It will direct the call to concerned departments immediately for help. The idea of using single emergency number is well rolled out and it could solve the issues of the people who are facing trouble with present services.

CA-248 Injectable Contraceptive Date: 29 March, 2016 Place: Chandigarh Field: Health & Family Planning Haryana became the first state in India to launch injectable contraceptives as a family planning measure across all government healthcare facilities. Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar launched it as a part of the Haryana government’s Project Salamati. The project aims to maintain healthy gap between the births of children by using injectable contraceptive. Green Technology for Water Purification Date: 3 April, 2016 Place: Guwahati, Assam Field: Technology An eco-friendly nanotechnology for watersoftening applications that could be used in civic water treatment plants for generating potable water is going to be a reality. A biopolymer will be designed using a naturally occurring substance, called chitosan (obtained from the hard outer skeleton of shellfish, including crab, lobster, and shrimp) as a backbone for the carbon nanoparticles to sit on. This eco-friendly biodegradable biopolymer can be used in civic water treatment plants for generating potable water. It will reduce dependency on conventional water-softening techniques that uses synthetic resins as they do not have very effective water-softening methods and produced very crude treated water. This innovation will help millions of poor people in India in preventing waterborne diseases. Gram Uday Se Bharat Uday Abhiyan Date: 14 April, 2016 Place: Mhow, Madhya Pradesh Field: Rural Development Gramoday Se Bharat Uday aims to generate nation-wide efforts to increase social harmony across villages, strengthen Panchayati Raj, promote rural development, and foster farmers’ progress. The Gram Uday Se Bharat Uday Abhiyan aims to effectively bring the villages and Panchayat’s closer through the use of digital media and mobile applications. The mobile app named ‘Gramoday’ is available for public usage. They can be downloaded from

IDEAS 2016 the website www.gramoday.nic.in or from the Google Play Store. The link is https://play. google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.app. panchayatdivas. The aim of the implementation of this scheme is to integrate India, bring about social harmony, awareness among citizens.

Miracle Gel Date: 18 April, 2016 Place: Trivandrum, Kerala Field: Science & Tech SILICA AEROGEL OR ‘BLUE AIR’ has excellent thermal resistance and if used as filler in soldiers’ uniforms it can possibly help save many lives at the Siachen glacier. Silica aerogel is basically solid foam consisting of over 95% air and has the lowest bulk density of any known solid. The material is likely to be used on India’s moon rover in Chandryaan-2 mission. Scientists hope that this material can be incorporated diligently into rocket engines.

Free Wi-Fi to Railway Stations to help Travellors Date: 15 April, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Science & Tech Google has extended free internet service through WiFi to 10 railway stations as part of its tie up with Railtel, the internet provider arm of Indian Railways. After the first launch at Mumbai Central last year, the high speed wireless broadband service now covers stations in Pune, Bhubaneshwar, Bhopal, Ranchi, Raipur, Vijayawada, Kacheguda (Hyderabad), Ernakulum (Kochi) and Vishakhapatnam, providing internet to over 1.5 million people. This service will provide travelers passing through these stations to easily stream a high definition video, research their destination, download a book or a new game for their journey. Delhi as Future-Ready City Date: 15 April, 2016 Place: Delhi Field: Urban Development Delhi has been recognised as one of the 50 future-ready cities around the world that are embracing technology to adapt and thrive in an ever-changing and globalised

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IDEAS 2016 future. Delhi is ranked 44th on the list which is topped by San Jose, followed by San Francisco. The ‘Future-Ready Economies Model’ scores large, high-growth global metropolitan areas based on attributes that enable people and organisations to access new tools and ideas that deliver better connectivity, better economic performance and a greater ability to attract talent. The cities positioned in the list were evaluated along three dimensions — human capital, infrastructure and commerce. Hologram Technique to check Liquor’s Purity Date: 18 April, 2016 Place: Mumbai Field: Science & Tech Holograms are a bit like photographs that never die. They’re sort of “photographic ghosts”: they look like three-dimensional photos that have somehow got trapped inside glass, plastic, or metal. When you tilt a credit-card hologram, you see an image

of something like a bird moving “inside” the card. How does it get there and what makes it seem to move? What makes it different from an ordinary photograph? A hologram is a cross between what happens when you take a photograph and what happens when you look at something for real. Like a photograph, a hologram is a permanent record of the light reflected off an object. But a hologram also looks real and three-dimensional and moves as you look around it, just like a real object. That happens because of the unique way in which holograms are made. The Government of Maharashtra has decided to paste “polyester base track and trace” hologram, to be supported by a mobile app, which will help consumers find out whether the liquor is fake or genuine. To root out the menace of spurious liquor, the state Excise department proposed to make it mandatory for all liquor bottles to carry a hologram and barcode with embedded covert and overt features.

India’s Longest Bridge

Date: 24 June, 2016 Place: Manila, Philippines Field: International Co-operation The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on 24 June 2016 approved 500 million US dollars loan to build a road bridge across the river Ganga near Patna in Bihar.The 9.8 kilometer long bridge will be India’s longest river bridge. It will provide vital transport links between the northern and southern parts of Bihar and with neighbouring Nepal. It will help in the transportation services between living areas to job location and other areas and help middle sector people to commute to the state capital Patna and other southern parts. ADB loan of $500 million and $900,000 has been accorded to improve bridge operational activities and management. State government will provide reinforcement which is equivalent to $215 million. The project is expected to be completed by December, 2020. The height and length of the bridge has been designed to minimize impacts on the river itself and to withstand climate related disasters.

Panic Button, GPS in Mobile Date: 28 April, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Science & Tech Panic button will be mandatory for all mobile phones to be sold in India from January 1, 2017, onwards to enable users make emergency calls easily. Besides, in-built GPS navigation system would be mandatory for all phones a year later with effect from January 1, 2017. In order

to provide safety to women in distress situation, it is important to enable them to send out distress signal to a family member or the police authorities so that they can be rescued. Department of Telecommunications has released notification on 22nd April, 2016 under section 10 of the Indian Wireless Telegraph Act 1933. Under these rules, w.e.f. 1.1.2017, all future phones will have the facility of panic button configured to the numeric key 5 or 9 and all smart phones will have the

CA-250 panic button configured to three times short pressing of the on-off button.

Caste Certificates on App Date: 29 April, 2016 Place: Mumbai Field: Science & Tech Maharashtra has launched a web-based application Adi Praman app which will enable the tribal populace of the state to get the caste validity certificates online. It would help them avail of government services on time. Maharashtra is the first state to provide caste validity certificates online. The application would help the government achieve the goal of inclusion as envisioned under the Digital India programme. The availability of caste validity certificates online would especially help the youths who are seeking jobs and also the candidates who are filing nomination papers for elections. Cheap Water Treatment Device Date: 18 July, 2016 Place: Chennai Field: Water Treatment Solar powered water treatment system is an inexpensive, water treatment system for rural Indian villages, which lack affordable potable water and electricity. It has been designed, built and tested and the next step is to implement. In many parts of rural India people drink contaminated water and they don’t have any means.

Skill J&K Youth Date: 26 July, 2016 Place: Srinagar Field: Skill Development The youth of J&K are misguided and forced to take anti-national stands. Among so many reasons massive unemployment is a major cause. In this regard the govt’s initiative to skill the youth and bring them back to the main stream is a unique and praiseworthy idea. Nearly 1600 crores of rupees have been approved by the Jammu and Kashmir Govt under the skill development initiative called the ‘Himayat’ programme. This will facilitate training and placement to 1 lakh J&K youth over a span of 5 years. This project involves job–oriented trainings via three, six and nine – month courses, interaction

IDEAS 2016 with industry – based professionals and an option for foreign placements. In Urdu, ‘Himayat’ means support.

New Tiger Cell Date: 31 July, 2016 Place: Delhi Field: Wildlife Tiger conservation is a major concern as the big cats are on the verge of extinction. In order to protect the tigers in India, the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) is all set to house India’s first repository on tigers, under its new Tiger Cell. The repository will consist of huge database on tiger conservation including demographical representation, which has been developed by a conjoint effort with the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). The NTCA and the WII have decided to host the first tiger cell in the WII campus in Dehradun. WII’s research facility includes Remote Sensing, Forensics and Geographic Information System (GIS). It has contributed in studying and protecting wildlife in India and also has popularized wildlife studies.

Educational Institution Open to Public Scrutiny Date: 5 August, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Education The general public will now have a say in the government rankings awarded to educational institutions this year in an effort to guarantee greater transparency and check inaccurate data furnished by universities and colleges. The Government is now set to direct all participating institutions to publish important data, including number of teachers, infrastructure and students etc. on their website. The general public and other stakeholders will then be asked to inspect the data and propose their feedback to the National Accreditation Bureau under the HRD ministry in case of any disagreement. For 2017, colleges across the country will also be ranked and the government will award an ordinary overall rank to the institution irrespective of specialization or branch. This move will help the students to select their desired institution without any doubt.

IDEAS 2016 Merger of Power DISCOMS Date: 5 August, 2016 Place: Haryana Field: Power Underperformance of discoms is a particularly disturbing issue, made worse by the bureaucratic structure of power institutions and low discom realizations. Several possible reasons are given for the underperformance of the sector prominent among which are: political interference and structure of institutions particularly lack of unbundling. Also, lack of corporate governance, power theft, and inability of distribution companies to collect revenues are cited as principal culprits. To solve this problem an innovative idea of merging discoms has been rolled on. It will help maintaining the optimum level of service transmission, sub transmission and distribution, infra structure requires coordinated growth. For the even growth of power sector, there needs to be uniformity in procurement, man power planning and monitoring of commercial interests. Moreover, difficulties arise in number of cases as two Discoms follow different policies sometimes and create administrative problems. To improve the working of power sector it has been found that a single entity will be more efficient organization in tune with the present day requirements. Everyone agrees that a single distribution entity will be a more efficient organisation for handling the complex issue of distribution of power.

e–bidding Portals Date: 18 August, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Power ‘TARANG’ (Transmission App for Real Time Monitoring & Growth) Mobile App & Web Portal will be introduced in the electronic platform. The idea is to enhance ease, accountability and transparency. It would also boost confidence of investors in power transmission sector. Better price discovery shall ultimately benefit the power consumers in India. TARANG is a powerful monitoring tool that will track upcoming transmission projects and monitor the progress of Inter-State & Intra-State transmission systems in the country,

CA-251 being developed through Regulated tariff mechanism as well as Tariff Based Competitive Bidding (TBCB) route. Energy Corridors, an important component of our renewable energy mission, would also be monitored through TARANG. Apart from Tarang, ‘e-Trans’ web platform for e-bidding and e-reverse auction for TBCB in transmission projects is a novel idea. Till date, transmission sector providers have been participating in transmission bids through manual mode. With e-Trans, the interface will be electronic. The Portal will provide a common e-bidding platform with e-reverse auction facility to facilitate nation-wide power procurement through a wider network so as to bring uniformity and transparency in the process of power procurement. The introduction of e-Bidding and e-reverse auction process for medium term (1-5 years), the time span of the complete bidding process and the cost of procurement of power is expected to be reduced substantially, thereby significantly benefiting the ultimate consumers.

Folk – encyclopedia Date: 18th August, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Human Resources The folk traditions culture and literature is going to be forgotten shortly. It is a source of rich cultural heritage. In this direction the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) is planning to compile anecdotes and legends relating to villages and towns across India into an encyclopedia. This initiative is aimed at acquainting people better with the oral and folk traditions. The initiative will help historians and researchers in a great way to understand and enlarge folk literature and cultural traditions. Criminal Tracking Network System Date: 19 August, 2016 Place: Mumbai Field: Law & order Criminal activities are growing alarmingly in India and we don’t have modern technological infrastructures to nab the culprit. In many incidents they are not traced and go scot free. In this direction the Crime and Criminal Tracking

CA-252 Network & Systems (CCTNS) will create a comprehensive and integrated system for enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of policing through adopting of principle of e-Governance and creation of a nationwide networking infrastructure for evolution of IT-enabled state-of-the-art tracking system around ‘Investigation of crime and detection of criminals’. The objectives of the Scheme are to make the Police functioning citizen-friendly and more transparent by automating the functioning of Police Stations. It will improve delivery of citizen-centric services through effective usage of ICT. They are providing the Investigating Officers of the Civil Police with tools, technology and information to facilitate investigation of crime and detection of criminals, Improve Police functioning in various other areas such as Law and Order, traffic Management etc. Facilitate Interaction and sharing of Information among Police Stations, Districts, State/UT headquarters and other Police Agencies. Assist senior Police Officers in better management of Police Force, keep track of the progress of Cases, including in Courts, Reduce manual and redundant Records keeping. This technology is aimed at linking all the police stations in the state for sharing crime – related information in their respective jurisdictions. The services of the cyber labs, will be linked by secure high-speed fibre optic cable network and will give rise to a digital police force. It will be available to address cyber security concerns of private organisations and banks among others.

POCSO e-box Date: 26 August, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Child Development An online complaint box for reporting child sexual abuse, the POCSO e-Box is a much needed initiative to address the grave situation. Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO), e-Box, is an online complaint management system for easy and direct reporting of sexual offences against children and timely action against the offenders under the POCSO Act, 2012. The e-Box is incorporated prominently in the home page of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) website

IDEAS 2016 http://ncpcr.gov.in/ where a user has to simply push a button named POSCO e-Box. The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act) 2012 was formulated in order to effectively address sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children. Which is growing rampantly in India. Re-naming of Gurgaon

Date: 27 September, 2016 Place: Haryana Field: Cultural The name of Gurgaon is going to be changed as ‘Gurugram’. As a result, now both the city as well as the district of Gurgaon would be known as Gurugram. Haryana is a historic land of the Bhagwat Gita and Gurgaon had been a centre of learning. It had been known as Gurugram since the times of Guru Dronacharya. It was a great center of education. After India attained independence, Gurgaon fell under the Indian state of Punjab. In 1966, the city came under the administration of Haryana with the creation of the new state. The city’s economic growth story started when the leading Indian automobile manufacturer Maruti Suzuki India Limited established a manufacturing plant in Gurgaon in the 1970s. Spread over an area of 732 kilometre squares, Gurgaon currently has a population of 1.7 million people. It is also a part of the National Capital Region (NCR) of India. The idea is conceived to respect the cultural values of India. For sometime the decision will create some chaos as the old name is internationally popularised. Varistha Pension Bima Yojana Date: 28 September, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Social Welfare The idea of Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana (VPBY) will benefit the vulnerable section of society with limited resources as it will provide monthly pension ranging from ` 500/ to ` 5,000/ per month to senior citizens of the country. This initiative is taken for the welfare and well-being of the senior citizens of the country, which is especially important in the light of the increasing longevity in India, which has gone up substantially. The

IDEAS 2016 subscription to the scheme is likely to create a corpus of more than ` 10,000 crore, and would thus also be a significant source of resource mobilization for the development of the country. Under this initiative the senior citizens would get pension on fixed basis either on yearly or monthly basis which will provide social security to senior citizens. LIC of India has been given the sole privilege to operate this scheme.

Preterm Birth Date: 6 September, 2016 Place: Mumbai Field: Health Every year, an estimated 15 million babies are born preterm (before 37 completed weeks of gestation), and this number is rising. Preterm birth complications are the leading cause of death among children under 5 years of age, responsible for nearly 1 million deaths in 2015. Three-quarters of them could be saved with current, cost-effective interventions. Across 184 countries, the rate of preterm birth ranges from 5% to 18% of babies born. Indian researchers are on their way to understand the mechanisms by which preterm births (between 28 and 32 weeks of gestation) occur. The researchers found for the first time that gram-positive Group B Streptococcus (GBS) bacteria produce small balloons called membrane vesicles, which contain toxins that kill both foetal and maternal cells and destroy the collagen that binds the cells together. The idea will save millions of life in the world LIVE on e-office Date: 7 September, 2016 Place: Shilong Field: Science & Tech Live on e-office aims to improve productivity, quality, resource management, turnaround time and increase transparency by replacing the old manual process with an electronic file system. North Eastern Region has gone live on e-office. This platform would not only digitize the entire office correspondence and file noting but also ensure an audit trail of all entries and correspondence, thus providing an unprecedented level of accountability.

CA-253 The idea is to accelerate the pace of socioeconomic development of the region so that it may enjoy growth parity with the rest of the country.

Digital Locker Date: 8 September, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Transport The idea of integration of DigiLocker with Driving Licenses (DL) & Vehicle Registration Certificates (VRC) will hugely benefit people. Now, people will no longer need to carry around physical copies of their Driving Licences and RCs. Using DigiLocker mobile app, they can instead access digital copies of the same on their mobile phones. Besides, DLs and VRC documents will be now issued directly to the DigiLockers of individuals in digital formats. These digital copies also can be shared with other government departments as identity and address proof. They can also be used for on the spot verification through the citizen’s mobile, by various law enforcement authorities like the Traffic Police. Besides, it will also result in assured authenticity of such documents and reduction of administrative overhead.

All-women PCR Vans Date: 11 September, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Women Empowerment All – women PCR (Police Control Room) Van is going to be introduced by Delhi Police commissioner in five primary areas – Vigyan Bhawan, Jesus & Mary College, Khan Market Metro Station, American Centre at Kasturba Gandhi Marg, and Moti Lal Nehru Marg. PCR Vans consist of one woman driver, one woman constable and another will carry an MP-5 gun. Currently, there are 20 women police personnel who have been trained for this type of job. This idea will bring transparency while dealing with women criminals and it will boost women empowerment. Toll Free Helpline Number ‘1924’

Date: 13 September, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Post & Tel A new toll free number ‘1924’ to register postal complaints is a unique idea. Initially,

CA-254 the service will be operational for 12 hours on working days between 0800 hrs to 2000 hrs. The service will address complaints within 24 hours unless they are related to policy matters. It will be available in three languages viz. Hindi, English and Malayalam. In future, the service will start services in all scheduled languages. The complaints received on the toll free number will be registered in Computerised Customer Care (CCC) Centre portal by the operators at the Dak Bhawan. Besides, while registering the complaint 11 digits ticket number would be provided to the complainants. If the complaint is already registered, the operators will provide the status of complaint as viewed in CCC portal. Free Bus Rides for Girl Students Date: 12 September, 2016 Place: Haryana Field: Education Free bus rides for girl students in the state of Haryana have been introduced. The Haryana transport minister has given a strict message to the bus drivers and conductors, who misbehave with the girl students and do not allow them to board the vehicle. Haryana roadways bus drivers or conductors also got strict message to behave with girls in good manner. Free travel facility also given to the girl students of Haryana in roadway buses for to and fro journey to school.

App ‘VISIT’ Telemedicine app Date: 13 September, 2016 Place: Hyderabad Field: Science & Tech VISIT is an on-demand healthcare service provider, partnered with Spice Digital to launch a doctor on call service on BSNL network and plans to tie-up with other telecom players to go national. Telemedicine was the use of telecommunication and information technology to provide clinical health care from a distance. It helps eliminate distance barriers and can improve access to medical services that would often not be consistently available in distant rural communities. It is also used to save lives in critical care and emergency situations.The service, called ‘JIYO Behtar Expert Talk Health Line’, had already been made live in North Zone with state-run

IDEAS 2016 BSNL as the first telecom partner. VISIT is a platform that connects patients with practitioners anytime, anywhere through smartphone or computer.

LED Street Lights Date: 26 Sept, 2016 Place: Jaipur, Rajasthan Field: Power Rajasthan is going to be the first state to adopt Centre’s Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP) in all its urban local bodies (ULB). Almost 5 lakh conventional street lights will be replaced with LED street lights across the state. The entire street light project will be funded by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) at no cost to the state. EESL, a Public Energy Services Company under the administration of Ministry of Power, Government of India (GoI), is the implementing agency for SLNP. This move will reduce 225 tonnes of CO2 per day. EESL procurements conform to BIS specification & carry a 7 year warranty against technical defect.

Monorail Date: 30 September, 2016 Place: Kolkata Field: Transport A monorail runs a single track. It is beneficial in medium capacity metros. As West Bengal is facing exreme problem in transportation in the congested areas it has decided to introduce the system. The 14-kilometre-long monorail route would connect Budge Budge to Ruby via Taratala, New Alipore and Prince Anwar Shah Road and would come up at a cost of 4216 crore rupees. There would not be any problem over land acquisition as minimum land would be required to construct pillars and elevated tracks would be laid connecting them. EPFO Investment in ETF from 5 to 10 percent Date: 30 September, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Employees Provident Fund Government will raise the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) investment in Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) from existing 5 per cent to 10 per cent. In the last one year,

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IDEAS 2016 the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has invested 6577 crore rupees. The investment has yielded a good return of 13.24%. The past performance of the last six months from April, 2016 to August, 2016 also showed gradual appreciation in the returns from 0.37% in March 2016 to 13.24% in August 2016. 5% EPF has been invested in NIFTY 50 and SENSEX. This move will greatly help the employees.

showed antipyretic and anti-inflammatory effects and protected mice against dengue infection. India is dengue-endemic resourcepoor country representing 50% of the global population estimated to be at risk of dengue virus.

India’s First Dengue Vaccine Date: 24 September, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Health This will be for the first time a vaccine developed entirely in India for a vectorborne disease that has been advanced for clinical development in the country. The C. pareira plant may serve as a basic source for the development of an inexpensive herbal formulation against dengue. Sun Pharma has signed deal with International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) for clinical development Cissampelos pariera (Cipa), India’s first vaccine (drug) for the treatment of dengue. ICGEB had explored Indian traditional medicine, Ayurveda, to identify plants that could be a source of dengue inhibitory activity. In its research it was found that an alcoholic extract prepared from Cissampelos pareira Linn from C. pareira plant inhibits the replication of dengue viruses in living cells in culture. Besides, alcoholic extract

Date: 5 October, 2016 Place: Tamil Nadu Field: Health Medipark is a novel and innovative initiative in providing infrastructure support for the promotion of medical equipment. HLL Lifecare to sub-lease 330.10 acres of land at Chengalpattu, located in the outskirts of Chennai, to set up a medical device manufacturing park (Medipark). The Medipark project will be the first manufacturing cluster in the medical technology sector in the country, envisaged to boost the local manufacturing of hiend products at a significantly lower cost, resulting in affordable healthcare delivery, particular in diagnostic services to a large section of people. The proposed Medipark would contribute to the development of medical devices and technology sector and allied disciplines in the country, which was still at a beginning stage besides generating employment and give a boost to the government’s “Make in India” campaign.

Majuli River Island Date: 1 September, 2016 Place: Assam Assam’s Majuli is to be declared as the largest river island in the world by the Guinness World Records. The island is located in the Brahmaputra River. Majuli had a total area of 1250 square kilometres at the beginning of the 20th century. However, it had lost one third of its area due to erosion. The island is formed by River Brahmaputra in the south and the Kherkutia Xuti, a branch of the Brahmaputra, joined by the Subansiri River in the north. It was formed due to course changes by the river Brahmaputra and its tributaries, mainly the Lohit. It is the abode of the Assamese neo-Vaisnavite culture.

Portal for Paddy Procurement

Date: 1 October, 2016 Place: Karnal Field: Agriculture In the upcoming procurement season Haryana will launch its e-kharid portal for procurement of paddy. In this regard a mobile application would also be launched at the same function which would provide all necessary information to farmers, arthiyas and traders. Arthiyas who were unable to operate computer, their work would be completed by the concerned Secretary, Market Committee. While 31 mandis of the state have already been linked with National Agriculture Market, five more mandis would soon be linked and business of `120 crore has so far been done. India’s First Medipark in TN

CA-256 Gyan Darshan Date: 9 October, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Education Four DD education channels went off air due to pending fees in the year 2014. Gyan Darshan I & II, GD-3 and GD-4 - reaching out to lakhs of children in the country, went blank after an uninterrupted run for nearly 14 years. Considering the importance of the programmes. Doordarshan and Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) will enter into an agreement for transmission of four Gyan Darshan educational channels. IGNOU now needs to apply for a fresh license to start the uplinking of its channels for GSAT10 satellite, as under the Uplinking and Downlinking Guidelines of the I&B Ministry, it is not eligible for the grant of a license. The idea will help millions of students in India. It will educate and enlarge the vision of digital learning. Satellite-based Illegal Mining Detection System Date: 15 October, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Mining To make mineral administration more responsive in curbing instances of illegal mining activity through public participation and remote sensing detection technology the mines ministry will launch a satellitebased illegal mining detection system, which will receive tip-offs in the form of pictures taken from a mobile phone, automatically generate complaints to state authorities and publish the outcome of a probe in a mobile application. Mining Surveillance System (MSS) is a pan-India surveillance network using latest satellite technology, to check illegal mining. The technology will ensure sustainable utilisation of the country’s mineral resources. MSS will trigger an alarm whenever there is an instance of illegal mining outside permitted areas. Karnataka, which saw large instances of illegal mining in the past, stands to gain tremendously from this technology. Indigenous Drones

Date: 17 October, 2016 Place: Kharagpur Field: Science & Tech

IDEAS 2016 Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur is developing drones using indigenous hardware and software. Under the Aerial Robotics Kharagpur (ARK) initiative, drones are being developed, which would be capable of autonomous flight, localisation in GPS-denied environments, and tracking and interacting with mobile ground robots as well as other drones. The ARK initiative goals to develop a versatile aerial robotics framework, which might be simply used to manage aerial autos and ultimately transfer to a number of decentralised aerial robotic swarms in an out of doors setting. The ARK initiative intends to develop drones using indigenous hardware and software. These have various applications, including tracking during search and rescue operations. India-made Electric Bus

Date: 17 October, 2016 Place: Chennai Field: Transport Ashok Leyland is going to launch the first ever electric bus. It will be entirely manufactured in India. It is named as circuit. The bus with the maximum seating capacity of 65 can run up to 120 kilometres on a single charge under standard test conditions. The Circuit series of buses is another testament to leverage India’s technological innovation to relevant and best in class solutions for India and the world. This innovation will help reducing pollution to a great extent in addition to saving fuels. Air Treatment System in Delhi

Date: 27 October, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Environmental Pollution The Delhi government is planning a threetier air treatment system to deal with rising air pollution in city. It includes setting up of wind purification units, mist fountains and virtual chimney at five major traffic intersections on trial basis. Delhi government in collaboration with National Environmental Engineering Research Institute and IIT (Bombay) would set up the entire system. The system includes setting up of wind purification units, mist fountains

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IDEAS 2016 and virtual chimney. Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) data of last five years showed that air quality in the national capital has seen a gradual dip before Diwali and it continues to deteriorate till mid-December. New Arhar Variety of Pigeon-pea

Date: 31 October, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Agriculture Traditional pigeonpea varieties are all long-duration types; they mature in about 300 days. They have very specific uses, and sometimes you’ll find them growing as a perennial plant around houses, fencing, etc. As a perennial, it can survive 3–4 years easily. And the plant is also grown as a perennial if it’s the long-poded type grown as a vegetable. A new arhar (pigeon-pea) variety that matures in 120 days, gives the same 20 quintal-per-hectare yields of normal 160180 day plants and is, moreover, amenable to mechanical combine harvesting. The average yield of existing pulses varieties in the country is 9-10 quintals a hectare, but the new variety developed by IIPR scientists has the potential to give 20 quintals. Arhar (tur) is mostly grown in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka, while it is used almost in all parts of the country. The development will greatly solve the massive shortage of arhar and control the soaring price. HIMANSH the High Altitude Station Date: 9 October, 2016 Place: Spiti, Himachal Pradesh Field: Research Himalayan region has the largest concentration of glaciers outside the polar caps, as this region is aptly called the “Water Tower of Asia” is the source of the 10 major river systems that provide irrigation, power and drinking water for over 700 million people live in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh– nearly 10% of the world’s population. Understanding the behaviour of these glaciers and their contribution to the sustainable supply of water for mankind and agriculture is one of the grand challenges of Indian scientific community. As part of the

Indian Government’s initiatives to better study and quantify the Himalayan glacier responses towards the climate change, has established a high altitude research station in Himalaya called HIMANSH (literally meaning, a slice of ice), situated above 13,500 ft (> 4000 m) at a remote region in Spiti, Himachal Pradesh. Clean Energy Equity Fund

Date: 2 November, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Energy The Indian government and three state-run firms will jointly set up an equity fund of up to $2 billion for renewable energy companies to help New Delhi meet its clean energy goals. The fund is being created to support Government’s ambitious target of adding 175 GW renewable energy generation capacity by 2022. The Government will launch the fund jointly with state-run power entities namely, National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC), Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) and Power Finance Corporation Limited (PFC). The capital city is facing acute power shortage. This fund aims to solve this problem which is long-standing. Online PM-Awas Yojana

Date: 2 November, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Housing Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and Common Services Centre e-Governance Services signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which will enable online submission of applications under PMAY (Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana). It will enable online submission of applications by the urban poor for affordable houses under PMAY from November 3, 2016 at a nominal cost of ` 25/- per application. Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana was launched in June 2015 to provide affordable housing to urban poor. It is proposed to build 2 crore houses for urban poor including economically weaker sections and low income groups in urban areas by the year 2022. It is noted that so many needy and eligible persons are not availing the benefit. This initiation will bring transparency.

CA-258 Yamuna Riverfront Project Date: 2 November, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Culture & Tourism The lifeblood of Delhi the Yamuna River is getting polluted day by day. It is posing a serious threat to the ecology. Keeping in mind this grave threat the Delhi government is going to launch the ` 200-crore Yamuna riverfront project at the second annual ‘Yamuna Aarti’ event at the Dhai Pusta, in Sonia Vihar. The objective of the project is to beautify the riverfront in the next one-anda-half years. A ‘Nakshatra Vatika’ (garden as per Vedic astrology) and a medicinal garden will be constructed at Sonia Vihar. Online Platform “Nyaaya”

Date: 5 November, 2016 Place: Bangalore Field: IT An online platform named ‘Nyaaya’ will explain the country’s Central and state laws in a user-friendly method, supported by interactive guides and visualisations. It will explain sexual harassment, domestic violence, dowry and anti-corruption laws among others. Currently available in English, Nyaaya wants to launch its service in India’s 22 official languages. Nyaaya is made up of a team of three lawyers and two engineers from across NLS Bangalore, Symbiosis Law, IIT Kharagpur and Mumbai. E-Court Software

Date: 4 November, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: RTI A new E-Court software will be developed for speedy disposal of Appeals/Complaints. It will enable speedy disposal of Appeals/ Complaints by using digital technology. The system would allow online filing of appeals/complaints and case transfer using latest technology. It would generate a unique number which can be used by the applicant for tracking the status of a case filed with the Commission. Alerts will also be produced to inform the applicant at the stage of Registration, issue of facilitation memo, scheduling of the case hearing and also at the stage of decision uploading. The system will provide an online search facility which allows a user to search for Dak, File,

IDEAS 2016 Hearing Notice and Decision, etc. Right to Information (RTI) Act is a powerful medium of two-way communication between the citizens and the government. Corporation Bank’s Free Service to Indian Army

Date: 8 November, 2016 Place: Mangaluru Field: Defence A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is going to be signed between the Indian Army and Corporation Bank on the Defence Salary Package. The MoU is adapted to suit the requirements of serving soldiers, pensioners and families and includes free / concessional services including free drafts, free cheque books, free funds transfers to any bank in India through RTGS / NEFT, free ATM cards, Unlimited transactions on all ATMs including that of other Banks. Some important attributes of the MoU include Personal Accident Insurance Cover of ` 5 and 10 lacs, Air Insurance Cover of ` 5 to 50 lacs and Term Life Insurance Cover of ` 5 & 10 lacs. All the facilities are also provided to the pensioners except Term Life Insurance Cover. LNG Fuelled Bus Date: 8 November, 2016 Place: Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala Field: Environment India’s first liquefied natural gas (LNG)driven bus is going to be launched in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. The LNG bus is a joint effort of Petronet LNG Limited (PLL), Indian Oil Corporation Ltd and Tata Motors Ltd. LNG is an environmentally friendly fuel with less number of Nitrogen and Sulphur atoms and particulate matters, as compared to petrol and diesel. Carbon emission is also lesser than Diesel. Hence LNG powered transportation system will help India meet its COP21 commitment. Petronet LNG Limited is a joint venture company promoted by the Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL), Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC), Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOC) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL). Petronet LNG Limited has set up the country’s first LNG receiving and regasification terminal at Dahej, Gujarat, and another terminal at Kochi.

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IDEAS 2016 Pradhan Mantri Yuva Yojana

Date: 9 November, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Entrepreneurship The Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) on 9 November 2016 launched the Pradhan Mantri YUVA Yojana to boost up an ecosystem of entrepreneurship for young people. Under the scheme, the Central Government will arrange entrepreneurship education and training programs for youngsters for next 5 years. The scheme will run for five years from 2016-17 to 2020-21 with a project cost of about 499.94 crore. Under this Yojana, more than 7 Lakh youngsters will be provided entrepreneurship education and training through 3,050 institutes across India. The government is expecting to motivate first generation entrepreneurs to improve and excel in their entrepreneurial pursuits and inspire those who are part of the country’s entrepreneurship ecosystem to excel even further through the scheme. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) is the flagship scheme of the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE). The objective of this Skill Certification Scheme is to enable a large number of Indian youth to take up industry-relevant skill training that will help them in securing a better livelihood. Individuals with prior learning experience or skills will also be assessed and certified under Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). Under this Scheme, Training and Assessment fees are completely paid by the Government. The institutes under the PMYY include 2,200 institutes of higher learning (colleges, universities, and premier institutes), 500 ITIs, 300 schools and 50 entrepreneurship development centres through Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs).

Kahin Bhi-Kabhi Bhi Medical Facilities

Date: 14 November, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Health Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) is going to launch ‘Kahin Bhi-Kabhi Bhi’ medical facilities for its beneficiaries of Delhi. Kahin Bhi means any dispensary/ Hospital and Kabhi Bhi means anytime. With this initiative, all the networks of dispensaries of Delhi have been made accessible to insured persons and their family members all the time. The initiative aims at saving time of the beneficiaries as well as minimizing the effort that he/she makes to avail the services. Mobile App CHIRAG Date: 9 November, 2016 Place: Mumbai Field: Human Rights The App “Child Helpline for Information on Rights and Address Grievances” (CHIRAG) will be available for download on Google Playstore while an IOS version would be launched shortly. The app will provide information regarding functioning of the Child Rights Protection Commission while spreading awareness about children’s rights. People can also lodge complaints

about violation of child rights through the app. Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh have recorded cases of child abuse. This idea is path-breaking because with registering a complaint on the app will immediately send an email to the Maharashtra State Child Rights Protection, which will direct it to police or a child right charity. Navy to Select Candidates Through JEE (Main) Ranks

Date: 12 November, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Defence Indian Navy is considering to select candidates into the 10+2 B Tech cadet scheme through JEE (Main) ranks, instead of class 12th. Earlier, the candidates were selected on the basis of their PCM (Physics, Chemistry, Maths) percentage, scored in their class 12 board examination. The move can result in more candidates taking JEE (Mains) examination in 2017, to become eligible for the January 2018 courses offered by Indian Naval Academy (INA). All this has become necessary because the Navy needs a strong cadre of officers with advanced technical expertise to handle the sophisticated “platforms”.

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IDEAS 2016

First Cherry Blossom Festival Date: 14 November, 2016 Place: Meghalaya Field: Culture Meghalaya is going to be the first state to start India’s first Cherry Blossom Festival, which is widely celebrated in Japan. The fourday festival will also provide opportunities to showcase the unique beauty of pink and white cherry blossoms as well as Meghalaya’s traditional arts, culture and cuisine to the naturalists and tourists. The aim of the festival is to attract tourists to this hill state in autumn to witness cherry blossoms blooming at every corner of the Shillong. This tourism project was implemented by Manipur-based Institute of Bioresources, Sustainable Development (IBSD) and National Institute of Department of Biotechnology. United Nations declared 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development. Facebook Wireless Data Transfer World Record

Date: 13 November, 2016 Place: Menlo Park, California, United States Field: IT

Facebook’s Connectivity Lab set a world record transmitting at nearly 20 Gbps for 13.2 kilometers with MMW (Milli Meter Wave) technology. This will be used as a terrestrial backhaul network to support access solutions such as Terragraph and Project ARIES. Millimeter wave is the band of radio spectrum between 30 Ghz and 300 Ghz. Researchers are testing 5G wireless broadband technology on millimetre wave spectrum. INSV MHADEI with all-women Crew

Date: 9 November, 2016 Place: Panaji Field: Defence An all-women crew of the Indian Navy is about to set off in the Indian Navy Sailing Vessel Mhadei for the ‘Cape 2 Rio Yacht Race 2017’. The vessel will start from Goa to Cape Town, South Africa by Rear Admiral Monty Khanna, Commandant Naval War College in a ceremony held at the Boat Pool of INS Mandovi, Goa. The “Cape to Rio Race” (Cape Town to Rio de Janeiro) which will start from Cape Town on 26 Dec 16.

Mahrashtra Fly Ash Utilisation Policy

Date: 15 November, 2016 Place: Mumbai Field: Environment & Ecology Maharashtra on 15th Nov 2016 became the first Indian state to adopt the Fly Ash utilisation policy. This will pave the way for prosperity by creating wealth from waste and foster environment protection. As per the policy, 100% of the fly ash generated from thermal power plants and biogas plants will be used for construction activities. The fly ash will be utilised for making cement, wall panels, blocks, tiles, bricks and other construction materials. The policy allows usage of fly ash within 300 km of the power plant. It was earlier to be used within 100 km radius. Policy will create employment opportunities in power plant areas. It will be helpful for low cost construction to Housing for All Projects. Fly ash is a byproduct of coal combustion; it is composed of fine particles that are driven out of the boiler with the flue gases. In modern coal fired power plants, fly ash is captured through electrostatic precipitators or other particle filtration equipment before the flue gases reach the chimneys. Fly ash includes substantial amounts of silicon dioxide, aluminium oxide and calcium oxide. Fly ash can be rescued as a substitute material for Portland cement and sand used in concrete production. It can also be used for road construction. The high concentration of elements (K, Na, Zn, Ca, Mg, & Fe) in fly ash increases the yield of many agricultural crops. It can also be used as a substitute material for clay for cement clinkers production. This project will reduce. heavy metals leaching from stored fly ash into groundwater and making which can put the health of the surrounding populations in danger. Apart from causing air pollution, fly ash can also contaminate water and soil systems.

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IDEAS 2016 Jhelum-Tawi Flood Recovery Project

Women Commando Team In CRPF

Date: November 14, 2016 Place: J&K Field: Construction The World Bank funded mega US $250 million Jhelum-Tawi Flood Recovery project which would give a massive push to the reconstruction and rehabilitation of infrastructure post 2014 floods in the State. The loan assistance from the World Bank would be shared by Centre and the State Government in the ratio 90:10 and it would be operative for five years ending June 2020. Apart from fund flow the loan assistance will also comprise of expertise to handle such projects and the necessary technological advancements as well. The works to be done under the project include construction of roads, bridges, hospitals and other infrastructure projects.

Date: 14 November, 2016 Place: Jharkhand Field: Defence, Women Empowerment A team of women commandos are to be inducted for the first time in Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) to counter Naxal insurgency in Jharkhand. The 135 women belonging to the 232 battalion’s Delta Company, included in the operation, are currently undertaking operations under the close supervision of CRPF’s 133 battalion in Naxal-infested forests on the outer area of Ranchi near Khoonti area. They have been provided extensive training in CRPF academies specially for countering Naxals. The need to induct the women commando was felt to tackle women Naxals, which required training the women group to become equally capable of neutralising Naxals.

Interlinking of rivers in India

Interlinking of Rivers is linking the rivers of the country by networks of canals and reservoirs. In India, Interlinking of rivers was proposed for the first time during British Colonial rule. The objective of the proposal was to reduce the transportation cost of raw materials and finished products. To study the interlinking of rivers, Union Government has established National Water Development Agency (NWDA) under the Ministry of Water Resources. Many states have proposed for interlinking of rivers with regard to scarcity of water and hence the Central Government is working on a few projects. Interlinking of rivers will reduce poverty, floods and allocate water to states equally. India receives most of its rain from June to September. Most of the rain falls in northern and eastern part of India. Comparatively, the amount of rainfall in southern and western part is low. These states have shortage of water. Interlinking of rivers will help these areas to have water throughout the year. Interlinking of rivers will be a practical solution to meet problems of agricultural area lacking water, because the water can be stored or water can be transferred from water surplus area to deficit. In order to avoid floods in Ganga and Brahmaputra basin, the water from these areas should be diverted to areas facing scarcity of water. This can be achieved by linking the rivers. Interlinking of rivers holds importance from commercial perspective also. .Interlinking can be used as inland waterways which will help in faster movement of goods from one place to other. Interlinking would generate employment opportunities for people living close to river. Other factors related to interlinking of rivers are: in the process of creating canals and reservoirs, there will be mass deforestation which can have impact on rains and in turn affect the whole cycle of life. Decrease in the amount of fresh water entering seas is a serious threat to the marine life system, which can be a major ecological disaster. On the whole, it can be said that Interlinking of rivers strikes as a good solution for scarcity of water, but interlinking has to take place after detailed study and research, keeping in view the environment and aquatic life.

CA-262 Date: 15 November, 2016 Place: Karnataka Field: Defence A medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle, Rustom-2 is comparable to the American made Predator drone and can fly for 24 hours at stretch. It can conduct sustained surveillance and can carry weapons along with surveillance equipment. The application of drones is manifold - including reconnaissance, surveillance, intelligence gathering and aerial combat missions. What makes them indispensable is that they can conduct these tasks at a fraction of the cost of a manned aircraft and in case of a crash or malfunction, costs no lives. The most recent instance of drone usage by India had been during the army’s surgical strikes on terror launchpads across the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, where the drones have monitored and filmed the proceedings. For that operation, the military had to rely on imported drones, which had long endurance and a capacity to fly in high altitudes. Rustom-2 will be able to carry out such missions. The Rustom-2 has been renamed Tapas 201. The Rustom-1, which flew for the first time in 2009, had been named after the late Rustom Damania, who helped develop the aircraft that had been used as a prototype. World’s Salt-tolerant Plant Garden

Date: 19 November, 2016 Place: Vedaranyam, Tamil Nadu Field: Agriculture The world’s first Genetic Garden of Halophytes (naturally occurring salttolerant plants) is going to be established at the coastal town of Vedaranyam in Tamil Nadu. The first of its kind garden in the world was inaugurated by Mauritius President Ameenah Gurib Fakim through videoconferencing. The garden has been set up by M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) founded by eminent agriculture scientist Prof M S Swaminathan, father of Indian Green Revolution. It will have over 1,600 species belonging to 550 genera and 117 families of Halophytes plants. Initially it will comprise halophytes occurring along the coasts of India including the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Amazon Go Amazon is testing a grocery store in downtown Seattle that lets customers walk in, grab food from the shelves and walk out again, without ever having to stand in a checkout line. Customers can tap their cellphones on a turnstile as they walk into the store, which logs them into the store’s network and connects to their Amazon account through an app. The service is called Amazon Go. It uses machine learning, sensors and artificial intelligence to track items customers pick up. These are then added to the virtual cart on their app. If they have picked up an item they later decide they don’t want, putting it back on the shelf removes it from their cart. The company has named it “Just walk out technology.” When the customer leaves, the app adds up everything the customer has taken and charges their Amazon account. IDEAS

DRDO’s drone Rustom-2

IDEAS 2016

ECONOMIC

Credit Guarantee Fund for MUDRA Loans Date: 6 January 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Creation of a Credit Guarantee Fund for MUDRA loans Problems: Weakness of Micro-units Effects: To reduce the credit risk to Banks/ NBFCs/MFIs/other financial intermediaries A Credit Guarantee Fund for Micro Units Development Refinance Agency (MUDRA) loans is to be created to fund more than ` 100,000 crore worth of loans to micro and small units in the first instance. Credit Guarantee Fund for MUDRA Units (CGFMU) will guarantee loans sanctioned under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana with the objective to reduce the credit risk to Banks/NBFCs/MFIs/other financial intermediaries, who are Member Lending Institutions (MLIs). The MUDRA (SIDBI) Bank will undertake refinance operations and provide support services with focus on portal management; data analysis etc. apart from any other activity entrusted/ advised by government. The idea will definitely serve as a support unit to small financial institutions.

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IDEAS 2016 Stand Up India Scheme for Women and SC/ST Date: January 7, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Economic Empowerment Problems: SC/ST Economic Backwardness Effects: To promote entrepreneurship among SC/ST and Women Stand Up India Scheme aims to promote entrepreneurship among SC/ST and Women entrepreneurs. In India SC/ST women are mostly neglected without having any financial support. This move will definitely boost their confidence and will help them to stand on their own feet. This Scheme aims to facilitate at least two such projects per bank branch, on an average one for each category of entrepreneur. It is likely to prove beneficiary for at least 2.5 lakh borrowers. The Stand Up India Scheme provides for: Refinance window through Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) with an initial amount of Rs. 10,000 crore and creation of a credit guarantees mechanism through the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC). It will provide handholding support for borrowers both at the pre loan stage and during operations. SBI In Cube

Date: January 14, 2016 Place: Bengaluru, Karnataka Field: Start-ups Problems: Start-ups lacking specific financial needs SBI InCube branch is a specialised branch to understand and address our banking needs for setting up a start-up. It will provide the best suitable solutions in banking transactions and investments on a robust technology platform for business model.InCube branches will be a one-stop shop for the financial service requirements of start-ups in the country. SBI has opened its first InCube branch in Bengaluru keeping in mind that the city is the hub for start-ups in the country. Apart from serving a start-up’s financial services requirements, SBI will also provide mentorship through technology experts. SBI also launched a new wealth management service called Exclusif.

Hydrocarbon Vision 2030 Date: February 9, 2016 Place: Guwahati Field: Oil & Gas production The quest for an improved quality of life necessitates all aspects of energy security: exploration of resources, effective exploitation of available resources, intelligent balancing of imports, and ensuring a sustainable energy strategy. For India to succeed in its unrelenting pursuit towards steady, high growth as well as a strong desire for poverty eradication, proper exploitation and utilisation of hydrocarbon sources remains a key area. This warrants thinking towards better planning not only for the highest possible domestic production of oil and gas, but also integrating India’s hydrocarbon sector with the Asian and, to a large extent, the global energy economy. The Hydrocarbon Vision 2030 for North East India document aspires to catalyse growth in the region by developing its hydrocarbon potential. Under the guidance for development set forth in this document, the North East Region would embark on a journey to growth and prosperity. The Vision can be realised only through the combined effort of all stakeholders and people of the North East. The Vision aims at doubling Oil & Gas production by 2030, making clean fuels accessible, fast tracking projects, generating employment opportunities and promoting cooperation with neighbouring countries. The Vision rests on five pillars: People, Policy, Partnership, Projects and Production. The states covered under the plan are Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland, Sikkim, Mizoram and Tripura. Mahila E-HAAT Date: March 7, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Marketing Effects: For enabling SHGs to sell products online The Mahila e-Haat portal, http://mahilaehaatrmk.gov.in, is an online marketing platform. It will provide access to markets to thousands of women who make products. The initiative dedicated to women entrepreneurs will

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leverage technology for showcasing products made/manufactured/sold by women entrepreneurs. They can even showcase those services being provided by them which reflect creative potential e.g. tailoring. The e-Haat is expected to result in paradigm shift enabling women to exercise control over their finances. The entire business of e-Haat can be handled through mobile phone. The product, along with photograph description, cost and mobile number/address of the participants will be displayed on the e-Haat enabling direct contact between sellers/service providers and buyers.

Locomotives to Myanmar Date: March 4, 2016 Place: Naypyitaw, Myanmar Field: Transport India will supply 18 Meter Gauge 1350 HP Diesel Electric Locomotives to Myanmar to augment locomotive fleet of Myanmar Railways to meet increasing demand in the rail transportation system. The locomotives will be manufactured by Diesel Locomotive Works, Varanasi with several modern

features like microprocessor controls, fuelefficient engine and ergonomic cab design etc. funded under an existing line of credit extended to Myanmar by Government of India. This initiative will boost foreign trade and neighbourhood co-operation.

India Post Payments Bank Date: 2 June, 2016 Place: Delhi Field: Banking In India 154,000 Post offices will carry on banking activities. Union Government has given its approval for setting up the India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) which will be formed as a Public Limited Company under the Department of Posts with 100% Government of India (GOI) equity share. All Indian Citizens and 40% of the Country’s People in outside the country will be benefitted with this implementation. Its services will be available across the country through 650 payment bank branches, linked post offices and alternative channels equiped with modern technology including mobiles, ATMs and digital payments.

Unified Payments Interface (UPI)

Date: 25 August, 2016 Place: Mumbai Field: Banking UPI payment system allows money transfer between any two bank accounts by using a smartphone. It allows a customer to pay directly from a bank account to different merchants, both online and offline, without the hassle of typing credit card details, IFSC code, or net banking/wallet passwords. It is safe as the customers only share a virtual address and provide no other sensitive information. The per transaction limit is `1 lakh. Through UPI the customer can download any bank’s UPI app on his smartphone, just add the amount to be transferred, provide the beneficiary’s UPI handle and click send. Money will be transferred through the IMPS railroad in real time. Payments can be made between friends, to merchants and even to delivery boys instead of doing cash on delivery. The flagship product of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) it will help India to move towards a cashless economy. It is a set of standard Application Programming Interface (APIs). It will provide uniform mobile payment system by leveraging digital trends such as increasing smart phone adoption and deeper penetration of mobile data. It will allow customers to send and receive money from their smartphones using virtual payments address without entering bank account details.

Skava Commerce Date: 28 September, 2016 Place: Bengaluru Field: Commerce & Economy Skava Commerce, a modern, mobile-first and

modular e-commerce platform that delivers engaging omni-channel experiences. Skava, is a Silicon Valley based e-commerce startup. The platform could help brick-and-mortar retailers to quickly launch new offerings, improve conversion rates of traffic coming

IDEAS 2016 from digital channels, amongst other things, without making large investments. The platform could and easily integrate into existing technologies, while also providing a future ready architecture that would enable next generation shopping experiences leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, natural language processing and virtual reality (VR).

Robotics for Business Processes Date: 9 September, 2016 Place: Mumbai Field: IT The country’s largest private lender ICICI Bank is going to deploy ‘Software Robotics’ in over 200 business processes across various functions of the bank. This move will enable the banks employees to focus more on value-added functions. The software robots will reduce the response time to customers by up to 60%. ICICI Bank is an Indian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, with its registered office in Vadodara. Chanda Kochhar is the managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) of ICICI Bank. More Banks in the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) Date: 3 November, 2016 Place: Mumbai Field: Banking Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is a system that powers multiple bank accounts of participating banks, several banking services features like fund transfer (P2P), and merchant payments in a single mobile application. Five new banks have joined the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) bandwagon, thereby taking the total number of banks using UPI to 26. It includes public sector lenders, State Bank of India, Allahabad Bank and Bank of Baroda and two private banks HDFC Bank and IDFC Bank. The applications are currently live only for the banks’ own customers and after being tested till they will be made available to the public through the android play store. UPI was launched by National Payments Corporation of India with Reserve Bank of India. It is an architecture and a set of standard app APIs by RBI to facilitate

CA-265 the next generation online immediate payments. Transactions are made through a virtual address, the VPA (Virtual Payment Address), which is in the format [name]@ [bankname]. The upper limit per UPI transaction is ` 1 Lakh.

India’s Most Attractive Brands Date: 3 November, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Business The Tata conglomerate slipped in ranking on India’s most attractive brands index, which has been topped by South Korean consumer electronics maker LG. Tata, which was at number 4 in 2015 and number 5 in 2014, is ranked at number 7 in India’s Most Attractive Brands 2016 study, carried out by Trust Research Advisory (TRA) and based on primary research conducted on close to 3,000 consumers across 16 cities. This year, top three ranks were occupied by LG, followed by Sony and Samsung Mobiles. India based firms Bajaj, Tata and Maruti Suzuki were ranked sixth, seven and eight respectively. Airtel and Nokia took the ninth and tenth spot respectively in the TRA’s most attractive brands list. In the subcategory of FMCG diversified, as per TRA, Patanjali cracked Hindustan Unilever (HUL) to be the most the attractive brand.

First Titanium Production Date: 4 November, 2016 Place: Ganjam, Odisha Field: Mining India is going to start its test production of titanium at Ganjam district of Odisha. The project was established by Saraf Group. This is first of its kind titanium plant and the only one in the country. During the test run, one of its four furnaces became functional. This plant is expected to produce 36,000 tons of titanium slag and 20,000 tons of pig iron per year. The raw material of the plant ilmenite would be procured from Odisha Sands Complex (OSCOM), a unit of Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL) in Ganjam district of Odisha as well as a private company which has its unit in Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh. Earlier in August 2015, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) had fully commissioned and started commercial production at the first indigenous Titanium

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Sponge Plant at Chavara in Kerala. This plant had commercially started producing Titanium Sponge exclusively for the space programme and strategic areas especially in aerospace and defence areas. With this commissioning India became the seventh country in the world producing Titanium sponge commercially.

Startup Mentorship Circle Date: 5 Nov, 2016 Place:Mumbai Field: Economy & Employment Mentorship circle aims at providing a platform to Indian starups to showcase their capabilities and partner with industry. ‘Startup It will circle’ to help in connecting

start-ups with the global marketplace. ‘Startup Mentorship Circle’ is truly a strong eco-system for nurturing innovation and startups to drive sustainable economic growth and generate large scale employment opportunities. The ‘Startup Mentorship Circle’ will provide a common platform for captains of India Inc and startup entrepreneurs to share their experiences and resources. Confederation of Indian Industry aims at connecting startups to the global marketplace and their thinktanks to enable firms to scale up and succeed in an exponential way. The industry body will focus on startups which are past the idea stage and have been in operation for 2-5 years; those that need support for the next stage in order to scale up.

Living in cashless society

The objective of Demonetization is to emerge in cashless society. Removal of cash will have many beneficial consequences, the most obvious being reduction in crime. Cash is the fuel that powers criminal machinery. It would be great if government is able to track all payments. This would lead to drastic reduction of crime. All criminals, weapon salesmen, gambling syndicates, drug dealers, etc. conduct their business because of cash. In the absence of cash, operating these criminal activities would be impossible. Financial innovation has caused a gradual reduction in the amount of cash in circulation. Post demonetization, common man has started to opt for cashless transactions. People are getting aware of using automated payment transactions using apps, e-wallets, net banking, etc. Today, less than 10% of the money supply exists in the form of cash and bills. Major section of the money supply is in the form of digital currency. The cash that exists today is only to grease the wheels of commerce. Many believe that a demand to eliminate this balance 10% is simply absurd and bordering on infringement of privacy. The Government also believes that a lot of other benefits will emerge as a result of implementation of this policy. Foremost feature of all is Taxation. The Government would be able to collect tax revenues as and when they are due. Because of the massive tax evasion by the others, tax burden is heavy on the middle class .If a cashless society comes into being, tax evasion would become very difficult. Hence, the tax burden on the common man will be reduced. Second feature would be Convenience. A cashless society is utterly comfortable. Transferring money would be easy and hassle free. It waives off chances of threat or theft of money. Third feature would be Track on each transaction: Government will be able to track each and every transaction belonging to every individual. Thus Government will have the resources to check purchase and travel plans of a person. The citizens are devoid of privacy. This factor makes people skeptical. They believe that a cashless society might be a huge invasion on their privacy. Another factor is Deposit Insurance. Due to cashless societies people will be forced to deposit their money in banks. Presently, bank deposits are insured up to $100,000 per account. In case of a cashless society, this limit will have to be increased since keeping money in the bank would no longer be a choice.

Artificial Laxmi India’s First Banking Robot Date: 10 November, 2016 Place: Chennai Field: Banking

Laxmi, India’s first banking robot is ready to make its debut soon, it is based on the platform of ‘Artificial Intelligence Interactive Technology’ which is really super fast and crisp to interact. The Robot will be introduced by Chennai’s ‘City

IDEAS 2016 Union Bank’ very soon. Laxmi would be equipped with many unique features that will let people know their account balance, interest rates on different loans, processing fee and service charge on loans, possible charges to be incurred on fixed deposit closures and other banking related queries. Laxmi has been programmed to deliver public information via speech, and other confidential information such as account details and balance inquiries will be entertained through a display screen attached to it. If Laxmi is unable to answer any of the customer’s query then it would ask the customer to get in touch with the branch manager, as it is basically based on Artificial Intelligence, it gets better by interacting with customers in due course of time. Currently Laxmi has been programmed to interact in English, but in near future, it will also be capable of interacting in Tamil. ` 525-crore Tyre Plant in Andhra Pradesh Date: 9 November, 2016 Place: Sri City, Andhra Pradesh Field: Industry & Manufacturing Apollo tyres will start a manufacturing facility at Sri City in Andhra Pradesh with an investment of ` 525 crore. The plant will have a capacity to roll out 5 lakh tyres per month which can be extended up to 30 lakh in future. This will be the company’s 5th manufacturing plant in India. Currently Apollo Tyres has two plants in Kerala and one plant each in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat. Apollo Tyres also has an international manufacturing presence with a plant in the Netherlands and another Greenfield facility currently being set up in Hungary. This plant will provide employment and empower the state’s industrial sector. First Small Finance Bank Date: 11 November, 2016 Place: Jalandhar, Punjab Field: Banking India’s first small finance bank Capital Small Finance Bank Ltd, is going to commence with 10 branches in Jalandhar, Punjab. The bank ceases to exist with effect from April 24, 2016. In the current fiscal, the bank would consolidate in Punjab by adding 29 branches. The bank’s business is projected

CA-267 to increase four-fold. The RBI had granted approval to 11 entities for launching payments banks in August 2015. It had given approval to IDFC and Bandhan to start universal banks last year ceases to exist with effect from April 24, 2016. In the current fiscal, the bank would consolidate in Punjab by adding 29 branches. Small finance banks are a type of niche banks in India. Banks with a small finance bank license can provide basic banking service of acceptance of deposits and lending. The aim behind these to provide financial inclusion to sections of the economy not being served by other banks, such as small business units, small and marginal farmers, micro and small industries and unorganised sector entities. Such banks will initially be restricted to holding a maximum balance of ` 1 lakh per individual customer. They will be allowed to issue ATM/debit cards as also other prepaid payment instruments, but not the credit cards. Islamic Banking in India Date: November 21, 2016 Place: Delhi Field: Banking Islamic Banks work on the principles of an interest free banking. Riba or interest under Islamic Law basically means anything in “excess” – the investor should not make an “undue” profit from the hard work of the other. But it is permitted to follow a system of reasonable profit and return from investment where the investor takes a risk that is well calculated. Thus, Islamic banks make available accounts which provide profit or loss instead of interest rates. The banks use this money collected by them and invest in something that is shariat compliant, that is not haraam and does not involve high risks. Thus, businesses involving alcohol, drugs, war weapons etc. as well as all other high risk and speculative activities are prohibited. Islamic Banking, therefore, acts as an agent by collecting the money on behalf of its customers, investing them in shariat compliant projects and sharing the profits or losses with them. In India Islamic Banking was mooted by Raghuram Rajan in his report on the

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Incentives To Digital Payment The Central Government has decided on a package of incentives and measures for promotion of digital and cashless economy in the country on 8 December 2016. The incentives are: 1) A 0.75% discount on the sale price of petrol and diesel to customers. 2) Expand digital payment infrastructure in rural areas Centre through NABARD will extend financial support to eligible banks for

deployment of two POS devices each in one Lakh villages with population of less than 10,000. 3) Rupay Kisan Cards The Central Government through NABARD will also support Rural Regional Banks and Cooperative Banks to issue “Rupay Kisan Cards” to 4.32 crore Kisan Credit Card holders to enable them to make digital transactions at POS machines/ Micro ATMs/ATMs. 4) Railway sops The Railways will offer up to 0.5% off on monthly and seasonal tickets from January 1, 2017, for paying through digital methods. 5) Free railway accidental insurance cover of upto `10 lakh for free if you book your train tickets online. 6) A 5% discount on catering, accommodation, retiring rooms, etc, offered by railways. 7) Discount or credit of up to 10% on the premium of general insurance policies and 8% on new life policies of LIC if payments are made through digital means. 8) Transaction fee/ MDR charges associated wtih payment through digital means will not be passed on to the customers, and all such expenses will be borne by the Central government departments and central public sector undertakings. 9) Monthly rental of PoS terminals/ micro ATMs/ mobile PoS shouldn’t be more than `100 to incentivise small merchants’ move to digital modes of payments. 10) No service tax on digital transaction charges/ merchant discount rate (MDR) for transactions up to `2,000 per transaction. 11) 10% discount if you use Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) cards/ fast tags to pay toll on National Highways in 2016-17. IDEAS

Financial Sector in the year 2008 where he recommended that interest-free banking techniques should be operated on a larger scale so as to give access to those who are unable to access banking services, including those belong to economically disadvantaged section of the society. There are many advantages in introducing an Islamic window in the banks. For instance, majority of companies in the Stock Exchange are shariat compliant (this number is more than the shariat compliant companies on the Stock Exchange in Malaysia), thus this would result in attracting huge funds in the domestic market alone. An Islamic Banking window will encourage many from the Muslim community to come forward and invest in projects thereby mobilising huge amount of capital which they may not be willing to put in the banks. This also means that India will be able to attract huge investments from West Asia and from those who invest only in shariat compliant projects. However, the Indian banking laws will have to be amended so as to incorporate the provisions relating to Islamic banking. For example, the Banking Regulation Act requires payment of interest which is against the principles of Islamic Banking. The Act also specifies “banking” to mean accepting deposits of money from public for lending or investment, thus excluding within its ambit the instruments of Islamic banking that promote profit and loss. RBI’s decision for opening of an Islamic Banking window has received mixed reactions from many especially in the light of the recent Uniform Civil Code debate and is likely to take a political angle instead of a financial one.

IDEAS 2016

POLITICAL

Metrino Pod Taxi Project Date: 8 April, 2016 Place: Gurgaon Field: Transport Metrino is a public transport system using revolutionary design. The construction, operation and maintenance costs are many times less than current systems.

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IDEAS 2016 It is the only profitable mass transport solution. Technically the most advanced, Metrino-PRT has the least interference to daily functioning of the city during construction. It is a solution which reduces traffic congestion and automotive pollution while raising the quality of urban life. This state-of-the-art public transport will save authorities millions of dollars in development costs and annual infrastructure. Pod taxis, a result of a project called the Metrino -- a PRT system in which pods are suspended from an overhead rail -- has been under consideration for a while and will finally debut in Gurgaon. Recently the city is facing water logged and traffic congestion in a massive scale. Doubling farmers’ Income Date: 22 April, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Agriculture The idea of Doubling Farmers’ Income, has at first instance, to translate into multiplying their sales volume. The target to double farmers’ income, will be best served by empowering access to more consumption points, markets. Such access is currently restrained mainly due to physical limitations of the logistics system. Policy direction to ramp up physical connectivity from farm to consumers and easing certain regulatory restrictions are required. Greater access to more markets hedges against selling risks, and adds opportunity to produce more. Farm-gates need to be empowered to reach out to more consumers so that they can scale up their sales and capture more revenue by delivering all production to markets. Considering the unpredictability in agriculture due to market fluctuations, and due to weather government is setting up an electronic National Agriculture Market and implementing a new crop insurance scheme. Water Metro Rail Date: 24 July, 2016 Place: Kochi Field: Transportation The Kochi Water Metro project, for the first time in India is an out of box idea. This project intends to connect the islands between the Kochi agglomeration areas

and the city so that it facilitates water commuting. The Metro Rail will connect the Kochi backwaters with the main city. This integrated water – transport concept will involve jetties, roads and boat services, thereby providing an impetus to the safety and availability of urban water transport network. The Solar Power Tree Date: 22 July, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Power The ‘Solar Power Tree’, a unique concept to generate electricity by harnessing the solar energy. Some of the important features of this project include a special vertical configuration of solar cells, feasibility in urban and rural areas, and a minimal investment land wise, i.e. 5KW. Solar Tree can be installed in 4 sq.ft. of land. This technique harnesses 10% - 15% more power compared to the conventional photovoltaic cell. With a battery back - up of 2 hours and water sprinklers for self – cleaning, the solar tree is a niche discovery. Single Budgets

Date: 27 September, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Political A new idea is round the corner to stop the practice of presenting separate budget for General budget and Railway Budget from next financial year (2017-18). The decision will end the 92 year old colonial legacy of presenting it separately. It will also pave the way for Union Government to walk the talk by cutting short populist subsidies and push the structural reform. The Indian Railway system is world’s fourth-biggest rail system, which employs around 1.3 million individuals and pays the exchequer a net profit of around 40 billion rupees ($596.81 million) yearly. The presentation of separate Railway budget started in the year 1924, and has continued after independence as a convention rather than under Constitutional provisions. The presentation of a unified budget will bring the affairs of the Railways to centre stage and present a holistic picture of the financial position of the Government. The merger is also expected to reduce

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the procedural requirements and instead bring into focus, the aspects of delivery and good governance. This merger will also merge the Plan and the Non-Plan classification in the Budget and Accounts. It is on the line of recommendation given by Rangrajan committee way back. With these changes, the budget in coming years will become more transparent, predictable and a greater emphasis on expenditure and less on revenue. This merger will deepen the Centre-State relationship. However, the Railways will continue to maintain its distinct entity as a departmentally run commercial undertaking as at present. With the merger of Union Budget and Rail Budget, all the losses, loans or dues of Railways will become the responsibility of Union. The Railway minister will be independent of all the political pressure to manage, make railway sustainable and paying dividends. In such scenario, it seems that Indian Railway will become more or less like a postal department, where the profits, losses and expenditure belong to Central budget. It is expected that with all the dues, expenditure, salaries, if accounted under Union budget may shoot up the fiscal deficit further.

a voter registration drive is to encourage youth to participate in the democratic exercise. From October 6 to 9, Facebook users in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa, Manipur and Uttarakhand who are 18 years and above will receive a reminder in their News Feed to register to vote. By clicking on the ‘Register Now’ button, people will be directed to the National Voters’ Services Portal which will guide them through the registration process.

Election Commission Facebook to Register Young Voters Date: 8 October, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Adult Suffrage For the first time the Election Commission of India (ECI) has collaborated with Facebook to register young voters in 5 states, which are going to polls in 2017. The purpose of

Rashtriya Ekta Diwas Date: 31 October, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Culture Rashtriya Ekta Diwas (National Unity Day) is observed across India on 31 October to commemorate birth anniversary of Independent India’s first Deputy Prime Minister Sardar Vallabhai Patel. The theme of the day for 2016 is “Integration of India”. The idea of Rashtriya Ekta Diwas was mooted by PM Narendra Modi in October 2014 to mark the birth anniversary of country’s first Home Minister Sardar Vallabh bhai Patel. Sardar Vallabh bhai Pate is known as the Iron Man of India or Bismarck of India. In India’s independence struggle, he played a major role in organizing peasants’ movements on Gandhian principles in Bardoli and Kheda in Gujarat and during the Quit India movement. His biggest contribution to India was his role in the integration of the over 500 princely states with India during 1947-49. He is also remembered as the Patron Saint of India’s civil servants for establishing modern AllIndia services.

ASTRO-H Satellite to Study Black Holes Date: 17 February, 2016 Place: Kagoshima, Japan Field: Space Research Japan’s ASTRO-H satellite is capable of observing X-ray sources, like galaxy clusters and neutron stars, more than 10 times fainter than its predecessor, Suzaku, which operated from 2005 to 2015.

ASTRO-H is equipped with four state of the art instruments providing the highest energy resolution ever achieved in the E = 3-10 keV band and covering a wide energy range, spanning four decades from soft X-rays to gamma-rays. The simultaneous broad bandpass coverage and high sensitivity, coupled with the high spectral resolution, will open an enormous new discovery space for a wide variety of objects. ASTRO-H is expected to provide breakthrough results in scientific areas

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regime, the physical conditions in sites of cosmic-ray acceleration, and the distribution of dark matter in galaxy clusters.

LIGO India Project

Date: 17 February, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Science Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO-India project) is intended for research on gravitational waves. This project is important because recently for the first time detection of gravitational waves had opened up of a new window on the universe and some greatest mysteries. LIGO-India project will establish a state-of-theart Gravitational Wave Observatory in India in collaboration with the US based LIGO Laboratory run by Caltech and MIT. The project will help Indian scientists and engineers to take global leadership in this new astronomical frontier by doing research into the realm of gravitational wave. It will also bring considerable opportunities in cutting edge technology in India’s scientific industry as domestic players will engage in the construction of 8 kilometre long beam tube at ultra-high vacuum of observatory on a levelled terrain. LIGO-India is a part of the IndIGO (Indian Initiative in Gravitational-wave Observations) initiative and seeks to move one Advanced LIGO detector from Hanford to India. The project will motivate Indian students and young scientists to explore newer frontiers of knowledge, and will add further impetus to scientific research in the country. It is envisaged as an international collaboration between the LIGO Laboratory and three lead institutions in the IndIGO consortium. The three lead institutions are - Institute of Plasma Research (IPR) Gandhinagar, Inter University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune and Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology (RRCAT), Indore.

Solar Power Parliament in Pakistan Date: 22 February, 2016 Place: Islamabad Field: Solar energy Pakistan parliament has become the first in the world to completely run on solar power. The venture was supported by China with US $ 55 million funding. Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, generates 10% of its electricity from solar power.

NASA want to Explore Mars with Indian Astronauts NASA eying for the next mission to Mars for the next decade, which is 2020- 2030. US delegations invited ISRO to take part in the meeting to be held in Washington to plan for 5-6 mission to Mars. ISRO’s capabilities at undertaking low cost, high value inter planetary mission has opened the eyes on India’s stand in the sector. World’s Smallest Light Powered Engine Date: 30 April, 2016 Place: University of Cambridge

Field: Science & Tech The world’s tiniest engine -just a few billionths of a metre in size -which is powered by light and may help develop nano-machines that can navigate in water, sense the environment around them, or even enter living cells to fight diseases. The prototype device is made of tiny charged particles of gold, bound together with temperature-responsive polymers in the form of a gel.Jeremy Baumberg from the University of Cambridge, who led the research, named the devices ‘ANTs’, or Actuating Nano-transducers. First Graphene Electronic Paper Date: April 28, 2016 Place: China Field: Science & Tech World’s first graphene electronic paper will catapult the material to a new level. The new material has been heralded as “the world’s first graphene electronic paper,” by Chen Yu, general manager of Guangzhou OED Technologies, which developed it in

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partnership with a company in Chongqing Province. Graphene is the world’s strongest and lightest known material; a single layer of graphene is only 0.335 nanometers thick, and it can conduct heat and electricity. Graphene-based e-papers can be easily produced cost-effectively given that it is derived from carbon. Traditional e-papers, on the other hand, use indium metal for their display, which is very expensive and rare to source.

Holographic Flexible Phone Date: 11 May, 2016 Place: Canada Field: Science & Tech The HoloFlex World’s first holographic flexible smartphone lets users to interact with 3D (Three dimensional) videos and images without using any headgear or glasses. Holography is a photographic recording of a light field and not an image formed by a lens. It is used to display a fully 3D image of the holographed subject, which

is seen without the aid of intermediate optics or special glasses. It should be noted that the hologram itself is not an image and usually is unintelligible when viewed under diffuse ambient light.

First Robot Lawyer ‘ROSS’ Date: 15 May, 2016 Place: Washington DC Field: Science & Tech A robot lawyer is an artificial intelligence lawyer. It is a computer based machine. A robot lawyer named ROSS has been employed by a law firm in the US, which will use the robot to assist its various teams in legal research. ROSS is an A.I. lawyer that helps human lawyers research faster and focus on advising clients. With the support of cognitive computing and natural language processing capabilities, lawyers can ask ROSS their research question and the robot reads through the law, gathers evidence, draws inferences and returns highly relevant, evidence-based answers.

Bullet Train from Japan

Date: May 15, 2016 Place: Tokyo Field: Railways New Delhi’s first HSR (High Speed Rail) project of 505 km between Mumbai and Ahmedabad would operate with a Japanese HSR system at a top speed of 320 km/h. Such characteristics would likely be passenger-only services, because mixing freight trains with passenger lines would lower the operating speed due to greater friction on the tracks, potentially affecting the stability of the HSR train. The length of this line is in the optimal range, between 200 to 1000 km, in terms of competition with aviation and automobiles. About half of the expenditure will be met with the help of a Japanese loan. Compared to Thailand’s two to four or perhaps more HSR lines in the following decade, and China’s massive HSR projects, India’s modest plans likely reflect financial, technological and political concerns. A major investment in several HSR projects carries considerable financial risk. Although the Indian middle class is expanding, the price of an HSR ticket may not be affordable or attractive for many passengers. Moreover, airlines – particularly budget carriers – can still compete in the 200-1000 km range. A HSR line between two commercial centers with strong business passenger volume is a relatively safe choice to deliver the financial results that will encourage subsequent projects. Japanese HSR system in India is a milestone for both sides. Compared to deals in Taiwan, the U.K. and Thailand, this one in South Asia returns Japan’s railway industry to a continental context for the first time since 1945. If Tokyo can continue to develop its railway diplomacy in India or other continental states, more geopolitical significance is likely to occur. Indian Railways has formed a new Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to implement the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Bullet Train project. The entity has been named the National High Speed Rail Corporation (NHSRC) Limited. The high speed bullet Train project aims to introduce trains running at operating speeds over 320 kilometers per hour and maximum speed of 350kmph.

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IDEAS 2016 Rare Einstein Ring Date: 30 May, 2016 Place: London Field: Science One of the most symmetrical Einstein rings—a rare astronomical phenomenon— created by a galaxy located 10,000 million light years away that is hidden behind a more massive galaxy has been detected. Einstein rings, predicted by Einstein’s theory of General Relativity, are quite rare but scientifically interesting. The one discovered by Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias (IAC) and the University of La Laguna (ULL) in Canary Islands is named the “The Canarias Einstein ring”. Bionic Leaf

Date: 5 June, 2016 Place: Harvard University Field: Science Bionic leaf is a newly developed artificial leaf that creates oxygen and hydrogen in converting solar energy into liquid fuel. This new energy approach uses the bacteria Ralstonia eutropha to convert sunlight into fuel imitating the process of photosynthesis. A unique “bionic leaf“ that uses solar energy to split water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen, and hydrogen-eating bacteria to produce liquid fuels from CO2. Dubbed

“bionic leaf 2.0,” the new system can convert solar energy to biomass with 10% efficiency - a number far higher than the 1% seen in the fastest growing plants. It will be useful to provide power from Cars to Mobile Phones, alternative to fossil, electric cars could use these cells to power the engine. CO2 can be turned into Stone

Date: 10 June, 2016 Place: Iceland Field: Science A technique has been developed to capture and store the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) in deep underground by turning it into rock. The technique will provide a safer, faster way to sequester CO2 and limit global warming. And it was identified as a potentially significant way to combat climate change. This method of the speedy carbonation could be a viable way to store CO2 underground permanently and without risk of leakage. The unique project promises a cheaper and more secure way of burying CO2 from fossil fuel burning underground, where it cannot warm the planet. Such carbon capture and storage (CCS) is thought to be essential to halting global warming, but existing projects store the CO2 as a gas and concerns about costs and potential leakage have halted some plans.

Solar Impulse 2

Date: 26 July, 2016 Place: Abu Dhabi Field: Aviation Solar Impulse 2, the first airplane powered by renewable energy has completed the first round world trip. The solar-powered airplane finally arrived at Al-Bateen Executive Airport located in Abu Dhabi, where it had started its journey 505 days ago. This airplane is extra sensitive to weather patterns and it depends on the sun for power and also its tiny weight makes it difficult to fly through heavy cloud cover or rain. The flight covered a remarkable 42,000-kilometre journey across four continents, two oceans and three seas. Solar Impulse is a Swiss long-range experimental solar-powered aircraft project, and also the name of the project’s two operational aircraft. The privately financed project is led by Swiss engineer and businessman André Borschbergand Swiss psychiatrist and aeronaut Bertrand Piccard, who co-piloted Breitling Orbiter 3, the first balloon to circle the world non-stop. The Solar Impulse project’s goals were to make the first circumnavigation of the Earth by a piloted fixed-wing aircraft using only solar power and to bring attention to clean technologies.

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Longest Single Cave, Double Track Tunnel Date: 9 July, 2016 Place: Beijing Field: Transport Constructing Asia’s longest 16-km single tunnel that has double tracks for highspeed trains in northwest Shaanxi province of China is a unique idea. The tunnel cuts through the Qinling Mountains. It is part of a high-speed rail line that links Xi’an, the provincial capital and Chengdu in China’s southwest Sichuan province. The 643-km long line has a running speed of 250 km per hour, will slash the travel time between the two cities from 16 hours to just three hours.

BRICS Women Forum Date: 20 August, 2016 Place: Jaipur Field: International Affairs BRICS is the grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. A total of 43 delegates from member countries are participating in the meeting. The meeting will see the participation of 5 women parliamentarians from Brazil, 3 from Russia, 28 from India, 2 from China and 4 from South

Africa. The first session of the meeting will be on the theme of ‘Achieving SDGs- Role of Women Parliamentarians in involving Citizens’. The second session will be based on theme “Containing Climate Change – Imperatives of Global Cooperation’. This idea will encourage sustainable development goals. This will request the international financial organisations to help the least developed countries to help easier access to new technologies and finance to fight against climate change. World Humanitarian Day Date: 19 August, 2016 Place: Globally Field: Human Rights World Humanitarian Day is celebrated worldwide on the 19th August. The UN and its partners have called for global solidarity with more than 130 million people around the world who need humanitarian assistance to survive. Under the theme of ‘One Humanity’, World Humanitarian Day will highlight the world coming together in Istanbul earlier this year, to support people affected by crisis and ensure that aid workers can safely and more effectively deliver to those in need.

Pokémon Go

Date: 11 July, 2016 Place: San Francisco, California, U.S. Field: Technology The world of technology is in a desperate mood to make them real having a physical existence with all similar features like the world around us. In this line researchers and engineers are pulling graphics out of your television screen or computer display and integrating them into real-world environments. This new technology, called augmented reality, blurs the line between what’s real and what’s computer-generated by enhancing what we see, hear, feel and smell. Niantic Inc., the American software development company’s Pokémon Go, is an augmented reality mobile game that has brought out a revolution. It has become a global phenomenon since it launched in Australia. The game requires players to explore the real world to find Pokémon, collect items at Pokéstops and conquer gyms, and a lot of work has gone into the game’s mapping. Pokémon may be a game for teens but it has changed societal expectations of what information is presented and how it is accessed. Pokémon GO is an interactive, mobile game that uses your phone’s GPS data and clock to show Pokémon hidden near your current, physical location. Pokémon GO has became a global phenomenon and was one of the most used and profitable mobile apps in 2016, having been downloaded more than 500 million times worldwide. It was credited with popularizing location-based and augmented reality technology, promoting physical activity, and helping local businesses grow via foot traffic.

IDEAS 2016 Launching of Multisatellites Date: 26 September, 2016 Place: Sriharikotta Field: Space Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) plans to launch eight satellites in two different orbits in a single mission. These satellites will be launched with the PSLV C35 from the first launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikotta. It will be PSLV’s longest and most complex mission. It is also for the first time PSLV will successfully placed satellites in two different orbits in single mission. Among the eight satellites three satellites are from India, three from Algeria and one each from Canada and United States. It is the longest and most complex mission because most countries launch satellites in a single orbit and even if multiple satellites are injected in a sequence in the same orbit. This is going to be a challenging two-in-one mission that puts India in a unique league of nations having the capability to achieve two different orbits in a single mission. This successful mission will enhance marketability and versatility of PSLV, ISRO’s workhorse and also increase its unique position global satellite launch services market. World’s Largest Radio Telescope Date: 26 September, 2016 Place: China Field: Science & Tech World’s largest radio telescope nicknamed Tianyan (Heavenly Eye” or “The Eye of Heaven) or the five-hundred-metre aperture spherical radio telescope (FAST) is going to be built in China. Radio telescopes are used to study naturally occurring radio light from stars, galaxies, black holes, and other astronomical objects. These are also used to send out radio signals and bounce them off objects like asteroids and the other planets in our Solar System. These signals are detected by the telescope when they return to Earth, and used to create images. These specially-designed telescopes observe the longest wavelengths of light, ranging from 1 millimeter to over 10 meters long. Sanskrit in United Nation’s Charter Date: 7 September, 2016 Place: San Francisco Field: Art & Culture United Nations, will include the most ancient

CA-275 and traditional language of India, Sanskrit into its charter. A charter binds the assembly of nations. The charter being translated into the Sanskrit language is the first of its kind attempt to make it to such an important international document. National Mission for Manuscripts in India promoted the translation work. The move will widen the scope of sanskrit the vedic language in the world.

World’s Longest Bullet Train Network Date: 11 September, 2016 Place: China Field: Transport World’s longest bullet train network length of 2000 kms is going to be established in China. The line has 9 stations and trains run at a speed of up to 300 kph. China is conducting feasibility study to build the bullet train track between Chennai and New Delhi.

UK Surgeons Use Robot to Operate Inside Eye Date: 11 September, 2016 Place: UK Field: Health The Surgeons at John Radcliffe Hospital in the UK used Robot to remove a membrane and restore sight for the first time. The Preceyes surgical robot was developed by a Dutch company, a spin-out of Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands. The surgeon uses a joystick and touch-screen to guide a thin needle into the eye, while monitoring its progress through a microscope. In future the robotic surgeries will benefit patients in a great way. In many cases mannual or computerised operations prove defective.

World’s Largest Shiplift Date: September 18, 2016 Place: Beijing Field: Transport World’s largest permanent shiplift designed by Chinese and German engineers on China’s Three Gorges Dam is ready. It is the largest and most sophisticated shiplift in the world. The world’s biggest water project is located in central China’s Hubei province. The maximum displacement of dam about 3,000 tonnes to traverse the dam and the

CA-276 water-level behind the dam is up to 113 meters higher than the downstream river. Construction of the shiplift began in 1994. Due to technical difficulties, the project was put on hold in 1995. This move will help cargos with heavy load in a very short time as shiplift is a long and lengthy process. Robot for Security

Date: 26 September, 2016 Place: Beijing Field: Security China for the first time is going to deploy a robot to maintain security at one of its busiest airports in Guangdong Province. The Anbot, a security robot hired for its first job at the Shenzhen airport where it was making round-the-clock patrols through the departure hall in Terminal 3, state-run. The robot’s face has a digital display and a high-definition camera to take pictures of travellers at one of the country’s busiest airports for analysis. The primary function would be facial recognition. “AnBot”, or “Shenzhen Xiaoan” in Chinese, can work around-the-clock and react to emergencies with an electric riot fork. The intelligent guard is 1.5 meters tall and weighs about 75 kg. With four digital cameras; the security robot is capable of autonomous patrols, intelligent monitoring and auto recharging. It could answer passenger’s questions about flight information and communicate with people in different contexts. The use of intelligent security robots will ease pressure on airport police in their daily patrols and save human resources. Youngest Commercial Airline Captain Date: 27 September, 2016 Place: UK Field: Aviation A 26-year-old woman Kate McWilliams from UK will be the world’s youngest ever commercial airline captain of easyjet. She first became interested in planes after attending an air show at age four. She has become the world’s youngest commercial airline captain with 19-year-old co-pilot Elsworth also one of the country’s youngest co-pilots.

IDEAS 2016 2026 Asian Games Date: 27 September, 2016 Place: Nagoya, Japan Field: Sports Japan’s Aichi prefecture and its capital city Nagoya were confirmed as co-hosts of the 2026 Asian Games. The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) formally endorsed the bid. Held every four years, the 2018 Asian Games have already been awarded to the Indonesian cities of Jakarta and Palembang while the 2022 edition will be held in the Chinese city of Hangzhou. Tokyo is also hosting the next Olympic games in 2020 while Japan will stage the Rugby World Cup in 2019, the Asian Winter Games in 2017 and the world swimming championships in 2021. World’s Robotic Surgeon with Sense of Touch Date: 3 October, 2016 Place: Australia Field: Health From the manufacturing industry to medicine, robotics has today advanced by leaps and bounds. While the sense of touch might not be as significant in other fields, it plays a key role when it comes to the health sector. Giving a sense of touch to a machine is what a team of researchers hope will pave way for a major breakthrough in the robotic surgery. In this context The HeroSurg robot is a major breakthrough. HeroSurg’s addition of the sense of touch, provided through technology known as haptic feedback, would lead to better patient outcomes. HeroSurg would assist surgeons to perform demanding surgical procedures with comfort, accuracy and safety by providing real-time collision avoidance for medical instruments, and stereo-endoscopic vision. Longest-ever Manned Space Mission Date: 20 October, 2016 Place: Beijing Field: Space China is launching its longest manned space mission by sending two astronauts into orbit to spend a month aboard a space laboratory that is part of a broader plan to have a permanent manned space station in service around 2022. Shenzhou-11, China’s sixth manned spacecraft, will dock with

IDEAS 2016 space lab Tiangong-2, marking a step closer to its space station ambitions. This mission is first of its kind in the world. It will explore many mystries about the space. Diwali in UN Date: 30 Oct, 2016 Place: UN, New York Field: Culture It is for the first time that the Indian festival of lights is celebrated at the world body after the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution in December, 2014 that acknowledged the significance of Diwali. Noting that the festival is observed in many UN member states, the resolution had called on UN bodies to avoid holding meetings on Diwali, declaring it a no-meeting day. From 2016 onwards, Diwali was made an optional holiday for the UN. Earlier in June, the UN building was lit up on the occasion of the International Yoga Day. It is clearly evident that India’s importance is felt in the highest world-body. Kochi FIFA U-17 World Cup Date: 19 Oct, 2016 Place: Zürich, Switzerland Field: Sports Kochi is going to be the venue for hosting the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup. The tournament will be hosted in the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium of the city. The event also became the first FIFA event to be held in the subcontinent. Till date, India has successfully hosted a wide range of sporting events like from the Asian Games to the Commonwealth Games and world championships in sports like cricket and field hockey. Russia Invites India on Fast-neutron Reactor Project Date: 2 Nov, 2016 Place: Mumbai Field: Atomic Energy Russia’s state atomic energy corporation Rosatom has invited India to join in developing next-generation nuclear reactors and to participate in its fast-reactor research project. A fast neutron reactor is a type in which nuclear fission chain reaction is sustained by fast neutrons. The multipurpose fast research reactor project, also known as MBIR, is coming up at the International Research Center

CA-277 in Dimitrovgrad, located in the Ulyanovsk region. The main purpose of this project is to conduct a large number of reactor studies of Generation 4 nuclear systems, including the fast neutron reactor with closed fuel cycle, as well as small and medium power thermal neutron reactors. The new technological platform is being created for nuclear energy, which will be based on the closed fuel cycle with fast neutron reactors. This closed fuel cycle involves recycling the nuclear waste as new fuel. This idea establishes that, India is now recognised as a nuclear super power. Coradia iLint Date: 3 Nov, 2016 Place: Germany Field: Environment World’s first hydrogen-powered and zeroemission passenger train is Germany’s Coradia iLint. It is powered by a hydrogen fuel tank on its roof. The fuel cell is supplied with hydrogen and oxygen from the air, which it converts into electric power. The system is backed up by lithium batteries. These batteries store the excess power in order to later supply the train when needed. The train is totally carbon-free, making it a much more sustainable alternative to the 4000 diesel trains currently in circulation in Germany. It has enough onboard hydrogen storage to power an 800 kilometre journey, with speeds topping out at 87 miles per hour. World’s First Light-seeking Synthetic Nanorobot Date: 8 Nov, 2016 Place: The University of Hong Kong Field: Health World’s first light-seeking synthetic nanorobot with size comparable to a blood cell, has the potential to be injected into patients’ bodies, helping surgeons to remove tumors and enabling more precise engineering of targeted medications. Light is a more effective option to communicate between microscopic world and macroscopic world. We can conceive that more complicated instructions can be sent to nanorobots which provide scientists with a new tool to further develop more functions into nanorobot and get us one step closer to daily life applications.

CA-278 Kashmiri Girl Wins Under- eight World Kick Boxing Championship Date: 11 Nov, 2016 Place: Italy Field: Sports Eight-year-old Kashmiri girl, Tajamul Islam, created history by winning a Gold Medal for India in The World Kick Boxing Championship of Under-Eight Players. She defeated her rival from U.S. to win the Championship. The five days Championship, was held in Italy in which 90 countries participited. She won six games in the event. She is the first such player to win the championship from the volatile Kashmir valley. This will help other youths to come to the Indian mainstream and develop patriotism in the disturbed velley. First Brain Implantation Date: 14 Nov, 2016 Place: Netherlands Field: Health Doctors of Netherlands have performed the first-ever brain implant on a 58-yearold woman paralysed by disease named Lou Gehrig’s. The implantation has enabled her to communicate in day-to-day life with the help of a speech computer. The disease Lou Gehrig’s caused nerve degeneration that had left her with control only over her eyes. The implant enabled her to control the computer using brain signals, and spell out messages speaking two letters per minute. With this innovative idea a remarkable change will take place in medical science. Now the people whose heart beats even if the brain is dead can survive. Best Airline in the World Date: 15 Nov, 2016 Place: New Zealand Field: Aviation Air New Zealand has been awarded the best airline in the world for the fourth consecutive year in the global rankings according to AirlineRatings.com’s Airline Excellence Awards. AirlineRatings.com rates airlines on a variety of categories that include best class cabins, catering and lounge options, and crew quality. To determine the airline of the year, AirlineRatings.com identified four international industry and government

IDEAS 2016 audits and criteria, including the fleet age, passenger review ratings, profitability, investment rating, and key product offerings. The Air New Zealand also won the best premium economy category for third time. Australian airline Qantas backed the second prize. Longest Secure Telecommunications Network Date: 20 Nov, 2016 Place: China Field: IT China to launch a 712-km quantum communication line. This quantum communication line is the world’s longest secure telecommunications network, with ultra-high security which makes it impossible to tap, intercept or crack the information transmitted through them. The new quantum communication line will connect Hefei, capital of Anhui province, to Shanghai, the China’s financial hub. It is part of a 2,000-km quantum communication line connecting Beijing and Shanghai which is expected to be completed at the end of this year. The 712-km line has 11 stations and it took three years of construction. GOES-R

Date: 20 Nov, 2016 Place: Washington DC Field: Science & Tech GOES-R is the next generation of geosynchronous environmental satellite. It is expected to provide atmospheric and surface measurements of the Earth’s Western Hemisphere for weather forecasting, severe storm tracking, space weather monitoring and meteorological research. It marks a technological advance in geostationary observations. Compared to the current GOES system, the advanced instruments and data processing provides, three times more spectral information, four times greater spatial resolution, five times faster coverage, real-time mapping of total lightning activity, increased thunderstorm and tornado warning lead time, improved hurricane track and intensity forecasts, improved monitoring of solar x-ray flux, improved monitoring of solar flares and coronal mass ejections and improved geomagnetic storm forecasting.

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Reconstructing Visakhapatnam’s IGZP Date: Jan 17, 2016 Field: Wild life Conservation Place: Visakhapatnam The Indira Gandhi Zoological Park (IGZP), was devastated during cyclone Hudhud in

October 2014, in Visakhapatnam. A huge amount of money was required for the reconstruction work. It is the very first time in the history of the World Bank that it is directly involved in helping a zoo. It has sanctioned $ 20 million for IGZP. The decision is a new addition in the portfolio of the bank as part of its ever-expanding work on urban regeneration.

Chabahar Port

The Chabahar port is located in south-eastern Iran in the Gulf of Oman. It is the only Iranian port with direct access to the ocean. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Iran has led to the much-awaited signing of the pact for India to develop the strategic Chabahar port. The port was partially built by India in 1990s. The pact to build the Chabahar port was first initiated during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government in 2003, but the deal couldn’t get through the subsequent years. After several rounds of negotiations between India’s consortium of JNPT, Kandla Port Authority and Iranian authorities, the contract was finally deemed ready to be signed. Developing the port is understood to be a major breakthrough for India’s trade with West Asia. Following agreements have been established as per the pact: a) India will develop and operate the Chabahar port. India Ports Global will invest $85 million in developing two container berths with a length of 640 metres and three multi-cargo berths. b) The signed contract will last for 10 years and is extendable. First two years of the contract are to be observed as grace period. It means India doesn’t have to guarantee any cargo for the port. Phase one of the port construction will take 18 months to complete. c) India will facilitate 30,000 TEUs (Twenty Foot Equivalent) of cargo at the port in third year. By the tenth year, quantum will rise to 2,50,000 TEUs. d) IRCON International will set up a railway line at Chabahar in order to move goods right up to Afghanistan. The rail link of 500-km between Chabahar and Zahedan will link Delhi to the rest of Iran’s railway network. e) Free trade zone where a total investment of `1 lakh crore is envisaged is also a part of the agreement. f) India will also supply $400 million of steel rails to Tehran. How India gains? Presently, Pakistan does not allow India to transport through its territory to • Afghanistan. The port will make way for India to bypass Pakistan and transport goods to Afghanistan using a sea-land route. • This will also give momentum to the International North-South Transport Corridor. Iran is the key gateway in this project. The route primarily involves moving freight from India, Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia. • The corridor would increase trade connectivity between major cities such as Mumbai, Moscow, Tehran, Baku etc. • It would counter Chinese presence in the Arabian sea through the support of Pakistan in developing Gwadar port. Port can also be used to station security vessels for merchant ships off the African • coast, apart from giving the country a foothold in the western Arabian Sea. It is important as many of its energy imports pass through the route.

CA-280 First e-commerce Satellite Date: 23 Sept, 2016 Place: Beijing Field: Commerce China’s online marketing giant Alibaba planned to launch the world’s first e-commerce satellite next year to provide people with the best vegetables after analyzing agricultural cultivation and harvesting data. The satellite was scheduled to be launched in 2017. Juhuasuan.com announced plans to launch the satellite in cooperation with the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology and the China Space Museum. One example of benefit to consumers would be that the best and freshest vegetables would be available to consumers after cultivation and harvesting data was analyzed by the satellite. SBI’s First Domestic Bank in Yangon

Date: 4 Oct, 2016 Place: Naypyidaw, Myanmar Field: Banking SBI is going to open its branch in Myammar. The branch will be opened in Yangon, the capital city of Myanmar. The Yangon branch is the 54th foreign branch of the SBI. This branch will extend the global presence of SBI in 37 countries through 198 offices. This idea will improve economic co-operation and foreign relations between the countries. India in Top 3 country’s Start-ups

Date: 7 Nov, 2016 Place: Bengaluru Field: Entrepreneurial Venture & Business With the total venture investment in startups in 10 years is estimated at `1,11,700 crore, India has emerged as one of the top three global countries in terms of the number of start-ups founded. According to the NASCOM report, Indian technology start-ups landscape has seen a tremendous growth in the emergence of innovative startups and creative entrepreneurs. In terms of providing a conducive ecosystem for the start-ups to thrive, India has moved up to third position and has emerged the fastest growing base of start-ups worldwide. A

IDEAS 2016 startup company is an entrepreneurial venture which is typically a newly emerged, fast-growing business that aims to meet a marketplace need by developing or offering an innovative product, process or service.

India in Global Business Optimism Index Date: 5 Nov, 2016 Place: London, United Kingdom Field: Business India improved its ranking by one spot in a global index of business optimism, with policy reforms and Goods and Services Tax (GST) expected to become a reality soon. According to the latest Grant Thornton International Business Report, India was ranked second on the optimism index during the third quarter (July-September 2016). Indonesia took the top spot, with the Philippines coming in third. India was ranked third during the April-June period after being on top for two consecutive quarters. The improvement in the optimism ranking in the recent past clearly reflects that the reform agenda of the government and its efforts on improving the climate for doing business are having an impact. Grant Thornton is a leading business adviser that helps dynamic organisations to unlock their potential for growth. Their brand is respected globally, as one of the major global accounting organisations recognised by capital markets, regulators and international standards setting bodies. However, the recent demonitisation may affect the entire business sector of India.

Molinari Rail Manufacturing Unit In India Date: 12 Nov, 2016 Place: New Delhi Field: Transport Molinari Rail AG has entered into a strategic pact to design, manufacture and deliver the auxiliary power units (APUs) for 1,000 diesel locomotives to be built in India for Indian Railways. According to the agreement Swiss Major, Molinari Rail will set up a manufacturing and assembly centre for auxiliary power units for diesel locomotives in India by 2017. The idea will provide employment and skill to the Indian Youths.

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IDEAS 2016 First National Digital Currency Date: 18 Nov, 2016 Place: Stockholm Field: Monetary World’s oldest central bank, Central Bank of Sweden is taking step to launch a national digital currency e-krona to solve the problem of a dramatic drop in the domestic use of cash. The digital currency may be introduced within two years. Sweden becomes the first major country to give consumers direct access to virtual money issued by a central bank. However, the embrace of electronic payments has alarmed consumer organizations and critics who warn of a rising threat to privacy and increased vulnerability to sophisticated Internet crimes. Last year, the number of electronic fraud cases surged to 140,000, more than double the amount a decade ago, according to Sweden’s Ministry of Justice. Peru to Host 2016 APEC Summit

IDEAS

Date: 11 Nov, 2016 Place: Lima, Peru Field: Economy The 2016 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum’s Leaders Summit will be held in Lima, Peru. The theme of the summit is “Quality Growth and Human Development” and the official logo is the architecture of the ancient city of Caral. It will be the second time Peru hosting the APEC Summit, previously it had hosted the event in 2008. The 2016 summit will gather leaders from the world’s 21 most important member economies, as well as over 1,500 investors and entrepreneurs. Four priority areas were laid out as topics to be discussed. These are Human Capital Development, Regional Food Market, Upgrading SMEs and Regional Economic Integration Agenda.

POLITICAL

Indo – Bangladesh MoU for Petroleum Goods Date: 20th August, 2016 Place: Dhaka Field: International Relations There is only a narrow land corridor to the northeastern region through Assam

and West Bengal that passes through hilly terrain with steep gradients and multiple hairpin bends, making transportation, especially of loaded trucks, very difficult. This idea will facilitate India to carry petroleum goods (Motor Spirit, High Speed Diesel, Superior Kerosene Oil and LPG) from Assam to Tripura through Bangladesh to make a buffer stock in the northeastern state. This new route via Bangladesh would save time and costs in carrying petroleum products from Assam to Tripura as the existing over 400 km of mountainous route required more than 10 hours to carry these essential items. Besides, the condition of national highways in Meghalaya and southern Assam is horrifying. This move not only paves the way for future logistic management but also exemplifies its commitment to be the energy accessibility of India in true sense. India Pledgeds USD 10.95 mn to UN for 2017

Date: Nov 11, 2016 Place: UN Field: International Affairs India has pledged to contribute about USD 10.95 million to the United Nation (UN) for the year 2017 for the development activities across several UN bodies. The USD 10.95 million pledge contribution by India included contribution of USD 4.5 million for the UN Development Programme (UNDP), USD 1.92 million for the World Food Programme, USD 1.25 million for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Near East (UNRWA) and a million dollars towards UN Women. India also pledged to contribute resources to UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the world body’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), Commission on Human Settlements Programme (HABITAT), Environment Programme (UNEP), Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and towards the Voluntary Fund for Technical Co-operation.

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IDEAS 2016 Tackling illegal immigration led Trump’s victory

The promise of tackling with the issue of illegal immigration in US worked as the major ground for trump to win the presidential elections. Having won, Donald Trump has released an informal plan outlining his ideas to tackle the issue. Trump has declared US would deport all 11 million unauthorized immigrants. He has been candid about building a border wall with Mexico, as he has repeatedly promised. He is likely to increase spending on immigration law enforcement. There is a possibility for him to make it harder for unauthorized immigrants to get jobs and send money back home, and end birthright citizenship. He is likely to increase the number of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the interior of the US, and provide them with immense powers to track down and deport unauthorized immigrants. His plan is closer to the strategy of self-deportation. It means erecting enough obstacles to living and working in the US for illegal residents that unauthorized immigrants will themselves leave. He also plans to ban birthright citizenship. This can be done presumably by altering the 14th Amendment or getting the Supreme Court to overturn its 1898 decision. If Trump succeeds to do so, then the US-born children of unauthorized immigrants wouldn’t be considered citizens. Trump lays out several means through which he will build the wall. He would make Mexican people rather than the Mexican government pay for the wall . He would do so by increasing fees on a visa created by NAFTA for Mexican workers, increase fees for “border crossing cards” for Mexicans who cross into the US on a regular basis for work and increase fees to cross the border legally at ports of entry.

Alienated Pakistan

Today Pakistan is seen alienated owing to terrorist training camps and habilitating wanted terrorists in its territory. Pakistan failed to obtain membership of UN Human Rights Council. Recently Pakistan tried to tarnish the image of India misusing the platform of UN. As a result of that India hit out at Pakistan. Notwithstanding, India’s rebuke, Pakistan urged UN to investigate is extra-judicial killing of Burhan Wani. While India slammed Pakistan for interfering in its internal affairs, Islamabad faced similar criticism from the US. Pakistan’s relations with Kabul too have touched a new low. Recently, Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS) ex-chief, released documents that explicitly exposed Pakistan’s ISI’s (Inter State Intelligence) collusion with Afghan Taliban and Haqqani network. Pakistan’s role as state sponsor of terrorism is under scanner with Bangladesh government alleging ISI’s role in Dhaka attacks. Affirming straight allegation at Pakistan and ruling out the involvement of ISIS, political advisor to Sheikh Hasina said that ISI’s connection with Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen is clear and well known. For past five decades, Pakistan, with its whole vigour, has been posing a severe challenge to India using its doctrine of bleeding India with thousand cuts. India has been victim of Pakistan’s terrorist training program. Despite evidences, India so far failed to muster enough support to alienate and suffocate Pakistan. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iran visibly distraught with Pakistan, India has now been able to leverage enough support to challenge the terror training patronized by Pakistan. Pakistan’s recent alienation has come out clear on the global platform with the 19th SAARC summit. It is a diplomatic conference originally scheduled to be held in Pakistan on 15 & 16 November 2016. After the Uri terrorist attack, India’s diplomatic tensions with Pakistan rose to significant level. India announced boycott of the 19th SAARC summit, alleging Pakistan’s involvement in the Uri attacks. Following that Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Bhutan and Sri Lanka also opted out of the summit, resulting in an indefinite postponement of the summit. Today, Pakistan is an alienated country.

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IDEAS 2016 India’s Strong Neighbourhood Policy

When Modi govt came to power, India caught the attention of countries around the world. Under unparalleled support of Indian public, Prime Mininster Narendra Modi took oath in the swearing-in-ceremony. On this occasion all the heads of SAARC nations attended the event. This first big move by the Modi Government was hailed by diplomats, establishments, academia and media as an impactful effort to improve ties with India’s immediate neighbours. Current relations with the neighbouring countries: Nepal: Recently, the Government of Nepal took stark steps of cancelling the visit of the country’s President Bidhya Devi Bhandari to India and recalling its ambassador in New Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also cancelled his visit to Lumbini around the same time. These political developments reflect tensed relationship currently shared between India and Nepal. One of the major reasons that are being stated for India’s growing unpopularity in Nepal is its increased interference in the domestic affairs of Nepal. The interference is either citing security implications or country’s unfriendly strategic choices. India was unwelcoming regarding the Constitution passed by the Nepalese Constituent Assembly in September 2015. A substantive political argument was thwarted by its poor diplomatic style. The problematic part was twofold: the manner in which New Delhi publicly expressed its displeasure with Nepal’s sovereign act of Constitution-drafting; and the manner in which India allegedly abetted the Madhesi blockade of essential supplies to Nepal. In response to the blockade, Kathmandu complained to the United Nations highlighting humanitarian reasons. Another reason affecting the relations between two countries is that New Delhi is widely reported to have played a role in attempting to topple the K.P. Oli regime in Kathmandu. Sri Lanka Relations between the two countries have also matured and diversified with the passage of time, encompassing all areas of contemporary relevance. The shared cultural and civilization heritage of the two countries provide the base to build a multi-faceted partnership. In recent years, the relationship is embarked upon growing trade and investment, cooperation in the fields of development, defence, education, culture and issues of international interest. New Delhi had proactively promoted the affiltiation led by Maithripala Sirisena. Second issue is Arrest of Indian fishermen on the Sri Lankan side of the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) in the Palk Straits and the Gulf of Mannar by Sri Lankan authorities has also been a long-standing problem. The nearly 30years long armed conflict between Sri Lankan forces and the LTTE came to an end in May 2009. During the course of the conflict, India supported the right of the Government of Sri Lanka to act against terrorist forces. Today, the India-Sri Lanka relationship is strong based on rich legacy of strong economic and development partnerships. Maldives Maldives is a traditional ally of India. It has also been resenting the Indian reactions to its domestic political developments. Being highly critical of how the pro-India former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed was jailed by the current regime under terrorism charges, India stated concern at recent developments in the Maldives,

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IDEAS 2016

including the arrest and manhandling of former President. The Maldivian government responded that it will not appreciate if India intervenes in domestic politics of Maldives. Maldives has recently strengthened its engagement with China. China has gladly been offering economic and infrastructural assistance to Maldives. New Delhi has since then been silent about Maldives’s domestic affairs, and countries signed a number of bilateral agreements during Mr. Yameen’s visit to New Delhi lately. Bangladesh Bangladesh has been a key ally for India from long time. Along with being members of SAARC, the Commonwealth, , BIMSTEC, IORARC and established diplomatic relations, there are a lot more commons between the countries like shared history, culture and language. Ministry of External Affairs claims that Bangladesh is an important trading partner for India. Two-way trade in the financial year 2012-13 was $5.34 billion. Out of this worth, India’s exports to Bangladesh accounted for $4.776 billion and imports were $0.564 million with duty free access from India to Bangladesh. Indian companies such as Airtel and Marico have invested in Bangladesh and Bangladesh has started importing 500 MW of power from India since 2013. Afghanistan It is not deniable that India is interested in seeing see Afghanistan move towards greater peace and prosperity. India has invested in institution and infrastructure building in Afghanistan to a great extent . For India, Afghanistan has immense strategic potential. India’s engagement has remained limited to infrastructural development. Lately, India has signalled a small shift in its policy by delivering M-25 attack helicopters to Kabul. But it remains cautious about making bolder propositions on security and is wary of being stuck into a never-ending war. But it does not deter India from playing a bigger role in a country whose stability is vital for its regional goals and whose people traditionally count India as a well-meaning friend. The Chabahar agreement has brought together India, Afghanistan and Iran. Afghanistan, mounting an offensive on Pakistan, has been offering India, options to the Indus Waters Treaty. India has also announced a billion dollar-aid for future development assistance, which brings the total up to over $2 billion. It has been warmly appreciated by the people of Afghanistan. Overall, India is reportedly Afghanistan’s fifth largest donor making it largest donor in the region. Afghanistan has backed India’s cross-border surgical strikes on terror launch pads in Pakistani territory by saying “it is time to take bold action”. Pakistan Relations between India and Pakistan, since partition, have been fragile and gone through a lot of hatred due to their unsettled differences. Among all the reasons of differences, major one has always been Kashmir issue. Recent announcement of surgical strikes by the Indian government has assuaged domestic Indian anger at Pakistanbased terrorism and send a clear signal to Pakistan. India’s surgical strikes represent a turnaround in Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Pakistan policy. Contrary to his initial policy of making peace with the country, Modi also raised Pakistani human rights abuses in Balochistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in his annual Independence Day speech on Aug. 15. India’s diplomatic efforts, over the years seem to have helped put pressure on Pakistan. U.S. response to the latest conflict has also been supportive of India. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab states broke from past stance and condemned the Uri attacks. Countries like Bhutan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh joined India in boycotting the summit of the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC), in Pakistan.

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COMING UP 2017 International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development 2017: The

United Nations General Assembly approved 2017 to be the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development. INS Viraat to be decommissioned: INS Viraat, world’s oldest aircraft carrier, formal decommissioning is scheduled for January 2017.

Portugal PM Antonio Costa to be the chief guest: The Indian-origin Portugal Prime Minister, Antonio Costa will be the chief guest at the 14th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) Convention to be held from January 7 to 9, 2017 in Bengaluru. 2017 Australian Open Grand Slam: The 2017 Australian Open, the 105th edition of the Australian Open, is to take place at Melbourne Park on 16-29 January 2017.

Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to be the chief guest: Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan will be the Chief Guest at the Republic Day parade on 26 January 2017. IPL 2017: The 2017 edition of IPL will take place from 5 April to 21 May 2017 in India. World Team Chess Championship 2017: World Team Chess Championship 2017 to take place in Russia from May 15–May 27. ICC Champions Trophy 2017: ICC Champions Trophy 2017 to be held across three venues: The Oval, Edgbaston and Sophia Gardens in England from June 1 to June 18.

PM Narendra Modi to attend the SCO SUMMIT: PM Narendra Modi to attend

the SCO SUMMIT to be held in Astana, Kazakhstan between June 7–8 2017. The 2017 Women’s Cricket World Cup: The 2017 Women’s Cricket World Cup is to be played in England from 26 June to 23 July 2017. French Open Grand Slam 2017: French Open Grand Slam to be held in France from June 28–11 June.

2017 Wimbledon Championships Grand Slam: 2017 Wimbledon Championships

Grand Slam is scheduled to be held in July in United Kingdom July 3–July 16. PM Modi to visit G20 SUMMIT: PM Modi scheduled to attend the 12th G20

SUMMIT to be held in Hamburg, Germany from July 7-July 8. Presidential election 2017 India: A Presidential election will be held before 25 July 2017, the day when incumbent President Pranab Mukherjee’s term ends. The total solar eclipse: This eclipse will be the first total solar eclipse visible from the United States on August 21 since the solar eclipse of July 11, 1991 and the first visible from the contiguous United States since 1979. The Chess World Cup 2017: The Chess World Cup 2017 is scheduled to be held in Georgia from September 1 to September 25. Spacecraft to the moon: TeamIndus, a private aerospace starup company is planning to send a spacecraft to the moon aboard an Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) rocket on December 28, 2017.

Goa Legislative Assembly election, 2017: The Goa Legislative Assembly

election, 2017 will be held in early 2017, to elect the 40 members of the Goa Legislative Assembly, as the term of current Legislative Assembly ends on March 18, 2017.

Manipur Legislative Assembly election, 2017: The Manipur Legislative Assembly

election, 2017 will be held in early 2017 to elect the 60 members as the term of current Legislative Assembly ends on 18 March 2017.

Punjab Legislative Assembly elections 2017: The Punjab Legislative Assembly

elections are expected to be held in Punjab in 2017, before the end of the current tenure of the Punjab Legislative Assembly.

Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly election: Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly

election will be held in 2017 for the 70 seats of the Vidhan Sabha in the state.

UP Legislative Assembly Elections 2017:

The legislative assembly election will be held in 2017 for the 403 seats of the Vidhan Sabha in Uttar Pradesh.

The Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly election, 2017: The Himachal

Pradesh Legislative Assembly election, 2017 will be held in late 2017, to elect the 68 members of the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly, as the term of current Legislative Assembly ends on 7 January 2018.

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COMING UP 2017

9th BRICS SUMMIT: PM Narendra Modi

schedule to attend the 9th BRICS SUMMIT in 2017 to be held in China. IBSA Summit: PM Narendra Modi scheduled to attend the next IBSA Summit to be held in 2017 in India. Exoplanet to be launched: NASA plans to launch the exoplanet-seeking TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) mission to survey the brightest stars near the Earth. ‘Artificial’ chromosome: A UK team of scientists is building an “artificial” chromosome to be inserted into the world’s first synthetic yeast scheduled to be completed by the year 2017. Cassini–Huygens to be destroyed: The unmanned spacecraft sent to the planet Saturn will be destroyed in 2017 by flying into Saturn, since it is running out of fuel for orbital corrections. Chandrayaan-2: Chandrayaan-2 is India’s second lunar exploration mission after Chandrayaan-1 developed by the ISRO, the mission is planned to be launched to the Moon by a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV Mk II) in 2017.

The first human head transplant:

In 2017, Italian neurosurgeon Sergio Canavero will attempt to perform the first human head transplant. Canavero’s patient is Valery Spiridonov, a 30-year-old Russian with Werdnig–Hoffmann disease (the most severe type of spinal muscular atrophy).

China establishes the largest megacity in the world: China is going to

merge nine of its cities into one, creating the largest metropolitan area on the planet. This new megacity has a population of 42 million – over 7 million greater than Tokyo, the previous record holder.

Merger of Railway Budget into the General Budget 2017-18: The almost

century old practice of presenting a separate Railway Budget ahead of the General Budget is to be dispensed with from the next financial year (2017-18) with merging of the Railway Budget with the General Budget.

India’s first private moon mission 2017:

TeamIndus, a Bengaluru-based private aerospace company, will send a spacecraft to the moon on December 28, 2017, aboard an Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) rocket. The mission’s aim is to land this spacecraft on the moon, have it travel at least 500 metres and beam high- definition video, images and data back to the earth.

The National Defence Authorisation Act 2017 proposed to be passed by the U.S Congress: The House of Representatives

draft of the $602 billion National Defence Authorization Act (NDAA) which sets spending policy for the Department of Defence, would shift $18 billion of wartime Overseas Contingency Operations, or OCO, funds to avoid automatic budget cuts to military programs.

THINGS TO LOOK FOR IN 2017

1. After the notified 50 days period of demonetization, will the things get normal? 2. How would the world respond to Trump’s presidency? What does Trump’s presidency mean for India? 3. Post-Brexit, in order to stabilise the economy, how does Theresa government set out a blue print for UK? 4. UP Assembly Election – will it be fought on development or caste and religion? 5. After Jaylalithaa’s death, what could be the political equation in Tamil Nadu’s politics? 6. Which way the oil prices move with OPEC strategizing to cut oil production? Will Trump come around to the idea? 7. With centre and states having deteriorating relations over demonetization, will the GST find smooth passage? 8. With Jaylalithaa’s demise bringing the curtain down on an entire political era in Tamil Nadu, will her death place a big question mark over the long-term survival of her party? 9. How far the Syria’s civil war crisis will go with more than 11 million people being killed or forced to flee their homes as yet? 10. Against the backdrop of North Korea’s continuous nuclear tests, will the new establishment in US make North Korea behave?

PANORAMA

GK-1

POLITY PANORAMA u Indian

u World

Indian Panorama NATIONAL SYMBOLS OF INDIA National Flag National Emblem

National Anthem National Song National Flower National Fruit National River National Tree

Jana Gana Mana Vande Mataram

The national flag consists of a horizontal rectangular tricolour with saffron at the top, white in the middle and India green at the bottom. The centre has a navy blue wheel with twenty-four spokes, known as the Ashoka Chakra. The flag was designed by Pingali Venkayya. The national emblem is the Lion Capital of Asoka at Sarnath which was adopted on 26th January 1950. The motto inscribed on the emblem is in Devanagari script: “Satyameva jayate” which means Truth Alone Triumphs.

The anthem was composed by Rabindranath Tagore; adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 24th January 1950.

Vande Mataram was composed by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee. It was adopted as the National song of India in 1950.

Indian lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) is the national flower. It is the representation of purity as it remains flawless despite growing in mud and water.

Mango (Mangifera indica) also known as the ‘King of Fruits’, is the National Fruit of India. Ganga is the national river of India. It is also the longest river of the country. The Indian Banyan (Ficus bengalensis) is the national tree.

National Bird

Indian Peacock (Pavo cristatus) is the national bird of India.

National Animal

The Tiger (Panthera tigris) known as the Lord of the Jungle is the national animal of India.

National Saka calendar was introduced as the National calendar by the Saka calendar Calendar Calendar Committee in 1957.

Panaji

6. Goa

9. Himachal Pradesh

8. Haryana

7. Gujarat

Shimla

Chandigarh

Gandhinagar

5. Chhattisgarh Raipur

Patna

Dispur

Itanagar

Hyderabad

New Delhi

Capital

3. Assam (Assom) 4. Bihar

1. Andhra Pradesh 2. Arunachal Pradesh

INDIA

India/State

44,212 Punjabi, Haryanvi 55,673 Pahari, Kangri

196,204 Gujarati 25-01-1971

01-11-1966

01-05-1960

78,550 Assamese, 1st April Bengali, 1912 99,200 Bhojpuri, 1st April Maithili 1936 135,194 Chattisgarhi, 1-11-2000 Hindi 3,702 Konkani 30-05- 1987

Establishment Year

3.3 No National 15-08-1947 Million Language 160205 Telugu, 01-10-1953 Urdu 83,743 English 20-02-1987

Area Language (Sq.Km)

974

877

918

968

991

916

–

83.78%

76.64%

79.31%

88.70%

71.04%

63.4%

–

920/ 66.95% 1000

Losar” or The New Year

123

Kullu, Shoolini

Bihu

Losar Shona Chuksam

Bhot, Bodh, Gaddi, Gujjar

Ankia Naat Mikirs, Khasis, (Onkeeya) Nagas, Boro 1,102 Chhath Bidesia Kajari Gonda, Mundas, Gaur 189 Bastar Dussere, Panthi, Rawat Agariya, Andh, Bhoramdeo Nacha Baiga, Bhaina, 394 per Ganesh Chaturthi Dekhnni, Dhodia, Dubla sq km. Fugdi (Halpati), 310 Makar Sankranti Rass-garba Bhils, Barda, Bavacha 573 Haryali Teej, Lohri, Saang, Dhamal Meo, Ror

397

–

Tribes

Andh, Bagata, Bhil, Konda Bardo Chham Abor, Aka, Apatani

Sex Literacy Pop. Festivals Dance Ratio Average Density /1000 % (Sq. Km) 940 73% 382 G.Jayanti, I.Day. & – R. Day 992 67.7% 308 Sankranti, Ugadi Kuchipudi

INDIAN STATES & UNION TERRITORIES

INDIAN STATES AND UNION TERRITORIES

Kohima

22. Rajasthan

21. Punjab

20. Odisha

16,579 English

21,087 Mizo

Jaipur

342,239 Hindi, Rajasthani

Bhubaneshwar 155,820 Odia, English Chandigarh 50,362 Punjabi

Aizawl

19. Nagaland

18. Mizoram

22,429 Khasi,Garo 21-01-1972

Shillong

01-11-1956

15-08-1947

01-04-1936

01-12-1963

20-02-1987

21-01-1972

17. Meghalaya

22,327 Meeteilon

Imphal

16. Manipur

01-05-1960

307,713 Marathi

14. Madhya Pradesh 15. Maharashtra Mumbai

Bengaluru

Thiruvanantha- 38,863 Malayalam, 01-07-1949 puram English Bhopal 308,245 Hindi 01-11-1956

12. Karnataka

13. Kerala

222,236 Kashmiri, 26-10-1947 Urdu 79,714 Santhali, 15-11-2000 Mundari, Ho 191,791 Kannada 01-11-1956

Ranchi

Srinagar

11. Jharkhand

10. J & K 75.60%

67.6%

66.7%

926

893

978

931

975

986

987

929

930

67.68%

76.68%

73.45%

80.11%

91.58%

75.84%

79.21%

82.9%

70.60%

1,084 93.91%

968

947

883

201

550

270

119

130

120

370

236

860

320

414

Bandi Chhor, Vaisakhi, Lohri Gangaur, Teej, Gogaji

Bhangra, Giddha Ghoomar

Ganesh Chaturthi Odissi

–

Chakma, Dimasa, Garo Chakma, Dimasa, Garo Naga, Kuki, Mikir, Garo Agata, Bathudi, Birhor –

Bhil, Bhunjia, Biar, Binjhwar Andh, Baiga, Barda Aimol, Anal, Angami

Dumhal, Rouff Balti, Beda, Bot, Boto Karam, Vat Asur, Agaria, savitri Baiga, Banjara Bharatanatyam, Adiyan, Barda, Bolak-aat Bavacha, Bhil Kathakali Adiyan, Arandan

Shivratri, Badhai, Rai, Bahgoriya Saira Vijayadashami or Lavani, Koli Dasara Lui-ngai-ni Manipuri Ningol Chakouba, Yaoshang Nongkrem, Nongkrem` Wangala Chapchar Kut, Cheraw, Thalfavang Kut, Khuallam Hornbill, Sekrenyi Zeliang

Jhumar, Paika, Chau, Agni Mysore Dasara, Ugadi Onam

Hemis, Urs

Hyderabad

25. Telangana

Agartala

492

7. Puducherry

Pondicherry

New Delhi

Punjabi English, Gujarati Gujarati, Marathi English, Malayalam

English, Hindi

01-02-1992

01-11-1956

30-05-1987

01-11-1966 11-08-1961

01-11-1956

Malayalam, 07-01-1963 Tamil

1,484.0 Hindi

102

114 102

8,073

88,752 Bengali and 15-08-1947 English

6. NCT of Delhi

26-01-1950

16-5-1975

114,840 Telugu, 02-06-2014 Urdu 10,491.69 Bengali , 21-01-1972 Kokborok 53,483 Garhwali, 9-11-2000 Kumaoni 243,286 Hindi, Urdu 01-04-1937

Nepali, Bhutia 130,058 Tamil

7,096

2. Chandigarh Chandigarh 3. Dadra and Silvassa Nagar Haveli 4. Daman and Daman Diu 5. Lakshadweep Kavaratti

Union Territory 1. Andaman and Port Blair Nicobar Islands

29. West Bengal Kolkata

28. Uttar Pradesh Lucknow

27. Uttarakhand Dehradun

26. Tripura

24. Tamil Nadu Chennai

Gangtok

23. Sikkim

86.34%

92.28%

87.07%

81.9% 77.65%

86.27%

77.08%

69.7%

79.63%

94.65%

66.50%

2,500

11,297

2013

2169

9,300/ 698

1,000

820

189

350

310

80.33 % 550

82.2%

1,038 86.34%

866

946

618

818 775

878

947

908

963

961

–

995

889

Goria, Jhum

Singhi Chham Bhutia, Lepcha, Limboo Adiyan, Bharatanatyam Aranadan, Kuchipudi Andh, Konda

Lava, Kolkali

Bhangra Tarpa, Bhavada Mando, Vira

–

Pongal

Garadi

Diwali, Eid ul-Fitr –

Eid-Ul-Fitr, Muharram

Garba

Lohri Pongal

–

Grulas, Villi

–

Dhodia, Dubla (Halpati) Koya, Malmi

– Warlis, dublas

Andamanese, Chariar, Chari

Bhil, Bhutia, Chaimal Kandali, Ramman Langvir Nritya Bhotia, Buksa, Jaunsari, Raji Makar Sankranti, Kathak Bhotia, Buksa, Chhath Tharu, Baiga Durga Puja, Kali Chau dance Asur, Baiga, Puja Bedia, Chero

–

Ugadi

Pongal

Maghe, Losar

GK-5

PANORAMA State Animals and Birds State Andhra Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Asom (Assam) Bihar Chhattisgarh Goa Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jammu and Kashmir Jharkhand Karnataka Kerala Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram Nagaland Odisha Punjab Rajasthan Sikkim Tamil Nadu

Animal

Birds

Blackback (Antilope cervicapra)

Indian Roller (Coracias benghalensis)

Wild buffalo (Bubalis arnee)

Bastar Hill myna (Gracula religiosa)

Gayal (Bos frontalis)

One-horned rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis) Gaur (Bos gaurue) Gaur (Bos gaurus)

Asiatic lison (Panthera leo persica) Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra)

Snow Leopard (Uncia uncia or Panthna uncia) Kashmir Stag (Cervus elaphus hanglin) Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) Barasingha (Rucervus duvaucelii)

Indian Giant Squirrel (Ratufa indica) Sangai (Cervus eldi) Clouded Leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) Hoolock gibbon (Hoolock hoolock) Gaur (Bos gaurus) Sambar (Rusa unicolor)

Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra) Chinkara (Gazella bennettii) Red panda (Ailurus fulgens) Nilgiri Tahr (Nilgiritragus hylocrius)

India’s name is derived from “Indus River”.

Great Hornbill (Buceros bicornis)

White-winged wood duck (Cairina scutulata) House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) Black-crested bulbul (Pycnonotus gularis) Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) Black Francolin (Francolinus francolinus) Jujurana Western Irogapa (Trogopan melanocephalus) Black-necked crane (Grus nigricollis) Asian koel (Eudynamys scolopacea)

Indian Roller (Coracias benghalensis) Great Hornbill (Buceros bicornis)

Asian Paradise Flycatcher (Trepsiphone paradisi) Yellow footed green pigeon (Treron phoenicoptera) Mrs. Humes Pheasant (Syrmaticus humiae) Hill Myna (Gracula religiosa) Mrs. Humes pheasant (Syrmaticus humaie) Blyth’s Tragopan (Tragopan blythii) Indian Roller (Coracias benghalensis) Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigps) Blood pheasant (Ithaginis cruentus) Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps indica)

GK-6 Telangana Tripura Uttarakhand Uttar Pradesh West Bengal Lakshadweep

PANORAMA Chital (Zinka)

Pala Pitta (Coracias benghalensis)

Musk deer (Moschus cupreus)

Himalayan Monal (Lophophorus impejanus)

Fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus)

White-breasted Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis)

Phayre’s Langur (Trachypithecus Green Imperial Pigeon (Dacula phayrel) genea)

Swamp Deer (Rucervus duvaucelii)

House Sparrow (Passer Domesticus)

National Capital Territory of Delhi Puducherry

Four Ends of India

Sarus Crane (Grus antigone)

Squirrel Sciuridae ratufinae

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)

Asian Koel (Eudynamys scolopaceus)

Foundation day of States

Easternmost point of India is known as Kibithu; situated on right bank of river Lohit separating India from China-Tibet region. It is a small village at the altitude of 3,350 metre in Arunachal Pradesh. Westernmost point is situated in Kuch area of Gujarat called as Ghuar Mota. The region is famous for its harsh climate with 45°C in summer and 20°C in winter. During monsoon season this region looks like a tortoise surrounded by sea water. Northernmost point of India has been in controversies ever since India’s independence. The Siachen Glacier in the state of J&K is the northern boundary of India according to the official division of India during the time of independence. The Southernmost point of the mainland of India is Kanyakumari District in the state of Tamil Nadu. Kannyakumari, formerly was known as Cape Comorin. It is the second largest and urbanized of Tamil Nadu. Indira Point is a village in the Nicobar district of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. It is located in the Great Nicobar tehsil. It is the location of the southernmost point of India’s territory.

1st January

Nagaland Day

6th February

Jammu and Kashmir Day

Gallantry Awards

Vir Chakra: The third highest Gallantry Award Ashok Chakra: The highest peacetime Gallantry award Kirti Chakra: For conspicuous Gallantry Shaurya Chakra: For an act of Gallantry

21st January 20th February 11th March

22nd March 30th March 1st April 14th April 15th April 1st May

Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura Day

Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh day Andman and Nicobar Islands Day Bihar Day (Bihar Diwas) Rajasthan Day Utkal (Odisha) Day Tamil Nadu Day Himachal Pradesh Day

Gujarat and Maharashtra Day

16th May Sikkim Day 1st November Chattisgarh 9th November Uttaranchal (Now Uttarakhand) Day 15th Jharkhand Day (Jharkhand November Diwas) 2nd June (2014) Telangana Day

AWARDS AND HONOURS

Param Vir Chakra: The highest Gallantry Award Mahavir Chakra: The second highest Gallantry Award India’s coastline measures 7,517 kms in length.

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PANORAMA Bharat Ratna The highest civilian award of India. • The first three recipients of Bharat Ratna: C. Rajagopalchari, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan and DR. C.V.Raman (1954)

Padma Awards

• Padma Vibhushan : The second highest

civilian award given for exceptional and distinguished service. • Padma Bhushan : The third highest civilian award given for distinguished service of a high order. • Padma Shri : The fourth highest civilian award given for distinguished service.

Bharatiya Jnanpith Award

• Instituted in 22 May, 1961, carries a cash prize of ` 5 lakh, a citation and a bronze replica of Vagdevi (Saraswati). • This award is given for the best literary writing by an Indian citizen in a language listed in eight schedule of the Indian Constitution.

Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development • Instituted in 1985, this prestigious award is regarded as ‘Nobel’ and over the years it has been awarded to those persons who have done outstanding work for international peace, disarmament and development.

Dadasaheb Phalke Award

• It is India’s highest award in cinema. • It is presented annually at the National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of film festival.

Borlaug Award

• Instituted in 1973, carries a cash prize of ` 1 lakh. • Instituted to honour outstanding agricultural scientists.

Sahitya Akademi Award

• Established in 2 October, 1994. It carries a cash prize of ` 1 crore.

• Awarded for outstanding literary work and carries a cash prize of ` 1 lakh. • Sahitya Academi gives 22 awards for literary works in the languages which has recognized works.

Transcendence: My Spiritual Experiences with Pramukh Swamiji: Abdul Kalam Unbelievable – Delhi to Islamabad: Prof Bhim Singh Two Years Eight Months and Twenty Eight Nights: Salman Rushdie Globalisation, Democratization and Distributive Justice: Professor Mool Chand Sharma Making India Awesome: Chetan Bhagat Flood of fire: Amitav Ghosh Neither a Hawk nor a Dove: Khurshid M Kasuri The Red Sari: Javier Moro Sourav Ganguly: Cricket, Captaincy and Controversy: Saptarshi Sarkar China – Confucius in the Shadows: Poonam Surie Mrs Funnybones: Twinkle Khanna R.D. Burman: The Prince of Music: Khagesh Dev Burman Beyond Doubt: A Dossier on Gandhi’s Assassination: Teesta Setalvad Benazir Bhutto: A Multidimensional Portrait: Dr Anna Suvorova Modi - Incredible emergence of a star: Tarun Vijay

The Accidental Prime Minister – The making and unmaking of Manmohan Singh: Sanjaya Baru Hard Choices (Autobiography): Hillary Rodham Clinton I am Malala (Autobiography): Malala Yousafzai And Then One Day: Naseerudin Shah Playing It My Way: Sachin Tendulkar The Narrow Road To the Deep North: Richard Flangan Go Set a Watchman: Harper Lee Super Economies: Raghav Bahl Family Life: Akhil Sharma Lucknow Boy: A Memoir: Late Vinod Mehta A Brief History of Seven Killings: Marlon James Beyond 2020: A Vision for Tomorrow’s India: A. P. J. Abdul Kalam and Y. S. Rajan Leading: Alex Ferguson With Michael Moritz The Outsider: Frederick Forsyth The Courage to Act – A Memoir of a Crisis and Its Aftermath: Ben S. Bernanke

Gandhi Peace Prize

IMPORTANT BOOKS AND AUTHORS

Amar Sonar Bangla, the national anthem of Bangladesh was written by Rabindranath Tagore in 1905.

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PANORAMA

Ruled or Misruled: Story and Destiny of Bihar: Santosh Singh Hungry Bengal: War, Famine, Riots and the End of Empire: Janam Mukherjee To the Brink and Back: India’s 1991 Story: Jairam Ramesh The Pakistan Paradox: Christrophe Jaffrelot Crusader or Conspirator: P.C. Parakh Born Again On the Mountain: Arunima Sinha The China Model: Daniel A bell Scion of Ikshvaku: Amish Tripathi Purity: Jonathan Franzen God Help the Child: Toni Morrison Love + Hate: Stories and Essays: Hanif Kureishi The Heart Goes Last: Margaret Atwood Deep South: Paul Theroux

The Country of First Boys: Amartya Sen A Strangeness in My Mind: Orhan Pamuk Autumn of the Matriarch: Indira Gandhi’s Final Term in Office: Diego Maiorano Gods of Corruption: Promilla Shankar Restart: The Last Chance for the Indian Economy: Mihir S. Sharma The Tears of the Rajas: Ferdinand Mount The Z factor - My journey as the wrong man at the Right Time : Subhash Chandra Nathuram Godse - The Story of an Assassin : Anup Ashok Sardesai The turbulent year - 1980-1996 (Volume II) : Pranab Mukherjee. Jawaharlal Nehru and The Indian Polity is Perspective : Prof (Dr) P.J. Alexander The Kiss of life - How a superhero and my son defeated cancer : Emraan Hashmi

INDIA’S POLITICAL JOURNEY 70 YEARS

Date/ Period Events 1946 The Constituent assembly elected in 1946 served as the Parliament 15 Aug. 1947 • India became independent • Jawaharlal Nehru becomes the 1st P. M. of Independent India 30 Jan. 1948 • Mahatma Gandhi was shot dead by Nathuram Godse • India sends troops and took over the State of Hyderabad • Sheikh Abdulla became the Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. • Pakistan adopted Guerrilla War in J & K but India recaptured Dras, Kargil and Poonch. 26 Nov. 1949 Constitution of India was adopted with a Preamble, 395 Articles & 8 Schedules. 26 Jan. 1950 • Constitution of India was enforced & India was declared a Republic State • Rajendra Prasad, 1st President of India • Home Minister Vallabhbhai Patel died on 15 Dec. 1950. 1951 • India’s first general/Lok Sabha election ( 25 Oct. 1951 to 21 Feb. 1952) & Indian National Congress won with full majority (75%) • Sheikh Abdulla was dismissed, arrested and Ghulam Mohammed became the 1953 Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. • French finally gave up its territory Pondicherry to India. 1954 1956 Death of B. R. Ambedkar on 6 Dec. 1956 • Second general elections held in India & Congress won 371 seats 1957 1959 • Mrs. Indira Gandhi was elected the president of Indian National Congress. 1960 • The states of Gujarat and Maharashtra came into being on May 1, 1960 & Bombay got allocated to Maharashtra. • Indian troops liberated Goa from Portuguese colony by Operation Vijay 1961 1962 • Congress retained its majority in the general elections (361 seats out of 494). 1964 • Jawahar Lal Nehru passed away. Gulzarilal Nanda was sworn in as acting prime minister. • Congress Working Committee finalized on Lal Bahadur Shastri as Nehru’s successor. (Other contenders were Tamilian K. Kamraj & Morarji Desai) • Pakistan invaded India over a salt marsh in Kachchh desert forcing Indians to 1965 withdraw some 40 miles. Posthumously, Neerja Bhanot became the youngest recipient of the Ashok Chakra Award.

PANORAMA 1966

1967 1969 1971

1975 1977 1979

1980 1984 1989 1991

1992 1996

1999 1999 2004 2009 2014 2016

GK-9 • L.B. Shastri & Pakistani President Ayub Khan met in Taskent along with the Soviet Union P.M. Kosygin, and signed “Taskent Agrement”. • Lal Bahadur Shashtri dies in sleep, of cardiac arrest. • Gulzarilal Nanda was (once again) sworn in as acting prime minister. • Indira Gandhi became PM on Congress president Kamraj endorsement for which Morarji Desai was interested. • Punjab and Haryana divided into separate states. • 4th general elections held in February & INC got 283 seats. 14 banks were nationalized which was opposed by then Finance Minister Morarji Desai • The Indo-Pakistan War of 1971 over Bangladesh liberation. Pakistani troops surrendered & Provisional Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh came into being. • 5th general elections of India was held 14 months before scheduled time and Congress returned with 362 seats out of 520 • On 26th June 1975 national emergency was declared. • Opposition leaders, including, Jayprakash Narayan, Morarji Desai, were sent to jail. Sanjay Gandhi became leading political executive overshading Indira Gandhi • Mrs. Gandhi dissolved Lok Sabha and general elections were held. • The Congress lost around 200 seats. Both Indira Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi lost. • Janata Party came with majority & Morarji Desai became PM of India. • Morarji Desai resigned after Janata Party splits into three parts: headed by Morarji Desai, Jagjivan Ram and Charan Singh. • Charan Singh was sworn as Prime Minster, but a month later Indira’s Congress (I) withdrew support, which forced a mid-term election. General elections of India was held & INC won 353 seats as a result Mrs.I. Gandhi became PM. Sanjay Gandhi died in a plane accident. • Indira Gandhi shot dead by two of her Sikh personal bodyguards. • Rajiv Gandhi became Prime Minister of India. • 8th general elections of India was held & INC won 404 seats. General elections of India was held & INC won 197 seats. The Janata Dal led by V P Singh secured 143 seats, BJP 85 & Left Parties 45 seats. V.P. Singh became PM with support of BJP & Left parties. • Rajiv Gandhi assassinated by suicide bomber sympathetic to Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers(LTTE). • 10th General elections were held. INC+ got 244, BJP+ 120 & NF got 69 seats. P.V. Narasimha Rao became PM with the support of Left parties. Babri Mosque in Ayodhya was demolished, triggering widespread Hindu-Muslim violence. • General elections were held. UF 192(Janata Dal+) won 192, BJP 187, & INC 140 seats. • AB Vajpayee became PM only for 13 days followed by H.D. Deve Gowda & IK Gujral (Janata Dal). The 11th Lok Sabha produced three Prime Ministers in two years. General elections were held. NDA(BJP+) won 254(182+), INC+ 144 & UF 64 seats. AB Vajpayee became PM. Kargil war between India & Pakistan. India came as victorious. General elections were held. UPA got 218, NDA 181 seats & Manmohan Singh became PM of India. General elections were held. UPA got 262, NDA 159 seats & Manmohan Singh became PM of India. General elections were held. BJP got 282, INC 44. Narendra Modi became PM of India. India got entry into Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) group.

INDIA'S ECONOMIC JOURNEY 70 YEARS GK-10

PANORAMA

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PANORAMA INDIA’S AGRICULTURAL JOURNEY 70 YEARS Year

Developments/Events

1947 • India gains independence • Agricultural productivity - 50 million tonnes • Subsistence farming practised • 80% of population dependent on Agriculture EFFORT: Establishment of Agricultural Engineering Division at TART. 1949 • River Valley Project-Damodar Valley Corporation established in 1949 to tackle soil and water conservation in Bihar and Bengal. 1951 1st 5 Year Plan: • Abolition of Intermediaries / Zamindari System • Giving Land titles to actual Tillers • Community Develo pment Programmes introduced. • Decentralised Planning • Intensive Area Development Programme Initiated. Bhoodan Movement launched by Vinoba Bhave • Land Rights renounced • 11.9 lakh acres of land distributed. 1954 • ICAR carried out state wise survey of the existing tools and implements used by farmers. 1956 2nd 5 Year Plan: • Concern for vast rainfed Agriculture feet • Soil conservation as an important programme. • Irrigation Development for rainfed areas. • Training and Development/Extension work for the Agricultural Technology through Community Development. 1957 • GRAMDAN launched • Private ownership of land eliminated 1959 • Indian National Congress in Nagpur Resolution resolved that Agrarian Legislation to lower restriction on the size of land holdings. 1961 3rd Five Year Plan: • Cultivable waste land brought under cultivation • Area development as an approach for selected districts • Integrated land policy adopted • Soil survey taken up 1964 Incentive Price Policy adopted: • Agricultural Price Commission set up to fix agricultural prices/support prices of the crops. 1965 Food Corporation of India launched 1966 Green Revolution Introduced: • The HYV programme started. • Modern farm technique initiated which replaced manpower • Irrigation facilities improved. Results: • 12.6 times increase in crop production • 4.84 times increase in wheat output from 1966-67. • 1.78 times increase in production from 1966-67. • Success mostly marked in wheat and rice. • Limited only to Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh. 1969 • Irrigation and soil conservation in dry land regions and technological change introduced. • Second phase of land reform and land ceiling acts introduced.

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PANORAMA

1974 • Drought prone area marked and got attention. • Desert area development programme launched • New impetus to dry farming. 1977 Food-For-Work Introduced. 1980 Under utilisation of land resources: • Land and water management programme under drought prone area in selected area undertaken. 1982 National Bank for Agriculture & Rural development (NABARD) established. 1992 8th 5 Year plan : • Period of liberalization and globalisation • Growth and Diversification of agriculture to achieve self-sufficiency in food. • Generation of food surplus for exports • Food grain production increased from 168.4 million tonnes (1966-67) to 199 million tonnes in (1991-92). 1997 • Land degradation increased significantly • Brought underutilized land under cultivation • Maintenance of village commons • Decentralised land management system • Panchayati Raj to manage the village lands. 9th 5 Year plan: • Doubling food production • Increase in employment and income • Supplementary/sustained employment and creation of Rural infrastructure through poverty Alleviation Schemes. • Distribution of food grains to the people below poverty line. • Introduction of TARGETED PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM (TPDS) to “poor in all areas”. 1998 • KISAN CREDIT CARD (KCC) introduced. • Introduction of ANTYODAYA ANNA YOJANA (AAY) 2000 • 1 crore of the poorest BPL families identified. • 25 Kg of food grains available at ` 2 per kg for wheat and ` 3 per kg for rice. Introduction of ANNAPURANA SCHEME • Targeted group – Indigent senior citizens • Provision of 10 kg of grains free. 2004 NATIONAL FOOD FOR WORK launched • 150 most backward districts provided wage employment. • 100% centrally sponsored scheme 2005 About 221 farmers committed suicide in Maharashtra 2010 India largest producer of – Many fresh fruits, vegetables, milk, major spices, jute, millets, castor oil. India 2nd largest producer of wheat and rice. 2011 • Major reforms in organised retails • Includes logistics and details of agricultural produce. • Though this reform was placed on hold. 2012 • Subsidised electricity for pumping due to drop of 90% monsoon rains. • Production from horticulture exceeded grain output. 2016 • National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) to carry out 42 dairy projects with the financial outlay of 221 crores. • 585 major wholesale agricultural markets electronically linked creating National Agriculture Market (NAM) • 5 year road map drawn to increase pulse production • PRADHAN MANTRI FASAL BIMA YOJANA and BHARTIYA KRISHI BIMA YOJANA introduced to insure crops. • 75000 crores invested on Energy Efficient Irrigation Scheme.

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PANORAMA INDIA’S SCIENTIFIC JOURNEY 70 YEARS Year

Developments/Discoveries

1947 • PM Jawahar Lal Nehru initiated reforms to promote higher education, science and technology in India. • Radio Broadcasting was renamed as ALL INDIA RADIO. • Electric generation capacity in India – 1362 MW. 1948 • Atomic energy act was passed. • Defence Organization was set up.

1950 Rural electrification provided to 3016 villages

1951 Indian Institute of Technology (IIT'S) was incorporated on 8th August 1951 at Kharagpur in West Bengal by Minister of Education Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad. 1954 Hindustan Steel Pvt. Limited formed. 1956 AIIMS founded in New Delhi.

1957 All India Radio renamed as AKASH VANI.

1958 Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) formed. 1959 Limited Duration of Television Programming began.

Late IIT'S in Bombay (1958), Madras (1959), Kanpur (1959) and Delhi (1961) opened. 1950's

Early • Close ties with Soviet Union enabled the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) 1960's to develop Indian Space Program. 1962 • Indian National for Space Research set up by Department of Atomic Energy. • Work starts on Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Stations (TERLS)

1963 • First Sounding Rocket launched from TERLS on Nov. 21, 1963. 1965 • Complete Broadcasting of Television followed • Space Science and Technology Centre set up in Thumba • Green Revolution began under M.S. Swaminathan

1968 Experimental Satellite Communication Earth Station set up in Ahmedabad.

1970 • Indian Medical Centre Council Act passed to Standardize Ayurvedic teaching institution • White Revolution / Operation Flood was introduced which made India the largest producer of milk. 1971 • Electronic Commission was set up by Mrs. Indira Gandhi. • Satish Dhawan Space Centre was set up in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.

1972 • Department of Space established. ISRO brought under it.

1973 • Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) incorporated with an authorized capital of ` 2000 crore. 1975 • First Indian Satellite ARYA BHATTA launched

1979 • BHASKARA I, an Earth experimental satellite launched.

1981 • Indian Antarctic Programme started when the 1st Indian expedition was flagged off for Antarctica from Goa. • Since then more missions sent each year to India’s base DAKSHIN GANGOTRI. • Commission on additional sources of energy set up and hence department of nonconventional energy source set up.

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PANORAMA

1983 • INSAT commissioned in 1983. Largest Domestic Communication in ASIA - PACIFIC. • Active Satellite of this series include INSAT-2E, INSAT-3A, INSAT-3B, INSAT-3C, INSAT3E, KALPANA-I, G-SAT 2, EDUSAT, INSAT-4A. • APOLLO hospitals opened its 1st facility. 1st hospital to be registered as Public Company. 1984 • 1st Indian Cosmonaut RAKESH SHARMA spends 8 days in Russian Space Station Salyut 7. • Kolkata Metro started. 1985 • Immunisation Program consisting in massive vaccination for 9 diseases- T.B, Diptheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, Polio, Measles, Hepatitis B, Diarhhoea, Japanese Encephalitis, Pneumonia. 1986 • A separate department of BIOTECHNOLOGY created to develop Indian Agriculture. 1991 • A new permanent Antarctic base MAITRI was founded. • Indian Economy went through major economic reforms leading India to a new era of globalisation and International Economic Integration. 1995 • AYUSH created to develop research work in Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy. • Pulse polio Programme started. 1997 • TRAI was established 1999 • Cellular Services started in India. 2001 'Tejas' - advanced light weight supersonic fighter aircraft introduced. BRAHMOS - introduced into Defense System (World’s fastest cruise missile) developed by India & Russia. 2002 • India and European Union agreed to Bilateral cooperation in the field of science and technology. • Delhi metro started. 2003 • Super computer PARAM PADMA was launched which had the computational capacity of 1 texaflop. 2004 • Electricity generation capacity increased to 11350 MW 2005 • National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) launched 2008 • The Moon impact probe was released from CHANDRAYAN 1 at the height of 100 Km. 2013 MARS ORBITER MISSION (MOM) also called as MANGALYAN launched by ISRO making it the 4th Space Agency to reach Mars and the 1st Nation to reach the Mars orbit in first attempt. • Rural Electrification – 593732 villages 2014 TB - Mission 2020 is launched by Govt. of India to eradicate TB by 2020. 2016 • India's first indigenous Sonar Dome was flagged off by the defence Ministry on March 30. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS: • ISRO's PSLV- C35 successfully placed 8 different satellites in a single rocket mission including SCAT-SAT-1 for weather Related Studies. • IIT Kharagpur and NHAI have signed MOU to develop technology to construct maintenance free highways in India. • INTERTEC group has launched an agriculture technology laboratory in Hyderabad to perform DNA analysis for agribiotech, plant seed breeding and plant seed production industries. • Indian Institute of Science has discovered a natural cure for cancer in Quercetein and plant Vernonia condensata. • About 6500 e-choupals are covering 1 lakh villages.

PANORAMA

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INDIA’S DEMOGRAPHIC JOURNEY 70 YEARS Parameters Population

Course of Journey • 1947 – Population of India was 340 million • Between 1947 – 1981, population doubled. • By 2001 – it surpassed 1 billion • 2011 – Population was 1210 million • India's population increasing at the rate of 16 million per year • India has 17% of world's population. • Highest populated state : Uttar Pradesh. • Lowest populated State – Sikkim • Highest populated Union Territory – Delhi • Lowest populated UT – Lakshadweep • Average Density of population in India – 382 person/sq km. 2011–Population in Rural Areas – 68.84 % • Population in Urban Areas – 31.16% • 18.62% of country's population in Uttar Pradesh. Fertility rate • Total Fertility Rate in 1966-71 : 5.78 % TFR in 1971-76 : 5.37% TFR in 1976-81 : 4.65% TFR in Kerala : 2.1% TFR in Tamil Nadu : 1.8% 2001 : Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan accounted for 45% of the total population. Birth and 1951-1961 : Death Rate - 24 /1000 Birth Rate - 42 /1000 Death Rate : 1971-1981 : Death Rate - 15/1000 Birth Rate - 38 /1000 1996-2001 : Death Rate – 9/1000 Birth Rate - 24/1000 Population 1952 – National family Programme launched. policy in Features: India • To slow down population growth rate through Birth Control Measures • To Improve public Health Standards • To Increase Public Awareness about public health Issues. 1975-1976 – Period of National Emergency • Introduced coercive programme of mass sterilization. 1978 – National family welfare Programme launched. 2010 – National Socio-demographic Goals launched : • Free Compulsory Education upto age of 14 • Reduce IMR to below 30/1000 live birth. • Delayed marriages for girls • 100% registration of birth, death, marriage and Pregnancy. Literacy 1951 – Literacy Rate in India – 18.3% 1991 – Increased to 52.2% 2001 – Literacy Rate – 65.4% 2011 – Literacy Rate – 74.04% • Male Literacy Rate – 82.14% • Female Literacy Rate – 65. 46% • State with Universal Literacy – KERALA (93.7) • Least Literate State – BIHAR (63.82%) • State with Lowest female literacy Rate – HARYANA • RIGHT TO EDUCATION (Article 21A) has been made fundamental Right in India via 86th Constitution Amendment Act.

GK-16 Religion

PANORAMA

• Share of Hindu Population in India – 80% • India has world's 3rd most biggest Muslim population (While Pakistan–second & Indonesia–first) • Concentration of Muslim population in India in LAKSHADWEEP and JAMMU & KASHMIR. • Concentration of Christian population – MEGHALAYA, MIZORAM, NAGALAND. • Concentration of Sikh population – PUNJAB Declining 1951 – 946 F / 1000 M Sex Ratio 1971 – 930 F / 1000 M 1981 – 934 F / 1000 M 1991 – 925 F / 1000 M 2001 – 933 F / 1000 M 2011 – 940 F / 1000 M • Lowest Child Sex Ratio – PUNJAB (793) • Lowest female Sex Ratio – HARYANA (877) • Highest female Sex Ratio – KERALA (1084) • States with declining Sex Ratio – HARYANA, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, GUJARAT and HIMACHAL PRADESH. Efforts taken: PRE–NATAL DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUE (Regulation and prevention of misuse) ACT passed in 1996. Age • INDIA has a very young population. Structure * UNDER 15 AGE GROUP 1971 – 42% of total population 2001 – 35% of total population 2011 – 29.7% of total population * 15 – 60 AGE GROUP 1971 – 53% of total population 2001 – 59% of total population 2011 – 64.9% of total population 60 + AGE GROUP 1971 – 5% of total population 2001 – 7% of total population 2011 – 5.5% of total population • State with high proportion in younger age group – UTTAR PRADESH • 1/3rd of India's population below 15 yrs of age in 2000. Life 1951 – Males (32.45 yrs) Female (31.66 yrs) Expectancy 1971 – Males (46.40 yrs) Female (44.70 yrs) 1991 – Males (59.70 yrs) Female (60.50 yrs) 2001 – Males (63.90 yrs) Female (66.90 yrs) 2011 – Average life expectancy – 65.48 yrs Rural 1951 – Rural Population : 299 million Urban Urban Population: 62 million Preferences 1981 – Rural Population : 524 million Urban Population: 159 million 2001 – Rural Population : 743 million Urban Population: 286 million INDIA'S DEMOGRAPHIC ACHIEVEMENT • Reduced CRUDE BIRTH RATE from 40.8 (1951) to 24.1 (2004) • Reduced IMR from 146/1000 live birth (1951) to 58/1000 live birth (2004) • Reduced Crude death rate from 25 (1951) to 7.5 (2004) • Added 25 yrs to life expectancy from 37 yrs to 62 yrs. • Halved the TFR from 6.0 (1951) to 3.0 (2004) • Quadrupled the couple protection rate from 10.4% (1971) to 44% (1999).

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PANORAMA

INDIA’S SOCIAL/CULTURAL JOURNEY 70 YEARS National Consolidation 1947 • India got independence and partitioned • India adopted a socialist democratic path.

1950 • India adopted a new constitution which guaranteed fundamental rights to the citizens of India ensuring equality, freedom and justice.

1955 • States of India reorganised on the recommendations made by state reorganisation commission. • This was done on linguistic basis.

1967-70 • Privy purses were abolished along with the compensation paid to the Rajas. • Zamindari System was abolished Education

1947 • Literacy Rate – 12.2% 1950’s–60’s • Government established several industrial training institutes, polytechnics, engineering colleges, medical and dental colleges. Many management institutes (IIM'S) were also set up.

1968 • Government implemented the recommendation of 'KOTHARI COMMISSION' under National Policy on Education which emphasised on universal primary education. 1978 • The National Adult Education Programme started which is a part of Primary Education.

1988 • NATIONAL LITERACY MISSION started to enhance adult literacy. 1986 'NATIONAL POLICY ON EDUCATION' announced by the government which focussed on: • Universalization of Primary Education • Vocalisation of Secondary Education • Specialisation of Higher Education

1995 • MIDDAY MEAL PROGRAMME implemented to attract children to schools especially in rural areas.

In 2000’s • Adult literacy rate in 2001 was 61% which increased to 69% in 2011. • Online education being introduced. Now easier to opt for many online degrees/ courses from various universities. • Distant Education became popular • The right of children to free and compulsory education was imposed (2009) • According to the district information system for education in India only 51.5% have boundary walls, 16.6% have computers, 2.39% have electricity. • According to the Annual Statics of Education, the average attendance rate of students in the rural states is about 75%. • SARVA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN launched to provide education for the children from 6-14 years (2001) • No. of Primary Schools increased from 2.10 lakhs (1950-51) to 6.40 lakhs (2001-02) 11.9 lakh in 2013-14. • No. of Universities increased from 27 (195051) to 254 (2000-01) to 712 in 2013-14. • 88th amendment of the constitution made Education a FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT for all children aged 6-14.

2011 Literacy Rate of 7 to 14 years increased to 74.04% from 65% in 2001. Sanitation

1986 • Government of India started the Central Sanitation Programme (CRSP) to improve the basic sanitation amenities of rural areas. 1999 • TOTAL SANITATION CAMPAIGN (TSC) was launched • Programmes such as Individual Houses Latrines, School Sanitation and Hygiene Education, Community Sanitary Complex, Anganwadi Toilets were introduced.

2006 • Around 4,50,000 deaths were linked to diarrhoea alone of which 88% were death of children below 5. 2008 • According to UNICEF, only 90% of Indian population is able to utilize proper sanitation facilities.

GK-18 2010 • Water and Sanitation programme study the economic impacts of inadequate sanitation in India which has caused considerable economic losses equivalent to 6.4% of India's GDP in 2006.

2014 • SWACHH BHARAT ABHIYAN launched by PM Narendra Modi. Women

1954 • Vibhla Farooqui and her female colleagues in the Communist Party of India organised a national conference to address women issues. They founded the NATIONAL FEDERATION OF INDIAN WOMEN (NFIW) focus attention on women's struggle for equal rights and responsibilities in all spheres of life.

1955 The HINDU MARRIAGE ACT of 1955 was passed to provide equal rights to women to obtain divorce and maintenance.

1956 • The "Hindu Adoption and maintenance Act" was passed. Through this act, a woman can adopt a boy or a girl as her son or daughter. • The "Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act" of 1956 entitled a woman to act as the natural guardian of her minor children. • The HINDU SUCCESSION ACT, 1956 was passed in which a woman got equal rights in the inheritance of family property 1961 • The DOWRY PROHIBITION ACT of 1961 in which dowry was made a punishable offence.

1974 • According to the report of the committee on status of women in India, the number of female employees in all sector was continuously rising. • According to the World Bank Report, 94% of total employment in dairy production constitutes women. • CHIPKO MOVEMENT, which got its name from the action of woman who hugged trees in order to prevent them from being cut by timber contractors. 1976 • The EQUAL REMUNERATION ACT was passed.

PANORAMA 1986 • SHAH BANO CASE – The Supreme Court ruled that Shah Bano (Muslim Elderly) was eligible for maintenance money though the decision was opposed by Muslim fundamentalists. The Union Government subsequently passed the MUSLIM WOMEN'S (PROTECTION OF RIGHTS UPON DIVORCE) ACT. 1989 • Panchayati Raj Bill was introduced which instituted 1/3rd of the seats in the panchayat to be reserved for women. 2006 Kiran Majumdar Shaw (founder of BIOCON) was rated as the world's richest woman. Kalita D. Gupta (ran ICICI Bank) and Kalpana Moparia (CEO, JP MORGAN) listed as most powerful women (Forbes). PRESENT SCENARIO: • From 5.4 million girls enrolled at the primary level in 1950-51 to 61.1 million girls in 200405 and 94.8 million in 2013-14. • Dropout rates of girls have fallen by 16.5% between the year 2000 and 2005. • India has largest population of working women in the world. • Women such as Arundhati Roy, Anita Desai, Jhumpa Lahiri, Shabana Azmi, Pratibha Patil, Mrs. Indira Gandhi have asserted themselves in this male-dominated realm. Domestic Violence 2005 • According to National Family and Health Survey in 2005, total lifetime prevalence of domestic violence was 33.5% and 8.5% for sexual violence among aged 15-49. • The DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ACT of 2005 legally defines domestic violence and the prosecution guidelines of those cases that are reported to the police. 2012 • National Crime Records Bureau states the reported Crime rate of 46/100,000, rape rate of 2/100,000 and dowry homicide rate of 0.7/100,000. RAPE IN INDIA • According to the National Crime Records Bureau 2013, 24,923 rape cases were reported in 2012 which increased to 34,651 in 2015.

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PANORAMA 2012 • New Delhi has the highest number of rape reports among Indian cities. • Jabalpur has the highest per capita rape rate reports. DOWRY DEATHS • India reports the highest total number of dowry deaths with 8391 deaths reported in 2010 which increased to 18,233 in 2012. • Dowry death is considered as one of the many categories of violence against women in India along with rape, acid throwing, eveteasing and bride- burning. Family • Joint family system has been the Structure major feature of Indian tradition. and Oldest male member is the head Marriage of the family system. • With Urbanisation and development in the economic system, the joint family system has paved way for the nuclear family system. • In India, majority of marriages are planned by parents and family members - But now inter- caste and inter-religion marriages are also becoming popular. • The average age for marriage for women in India is now 21 years according to the 2011 census of India. • In 2009, 7% of the women got married before the age of 18. • Since 1956, males and females are treated as equal in the matter of inheritance without a legal will. • Divorce is very low-About 1%. Urban divorce rates are much higher. • Live-in-relationships are becoming common nowadays. Health • Life expectancy increased from 37 years in 1951 to 65 years in 2011. • Malnutrition in children under 5 years came down to 44% in 2006 from 67% in 1971. • Number of Tuberculosis cases got reduced to 185/100,000 in 2009. • Birth Rate has fallen from 39.9/1000 in 1950-51 to 25.8 in 2000-01 and 21% in 2013. • Death Rate has fallen from 27.4/1000 in 1950-51 to 8.5 in 2000-01 to 7.4% in 2011.

• No. of medical colleges gone up to 165 in 1998-99 as against 28 in 1950-51 and to 462 in 2016. • There was no community centre in 1951 but in 1999 there were 2913 community centres. • In 1999, there were 17 doctors for every 1 lakh population as against 5.2 doctors in 1951. But in 2016 India has one doctor per 1700 population. • The cases of HIV infected people are also witnessing a declining trend.

The Flipside of Development Poverty

In 2011, The World Bank estimated 23.6% of India's population lived below $ 1.25 per day on purchasing power parity.

Corruption In

2005, a study done by Transparency International in India found that more than 50% people has first hand experience of paying bribe on getting a job done in public office. • In 2015, a revelation of tax evasion (PANAMA PAPER LEAKS) case involving some high profile celebrities and businessmen has added spark to the corruption charges.

Terrorism • Regions of terrorist activities in

India are Jammu and Kashmir, central India and the north-east states. • Punjab insurgency led to militant activities in Punjab and Delhi • Today the country faces worst phase of Naxalite Maoist Insurgency especially in Chattisgarh, eastern India and Andhra Pradesh.

• 1979 : Mandal Commission was CasteRelated established to identify the socially Violence and educationally backward communities and to consider the question of seat reservation and quotas for people to redress caste discrimination. • 1989 : Massive protests were held in the country when V.P. Singh govt. tried to implement the recommendation of Mandal Commission.

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PANORAMA SPACE SCIENCE

Space mission 1975-2016 Satellite Aryabhata

Bhaskara-I Rohini Technology Payload Rohini RS-1 Rohini RS-D1 Ariane Passenger Payload Experiment Bhaskara -II INSAT-1A

Launch Launch Vehicle Date 19-Apr-75 u-11 Interkosmos 7-Jun-79 C-1 Interkosmos 10-Aug-79 SLV-3 18-Jul-80 SLV-3 31-May-81 SLV-3 19-Jun-81 Ariane-1 (V-3) 20-Nov-81 C-1 Intercosmos 10-Apr-82 Delta 3910 PAM-D 17-Apr-83 SLV-3 30-Aug-83 Shuttle [PAM-D] 24-Mar-87 ASLV

Rohini RS-D2 INSAT-1B Stretched Rohini Satellite Series (SROSS-1) IRS-1A 17-Mar-88 Vostok Stretched 13-Jul-88 ASLV Rohini Satellite Series (SROSS-2) INSAT-1C 21-Jul-88 Ariane-3 INSAT-1D 12-Jun-90 Delta 4925 IRS-1B 29-Aug-91 Vostok INSAT-2DT 26-Feb-92 Ariane-44L H10 Stretched 20-May-92 ASLV Rohini Satellite Series (SROSS-C) INSAT-2A 10-Jul-92 Ariane-44L H10 INSAT-2B 23-Jul-93 Ariane-44L H10+ IRS-1E 20-Sep-93 PSLV-D1 Stretched 4-May-94 ASLV Rohini Satellite Series (SROSS-C2) IRS-P2 15-Oct-94 PSLV-D2

INSAT-2C

7-Dec-95

IRS-P3

21-Mar-96 PSLV-D3

IRS-1C

INSAT-2D IRS-1D

INSAT-2E

Oceansat-1 (IRS-P4) INSAT-3B GSAT-1

Ariane-44L H10-3

29-Dec-95 Molniya 4-Jun-97

Ariane-44L H10-3

29-Sep-97 PSLV-C1 3-Apr-99

Ariane-42P H10-3

26-May-99 PSLV-C2

22-Mar-00 Ariane-5G 18-Apr-01 GSLV-D1

Technology 22-Oct-01 PSLV-C3 Experiment Satellite (TES) INSAT-3C

24-Jan-02

INSAT-3A

10-Apr-03 Ariane-5G

Kalpana-1 (METSAT) GSAT-2

INSAT-3E

Ariane-42L H10-3

12-Sep-02 PSLV-C4 8-May-03

GSLV-D2

28-Sep-03 Ariane-5G

RESOURCE17-Oct-03 PSLV-C5 SAT-1 (IRS-P6) EDUSAT

20-Oct-04 GSLV-F01

INSAT-4A

22-Dec-05 Ariane-5GS

HAMSAT

CARTOSAT-1 INSAT-4C

CARTOSAT-2

5-May-05

PSLV-C6

10-Jul-06

GSLV-F02

5-May-05

10-Jan-07

Space Capsule 10-Jan-07 Recovery Experiment (SRE-1) INSAT-4B

INSAT-4CR

PSLV-C6 PSLV-C7 PSLV-C7

12-Mar-07 Ariane-5ECA 2-Sep-07

GSLV-F04

CARTOSAT-2A 28-Apr-08 PSLV-C9

IMS-1 (Third 28-Apr-08 PSLV-C9 World Satellite – TWsat)

Chandrayaan-1 22-Oct-08 PSLV-C11 RISAT-2

20-Apr-09 PSLV-C12

Astronauts comes form the Greek word “Astron” which means stars and “nautes” means sailor.

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PANORAMA ANUSAT

20-Apr-09 PSLV-C12

GSAT-4

15-Apr-10 GSLV-D3

Oceansat-2 (IRS-P4)

23-Sep-09 PSLV-C14

CARTOSAT-2B 12-Jul-10 StudSat

GSAT-5P / INSAT-4D

RESOURCESAT-2 Youthsat

GSAT-8 / INSAT-4G GSAT-12

MeghaTropiques Jugnu

RISAT-1

SRMSAT

GSAT-10 SARAL

IRNSS-1A

12-Jul-10

PSLV-C15

25-Dec-10 GSLV-F06 20-Apr-11 PSLV-C16 20-Apr-11 PSLV-C16

21-May-11 Ariane-5 VA-202 15-Jul-11

PSLV-C17

12-Oct-11 PSLV-C18 12-Oct-11 PSLV-C18

26-Apr-12 PSLV-C19

26-Apr-12 PSLV-C18

29-Sep-12 Ariane-5 VA-209 25-Feb-13 PSLV-C20 1-Jul-13

PSLV-C22

Mars Orbiter 5-Nov-13 Mission (MOM)

PSLV-C25

INSAT-3D GSAT-7

26-Jul-13

30-Aug-13 Ariane-5

GSAT-14

5-Jan-14

GSAT-16

7-Dec-14

IRNSS-1B IRNSS-1C

IRNSS-1D GSAT-6

Astrosat

GSAT-15

IRNSS-1E IRNSS-1F

IRNSS-1G

Corbo Set-2C Insat 3DR

SCATSAT-1 GSAT-18

Ariane-5

4-Apr-14

GSLV-D5

PSLV-C24

10-Nov-14 PSLV-C26 Ariane-5

28-Mar-15 PSLV-C27 27-Aug-15 GSLV-D6

28-Sep-15 PSLV-C30

11-Nov-15 Ariane 5 VA-227 20-Jan-16

PSLV-C31

10-Mar-16 PSLV-C32 28-Apr-16 PSLV-C33 22-Jun-16 PSLV-C34 8-Sep-16

GSLV-F05

5-Oct-16

Ariane 5 ECA VA-231

26-Sep-16 PSLV-C35

Space Centres and Units •• Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) Thumba (Thiruvananthapuram) •• ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC) - Bengaluru •• SHAR Centre - Shriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) •• Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) - Bengaluru •• Space Application Centre - Ahmedabad •• Developmental and Educational Communication - Ahmedabad unit (DECU) •• ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) - Bengaluru •• National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) - Hyderabad •• Master Control Facility (MCF) - Hassan (Karnataka) •• The Antrix Corporation Limited Bengaluru •• North Eastern-Space Applications Centre (NE-SAC) - Shillong •• Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) Ahmedabad

Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) Satellite System

The Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellite system is one of the largest constellations of remote sensing satellites in operation in the world today. The IRS programme commissioned with the launch of IRS-1A in 1988 presently includes eleven satellites that continue to provide imageries in a variety of spatial resolutions ranging from better than one metre upto 500 metres.

Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System

The new of Navigation Satellite system was launched in 2013 aimed at providing accurate real time positioning and timing services over India and its surroundings upto a range of 1500 km. The fully deployed system consists of 3 satellites in GEO orbit and 4 satellites in GSO orbits placed approximately at an altitude of 36000 km. The constellation has total 7 satellites.

In September 2009, India’s Chandrayaan-1 detected water on the moon for the first time.

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PANORAMA

Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) is a space probe, launched on 24 September, 2014. The mission focuses on developing the technologies for designing, planning, management and operations of an interplanetary mission. The probe carries five instruments for gathering knowledge about Mars. The space craft is now jointly monitored by ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bangalore, and Indian Deep Space Network antennae at Byalalu.

GLOBAL SPACE PROBES

•• Venus : Venera 1 – USSR Venus flyby, Feb 12, 1961; Now in a solar orbit. Mariner 2 – USA Venus flyby, Aug 27, 1962; Now in a solar orbit. Magellan – USA Venus orbiter, May 4, 1989 – 1994 •• Mars : Mariner 3 – USA Mars flyby, Nov. 5, 1964. Viking 1 – USA Mars orbiter/Lander, Aug 20,1975. Phobas 1 – USSR Mars orbiter/Lander, July 7, 1988.

Mars Odyssey – USA Mars orbiter, Apr. 7, 2001 Spirit (MER-A) – USA Mars Rover, June 10, 2003 Opportunity (MER-B) – USA Mars Rover, July 7, 2003. Mars Phoenix Lander – USA Mars Lander, Aug. 4, 2007. •• Jupiter : Galileo – USA and Europe probe, Oct. 18, 1989. Hubble space Telescope – USA and Europe, Apr. 25, 1990. New Horizons – USA Kuiper belt flyby, Jan. 19, 2006. •• Moon : Pioneer O – USA Lunar orbiter, Aug. 17, 1958. Apollo 17 – USA manned lunar lander, Dec. 7, 1972 Chang’e – 1 – China’s lunar orbiter, Oct 24, 2007. Chandrayaan 1 – India PSLV – C 11, Oct 22, 2008. India’s first moon mission and the cheapest moon mission in the world.

DEFENCE AND SECURITY

The Republic of India has world’s 3rd largest military force and has the world’s largest volunteer army. It consists of three services: the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Force. However, the Cabinet is responsible for National Defence. The Administrative control of armed forces is exercised by the Ministry of Defence, which constitutes the following. (a) Department of Defence (b) Department of Defence Production and Supplies (c) Department of Defence Research and Development (DDRD).

Army

Headed by Headquarters

Chief of the Army Staff New Delhi

Indian Army has never been involved in a military coup.

Number of Commands Command

Headquarter

1. Western Command

Chandimandir

3. Northern Command

Udhampur

2. Eastern Command

4. Southern Command 5. Central Command

6. Training Command (added in 1991)

Calcutta Pune

Lucknow Mhow

7. South Western Command Jaipur (added in 2005)

Air Force

Headed by Chief of the Air Staff Headquarters – New Delhi

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PANORAMA Number of Command Command Headquarter 1. Western Air Delhi Command 2. South-Western Air Gandhinagar Command 3. Central Air Allahabad Command 4. Eastern Air Shillong Command 5. Southern Air Thiruvanathapuram Command

In addition to the above main command, there are two support commands, or functional commands, namely: 1. Training Command – Bangalore 2. Maintenance Command – Nagpur The aircraft fleet consists of fighterbombers, air-superiority fighters, interceptors, transport, and logistic aircraft and helicopters.

Navy

Headed by Headquarters

Chief of Naval Staff New Delhi

Number of Commands Command Headquarter 1. Western Naval Mumbai Command 2. Eastern Naval Command 3. Southern Naval Command

Visakhapatnam Operational command Kochi used for training

Each command is commanded by a flag officer commanding- in-chief. The Indian Navy is a well-balanced threedimensional force consisting of sophisticated missile-capable warships, aircraft carriers, minesweepers, advanced submarines, and the latest aircraft in its inventory. At present, the Navy has two major Naval bases at Mumbai and Visakhapatnam. Goa and Arkonnam are the major Naval air bases.

IMPORTANT SUBMARINES/ MISSILE BOATS/WARSHIPS Submarines INS Chakra

Warships INS Savitri

Missile Boats INS Vibhuti

INS Shahkul INS Shalki

INS Delhi INS Mysore

INS INS Sindhushastra Brahamputra INS Ghariyal INS Kulish INS Satpura INS Talwar INS Tillanchang

INS Prahar INS Prashant INS Nashak INS Vipul

Location of Defence Establishments Army • Indian Military Academy • The College of Military Engineering • The School of Signals • The Infantry School • The Corps of Military Police Centre and School • The Army Education Corps and Training College

– Dehradun – Kirkee (Pune) – Mhow – Mhow – Faizabad

– Pachmarhi

Navy

• Indian Naval Academy • Naval Air Station Garuda • INS Agrani (Petty Officer’s School) • Naval Gunnery School • Torpedo Anti-Submarine School • Navigation Direction School

Air Force

• Pilot Training Establishment • Jet Training and Transport Training Wings, Air Force Station • The Air Force Technical Training College • Paratroopers Training School

India’s first rocket was brought on cycle and a satellite on a bullock cart.

– Kochi – Kochi – Coimbatore – Kochi – Kochi

– Mormugao – Allahabad

– Hyderabad – Jalahalli – Agra

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PANORAMA

Inter-services Institutes • National Defence Academy • National Defence College • Defence Services Staff College • School of Land/Air Warfare • Rashtriya Indian Military College • Armed Forces Medical College

DRDO

– Khadakvasla – New Delhi

– Wellington

– Secunderabad – Dehradun – Pune

Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO) was established in 1958 by amalgamating Defence Science Organization and some of the Technical Development Institutions. It functions under the control of Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister who is also secretary, Defence R&D. DRDO formulates and executes programmes of scientific research, design and development leading to induction of state-of-the-art weapons, platforms, and other equipment required by the Armed Forces.

The DRDO major achievements towards indigenous development of defence weapons and systems are (i) development leading to production of surface-to-surface missile, Prithvi; (ii) state-of-the-art MBT, Arjun; (iii) flight simulators for aircraft; (iv) pilotless target aircraft, Lakshya; (v) parallel super-computer; and (vi) the submarine sonar and weapon control system, Panchendriya.

ISRO

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is the parent agency of Indian space agencies which was established on 15th August 1969. The headquarter of this organisation is at Bangalore and it was founded by Vikram Sarabhai with a vision to harness space technology for national development. The first satellite made by ISRO was Aryabhata and it was launched by Russia on 19th April 1975. Thereafter it has developed numerous satellites and spacecrafts for serving different technology such as communication Earth’s observation, navigation, climatic observations etc.

RANKS OF INDIAN ARMY, NAVY & AIR FORCE

Indian Army Field Marshal General Lieutenant General Major General Brigadier Colonel Lieutenant Colonel Major Captain Lieutenant

Indian Navy Admiral of the Fleet Admiral Vice Admiral Rear Admiral Commodore Captain Commander Lieutenant Commander Lieutenant Sub-Lieutenant

Indian Costal Guard (ICG)

Indian Costal Guard (ICG) protects India’s maritime interests and enforces maritime law, with jurisdiction over the territorial waters of India, including its contiguous zone and exclusive economic zone. The Indian Coast Guard was formally established on 18 August 1978 by the Coast Guard Act, 1978.

Indian Air Force Marshal of the Air Force Air Chief Marshal Air Marshal Air Vice Marshal Air Commodore Group Captain Wing Commander Squadron Leader Flight Lieutenant Flying Officer

The Coast Guard works in close cooperation with the Indian Navy, the Department of Fisheries, the Department of Revenue (Customs) and the Central and State police forces. There are five coastal regions: Western Region (W) Mumbai; Eastern Region (E) Chennai; North Eastern Region (NE) Kolkata; North Western Region (NW) Gandhinagar.

Agni and Prithvi are one of the best missile series in the world.

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PANORAMA Paramilitary Forces Railway Protection Force (RPF) (1861)– Mission : •• Protect and safeguard railway passengers, passenger area and railway property. •• Ensure the safety, security and boost the confidence of the traveling public in the Indian Railways. Central Reserve Railway Protection Force (CRPF) (1949) – Mission: •• Crowd control •• Riot control •• Counter Millitancy/Insurgency operations. •• Dealing with Left Wing Extremism •• Overall co-ordination of large scale security arrangement specially with regard to elections in disturbed areas. •• Protection of VIPs and vital installations. •• Checking environmental degradation and protection of local Flora and Fauna •• Fighting aggression during war time •• Participating in UN Peace Keeping Mission •• Rescue and Relief operations at the time of Natural Calamity. Border Security Force (BSF) (1965) – Mission •• Promote a sense of security among the people living in the border areas. •• Prevent trans border crimes, unauthorized entry into or exit from the territory of India. •• Prevent smuggling and any other illegal activity. •• Holding ground in less threatened sectors so long as the main attack does not develop in a particular sector and it is felt that the local situation is within the capability of BSF to deal with. •• Protection of vital installations particular air-fields against enemy commandoes/ para troopers or raids. •• Providing extension to the flanks of main defence line by the holding of strong points in conjunction with other units. •• Limited Aggressive action against para military or irregular forces of the enemy within the overall plan of the Armed Forces. Assam rifles is the oldest paramilitary force in India.

•• Acting as guides in an area of responsibility where routes are known. •• Guarding of prisoners of war camps. •• Assistance in control of refugees. •• Anti-infiltration duties in specified area. Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) (1969)– Mission : •• Providing total security solutions. •• Exposure to varied security environments ranging from highly disturbed areas in J&K, North East and Andhra Pradesh to mafia infested coal fields of Jharkhand and West Bengal. •• Rich experience in security and protection of highly sensitive establishments, Airports and Centres of economic growth. •• Protection of heritage monuments like Taj Mahal. •• Only Force to have a full-fledged Fire Wing comprising highly trained personnel. •• Extensive use of latest security gadgets. •• Excellent training infrastructure. Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) (1969) – Mission: •• To promote sense of security among the people living in the border area. •• To prevent trans-border crimes and unauthorized entries into or exit from the territory of India. •• To prevent smuggling and other illegal activities. Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) (1962)– Mission : •• Vigil on the northern borders, detection and prevention of border violations, and promotion of the sense of security among the local populace. •• Check illegal immigration, trans-border smuggling and crimes. •• Security to sensitive installations, banks and protected persons. •• Restore and preserve order in any area in the event of disturbance.

Special Security Forces

Anti Terrorist Squad (1990) •• A unit of government of Maharashtra to tackle menace and terrorism in collaboration with RAW and IB.

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•• Aims at tracking and neutralizing activities of terror-groups, mafia and other organized crime syndicates, and detecting rackets of counterfeit currency notes and smuggling of narcotic substances.

Intelligence Bureau(IB) 1887

•• A unit of India’s internal intelligence agency •• Tasked with intelligence collection in border areas along with domestic intelligence responsibilities

Assam Rifles (1853)

•• A unit of paramilitary forces •• Aims at combating counter insurgency, civil unrest, terrorism, special weapons operations.

Garud Commando Force (2004)

•• A special unit of the Indian Air Force •• Garuds perform both war and peace time duties such as rescuing downed airmen and other forces from behind enemy lines, suppression of enemy of air defense, provide support to other air operations,protecting the air bases and other vital infrastructure, counter terrorism, anti-hijacking, hostage rescue, aid during natural calamities and military tasks in the interest of the nation.

Ghatak Force

•• A special unit of the an infantry battalion in the Indian Army. •• Performs task such as special reconnaissance, raids on enemy artillery positions, airfields, supply dumps and tactical headquarters.

Rapid Action Force (1991)

•• A specialized wing of the Indian CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force). •• They are trained to deal with riots, riot like situations, crowd control, rescue and relief operations, and related unrest.

National security Guard (1984)

•• It is a Federal Contingency Deployment Force under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

PANORAMA •• Aimed at performing counter hijacking tasks on land, sea, and air, bomb disposal (search, detection and neutralization of IEDs), Post Blast Investigation and hostage rescue

National Investigation Agency (NIA) 2009

•• A federal agency established by the Indian Government. •• It aims at creating prevention for existing and potential terrorist groups/individuals alongside developing a storehouse of all terrorist related information.

Marcos (1907)

•• A special force unit of Indian Navy. It is created to conduct special operations such as amphibious warfare, counterterrorism, direct action, special reconnaissance, unconventional warfare, hostage rescue, personnel recovery, combat search and rescue, asymmetric warfare, foreign internal defense, counter proliferation.

RAW

•• Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) established in 1968. •• It’s a primary foreign intelligence agency of India. •• Aims at monitoring political, military, economic and scientific developments in countries which have direct bearing on India’s national security and the formulation of its foreign policy,coveting operations to safe guard India’s National interests, moulding international public opinion with the help of the strong and vibrant Indian diaspora, performing Anti Terror Operations and neutralizing terror elements posing a threat to India.

COBRA

•• Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (COBRA) established in 2008. •• It’s a specialized unit of the CRPF created to counter the Naxalite problem in India. •• They are specially trained in guerilla warfare to tackle the notorious naxalite groups in the country. They also master the techniques of camouflage, jungle warfare, parachute jumps, precision strikes and ambushes.

Lal Bahadur Shastri was the first Prime Minister of India to die overseas.

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PANORAMA INDIA’S MISSILE SYSTEM : AT A GLANCE S. No.

Missile

Astra Missile

Beyond Visual range air-to-air Missile

2 3

Shourya Missile Sagarika Missile (K-15)

Canisterised Surface-to-surface missile Submarine-to-Surface Missile

6 7

Nirbhay Missile Dhanush Missile

Long range subsonic cruise missile 1000 km The Ship-based Surface-to-surface ballistic 300 to 350 km missile

4 5

8 9

Feature

Akash Missile Nag Missile

Range

Supersonic cruise missile (can be launched 290 km from ships, submarines, aricrafts and land)

(a) Prithvi-I (Army A single stage liquid-fuelled surface-toversion) surface missile. (b) Prithivi-II (Air A single stage liquid-fuelled surface-toforce version) surface missile. (c) Prithvi-III (Naval Version)

150 km 250 km

A two-stage surface-to-surface missile 350 km (first stage is solid fuelled and second stage is liquid fuelled).

10 (a) Agni-I

(b) Agni-II

Short range ballistic missile

700-800 km

Intermediate

4000 km

Medium range ballistic missile

Intermediate range ballistic missile

(d) Agni-IV (e) Agni-V

(f) Agni-VI (tested) Quantity (Est.)

600 km More than 700 km

Medium range Surface-to-Air Missile 25 km Third Generation-fire and forget-anti-tank 4 to 6 km guided missile

Brahmos Missile (Joint Indo-Russia Venture)

Type

A range of over 80 km in head on mode and 20 km in tail-chase mode.

Range ballistic missile Under development

TANKS IN INDIA

Origin

Arjun MBT

248

India

T-90

1,050

Russia

T-72

2,414

Soviet Union, Poland

2500 km 3500 km

5500-5800 km 6000-8000 km

Description The Indian Army ordered 124 'Arjun' Mk1 MBTs in 2000 and placed another order for additional 124 'Arjun' Mk1 MBTs and 124 'Arjun' Mk2 MBTs in 2010, after Arjun tank had conclusively outperformed the T-90. Indian Army is set to acquire 124 Arjun Mk2 tanks as a follow-on order, according to the Defence Minister. Procured in three separate orders. Two batches (310 tanks and knockdown kits in 2000 and a further 300 in 2006) were purchased from Russia. A further 1000 were to be produced locally by 2020. Of those, the first batch of 10 were delivered in August 2009. Upgraded to advanced Ajeya Mk1 and MK2 standard mainly based on Polish PT-91 Twardy Tank features developed by DRDO

Brahmos-II fastest hypersonic missile in the world.

GK-28

PANORAMA INDIAN SEA-BASED NUCLEAR-ARMED BALLISTIC MISSILES

Name Dhanush

Sagarika (K-15) K-4

Type

Maximum range (km)

Short-range

350

SLBM

Awaiting deployment on INS

700

SLBM3

Status Developed, but not deployed

500

Tested

NUCLEAR-POWERED SUBMARINES

Class

Type

Boats

Chakra (Akula II)class

Attack submarine (SSN)

INS Chakra (S71)

Displacement

Note

12,770 tonnes Under a 10 year lease from Russia since 2012.

Arihant-class Ballistic Missile sub INS Arihant marine (SSBN) (S73)

6,000 tonnes, Undergoing sea trials. surfaced

AIRCRAFT CARRIERS

Class

Type

Centaur -class

Aircraft carrier

Modified Kiev-class

Ships

Aircraft carrier

Displacement

Description

INS Viraat (R22)

28,700 tonnes

INS Vikramaditya (R33)

45,400 tonnes

STOVL carrier. Scheduled to be decommissioned by 2018 and replaced by INS Vikrant

REPLENISHMENT SHIPS

Class

Type

Deepak-class

Replenishment oiler

Jyoti-class

Replenishment oiler

Aditya-class

Ships

Origin

Displacement

INS Deepak (A50) INS Shakti (A57)

Italy

27,500 tonnes

Replenishment oiler & INS Aditya (A59) Repair ship

Russia India

35,900 tonnes

INS Jyoti (A58)

RESEARCH AND SURVEY VESSELS

Class

Type

Ships

Sagardhwani

Research vessel

INS Sagardhwani (A74)

Makar-class

Survey vessel

Sandhayak-class

STOBAR carrier.

Survey vessel

INS Nirupak (J14) INS Investigator (J15) INS Jamuna (J16)INS Sutlej (J17) INS Sandhayak (J18) INS Nirdeshak (J19) INS Darshak (J20) INS Sarvekshak (J22) INS Makar (J31)

Science Day in Switzerland (26th May) is dedicated to APJ Abdul Kalam.

24,612 tonnes

Displacement 2,050 tonnes

1,800 tonnes

500 tonnes

PANORAMA

GK-29

GK-30

PANORAMA

GK-31

PANORAMA ATOMIC & NUCLEAR SCIENCE ATOMIC RESEARCH India’s atomic research programme is committed to peaceful uses only, for example, atomic power, generation of electricity, development of agriculture and industry, medical science application, etc. India’s journey to atomic energy research started with establishment of the Atomic Energy Commission on 10 August 1948 under the chairmanship of Dr. Homi J. Bhabha. Subsequently, DAE was established in 1956 with the following mandate: (a) To generate safe, economic electrical power from nuclear energy. (b) To build research reactors and to utilize the radioisotopes produced in these reactors for applications in the field of agriculture and medicine. (c) To develop advanced technology in areas such as accelerators, lasers, biochemistry, information technology, and materials including development of non-nuclear and strategic materials like titanium.

First Nuclear Implosion

Carried out on 18 May 1974 at Pokhran to Rajasthan (Thar) desert. The main objective was use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes, that is, digging canals, reservoirs, oil explorations as well as to study rock dynamics. This successful implosion made India the sixth nuclear nation in the world.

BARC

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) Established in 1957, it is located at

Trombay (Maharashtra), and is India’s largest atomic research centre, for R&D. BARC’s atomic reactors Aspara, India’s atomic reactor was commissioned on 4 August 1956. One megawatt swimming pool type reactor produces radio isotopes. It is also the first atomic reactor in Asia. Cirus (Canada India Reactor) Built in 1960, it is a 40 MW reactor. Zerlina (Zero Energy Reactor for Lattice Investigation and New Assemblies) Commissioned on 4 January 1961, used for studies of uranium heavy water lattice. Dhruva Commissioned on 15 August 1984, this 100 MW reactor is a completely indigenous nuclear reactor with most advanced laboratories in the world. Purnima I (Plutonium Reactor for Neutronic Investigation in Multiplying Assemblies) commissioned on 22 May 1972, a plutonium fuelled reactor, modified as Purnima-II that used uranium as fuel and it is being further modified as Purnima-III. Kamini India’s first fast breeder neutron reactor, it has been set up at Kalpakkam.

Nuclear power plants

Nuclear power is the fourth-largest source of electricity in India after thermal, hydroelectric and renewable sources of electricity. India has 21 nuclear reactors in operation in 7 nuclear power plants, having an installed capacity of 5308 MW and producing a total of 30,292.91 GWh of electricity while seven other reactors are under construction and are expected to generate an additional 6,100 MW.

POWER STATION IN INDIA

Power station Tarapur Atomic Power Station Rajasthan Atomic Power Station Kakrapar Atomic Power Station Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant Kaiga Nuclear Power Plant Madras Atomic Power Station Narora Atomic Power Station Gorakhpur Atomic Power Station

Operator Establishment Location Date NPCIL 1969 Tarapur NPCIL 1973 Rawatbhata NPCIL 1993 Kakrapar NPCIL 2013 Kudankulam NPCIL 2000 Kaiga NPCIL 1984 Kalpakkam NPCIL 1991 Narora NPCIL Fatehabad

The Indian army controls the highest battle field Siachen.

State

Maharashtra Rajasthan Gujarat Tamil Nadu Karnataka Tamil Nadu Uttar Pradesh Haryana

GK-32 Talcher Super Thermal Power Station Sipat Thermal Power Plant Vindhyachal Super Thermal Power Station Mundra Ultra Mega Power Project Korba Super Thermal Power Plant Bhusawal Thermal Power Station

Satpura Thermal Power Station

Sterlite Jharsuguda Power Station Durgapur Thermal Power Station

PANORAMA NTPC

NTPC NTPC

Tata Power NTPC MAHAGENCO MPPGCL

Vedanta DVC

1995

2008 2013

2009 1983 1968

1967

2006 1996

FIRST IN MALE

Kaniha

Sipat Singrauli

Mundra Jamani Palli Deepnagar

Sarni

Jharsuguda Durgapur

Odisha

Chhattisgarh Madhya Pradesh Gujarat Chhattisgarh Maharashtra

Madhya Pradesh Odisha West Bengal

First Governor of Bengal Lord Clive(1757-60) Last Governor of Bengal Warren Hastings(1772-74) The first British Governor General of Bengal Lord Warren Hasting(1774-1885) The first British Governor General of India Lord William Bentinck(1833-1835) The first British Viceroy of India Lord Canning(1856-62) The first Governor General of free India Lord Mountbatten(1947-1948) The first and the last Indian to be Governor General C. Rajgopalachari(1948-1950) of free India The first President of Indian Republic Dr. Rajendra Prasad The first Prime Minister of free India Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru The first Indian to win Nobel Prize Rabindranath Tagore The first President of Indian National Congress W.C. Banerjee The first Muslim President of Indian National Badruddin Tayyabji Congress The first Muslim President of India Dr. Zakir Hussain The first man who introduced printing press in James Hicky India The first Indian to join the I.C.S Satyendra Nath Tagore India’s first man in Space Rakesh Sharma The first Prime Minister of India who resigned Morarji Desai without completing the full term The first Indian Commander-in-Chief of India General Cariappa The first Chief of Army Staff Gen. Maharaj Rajendra Singhji The first Indian Member of the Viceroy’s Executive S.P.Sinha Council The first President of India who died while in office Dr. Zakir Hussain The first Prime Minister of India who did not face Charan Singh the Parliament The first Field Marshal of India S.H.F. Manekshaw The first Indian to get Nobel Prize in Physics C.V.Raman India has the largest non-ceremonial horse mounted cavalry unit remaining the world.

GK-33

PANORAMA The first Indian to receive Bharat Ratna award Dr. Radhakrishnan The first Indian to cross English Channel Mihir Sen The first Person to receive Jnanpith award Sri Shankar Kurup The first Speaker of the Lok Sabha Ganesh Vasudeva Mavalankar The first Vice-President of India Dr. Radhakrishnan The first Education Minister Abdul Kalam Azad The first Home Minister of India Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel The first Indian Air Chief Marshal S. Mukherjee The first Indian Naval Chief Vice Admiral R.D. Katari The first Judge of International Court of Justice Dr. Nagendra Singh The first person to reach Mt. Everest without oxygen Sherpa Anga Dorjee The first person to get Param Vir Chakra Major Somnath Sharma The first Chief Election Commissioner Sukumar Sen The first person to receive Magsaysay Award Acharya Vinoba Bhave The first person of Indian origin to receive Nobel Hargovind Khurana Prize in Medicine The first Chinese traveller to visit India Fa-hein The first person to receive Stalin Prize Saifuddin Kitchlu The first person to resign from the Central Cabinet Shyama Prasad Mukherjee The first person to receive Nobel Prize in Economics Amartya Sen The first Chief Justice of Supreme Court Justice Hirala J. Kania The first Indian Pilot J.R.D. Tata (1929)

FIRST IN FEMALE

The first lady to become Miss World Rita Faria The first woman judge in Supreme Court Mrs. Meera Sahib Fatima Bibi The first woman Ambassador Miss C.B. Muthamma The first woman Governor of a state in free India Mrs Sarojini Naidu The first woman Speaker of a State Assembly Shanno Devi The first woman Prime Minister Mrs Indira Gandhi The first woman Minister in a Government Rajkumari Amrit Kaur The first woman to climb Mount Everest Bachhendri Pal The first woman to climb Mount Everest twice Santosh Yadav The first woman President of Indian National Congress Mrs Annie Besant The first woman pilot in Indian Air Force Harita Kaur Dayal The first woman Graduates Kadambini Ganguly and Chandramukhi Basu, 1883 The first woman Airline Pilot Durga Banerjee The first woman Honours Graduate Kamini Roy, 1886 The first woman Olympic medal Winner Karnam Malleswari, 2000 The first woman Asian Games Gold Medal Winner Kamlijit Sandhu The first woman Lawyer Cornelia Sorabjee The first woman President of United Nations General Mrs Vijaya Laxmi Pandit Assembly Nuclear research in India first began at the Institute of Fundamental Research (IFR) form 1944 onwards.

GK-34

PANORAMA

The first woman Chief Minister of an Indian State Mrs Sucheta Kripalani The first woman Chairman of Union Public Service Roze Millian Bethew Commission The first woman Director General of Police Kanchan Chaudhary Bhattacharya The first woman Judge Anna Chandy (She became judge in a district court in 1937) The first woman Chief Justice of High Court Mrs Leela Seth (Himachal Pradesh High Court) The first woman Judge in Supreme Court of India Kumari Justice M. Fathima Beevi The first woman Lieutenant General Puneeta Arora The first woman Air Vice Marshal P. Bandopadhyaya The first woman chairperson of Indian Airlines Sushma Chawla The first woman IPS officer Mrs. Kiran Bedi The first and last Muslim woman ruler of India Razia Sultan The first woman to receive Ashoka Chakra Neerja Bhanot The first woman to receive Jnanpith Award Ashapurna Devi The first woman to cross English Channel Aarti Saha The first woman to receive Nobel Prize Mother Teresa The first woman to receive Bharat Ratna Mrs Indira Gandhi The first woman to receive Jnanpith Award Ashapurna Devi

FIRST IN OTHERS

First Wax statue of a Living Indian Mahatma Gandhi at Madame Tussaud’s in 1939 First Exclusive internet magazine Bharat Samachar First Miss India to participate in Miss Universe Indrani Rehman First Judge in International Court of Justice Dr. Nagender Singh First Graduate in Medicine Soorjo Coomar Goodeve Chukerbutty India’s First University Nalanda University India’s First Open University Andhra Pradesh Open University India’s First Lok Sabha Member to be elected P.V.Narasimha Rao with a record maximum number of votes First Indian to reach Antarctica Lt. Ram Charan First Test tube baby of India Indira (Baby Harsha) First Post Office opened in India Kolkata(1727)

SUPERLATIVES Structures

•• Highest Tower ( Minaret ) – Qutub Minar •• Higher Gateway – Buland Darwaza at Fatehpur Sikri near Agra. Built by Akbar (53.5 m /175 ft High) •• Highest Dam – Bhakra Dam •• Highest Bridge – Chenab Bridge •• Highest Airport- Leh Air Port in Ladakh (3256 m/ 16080 ft high) •• Highest Hydel Power Station- Rongtong

•• •• •• •• •• •• ••

Hydel Project in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh. Highest Mountain Peak- Kanchenjunga Highest Road- Road at Khardungla in the Leh-Manali Sector Highest Waterfall- Jog Waterfall, Karnataka Largest Residence – Antilia Bhawan built by Mukesh Ambani Largest Cinema Hall – Prasad Max, Hyderabad Largest Museum – National Museum Delhi Largest River Barrage – Farakka Barrage

Takshila is said to be the first ever university in the world; it started around 700 BC.

GK-35

PANORAMA •• Biggest Auditorium (Mumbai) – Sri Shanmukhanand Hall •• Largest zoo – Arignar Anna Zoological Park •• Largest Cave Temple – Ellora •• Largest Gurudwara – Golden Temple, Amritsar •• Largest Mosque – Jama Masjid, Delhi (built by Shah Jahan in 1644-58) •• Largest Man-made Lake – Govind Sagar (Bhakra) •• Largest Dome – Gol Gumbaz (Karnataka) •• Largest Cantilever Bridge – Howrah Bridge •• Longest Railway Tunnel- Pir Panjal Railway Tunnel (11 km) •• Longest Road Tunnel - 9.2 km long tunnel on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway •• Largest Public Sector Bank- State Bank of India •• Largest Botanical Garden - National Botanical Garden in Kolkata •• Largest Church- Se Cathedral at Old Goa, 10 km from Panaji. •• Largest Delta- Sunderbans (75,000 sq km) formed by the Ganga and Brahmaputra in West Bengal and Bangladesh •• Largest Stupa- Kesariya Stupa in Bihar •• Largest Library- National Library, Kolkata •• Largest Planetarium- Birla Planetarium, Kolkata. •• Largest Prison- Tihar Jail, Delhi •• Largest Concentration of Scheduled Tribes- Madhya Pradesh •• Largest Scheduled Caste- Community Santhal •• Longest River Bridge – Bandra-Worli sea link which is 5.6 km. •• Largest Corridor – Rameshwaram Temple Corridor •• Largest irrigation Canal-Indira Gandhi Canal or Rajasthan Canal (959 km long) •• Longest Dam-Hirakund Dam on Mahanadi river in Odisha (24.4 km long) •• Longest Glacier-Siachen Glacier on the Indo-Pakistan border (75.6 km long and 2.8 km wide) •• Longest Railway Bridge Nehru Setu Bridge (4.62 km) long •• Fastest Train-Gatiman Express between New Delhi and Agra at a speed of 160 kmph

India has largest English speaking population in the world.

•• Tallest Light House – Jakhau, light hour, Gujarat •• Tallest Statues – Statue of Jain Saint Gomateswara at Sravanabelagola in Karnataka •• Tallest Chimber – Hanuman Swami statue with 135ft. tall. •• Oldest Church- St. Thomas Church at Palayar in Trichur district in Kerala built in 52 AD. •• Oldest Monastery- Buddhist Monastery, (situated at an altitude of 3,048 m /10,000 ft) at Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh. •• Largest mall- Lulu Mall Kochi •• Most Populous City- Mumbai

Natural •• •• •• ••

Longest River – Ganges Largest Desert – Thar ( Rajasthan) Largest Lake – Wular Rajasthan Largest Fresh Water Lake-Kolleru in Andhra Pradesh •• Largest Cave- Amarnath (about 44 km from Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir)

Founders of Indian Institutions •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• ••

Arya Samaj-Swami Dayanand Saraswati Athmiya Sabha-Raja Ram Mohan Roy Brahma Samaj-Raja Ram Mohan Roy Deccan Education Society-G.G.Agarkar, M.G.Ranade, V.G.Gibhongar Dharma Sabha-Radhakanthadev Indian Brahma Samaj-Keshav Chandra Sen Manavadharma Sabha-Durgaram Manjaram Prarthana Samaj-Athmaram Pandurang Pune Sewa Sadan-Smt.Remabhai Ranade, G.K.Devdhar Ramakrishna Mission-Swami Vivekananda Sadharan Brahma Samaj-Shivananda Sashtri, Anand Mohan Bose Servants of India Society-Gopalakrishna Gokhale Sewa Sadan-Bahuramji M.Malabari Sewa Samithi-H.N.Kunsru Social Service League-N.M.Joshi Thathwabodhini Sabha-Debendranatha Tagore Theosophical Society-Madam H.P.Blavadski, Col.H.L.Olkott

GK-36

Leader of Nations-Famous Father •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• ••

America—George Washington Bangladesh—Mujibur Rehuman China—Sunyatsen India—Gandhiji Indonesia—Sukarno Mauritius—Ramgoolam Namibia—Sam Nujoma Pakistan—Muhammad Ali Jinna Sri Lanka—D.S.Senanayeke Tanzania—Julius Nerera Turkey—Musthafa Kamal

•• •• •• ••

Agra- Sikandar Lodhi Ahmedabad - Ahmed Shah Ajmer- Ajaypal Chauhan Allahabad- Akbar

Founders of Towns in India

SOBRIQUETS

PANORAMA •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• ••

Calcutta- Job Charnock Delhi- Anankapalan Fatehpur Sikri - Akbar Hisar- Ferozshah Tuglaq Hyderabad - Quli Qutabshah Jodhpur- Rao Jodha Mahabalipuram - Narasimhawarman Siri- Alauddin Khilji Vijayanagaram - Hariharan 1

•• •• •• •• •• •• •• ••

Blue Revolution - Fisheries Development Brown Revolution - Leather Production Grey Revolution - Housing Development Green Revolution - Agriculture Production Pink Revolution - Drugs & Pharmaceuticals Silver Revolution - Egg Production White Revolution - Dairy Development Yellow Revolution - Oil Seed Production

Agricultural Revolution

A sobriquet is a nickname, occasionally assumed and often given by another. Person Anna Badshah Khan/ Frontier Gandhi Buddha Chacha Deenabandhu Deshbandhu Father of the Nation Grand Old Man of India Gurudev Guruji Kaviguru Lokmanya Loknayak Mahatma Gandhi Man of Peace Manitas de Plate Netaji Nightingale of India Panditji Punjab Kesari Rajaji Saint of the Gutters

Primary Names C N Annadurai Abdul Ghaffar Khan Siddhartha Gautama Jawahar Lal Nehru C F Andrews C. R. Das Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi Dadabhai Naoroji Rabindranath Tagore M S Gohlwalkar Rabindranath Tagore Bal Gangadhar Tilak Jayaprakash Narayan Mohandas K. Gandhi Lal Bahadur Shastri Flamenco guitarist Ricardo Baliardo Subhash Chandra Bose Sarojini Naidu Jawahar Lal Nehru Lala Lajpat Rai C Rajagopalachari Mother Teresa

Bandra worli sealink has steel wires equal to the Earth’s circumference.

GK-37

PANORAMA Father of the Nation Haryana Hurricane Prince of Kolkata Places Bengal’s Sorrow Blue Mountain City of Golden Temple City of Palaces Diamond City in India Garden City of India Garden of India Gateway of India God’s Own Country Land of Five Rivers Pink City Queen of Arabian Sea Spice Garden of India The City of Joy The City of Palaces Venice of East Queen of Arabian Sea Garden City of India Blue Mountains Silicon Valley of India Planned City of India

States & its Slogans •• Rice bowl of India, Egg bowl of Asia – Andhra Pradesh. •• The Orchid state of India or the paradise of the Botanists- Arunachal Pradesh. •• Rice bowl of Central India – Chhattisgarh. •• Jewel of the Western part of India– Gujarat. •• State of Apples, Dev Bhoomi (Adobe of Gods) – Himachal Pradesh •• Heaven on Earth – Jammu and Kashmir.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi Kapil Dev Saurav Ganguly Primary Names Damodar River Niligiri Hills Amritsar Kolkata Surat, Gujarat Bengaluru Kashmir Mumbai Kerala Punjab Jaipur Kochi Kerala Kolkata Kolkata Alleppey Kochi Bangalore Niligiri Hills Bengaluru Chandigarh

•• The Land of Jungles & Jharis (Bushes) – Jharkhand •• God’s own country – Kerala •• Heart of India – Madhya Pradesh •• Gateway of the East – Manipur •• The adobe of the clouds – Meghalaya •• Land of the hill people – Mizoram •• Falcon capital of the world-Nagaland •• Granary of India, India’s bread-basket – Punjab •• Land of the Gods – Uttarakhand •• Hindi Heartland of India – Uttar Pradesh

The Indian National Kabaddi Team (Men & Women) has won all the Kabaddi World Cups.

GK-38

PANORAMA

World Panorama WORLD COUNTRIES, CAPITAL, LANGUAGE & THEIR CURRENCY Country Capital Afghanistan Kabul Algeria Algiers Argentina Buenos Aires Australia Canberra Azerbaijan Baku Bahrain Manama Bangladesh Dhaka Belgium Brussels Thimphu Bhutan Bolivia La Paz; Sucre Bosnia and Her- Sarajevo zegovina Brazil Brazilia Bulgaria Sofia Burkina Faso Ouagadougou Cambodia Phnom-Penh Canada Ottawa Chile Santiago China Beijing Colombia Bogota Congo Kinshasa Formerly Zaire Costa Rica San Jose Croatia Zagreb Cuba Havana Czech Prague Republic Denmark Copenhagen Ecuador Quito Egypt Cairo Ethiopia Addis Ababa Fiji Suva Finland Helsinki France Paris French Guiana Cayenne

Chief Language Currency Pushtu Dari Afghani Arabic, French Algerian Dinar Spanish Argentine Peso English Australian Dollar Azeri Manat Arabic, English Bahraini Dinar Bangla Taka Flemish (Dutch), French, German Euro Dzongkha Ngultrum Aymara Spanish, Quechua Boliviano Serbo-Croatian Conv.Mark Portuguese Bulgarian French Khmer French, English Spanish Chinese (Mandarin) Spanish French

Spanish Croatian Spanish Czech

Danish Spanish Arabic Amharic English Finnish, Swedish French French

Only 8% of the world’s currency is actual physical money.

Real Lev Franc Riel Canadian Dollar Peso Yuan Peso Congolese Franc

Colon Kuna Peso Koruna

Krone United States dollar Egyptian Pound Birr Fijian Dollar Euro Euro Euro

GK-39

PANORAMA Country Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Guatemala Guyana Haiti Honduras Hong Kong Hungary India

Capital Tbilisi Berlin Accra Athens Guatemala City Georgetown Port-au-Prince Tegucigalpa Victoria Budapest New Delhi

Indonesia

Jakarta

Malaysia

Putrajaya (formerly Kuala Lumpur) Port Louis

Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Korea, North Korea, South Kuwait Lebanon Libya Luxembourg

Mauritius

Mexico

Mongolia Myanmar

Netherlands

Tehran Baghdad Dublin Jerusalem Rome Tokyo Amman Astana Nairobi Pyongyang Seoul Kuwait city Beirut Tripoli Luxembourg

Mexico city

Chief Language Currency Georgian Lari German Euro English Ghana Cedi Greek Euro Spanish Quetzal English Guyana Dollar French Gourde Spanish Lempira English, Chinese Hong Kong Dollar Hungarian Forint Rupee Hindi (official), English and 22 officially recognised regional languages Bahasa Indonesian, Dutch, English Rupiah Javanese Persian (Farsi), Turk, Kurdish, Arabic Rial Arabic, Kurdish Iraqi Dinar Irish, English Euro Hebrew, Arabic Shekel Italian Euro Japanese Yen Arabic, English Jordan Dinar Kazakh, Russian, German Tenge Kiswahili, English, Kikuyu Shilling Korean Won Korean Won Arabic, English Kuwait Dinar Arabic, French, English Pound Arabic Libyan Dinar French, German, English, Luxem- Euro bourgish Malay, English, Chinese, Tamil Ringgit English, French, Creole, Hindustani Spanish, Amerindian languages Mangolian Burmese and tribal languages

Ulan Bator Naypyidar or Pyinmana (formerly Yangon) Amsterdam Dutch

The largest denomination of US Currency was the $ 100,000 bill.

Rupee Mauritian Mexico Peso

Togrog Kyat Euro

GK-40

PANORAMA

Country New Zealand Nigeria Norway Oman Pakistan

Capital Wellington Abuja Oslo Muscat Islamabad

Singapore Somalia South Africa Spain

Singapore city Mogadishu Capetown Madrid

Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Qatar Russia Saudi Arabia Serbia

Sri Lanka Sudan Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan

Lima Manila Warsaw Lisbon Doha Moscow Riyadh Belgrade

Colombo Khartoum Stockholm Bern Damascus Taipei

Thailand Bangkok Tunisia Tunis Turkey Ankara Uganda Kampala United Arab Abu Dhabi Emirates United Kingdom London United States of Washington America D.C. Venezuela Caracas Vietnam Hanoi Yemen Zimbabwe

Sana’a Harare

Chief Language English and Maori dialect English, Hansa, Ibo, Yoruba Norwegian Arabic Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi, Pusthu, Baluchi, Brahvi, English Spanish, Quechua, Aymara Filipino, English, Spanish Polish Portuguese Arabic, English Russian Arabic Serbo-Croatian (official), Albanian Malay, Chinese, Tamil, English Arabic, English, Italian Afrikaans, English Spanish, Catalan, Basque, Galician Sinhala, Tamil, English Arabic, English, Dinka, Nubian Swedish German, French, Italian, Romansch Arabic, Kurdish, Armenian Mandarian Chinese, Taiwan, Hakka dialects Thai, Chinese, English, Malay Arabic, French Turkish, Kurdish, Arabic English, Luganda, Swahili Arabic

Currency New Zealand Dollar Naira Krone Omani Rial Pakistani Rupee

Spanish Vietnamese, French, English, Chinese Arabic English, Shona, Ndebela

Bolivar Dong

English, Welsh, Scots, Gaelic English

The Bible is the most widely translated book available in 2,454 different languages.

Nuero Sol Peso Zloty Euro Riyal (QAR) Russian ruble Rial (SAR) Dinar

Singapore Dollar Somali Shilling Rand Euro

Sri Lankan Rupee Sudanese Pound Krona Swiss Franc

Syrian Pound New Taiwan Dollar Thai Baht Dinar Turkish Lira Ugandan Shilling Dirham Pound Sterling Dollar

Rial Dollar (ZWD)

GK-41

PANORAMA WORLD’S GEOGRAPHICAL DISCOVERIES •• Amundsen (Norwegian)-Discovered South Pole in 1912. •• Byrd-American aviator and polar explorer. Flew over the North Pole in 1926 and made the first flight over the South Pole in 1929. Discovered Edsel Ford mountains and Morei Byrd land. •• Cabot (Venetian)-Discovered New Foundland in 1494. •• Captain Cook (English)-Discovered Sandwich (now Hawaiian) Isles in 1770. •• Columbus-Discovered West Indies in 1492 and South America in 1498. •• Copernicus-Discovered Solar System in 1540. Propounded the astronomical system which bears his name. •• David Livingstone-Discovered course of the Zambesi, the Victoria Falls and Lake Nyasa in Africa. •• Edmund Hillary-Joint conqueror of Mount Everest with Tenzing. He also led a Trans-Atlantic expedition and reached South Pole on January 3, 1958. •• Ferdinand de Lesseps-Conceived the plan of the Suez Canal on which work was completed in 1869 through his efforts. •• Francis Younghusband-Explored the frontier regions of India, China and Tibet. •• Kepler-Discovered the Laws of Planetary Motion in 1609. •• Lindbergh-Performed the first solo-flight across the Atlantic in 1927 from New York to Paris.

•• Magellan-Commanded the first expedition in 1519 to sail round the world. Discovered passage to the Pacific from the Atlantic through Straits afterwards named after him. •• Marco Polo-Venetian traveller who explored China, India, South Eastern countries and published the record of his various explorations. He was the first European to visit China. •• Nansen-Norwegian explorer who explored across Greenland and reached the highest altitude in the North Polar Region. •• Peary, Robert-First to reach the North Pole in 1909. •• Pedro Alvares Cabral (Portuguese) Discovered Brazil in 1500. •• Shackleton-Arctic explorer, reached within 160 km of the South Pole. •• Sven Hedin-Swedish explorer. Made great contribution to the geographic and archaeological knowledge of large areas of Central Asia. •• Iksman-Dutch navigator, discovered the Tasmania Island and New Zealand in 1642. •• Tenzing (Indian)-First to reach Mount Everest on 29th May, 1953 along with Edmund Hillary. The expedition was led by Col. Sir John Hunt. •• Vasco da Gama (Portuguese)-Rounded the Cape of Good Hope and discovered the sea route to India in 1498.

NATIONAL ANIMALS OF THE MAJOR COUNTRIES

Country Afghanistan Albania Australia Bangladesh Brazil Canada China Denmark Japan Myanmar

Animals Snow Leopard Golden Eagle Kangaroo Royal Bengal tiger Macaw North American beaver Panda, Red Crowned Crane Mute Swan Green Pheasant Tiger

France covers the most time zone covering 12 time zones.

Country Nepal New Zealand Pakistan South Africa Spain United Kingdom United States India Kuwait Belgium

Animal Cow Kiwi Markhor Springbok Bull Barbary Lion Bald Eagle Bengal Tiger Camel Lion

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PANORAMA OFFICIAL BOOKS

Blue Book : An official report of the British Government Green Book : An official publication of Italy and Persia Grey Book : An official reports of the Government of Japan and Belgium Orange Book : An official Publications of the Government of Netherlands White Book : An official Publications of China, Germany and Portugal Yellow Book : French official Book White Paper : An official paper of the Government of Britain and India on a particular issue Red Data Book : Russian official book which contains lists of species whose continued existence is threatened.

INTERNATIONAL AWARDS

Nobel Prize • It was set up in 1895 under the will of Alfred Nobel. • The Nobel prizes are presented annually on 10 December (The death anniversary of the founder). • It is given in the fields of Peace, Literature, Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine (from 1901) and Economics (from 1969). Nobel Prize (Indian/Indian origin)

1913: L iterature: Rabindranath Tagore; was the first Asian to win the prize

1930: Physics: C. V. Raman

1968: M edicine: Har Gobind Khorana; US citizen of Indian origin

1979: P eace: Mother Teresa; Indian citizen of Albanian origin 1998: Economics: Amartya Sen

2009: C hemistry: Venkatraman Ramakrishnan; US citizen of Indian origin 2014: Peace: Kailash Sathyarthi

Pulitzer Prize

• Instituted in 1917 and named after US publisher Joseph Pulitzer. • It is conferred annually in the United States for the accomplishments in journalism, literature and music.

Magsaysay Awards

• Instituted in 1957. Named after Ramon Magsaysay, the former President of Philippines.

• The award is given annually on August 31, the birth anniversary of Magsaysay, for outstanding contributions in Public service, Community Leadership, Journalism, Literature & Creative Arts and International Understanding.

Man Booker Prize

• Instituted in 1968, is the highest literary award of the world, set up by the Booker Company and the British Publishers Association along the lines of the Pulitzer Prize of USA.

Right Livelihood Award

• The Right Livelihood Award was established in 1980. • It is also referred as “Alternative Nobel Prize”. • It is given to honour those “working on practical and exemplary solutions to the most urgent challenges facing the world today.”

Oscar Awards

• Instituted in 1929, are conferred annually by the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences, USA, in recognition of outstanding contribution in the various fields of film making.

UN Human Rights Award

• Instituted in 1966, this award is given every 5 years for individual contributions to the establishment of human rights.

In 1939-1943, no Nobel Peace Prizes were awarded due to World War II.

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PANORAMA UNESCO Madanjeet Singh Prize

• Instituted by UNESCO (1995) for the promotion of tolerance and non-violence on the occasion of the UN Year of Tolerance and the 125th birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi funded by a donation from Madanjeet Singh.

INTERNATIONAL BOOKS & AUTHORS

Writer

Book

Adam Smith

Wealth of Nations

Alexander Solzhenitsyn

August 1914

Adolf Hitler

Albert Einstein A. L. Basham

Anton Chekhov Arthur Hailey Aristotle

Boris Pasternak David Baldacci Dante

E.M. Forster Homer

H. G. Wells

Harold Evans Henry Miller

Issac Newton

Katherine Mayo Machiavelli

Maxim Gorky Plato

Jean J. Rousseau John Milton

Winston Churchill George Orwell

Charles Darwin

William Shakespeare

George Bernard Shaw Charles Dickens

Mein Kamph

The World as I See it

The Wonder that was India Cherry Orchard Airport Politics

Dr. Zhivago

Absolute Power Divine Comedy

A Passage to India, Maurice Odyssey, Illiad

Shape of Things to Come Good Times, Bad Times Tropic of Cancer Principia

Mother India The Prince Mother

Republic

The Social Contract

Paradise Lost, Lycidas Gathering Storm

Farm House, Animal Farm

Descent of Man, Origin of Species

Commedy of Errors, As You Like It, A Mid Summer Night’s Dream, Merchant of Venice, Hamlet, King Lear, Othello

Major Barbara, Man and Superman, Apple Carte, Arms and the Man, Pygmalion, Caesar and Cleopatra, Candida A Table of Two Cities, Oliver Twist, David Copperfield.

The largest book in the world is “The Klencke Atlas” at 1.75 metres tall & 1.90 metres wide.

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PANORAMA

J. K. Galbraith

Affluent Society, Ambassador’s Journal, The Triumph

Gunnar Myrdal

Against the Stream, Asian Drama

Herold Joseph Laski

Grammar of Politics, Dilema of Our Time

J.M. Barrie

Hindu Civilization, Peter Pan

Leo Tolstoy

War and Peace

Z. A. Bhutto

Great Tragedy

Vladimir Nabokov Mao-tse Tung

Lolita

On Contradiction

7 WONDERS OF MODERN WORLD

Christ the Redeemer Brazil Great Wall of China Machu Picchu Chichen Itza

China Peru

Mexico

Petra

The Colosseum, Rome The Taj Mahal

Jordan Italy

India

7 WONDERS OF ANCIENT WORLD

The Great Pyramid

Giza, Egypt

Hanging Garden

Babylon

Statue of Zeus

Olympia, Greece

Temple of Artemis

Ephesus, Asia Minor

Mausoleum

Halicarnassus, Modern Turkey.

Colossus of Rhodes

Greece

Lighthouse

Alexandria, Egypt

WORLD’S MOST POWERFUL INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES Detective Agency

Country

Detective Agency

Country

Ministry of State Security

China

VAJA

Iran

FSB

Russia

Egyption Homeland Security

Egypt

Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) State Security Agency

Inter Service Intelligence (ISI)

Australia

MOSSAD

South Africa PSIA Pakistan

MI (Military Intelligence) 5 UK and 6, Special Branch, Joint Intelligence org

Research and Analysis wing India (RAW), Intelligence Bureau (IB)

Iraqi National Intelligence Service

Israel

Japan Iraq

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), USA Federal Bureau of investigation (FBI)

DGSE (Direction General Dela France Securite Exterieure

The Great Pyramid was the tallest man-made construction in the world for almost 4, 000 years.

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PANORAMA FATHER OF VARIOUS FIELDS Field Atom Bomb

Aviation Chemistry

Comedy Economics English Poetry

Greek Tragedy

Father Dr. Robert Oppenheime

Sir George Cayley Robert Boyle

Field Computer

Biology Microbiology

Aristophanes Political Science Adam Smith Modern Philosphy Geoffrey Chaucer Psychology

Aeschylus

Father Charles Babbage

Aristotle Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch Aristotle Rene Descartes Wilhelmam Wundt

Modern Observational Galileo Galilei Astronomy Immunology Edward Jenner Modern Physics Science Galileo Galilei Modern Chemistry Antoini Lavoisier Modern Science Galileo Galilei Nuclear Physics Ernest Rutherford Nano technology Richard Smalley Sanskrit Grammar Panini Indian Nuclear Science Homi Jehangir Bhabha Geography Eratosthenes Anatomy Andreas Vesalius Sociology Auguste Comte Geometry Euclid Mathematics Archimedes Internet Vinton Cerf

SOBRIQUETS

A sobriquet is a nickname, occasionally assumed and often given by another. The sobriquet can become more familiar than the original name. Sobriquets Angel of Death Bard of Avon Bard of Twickenham Bloody Mary Bonnie Prince Charlie Brangelina Caligula Canuck Der Alte (the old man) Desert Fox Diamond Dave Digger Dr. Death Dubya EI Caudillo Father of his country Fuhrer

Primary Names Josef Mengele William Shakespeare Alexander Pope Mary I of England Charles Edward Stuart Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus Canadian, from Johnny Canuck Konrad Adenauer Erwin Rommel David Lee Roth, Singer Australian soldier Jack Kevorkian, proponent of assisted suicide George W. Bush Francisco Franco George Washington Adolf Hitler

Burj Khalifa in Dubai, is the tallest building in the world.

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Sobriquets Genghis Khan Grand Old Man of Britain Hanoi Jane Honest Abe Ike Dwight Iron Duke Iron Lady King James Lady with the Lamp Little Richard

PANORAMA

Primary Names Temüjin Willian Ewart Glandstone Jane Fonda Abraham Lincoln David Eisenhower Duke of Wellington Margaret Thatcher LeBron James, American basketball player Florence Nightingale Rev. Richard Wayne Penniman, a prominent figure in rock n’ roll. Madge Madonna Madiba Nelson Mandela Maid of Orleans Joan of Arc Man of Blood and Iron Otto Von Bismark Man of Destiny Napolean Bonaparte Old Blood and Guts George S. Patton Old Blue Eyes Frank Sinatra, entertainer Old Hickory Andrew Jackson, 7th President of the United States Old Kinderhook (OK) Martin Van Buren, 8th President of the United States Old Nick Santa Old Rough and Ready Zachary Taylor Old St. Nick Santa Pelê Edson Arantes do Nascimento Prince of the Humanists Desiderius Erasmus Qaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah Saint Jimmy Billie Joe Armstrong Satchmo Louis Armstrong Slick Willy U.S. President Bill Clinton Slowhand Eric Clapton Sting Gordon Summer, British rock musician The Bard William Shakespeare The Bird Mark Fidrych, Baseball pitcher The Boss Bruce Springsteen The Cincinnatus of the Americans George Washington The Duke John Wayne The Fab Four The Beatles The Godfather of Soul James Brown The Golden Bear Jack Nicklaus The Great Commoner William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham (“Pitt the elder”) or William Jennings Bryan Ireland has absolutely no snakes.

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PANORAMA Sobriquets The Greatest The King (of golf) The King (of Rock and Roll) The King of Pop The Lion of the Round Top The Man from Tennessee The Material Girl The New Sinatra The Rat Pack

The Red Baron The Rock chameleon The Tiger of France Tricky Dick Uncle Sam Wizard of the North Yank (a short form of “Yankee”)

Primary Names Muhammad Ali, Boxer Arnold Palmer Elvis Presley Michael Jackson Col. Joshua L. Chamberlain, commander of the 20th Maine Regiment, American Civil War Andrew Jackson Madonna Jay-Z A group of American singers and entertainers from the late 1950s to the early 1970s Manfred von Richthofen, World War I, German flying ace David Bowie Georges Clemenceau Richard Nixon, 37th President of the United States The U.S.A. or sometimes the government Walter Scott Originally used derogatorily by Southerners but now only heard outside the USA

PLACES

Beantown

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Brass Fountain

PPSh-41

Blighty

Brew City Brisvegas

Britain of South Chocolate City

City of Brotherly Love City of Dreaming Spires City of Golden Gate City of Magnificent Distances City of Seven Hills City of Skyscrapers Cockpit of Europe Dark Continent Empire City Eternal City Forbidden City

Great Britain (used by British servicemen abroad and expatriates) Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

New Zealand Washington, D.C., so named because of its majority AfricanAmerican population Philadelphia Oxford, England San Francisco, USA Washington D.C., USA Rome, Italy New York, USA Belgium Africa New York, USA Rome, Italy Lhasa, Tibet

South Africa has three Capital cities Pretoria (administrative), Cape Town (Legislative) & Bloemfontein (Judicial).

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Frisco San Francisco, California Garden of England Kent, England Garrincha Manoel Francisco dos Santos Gate of Tears Bab-el-mandab, Jerusalem Gift of Nile Egypt Gotham New York Granite City Aberdeen, Scotland Great White Way Broadway, New York, USA Hermit Kingdom Korea Herring Pond Atlantic Ocean Hogtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada Holy Land Palestine Humming Bird Trinidad Island of Cloves Madagascar Island of Pearls Bahrain Key of Mediterranean Gibraltar Land of Cakes Scotland Land of Canals Netherlands Land of Golden Pagoda Myanmar (Burma) Land of Lilies Canada Land of Maple Canada Land of Midnight Sun Norway Land of Morning Calm Korea Land of Rising Sun Japan Land of the Golden Fleece Australia Land of Thousand Lakes Finland Land of Thunderbolt Bhutan Land of White Elephants Thailand Land of Windmills Netherlands Manchester of Japan Osaka Never Never Land Prairies of N.Australia Pearl of the Antilles Cuba Pearl of the Orient Philippines Perfidious Albion Great Britain Pillars of Hercules Strait of Gibraltar Playground of Europe Switzerland Port of Five Seas Moscow Powder Keg of Europe Balkans Quaker City Philadelphia, USA Queen of Adriatic Venice, Italy Roof of the World Pamirs, Central Asia

Lion Capital of Ashoka, the state Emblem of India was adopted on 26th January 1950.

PANORAMA

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Sick Man of Europe Turkey Sin City Las Vegas, Nevada, USA Sorrow of China River Hwang Ho Sugar Bowl of the World Cuba The Antipodes Australia and New Zealand The Battlefield of Europe Belgium The Bayou City Houston, Texas, USA The Big Apple New York City The Big D Dallas, Texas, USA The Big Easy New Orleans, Louisiana The Big Smoke Toronto, Ontario, Canada The City of Light Paris The City or The City by San Francisco, California the Bay The Dragon China (as an economy) The Emerald City Seattle, Washington, USA The Emerald Isle Ireland and Puerto Rico The Enchanted Isle (from ‘la isla del encanto’) Puerto Rico The Federal City Washington D.C. The Fourth Estate The Press The Mother-in-law of Denmark Europe The Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court in England The Old Lady of The Bank of England Threadneedle Street The Old Smoke London The Paris of the South São Paulo and Buenos Aires The Paris of the West San Francisco, USA Tie Rock (prison) Alcatraz Prison The Steel City Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Windy City Chicago, Illinois, USA Tinseltown Hollywood, California, USA Venice of the North Stockholm Westminster The British Parliament White City Belgrade, Yugoslavia White House The executive branch of the government of the United States White Man’s Grave Guinea Coast Whitehall The British government including Parliament but excluding the monarchy World’s Bread basket Prairies of N. America World’s Loneliest Island Tristan De Gunha (Mid-Atlantic) Yellow River Huang He (China) Germany Chancellor’s office is informally called as “The Washing Machine”.

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PANORAMA ADDITIONAL FACTS

•• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• ••

The largest coffee growing country in the World is - Brazil The biggest delta in the World is the - Sunderbans The Japanese call their country as - Nippon The biggest Island of the World is - Greenland The river which carries maximum quantity of water into the sea is the - Mississippi Mount Everest was named after Sir George - Everest The biggest stadium in the world is the - Strahov Stadium, Prague The world’s largest diamond producing country is - South Africa The Eggel tower was built by - Alexander Eiffel The Red Cross was founded by - Jean Henri Durant The permanent secretariat of the SAARC is located at - Kathmandu The earlier name of Sri Lanka was Ceylon The founder of the Republic of China was - San Yat Sen

FIRST IN THE WORLD

The first person to reach Mount Everest

Sherpa Tenzing, Edmund Hillary

The first religion of the world

Hinduism

The first person to reach North Pole

Robert Peary

The first person to reach South Pole The first country to print book

The first country to issue paper currency The first country to commence examination in civil services The first President of the U.S.A

Amundsen China China

competitive China

The first Prime Minister of Britain

The first Secretary General of the United Nations The first country to win football World cup

The first country to prepare a constitution The first Governor General of Pakistan The first country to host NAM summit The first European to attack India The first European to reach China The first person to fly aeroplane

The first person to sail round the world

The first country to send man to the moon

George Washington Robert Walpole Trygve Lie Uruguay U.S.A

Mohd. Ali Jinnah

Belgrade (Yugoslavia) Alexander, The Great Marco Polo

Wright Brothers Magellan U.S.A

The first country to launch Artificial satellite in the space Russia The first country to host the modern Olympics

Greece

The first city on which the atom bomb was dropped Hiroshima (Japan) The first person to land on the moon The first shuttle to go in space

Indonesian Kawah Ijeh volcano spews blue molten Sulphur Lava.

Neil Armstrong followed by Edwin E. Aldrin Columbia

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PANORAMA

The first spacecraft to reach on Mars Viking-I The first woman Prime Minister of England Margaret Thatcher The first Muslim Woman Prime Minister of a country Benazir Bhutto (Pakistan) The first woman Woman Prime Minister of a country Mrs. S. Bandamaike (Sri Lanka) The first woman to climb Mount Everest Mrs. Junko Tabei (Japan) The first woman cosmonaut of the world Valentina Tereshkova (Russia) The first woman President of the U.N. General Assembly Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit The first man to fly into space Yuri Gagarin (Russia) The first batsman to score three test century in three Mohd. Azharuddin successive tests on debut The first man to have climbed Mount Everest twice Nawang Gombu The first U.S. President to resign Presidency

Richard Nixon

SUPERLATIVES

Tallest Animal on (land) Giraffe Biggest Bell Great Bell at Moscow Fastest Bird Swift Largest Bird Ostrich Smallest Bird Humming Bird Longest Bridge (Railway) Lower Zambeji (Africa ) Tallest Building Burj khalifa, Dubai (U.A.E) Tallest Office Building Patronas Twin Towers Kuala Lampur (Malaysia) Longest Big Ship Canal Seuz Canal (Linkin red sea & Mediterranean) Busiest Canal (Ship) Baltic White Sea Canal (152 miles) Biggest Cinema House Roxy (New York) Highest City Wen Chuwan (Tibet, China) 16,732 ft. Largest City (in population) Tokyo [(3,42,00000), Est. population in 2006] Biggest City in (area) Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia (41225 sq. km.) Largest Continent Asia Smallest Continent Australia Largest Country (in population) China Largest Country (in area) Russia Largest Coral Formation The Great Barrier Reef (Australia) Largest Dam Grand Coulee- Concrete Dam (U.S.A) Longest Day June 21 (in Northern Hemisphere) Shortest Day Dec. 22(in Northern Hemisphere) Largest Delta Sundarbans, India (8000 sq. miles) Longest Desert (World) Sahara, Africa (84, 00,000 sq. km.) Largest Diamond The Cullinan (over 1 ½ 1b.) Biggest Dome Gol Gumbaz (Bijapur), (Old archi) 144 ft. diameter. Biggest Dome (New Archi) Astrodome, Sports Longest Epic The Mahabharata Largest Island Greenland (renamed Kalaallit Nunaat) There are 196 countries in the world today.

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Largest Lake (Artificial) Deepest Lake Highest Lake Largest Lake (Fresh Water) Largest Lake (Salt Water) Largest Mosque

PANORAMA

Lake Mead (Bouler) Baikal (Siberia); average depth2300 ft. Titicaca (Bolivia) 12645 ft. above sea level. Lake Superior, U.S.A Caspian Sea 3, 71,000 sq. km.) Masjid-al-Haram (Mecca-Saudi Arabia) surrounds the Kaaba Biggest Library National Kiev Library,Moscow & Library of the Congress, Washington) Highest Mountain peak (World) Mt. Everest, Himalayas Longest Mountain Range Andes (S.America) 5,500 miles in length Biggest Museum British Museum (London) Tallest Minaret (Free Standing) Qutub Minar, Delhi 238 ft. Tallest Minaret Great Hassan Mosque, Casablanca, Morocco Deepest & Biggest Ocean The Pacific Largest Palace Imperial Palace (Gugong), Beijing (China) Largest Park National Park, Greenland Largest Peninsula Arabic (32,50,000 sq. km.) Coldest Place or Region Verkhoyansk (Syberia), Temperature – 85° C Driest Place Death Valley (California); rainfall 1 ½ inch. Hottest Place (World) Al-Aziziyah (Libya, Africa) 136°F Largest Planet Jupiter Brightest and Hottest Planet Venus (also nearest to Earth) Farthest planet (from the Sun) Neptune Nearest Planet (to the Sun) Mercury Smallest Planet Mercury Highest Plateau Pamir (Tibet) Longest Platform (Railway) Kharagpur W.B, India (833m) Largest Platform (Railway) Grand Central terminal, New York (U.S.A) Largest Port Port of New York & New Jersey (U.S.A) Busiest Port Rotterdam (the Netherlands) Longest Railway Trans-Siberian Railway (6,000 miles Long) Longest River Nile (6690 km), Amazon (6570 km.) Longest River Dam Hirakund Dam (Odisha), India 15.8 miles. Largest sea-bird Albatross Largest Sea (inland) Mediterranean Sea Brightest Star Sirius (also called Dog star) Tallest statue Statue of Liberty, New York (U.S.A), 150 ft. high. Tallest Statue (Bronze) Bronze Statue of Lord Buddha, Tokyo (Japan). Longest Swimming Course English Channel Tallest Tower C.N Tower Toronto (Canada) Longest Train nonstop Flying Scoutsman Longest Tunnel (Railway) Seikan Rail Tunnel (Japan), (53.85 km.) The world’s newest country is South Sudan, which gained independence from Sudan on July 9, 2011.

PANORAMA

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Longest & Largest Canal Tunnel Le Rove Tunnel (South of France) Longest Tunnel (Road) Laerdal, Norway Highest Volcano Ojos Del Salado, Andes Argentine-Chile (6,885 m.) Largest Volcano Mauna Lao (Hawaii) Longest Wall Great Wall of China (1500 miles) Highest Waterfall Salto Angel Falls (Venezuela) Longest Strait Tartar Strait (Sakhalin Island & the Russian mainland) Broadest Strait Davis Straits (Greenland & Baffin Island, (Canada) Narrowest strait Chaliks-45 yards (Between the Greek mainland the island of Euboea in the Aegean Sea) Largest Bay Hudson Bay, Canada (Shore line 7623 miles) Largest Gulf Gulf of Mexico,( shoreline 2100 miles) Largest Archipelago Indonesia (over 3,000 Islands) Tallest Active Geyser Giant (Geyser ) Yellowstone Park, U.S.A 200 ft. high Largest River Basin Amazon Basin- 27, 20,000 sq. mile. World Rainiest Spot Cherrapunji (Mawsynram), India Largest Gorge Grand Canyon, on the Colorado River, U.S.A Lightest gas Hydrogen Lightest Metal Lithium Highest Melting Point Tungsten, 3,410`C Hardest Substance Diamond Longest Animal Blue Whale, (recorded length 106 ft. weight-195 tons) Longest Life Span of an Animal 190 to 200 years, (Giant tortoise) Largest Land Animal African Bush Elephant Fastest Animal Cheetah (Leopard ) 70 m.p.h Longest Jump Animal Kangaroo Longest wing Spread Bird Albatross Slowest Animal Snail Domestic Dog Irish Wolf Hound Fastest Dog Persian Grey Hound (speed 43 m.p.h) Longest poisonous snake King Cobra Biggest Flower Raffesia (Java) Largest Stadium Strahov stadium in Prague, (the Czech Republic) Largest Church Basilica of St. Peter, Vatican City, Rome, Italy Largest Temple Angkor Vat (Combodia) Largest Diamond mine Kimbarley (S. Africa) Largest River in volume Amazon, Brazil Longest Corridor Rameshwaram Temple’s Corridor (5000 ft.) Highest Straight Dam Bhakhra Dam Highest Capital City La Paz (Bolivia) Largest Asian Desert Gobi, Mongolia Largest Democracy India Longest Thoroughfare Verazano-Narrows, New York City Harbour 193 countries are UN members. The exceptions are Taiwan, Vatican city & Kosovo.

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PANORAMA

Largest Neck Animal Giraffe Largest Animal of the Cat Lion Family Most Intelligent Animal Chimpanzee Bird, that never makes its nests Cuckoo Wingless Bird Kiwi Reptile which changes its Chameleon colours Largest Mammal Whale

FAMOUS LANDMARKS AROUND THE WORLD •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• ••

The Statue of Liberty in New York: USA The Eiffel tower in Paris: France St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow: Russia The Great Sphinx at Giza, The Pyramids of Giza: Egypt Neptune and the Place of Versailles: France The Great wall of China: China The Taj Mahal in Agra: India Christ the Redeemer: Rio de Janeiro Mecca: Saudi Arabia Brandenburg Gate in Berlin: Germany Acropolis of Athens: Greece

•• Niagara Falls: Border of Ontario (Canada) and New York (USA) •• Angkor Wat: Cambodia •• St. Peter’s Cathedral: Vatican City •• Mount Rushmore: South Dakota •• The Grand Canyon: Arizona •• Sydney Opera House: Australia •• Forbidden City: Beijing •• The Colosseum: Rome, Italy •• The Empire State Building: New York •• Abu Simbel: Egypt •• Tower of Pisa: Italy •• The Burj al Arab Hotel: Dubai •• Stonehenge: Wiltshire, United Kingdom •• Big Ben: London

Country

THE NATIONAL EMBLEMS OF DIFFERENT COUNTRIES

Australia Barbados Canada Denmark France Guyana India Ireland Italy Japan Luxembourg Netherlands Norway Papua New Guinea Sri Lanka Syria U.K.

Emblem Kangaroo

Bangladesh

Head of a Trident

Belgium

Shamrock

Israel

Lion with Crown

Mongolia

White Lily Beach Lily Canje Pheasant Lioned Capital

Chile Dominica Germany Hong Kong Iran

Chrysanthemum

Lebanon

White Lily

Ivory Coast

Lion Lion Bird of paradise

New Zealand Pakistan Spain Sierra Leone Sudan Turkey

Lion Eagle Rose

Emblem Water Lily Lion

Candor & Huemul Sisserou Parrot Corn Flower Bauhinia (Orchid Tree) Rose Candelabrum Elephant

Cedar Tree

The Soyombo

Southern Cross, Kiwi, Fern Crescent Eagle Lion Secretary Bird Crescent & Star

The Statue of Liberty was originally dull brown in colour, but slowly turned green due to oxidation of its copper plates.

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PANORAMA

IMPORTANT DAYS OF THE YEAR 9th January: NRI Day

8th May: International Red Cross Day

15th January: Indian Army Day

20th May: World Refugee Day

11th May: National Technology Day

10th January: World Laughter Day 12th January: National Youth Day

23rd January: Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s birth anniversary 24th January: National Girl Child Day 25th January: National Tourism Day 26th January: Republic Day

29th January: National Newspaper Day 30th January: Martyr’s Day

2nd February: World Wetlands Day 4th February: World Cancer Day 13th February: World Radio Day

14th February: St. Valentine’s Day 21st February: Language Day

International

Mother

28th February: National Science Day

8th March: International Women’s Day and Mother’s day 13th March: No Smoking Day

15th March: World Consumer Rights Day 22nd March: World Water Day

23rd March: World Meteorological Day 24th March: World Tuberculosis Day 27th March: World Theatre Day

2nd April: World Autism Awareness Day 7th April: World Health Day

18th April: World Heritage Day 22nd April: World Earth Day

25th April: World Malaria Day 30th April: World Jazz Day

1st May: International Labour Day 3rd May: World Asthma Day

5th May: World Athletics Day

17th May: World Telecommunications Day 21st May: Anti-terrorism Day

24th May: Commonwealth Day

31st May: World No Tobacco Day 1st June: World Milk Day

5th June: World Environment Day 8th June: World Ocean Day

20th June: International Refugee Day 21st June: International Yoga Day

23rd June: International Olympic Day 27th June: World Diabetes Day

1st July: World Doctor’s Day Van Mahotsav Week (1st July to 7th July)

11th July: World Population Day 26th July: Kargil Victory Day

28th July: World Hepatitis Day

29th July: International Tiger Day

30th July: International Day of Friendship 6th August: Hiroshima Day

12th August: International Youth Day

15th August: India’s Independence Day 19th August: World Humanitarian Day 29th August: National Sports Day 5th September: Teacher’s Day

8th September: International Literacy Day 14th September: Hindi Day

15th September: World Engineer’s Day 16th September: World Ozone Day

18th September: International Day of Peace 21st September: Biosphere Day

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24th September: Girl Child Day

25th September: Social Justice Day, World Maritime Day 27th September: World Tourism Day 1st October: International Music Day

2nd October: Gandhi Jayanti, International Non-Violence Day 3rd October: World Habitat Day

8th October: National Air force Day

9th October: World Postal Day National Postal Week (9th October to 14th October) 12th October: World Sight Day 16th October: World Food Day

31st October: National Integration Day

7th November: World Cancer Awareness Day 11th November: National Education Day 14th November: Children’s Day

16th November: National Press Day

PANORAMA 21st November: World Fisheries Day, World Hello Day, World Television Day 25th November: International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

26th November: National Constitution day 26th November: National Milk day 30th November: Flag Day

3rd December: World Conservation Day 5th December: World Soil Day

7th December: Armed Forces Flag Day

9th December: International Day against Corruption, National Immunization Day 10th December: World Human Rights Day, International Broadcasting Day 11th December: UNICEF Day

14th December: National Energy Conservation Day 16th December: Vijay Diwas

22nd December: National Mathematics Day

23rd December: Kisan Diwas (Farmers’ Day)

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PEOPLE FOREVER

SCIENTIFIC PERSONALITIES

Albert Einstein

Alfred Bernhard Nobel

Duration, Place & Field : •• 14th March 1879 to 18th April 1955 •• Germany •• Physics Work : •• Theory of General relativity and special relativity •• Law of the photoelectric effect Duration, Place & Field : •• October 21, 1833 to 10 December 1896 •• Stockholm, Sweden •• Chemistry, engineering Work : •• Invention of Dynamite •• Patron of Nobel Prizes

Duration, Place & Field : •• 15 Oct 1931 to 27 July 2015 •• Rameshwaram, Tamil Nadu •• Aerospace Science Work : A. P. J. Abdul •• Pokhran-II Nuclear Tests in Kalam 1998 •• 11th President of India •• Missile technology Duration, Place & Field : •• 7 Nov 1888 to 21 Nov 1970 •• Thiruvanaikaval, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu •• Physics Work : C.V. Raman •• Raman effect Duration, Place & Field : •• 3rd march 1847 to 2nd august 1922 •• Edinburgh, Scotland •• Physics Alexander Work : Graham Bell •• Invented telephone •• Optical Telecommunications

Duration, Place & Field : •• 25 April, 1874 to 20, July, 1937 •• Bologna, Italy •• Physics •• Radiowave Work : Guglielmo •• Pioneered the work on longGiovanni distance radio transmission Maria •• Developed Marconi’s Law and Marconi a Radio Telegraph System •• The Inventor of Radio Duration, Place & Field : •• 12 August 1919 to 30th December 1971 •• Ahmedabad, India •• Physics Work : Dr. Vikram •• Founder of Physical Ambalal Research Laboratory Sarabhai •• Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad Duration, Place & Field : •• 15th Feb 1564 to 8th Jan 1642 •• Pisa, Italy •• Astronomy •• Physician Work : Galileo •• Invented Telescope Galilei •• Father of Observational Astronomy •• Father of Modern Physics •• Father of Scientific Method Duration, Place & Field : •• 476 AD to 550 AD •• Kusumapura (Pataliputra) (present day Patna) •• Mathematics •• Astronomy Work : Aryabhatta •• Aryabhaṭiya •• Arya-siddhanta

GK-58 Duration, Place & Field : •• 26th December 1791 to 18th October 1871 •• London, United Kingdom •• Mathematics Work : •• Father of Computer Charles Babbage •• Invented First Mechanical Computer Duration, Place & Field : •• 25 December 1642 to 20 March 1727 •• United Kingdom •• Physics Sir Isaac •• Mathematicis Newton Work : •• His book Philosophie Naturalis Principia Mathematics based on classical mechanics •• He formulated the laws of motion and universal gravitation Duration, Place & Field : •• 19th January 1736 to 25th August 1819 •• Greenock, Scotland •• Mechanical Engineer Work : James Watt •• Invented steam engine •• Separate condenser Parallel motion Duration, Place & Field : •• 1 Feb 1550 to 4 April 1617 •• Mathematics •• Edinburgh, United Kingdom •• Physics •• Astronomy John Napier Work : •• Inventor of Algorithm •• Napier's bones •• Decimal notation Duration, Place & Field : •• 27 Dec 1822 to 28 Sep 1895 •• Dole, France •• Microbiology Work : •• Discovered pasteurization Louis •• Vaccination for anthrax and Pasteur rabies Duration, Place & Field : •• 7 November 1867 to 4 July 1934 •• Warsaw, Poland •• Physics Work : •• The Theory of Radioactivity •• Discovered elements; polonium Marie Curie and radium •• First woman to win the Nobel prize twice

PEOPLE FOREVER Duration, Place & Field : •• September 22, 1791 to 25 August, 1867 •• Newington Butts, United Kingdom •• Magnetism (Physics) Michael Work : Faraday •• His discoveries include the principles underlying electromagnetic induction, diamagnetism and electrolysis Duration, Place & Field : •• 4 Jan 1809 to 6 Jan 1852 •• Coupvray, France •• Mechanics Work : Louis Braille •• Devised Braille system of printing and writing for the blind Duration, Place & Field : •• July 10, 1856 to 7 Jan 1943 •• Smiljan, Croatia •• Electrical and Mechanical engineering •• Physics Work : Nikola Tesla •• Induction motor •• Rotating magnetic field •• Tesla coil Duration, Place & Field : •• 25 Jan 1627 to 31 Dec 1691 •• Lismore, Republic of Ireland •• Chemistry Work : Robert •• Boyle's law Boyle •• Founder of Modern Chemistry Duration, Place & Field : •• 12 November 1896 to 20 June 1987 •• Mumbai •• Ornithology •• Natural history Salim Ali Work : •• Bombay Natural History Society •• Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan •• Known as the birdman of India Duration, Place & Field : •• 22 Dec 1887 to 26 April 1920 •• Erode, Tamil Nadu •• Mathematics Work : •• Mathematical analysis Srinivasa •• Number theory Ramanujan •• Infinite series •• Ramanujan prime •• Ramanujan theta function

GK-59

PEOPLE FOREVER Duration, Place & Field : •• Orville: August 19, 1871 to January 30, 1948 Dayton, Wilbur Ohio-Wilbur: April 16, 1867 and Orville to May 30, 1912 Millville, Wright Indiana •• Pioneer of aviation •• Physics Work : •• Invented world's first successful airplane Duration, Place & Field : •• 9 Jan 1922 to 9 November 2011 •• Raipur presently in Pakistan •• Biochemist Work : •• First to demonstrate the role Har Gobind of nucleotides in protein Khorana synthesis •• Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, 1968 Duration, Place & Field : •• 30 October 1909 to 24 January 1966 •• Bombay •• Nuclear physics Homi J. Work : Bhabha •• Founding director, and professor of physics at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. •• Father of the Indian nuclear programme Duration, Place & Field : •• 30 Nov. 1858 to 23 Nov. 1937 •• Munshiganja (presently Bangladesh) •• Botany, Biophysics Jagadish Work : Chandra •• He is known for Millimetre Bose waves Radio and Crescograph •• Contributions to Plant biology

Duration, Place & Field : •• 1 Jan 1894 to 4 Feb 1974 •• Kolkata •• Quantum mechanics & Mathematical physics Work : •• He is known for Bose–Einstein Satyendra condensate, Bose–Einstein statistNath Bose ics, Bose–Einstein distribution, Bose–Einstein correlations Bose gas, Boson, Ideal Bose equation of state & Photon gas Duration, Place & Field : •• Oct 19, 1910 to Aug 21, 1995 •• Lahore, Punjab (Now in Pakistan) •• Astrophysics Work : Subrahmanyan •• Chandrasekhar limit Chandrasekhar •• Schönberg–Chandrasekhar limit •• Chandrasekhar number •• Nobel Prize in Physics (1983) Duration, Place & Field : •• 6 August 1881 to 11 March 1955 •• Lochfield, East Ayrshire, Scotland Alexander Fleming •• Bacteriology, immunology Work : •• Discovery of penicillin •• Nobel Prize (1945) Duration, Place & Field : •• 570 to 495 BC •• Samos, Greece •• Mathematics Work : •• Gave Pythagoras Theorem Pythagoras •• Pythagorean Tuning Duration, Place & Field : •• 11 Feb 1847 to 18 Oct 1931 •• Milan, Ohio, United States •• Physics Work : •• Invented phonograph, motion Thomas picture camera Alva Edison •• Electric light bulb

Duration, Place & Field : •• February 12, 1809 to April 15, 1865 •• Hodgenville, Kentucky, US •• Politics Work : •• President of the United States (1861-1865) •• Abolished slavery in USA

Duration, Place & Field : •• 1 Oct 1847 to 20 Sept 1933 •• London, United Kingdom •• Socialist and Political Activist Work : •• First female president of Indian national congress (1917)

POLITICAL PERSONALTIES

Abraham Lincoln

Annie Besant

GK-60 Duration, Place & Field : •• 25 Dec 1924 •• Gwalior, M.P, India •• Political leadership •• Visionary Atal Bihari Work : Vajpeyee •• Former Prime Minister of India •• Bharat Ratna Awardee Duration, Place & Field : •• 4 Aug 1961 •• Honolulu, Hawaii, United States •• Politics Work : •• 44th President of US Barack •• First African-American President of US Obama •• Nobel Peace Prize Winner in 2009 Duration, Place & Field : •• 19 Aug 1946 •• Arkansas, United States •• American politics Work : Bill Clinton •• Served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001 Duration, Place & Field : •• 29 July 1883 to 28 Apr 1945 •• Predappio, Italy •• Politics •• Dictatorship Work : •• Founder of National Fascist Benito Party Mussolini •• Prime Minister of Italy from 1922 to 1943 Duration, Place & Field : •• August 15, 1945 •• Dinajpur, Bangladesh •• Bangladeshi politics Work : •• Prime Minister of Bangladesh Begum from 1991 to 1996 and from Khaleda Zia 2001 to 2006 Duration, Place & Field : •• 19th June 1945 •• Yangon, Burma •• Politics, Statesman Work : Aung San •• Founder of National League Suu Kyi for Democracy •• Fight for Democratic Rights •• First and incumbent State Counsellor and Leader of the National League for Democracy

PEOPLE FOREVER Duration, Place & Field : •• 13th June, 1944 •• Eumseong County, South Korea •• Statesmanship & Politics Work : Ban-ki•• 8th General Secretary of Moon United Nations. Duration, Place & Field : •• 14 April, 1891 to 6 Dec 1956 •• Mhow, MP •• Social work •• Politics philosophy Work : •• Architect of Indian BR Constitution Ambedkar •• Campaigned against social discrimination against Untouchables (Dalits) •• He was Independent India's first law Minister Duration, Place & Field : •• 3rd Dec 1884 to 28 Feb 1963 •• Siwan, Bihar •• Politics •• Social work Dr Rajendra Work : •• First President of India Prasad •• President of Indian National Congress (1934-1935) •• Elected president of the Constituent Assembly of India, which prepared the Constitution of India Duration, Place & Field : •• 4th September, 1825 to 30th June, 1917 •• Mumbai, India Dadabhai •• Politics and Social leader work Naoroji Work : •• President of INC thrice •• Advocated Drain theory and poverty •• First Asian to be a British MP Duration, Place & Field : •• 9 Oct 1966 •• London, United Kingdom •• British politics Work : •• Prime Minister of the United David Kingdom from May 2010 to Cameron July 2016

PEOPLE FOREVER Duration, Place & Field : •• May 19, 1890 •• Kim Lien, Vietnam •• Vietnamese Communist leadership Work : Ho Chi Minh •• Prime Minister (1945–55) and President (1945–69) of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam •• Founder of Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945, People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) Duration, Place & Field : •• July 6, 1946 •• Connecticut, United States •• American Politics Work : George W •• 43rd President of the United States ( 2001- 2009) Bush

Duration, Place & Field : •• October 26, 1947 •• Chicago, Illinois, U.S. •• American Politics Work : •• Democratic Party nominee Hillary for President of the United Clinton States in the 2016 election •• Served as the 67th United States Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013 Duration, Place & Field : •• 19 Nov 1917 to 31 Oct 1984 •• Allahabad •• Indian Politics Work : •• The only female Prime Indira Minister of India from 1966 Gnadhi to 1977 and then from 1980 to 1984 •• Nationalisation of Banks Duration, Place & Field : •• July 8, 1914 to January 17, 2010 •• Kolkata •• Indian Politics •• Communist Party of India Jyoti Basu Work : •• Chief Minister of West Bengal state from 1977 to 2000, making him the longestserving Chief Minister in the country's history.

GK-61 Duration, Place & Field : •• 30th January 1882 - 12th April 1945 •• Hyde Park, New York, United States •• Political leadership Work : Franklin D. •• 32nd President of the US Roosevelt •• Led the Allies in World War II Duration, Place & Field : •• 14th Nov 1889 to 27th May 1964 •• Allahabad •• Politics/ Staesman Work : Jawahar Lal •• First Prime Minister of India Nehru •• Architect of NAM Duration, Place & Field : •• October 2, 1904 to January 11, 1966 •• Mughalsarai, U.P. (India) •• Politics Work : Lal Bahadur •• 2nd Prime Minister of the Republic of India (9 June Shastri 1964 – 11 January 1966) •• Joined the Indian Independence movement in the 1920s •• His famous slogan- Jai Jawan! Jai Kisan! Duration, Place & Field : •• November 8, 1927 Karachi, Pakistan •• Indian Politics •• Senior leader of the BJP Work : Lal Krishna •• 7th Deputy Prime Minister of India Advani •• Minister of Home Affairs in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government from 1998 to 2004 Duration, Place & Field : •• April 22, 1870 to January 21, 1924 •• Simbirsk, Russia •• Russian communist revolutionary Vladimir •• Politics Lenin •• Political theory Work : •• He served as head of Government of the Russian Republic from 1917 to 1918, of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic from 1918 to 1924, and of the Soviet Union from 1922 to 1924

GK-62

PEOPLE FOREVER

Duration, Place & Field : •• October 2, 1869- January 30, 1948 •• Porbandar, Kathiawar, Gujarat •• Indian independence leader Mahatma and freedom fighter Gandhi •• Social Reformer Work : •• Non violent satyagrah •• Non-co-operation •• Civil Disobedience Movement •• Quit India Movement •• Champion of Truth & Nonviolence Duration, Place & Field : •• December 25, 1861 - 12 November 1946 •• Allahabad, U.P. •• Politics •• Education Madan Work : Mohan Malaviya •• Two times President of INC •• Founded Banaras Hindu University •• Founded "The Leader" English Newspaper Duration, Place & Field : •• September 17, 1950 •• Vadnagar, Gujarat •• Politics Work : •• Incumbent Prime Minister Narendra of India, in office since 26 Damodardas May 2014 Modi •• Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 •• Member of Parliament from Varanasi •• Leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party

SOCIAL ACTIVISTS

Duration, Place & Field : •• July 18, 1918 to December 5, 2013 •• Mvezo, South Africa Nelson •• Anti-apartheid revolutionary Mandela •• Politics •• Philanthropist Work : •• Served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999 •• Nobel Peace prize winner in 1993 Duration, Place & Field : •• January 23, 1897-•• Cuttack •• Freedom struggle •• Political leadership Work : Netaji •• Congress President in 1938 Subhash and 1939 Chandra •• Founded Forward Bloc Bose •• Led Indian National Army against British Duration, Place & Field : •• December 26, 1893– September 9, 1976 •• Shaoshan village, Hunan Province, China •• Communist revolution Mao Zedong •• Politics Work : •• 1st Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China •• Founding father of the People’s Republic of China •• Maoism

Duration, Place & Field : •• July 24, 1945 •• Mumbai •• Indian business tycoon •• Investor Azim Premji •• Philanthropy Work : •• Chairman of Wipro Limited •• Founder Azim Premji foundation

Duration, Place & Field : •• May 12, 1820 to August 13, 1910 •• Florence, Italy •• English Social Reformer •• Founder of modern nursing Work : Florence •• Called “The Lady with the Lamp” for making rounds of Nightingale wounded soldiers at night during war. •• Founder of modern nursing

PEOPLE FOREVER Duration, Place & Field : •• September 26, 1820 to July 29, 1891 •• Ghatal •• Social reform Work : Ishwar Chandra •• Barna parichay (Parts I & Vidyasagar II, 1855), Rijupath (Parts I, II & III, 1851–52), Sanskrita Byakaraner Upakramanika (1951) •• Worked for widow remarriage Duration, Place & Field : •• January 11, 1954 •• Vidisha, MP •• Activism for children’s rights and children’s education •• Activist against child labour Kailash Work : Satyarthi •• Founded the Bachpan Bachao Andolan in 1980 •• Acted to protect the rights of more than 83,000 children from 144 countries. •• Shared Nobel Peace Prize of 2014 with Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan Duration, Place & Field : •• January 15, 1929 to April 4, 1968 •• Atlanta, Georgia, United States •• Baptist Minister •• Social Activist Work : Martin •• Led the Civil rights movement Luther King in the U.S. from 1950s to 1968 Jr. •• Worked for human rights and racial discrimination Duration, Place & Field : •• August 26, 1910 to September 5, 1997 •• Skopje, Macedonia •• Albanian-Indian Roman Mother Catholic nun Teresa •• Missionary Work : •• Founded the Missionaries of Charity •• Ramon Magsaysay Peace Prize 1962 •• Nobel Peace Prize 1979

GK-63 Duration, Place & Field : •• July 12, 1997 •• Mingora, Pakistan •• Pakistani activist Work : •• Pakistani activist for female Malala education Yousafzai •• The youngest-ever Nobel Prize laureate Duration, Place & Field : •• December 1, 1954 •• Mumbai •• Social reform Work : •• Founder member of Narmada Bachao Andolan Medha •• National Convener of Patkar National Alliance of People’s Movements Duration, Place & Field : •• 22 May 1772–27 September 1833 •• Radhanagar, West Bengal •• Socio, political reforms Work : Raja Ram •• Bengal Renaissance Mohan Roy •• Brahmo Sabha •• Worked against social evils like sati, polygamy and child marriage. Duration, Place & Field : •• 11 September 1895 – 15 November 1982 •• Gagode Budruk, Maharashtra •• Social and political reform Work : •• Bhoodan Movement Vinoba •• Campaigned against the Bhave slaughtering of cows Duration, Place & Field : •• 26 December 1914 – 9 February 2008 •• Hinganghat in Wardha District of Maharashtra Baba Amte •• Social work and social activism, Human-Rights Work : •• Rehabilitation and empowerment of poor people suffering from leprosy •• United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights,1988 Gandhi Peace Prize, 1999

GK-64

PEOPLE FOREVER

HISTORICAL PERSONALITIES Duration, Place & Field : •• c. 484–c. 425 BC •• Halicarnassus, Asia Minor •• Historian Work : •• Regarded as the Father of Herodotus History •• The Histories is his famous book on historical investigation Duration, Place & Field : •• c. 563 BCE or c. 480 BCE - c. 483 BCE •• Lumbini, presently in Nepal •• Religious philosophy Gautama Work : Buddha •• Four Noble Truths •• Eightfold Path •• Nirvana •• Founder of Buddhism Duration, Place & Field : •• 20 or 21 July 356 BC to 10 or 11 June 323 BC •• Pella, Macedon, Greece •• Warrior and conqueror Work : Alexander •• Created largest empire from the Great Greece to northwestern India •• He founded twenty cities that bore his name including Alexandria in Egypt •• He unfurled Greek language, culture Duration, Place & Field : •• 428/427 or 424/423 BC348/347 BC •• Athens, Greece •• Philosophy Work : •• Founder of the Academy in Athens Plato •• Theory of Forms, Platonic idealism, philosopher king, Platonic realism, Plato’s tripartite theory of soul Duration, Place & Field : •• 384–322 BC •• Stagira, Chalcidice, Northern Greece •• Greek philosophy Work : Aristotle •• Tutor of Alexander the great •• Golden mean, Aristotelian logic, Syllogism, Theory of the soul •• Established a library in the Lyceum

Duration, Place & Field : •• 304 BC-232 BC •• Pataliputra, Patna •• Great emperor of the Maurya Dynasty Work : Ashoka the •• Kalinga War •• Propagated Buddhism across Great Asia •• First ruler of the entire Indian subcontinent Duration, Place & Field : •• 13 July 100 BC–15 March 44 BC •• Rome •• Dictator of the Roman Republic Work : Julius •• Responsible for the fall of Caesar the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire. •• First Roman General who built a bridge across Rhine •• Conducted the first invasion of Britain Duration, Place & Field : •• 2 April 742-28 January 814 •• Aachen in Germany •• The first Holy Roman Emperor Work : •• Laid the foundations for Charlemagne modern France, Germany •• Founded the Carolingian Empire. •• Known as the father of Europe Duration, Place & Field : •• 25 April 1599-3 September 1658 •• Huntingdonshire, England •• 1st Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Oliver Scotland, and Ireland Cromwell Work : •• Cromwell was sworn in as Lord Protector on 16 December 1653 •• Organized armed forces after the outbreak of Civil War in 1642 •• Deputy Commander of the New Model Army

PEOPLE FOREVER Duration, Place & Field : •• c. 1162 – August 18, 1227 •• Khentii Mountains, Mongolia •• Emperor Work : •• Founder of the Mongol Empire Genghis •• Adoption of the Uyghur script as the Mongol Empire’s Khan writing system •• Encouraged religious tolerance in the Mongol Empire Duration, Place & Field : •• 14 February 1483 – 26 December 1530 •• Andijan, Timurid Empire, Uzbekistan •• Conqueror from Central Asia Babur Work : •• Laid the foundation of Mughal dynasty in the Indian subcontinent •• First Mughal emperor Duration, Place & Field : •• 15 Oct 1542-– 27 Oct 1605 •• Umerkot, Rajputana (presentday Sindh, Pakistan) •• 3rd Mughal Emperor Work : •• Established a centralised Akbar system of administration •• Promulgated Din-i-Ilahi •• Introduced the mansabdari system Duration, Place & Field : •• 19 Feb 1630 - 3 April 1680 •• Shivneri Fort, Maharashtra •• Maratha King Work : •• Founder of Maratha Empire •• Promotion of Marathi and Shivaji Sanskrit Bhonsle •• Introduced the guerrilla warfare tactics •• Introduced Ashtapradhan mandal composed of eight ministers Duration, Place & Field : •• 20 November 1750 -– 4 May 1799 •• Devanahalli, Bangalore •• Ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore Work : Tipu Sultan •• Second & Third AngloMysore War •• Tiger of Mysore •• Innovator of the world’s first war rocket

GK-65 Duration, Place & Field : •• 19 November 1828 – 18 June 1858 •• Varanasi, India •• Queen of Jhansi •• Freedom fighter Work : Rani •• Leading figures of the Indian Lakshmibai Rebellion of 1857 •• First woman martyr of India’s independence war •• Died during the battle for Gwalior on the war field Duration, Place & Field : •• 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883 •• Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany •• Revolutionary socialist Work : •• His important ideas : Surplus Karl Marx value, contributions to the labour theory of value, class struggle, alienation and exploitation of the worker, materialist conception of history •• Important books written: Das Kapital, A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy, The Communist Manifesto Duration, Place & Field : •• 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901 •• Kensington Palace, London •• Queen of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Work : Queen Victoria •• The first Empress of British India •• In June 1837, she became the Queen at the age of just 18 years •• The longest reigning British Monarch (over 60 years) Duration, Place & Field : •• 25 December 1876 - 11 September 1948 •• Karachi, Pakistan •• Indian Politics •• The first Governor General Muhammad of Pakistan Ali Jinnah Work : •• Founder of Pakistan •• Political leader of the AllIndia Muslim League

GK-66

PEOPLE FOREVER

Duration, Place & Field : •• 21 April 1926 •• Mayfair, London •• Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms Work : Queen •• World’s oldest reigning Elizabeth II monarch as well as Britain’s longest-lived •• Since 1952, the Queen has given royal assent to more than 3,500 acts of parliament. Duration, Place & Field : •• 2 March 1931 •• Privolnoye, Stavropol Krai, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union •• Politician and former President of Soviet Union Mikhail Work : Gorbachev •• He was instrumental in terminating the Cold War and the collapse of the Berlin Wall

GEOGRAPHICAL PERSONALITIES

William Clark

Amerigo Vespucci

Ptolemy

Duration, Place & Field : •• August 1, 1770 – September 1, 1838 •• Caroline County, Virginia •• American explorer Work : •• Famous for the epic expedition to the Pacific Northwest (1804–06). •• His Maps of the West (1810– 14) represented the best available until the 1840s Duration, Place & Field : •• March 9, 1454 – February 22, 1512 •• Florence, Italy •• Italian explorer Work : •• The first person to recognize North and South America as distinct continents Duration, Place & Field : •• c. 100 ce— c. 170 ce •• Alexandria, Egypt •• Egyptian Geographer Work : •• His Geōgraphikē hyphēgēsis (Guide to Geography) provided all the information and techniques required to draw maps

Yasser Arafat

•• He orchestrated reforms called “perestroika” and “glasnost” that caused cracks in the Soviet Union Duration, Place & Field : •• 24 August 1929 - 11 November 2004 •• Cairo, Egypt •• Palestinian leadership Work : •• 1st President of the Palestinian National Authority •• Founder of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) •• During this time, Hamas and other militant organizations rose to power •• In 1994 Arafat received the Nobel Peace Prize, together with Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres, for the negotiations at Oslo.

Duration, Place & Field : •• 22 February 1903 – 27 February 1989 •• Kolkata •• Professor of Geography Work : •• President of the International Geographical Union (1964 to Shiba 1968) Prasad •• He has suggested the name Chatterjee of the state ‘Meghalaya’. •• Murchison Award 1959, Padma Bhushan 1985 Duration, Place & Field : •• 1991 •• Geographer and Envirnmentalist Work : •• Fellow of the Royal GeographiVaibhav cal Society and the Royal Kaul Asiatic Society, alumnus of the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford Duration, Place & Field : •• 1862 to 1932 •• Stewartville, United States •• Geographer and cartographer Work : John Paul •• Goode’s World Atlas Goode

PEOPLE FOREVER

GK-67

Duration, Place & Field : •• February 25, 1304 – 1368 •• Tangier, Morocco •• Geographer, explorer Work : •• Known for his extensive travels, Ibn Battuta accounts published in Rihla •• One of the greatest explorers of all-time, documenting his travels over nearly 30 years. Duration, Place & Field : •• February 12, 1850 to February 5, 1934 •• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania •• Geographer Work : William •• Father of American geography Morris •• Geographical cycle Davis •• Cycle of erosion Duration, Place & Field : •• 12 April 1885 to 23 May 1930 •• Murshidabad, West Bengal •• Archaeology, epigraphy and palaeography Work : Rakhaldas •• Known for unearthing preBanerji Buddhist artefacts at the ruins at Mohenjo-Daro

Duration, Place & Field : •• 1910 to 1974 •• Gurmitkal village Gulbarga District , Karnataka •• Epigraphist Work : P.B. Desai •• His books : History of Vijayanagar empire, Jainism in South India and some Jaina Inscriptions, History of Ancient India in Kannada •• Discovery of Buddhist centers in Karnataka, Works on Shakti cult, Panduranga of Pandharpur and history of place names Duration, Place & Field : •• 16 September 1870 to 8 February 1928 •• Hoskote, Mysore •• Epigraphist H. Krishna Work : •• Deciphered Brahmi inscriptions Sastri of Asoka at Maski and inscriptions of the Pallavas •• Deciphered Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions

Duration, Place & Field : •• 599 BC to 527 B.C •• Kshatriyakund, Vaishali, Bihar •• 24th Jain Tirthankara Work : •• The founder of Jainism •• Doctrine of austerity •• Advocated vegetarianism •• Taught the observance of the vows ahimsa (non-violence), satya (truth), asteya (nonstealing), brahmacharya (chastity) and aparigraha (non-attachment) Duration, Place & Field : •• 551 – 479 BC •• Zou, Lu state, Qufu, Shandong, China •• Moral Philosophy Work : •• Emphasized self-cultivation, emulation of moral exemplars, and the attainment of skilled judgment rather than knowledge of rules

Duration, Place & Field : •• 788 CE-- 820 CE •• Kaladi, Ernakulam, Kerala •• Hindu philosopher and theologian Work : Adi Shankar •• Expounded Advaita Vedanta (non-dualism) •• Founded Brahmasutrabhasya, commentary on Brahma Sutra Duration, Place & Field : •• 15 April 1469 – 22 September 1539 •• Rāi Bhoi Kī Talvandī (present day Nankana Sahib, Punjab, Pakistan) near Lahore Guru Nanak •• Founder of Sikhism Dev Work : •• Guru Granth Sahib •• Guru Nanak emphasized Nam Japna •• Langar or common kitchen

RELIGIOUS PERSONALITIES

Mahavira

Confucius

GK-68 Moinuddin Duration, Place & Field : •• 1141 – 1236 Chishti •• Chisht, Afghanistan •• Islamic scholar and philosopher Work : •• Established the Chishti Order of Sufism in the Indian subcontinent •• Famous book Anīs al-Arwāh and Dalīl al-’Ārifīn •• Ajmer Sharif Dargah Nizamuddin Duration, Place & Field : •• 1238 – 3 April 1325 Auliya •• Badayun, Uttar Pradesh •• Sufi Saint of the Chishti Order Work : •• He preached to renounce the world and serve humanity •• Founder of the Chisti Nizami Order •• He stressed love as a means of realising God Duration, Place & Field : •• 10 Nov 1483 – 18 Feb 1546 •• Eisleben, Saxony, Holy Roman Empire, Germany •• German professor of theology, priest, monk Martin Work : Luther •• Key figure in the Protestant Reformation •• Notable works: Ninety-five Theses, Large Catechism, Small Catechism, On the Freedom of a Christian •• Translated Bible into German Duration, Place & Field : •• July 10, 1509 - May 27, 1564 •• Noyon, France •• Theologian & Pastor Work : •• His main work is Institutes of the Christian Religion, John Calvin published in Latin Duration, Place & Field : •• 1532–1623 •• Rajpur, Uttar Pradesh •• Poet-saint, Reformer and Philosopher Work : Tulsidas •• Famous literary works: Ramcharitmanas, Vinaya Patrika, “geetawali”, Dohavali, Sahitya Ratna, Hanuman Chalisa

PEOPLE FOREVER Duration, Place & Field : •• 22 December 1666 – 7 October 1708 •• Patna, Bihar •• 10th Sikh Guru Guru Gobind Work : Singh •• Founding the Sikh warrior community called Khalsa (1699) •• Enshrined the scripture the Guru Granth Sahib as Sikhism’s eternal Guru. •• Initiated the Five K’s: Kesh, Kangha, Kara, Kirpan, Kacchera Duration, Place & Field : •• 12 Feb 1824 – 30 Oct 1883 •• Tankara, Gujarat •• Hindu religious leader Work : Dayanand •• Founded the Arya Samaj Saraswati •• First to give the call for Swaraj as “India for Indians” – in 1876 •• Revived Vedic ideologies •• His famous book: Satyarth Prakash (1875) Duration, Place & Field : •• 6 July 1935 •• Taktser, Qinghai, Republic of China •• Monk of the Gelug school Work : Dalai Lama •• Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 •• Has written books on (14th) Buddhism and Mahayanaand Vajrayana topics. •• Currently living in India as an exile Duration, Place & Field : •• 12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902 •• 3 Gourmohan Mukherjee Street in Kolkata Swami •• Hindu monk Vivekananda Work : •• Introduced Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world •• Revived Hinduism and Nationalism •• Attended Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago in 1893. •• Founder of Ramakrishna Mission & Ramakrishna Math

PEOPLE FOREVER

GK-69

Duration, Place & Field : •• 1835 -- 1918 •• Spiritual master Work : •• Opponent of religious orthodoxy •• He believed and propounded Sai Baba of Dhikr, Jnana Yoga, Karma Yoga philosophy Shirdi Duration, Place & Field : •• 18 February 1836 – 16 August 1886 •• Kamarpukur, Bengal •• Indian mystic and yogi Work : Ramakrishna •• Exponent of Tantra, Vaishnava Paramahamsa bhakti, and Advaita Vedanta •• Chief disciple Swami Vivekananda

BUSINESS PERSONALITIES

Duration, Place & Field : •• 15 Aug 1872 – 5 Dec 1950 •• Kolkata, Bengal •• Yogi, Guru Work : Sri •• Founder of Sri Aurobindo Aurobindo Ashram, Auroville •• His philosophies included: Integral Yoga, Involution, Evolution, Integral psychology, Intermediate zone, Supermind •• Literary works: The Life Divine, The Synthesis of Yoga, Savitri, Agenda

Duration, Place & Field : •• 3 March 1839–-19 May 1904 •• Navsari, Gujarat •• Industrialist Work : •• Founded the Tata Group, India’s biggest conglomerate Jamshedji Nusserwanji company •• Father of Indian Industry Tata •• Founder of Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai Duration, Place & Field : •• 28 December 1932 – 6 July 2002 •• Chorvad, Gujarat •• Business tycoon Work : •• Founded Reliance Industries, Dhirubhai Reliance Power, Reliance Capital Ambani •• Started the brand “Vimal” a textile company Duration, Place & Field : •• July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947 •• Greenfield Township, Michigan, U.S •• American Industrialist Work : Henry Ford •• Founder of Ford Motor Company •• Instrumental in developing charcoal briquets, under the brand name “Kingsford” •• He was first to introduce the five 8 hours-day workweek in 1926

Duration, Place & Field : •• Jan 31, 1924 – April 17, 2015 •• Pontiac, Michigan, US •• American real estate developer Work : •• First time designed the Adolph modern indoor shopping mall Alfred Taubman •• He has donated large sums to the University of Michigan Duration, Place & Field : •• 10 April 1894 – 11 June 1983 •• Pilani, Rajasthan •• Businessman Work : •• Established Hindustan Motors Ghanshyam •• Conceptualized United Das Birla Commercial Bank Limited •• Elected to the Central Legislative Assembly of British India in 1926 Duration, Place & Field : •• 29 July 1904 – 29 November 1993 •• Paris, France •• Entrepreneur Work : J. R. D. Tata •• Former Chairman of Tata Sons •• First licensed pilot in India (1929) •• Founder of Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Motors, Titan Industries, Tata Tea, Voltas and Air India •• He was awarded Bharat Ratna in 1992

GK-70 Duration, Place & Field : •• 14 June 1967 •• Kolkata •• Industrialist Work : •• Chairman of the Aditya Birla Kumar Group Mangalam •• Chancellor of the Birla Birla Institute of Technology & Science (BITS-Pilani) •• Chairman of IIT, Delhi, Chairman of Rhodes India Scholarship Committee for Oxford University Duration, Place & Field : •• October 28, 1955 •• Seattle, Washington, U.S. •• American business magnate Work : •• Co-founder of Microsoft Bill Gates •• Richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of US$81.7 billion •• Established Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in 2000 Duration, Place & Field : •• 4 July 1968 •• Mumbai •• Businessman Work : •• Ex-chairman the Tata group Cyrus Pallonji •• Served as the managing director of Shapoorji Pallonji Mistry & Company •• According to The Economist, ‘the most important industrialist in India, Britain & Ireland’ Duration, Place & Field : •• June 14, 1946 •• Jamaica Estates, Queens, a neighbourhood in New York City • • American Businessman, Donald television, Producer, Trump politician Work : •• Republican Party nominee who won President’s election of the United States in the 2016 •• The chairman and president of ‘The Trump Organization’. •• Development of Trump Tower, a 58-story skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan in 1983

PEOPLE FOREVER Duration, Place & Field : •• 1 October 1955 •• Amreli, Gujarat •• Businessman, Pharmaceuticals Dilip Work : Shanghvi •• Founder of Sun Pharmaceuticals •• One of the richest persons in India with US$16.9 billion •• Started Sun Pharmaceutical Industries with capital of Rs 10,000 in 1982 Duration, Place & Field : •• 24 June 1962 •• Ahmedabad, Gujarat •• Business tycoon Work : Gautam •• Founder and chairman of Adani the Adani Group •• A first generation entrepreneur •• Established India’s largest commercial port the modern ‘Mundra port’ Duration, Place & Field : •• 28 October 1955 •• Chennai, Tamil Nadu •• American, business executive Work : •• Current Chairperson and Indra Chief Executive Officer of Krishnamurthy Nooyi PepsiCo •• Consistently ranked among the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women •• Serves as an Honorary Co-Chair for the World Justice Project Duration, Place & Field : •• 15 June 1950 •• Sadulpur, Rajasthan •• Steel magnate Work : Lakshmi •• Chairman & CEO of Niwas Mittal Arcelor Mittal, Owner of Karrick Limited, Co-owner of Queens Park Rangers F.C. •• Member of: the Indian Prime Minister’s Global Advisory Council, the Foreign Investment Council in Kazakhstan, the World Economic Forum’s International Business Council, and the Presidential International Advisory Board of Mozambique

PEOPLE FOREVER Duration, Place & Field : •• 24 July, 1945 •• Mumbai, Maharashtra •• Business tycoon Work : Azim •• Chairman of Wipro Hashim •• Known as the Czar of the Premji Indian IT Industry •• Twice listed among the 100 most influential people by TIME Magazine Duration, Place & Field : •• 19 April 1957 •• Colony of Aden, Yemen •• Business magnate Work : Mukesh •• Chairman of Reliance Industries Dhirubhai •• India’s richest man and second-richest man in Asia Ambani •• Fifth among India’s philanthropists Duration, Place & Field : •• 20 August 1946 •• Mysore, Karnataka •• IT Industrialist Work : N. R. Narayana •• Chairman Emeritus Infosys Murthy •• Co-founder of Infosys •• Father of Indian IT sector Time magazine •• He has written a book-- A Better India: A Better World Duration, Place & Field : •• 28 December 1937 •• Surat, Gujarat •• Businessman, investor, philanthropist Ratan Naval Work : Tata •• Interim chairman of Tata Sons, Chairman of Tata Group •• Conceptualised the Tata Nano car, Tata Indica •• Founder: Tata DoCoMo, Tata Teleservices Duration, Place & Field : •• August 19, 1967 •• Hyderabad, Telangana •• American business executive Work : Satya Narayana •• Chief executive officer (CEO) of Microsoft Nadella •• Pioneered the ‘Cloud computing’ division of ‘Microsoft’

GK-71 Duration, Place & Field : •• 23 October 1957 •• Ludhiana, Punjab •• Entrepreneur, philanthropist Work : •• Founder & Chairman Bharti Sunil Bharti Enterprises •• Bharti Airtel Mittal •• Bharti Foundation Duration, Place & Field : •• 14 July 1945 •• Moolaipozhi Village, Tuticorin District, Tamil Nadu •• Industrialist and philanthropist Work : Shiv Nadar •• Founder and chairman of the HCL & SSN Trust •• Padma Bhushan, 2008 Duration, Place & Field : •• 28 Nov 1935 •• Shikarpur, presently in Pakistan •• Business magnate, investor Work : Srichand •• Chairman, Hinduja Group Parmanand •• Acquired Ashok Leyland from British Leyland and Hinduja Gulf Oil from Chevron

Duration, Place & Field : •• 10 June 1948 •• Araria, Bihar •• Businessman Work : •• Founder and Chairman of Subrata Roy the Sahara India •• Propounded the corporate philosophy of ‘Collective Materialism’ •• Famous book: Life Mantras Duration, Place & Field : •• July 15, 1978 •• Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh •• Entrepreneur Work : Vijay Shekhar •• Founder & CEO of Paytm and One97 Communications Sharma Limited Duration, Place & Field : •• 1973 •• Rajasthan •• Entrepreneur and business executive Pranay Work : Chulet •• Co-founder and the CEO of Quikr •• Founded Kijiji India

GK-72

PEOPLE FOREVER Duration, Place & Field : •• 5 August 1981 (Sachin Bansal) •• Chandigarh •• Internet entrepreneur Work : •• Co-founder & Executive Chairman of Flipkart •• Entrepreneur of the year – ET Awards (2012–2013)

DISCOVERERS & INVENTORS

Duration, Place & Field : •• 31 October 1898-1972 •• Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh •• Pharmaceutical Businessman Work : •• Founder professor of the Dr. Khwaja Jamia Milia Islamia in Aligarh Abdul •• Founder of Cipla, India’s oldest Hamied pharmaceutical company in 1935

Duration, Place & Field : •• January 17, 1706 - April 17, 1790 •• Milk Street, Boston, Massachusetts, US Benjamin •• Scientist, Inventor Franklin Work : •• Franklin stove •• He was the first person to give electricity positive and negative charges •• The first flexible urinary catheter •• Glass harmonica •• Bifocal glasses Duration, Place & Field : •• 18 February 1745 – 5 March 1827 •• Como, Italy •• Italian physicist, chemist Alessandro Work : Volta •• Invented the first electrochemical battery cell •• Discovered methane Duration, Place & Field : •• April 27, 1791 – April 2, 1872 •• Painter and inventor •• Charlestown, Massachusetts, USA Work : Samuel •• Single telegraph wire Morse •• Morse code Duration, Place & Field : •• November 25, 1844 – April 4, 1929 •• Baden-Württemberg, Germany •• Engine designer and automobile engineer Karl Benz Work : •• Invented petrol-powered car

Duration, Place & Field : •• 18 March 1858– 29 September 1913 •• Paris, France •• German inventor and mechanical engineer Rudolf Work : Diesel •• Invented diesel engine Duration, Place & Field : •• 14 August 1888 – 14 June 1946 •• Helensburgh, Dunbartonshire, Scotland, UK John Logie •• Scottish engineer, innovator Work : Baird •• Invented television •• First recording device Duration, Place & Field : •• 18 November 1787 – 10 July 1851 •• Cormeilles-en-Parisis, Vald’Oise, France •• French artist and photograLouispher JacquesWork : Mandé daguerreotype Daguerre •• Invented process of photography •• One of the fathers of photography Duration, Place & Field : •• 9 June 1781 – 12 August 1848 •• Wylam, Northumberland, England •• English civil engineer and mechanical engineer George Work : Stephenson •• Built the first public intercity railway line in the world to use steam locomotives •• Father of Railways

Sachin Bansal & Binny Bansal

PEOPLE FOREVER Duration, Place & Field : •• 29 Sept 1901 – 28 Nov 1954 •• Rome, Italy •• Italian physicist Work : Enrico •• Inventor of the nuclear reactor Fermi •• Discovered induced radioactivity Duration, Place & Field : •• 8 June 1955 •• London, England •• English computer scientist Work : Tim Berners •• Inventing the World Wide Lee Web •• Developed the http:// protocol for the internet Duration, Place & Field : •• April 23, 1941 – March 5, 2016 •• Amsterdam, New York, U.S. Work : Raymond •• Invented the first email Tomlinson system Duration, Place & Field : •• 29 December 1813 – 29 June 1890 •• Suffolk Street, Birmingham, England Alexander •• Metallurgist and inventor Parkes Work : •• Created Parkesine, the first man-made plastic Duration, Place & Field : •• 1398 – February 3, 1468 •• Mainz, Germany •• Blacksmith, goldsmith, printer, and publisher Johannes Work : Gutenberg •• Introduced mechanical movable type printing to Europe •• Invented movable-type printing press Duration, Place & Field : •• 5 February 1840 – 23 October 1921 •• Dreghorn, North Ayrshire, Scotland John Boyd •• Scottish Inventor Dunlop Work : •• Re-invented pneumatic tyres

GK-73 Duration, Place & Field : •• 6 October 1893 – 16 February 1956 •• Shaoratoli, Dhaka •• Astrophysicist Meghnad Work : •• Thermal ionisation Saha •• Saha ionization equation Duration, Place & Field : •• 1451 – 20 May 1506 •• Genoa, Republic of Genoa •• Italian explorer, navigator Work : Christopher •• Discovered the “New World” Columbus of the America Duration, Place & Field : •• 1460s – 24 December 1524 •• Sines, Alentejo, Kingdom of Portugal •• Portuguese explorer Vasco da Work : Gama •• Discovered the sea route to India •• First to link Europe and Asia by an ocean route Duration, Place & Field : •• 17 May 1749 – 26 January 1823 •• Berkeley, Gloucestershire, England •• English physician and scientist Edward Work : Jenner •• Pioneer of smallpox vaccine, the world’s first vaccine Duration, Place & Field : •• 1254– January 8–9, 1324 •• Venice, Republic of Venice •• Traveller Marco Polo Work : •• First European to reach China Duration, Place & Field : •• 19 March 1813– 1 May 1873 •• Blantyre, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom •• Explorer David Work : Livingstone •• Exploration of Africa Duration, Place & Field : •• 24 March 1733 – 6 February 1804 •• Batley in the West Riding of Yorkshire •• Chemist Joseph Priestley Work : •• Discovered Oxygen

GK-74

PEOPLE FOREVER

ARTISTS Duration, Place & Field : •• 17 September 1915 – 9 June 2011 •• Pandharpur, Maharashtra •• Indian painter of Maqbool international acclaim Fida Husain Work : •• Founding member of The Progressive Artists Group of Bombay (PAG). •• Meenaxi a tale of three cities through the eyes of a painter Duration, Place & Field : •• 22 February 1922 – 23 July 2016 •• Babaria, Narsinghpur district, Madhya Pradesh S. H. Raza •• Painter Work : •• Saurashtra is his famous work •• Founder of Raza Foundation Duration, Place & Field : •• 12 April 1924 – 28 March 2002 •• Saligao, Goa •• Painting, Drawing Work : •• Founding member of the Francis Progressive Artists’ Group of Newton Bombay Souza •• Famous works: Birth (1955) •• First post-independence Indian artist to achieve high recognition in the West Duration, Place & Field : •• 14 December 1924 – 2 June 1988 •• Peshawar, North-West Frontier Province, British India (now in Raj Kapoor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan) •• Actor, Producer & Director Work : •• The greatest showman of Indian cinema •• Famous works: Awaara, Shree 420, Mera Naam Joker •• Founder of R. K. Films studio •• Padma Bhushan in 1971, Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1987, Best Director of the Millennium by Stardust Awards

Duration, Place & Field : •• 25 July 1925 – 2 July 2009 •• Kapadvanj, Kheda district, Gujarat. •• Painting Tyeb Mehta Work : •• Filmfare Critics Award in 1970 •• celebration at Christie’s, Gesture, Kali Duration, Place & Field : •• 28 September 1929 •• Indore, Madhya Pradesh •• Playback singer Work : Lata •• She has recorded songs for Mangeshkar over a thousand Hindi films and has sung songs in over thirty-six regional Indian languages and foreign languages •• Dadasaheb Phalke Award, 1889, Bharat Ratna 2001, Padma Vibhushan 1999, Padma Bhushan 1969 Duration, Place & Field : •• 24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980 •• Kotla Sultan Singh, Punjab •• Playback singer Mohammed Work : Rafi •• Sang about 7,400 songs in many languages •• Sang songs in English, Farsi, Arabic, Sinhalese, Creole & Dutch •• Padma Shri, 1967 Duration, Place & Field : •• 8 September 1933 •• Sangli, Maharashtra •• Playback Singer, Vocalist Work : Asha Bhosle •• Sung for over a thousand Bollywood movies •• Acknowledged by the Guinness Book of World Records as the most recorded artist in music history •• Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2000, Padma Vibhushan in 2008.

PEOPLE FOREVER Duration, Place & Field : •• 4 August 1929 – 13 October 1987 •• Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh •• Playback singer Work : Kishore •• He won 8 Filmfare Awards Kumar for Best Male Playback Singer. •• Kishore Kumar Award is established in his name by Govt. of Madhya Pradesh Duration, Place & Field : •• 16 September 1916 – 11 December 2004 •• Madurai, Madras Presidency •• Classical vocalist Work : Madurai •• First musician ever to be Shanmukhavadivu awarded the Bharat Ratna, Subbulakshmi •• First Indian musician to receive the Ramon Magsaysay award Duration, Place & Field : •• 14 September 1956 •• Chennai, Tamil Nadu •• Indian classical dancer and choreographer Work : Alarmel •• Exponent of Pandanallur Valli style of Bharatnatyam •• Participated in BBC’s The Spirit of Asia Series Duration, Place & Field : •• 9 May 1954 •• Ahmedabad, Gujarat •• Cassical dancer Work : •• Known for using her arts for social change and Mallika transformation Sarabhai •• Played the role of Draupadi in the Peter Brook’s play The Mahabharata Duration, Place & Field : •• 4 February 1938 •• Classical music •• Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh Work : Pandit Birju •• Exponent of the Lucknow Kalka-Bindadin gharana of Maharaj Kathak dance •• Founder of Kalashram •• Padma Vibhushan 1986, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Kalidas Samman

GK-75 Duration, Place & Field : •• 6 January 1967 •• Chennai, Tamil Nadu •• Composer, singer-song writer, music producer, musician Work : AllahRakha (AR) •• Known as the Mozart of Madras Rahman •• His awards include: Two Academy Awards, two Grammy Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe, four National Film Awards, fifteen Filmfare Awards, thirteen Filmfare Awards South Duration, Place & Field : •• Apr 30, 1944 •• Mumbai •• Classical dancer Work : Sonal •• Founder of Centre for Indian Mansingh Classical Dances (CICD) in New Delhi •• Padma Bhushan,1992, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, 1987 , Padma Vibhushan 2003 Duration, Place & Field : •• 21 May 1954 •• Madurai, Tamil Nadu •• Classical and contemporary dancer Work : Anita •• Director, Arangham Interactive, Ratnam Chennai •• Founder www.narthaki.com, a portal for Indian dance Duration, Place & Field : •• 20 December 1940 •• Madanapalli, Andhra Pradesh •• Classical Dance Work : •• Resident dancer of the Tirumala Mungara Yamini Tirupati Devasthanam Krishnamurthy •• Autobiography: A Passion For Dance Duration, Place & Field : •• 1 November 1973 •• Mangalore, Karnataka •• Actress, Model Work : •• Winner of the Miss World Aishwarya 1994 pageant Rai •• Goodwill Ambassador for the Joint United Nations Programme on AIDS (UNAIDS)

GK-76 Duration, Place & Field : •• 1253–1325 CE •• Patiyali in Etah, Uttar Pradesh •• Sufi musician, poet and scholar Work : Amīr Khusrow •• Invented musical instruments like the sitar and tabla •• Regarded as the father of Qawwali •• Originator of the khayal and tarana styles of music Duration, Place & Field : •• 11 October 1942 •• Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh •• Actor Work : Amitabh •• Known as, angry young man & Shahenshah of Bollywood Bachchan •• Has appeared in over 180 Indian films •• Hosted Kaun Banega Crorepati •• Padma Bhushanin 2001 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2015 Duration, Place & Field : •• 1926–2011 •• Sadiya, Assam •• Lyricist, musician, singer, poet Work : Bhupen •• His songs, based on the themes Hazarika of communal amity, universal justice and empathy •• Sangeet Natak Akademi Award 1987, Padmabhushan, 2001, Dada Saheb Phalke Award 1992 •• Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi from December 1998 to December 2003 Duration, Place & Field : •• 30 April 1870 – 16 February 1944 •• Tryambakeshwar, Nashik •• Producer-director-screenwriter Dadasaheb Work : •• Father of Indian cinema Phalke •• The Dadasaheb Phalke Award, for lifetime contribution to cinema, instituted in his honour by the Govt. of India in 1969. •• He made Raja Harishchandra, 1913, India’s first full-length feature film

PEOPLE FOREVER Duration, Place & Field : •• 11 December 1922 •• Peshawar, now in Pakistan •• Film, acting Work : •• His career has spanned over Dilip Kumar six decades and with over 60 films •• Padma Vibhushan 2015, Padma Bhushan 1991, Nishan-e-Imtiaz 1997 (Pakistan’s highest civilian award) Duration, Place & Field : •• 8 February 1941 – 10 October 2011 •• Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan •• Ghazal singer, composer and musician Jagjit Singh Work : •• Known as the Ghazal King •• Popularised ghazal •• His 1987 album, Beyond Time, was the first digitally recorded release in India Duration, Place & Field : •• 13 January 1938 •• Jammu, Singer •• Santoor player Work : •• Made the Santoor as a Pandit popular Classical Instrument Shivkumar Sharma •• Famous background music-Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje •• Honorary citizenship of the city of Baltimore, USA, 1985, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1986, Padma Vibhushan 2001 Duration, Place & Field : •• 17 December 1770– 26 March 1827 •• Bonn, Electorate of Cologne •• German composer Work : Ludwig van •• Best-known compositions: Beethoven 9 symphonies, 5 piano concertos, 1 violin concerto, 32 piano sonatas, 16 string quartets Duration, Place & Field : •• 15 April 1452 – 2 May 1519 •• Vinci, Italy •• Painting, sculpting, •• Architecture Work : Leonardo •• Mona Lisa , The Last Supper, da Vinci The Vitruvian Man, Lady with an Ermine

GK-77

PEOPLE FOREVER Duration, Place & Field : •• June 1, 1926– August 5, 1962 •• Los Angeles, California, U.S •• American actress and model Work : •• Dumb blonde characters •• Founder of Marilyn Monroe Productions (MMP) •• Recognised by the American Film Institute as the sixth greatest female movie star of all time. Duration, Place & Field : •• 24 October 1921 – 26 January 2015 •• Mysore, Karnataka •• Cartoonist, illustrator, and humorist Work : •• The Common Man •• Laxman’s writings include: Servants of India, The Hotel Riviera, The Messenger, autobiography- The Tunnel of Time

Duration, Place & Field : •• 25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973 •• Málaga, Spain •• Spanish painter, sculptor Pablo Work : Picasso •• Co-founded the Cubist movement, invented constructed sculpture. •• Proto-Cubist Les Demoiselles d’Avignon 1907, Guernica 1937. Duration, Place & Field : •• December 5, 1901 – December 15, 1966 •• Chicago, Illinois, U.S. •• American animator, voice Walt Disney actor and film producer Work : •• Founded Disney Brothers Studio •• Mickey Mouse •• Established Disneyland

Duration, Place & Field : •• 10 June 1955 •• Udupi district of Karnataka •• Badminton Work : •• Co-founders of Olympic Gold Quest Prakash Padukone •• Served as the chairman of the Badminton Association of India •• Won his first major international title, 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Canada. •• The first Indian to win the men’s singles title at the All England Championship. Duration, Place & Field : •• 16 November 1973 •• Nagandla, Prakasam district, Andhra Pradesh •• Badminton player Work : •• Chief National Coach for the Pullela Indian Badminton team Gopichand •• Won the All England Open Badminton Championships in 2001 •• Founder of Gopichand Badminton Academy

Duration, Place & Field : •• 8 July 1972 •• Behala, Kolkata •• Cricket Work : •• 3rd batsman in history to cross the 10,000 run landmark •• He was involved in the highest partnership of 318 runs with Rahul Dravid in 1999 Cricket World Cup Duration, Place & Field : •• 1929 •• Muzaffargarh District currently in Pakistan •• Track and field sprinter Work : •• Gold medals in the 1958 and 1962 Asian Games •• First Indian athlete to win an individual athletics gold medal at a Commonwealth Games •• 4th place finish in the 400 metres final at the 1960 Olympic Games •• Appointed as Director of Sports in the Punjab Ministry of Education

Marilyn Monroe

R. K. Laxman

SPORTS PERSONALITIES

Sourav Ganguly

Milkha Singh

GK-78 Duration, Place & Field : •• 1 March 1983 •• Kangathei, Manipur •• Boxer Work : •• Five-time World Amateur Mary Kom Boxing champion •• Only woman boxer to have won a medal in each one of the six world championships •• The first Indian woman boxer to get a Gold Medal in the Asian Games in 2014 in Incheon, South Korea. Duration, Place & Field : •• 27 June 1964 •• Payyoli, Kozhikode, Kerala •• Track and field athlete Work : •• Nicknamed as the Payyoli Express P. T. Usha •• Founder of Usha School of Athletics at Koyilandy •• Won silver medal in the 100m and the 200m, New Delhi Asian Games, 1982, Won gold in 400m in Asian Track and Field Championship (ATF), Kuwait 1983, From 1983–89, Usha garnered 13 golds at ATF meets, Won 4 gold medals and 1 silver medal in the track and field events in 10th Asian Games, Seoul in 1986, Won five gold medals at the 6th Asian Track and Field Championship in Jakarta, 1985 Duration, Place & Field : •• 5 July 1995 •• Hyderabad, Telangana •• Badminton Work : •• Bronze medal at the 2009 Pusarla Sub-Junior Asian Badminton Venkata Championships, Colombo Sindhu •• Silver in the women’s singles at Iran Fajr International Badminton Challenge, 2010, Won Asia Youth Under-19 Championship, 2012, India’s first medalist in women’s singles at the Badminton World Championships, Macau Open Grand Prix Gold title, 2013. •• Won silver medal in the women’s singles event of the 2016 Summer Olympics at Rio.

PEOPLE FOREVER Duration, Place & Field : •• 10 July 1949 •• Mumbai, Maharashtra •• Cricketer Work : •• The first person to score Sunil centuries in both innings of Gavaskar a Test match three times •• The first Test batsman to score 10,000 Test Runs •• Interim BCCI President primarily to oversee 7th Season of Indian Premier League •• Books: Sunny Days (autobiography), Idols, Runs n’ Ruins and One Day Wonders Duration, Place & Field : •• 6 January 1959 •• Chandigarh, Punjab •• Cricketer Work : Kapil Dev •• Captained the Indian cricket team which won the 1983 Cricket World Cup •• Only player in the history of cricket to have taken more than 400 wickets (434 wickets) and scored more than 5,000 runs in Tests •• The youngest test cricketer to take 100, 200 and 300 wickets Duration, Place & Field : •• 24 April 1973 •• Dadar, Mumbai, Maharashtra •• Cricket Work : Sachin •• Regarded as the greatest Tendulkar batsman of all time •• Only player to have scored one hundred international centuries •• First batsman to score a double century in a One Day International •• Bharat Ratna, 2013 •• Nominated to the Rajya Sabha •• Sponsors 200 underprivileged children every year through Apnalaya, a Mumbai-based NGO •• Autobiography: Playing It My Way

GK-79

PEOPLE FOREVER Duration, Place & Field : •• 11 January 1973 •• Indore, Madhya Pradesh •• Cricket Work : •• The Player of the Year and the Test Player of the Year Rahul awards at the inaugural ICC Dravid awards ceremony in 2004. •• The first and the only player till date to score a century in all the ten Test-playing countries Duration, Place & Field : •• 14 January 1977 •• Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu •• Formula One motor racing driving Work : Narain •• First Formula One motor racing Karthikeyan driver from India, 1994 •• 1st British Formula Ford Winter Series, 1994, 1st Formula Asia, 1996 Duration, Place & Field : •• 16 November 1930 – 11 June 1997 •• Purulia, West Bengal •• Swimming Work : Mihir Sen •• The first Indian to conquer the English Channel from Dover to Calais in 1958 •• Only man to have swum the Oceans of the five continents in one calendar year (1966) •• Guinness Book of World Records •• Blitz Nehru Trophy in 1967 by the Govt of India Duration, Place & Field : •• 17 April 1961 •• Delhi •• Billiards Work : •• Won the IBSF World Amateur Geet Siriram Billiards Championships in 1985, World Professional Sethi Billiards Champion: 1992, 1993, 1995, 1998, 2006 •• Took the Indian National Snooker Championships four times back to back •• World’s first amateur maximum break of 147

Dhyan Chand

Dhanraj Pillay

Baichung Bhutia

Duration, Place & Field : •• 29 August 1905 – 3 December 1979 •• Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh •• Hockey Work : •• Three Olympic gold medals (1928, 1932, and 1936) in field hockey •• Scored more than 400 goals during his international career •• His birthday, i.e. 29 August, is celebrated as National sports day in India. Duration, Place & Field : •• 16 July 1968 •• Khadki, Pune, Maharashtra •• Field Hockey Work : •• Presently the manager of the Indian hockey team •• Member of the ad hoc committee of Indian Hockey Federation •• Only player to have played in four Olympics, four World Cups, four Champions Trophies, and four Asian Games •• Under his captaincy. India won the Asian Games (1998) and Asia Cup (2003) Duration, Place & Field : •• 15 December 1976 •• Tinkitam, Sikkim •• Football Work : •• Three-time Indian Player of the Year •• Won the Nehru Cup, LG Cup, SAFF Championship three times and the AFC Challenge Cup •• First Indian athlete to boycott the Olympic torch relay in support of the Tibetan independence movement. •• Founder Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools, Delhi

GK-80 Duration, Place & Field : •• 28 September 1982 •• Dehradun, Uttarakhand •• Shooting Work : •• First Indian to win an Abhinav individual gold medal at Bindra the Olympic Games, 2008 Beijing Olympic Games •• Won Gold Medal in 2014 Commonwealth Games at Glasgow Duration, Place & Field : •• 17 June 1973 •• Kolkata, West Bengal •• Tennis Work : •• Won eight doubles and ten Leander mixed doubles Grand Slam titles Adrian Paes •• Won a bronze medal for India in singles in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games •• Holds the record for the most Davis Cup doubles wins with 42 victories Duration, Place & Field : •• 7 June 1974 •• Chennai •• Tennis Work : Mahesh •• The first Indian to win a Grand Slam tournament Shrinivas Bhupathi •• Founder of International Premier Tennis League •• Won three doubles titles with Leander Paes, including the French Open and Wimbledon •• Won four men’s doubles and eight mixed doubles Grand Slam titles Duration, Place & Field : •• 15 November 1986 •• Mumbai, Maharashtra •• Tennis Work : Sania Mirza •• Currently ranked No. 1 in the women’s doubles rankings •• Won a total of 14 medals (including 6 Gold) at three major multi-sport events, namely the Asian Games, the Commonwealth Games and the Afro-Asian Games. •• First female from India to be seeded at a Grand Slam, 2006

PEOPLE FOREVER Duration, Place & Field : •• 16 August 2004 •• Israna, Panipat district, Haryana •• Golf Work : Shubham •• Won the Junior World Golf Jaglan Championships in 2015, 2013 World Masters of Junior Golf, 2016 European Junior Championship Duration, Place & Field : •• 3 September 1992 •• Rohtak, Haryana •• Freestyle wrestler Sakshi Work : Malik •• First Indian female wrestler to win a medal at the Olympics •• Won the bronze medal in the 58 kg category, 2016 Rio Olympics •• Silver medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, bronze medal at the 2015 Asian Wrestling Championships, Doha Duration, Place & Field : •• 11 December 1969 •• Mayiladuthurai, Tamil Nadu •• Chess Work : Viswanathan •• India’s first grandmaster, 1988 •• Held the FIDE World Chess Anand Championship from 2000 to 2002 •• Five time winner of the World Chess Championship and was World No.1 from 2007 to 2013 Duration, Place & Field : •• 1 June 1975 •• Amadalavalasa, Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh •• Weightlifting Karnam Work : Malleswari •• Won the world title in the 54 kg division in 1994 and 1995 •• Bronze medal at the 2000 Olympics •• The first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal

PEOPLE FOREVER Duration, Place & Field : •• 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016 •• Louisville, Kentucky, U.S •• Boxing Work : •• At age 18, he won a gold Muhammad medal in the light heavyweight Ali division, 1960 Summer Olympics, Rome, At age 22 in 1964, he won the WBA and WBC heavyweight titles •• Recorded 56 wins of which 37 came in knockout and 5 losses Duration, Place & Field : •• 27 August 1908 – 25 February 2001 •• Cootamundra, New South Wales, Australia •• Cricket Don Work : Bradman •• Career Test batting average of 99.94 •• Highest ratio of centuries per innings played: 36.25%, Most runs in one day’s play: 309, Most double centuries: 12 Duration, Place & Field : •• February 17, 1963 •• Brooklyn, New York •• Basketball Work : Michael •• Five Most Valuable Player Jeffrey (MVP) Awards, ten All-NBA Jordan First Team designations, six NBA Finals MVP Awards, and the 1988 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award. •• Played with two Olympic gold medal-winning American basketball teams Duration, Place & Field : •• 30 October 1960 •• Lanús, Buenos Aires, Argentina •• Football Work : •• Joint FIFA Player of the 20th Diego Century with Pelé Maradona •• In his international career with Argentina, he earned 91 caps and scored 34 goals. •• Known as “The Golden Boy” •• Won 1986 World Cup in Mexico as captain

GK-81 Duration, Place & Field : •• 2 May 1975 •• Leytonstone, London, England •• Football Work : David •• The first English player to Beckham win league titles in four countries: England, Spain, the United States and France •• Won the Premier League title six times, the FA Cup twice, and the UEFA Champions League in 1999 •• The first British footballer to play 100 UEFA Champions League games Duration, Place & Field : •• 3 January 1969 •• Hürth, West Germany •• Racing driver Work : Michael •• Seven-time Formula One Schumacher World Champion •• Best Driver ESPY Award 2005-2002, Bambi-Millenium Award – 2014, Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsman of the Year - 2004-2002 Duration, Place & Field : •• 2 May 1969 •• Santa Cruz, Trinidad and Tobago •• Cricket Work : •• Record for the highest Brian Charles Lara individual score in first-class cricket, with 501 not out at Edgbaston, 1994 •• Record for the highest individual score in a Test innings after scoring 400 not out against England at Antigua in 2004. •• Only batsman to have ever scored a hundred, a double century, a triple century, a quadruple century and a quintuple century in first class games •• Nicknamed as “The Prince of Port of Spain” or simply “The Prince”.

GK-82

PEOPLE FOREVER

Duration, Place & Field : •• 7 March 1952 •• St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda •• Cricket Work : Sir Vivian •• 8,540 runs in 121 Test matches at an average of Richards 50.23, including 24 centuries •• As a captain, he won 27 of 50 Test matches and lost only 8 •• Knighted for his contributions to cricket Duration, Place & Field : •• 14 June 1969 •• Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany •• Tennis Work : Steffi Graf •• Won 22 Grand Slam singles titles •• The first and only tennis player (male or female) to achieve the Golden Slam by winning all four Grand Slam singles titles and the Olympic gold medal in the same calendar year in 1988 •• The only tennis player to have won each Grand Slam event at least 4 times.

SPACE TRAVELERS

Duration, Place & Field : •• July 1, 1961 •• Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. •• Track and field athlete Work : Carl Lewis •• Won 10 Olympic medals, including nine gold, and 10 World Championships medals, including eight gold. •• Set world records in the 100 m, 4 × 100 m and 4 × 200 m relays Duration, Place & Field : •• 3 June 1986 •• Manacor, Balearic Islands, Spain •• Tennis Rafael Work : Nadal •• Currently ranked world No. 6 •• Titled “The King of Clay” •• Won 14 Grand Slam singles titles, the 2008 Olympic gold medal in singles, 28 titles in ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events, and 17 ATP World Tour 500tournaments (a record tied with Roger Federer). •• Won the 2014 French Open •• Won Barcelona Open in 2016.

Duration, Place & Field : •• August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012 •• Wapakoneta, Ohio, U.S. •• Astronaut Work : Neil •• First person to walk on the Armstrong Moon •• Commander of Apollo 11, the first manned Moon landing mission in July 1969. •• Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Congressional Space Medal of Honour in 1978 Duration, Place & Field : •• 29 August 1959 •• Sarnia, Ontario, Canada •• Astronaut Work : Chris Hadfield •• The first Canadian to walk in space •• He spent 14 hours 53 minutes and 38 seconds in space

Duration, Place & Field : •• 9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968 •• Klushino, Russian SFSR •• Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin Work : •• The first human to journey into outer space •• Hero of the Soviet Union •• Became deputy training director of the Cosmonaut Training Centre Duration, Place & Field : •• October 31, 1930 •• Rome, Italy •• Astronaut and test pilot Work : Michael •• Flew into space twice •• The fourth person, and third Collins American, to perform an EVA (Extravehicular activity) •• Vice President of LTV Aerospace, 1980

PEOPLE FOREVER

Rakesh Sharma

Kalpana Chawla

Sunita Williams

Eileen Collins

Duration, Place & Field : •• 13 January 1949 •• Patiala, Punjab •• Air Force Pilot & Astronaut Work : •• The first Indian to travel in space •• He spent 7 days 21 hours and 40 minutes aboard the Salyut 7 •• Conferred with the honour of Hero of Soviet Union, Ashoka Chakra Duration, Place & Field : •• March 17, 1962– February 1, 2003 •• Karnal, Punjab •• Astronaut Work : •• The first woman of Indian origin in space •• First flew on Space Shuttle Columbia in 1997 •• Died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster on February 1, 2003 Duration, Place & Field : •• September 19, 1965 •• Euclid, Ohio •• Astronaut Work : •• Holds the records for total spacewalks by a woman (seven) and most spacewalk time for a woman (50 hours, 40 minutes). •• As of March 2016, Williams has made seven spacewalks •• She carried the Hindu holy book Bhagavad Gita during space flights Duration, Place & Field : •• November 19, 1956 •• Elmira, New York, U.S. •• Astronaut Work : •• First female pilot and first female commander of a Space Shuttle. •• Spent 38 days 8 hours and 10 minutes in outer space

GK-83 Duration, Place & Field : •• January 20, 1930 •• Mountainside Hospital, Glen Ridge, New Jersey, U.S. •• Astronaut Buzz Aldrin Work : •• One of the first two humans to land on the Moon, and the second person to walk on it •• Set foot on the Moon at 03:15:16 on July 21, 1969 (UTC), following mission commander Neil Armstrong •• Books: Return to Earth (1973), Men From Earth (1989), Reaching for the Moon (2005), Look to the Stars (2009) and Magnificent Desolation (2009) Duration, Place & Field : •• October 17, 1956 •• Decatur, Alabama, U.S •• Astronaut Work : •• The first African-American Mae C. Jemison woman to travel in space •• Holds nine honorary doctorates in science, engineering, letters, and the humanities •• Current principal of the 100 Year Starship Duration, Place & Field : •• July 18, 1921 •• Cambridge, Ohio, U.S. •• Astronaut Work : John Glen •• On February 20, 1962, Glenn flew the Friendship 7 mission and became the first American to orbit the Earth and the fifth person in space •• Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 1978 •• Flew as a Payload Specialist on Discovery mission STS95.

GK-84

LITERARY PERSONALITIES Duration, Place & Field : •• Between the 12th and 8th Century BC •• Ionia, Smyrna •• Greek Poet Homer Work : •• Iliad and the Odyssey •• Author of the first known literature of Europe Duration, Place & Field : •• c. 1265 – 1321 •• Florence, Republic of Florence, Italy •• Italian poet Dante Work : •• Divine Comedy •• The Father of the Italian language Duration, Place & Field : •• 1551 – 12 August 1602 •• Agra, Uttar Pradesh •• Vizier of the Mughal Abul Fazl emperor Akbar, and author Work : •• Akbarnama, Ain-i-Akbari Duration, Place & Field : •• 27 December 1797 – 15 February 1869 •• Kala Mahal, Agra •• Urdu and Persian poet Ghalib Work : •• Ghazal, Qasida, Rubai, Qat’aa •• The last great poet of the Mughal Era Duration, Place & Field : •• 5000 years ago •• Damauli of Tanahi district, now in Nepal •• Author Work : Ved Vyasa •• Classified the Vedas •• The Mahabharata •• Guru Purnima, is dedicated to him, and also known as the Vyasa Purnima it is the day, which is believed to be his birthday.

PEOPLE FOREVER Duration, Place & Field : •• November 9, 1877 – April 21, 1938 •• Sialkot, Punjab •• Poet Work : Muhammad •• Spiritual father of Pakistan Iqbal •• Asrar-e-Khudi, 1915, Rumuzi-Bekhudi, Payam-i-Mashriq, Zabur-i-Ajam. Bang-i-Dara, Bal-i-Jibril, Zarb-i Kalim and a part of Armughan-e-Hijaz, Sare Jahan Se Achcha Duration, Place & Field : •• 1440 CE- 1518 CE •• Lahartara, Kashi Varanasi •• Weaver, poet Work : •• Influenced the Bhakti Kabir movement, Sant Mat and Kabir Panth movements. Having hymns included in the Guru Granth Sahib •• His verses are found in Sikhism’s scripture Adi Granth Duration, Place & Field : •• 4th century AD •• Classical Sanskrit writer Work : •• Abhijnānaśākuntalam, Raghuvaṃśa, Meghadūta, Kalidasa Vikramōrvaśīyam, Kumārasambhava Duration, Place & Field : •• 31 July 1880– 8 October 1936 •• Lamhi, a village near Banaras •• Modern Hindi-Urdu literature Work : •• Known as Upanyas Samrat •• Godaan, Bazaar-e-Husn, Munshi Premchand Karmabhoomi, Shatranj ke khiladi, Gaban Duration, Place & Field : •• 26 June 1838–8 April 1894 •• 24 Parganas, Naihati, Bengal •• Bengali writer, poet and journalist Work : Bankim Chandra •• Composed India’s national song Vande Mataram Chatterjee •• Anandamath, Durgeshn-ondini, Kapalkundala, Mrinalini

PEOPLE FOREVER Duration, Place & Field : •• 15 September 1876 – 16 January 1938 •• Devanandapur, Hooghly, West Bengal Sarat •• Bengali novelist Chandra Work : Chatterjee •• Palli Samaj, Choritrohin, Devdas, Nishkriti, Srikanta, Griha Daha, Sesh Prasna and Sesher Parichay Duration, Place & Field : •• 1478 AD- 1581 AD •• Runakta,Mathura •• Saint, poet and musician Work : •• Sur Sagar, Sur-Saravali, SahityaLahiri Surdas •• Considered a saguna bhakti poet Duration, Place & Field : •• 500 century BCE •• Banks of the Ganges in ancient India •• Harbinger-poet in Sanskrit literature Valmiki Work : •• Adi Kavi, Maharishi •• Works: Ramayana, Yoga Vasistha Duration, Place & Field : •• 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941 •• Jorasanko mansion, Kolkata •• Author, poet Work : Rabindranath •• Known as Gurudev Tagore •• The first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913 •• Gitanjali, Gora, Ghare-Baire, Rabindra Sangeet, Amar Shonar Bangla •• Composed national anthems of India’s Jana Gana Mana and Bangladesh’s Amar Shonar Bangla Duration, Place & Field : •• 20 June 1952 •• Kolkata, West Bengal •• Novelist and poet Work : Vikram Seth •• A Suitable Boy, The Golden Gate, An Equal Music, A Suitable Girl.

GK-85 Duration, Place & Field : •• 24 November 1961 •• Shillong, Meghalaya •• Author, Writer Work : Arundhati •• Won the Man Booker Prize Roy for Fiction in 1997, Sydney Peace Prize (2004), Norman Mailer Prize, 2011 •• The God of Small Things, The End of Imagination, Power Politics, An Ordinary Person’s Guide To Empire, The Checkbook and the Cruise Missile Duration, Place & Field : •• 12 December 1905 – 28 September 2004 •• Peshawar currently in Pakistan •• Writer Mulk Raj Work : Anand •• First writers to incorporate Punjabi and Hindustani idioms into English •• Untouchable (1935), Coolie (1936), Two Leaves and a Bud (1937), The Village (1939), Across the Black Waters (1939), The Sword and the Sickle (1942), The Big Heart (1945), The Private Life of an Indian Prince (1953) Duration, Place & Field : •• 10 October 1906 – 13 May 2001 •• Chennai, Tamil Nadu •• Author, Writer R. K. Narayan Work : •• Swami and Friends, The Bachelor of Arts, The Dark Room, The English Teacher, Mr. Sampath, The Financial Expert, Waiting for the Mahatma, The Guide, The Man-Eater of Malgudi, The Vendor of Sweets, Malgudi Days

GK-86 Duration, Place & Field : •• 19 June 1947 •• Mumbai, Maharashtra •• British Indian novelist and essayist Salman Work : Rushdie •• Won the Booker Prize in 1981for Midnight’s Children •• Grimus (1975), Midnight’s Children (1981), Shame (1983), The Satanic Verses (1988), The Moor’s Last Sigh (1995), The Ground Beneath Her Feet (1999), Fury (2001), Shalimar the Clown (2005), The Enchantress of Florence (2008), Two Years Eight Months and TwentyEight Nights (2015) Duration, Place & Field : •• 17 August 1932 •• Chaguanas, Caroni County, Trinidad and Tobago •• Novelist, travel writer, essayist Work : V S Naipaul •• Booker Prize 1971, Nobel Prize in Literature 2001 •• A House for Mr Biswas, In a Free State, A Bend in the River, The Enigma of Arrival Duration, Place & Field : •• 2 February 1915 – 20 March 2014 •• Hadali, Khushab District, Punjab Khushwant •• Journalist, writer, historian, Singh critic Work : •• The Mark of Vishnu and Other Stories, (Short Story) 1950, The History of Sikhs, 1953, Train to Pakistan, (Novel) 1956, The Voice of God and Other Stories, (Short Story) 1957, I Shall Not Hear the Nightingale, (Novel) 1959, The Sikhs Today, 1959, With Malice towards One and All •• Awards: Rockefeller Grant, 1966, Honest Man of the Year, Punjab Rattan, Sahitya Akademi Fellowship

PEOPLE FOREVER Duration, Place & Field : •• 23 November 1897 – 1 August 1999 •• Kishoreganj, Bangladesh •• Writer Work : Nirad •• The Autobiography of Chandra an Unknown Indian, The Chaudhuri Continent of Circe, Thy Hand, Great Anarch!, Three Horsemen of the New Apocalypse, The Intellectual in India (1967), To Live or Not to Live (1971), Scholar Extraordinary, Culture in the Vanity Bag (1976), Clive of India (1975), Hinduism: A Religion to Live by (1979) Duration, Place & Field : •• 22 April 1974 •• New Delhi •• Novelist, Columnist Work : Chetan •• Five Point Someone, One Bhagat Night @ the Call Center, Half Girlfriend, The 3 Mistakes of My Life, 2 States: The Story of My Marriage, Revolution 2020, One Indian Girl Duration, Place & Field : •• 26 March 1907 - 11 September 1987 •• Farrukhabad, Uttar Pradesh •• Hindi poet Work : Mahadevi •• Neehar (1930), Rashmi (1932), Varma Neeraja (1934), Sandhyageet (1936), Deepshikha (1939), Agnirekha Duration, Place & Field : •• 14 January 1926 – 28 July 2016 •• Dhaka, Bangladesh •• Fiction writer Mahasweta Work : Devi •• Hajar Churashir Maa, Aranyer Adhikar, Agnigarbha, Murti, Neerete Megh, Stanyadayani, Chotti Munda Evam Tar Tir •• Sahitya Akademi Award (Bengali)

PEOPLE FOREVER Duration, Place & Field : •• 19 May 1934 •• Kasauli, Punjab States Agency, British India •• Writer Work : Ruskin •• Our Trees Still Grow in Bond Dehra, The Blue Umbrella, A Flight of Pigeons, The Night Train at Deoli •• John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, Sahitya Akademi Award, Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan Duration, Place & Field : •• 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870 •• Landport, Hampshire, England •• writer and social critic Work : Charles •• Works: The Pickwick Papers, Dickens Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, David Copperfield, Bleak House, Hard Times, Little Dorrit, A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations Duration, Place & Field : •• 9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674 •• Bread Street, Cheapside, London •• English poet Work : John Milton •• L’Allegro, Il Penseroso, Lycidas, Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, Samson Agonistes Duration, Place & Field : •• 31 July 1965 •• Yate, Gloucestershire, England •• Novelist Work : J. K. Rowling •• Harry Potter series, The Casual Vacancy (2012), The Cuckoo’s Calling (2013), The Silkworm (2014) and Career of Evil (2015). Duration, Place & Field : •• Feb 2, 1882 – Jan 13, 1991 •• Rathar, Republic of Ireland. •• Irish Novelist and Poet. James Joyce Work : •• Works: Ulysses (1922), A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916) •• He used stream of consciousness technique

GK-87 Duration, Place & Field : •• 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616 •• Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England •• Poet, playwright William Shakespeare Work : •• Regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world’s pre-eminent dramatist •• England’s national poet, and the Bard of Avon •• Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth Duration, Place & Field : •• September 9, 1828-November 20, 1910 •• Yasnaya Polyana, Russian Empire Leo Tolstoy •• Writer Work : •• War and Peace, Anna Karenina, The Death of Ivan Ilyich, The Kingdom of God is Within You, Resurrection Duration, Place & Field : •• 22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880 •• Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England •• English novelist, poet, George Work : Eliot •• The Mill on the Floss (1860), Silas Marner (1861), Middlemarch (1871–72), Daniel Deronda (1876) •• 1 January 1879 – 7 June 1970 •• Marylebone, Middlesex, England •• Novelist, short story writer Work : •• Where Angels Fear to Tread E. M. Forster (1905), The Longest Journey (1907), A Room with a View (1908), Howards End (1910), A Passage to India (1924), Maurice

GK-88

George Bernard Shaw Vishnu Sharma

PEOPLE FOREVER Duration, Place & Field : •• 26 July 1856–2 November 1950 •• Dublin, Ireland •• Anglo-Irish playwright, critic Work : •• Pygmalion, Heartbreak House, Major Barbara, Saint Joan, Man and Superman •• Nobel Prize in Literature 1925. Duration, Place & Field : •• 3rd century BCE •• Kashmir •• Scholar and author Work : •• Panchatantra

T. S. Eliot

Duration, Place & Field : •• 26 September 1888 – 4 January 1965 •• St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. •• Poet & Critic Work : •• Works: The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock (1915), The Waste Land (1922), Four Quartets (1944) •• Nobel Prize in Literature (1948), Order of Merit (1948)

HISTORY

GK-89

HISTORY u India u World

TOP HISTORICAL TRENDS/ EVENTS/ DEVELOPMENT THAT CHANGED THE WORLD

INDIAN HISTORY MIND MAP ANCIENT  Indus Valley Civilization  Magadh Empire  Gupta Empire

 Vedic Period/Aryan  Maurya Dynasty  Harshvardhana

 Jainism & Buddhism  Kushan Dynasty  Southern Kingdom

MEDIEVAL  Delhi Sultanate  Mughal Dynasty

 

Vijayanagar Advent of Europeans

 

Bhakti & Sufi Movement Kingdom of Great Marathas

MODERN  Trade Initiation of British  East India Company  British Rule before 1857  Sepoy Mutiny 1857  Freedom Struggle :  Rowlatt Act (1919)  Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (1919)  Chauri Chaura (1922)  Non Cooperation Movement (1920-22)  Civil Disobedience Movement (1930)  Quit-India Movement (1942)  Partition of India (1947), etc.

GK-90

HISTORY

ANCIENT INDIA Pre Historic Ages

Bronze Age

Stone Age

•• It began with the development of Indus valley civilization around 3000 BC and continued up to 1300 BC. •• People started using weapons and agricultural tools made of Bronze, an alloy of copper and tin. •• It had opened the trade networks of Mesopotamia civilization to reach out in various directions. •• The age came to an end primarily because of the fact that the metals used as alloy in manufacturing bronze were not very common and widely found. More over the expenses of making bronze were high at that time.

••

•• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• ••

Pre - historic period is divided into three sections- Stone age, Bronze age and Iron age. Stone age is divided into three periods i.e. Palaeolithic Age, Mesolithic Age and Neolithic Age. Lower Palaeolithic Age covers the greater part of the Ice Age. The people of this age used to eat fruits, birds, raw animal flesh etc. The tools were usually made of hard rock. In Middle Palaeolithic age, a change occurred in the shape of tools which were made of stones or bones. In Upper Palaeolithic age, human lived as nomadic hunter and gatherers. Mesolithic Age was an intermediate stage in the stone age. It ended with the introduction of agriculture. Neolithic age was an age of polished tool culture. Tool making became an important profession and a variety of polished tools were manufactured. They learnt the art of pottery and their pots were well made and decorated with paintings. They discovered the art of producing fire by the friction of stones and the wheel was also an important discovery of this age.

Chalcolithic Age

•• Chalcolithic Age is marked by the use of copper as copper age. •• The economy was based on subsistence agriculture, stock-raising, hunting and fishing. •• Neither they milked animals for dairy products. •• It was a transitional stage when both bronze, copper and stone tools were used and humans started living settled life.

Iron Age

•• It was the last principal period among the three-age system of prehistoric societies, preceded by the Bronze age. •• The development of this era was due to the weapons and tools made by iron. Other changes in the society such as agricultural practices, religious belief and inclinations towards art were started. •• The age began in the 6th century BCE in northern Europe and 8th century BCE in central Europe and by 12th century BCE in the East, i.e. ancient Iran, ancient India, and ancient Greece. •• In India the late Harappan Culture was marked with the Iron Age archaeological cultures of India with emphasis given on the Painted Grey Ware culture (1200 to 600 BCE) and the Northern Black Polished Ware (700 to 200 BCE).

Indus Valley Civilization

Indus Valley Civilization was the most ancient urban civilization in this world which flourished on the bank of Indus River during Bronze Age Period. The important cities under this civilizations were :

There is an evidence of livestock breeding at the end of middle stone age period.

GK-91

HISTORY IMPORTANT SITES OF INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION Name of Sites

Year of Excavation

Harappa Punjab (Pakistan) River Ravi

1921

Mohenjodaro Sindh (Pakistan) River Indus

1922

Excavators

Daya Ram Sahni, • City followed grid planning Madho Sarup • Row of six granaries Vatsa, Wheeler • Only place having evidences of coffin burial • Evidence of fractional burial and coffin burial • Cemetery-H of alien people. • Virgin-Goddess (Seal) • Stone symbol of Lingam and Yoni • Painted Pottery

R.D. Banerjee, Mackay, Wheeler

Chanhu-daro 1931 Sindh (Pakistan) River Indus

N. Gopal Majumdar, Mackay

Kalibangan 1953 Rajasthan (India) River Ghaggar

A. Ghosh, B.V. Lal, B.K. Thapar

Lothal Gujarat (India) River Bhogava

S.R. Rao

1953

Features

• Great Granary, Great Bath Assembly hall • Pashupati Mahadeva Seal • Bronze image of nude woman dancer • Human Skeltons huddled together • Clay figures of Mother Goddess • A fragment of woven cotton • Brick Kilns and Dice

• A city without citadel • Inkpot, Lipstick • Shell ornament makers’ shop and bead makers’ shop • Footprint of dog on a brick • Terracotta model of a bullock cart, Bronze toy cart • Town was flooded more than seven times. • Shows both Pre Harappan and Harappan phase • Evidence of furrowed land • Evidence of seven fire altars and camel bones • Many houses had their own well • Kalibangan stand for black bangles • Evidence of wooden furrow

• A titled floor which bears intersecting design of circles • Remains of rice husk • Evidence of horse from a terracotta figurine • A ship designed on a seal • Beads & trade ports • An instrument for measuring angles, pointing to modern day compass • Dockyard

Barley was the first grown crop by human in the Middle East around 8000 B.C.

GK-92

HISTORY

Banwali Hisar Haryana

1974

R.S. Bisht

Amri Sindh

1935

N.G. Majumdar

1953

M.S. Vats, B.B. Lal & S.R. Rao

1958

Y.D. Sharma

Dholavira Gujarat 1985-90 Rangpur Gujarat River Mahar Ropar Punjab River Sutlej

Alamgirpur Ghaziabad

1953

R.S. Bisht

Y.D. Sharma

Early Vedic Period/ Aryan (1500– 500 BCE) •• The earliest specimen of Indo-European language is Rig Veda. Aryans were the people who spoke Indo-European languages basically belonging to Central Asia, migrated to India. •• They settled themselves in Sapta Sindhu the land of seven rivers in north-western region of India which included Kubha river of Afghanistan along with Indus and its five tributaries. •• According to the oldest Vedic literature (Rig Veda) the Aryan king came into conflict with Dasa (branch of early Aryans) and Dasyus (original inhabitants of the country). They were soft to Dasas but strongly hostile to Dasyus. •• Gradually the region came to be known as Bharatavarsha named after the tribe Bharata. This clan consists of 5 Aryan chiefs and 5 non-Aryan chiefs. Dasrajna Yudha or Battle of ten Kings has been mentioned in hymns of Rig Veda. •• The battle was fought on the bank of river Parusni, identical to river Ravi and was won by Bharatas.

• Shows both Pre-Harappan and Harppan phase • Good quantity of barley found here • Evidence of antelope

• Seven cultural stages • Largest site • Three part of city • Unique water management • Rice was cultivated

• Evidence of burying a dog below the human burial • One example of rectangular mudbrick chamber was noticed • Five fold cultures - Harappan, PGW, NBP, Kushana - Gupta and Medieval • The impression of cloth on a trough is discovered • Usually considered to be the eastern boundary of the Indus culture

•• Samgrama meant that gram clashed with one another and caused war. •• The Aryans were pastoral people and fought most of the war for it. Rig Veda is “gavisihthi” or search for cows as they were the most important form of wealth. •• The concept of women slave was most common. Women and cows were gifted to the priests in those days. •• Voluntary offering to the chief was known as bali. •• Two priests who played important role during this time were Vasishtha and Vishvamitra. •• The people of Vedic period were theists. Vedic literature shows the existence of god. The religion of the Vedic Aryan worshipped nature with one in many concepts. •• Indra (rain god) was important as he played role of a warlord. 250 hymns were devoted to him. •• Agni (fire god) was devoted 200 hymns. Varuna, Soma (plant god), female divinities like Aditi and Usha were also worshipped but were not given importance as the male gods.

First evidence of human in India was found in western Narmada region in Madhya Pradesh.

GK-93

HISTORY •• The administrative machinery worked under tribal chief called as Rajans. Clan based assemblies were found such as sabha, samiti, vidatha, gana. Women attended sabha and vidatha. •• Social structure of the society was based on the kinship. Common term for nephew, grandson and cousin was naptri.

Later Vedic Period Vedic Literature (1500 BC - 500 BC)

•• It is believed that the Rig Veda was composed while the Aryans were still in Punjab. •• Vedic Literature comprises of four literary productions: 1. The Samhitas or vedas 2. The Brahamans 3. The Aranyakas 4. The Upanishads •• There are four vedas- Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda. The first three vedas are jointly called Vedatrayi (trio of vedas). Rig Veda (collection of lyrics) is the oldest text in the world. It contains 10,500 verses and 1028 hymns, divided into 10 mandalas. The hymns of Rig Veda were recited by Hotri. It is the tenth mandalas which explains the four varnas. Sama Veda (Book of chants) is important for Indian music. The hymns of sama veda were recited by Udgatri. Yajur Veda (book of sacrificial prayers) is a ritual veda. It has both verses and prose in contrast with the fist two vedas. Its hymns were recited by Adhveryus. It is divided into two parts- Krishna Yajur and Shukla yajur. Atharva veda (book of magical formulae) contains charms and spells to word of evils and diseases. Every veda has several Brahmanas attached to it: Rig Veda: Aitareya and Kaushitiki Sama Veda: Panchvisha, Shadvinsh, Chhandogya and Jaiminaya

Yajur Veda: Shatapatha (The oldest and the largest Brahmana) and Taittariya. Atharva Veda: Gopatha

Jainism

•• There were 24 Thirthankaras according to Jain tradition. Rishabha Adinath (symbol-Bull) was the first and Mahavira (symbol-Lion) was the last Thirthankara. •• There is historical proof of only the last two Thirthankaras, Parshwanath (23rd) and Mahavira (24th) while rest are obscure.

Parshvanatha

He was a prince of Benaras who led the life of a hermit and died at Shikharji, Giridih, Jharkhand. His four main teachings were called chaturthi. 1. Ahimsa (Non-injury) 2. Satya (Non-lying)

3. Asteya (Non-stealing)

4. Aparigraha (Non-possession)

Mahavira

He adopted all these four teachings and added Brahmacharya (Chastity) to it. Mahavira was born in 540 BC in a village called Kundagram near Vaishali in Bihar. •• He renounced his family at the age of 30 and became an ascetic. •• He attained kaivalya (perfect knowledge) at the age of 42 under a sal tree at Jambhika grama on the bank of river Rijupalika. •• He came to be known as Kevalin (perfect learned), Jina (one who conquered his senses), Nirgrontha (free from all bonds), Arhant (blessed one) and Mahavira (the brave). •• He delivered his first sermon at Pava to his 11 disciples who were called Gandharas. •• He passed away at Pavapuri near Bihar Sharif, Bihar at the age of 72 in 468 BC. •• Sudharma was the only Gandhara who survived after his death.

Lahuradeva in Uttar Pradesh are the site for oldest agricultural region in the Indian sub-continent.

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HISTORY

Jain Council 1st

2nd

Year

Venne

Chairman

300BC

Patliputra

Sthulabhadra

512 AD

Buddhism

Vallabhi

Devardhi Kshmasramana

Gautama Buddha He was the founder of Buddhism. He was born in 563 BC on the vaisakha purnima day at Lumbinivana, Nepal in the Sakya Kshatriya clan. •• At the age of 29, he renounced home, this was his Mahabhinish Kramana (great going forth) and became a wandering ascetic. •• After 49 days of continuous meditation under a pipal tree at Uruvella (Bodh Gaya) on the bank of river Naranjana (modern name Falgu) he attained Nirvana (enlightment). •• Buddha delivered his first sermon at Sarnath (Deer Park) to his five disciples, this is known as Dharamachakro Pravartana. •• He died at the age of 80 in 483 BC at Kushinagar. This is known as Mahaparinirvana. Important event of Buddha’s life

Symbols

Janma (Birth)

Lotus and Bull

Nirvana/Sambodhi (Enlightenment)

Bodhi tree

Mahabhinish Kraman (Renunciation)

Horse

Dharamachakra Wheel Pravartana (First Sermon) Mahaparinirvana (Death)

Stupa

24 Tirthankaras

Name

Symbol

Rishabha

Bull

Ajitnath

Elephant

The original script of the Rigveda is in Brahmi.

Result Compilation of 12 Angas

Final compilation of 12 Angas and 12 Upangas

Sambharnath

Horse

Sumatinath

Curlew

Abhiaandam

Padmaprabhu

Suparswanath

Chandraji Prabhu Suvidhinath Shitalnath

Shreganath Vasupujya

Vimalnath

Anantnath

Dharamanath Shantinath Kuntunath Arnath

Mallinath

Muniswasth Neminath

Arishtanemi

Parshwanath Mahavira

Mahajanapadas

Monkey Red Louts Swastik Moon

Crocodile Srivatsa

Rhinoceros Buffalo Boar

Falcon Vajra Deer

He-Goat Fish

Waterpot Tortoise

Blue Lotus

Conch Shell Serpent Lion

During the age of Buddha whole of northern territory especially north of Vindyan was divided into sixteen states called Sodasha Mahajanapadas either monarchical or republican in character. The kingdoms of Magadh, Koshala, Vatsa and Avanti were considered powerful. Buddhist literature “Anguttara Nikaya” listed them as:

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HISTORY Mahajanapadas

Capital

Present place

Gandhara

Taxila

A part of Afghanistan

Asmaka

Potana

Godavari Valley

Kamboja Vatsa

Avanti

Surasena Chedi Malla

Kurus

Matasya Vajjis Anga

Kashi

Kosala

Magadha Panchala

Magadha Empire

Rajauri

Part of Kashmir and Afghanistan

Kaushambi

Allahabad

Ujjain

Malwa and a part of M.P

Mathura

Shuktimati

Kushinara, Pawa

Mathura in U.P

Hastinapur/Indraprashta Virat Nagari Vaishali

Champa Banaras

Shravasti

Girivraja/Rajgriha

Ahichhatra/Kampilya

Magadha eventually emerged as one of the most powerful Mahajanpadas mainly because of its peculiar geographical location. It was bordered by Ganga River in north, Son River in west, Vindhya ranges in south and Champa in East. The various dynasties which ruled over Magadh are as follows:

Haryanaka Dynasty (544 BC-412 BC)

King Bimbisara He was the founder of the Haryanka dynasty. He was a contemporary of Lord Buddha. Bimbisara married Kosala Devi, sister of the Kosalan king Prasenajit, and obtained a portion of Kasi as dowry. He also married Chellana, the Lichchavi princess of Vaishali, Vasavi, the Videha princess and the Madra princess, Khema, thus increasing Magadha’s powers by marital ties. Ajatshatru Ajatshatru, Bimbisara’s son, killed him to ascend the throne in 493 B.C. As a result, Kosalan king Prasenjit revoked the gift of

Bundelkhand in M.P Eastern U.P

Delhi and Meerut Jaipur and Alwar North Bihar

Bhagalpur and Munger in Bihar Banaras

Oudh in U.P

Patna and Gaya in Bihar Rohilkhand in U.P

Kasi village made to Bimbisara. This brought about a war between Magadha and Kosala. The war ended in a truce. Ajatasatru got back Kasi and married Prasenjit’s daughter, Vajira Kumari. After 16 years-long battle with the Lichchavis, he conquered Vaishali. Kosala too, fell to him. Gradually, the whole of north Bihar came under his control and Magadha held its sway over Eastern India. Ajatasatru was succeeded by his son, Udayabhadra (459 B.C). He shifted the capital to Pataliputra at the confluence of the Ganges and the Son rivers. Later Pataliputra became the capital of India. A succession of three weak kings, Anuruddha, Munda and Nagadasaka ascended the throne after him. In 430 B.C., the last Haryanka ruler, Nagadasaka, was killed by his courtier, Shishunaga, who became the king and founded the Shishunaga dynasty.

Shishunaga Dynasty (412-344 BC)

Shishunaga made Grivraja his residence and deputed his son to Banaras. Shishunaga was succeeded by Kalasoka. During

Yapniya was the sect of Jainism which originated from Digambar sect but followed certain Svetambar beliefs too.

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Kalasoka, Pataliputra became the capital of Magadha. In Puranas he is mentioned as Kakavarna and in Sri Lankan texts he is mentioned as Kalasoka. Kalasoka & Second Buddhist Council The second Buddhist Council was sponsored by Kalasoka at Vaishali in 383 BC. This council was invited by a Buddhist monk Yasa, who saw the local monks of Vaishali following the teaching carelessly. The dispute was on 10 points such as storing salt in horn, eating after midday, eating once and going to villages for alms, eating sour milk after one’s meal etc. It was not settled and Buddhism sects appeared for the first time. President of this council was Sabakami. The last rulers of Shishunaga Dynasty were 10 sons of Kalasoka who ruled simultaneously. Out of them one son Nandivardhana is mentioned in Puranas.

Nanda Dynasty (344-321 BC)

Mahapadmananda was the first ruler of the Nanda Dynasty. There are several theories about the birth of Mahapadmananda. The Purana theory say that Mahapadmananda was son of Nandivardhana & a Shudra Woman. Another theory says that there was a good-looking barber, who won the heart of the queen who subsequently killed the king. Mahapadmananda was the son of this barber. Whatever may be correct but this was the line which started the trend of lowborn (as of contemporary conditions) rule started in Magadha. Mahapadmananda had a large army and that is why he is called Ugrasena. His army might have been so large that it could be arranged in a Lotus shape: Padmavyuh. He might have been so wealthy that his wealth was in Padama, a unit of counting equivalent to a million multiplied by a billion. Mahapadmananda subdued all the major powers such as Ikasvakus, Kurus, Panchals, Kasis, Surasens, Maithilas, kalingas, Asmakas etc. and that is why Puranas mentioned his name Sarvakhstrantaka (destroyer of all Kshtras) equivalent to Parshurama. The Nandas were the first Non Kshatriya rulers in the history of India. The last ruler was Dhana Nanda who was over thrown

HISTORY by Chandragupta Maurya thus founding Mauryan Empire in 321 BC. Alexander, the great invaded India in 326 BC during the rule of Dhanananda. Dhanananda is mentioned as Xandrames or Aggrammes or Ganderites in the Greek historical texts.

Mauryan Empire (322-185 BC)

The Maurya Empire was founded by Chandragupta Maurya, with the help from Chanakya, a Brahmin teacher at Takshashila who dethroned the last Nanda ruler Dhana Nanda. • Chandragupta Maurya defeated Seleucus Nicator in 305 BC, who surrendered a vast territory and the Hindukush became the boundary of their states. • A Greek ambassador Megasthenes was sent to the Court of Chandragupta by Seleucus Nicator. • In the last stage of his life Chandragupta Maurya accepted Jainism and went to Sravanbelagola in Karnataka with Bhadrabaha. • He was as sandrocottus by strabo and recognised/discovered by William Jones.

Bindusara (298-273 BC) •

•

He succeeded Chandragupta Maurya. Bindusara was know as Amitrochates to the Greeks, probably derived from the Sanskrit world Amitraghata. He is believed to have raided the Deccan (upto Mysore). He patronised Ajivikas.

Ashoka (273BC- 232BC) • • •

Ashoka was the son of Bindusara who successed him, by usurping the throne after killing his 99 brothers and spared Tissa, the youngest one. Ashoka fought the Kalinga war in 261 BC. He abandoned the policy of physical occupation after he was moved by the massacre in this war. The last Mauryan ruler Brihadratha was assasinated in 185 BC by his Commander-in-chief, Pushyamitra Sunga who established his own Sunga dynasty.

Shyadvade also known as Anekantvada is the theory and Philosophy of Jainism of ancient times.

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HISTORY Ashokan Edicts and Information Inscriptions I. Rock Edicts

Place

14 Major Rock Edicts Various Principles of Dhamma

Manshera (Pakistan) Shahbajgarhi (Mardan, Pakistan), Kalsi (Dehradun, Uttarakhand), Junagadh (Girnar, Gujarat), Sopara (Thane, Maharashtra), Yerragudi (Kurnul, Andhra Pradesh), Dhauli (Khurda, Odisha), Jaugada (Ganjam, Odisha)

2 Kalinga Rock Edicts

Minor Rock Edicts

New system of administration after the Kalinga war

Personal history of Ashoka and summary of his dhamma

Dauli or Tosali (Khurda, Odisha), Jaugada (Ganjam, Odisha)

Sasaram (Bihar), Maski (Andhra Pradesh), BhabruBairat (Rajasthan), Rupanath (MP), Gavimath, Palkig-undu, Siddhpur, Jating Rameshwar, Brahmagiri (Karnataka) Bhabru-Bairat Rock Ashoka’ conversion to Bhabru-Bairat (Rajasthan) Edicts Buddhism II. Pillar Edicts 7 Pillar Edicts 4 Minor Pillar Edicts 2 Tarai Pillar Edicts III. Cave Edicts

Appendix to rock Edicts Meerut-Delhi (Chhoti Lata), Topra-Delhi (Badi Lata), Allahabad (UP); Lauriya Nandangadh, Lauriya Areraj and Rampurva (Bihar) Signs of Ashoka’s Sanchi (MP), Sarnath and Allahabad (UP) fanaticism to Dhamma

Ashoka’s respect for Rummandei/Lumbini and Nigaliva (Tarai of Nepal) Buddhism

3 Barabar Cave Edicts Ashoka’s toleration

Barabar Hills (Gaya, Bihar)

ASHOKAN 14 MAJOR ROCK EDICTS

S. No.

Informations

Prohibition of animal sacrifices and festive gatherings.

Courtesy to relatives, elders, consideration for animals.

2. 3. 5. 6. 7. 9

10. 11. 12. 13. 14.

Measures of social welfare. Respect to Brahamanas.

Appointment of Dhamma Mahamatras and their duties.

Need for efficient organisation of administration (orders to Dhamma Mahamatras). Need for tolerance among all religious sects. System of Dhamma-yatras.

Attack on meaningless ceremonies and rituals. Conquest through Dhamma instead of war. Explanation of Dhamma-policy.

Appeal for tolerance among all religious sects.

Kalinga war, mention 5 contemporary Hellenic (Greek) kings. Inspiration to spend religious life.

Ujjain was known as Avantika in the ancient times.

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Shunga (Sunga) Dynasty

(185 BC–73 BC)

Four rulers of Shunga or Sunga Dynasty were Pushyamitra Sunga (185 BC to 151 BC), Agnimitra (149 BC-141 BC), Bhagabhadra (114 BC-83 BC) and Devabhuti (87-73 BC).

Pushyamitra Sunga (185 BC to 151 BC) Pushyamitra Shunga was the founder and hero of the Shunga dynasty. He was viceroy of the Mauryas at Ujjain and was a real war hero. He was not happy with his king Brihadratha, who failed in containing the Yavanas and attacks from the western sides. Pushyamitra is also known to have repelled the Kalinga’s king Kharvela conquest. The Ayodhya Inscription of Dhandeva mentions that he performed two Ashwamedha Yagyas (Horse Sacrifices). Agnimitra, the second king of Shunga dynasty, succeeded his father Pushyamitra Shunga and reigned for a short period of 8 years. He is the hero of Malvikagnimitram of Kalidasa in which he has been referred to as Raja.

Bhagabhadra

We know about the king Bhagabhadra by a Heliodorus pillar, which has been found in Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh near modern Besnagar. Heliodorus was a Greek ambassador and he dedicated this pillar to God Vasudeva (Vishnu). The Heliodorus pillar has a surmounted figure of a Garuda.

Devabhuti

Devabhuti was the last Shunga Ruler who was killed by his own minister Vasudeva Kanva in around 73 BC and founded the Kanva Dynasty.

Satvahana Dynasty (167–196 AD)

Simuka was the founder of this dynasty. It was situated between the region of Krishna and Godavari rivers. Most powerful king of the dynasty was Gautamiputra Satakarni (A.D. 106-130). He defeated the Sakas, Yavanas (Greeks) and Pahlavas (Parithans).

Kushan Dynasty (30–375 AD)

Kanishka was the greatest ruler of this dynasty and is known for his military powers. Bhagwat were the first to worship Vasudev Krishna.

HISTORY The Capital of Kushans is Purushpura (Peshawar). Kanishka is considered to have conflicted with the Pataliputra. He was a patron of Buddhism and convened the 4th Buddhist council in the Kundalvana of Kashmir in 78 AD. Scholars in the Court of Kanishka were Parsva, Vasumitra, Asvaghosa, Nagarjuna, Charaka and Mathara. Sushruta who wrote Sushruta Samhita, has also been connected to Kanishka.

The Gupta Empire (320-550AD)

This period is known as Golden Era. Chandragupta I (319-335 AD)- was the founder and an important ruler of the Gupta dynasty. He was married to Kumaradevi princess of lichchhavi clan, in order to strengthen his position. Samudragupta (335-380 A.D.)- Expanded the kingdom as he was very much delighted by violence. The poet in his court “Harisena” in his works Prayag and Prashasti have described glowing account of the military exploits of the patron. Thus, he was known as “Indian Napoleon”. Chandragupta II- He succeeded Samundragupta. Extended his empire by marriage alliances and conquers. He married his daughter Prabhavati with a Vakataka prince who belonged to the Brahmana caste and ruled in central India. He patronized the famous Navaratnas. Kalidasa and Amarasimha were among them. He conquered western Malwa and Gujarat, ruled by the Saka Kshatrapas for about past four centuries and adopted the title of Vikramaditya after conquering Ujjain. Chinese pilgrim Fa-hien came to India during his reign. •• His son Kumaragupta succeeded him. Kumaragupta’s dominion suffered severely from the invasion of Huna Hordes, all over North India. Skandagupta, son of Kumaragupta defeated Pushyamitra who became powerful during Kumaragupta time. He also defeated the White Hunas. •• Nalanda University was built by Kumargupta. •• The great Mathematician Aryabhata lived during this period. He discovered the number “0” and value of Pi. He wrote “Aryabhatiya” and “Suryasiddhanta.

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HISTORY •• Poets Kalidasa, Dandi, Visakhadatta, Shudraka, and Bharavi, all belonged to the Gupta Age. •• Tamralipti, a port in Bengal , was an important trade centre during Gupta period. •• The empire was divided into divisions: bhuktis (under the charge of an uparika) and vishayas (Districts) under the charge of vishyapati.

Harshavardhana (606-647 A.D.)

•• Fall of Gupta’s and Huna invasion left northern India in a disorder and chaotic situation. It gave rise to small kingdoms like Thaneswar, near Kurukshetra under the leadership of Prabhakarvardhana and his son Harsha. •• He made Kanauj his capital and his kingdom spread over northern India except Kashmir. •• Banabhatta was a poet in his court who wrote Harshacharita describing early history of his reign. •• Chinese pilgrim Hsuan Tsang who visited India during his reign has thrown great deal of light on the administrative, political and social life of that time. He spent his six years of life in India (606612 A.D.). •• Harsha himself wrote Ratnavali, Naganandam and Priyadarshika plays in Sanskrit.

The Pala Empire (750–1174 B.C.) Golden era of Bengal

•• It was Buddhist dynasty from Bengal founded by Gopala I. The empire reached its peak under Dharmapala and Devapala. Dharmapala conquered Kanauj and extended his sway up to the farthest limits of India in the northwest. •• Palas were followers of the Mahayana and Tantric schools of Buddhism, they also patronised Shaivism and Vaishnavism. •• Dharmapala founded the Vikramashila and revived Nalanda. They maintained close cultural and commercial ties with countries of Southeast Asia and Tibet. Sea trade added greatly to the prosperity of the Pala kingdom. The Arab merchant Suleiman notes the enormity of the Pala army in his memoirs.

Southern Kingdoms •• The Pallavas of Kanchi, the Chalukyas of Badami and the Pandyas of Madurai emerged as powerful states in southern India in the beginning of seven century. Pallavas

Pallavas constructed temples of Shiva and Vishnu in Tamil Nadu. •• Epigraphs found in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka between second and third century B.C. were mostly written in Prakrit but around 400 A.D. Sanskrit became official language. •• Pallavas ruled over southern Andhra Pradesh and northern Tamil Nadu. Made Kanchi their capital identical to present Kanchipuram and made it a city of temple and vedic learning.

Chalukyas

•• The Chalukyas setup their sovereign state at Vatapi (modern Bijapur district). •• Pulakesin I (543-567 A.D.) established this dynasty and Pulakesin II (608647AD) was greatest of all rulers. •• Well known Kasivisvesvara Temple at Lakkundi, the Mallikarjuna Temple at Kuruvatti, the Kallesvara Temple at Bagali and the Mahadeva Temple at Itagi were built during Chalukyas reign. •• The Pallavas and Chalukyas were in conflict during Pulakesin II. Narasimhavarman captured his capital during their second clash between the two. Narasimhavarman then assumed the title of vatapikonda (conquer of Vatapi).

Chola Dynasty

Vijayalaya was the founder of Chola Dynasty. Most powerful kings of Chola Dynasty was Rajaraja (985-1014) and his son, Rajendra I. Rajendra I founded a new capital of Gangai Kondacholapuram. He defeated the kings of Sumatra in a naval campaign and annexed a part of Sumarata kingdom to his kingdom. Rajendra Chola III was the last king of the dynasty. Under the Cholas, the South India reached new heights of excellence in art, religion and literature.

Birth, Karma and Bhakti hold the same significance to achieve Moksha according to Bhagvad Gita.

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HISTORY

MEDIEVAL HISTORY Delhi Sultanate Delhi sultanate begins with Turkish invasion in India by Muhammad Ghori in 1173 to 1202. He nominated his faithful slave Qutub ud-Din Aibak as the governor of the newly possessed region called India. During this period Delhi became the centre of Turkish and Afghan Power. Dynasty

Muhammad Ghori slave dynasty (1193-1290)

Khilji (1290-1320)

Tughluq (1320-1395)

Sayyid (1400-1442)

Lodi (1457-1518)

Sultan / Agent

Event Highlights

•• Qutub-ud-din Aibak (1206–1210) •• Construction of world famous •• Aram Shah (1210–1211) monument Qutub Minar by Qutub•• Shams ud din Iltutmish (1211–1236), ud-din Aibak and finished by his •• Rukn ud din Firuz (1236) successors. They attacked temples •• Raziyyat-ud-din Sultana (1236–1240) of Ajmer, Samana, Kuhram, Delhi, •• Muiz ud din Bahram (1240–1242) Kol, Benaras •• Alauddin Masud (1242–1246), •• Construction of Quwat ul-Islam at •• Nasiruddin Mahmud (1246–1266), Delhi, Adhai din ka Jhopra at Ajmer. •• Ghiyas uddin Balban (1266–1286), •• Muiz uddin Qaiqabad (1286–1290),

•• Jalal ud din Firuz Khilji (1290–1296) •• Known for their cruelty as they levied taxes on the defeated •• Alauddin Khilji (1296–1316) community. During the period of •• Umar Khan Khilji (1316) •• Qutb ud din Mubarak Shah (1316- Alauddin Khilji the famous Koh-inoor Diamond of Warangal was 1320) •• Khusro Khan (1320) looted somewhere around 1310 •• Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq (1320-1325) •• Geographically the largest dynasty; •• Muhammad bin Tughluq (1325-1351) Muhammad bin Tughluq was •• Mahmud Ibn Muhammad (March 1351) one of the powerful sultans who •• Firuz Shah Tughluq (1351–1388) changed the capital from Delhi •• Ghiyas-ud-Din Tughlaq II (1388– to Daulatabad (present Deogir in Maharashtra) to rule the empire 1389) •• Abu Bakr Shah (1389–1390) more proficiently thus ordered •• Nasir ud din Muhammad Shah III for forceful migration of common masses. Though a good idea but he (1390–1393) failed to execute. •• Sikander Shah I (March-April 1393) •• Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Shah Tughluq •• Secondly his ideas to introduce (1393–1413) bronze coin instead of silver coin •• Nasir-ud-din Nusrat Shah Tughluq also failed as the bronze coins were easy to forge (1394–1414), •• Khizr Khan (1414–1421) •• Mubarak Shah (1421–1434) •• Muhammad Shah (1434–1445) •• Alam Shah (1445–1451) •• Bahlul Lodi (1451–1489) •• Sikandar Lodi (1489–1517) •• Ibrahim Lodi (1517–1526),

•• The vast Tughlaq dynasty shrunk within 10 miles of Delhi during this period.

•• The dynasty had fought one of the greatest battles in India- Battle of Panipat in 1526 with Babur who was invited by Daulat Khan Lodi to enter India and at the end Ibrahim Lodi lost the battle.

S.A. Dange started the publication of an English Weekly Socialist in 1923.

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HISTORY LITERATURE OF DELHI SULTANATE Book Tabqiq-i-Hind

Author Alberuni

Laila-Majnu

Amir Khusrau

Tabaqat-i-Nasiri

Khazain-ul-Futuh Tughlaq-Nama Nuh-Siphir

Fatawa-i-Jahandri

Tarikha-i-Firoz Shahi Fatwah-i-Firoz Shahi Kitab-fi-Tahqiq

Qanun-e-Masudi

Jawahar-fil-jawahir Qamas

Taj-ul-Maathir Chach Namah

Lubab-ul-Alab Khamsah

Shah Namah

Kitab-ul-Rehla

Miftah-ul-Futuh Multa-ul-Anwar

Ayina-i-Sikandari Hasht Bihisht

Shirin Khusrau

Tarik-i-Firoz Shahi Futuh-us-Salatin

Minhaj-us-Siraj

Historical Importance Alberuni was an Arabian scholar who wrote about the Slave dynasty Gives an account of Iltutmish’s region

Amir Khusrau

Gives account of Ghiyasuddin’s reign

Amir Khusrau Amir Khusrau

Ziauddin Barani Ziauddin Barani Firoz Shah Alberuni Alberuni Alberuni

Firozabadi

Hasan Nizami Abu Bakr Bhukhari

Amir khusrau Firdausi

lbn Battutah

Amir Khusrau Amir Khusrau Amir Khusrau Amir Khusrau Amir Khusrau

Shams-i-Shiraj Afif Isami

Court poet of Alauddin Khilji

Describes conquests of Alauddin Khilji Poetic description of Alauddin Khilji

Gives an account of the Tughlaq dynasty Gives an account of Firoz Shah’s reign Gives an account of his reign About Indian Sciences About astronomy

About mineralogy

Arabic words dictionary

History of IIbaris, the slave dynasty History of Sindh region Persian anthology

Literature and Poems

About Mahmud Ghazni’s reign A travelogue with stories

Jalaluddin’s conquest and life Literary masterpieces Literary masterpieces Literary masterpieces Literary masterpieces History of Tughlaqs

About Bahmani Kingdom

VIJAYANAGARA EMPIRE

Dynasty Emperors Sangama •• Harihara Raya I(1336–1356) Dynasty •• Bukka Raya I (1356–1377) •• Harihara Raya II (1377–1404) •• Virupaksha Raya (1404–1405) •• Bukka Raya II (1405–1406) •• Deva Raya I (1406–1422) •• Ramachandra Raya(1422) •• Vira Vijaya Bukka Raya (1422–1424) •• Deva Raya II (1424–1446) •• Mallikarjuna Raya (1446–1465) •• Virupaksha Raya II (1465–1485) •• Praudha Raya(1485)

Important Highlights •• The rise of Vijayanagar dynasty was the result of political and cultural movement against the Tughlaqs. •• Presumably Harihar I and Bukka I were the founders of this dynasty. •• This dynasty had to face the invasion from Bhamani Sultan Ahmed Lin. •• The kings of this dynasty were generous and worked for the social welfare of the people. •• Some of the kings were great patronage of literature.

Great philosopher and political thinker Chanakya was known with other names such as Kautilya and Vishnugupta.

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HISTORY

Saluva Dynasty

•• Saluva Narasimha Deva Raya ( 1 4 8 5 – •• The Saluva started ruling soon after 1491) Saluva Narasimha had a fight with •• Thimma Bhupala (1491) the Sambetas of Peranipadu and the •• Narasimha Raya II (1491–1505) Paligers of Ummattur but they couldn’t sustain power for a very long period •• Tuluva Narasa Nayaka (1491–1503) •• Founded by Tuluva Narasa Nayak, the •• Vira Narasimha Raya (1503–1509) third Hindu dynasty of Vijayanagar Empire seemed to be the most powerful •• Krishna Deva Raya (1509–1529) •• Achyuta Deva Raya (1529–1542) dynasties. Tuluva •• Venkata I 1542 •• Krishan Deva Raya the most powerful Dynasty •• Sadasiva Raya (1542–1570) king of this dynasty. •• Believed to be the golden period of Telugu literature •• Worshipped Nagaraja Vasuki hence called as Nagavanshis •• Aliya Rama Raya 1542–1565 •• The last dynasty of Vijayanagar empire •• Tirumala Deva Raya 1565–1572 founded by Tirumal Deva Raya •• Sriranga I 1572–1586 •• The battle of Raksa –Tangadi happened Aravidu •• Venkata II 1586–1614 hence the Aravidu dynasty as well as Dynasty •• Sriranga II 1614 Vijayanagar empire came to an end by •• Rama Deva Raya 1617–1632 the combined forces of Bijapur muslims •• Venkata III 1632–1642 •• Sriranga III 1642–1646

Religious Movements

During fifteenth and sixteenth century religious movements have emerged in India so as to liberate people from dogmatic beliefs, ritualism, caste and communal hatred, etc. Two major movements that carried out juxtaposing by both Hindu and Muslim communities were Bhakti and Sufi Movement.

Bhakti Movement

•• Bhakti means personal devotion to God. It stresses the union of the individual with God. •• Bhakti movement originated in South India between the 15th and the 17th centuries AD. •• The Nayanars, who worshipped Shiva, and the Alwars, who worshipped Vishnu, preached the idea of Bhakti. •• Saints like Sankara, Ramanuja and Madhwa gave their concepts of God and the individual soul. •• Teachings of Ramanuja were based on the Upanishads and Bhagwad Gita. •• Ramananda was disciple of Ramunaja. He was the first reformer to preach in Hindi.

•• Kabir was an ardent disciple of Ramananda. He wanted unity between the Hindus and the Muslims. •• He preached that both the Hindus and the Muslims are the children of a single God. •• The devotees of Kabir were known as Kabir Panthis. •• Namdeva was a waterman by birth. He composed beautiful hymns in Marathi. •• Nanak was the founder of the Sikh religion. •• Nanak’s teachings were in the form of verses. They were collected in a book called the Adi Granth. •• Later Adi Granth was written in a script called Gurmukhi. •• Chaitanya, a great devotee of Lord Krishna, was a saint from Bengal. •• Meerabai was a Rajput princess. She married the Rana of Mewar. She was a pious devotee of Lord Krishna. •• Chatrapati Shivaji, the great Maratha ruler, was a follower of Ramdas. •• Tukaram was a saint who lived in Maharashtra. He composed a large number of verses called Abhangas.

Vinay Pitaka literature contains the rules and regulations of the Sangha in Buddhism.

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HISTORY •• Tulsidas composed the famous Ramcharitamanas in Hindi, expounding the various aspects of Hindu dharma. •• Surdas was a devotee of Lord Krishna and Radha. His works include Sursagar, Sahitya Ratna and Sur Sarawali. •• Dadu Dayal was a disciple of Kabir. His followers were known as Dadu Panthis. •• Eknath was a devotee of Vithoba. He wrote commentary on verses of the Bhagavad Gita.

Sufi Movement

Sufism or tasawwuf, as it is called in Arabic, is generally understood by scholars and Sufis to be the inner, mystical, or psycho-spiritual dimension of Islam. Today, however, many Muslims and non-Muslims believe that Sufism is outside the sphere of Islam. In Sufism, a perfect being is also called a Wali (saint), a word that literally means ‘sincere friend’. The superstructure of Sufism is built upon the concept of teacher, pir or murshid. The cardinal doctrines of the Sufism include 1. Absorbed variety of ideas and practices from Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism and Zorastrianism. 2. It aimed at services of mankind 3. Building cultural synthesis 4. It opposed orthodoxy and preached devotion to God 5. Discouraged materialistic life but did not support complete renunciation These cardinal principles altogether make the Doctrine of Fana which means annihilation of human attributes through Union with God. Sufism had succeeded in inculcating the sentiments of fraternity, equality and equity, coupled with sense of service to humanity, in the followers, irrespective of race, community, caste, creed and colour.

Sufi Saint

•• Khwaja Ali Hujjwiri (11th century): He was also known as Data Ganj Baksh. He wrote a manual of Sufism called ‘Kashf-ul-Mahjub’.

•• Shaikh Bahauddin Zakariya (1182-1262): He was the founder of Suhrawardi order who founded first leading Khanqah in India at Multan. •• Khwaja Muinuddin Chisti (11411236): He was the founder of the chisti order which is the first and most popular liberal sufi order in India. He settled down at Ajmer. Other chisti Sufi Saints who followed Khwaja Muinuddin Chisti were: (1) Sheikh Hamiduddin Nagauri (1192-1274); (2) Khwaja Qutubuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki in whose memory Qutub Minar was built; (3) Baba Fariduddin Ganj-i-Shakar (1175-1265) popularly known as Baba Farid. He built his Khanqah at Ajodan (Punjab). He was also the first Punjabi poet of Sufism; (4) Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya (1236-1325): He was known as Mehboob-i-ilahi, built his khanqah in Delhi and became the most famous Sufi Saint of the Chisti order. (5) Shaikh Nasiruddin Mahmud (death 1365) was a chisti saint came to known as Chirag-i-Delhi; (6) Syed Muhammad Gesu Daraz (death 1421) settled down at Gulbarga (Karnataka). He was popularly known as Bandanawaz. •• Shaikh Badruddin Samarkandi (13th century): He founded Firdausi order which thrived only in Bihar. •• Shah Nayamatullah Qadri and Shah Abdullah Shuttari (15th Centry): Shah Nayamattullah Qadri founded the Qadiriya order. It spread in Uttar Pradesh and Deccan. Miya Mir (15501635) was its popular Saint. Shah Abdullah Shuttari (dealth 1458) founded the Shuttari order. It spread mainly in Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. •• Khwaja Baqi Billah (1536-1603) He founded Naqsbandiah order.

Borobudur in Central Java, Indonesia is the world’s largest Buddhist temple.

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HISTORY MUGHAL DYNASTY

Sultans

Babur (1526-1530)

Humayun (1530-40 to 1555-56)

Akbar (1556-1605)

Jahangir (1605-1627)

Shah Jahan (1628-1658)

Aurangzeb (1658-1707)

Important accomplishments •• Babur won Delhi sultanate by defeating the last king of Lodhi dynasty, i.e. Ibrahim Lodhi. •• Two major battles won by Babur were Battle of Panipat I (April 1526) and Khanwa Battle (March 1527). •• Continued to conquer places in the coming years and his territory extended almost up to the northern part of India. •• Came to power soon after the death of his father Babur in 1530. •• Forcefully driven to Afghanistan by the Muslim rebel Sher Shah in 1540 and returned to India after 15 years in 1555. •• Encouraged Persian artists for their fine arts; brought two of them from the school of Bihzad to teach Akbar, the lessons of drawing. •• Died accidentally by falling down from stone staircase.

•• Ruled from 1556 till his death. •• His power influenced entire country because of the dominance of Mughal military, politics, culture and economy. •• Was quite different from other mughal emperors in terms of his liberal behaviour with the society, religious practices and administrative policies •• Abolished pilgrimage tax which the common people had to pay while visiting to pilgrim spots •• Rajputs were made equal partners in government. •• Driven by the thought of religious equality, formulated his own religion Din-i-Ilahi which focused on universal harmony. •• His great passion about knowledge made him appoint intellectual people in his court and name them as Navratna. •• The only heir that survived and ruled the mughal dynasty after Akbar. •• First military expedition was against Rana Amar Singh, son of Rana Pratap of Mewar. •• Art, literature, and architecture prospered under Jahangir’s rule, and the Mughal gardens in Srinagar remain an enduring testimony to his artistic taste. •• The fifth ruler of Mughal dynasty and famous for his great administration •• As a great lover of art and culture took interest in the construction and architecture and the master piece is Taj Mahal built in the memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal •• Started ruling the dynasty as its sixth emperor. •• Was a ruler with religious orthodoxy and used to support Islam •• Was not much passionate about art and culture, so during his tenure only few monuments have been developed - the exquisite Moti (Pearl) Mosque at Delhi. •• Reintroduced Jaziya, i.e. taxation on non-muslims.

Bodhisatva Avalokiteshwara of Mahayana Buddhism is also known as Padmapani.

GK-105

HISTORY LITERATURE OF MUGHAL PERIOD Book

Author

Contents

Tuzuk-i-Baburi

Babur

Qanun-i-Humayu

Khwand Amair

Describes military tactics and administrative organisation during Babur’s reign

Akbar Nama

Abul Fazl

Humayun Nama

Tobaqat-i-Akbari

Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri

Iqbalnama-i-Jahangiri Chahar Chaman Alamgir-nama

Massir-i-Alamgiri Ain-i-Akbari

Muntakhab-ul-Tawarikh Tawarikh-i-Alfi

Nuriyya-i-Sultaniyya Waqt-i-Hyderabad

Futuhat-i-Alamgiri Nuskha-i-Dilkusha

Khulasat-ul-Tawarikh Padshah Namah Padshah Namah

Shahjahan Namah Shahjahan Namah Hamlai-Haidri

Namah-e-Alamgiri Sirr-i-Akbar

Safinat-ul-Auliya

Majma-ul-Bahrain

Raqqat-e-Alamgiri Hasmat-ul-Arifin

Gulbadan Begum Khwajah Nizamuddin Ahmad Baksh Jahangir

Muhammad Khan Chandra Bhan Brahman

Munshi Mirza Muhamma Kazin

Saqi Mustaid Khan Abul Fazl Badauni

Mulla Daud Abdul Haq

Nimat Khan Ali Ishwar Das

Bhimsen Saxena Sujan Raj Khatri

Abdul Hamid Lahori Muhammad Waris Muhammad Salih Inyat Khan

Describes Humayun’s administration, festivities and buildings of that period Biography of Humayun

Gives a history of Akbar’s reign -do-

Memoirs of his own reign

History of Jahangir's reign

History of Shah Jahan's rule

Gives an account of Aurangzeb's first 10 years of rule Official history of Aurangzeb’s reign written after his death History of Akbar's reign History of Akbar's rule -do-

Theory of Kinship during Mughal Period Aurangzeb's Golconda conquest Aurangzeb's history

Analysis of Aurangzeb's rule and character History of Aurangzeb's rule

History of Shah Jahan's reign -do-do-do-

Muhammad Rafi Khan History of Aurangzeb's rule Aquil Khan Zafar

-do-

Biographies of Sufi Saints

Dara Shikoh -do-

Aurangzeb

Dara Shikoh

Urdu translation of Upanishad Philosophical ideas discussed A compendium of his letters Religious ideas discussed

The Bhumisparsha mudra statue of Buddha of Sarnath is dated to Gupta period.

GK-106

HISTORY

Advent of European Commerce in India The Portuguese Vasco de Gama discovered new sea route to India via coast of South Africa and reached Calicut coast on 20th May 1498 and established factories at Cochin. Successively Francis co de Almeida reached India in September 1505 and became the Portuguese governor in India. He built a fort and settled there and named it as Anjadiav.

The Dutch

The first Dutch expedition reached East Indies under the leadership Cornelius Houtman

in the year 1565. The expedition aimed at opening spice roots to India. However, in between 1595 to 1601 several such expeditions were made to monopolize the entire spice trade to Europe with their skill administration and vigour commercialization.

The French

The very first attempt of the French community to enter Indian coast was in the early days of 16th century but they failed to do so due to the monopoly of Dutch Territory. Later on they discovered land routes through Asia minors under the guidance of Richelieu. They were permitted to sail to Madagascar and the neighbouring islands and establish colonies and trade there.

THE KINGDOM OF THE GREAT MARATHA

Eminent Persons

Notable accomplishments

•• Known as the father of Maratha nation. •• Before killing Adilshahi general Afzal Khan in 1647, he gradually started capturing forts in the region like Purandar, Rajgad, Torna. •• The guerrilla tactics and brilliant military strategies were his key to success in every war. •• Fought with Jai Singh, general of Aurangzeb in which he lost and was arrested in 1666, but soon he escaped and regained his lost territory. Shivaji Bhonsle (1630-80 A.D) •• Assumed the title of “Chhatrapati” at his elaborate coronation in 1674. •• Died in 1680 and at that time had control over most of western Maharashtra and had made ‘Raigad’ capital.

Rajaram

•• Was the first son of Chhatrapati Shivaji and succeeded his father after his death in the first week of April 1680. •• Gave shelter to Sultan Muhammad Akbar, the fourth son of Aurangzeb, who sought Sambhaji’s aid in winning the Mughal throne from his emperor father. •• During this period Mughals sieged the Maratha fort of Ramsej in 1682, but after five months of failed attempts, including planting explosive mines and building wooden towers to gain the walls, the Mughal siege failed. •• Was imprisoned and executed by Aurangzeb, in 1689. •• After the execution of Sambhaji, Rajaram, the second son of Shivaji had taken the charge of Marathas in 1689 but soon died in 1700. •• Tarabai the widow of Rajaram, put her young son Sambhaji II on the throne after his father’s death, at the tender age of ten, and continued the fight against Mughals until the death of Aurangzeb in 1707.

Sahuji

•• Sahuji the son of Sambhaji was released from Mughals captivity in 1707. •• He attacked Tarabai and Sambhaji II from the throne of Maratha with the help of Peshwa Balaji Biswanathan and won the battle. Soon had his own territory. •• Didn’t posses a strong affinity towards politics he settled down in Satara.

Sambhaji

Gautam Buddha was raised to the position of God during the reign of Kanishka.

HISTORY

Balaji Vishwanath

Bajirao Peshwa I

Balaji Bajirao (Nanasaheb)

Madhav Rao

Mahadaji Shinde

GK-107 •• He was appointed as Prime Minister of Sahuji and assisted him on political issues. •• This was the beginning of another great dynasty in 1718 known as Peshwa dynasty. •• He died in 1721.

•• As the eldest son to his father Balaji Vishwanath, Bajirao Peshwa I took the charge of Peshwa dynasty after his death in 1721. •• During his tenure, Pune regained the status of capital Maratha Kingdom from Raigad. •• In 1734, captured the Malwa territory in the north, and in 1739, drove out the Portuguese from nearly all their possessions in the Western Ghats. •• He died in 1740.

•• Succeeded as Peshwa after his father Bajirao Peshwa’s Death. •• Fought the third war of Panipat with Ahmad Shah Abdalli in 1761 but lost the war. •• Was shattered by the loss of his elder son and brother in the war and died soon after the war ended.

•• Assumed the title of Peshwa in 1761. •• His leading achievements included the defeat of Nizam of Hyderabad, Hyder Ali of Mysore and Bhosle of Nagpur. •• Defeated Jats and took the hold of Agra and Mathura in 1769 with the help of Mahadaji Shinde and Nana Phadnis. •• In 1772, died at an early age of 27 years. •• Was a trusted lieutenant of the Peshwa and one of the three pillars of Maratha Resurrection •• Wiped out the power of Jats of Mathura and during 1772-73 and destroyed the power of Pashtun Rohillas in Rohilkhand and captured Najibabad. •• Died of typhoid fever, at his camp at Wanavdi near Pune on 12 February 1794 while he was at the zenith of power. •• Was a prominent minister and statesman of the Maratha Empire during the Peshwa administration in Pune. •• Handled the Peshwai well and with great unity among Maratha chiefs. •• The then rising powers have been halted by his great efforts and continued to serve the Peshwas until his death in 1800 AD.

Nana Phadnavis

Chamundarai, minister under Ganga ruler Rachmalla constructed Jain statue of Bahubali (Gomat) in 983 A.D.

GK-108

HISTORY

MODERN HISTORY British India (1612–1947)

The border dispute between Nepal and British India, which sharpened after 1801, had caused the Anglo-Nepalese War of 1814–16 and brought the defeated Gurkhas under British influence. In 1854, Berar was annexed, and the state of Oudh was added two years later. Their policy was sometimes summed up as Divide and Rule, taking advantage of the enmity festering between various princely states and social and religious groups. In 1757, Clive was appointed by the company as its first ‘Governor of Bengal’. In same year Treaty of Allahabad was concluded by which the Mughal Emperor granted the Diwani rights to the English East India Company. Thus, the British power in India was thoroughly established.

In 1617, the British East India Company was given permission by Mughal Emperor Jahangir to trade in India. As a result of three Carnatic Wars, the British East India Company gained exclusive control over the entire Carnatic region of India. The Anglo-Mysore Wars (1766–1799) and later the Anglo-Maratha Wars (1772– 1818) led to control of the vast regions of India. Ahom Kingdom of North-east India first fell to Burmese invasion and then to British after Treaty of Yandabo in 1826. Punjab, North-West Frontier Province, and Kashmir were annexed after the Second Anglo-Sikh War in 1849; however, Kashmir was immediately sold under the Treaty of Amritsar to the Dogra Dynasty of Jammu and thereby became a princely state.

GOVERNORS (1757–1854)

• • • • •

Robert Clive 1757–1760 Robert Clive 1765–1766 John Cartier 1769–1772 Charles Cornwallis 1786–1793 Charles Cornwallis 1805–1805

• • • • •

Henry Vansittart 1760–1764 Harry Verelst 1767–1769 Warren Hastings 1772–1774 Richard Wellesley 1798–1805 James Broun-Ramsay 1848–1854

EAST INDIA COMPANY BEFORE 1857

Event Involved Consequences First Carnatic War French La Bourdonnais and British victory (1746-1748) British Admiral Edward Peyton fought at Negapatam Second Carnatic Nasir Jung aided by France while •• Ended with the Treaty of Pondicherry War (1749-1754) England aided Muzaffar Jung in 1754 and Muzafar Jung became the Nizam. •• Dupleix was replaced by Godeheu as the French governor. Third Carnatic At Wandiwash (1760) Count de •• Defeat of French War (1758-1763) Lally French commander was •• Treaty of Paris (1763) was signed, defeated by British General Sir which returned Chandernagore and Pondichérry to France. Eyre Coote Battle of Plassey French supported Siraj-ud-Daula •• Paved way for British mastery of (23 June 1757) and East India Company led by Bengal and eventually whole of India. •• Rich revenue of Bengal helped British Robert Clive. to maintain strong army. Battle of Buxar, East India Company led by Hector •• Treaty of Allahabad secured Diwani 22nd October, Munro and Mughal Emperor along Rights for the Company to collect and manage the revenues of real estate. 1764 with the Nawab of Bengal The Hathigumpha inscription tells us that Kharvela defeated three Southern Kingdom-Cholas, Cheras and Pandayas.

GK-109

HISTORY 1781 War

Forces of the Kingdom of Mysore •• Eyre Coote defeated Haider Ali at Port and Great Britain. Novo.

War 1789 -1792

Tipu Sultan and East India •• Treaty of Seringapatam was signed. Company Tipu had to cede half of his territories to English and paid ` 330 lakhs as indemnity.

1784, Pitt’s Act

•• British government got supreme control over the company’s affair and its administration.

Awadh annexation Lord Dalhousie 1856 The rebellion of 1857 Sepoy Mutiny

•• Introduced the famous Doctrine of Lapse.

East India Company and united force of Indian leaders like (Bahadur Shah, Bakt Khan, Begum Hazart Mahal of Avadh, Tanti Tope, Nana Saheb, Azimullah, Rani Lakshmibai, Kunwar Singh etc.), The revolt marked the end of the East India Company’s rule, and India came under the direct rule of the British Crown.

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL REFORMS

Date

Person

Event Established Atmiya Sabha. He was the first Indian to start an agitation for social, religious and political reforms.

1815

Raja Ram Mohan Roy

1828

Raja Ram Mohan Roy

1850

Vidyasagar

1851

Naoroji Furdonji, Dadabhai Rehnumai Mazdayasan Sabha or Religious Reform Naoroji and S.S.Bengalee Association.

1839

1850 1852 1866 1872

Debendranath Tagore

Vishnu Shankar Pundit Kassondas Mulji

Dadabhai Naoroji Baba Ram Singh

23 September, Mahatma Jyotirao 1873 Govindrao Phule 1875

Swami Dayanand Saraswathi

1897

Vivekananda

1902

Swami Shradhananda

Established Brahmo Samaj to preach monotheism and purify Hinduism. Founded Tatvabodhini Sabha to propagate Ram Mohan Roy’s ideas.

Protest against child-marriage and promoted women education. Founded widow remarriage association.

In Gujarat advocated widow remarriage.

Established East India Association in London.

Namdhari Movement originated in north-west corner of Sikh kingdom. It was also known as Kuka movement.

Formed Satyashodhak Samaj (Society of Seekers of Truth).

Founded Arya Samaj in Bombay. Called Vedas to be source of “true knowledge” and gave the motto “back to Vedas”. Was against idol worship, child marriage and caste system. Founded the Ramakrishna Mission to carry out humanitarian relief and social work.

Started Gurukul near Haridwar to propagate more traditional idea of education.

Yuktisastika (Sixty stanzas on Reasoning) was written by Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna.

GK-110

HISTORY THE FREEDOM STRUGGLE TIME LINE

1885

28 Dec. 1885

Pherozeshah Mehta, K.T. Telang, Badruddin Tyabji formed Bombay Presidency Association. Indian National Congress was formed by Allan Octavian Hume.

28-31 Dec. 1885 First session of Indian National Congress was attended by 72 delegates under the presidency of W.C. Bonnerjee. 1896-97

Bal Gangadhar Tilak initiated a no-tax campaign in Maharashtra.

20 July, 1905

Partition of Bengal order was passed by Lord Curzon.

1906

Dadabhai Naoroji became the president of National Congress and clearly declared their goal to be self-government or Swaraj like the other colonies.

Dec. 1905

30 Dec. 1906 1909 1911 1913

April, 1915

26 Dec. 1916 1917 1918 1919

March, 1919

13 April, 1919

Gokhale then the president of Congress condemned the partition of Bengal and supported Swadeshi and Boycott movement.

All India Muslim League was formed by Aga Khan III and the founding meeting was hosted by Nawab Sir Khwaja Salimullah. The Indian Councils Act or Morley-Minto Reform was announced. Government announced the withdrawal of Partition of Bengal.

Ghadar Party founded by Punjabi Indians in the United States and Canada aiming at securing India’s independence.

First session of Hindu Mahasabha was held under the presidentship of Maharaja of Kasim Bazar. Lucknow Pact was signed dealing with the structure of the government of India and with relation to the Hindu and Muslim communities. Indigo Satyagraha started by M.K. Gandhi in Champaran, Bihar.

Edwin Montagu, then the Secretary of State and Lord Chelmsford, the Viceroy produced a scheme of constitutional reform which was called as the Montague-Chelmsford reforms. Enactment of the Government of India Act.

Rowlatt Act was passed which enabled government to imprison people without trial.

Unarmed crowd gathered at Jallianwala Bagh to protest against the arrest of Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew and Dr. Satyapal was attacked by the British army as commanded by General Dyer.

31 August, 1920 Khilafat Committee launched a non-cooperation Movement. 1 February, 1922 M.K. Gandhi announced mass Civil Disobedience movement. 5 Feb. 1922 1925

Nov. 1927

17 Nov. 1928 Dec. 1928

26 Jan. 1930

Protesters participating in the Non-cooperation Movement turned violent, leading to police opening fire in Chauri Chaura. Congress as a result halted the non-cooperation Movement. Communist Party came into existence.

Simon headed commission was set up to submit report on working of Indian constitution established by Government of India Act, 1919. Lala Lajpat Rai died due to the injuries by the beating of local police during a protest demonstration at Lahore. Gandhi joined back the active politics at Calcutta session.

Was fixed as the First Independence Day and since then was celebrated every year up to 1947.

Bali was a voluntary offering to the king but it became compulsory and oppressive tax during Gupta period.

GK-111

HISTORY Feb. 1930

Chandra Shekhar Azad was shot dead in a park called Azad Park at Allahabad, in an encounter with British police.

6 April, 1930

Gandhi reached Dandi and broke the Salt law.

12 March, 1930 12 Nov. 1930

5 March, 1931

Dandi March lead by M.K. Gandhi took place. Together with 78 companions he walked 375 km from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi. First round table conference was held in London, was chaired by British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald.

Gandhi-Irwin Pact was signed between Gandhi and then viceroy of India Lord Irwin. According to which British agreed to withdraw all ordinances and end prosecutions and release all political prisoners.

24 August, 1932 Poona Pact was signed between Gandhi and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar at Yerwada Central Jail.

1935

October, 1940

8 August, 1942 1945

2 Sept. 1946

9 Dec. 1946

Government of India Act was passed according to which All India Federation was established including British India and Princely States (representative were appointed by the rulers) forming a bicameral federal legislature. Gandhi gave an order for limited satyagraha (for few individuals only). Quit India Movement was launched by M.K.Gandhi.

Congress working committee adopted a resolution to abolish landlordism.

Interim government of India formed the newly elected Constituent Assembly of India. This idea was rejected by Muslim league. The Constituent Assembly met for the first time.

INTERIM GOVERNMENT

External Affairs and Commonwealth Relations

Jawahar Lal Nehru

Finance

Liaquat Ali Khan

Defence

Home (including Information and Broadcasting) Posts and Air

Food and Agriculture Labour

Transport and Railways Industries and Supplies Education and Arts

Works, Mines and Power Commerce Law

Health

Mountbatten Plan

Baldev Singh

Vallabhbhai Patel

Abdur Rab Nishtar Rajendra Parsad Jagjivan Ram M. Asaf Ali

John Matthai

C. Rajagopalachari C.H. Bhabha

I.I. Chundrigar

Jogindar Nath Mandal Ghazanfar Ali Khan

The Indian Independence Act 1947 also called 3 June Plan or Mountbatten Plan, declared that power would be handed over by 15 August 1947. It gave India and Pakistan a dominion status. The Act received the royal assent on 18 July 1947. The boundaries between the two dominion states were determined by a Boundary Commission which was headed by Sir Cyril Radcliff. Katyayana, a smriti writer of Gupta period, was the first to use the expression Asprashya to denote the untouchables.

GK-112

HISTORY SESSIONS OF INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS

The Founding Years (1885-1900) Session

Place

Date

President

1st Session

Bombay

Dec. 28-30, 1885

Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee

4th Session

Allahabad

Dec. 26-29, 1888

George Yule

2nd Session 3rd Session 5th Session 6th Session 8th Session

10th Session 11th Session 12th Session 13th Session 14th Session 15th Session 16th Session 7th Session 9th Session

Calcutta Madras

Bombay Calcutta

Allahabad Madras Poona

Calcutta

Amraoti Madras

Lucknow Lahore

Nagpur Lahore

Dec. 27-30, 1886 Dec. 27-30, 1887 Dec. 26-28, 1889 Dec. 26-30, 1890 Dec. 28-30, 1892 Dec. 26-29, 1894 Dec. 27-30, 1895 Dec. 28-31, 1896 Dec. 27-29, 1897 Dec. 29-31, 1898 Dec. 27-30, 1899 Dec. 27-29, 1900 Dec. 28-30, 1891 Dec. 27-30, 1893

The Pre Independence Era (1900-1947) Session

Place

Date

17th Session

Calcutta

Dec. 26-28, 1901

18th Session

19th Session

20th Session

21st Session

22nd Session

23rd Session

25th Session

26th Session

28th Session

30th Session

31st Session

32nd Session

(Special Session)

33rd Session

Badruddin Tyabji

William Wedderburn Pherozeshah Mehta

Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee Alfred Webb

Surendranath Banerjee

Rahimatullah M. Sayani C. Sankaran Nair

AnandaMohan Bose

Romesh Chunder Dutt N.G. Chandavarkar P. Ananda Charlu

Dadabhai Naoroji President

Dinshaw Edulji Wacha

Ahmedabad Dec. 28-30, 1902

Surendranath Banerjee

Benares

Gopal Krishna Gokhale

Madras

Bombay

Calcutta

Surat

23rd Session (contd.) Madras

24th Session

Dadabhai Naoroji

Lahore

Allahabad

Calcutta Karachi

Bombay

Lucknow

Calcutta

Bombay

Delhi

Dec. 28-30, 1903 Dec. 26-28, 1904

Dec. 27-30, 1905

Lal Mohan Ghosh Henry Cotton

Dec. 26-29, 1906

Dadabhai Naoroji

Dec. 27-29, 1909

Madan Mohan Malaviya

Dec. 26-27, 1907 approx Rash Behari Ghosh Dec. 28-30, 1908

Dec. 26-29, 1910

Dec. 26-28, 1911 Dec. 26-28, 1913

Dec. 27-29, 1915

Rash Behari Ghosh

William Wedderburn Bishan Narayan Dar

Nawab Syed Mohammed Bahadur

Satyendra Prasanna Sinha

Dec. 26-30, 1916

Ambica Charan Mazumdar

Dec. 26-31, 1918

Madan Mohan Malaviya

Dec. 26-29, 1917

Aug. 29-Sept. 1, 1918

Annie Besant

Syed Hasan Imam

Chandragupta II ‘Vikramaditya‘ was the first Gupta ruler to issue silver coins and adopted the title Sakari.

GK-113

HISTORY 34th Session

Amritsar

Dec. 26-30, 1919

35th Session

Nagpur

Dec. 26-31, 1920

37th Session

Gaya

Dec. 26-31, 1922

36th Session

(Special Session)

39th Session

40th Session

41st Session

42nd Session

43rd Session

45th Session

46th Session

47th Session

48th Session

51st Session

52nd Session

53rd Session

54th Session

Ahmedabad Dec. 27-28, 1921

Delhi

Belgaum

Kanpur

Gauhati

Madras

Calcutta

Karachi Delhi

Calcutta

Bombay

Haripura Tripuri

Ramgarh Meerut

Dec. 26-27, 1924

Dec. 26-28, 1925 Dec. 26-28, 1926

Dec. 26-28, 1927

Dec. 29, 1928-Jan. 1, 1929

Mar. 29-31, 1931

Apr.24,1932 (Banned)

March,1933(Banned) Oct. 24-28, 1934

Feb. 19-21, 1938

Mar. 10-12, 1939

Mar. 19-20, 1940 Nov. 23-24, 1946

The Post Independence Era (1947-1990)

Motilal Nehru

C. Vijayaraghavachariar

Hakim Ajmal Khan (Acting President for C.R. Das) C.R. Das

Abul Kalam Azad

M.K. Gandhi

Shri B.K. Hariprasad S. Srinivasa Iyengar

M.A. Ansari

Motilal Nehru

Vallabbhai J. Patel

Ranchod Lal Amrit Lal

Nellie Sen Gupta

Rajendra Prasad

Subhash Chandra Bose Subhash Chandra Bose

Abul Kalam Azad

J.B. Kripalani

Session

Place

Date

President

55th Session

Jaipur

Dec. 18, 1948

B. Pattabhi Sitaramayya

56th Session

60th Session

61st Session

62nd Session

63rd Session

64th Session

65th Session

66th Session

71st Session

72nd Session

73rd Session

74th Session

75th Session

76th Session

77th Session

78th (Centenary) Session

Nasik

Avadi (Madras)

Amritsar

Indore

Gauhati

Nagpur

Bangalore

Bhavnagar

Hyderabad

Faridabad

Bombay

Calcutta

Chandigarh

New Delhi

Calcutta

Bombay

Sept. 21-22, 1950

Jan. 21-23, 1955 approx.

Purushottam Das Tandon

Shri Bharat Kumar

Feb.11-12,1956approx.

Shri Bharat Kumar

Jan. 18-19, 1958

Shri Bharat Kumar

Jan. 5-6, 1957 approx.

Jan. 9-11, 1959

Shri Bharat Kumar Shri Bharat Kumar

Jan. 16-17, 1960

N. Sanjiva Reddy

Jan. 10-11, 1968

S. Nijalingappa

Jan. 6-7, 1961

Apr. 27-28, 1969

N. Sanjiva Reddy S. Nijalingappa

Dec. 28-29, 1969

Jagjivan Ram

Dec.31,1975-Jan.1,1976

D.K. Barooah

Dec. 28-29, 1972

Jan. 1-2, 1978

Dec. 29-30, 1983

December 28, 1985

Shankar Dayal Sharma Indira Gandhi

Indira Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi

Harshavardhana was an accomplished author who wrote three sanskrit plays – Nagenanda, Ratnavali and Priyadarshika.

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HISTORY THE POST LIBERALIZATION ERA (1990-2010)

Session

Place

Date

President

79th Session

Tirupati (A.P.)

April 14-16, 1992

P.V. Narasimha Rao

Special Session

Talkatora Stadium, New Delhi

June 10- 11, 1994

P.V. Narasimha Rao

Special Session 80th Session

Special Session Chintan Shivir

Special session

Special Session 81st Session

Chintan Shivir

Special session 82nd Session

Surajkund (Haryana) Calcutta

New Delhi

Panchmarhi (M.P.) Talkatora Stadium, New Delhi Talkatora Stadium, New Delhi Bangalore

Shimla (H.P.)

Talkatora Stadium, New Delhi Hyderabad

83rd Plenary Session New Delhi Chintan Shivir

Jaipur

March 27-28, 1993

August 8-10, 1997 April 6, 1998

Sept. 4-6, 1998

December 18, 1998 May 25, 1999

February 14, 16, 2001 July 9, 10, 11, 2003 August 21, 2004 January 2006 2010

P.V. Narasimha Rao Sitaram Kesri Sonia Gandhi Sonia Gandhi Sonia Gandhi Sonia Gandhi Sonia Gandhi Sonia Gandhi Sonia Gandhi Sonia Gandhi Sonia Gandhi

January 18-19, 2013-08-24 Sonia Gandhi

NEWSPAPERS AND JOURNALS

Newspaper/Journal Name

Founder

Bengal Gazette (1780) (India’s First Newspaper) James Augustus Hickey. Kesari

B.G.Tilak

Vande Mataram

Aurobindo Ghosh, Madam Bhikaji Cama

Amrita Bazar Patrika Kavivachan Sudha

Rast Goftar(first newspaper in Gujarati) Statesman Hindu

Yugantar

Bombay Chronicle Hindustan

Mooknayak Comrade

Tahzib-ul-Akhlaq

Sisir Kumar Ghosh and Motilal Ghosh Bhartendu Harishchandra Dadabhai Naoroji Robert Knight

Vir Raghavacharya and G.S. Aiyar

Bhupendranath Data and Barinder Kumar Ghosh Firoze Shah Mehta M.M. Malaviya

B.R. Ambedkar

Mohammad Ali

Sir Syed Ahmed Khan

Pallavi ruler Narshimhavarman ‘Mammala’ invaded chalukyas and captured vatapi and adopted the title vatapikonda.

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HISTORY Al-Hilal

Abul Kalam Azad

Independent

Motilal Nehru

Al-Balagh

Abul Kalam Azad

Punjabi

Lala Lajpat Rai

New India(Daily)

Annie Besant

Pratap

Samvad Kaumudi (Bengali) Mirat-ul-Akbhar Young India

Ram Mohan Roy (first Persian Newspaper) M.K Gandhi

K.M. Pannikar

GREAT TRAVELERS IN INDIAN HISTORY

Megasthenes

Fa Hsien

Hiuen Tsang-tsang/ Xuanzang

Al-Biruni/Abu Rayhan Muhammad

Marco Polo

Ram Mohan Roy M.K Gandhi

Harijan

Hindustan Times

Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi

Identity: Greek ethnographer & ambassador. Time of Visit to India: During the rule of Chandragupta Maurya. Duration of Stay: 302-298 BC. Contribution: Wrote the book Indica. Identity: A Buddhist Monk who came from China. Time of Visit to India: Reign of Harshvardhana. Duration of Stay: 405-411 AD. Contribution: Wrote ‘Record of Buddhist kingdoms’. Identity: Chinese Buddhist monk. Time of Visit to India: Reign of Harshavardhan. Duration of Stay: 630-645 AD. Contribution: Wrote Si-yu-ki or the ‘Records of Western World. Identity: Muslim scholar and polymath from Persia Time of Visit to India: Came along with Mahmud of Ghazni. Duration of Stay: 1024-1030 AD Contribution: Wrote Taharikh-al-Hind, about social religious, political nature of India during that time. Identity: Italian merchant and traveller Time of Visit to India: Came during the Period of Rudramani Devi of Kakatiya Dynasty. Duration of Stay: 1292-1294 AD Contribution: Wrote “The book of Sir Marcopolo”, describing about Indian Economy at that time.

Vaishesika School of Philosophy was founded by Uluka Kanada.

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Ibn Battuta

Nicolo Conti

William Hawkins

Afanasy Nikitin Abdur Razzaq

Sulaiman Al Mahri

Al-Masudi

HISTORY Identity: Traveller of Morocco Time of Visit to India: Came in India at the reign of Muhammad bin Tughluq. Duration of Stay: 1333-1347 AD Contribution: write Kitab-ul-rahla, relating geographical, social and economical behaviour of this time. Identity: Russian merchant Traveller Time of Visit to India: Came to India during the reign of Bahmani Sultanate. Duration of Stay: 1469-1472 Contribution: ‘The Journey beyond Three Seas’.

Identity: Ambassador of James II, king of England Time of Visit to India: Came in India at the reign of Jahangir, the great mogul along with William Finch. Duration of Stay: First Visit: 1421, Revisited: 1430 Identity: Italian Traveller Time of Visit to India: Came during the rule of Devaraya I of Sangam dynasty of Vijaynagar empire. Duration of Stay: First Visit : 1421 Revisited: 1430 Contribution: Author of “Voyage aux Indes. Identity: Persian traveller Time of Visit to India: Came to India during Bahmani Sultanate. Duration of Stay: 1443-1444 AD

Identity: Arab navigator Time of Visit: Middle of Ninth Century during the age of Palas and Pratiharas Contribution: Wrote an account on Pala Empire

Identity: Arab historian & geographer Time: Visited Gujarat in 915-16 during Pratiharas Kinghom. Contribution: Testified the great power and prestige of the Pratihara rulers.

Pallavas were instrumental in spreading Indian culture in South-East Asia. The Pallava types of Shikhara can be found in temples of Java, Cambodia and Annam.

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HISTORY

WORLD HISTORY MIND MAP WORLD HISTORY Ancient  Mesopotamian Civilization (5000-900 BC)

Civilization

 African Civilization  Mongol Empire Civiliza-

 Egyptian Civilization (500-30 BC)

tion  Arab civilization & Islam  Medieval China

 Israel Kingdom (1300-63 BC)

 Greek Civilization (776388 BC)

Medieval

 Medieval Europe

 Roman Civilization (753 BC-476AD)

 Christianity  Zoroastrianism (Parsi)

Modern  Renaissance  Reforms  Major Revolutions of

World • Glorious Revolution • Industrial Revolution • American Revolution • French Revolution • Russian Revolution  An insight into World Wars  Major wars of World • Trojan War • Persian War • Peloponnesian War • Punic Wars • Hundred Years War • Russo-Japan War • Vietnam War • Iraq War

ANCIENT WORLD HISTORY MESOPOTAMIAN CIVILIZATION Time Period

Events

5000-3500 BC

The first city built by Sumerian people in southern Mesopotamia.

2300 BC

The first akkadian ruler Sargon started to conquer Sumerian cities

3500 BC

2112-2095 BC 1792-49 BC 1530 BC 1500 BC

1200 - 900 BC

Writing started with pictogram based script and took about a thousand year to be evolved in full cuneiform script.

The central city of Ur was built by Ur-Nammu and called as the third dynasty of Mesopotamian. Development of Babylonian civilization by king Hammurabi along Euphrates River.

Kassite came into being in Hammurabi’s rule in 1750 BC and categorized into minorities of Mesopotamia.

Northern Mesopotamia is conquered by an Indo-European ruler called Mittani. He has also conquered Syria and Asia Minor.

Assyria started to lose its importance due to political instability engulfing Anatolia, Syria, and the Levant coast.

Fahien, the Chinese pilgrim visited India during Chandragupta II and Hiuen-Tsang during Harshavardhana.

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HISTORY EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION

Time Period

Events

5000 BC

Farming started along the bank of Nile river.

2650 BC

Old kingdom began to flourish which was known to be the era of dynamic development of Egyptian art.

3500-3000 BC

2575-2465 BC

Starting of Pre dynastic period which was characterized by permanent settlement. Pharaoh Khufu built Great pyramid of Giza having a height of 481 feet.

2381-2345 BC

The Old Kingdom ended during the realm of Unas.

1539 BC

With the expulsion of the Hyksos and reunification of Egypt, it became the leading power in the Middle East.

2055 BC-1650 BC 1344-1328 BC 1336-1327 BC 1279-1213 BC 728 BC

The era of middle kingdom started with reunion of Egypt.

The first ever instance of monotheism had been illustrated by the religious reforms of pharaoh Akhenaton. The realm of Tutankhamen.

The existence of Ramses Realm when Egypt experienced the height of its power. Nubian kings took over the power of Egypt.

639 BC

The period of revival started with the expulsion of Assyrians by Egyptians.

332 BC

Alexander the great conquered Egypt.

525 BC 305 BC 30 BC

Time Period 1300-1200 BC 1050-970 BC 970 BC

931 BC 722 BC 620 BC

597-582 538 BC

Persians started ruling the Egypt.

A greek-speaking dynasty was established by one of the generals of Alexander the Great. The last queen of independent Egypt died and Roman empire occupied Egypt.

THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL Events

The land of Canaan occupied by the Israelites.

The kingdom was ruled by Soul followed by David. David’s son Solomon became the new king.

The kingdom divided into north (Israel) and south(Judah) parts. The Assyrians destroyed the northern kingdom.

A religious revival took place in southern kingdom of Judah.

The destruction of both Judah and Jerusalem occurred.

The Persian king Cyrus repatriated the kings of Judah and Jerusalem and encouraged them to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem.

Jai Chand was the last Rajput king who was killed by Mohammad Ghori in the Battle of Chandawar.

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HISTORY 164 BC 63 BC

The revolution broke out against the Seleucid kings under the leadership of the Maccabbees brothers by Jews.

Judaea was conquered by Romans and the family of Herod the Great started ruling.

GREEK CIVILIZATION

Time Period

Events

776 BC

The first official date of Olympic Games.

490-479

Athens and Sparta took lead for defending their land against invasion from the huge Persian Empire.

750 BC

447 BC

431-404 399

338

Greek started planting colonies on the Mediterranean coast. Athenian Empire was at the height of its power.

Athens was defeated by Sparta in the Second Peloponnesian War.

Socrates, the famous philosopher of Athens was sentenced to death as he was questioning conventional ideas. The Greek city-states were defeated by King Phillip II of Macedon.

ROMAN CIVILIZATION

Time Period

Events

753 BC

Rome was founded.

390 BC

Rome was sacked by the Gauls.

509 BC 264-241 BC 218-202 BC 83-31 BC 27 BC

117 AD 312 AD 410 AD

476 AD

Christianity •• •• •• •• ••

Roman republic was built.

First Punic War between Carthage and Rome took place.

Second Punic War consisting of several small battles took place where Rome was the ultimate winner. Decline of Roman Republic due to the continuous phase of civil wars. Augustus established himself as the first of the Roman emperors. Roman Empire became the largest empire of its time. Constantine the great got converted to Christianity. Goths sacked Roman Empire.

The last Roman emperor was thrown out by German Tribes.

It was founded by Jesus Christ (i.e. Merriah). He was born on 25th December to Mother Mary (Marium) in Bethlehem (Nr. Jerusalam) Bible is the holy book of Christians. His crucifixion (hanging) on cross happened in about AD 33. So, sign of ‘cross’ is considered holy for Christians.

Kanbana, Kuttana and Pugalendi are considered as ‘three gems of Tamil poetry’.

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HISTORY

MEDIEVAL WORLD HISTORY MEDIEVAL EUROPEAN CIVILIZATION Time Period 500-600AD 650-700AD 800AD

850-900AD 900-950AD 1000-1050

1050-1100 AD 1150-1200 AD 1200-1250 AD 1250-1300 AD

Events •• A monastery was built in Italy. •• Christianity was introduced in England. •• The foundation stone of Roman Catholic Church was laid by Gregory the Great. History of the English Church and People was written by Bede.

Charlemagne, the King of the Franks, was crowned as Holy Roman Emperor. First Russian states founded at Kiev and Novgorod. Viking raids across Western Europe.

Medical school set up in Salerno, Italy (1030).

•• William of Normandy invaded England and becomes king. •• First Crusade was proclaimed. Construction of the cathedral of Notre Dame.

•• St Francis of Assisi sets up a monastic order, emphasizing austerity and compassion. •• Rebellion against the king by the Lords of England as he signed the Magna Carta, accepting to rule according to law.

Establishment of the Hapsburg dynasty that continued to rule Austria till 1918.

Feudalism was a socio-political hierarchy which started in 8th century AD in Europe and ended in 14th century AD. Crusades were the series of military campaign organized under the banner of the cross so as to recover the holy places of Palestine from Muslim occupation.

AFRICAN CIVILIZATION

Time Period

Events

830AD

Ghana Empire was created.

1100-1150AD

Emergence of Zimbabwe as a centre for producing gold and copper artifacts and long distance trade.

1050-1100AD 1200-1250 AD

Expansion of Almoravid kingdom from Ghana to southern Spain.

•• Christian churches established in Ethiopia. •• Kingdom of Mali was established in West Africa, with Timbuktu as a centre of learning.

1375 AD

Gao rebelled against and Songhai started to expand its realm.

1588–91 AD

Songhai was attacked by Moroccan forces with firearms and they kept on conquering Tondibi, Timbuktu and Gao one after the other.

1465 AD

Songhai conquered Mema and after three years seized Timbaktu.

Qutubuddin Aibak patronised Hasan-un-Nizami, author of ‘Taj-ul-Massir’ and Fakhruddin, author of ‘Tarikh-i-Mubarak Shahi’.

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HISTORY MONGOL EMPIRE Time Period

Events

1206 AD

Temüjin from the Orkhon Valley received the title Genghis Khan, and

1227 AD

Death of Genghis Khan.

1250–1350 AD 1260-1294 AD 1368 AD 1687 AD

started ruling the unified nomads of Mongolia homeland. Pax Mongolica or stabilization of Mongol empire.

Fragmentation of Mongol Empire into Ilkhanate Yuan dynasty, Chagatai Khanate, Golden Horde. Fall of Yuan dynasty.

Collapse of Chagatai Khanate.

ARAB CIVILIZATION

Time Period 571AD 632AD

13th Century AD

Events •• The great Prophet of Islam, was born in Mecca •• With the rise of new religion Islam, the Arab civilization started expanding its realm After the death of Mohammad his successors continued to spread his teachings and were known as Caliphs or Khalifas

The Islamic Empire came to end with the defeat of Abbasids by Seljuq Turks

Islam in Arab Civilization •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• ••

Hazrat Prophet Muhammad Saheb founded Islam as a religion. He was born on Monday, April 22nd, 571 A.D. (12th Rabi Al Awwal) in Mecca. His father was Abdulsah & mother was Aminah. His father died in Madina before Muhammad was born. His grandfather was Abdul Mullahib. He was suckled by Haleema (Dai). His mother died when he was 6 year and grandfather died 2 years later. His uncle – Abu Talib took cave of him. Khadijah (a rich widow lady) of age 40 years married Muhammad (25 yrs). Hijri Era started on 24th September 622 when he migrated to Medina. He attained enlightment, i.e. the first revelation came to him on Monday, August 10th,

610 AD (21st of Ramadan) at 40 years of age at Gaare-Hira (Hira cave). •• First persons who embraced Islam were–Khadija (wife), Zaid (slave), Ali (cousin), & Abu Bakr (friend). •• Prophet Muhammad died on Monday, 8th June, 623 AD and was buried at Medina. •• Islam divided into shia and sunni cults after his death. •• His successors were called Khalifa. •• Eid-milad-un-Nabi is celebrated as the birthday of the prophet.

Harshavardhana called for a religious assembly at Kannauj which was joined by many learned people and presided over by Hiuen-Tsang.

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HISTORY

MODERN WORLD HISTORY Renaissance The European era between 14th to 17th centuries AD was designated as the Age of Renaissance generally known for “Revival of Learning”. The Florence city of Italian region Tuscany was well known as the birth place of Renaissance.

Reformation

Reformation was a social movement initiated by Martin Luther during 16th century in Europe against Roman Catholic Church. He started criticizing the selling of self indulgence of higher authorities in the church by highlighting the fact that the Pope had no authority over the purgatory and there was no evidence of catholic doctrine of the merits of the saints in the gospel.

Major Revolutions

Glorious Revolution It was otherwise known as the Bloodless Revolution primarily focused on securing freedom of worship from Catholics and unifying Whigs and Tories of Anglican church against the Roman Catholic ruler James II.

Industrial Revolution

It was the process of change in earning livelihood by adopting industrial processes rather than agriculture. It started during mid 18th century in Britain with the

invention of several technological aids such as spinning jenny by James Hargreaves in 1764, water-powered spinning frame by Richard Arkwright in 1769, spinning mule by Samuel Crompton in 1779, power loom by Edmund Cartwright in 1785, steam engine by James Watt in 1769 etc.

American Revolution

It was the mutiny of people living in thirteen colonies of England in North America in late 18th century. Various factors such as French and Indian War, stamp act, Townshend Acts, Boston Massacre, Boston Tea Party/ Intolerable Acts, can be considered as the triggering fact of this revolution in 1775-83.

French Revolution

It was one of the greatest revolutions of eighteenth century which put an end to French monarchy. It lasted from 1789 until 1799, and partially carried forwarded by Napoleon during the later expansion of the French Empire.

Russian Revolution

Based on the ideology of Marxism, Russian revolution took place in 1917 and eventually ended up in creating the Russian Soviet Union. The prime causes of these revolutions were the autocratic rule Czars, inefficient and vigorous use of power, low living standard of people in the society, to support church forcefully.

WORLD WARS: I & II

Event Countries Involved

World War I

World War II

Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey Britain, France, USSR, US, Other vs. France, Russia, Britain, US, Italy. nations vs. Germany, Italy, Japan

Duration of July 28, 1914 – November 11, 1918 War

September 1, 1939 – September 2, 1945

Hiuen-Tsang spent about eight years (635-643 AD) in India and wrote a text called- Si Yu ki.

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HISTORY Causes

Immediate Murder of Austrian King Archduke Ferdinand at Serajevo by a Serbian which resulted in strong hostility between AustriaHungary and Serbia Associated •• Militarism •• Nationalism or Competitive Patriotism •• Economic Imperialism •• Anglo-German Rivalry and the charter of William II •• Lack of International Organization

Consequences

•• End of the German, Russian, Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires •• Formation of new countries in Europe and the Middle East. •• Transfer of German colonies and regions of the former Ottoman Empire to other powers •• Establishment of the League of Nations

Immediate Germany’s ultimatum and Poland’s rejection for surrender of Port Dazing. Refusal of Poland to establish rail link between Germany and West Prussia through Polish corridor. Associated •• The treaty of Versailles (1919) •• Nationalist movement of Germany & Italy. •• Ideological conflict between Dictatorship and Democracy •• Inefficiency of League of Nation •• Colonial and commercial rivalry •• Aggressiveness of Berlin-Rome –Tokyo axis •• Collapse of Nazi Germany •• Fall of Japanese and Italian Empires •• Creation of the United Nations •• Emergence of the United States and the Soviet Union as superpowers •• Beginning of the Cold War

Major Wars in History

Peloponnesian War

Trojan War

Participants: Athens vs. Sparta Duration of War: 431 BC – 404 BC Causes of War: The war occurred due to the political fragmentation and mutual two city states of Greece, Athens and Sparta. Outcome of War: Eventually Sparta registered its victory by defeating Athens in Decelean war (known to be the third phase of Peloponnesian War), with the help of Persian Empire.

Participants: City of Troy vs City of Sparta Duration of War: 10 years Causes of War: The war resulted due to the kidnapping of Queen Helen from her husband, the king of Sparta by the Trojan Prince. Outcome of war: The war ended with victory of Greek and destruction of Troy.

Persian War

Participants: Greek vs. Persia Duration of War: 499 BC – 449 BC Causes of War: The king of Persia, Darius I attacked Athens when the series of Greek uprisings were suppressed. Outcome of war: The Greek made its victory against Persia.

Punic Wars

First Participants: Rome vs. Carthage Duration of War: 264 BC -241 BC Causes of War: The war broke out as the Carthaginians established a base of island that seemed to be a potential threat to Rome.

Sher Shah Suri was known as Hazarat-i-Ala and he defeated Humayun in the battle of Chausa in 1539.

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Outcome of War: The Romans won the war. Second Participants: Greek vs. Trojan

Duration of War: 218 BC- 201 BC

Causes of War: The war occurred when Carthage started expanding its power in Spain and striving for the coastal city of Saguntum (the present day Sagunto) which was allied with Rome. Outcome of War: Finally Rome won over Carthage in the battle of Zama forcing the Carthaginians to give up Spanish territories and its navy. Third Participants: Greek vs. Persian

Duration of War: 149 BC- 146 BC

Causes of War: The fear of Carthaginian resurgence led to the war in the city streets of Carthage Outcome of War: Ultimately Romans destroyed the city of Carthage

Hundred Years War

Participants: France vs. England

Duration of War: 1337 BC -1453 BC

Causes of War: The war broke out after King Edward III of England invaded the country of France and continued to seize its land and became its ruler. Outcome of War: At the end France managed to defy the England’s reign with the help of Scotland.

HISTORY Russo-Japan War Participants: Russia vs. Japan Duration of War: 1904 – 05 AD Causes of War: The war fought for having imperial authority over Manchuria and Korea. Outcome of War: Japanese won the war.

Vietnam War

Participants: Democratic Republic of Vietnam allied with Soviet Union vs. China. Duration of War: 1955 – 75 AD Causes of War: The war was fought for checking communism spread all over South-Asia. Outcome of War: The war ended with the victory of North Vietnam by empowering the Communist government in South Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia with annexure of South Vietnam. The American-led forces had to back out from Indochina.

Iraq–Iran War

Participants: Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Iraq Duration of War: 1980 – 88 AD Causes of War: The war started with the invasion of republic of Iran resulting from a border dispute of two Republics. Outcome of War: Iraq failed to take over the east bank of the Shatt al-Arab and strengthen Arab separatism in the region of Khuzestan. The Iranian invasion failed and the idea of deposing Saddam Hussein was shattered.

Krishna Deva Rai took the titles of Yavanaraja Sthapancharya and also known as Andhra Bhoj and Andhra Pitamaha.

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POLITY

POLITY POLITY u

India

World

TOP POLITICAL TRENDS/ EVENTS/ DEVELOPMENT THAT CHANGED THE WORLD

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POLITY

Making of Constitution

Indian Constitution

Structure of Indian Constitution

Constitutional Framework

Constitutional Bodies Statutory Bodies

Indian Government

INDIAN POLITY MIND INDIAN POLITY- -MIND MAPMAP

Salient Features of Constitution

Important Acts Constituent Assembly Enactment & Enforcement Introduction Basic Features Important Quotes Sources List of Articles List of Schedules List of Amendments (Till date) Preamble Union & Territories Citizenship FRs, FDs, & DPs. Union & State Executives Union & State Composition Supreme Court & High Court Indian Penal Code Panchayati Raj System & Municipalities Centre State Relations List I, II, III Interstate Council Zonal Council Article 370 - Jammu & Kashmir Uniform Civil Code Election Comm. UPSC / SPSC Finance Comm. National Comm.

Lokpal & Lokayukta NDC NITI Ayog NHRC

Types of Government

Democratic Parliamentary Federal

Institutional Framework

Legislature Executive Judiciary

Levels of Government

Union State Local

Elections

Electoral System Electoral Reforms

Political Parties & Pressure Groups Foreign

CAG AG Advocate General

Composition Principles &

Objectives

Look - East Gujaral Doctrine Nuclear Policy

India & its Neighbours

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POLITY INDIAN CONSTITUTION Making of Constitution Constitutional Landmark Pitts India Act, 1784

Government of India, 1858

IMPORTANT ACTS Important Provisions •• Indian affairs under direct control of British government. •• Board of control was established.

•• Company rule replaced by British crown. •• Secretary of state for India appointed to exercise the power of the crown. He was a member of British cabinet, responsible to it & was assisted by Council of India with 15 members. •• Governor General became the agent of the crown and now known as Viceroy of India.

Indian Councils Act, 1861 •• Parliamentary system started in India. •• Indians became non-official members of the legislature. •• Started decentralization of power. Indian Councils Act, 1909 •• Central Legislative Council becames Imperial Legislative Council with officials forming the majority. (Morley-Minto Reforms. Lord Morley was the then •• Provincial Legislative Councils had a majority of non-official members. Secretary of State for •• Introduced communal representation for Muslims with a separate India and Lord Minto was electorate system. Legalized communalism. Lord Minto created a then Viceroy of India). communal electorate. Government of India •• Separated central subjects from provincial subjects. •• Provincial subjects were transferred and reserved. Act, 1919/ Montague •• Transferred subjects were administered by Governor with help of - Chelmsford Reforms. ministers who were responsible to the legislature. Montague was the •• Reserved subjects were administered by Governor and Executive Secretary of State Council who were not responsible to the legislature. for India and Lord •• Diarchy/ Dual system of government was introduced. Chelmeford was the •• Bicameral legislature with upper and lower houses were formed Viceroy of India. with direct elections. •• Majority of members in both houses were directly elected. •• 3 of the 6 members of Governor-General’s council had to be Indians. Government of India Act, •• Established All India federation of provinces & princely states as constituent units. 1935 •• Federal, provincial & concurrent lists were introduced. •• Abolished diarchy in provinces which now had provincial autonomy. •• Introduced diarchy at the Centre & bicameralism in the provinces. •• Introduced responsible governments in provinces. The August Offer, 1940 •• Expansion of the Governor-General’s Executive Council to include more Indians. •• Establishment of an advisory war council. Cripps Proposals, 1942

•• Provision made up for participation of Indian states in the constitution making body. •• The leaders of the principal sections of the Indian people were invited to take active and effective participation in the councils of their country.

The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisaiton Act was passed in the year 2014.

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•• There should be a Union of India, embracing both British India and the states which should deal with foreign affairs. •• A Constituent Assembly should be set up to draw up the future constitution of the country. Indian Independence Act, •• Declared India as independent & sovereign state. •• Established responsible government at the Center & provinces. 1947 •• Designated Governor General of India & Provincial Governors as Constitutional heads or nominal heads.

Cabinet Mission Plan, 1916

Objective Resolution

•• On Jan 22, 1947 the Constituent Assembly adopted Objective resolution as advocated by Jawahar Lal Nehru. It contained fundamental propositions of the constitution & set forth the political ideas that should guide its deliberations.

Constituent Assembly

•• The Constituent Assembly was constituted in Nov. 1946 under the scheme formulated by the Cabinet Mission Plan 1946. •• Total members – 389 •• Members elected indirectly from British India – 296 •• Members nominated by princely states. – 93 •• The Constituent Assembly had both Nominated & Elected members. The elected members were indirectly elected by members of the Provincial Assemblies. •• 1st meeting of Constituent Assembly –Dec.9, 1946. •• Muslim League boycotted the Constituent Assembly. •• Temporary president of the Assembly – Dr. Sachidanand. •• Permanent President of the Assembly – Dr. Rajendra Prasad. •• ••

Vice President of the Assembly – H.C. Mukherjee. Constitutional Advisor to the Assembly – Sir B.N.Rau

IMPORTANT COMMITTEES

COMMITTEE

CHAIRMAN

Drafting Committee

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar

Provincial Constitution Committee

Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel

Flag Committee

J. B. Kriplani

Union Constitution Committee

Jawahar lal Nehru

Union Powers Committee

Committee on Fundamental Rights and Minorities

Special Committee to Examine the Draft Constitution Expert Committee on Financial Provisions Ad-hoc Committee on Supreme Court Ad-hoc Committee on National Flag

Committee on Chief Commissioners’ Provinces

Drafting Committee

It consisted of 7 members – 1 Dr. B.R. Ambedkar (Chairman) 2 N. Gopalaswamy Ayyangar 3 Alladi Krishnaswamy Ayyar

4 5 6 7

Jawahar lal Nehru

Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel

(Chairman: Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer)

Dr. K.M. Munshi

Syed Mohammad Saadullah. N. Madhava Rau

T.T Krishnamachari

The Constituent Assembly has 11 sessions and incurred `64 lakh on making the constitution.

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The Drafting Committee took less than 6 months to prepare its draft. In all it sat only for 141 days. Indian Constitution was framed by the Constituent Assembly in a long time of 2 years, 11 months & 18 days.

Enactment & Enforcement of the Constitution

The Constitution was adopted on Nov. 26,1949, contained a Preamble, 395 Articles & 8 Schedules. Now, it increased to 447 Articles & 12 Schedules. It came into force on January 26,1950. This day is celebrated as the Republic Day.

Salient features of the Constitution

The term Constitution is derived from Latin word “Constituere” which means “to establish”. A Constitution is something established as the basis of government (whether by a constitutional convention or by process of evolution). The Constitution of our country is a collection of legal rules which provides the framework of the governmental machinery & also it is an effective instrument of orderly social change. Lengthiest Written Constitution

Supremacy of Constitution Republican form of govt. Secularism

Federal character Sovereignty of the Country Parliamentary Democracy

Basic Structure

Features Parliamentary System of Government

Fundamental Rights, DPs.

Combination of Rigidity & Flexibility Emergency Provisions Federal System with Unitary Bias Integrated and Independent Judiciary

Synthesis of Parliamentary Sovereignty & Judicial Supremacy

Sources of Indian Constitution

Indian Constitution has borrowed its provisions from following sources. Country

Government of India Act, 1935

United Kingdom

USA

Provisions Borrowed

Federal scheme Declaration of emergency powers Ordinance defining the power of the President and Governors Office of the Governor Power of federal judiciary Administration at the centre and state level Parliamentary system Bicameral parliament Prime Minister Council of Ministers Single citizenship Office of CAG Writ jurisdiction of courts Rule of law Written constitution Fundamental rights Supreme Court President as executive head of the state Impeachment of the president, removal of SC and HC judges Vice President as chairman of Rajya Sabha Judicial review, independence of judiciary

The concept of written constitution was first born in the USA.

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Australia USSR Weimer Constitution of Germany Canada

South Africa Ireland

Concurrent list Cooperative federalism Centre State relationship Joint sitting of two houses of Parliament

Fundamental duties Suspension of fundamental rights during emergency Ballot system

Federal system Residuary powers Appointment of Governor Advisory jurisdiction of S.C. Procedure of Constitutional amendment. Electing member to Rajya Sabha Concept of Directive Principles of State Policy. Nomination of members to Rajya Sabha by the President. Presidential election.

SCHEDULES OF THE CONSTITUTION

Numbers Subject Matter First Names of the States and their territorial jurisdiction. Schedule Name of the Union Territories and their extent.

Second Schedule

Third Schedule

Fourth Schedule Fifth Schedule

Articles Covered 1 and 4

Provisions relating to the emoluments, allowances, 59, 65, 75, 97, 125, 148, privileges and so on of: 158, 164, 186 & 221 The President of India The Governors of States The Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha The Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha The Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly in the states The Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of the legislative Council in the states The judges of the Supreme Court The judges of the High Courts The Comptroller and Auditor - General of India Forms of Oaths or Affirmations for: 75, 84, 99, 124, 146, 173, 188 and 219 The Union Ministers The candidates for election to the Parliament The members of Parliament The judges of the Supreme Court The Comptroller of Auditor - General of India The State Ministers The candidates for election to the state legislature The members of the state legislature The judges of the High Courts Allocation of seats in the Rajya Sabha to the states and the 4 and 80 Union Territories. Provisions relating to the administration and control of 244 scheduled areas and scheduled tribes.

The first woman to become the Prime Minister of a country was Sirimavo Bhandharnaike of Sri Lanka.

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POLITY Sixth Schedule

Seventh Schedule

Eighth Schedule

Ninth Schedule

Tenth Schedule Eleventh Schedule

Twelfth Schedule

Provisions relating to the administration of tribal areas in 244 and 275 the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.

Division of power between the Union and the States in 246 terms of List I (Union List), List II (State List) and List III (Concurrent List). Presently, The Union List contains 100 subjects (originally 97), The State list contains 61 subjects (Originally 66) and the concurrent list contains 52 subjects (originally 47).

Languages recognized by the Constitution. Originally, it had 344 and 351 14 languages but presently there are 22 languages. They are: Assamese, Bengali, Bodo Dogri (Dongri), Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Mathili(Maithili), Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. Sindhi was added b the 21st Amendment Act of 1967: Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali were added by the 71st Amendment Act of 1967; Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali were added by the 71st Amendment Act of 1992; And Bodo, Dongri, Maithili and Santhali were added by the 92nd Amendment Act of 2003. Acts and Regulations (originally 13 but presently 282) of the 31 - B state legislatures dealing with land reforms and abolition of the zamindari system and of the Parliament dealing with other matters. This schedule was added by the 1st Amendment (1951) to protect the laws included in it from judicial scrutiny on the ground of violation of fundamental rights. However, in 2007, the Supreme Court ruled that the laws included in this schedule after April 24, 1973, are open to judicial review.

Provisions relating to disqualification of the members 102 and 191 of Parliament and State Legislatures on the ground of defection. This schedule was added by the 52nd Amendment Act of 1985, also known as Anti Defection Law. Specifies the powers, authority and responsibilities of 243 - G Panchayats. It has 29 matters. This Schedule was added by the 73rd Amendment Act of 1992.

Specifies the powers, authority and responsibilities of 243 - W Municipalities. It has 18 matters. This Schedule was added by the 74th Amendment Act of 1992.

LIST OF IMPORTANT AMENDMENTS

Amendments Enforced since Objectives 11th – 1961 Amend articles 66 19 December Election of Vice President by Electoral College consisting of members of and 71. 1961 both Houses of Parliament, instead of election by a Joint Sitting of Parliament. Indemnify the President and Vice President Election procedure from challenge on grounds of existence of any vacancies in the electoral college. 25th – 1971 Amend article 31. Insert article 31C.

20 April 1972

The total strength of the Constituent Assembly was to be 389.

Restrict property rights and compensation in case the state takes over private property.

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31st – 1973

Amend articles 81, 17 October 1973 Increase size of Parliament from 525 to 545 seats. Increased seats going to the 330 and 332. new states formed in North East India and minor adjustment consequent to 1971 Delimitation exercise. 32nd – 1973 Amend article 371. 1 July 1974 Protection of regional rights in Insert articles 371D Telangana and Andhra regions of State and 371E. of Andhra Pradesh. Amend schedule 7.

42nd – 1976 Amend articles 31, 1 April 1977 31C, 39, 55, 74, 77, 81, 82, 83, 100, 102, 103, 105, 118, 145, 150, 166, 170, 172, 189, 191, 192, 194, 208, 217, 225, 226, 227, 228, 311, 312, 330, 352, 353, 356, 357, 358, 359, 366, 368 and 371F. Insert articles 31D, 32A, 39A, 43A, 48A, 131A, 139A, 144A, 226A, 228A and 257A. Insert parts 4A and 14A. Amend schedule 7. 51st – 1984 Amend articles 330 16 June 1986 and 332. 61st – 1988

Amend article 326.

28 March 1989

65th – 1990 Amend article 338.

12 March 1990

81st – 2000

9 June 2000

64th – 1990 Amend article 356.

Amend article 16.

82nd – 2000 Amend article 335.

16 April 1990

8 September 2000

86th – 2002 Amend articles 45 12 December and 51A. 2002 Insert article 21A. 89th – 2003 Amend article 338. 28 September Insert article 338A. 2003

Amendment passed during internal emergency by Indira Gandhi. Provides for curtailment of fundamental rights, imposes fundamental duties and changes to the basic structure of the Constitution by making India a “Socialist Secular” Republic.

Provide reservation to Scheduled Tribes in Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assemblies. Reduce age for voting rights from 21 to 18

Article 356 amended to permit President’s rule up to three years and six months in the State of Punjab. National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes formed and its statutory powers specified in the Constitution. Protect SC / ST reservation in filling backlog of vacancies. Permit relaxation of qualifying marks and other criteria in reservation in promotion for SC / ST candidates. Provides Right to Education until the age of fourteen and Early childhood care until the age of six. The National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes was bifurcated into The National Commission for Scheduled Castes and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes.

Dr. Sachchidanand Sinha, the oldest member, was elected as the temporary President of the Assembly.

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97th – 2011 Amend Art 19 and 12 January 2012 Added the words “or Co-operative added Part IXB. Societies” after the word “or Unions” in Article 19(l)(c) and insertion of article 43B i.e., Promotion of Co-operative Societies and added Part-IXB, i.e. the Co-operative Societies. The amendment objective is to encourage economic activities of cooperatives which in turn help progress of rural India. It is expected to not only ensure autonomous and democratic functioning of cooperatives, but also the accountability of the management to the members and other stakeholders.

99th – 2014 Insertion of new 13 April 2015 articles 124A, 124B and 124C Amendments to Articles 127, 128, 217, 222, 224A, 231.

100th – 2015 Amendment First Schedule Constitution

of 1 August 2015 to

PREAMBLE

The amendment provides for the formation of a National Judicial Appointments Commission. 16 State assemblies out of 29 States including Goa, Rajasthan, Tripura, Gujarat and Telangana ratified the Central Legislation, enabling the President of India to give assent to the bill. The amendment is in toto quashed by Supreme Court on 16 October 2015. Exchange of certain enclave territories with Bangladesh and conferment of citizenship rights to residents of enclaves consequent to signing of Land Boundary Agreement (LBA)Treaty between India and Bangladesh.

Meaning

•• Introduction or preface to the Constitution. •• Summary or essence of the Constitution

Amendment

•• 42nd Amnd Act 1976 added 3 new words – Socialist, Secular & Integrity.

Components •• Source of Authority – People of India •• Nature of Indian State – Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic & Republican. •• Objectives of Constitution –Justice, Liberty, Equality & Fraternity.

Part of the •• In Kesavananda Bharati Case (1973), Supreme Court held that Preamble is Constitution an integral part of the Constitution.

THE UNION & ITS TERRITORY

•• •• •• •• ••

Article 1 stipulates that India, that is Bharat, shall be Union of states. The country is described as ‘Union‘ beacuse it is indestructible. The ‘territory of India’ includes the entire area over which the Sovereignty of India extends. Under Articles 2 &3, Parliament has the power to establish new States, form a new State from the territory of any State or by uniting two or more States, increase or decrease the area of any State, or after the boundaries or the name of any State. First Linguistic State – Andhra Pradesh.

National flag was adopted on July 22, 1947.

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State Reorganisation Act 1956 State Reorganisation Act 1956 was adopted by the Govt. of India that resulted in the formation of new States & UTs. LIST OF NEW STATES & UTS CREATED AFTER 1956 STATES/UTs

YEAR

Maharashtra & Gujarat

1960

Goa (Statehood)

1987

2. 3. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Dadra & Nagar Haveli

1961

Goa, Daman & Diu

1962

Puducherry

1962

Nagaland

1963

Haryana, Chandigarh

1966

Himachal Pradesh (Statehood)

1971

Manipur, Tripura & Meghalaya (Statehood)

1972

10. Sikkim (full – fledged State)

1975

11. Arunachal Pradesh & Mizoram

1987

12. Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand & Jharkhand

2000

13. Telangana

2014

Citizenship

Single Citizenship

3 Categories entitled to citizenship

Indian Citizenship

Citizenship Act (1955) Provides for acquisition & loss of Citizenship after commencement of the Constitution.

Person domiciled in India Refugees who migrated to India from Pakistan Indians living in other Countries.

Dual Citizenship for PIOs

Acquisition of Citizenship

By Birth

By Descent

By Registration

By By Incorporation Naturalisation of Territory

Loss of Citizenship

By Renunciation

By Termination

The Constitution deals with the Citizenship from article 5 to 11 under Part II.

By Deprivation

Right to Freedom

Right to Freedom of Religion

Fundamental Rights

Borrowed from USA & France

Right Against Exploitation

Part III (Article 12 to 35)

(18) Abolition of titles.

(17) Abolition of untouchability.

(22) Protection against arrest & detention in certain cases.

(21) Protection of life & (16) Equality of opportunity in personal liberty. public employment

(15) Prohibition of (20) Protection in respect of (24) Prohibition of discrimination on conviction for offences. employment of grounds of religion, children in factories etc. race, sex etc.

(28) Freedom from attending religious instruction or worship in certain educational institutions.

(27) Freedom from payment of taxes for promotion of any religion.

(26 ) Manage religious affairs.

(30) Right of minorities to establish & administer educational institutions.

Includes writs: (1) Habeas Corpus (2) Mandamus (3) Prohibition (4) Certiorari (5) Quo–Warranto

Articles 32

Right to Constitutional Remedies

FRs available only to citizens & Not to Foreigners- Art. 15, 16, 19, 29, 30

Cultural and Educational Rights

Can be Suspended during Emergency except Art. 20 & 21

Articles Articles Articles Articles Articles 14-18 19-22 23-24 25-28 29-30 (14) Equality before Law (19) 6 Rights: Freedom of (23) Prohibition of traffic in (25) Freedom of conscience & (29) Protection of speech & expression, human beings & forced free profession, practice & interests of & Equal protection of law. Assembly, Association, labour. propagation of religion. minorities. Movement, Residence & Profession.

Right to Equality

Magna Carta of India

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Fundamental Rights

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POLITY Directive Principles

“Instrument of instructions” – B.R. Ambedkar Mixture of socialist Gandhian & Liberal principles

Part IV, Article 36 – 51

Promote concept of welfare state

Directive Principles

Fundamental guidelines Borrowed from in country’s governance Ireland

Non-justiciable

Aim to economic & social justice

ARTICLES RELATED TO DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATE POLICY AT A GLANCE Article No.

Subject - matter

Definition of State

State to secure a social order for the promotion of welfare of the people

37 39

39 A 40 41 42 43

43 A 43 B 44

45 46

Application of the principles contained in this part

Certain principles of policy to be followed by the State •• Means of livelihood to all. •• Use of resources for common good. •• Prevention of concentration of wealth •• Equal pay for equal work •• Protection of workers, children & youth Equal justice and free legal aid

Organisation of village panchayats

Right to work, to education and to public assistance in certain cases

Provision for just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief Living wage, etc. for workers

Participation of workers in management of industries Promotion of co-operative societies Uniform Civil Code for the citizens

Provision for early childhood care and education to children below the age of six years

Promotion of educational and economic interests of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other weaker section.

Article 39, 39A, 43A and 48A of Directive Principles were added by 42nd Amendment Act of 1976.

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POLITY 47 48

48 A 49 50 51

Duty of the State to raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living and to improve public health Organisation of agriculture and animal husbandry

Protection and improvement of environment and safeguarding of forests and wildlife Protection of monuments and places and objects of national importance Separation of judiciary from executive

Promotion of international peace security

FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES

Fundamental Duties Covered

Part IV A, Article 51–A

Amendment

42nd Amendment 1976, introduced Article 51 A in the Constitution.

Borrowed from

USSR

Recommended by

Swaran Singh Committee.

List of F.Ds

51 A (a) Abide by the Constitution and respect National Flag & National

Numbers

Originally–10 duties Now–11 duties (added by 86th Amendment ACT, 2002)

B C

D E F

H I J

Anthem

Follow ideals of the freedom struggle

Protect sovereignty & integrity of India

Defend the country and render national services when called upon

Spirit of common brotherhood Preserve composite culture

Protect natural environment Develop scientific temper

Safeguard public property Strive for excellence

Duty of all parents & guardians to send their children in the age group of 6-14 years to school.

National Song of India was adopted on 24th January, 1950.

Term

Oath Qualification

Election

Total value of votes of all MLAs of all States Total no. of elected MPs

•• At second stage, a complex system of calculating Quota of individual candidate is used which is based on the order of preference of candidates.

Value of vote of MP =

• On expiry of term • By death • By resignation • By impeachment

Vacancy Judicial Emergency

Powers Executive Legislative

Total population of State 1 × Total no. of elected members in the State Legislative Assembly 1000

• ` 1.5 lakh • Citizen of • Elected per month India indirectly by • Pension • Completed 35 electoral college ` 75,000 years age consisting per month • Qualified for elected members election as a of both houses member of of Parliament Lok Sabha & State’s • Not hold any Legislative office of profit Assemblies under GOI • Following formula is adopted at first stage:

Emolument

Value of vote of MLA =

• 5 years • Executive • By Chief Head of the • Eligible for Justice State Re-election of India • First citizen or senior of the country most judge of Supreme Court

Position

President

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UNION & STATE EXECUTIVES

President

Legislative

Appoints PM, Dissolution or Address Nominates Assent Directly Council of administers Prorogation of & Send Members of on Bills ministers, Parliament UTs messages Parliament passed by Attorney_General, Parliament to houses CAG, Judges of Supreme Court & High Courts, Governors, Administrators Miscellaneous of UTs, Chairman & Members of Public Service Commission, Supreme Conclude Chairman & Commander & Approve Members of Finance of Armed International Commission, Forces Treaties & Chief Election Agreements Commissioner & Election Commissioners, Inter - State Council, Commission investigate the condition of SCs, STs & OBCs.

Executive

Powers of President

Emergency

Seek Power to Advice of grant Supreme pardon Court

National Failure of Financial Emergency Constitutional Emergency (Art. 352) Machinery (Art. 360) in States (Art. 356)

Issue Laying Ordinance down some reports before Parliament

Judicial

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POLITY LIST OF PRESIDENTS

List of President Dr. Rajendra Prasad Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Zakir Hussain Varahagiri Venkata Giri Muhammad Hidayatullah Varahagiri Venkata Giri Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Basappa Danappa Jatti Neelam Sanjiva Reddy Giani Zail Singh Ramaswamy Venkataraman Shankar Dayal Sharma Kocheril Raman Narayanan A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Smt. Pratibha Patil Pranab Mukherjee

Vice President Qualification

Joining date 1/26/1950 5/13/1962 5/13/1967 5/3/1969 7/20/1969 8/24/1969 8/24/1974 2/11/1977 7/25/1977 7/25/1982 7/25/1987 7/25/1992 7/25/1997 7/25/2002 7/25/2007 7/25/2012

(1) Citizen of India. (2) Completed 35 years. (3) Qualified for election as a member of Rajya Sabha. (4) Not hold any office of profit under Union/ State government or any Local Authority.

Term

(1) 5 years. (2) Eligible for re-election.

Oath

(1) Administered by the President.

Emoluments

(1) ` 1.25 Lakh per month salary.

Election

(1) Indirectly elected. (2) Elected by an electoral college consisting of the members of both Houses of Parliament & in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote.

Functions

(1) Ex-officio chairman of Rajya Sabha. (2) Suspend or adjourn the business of the House(Rajya Sabha). (3) Issues direction to the Chairman of various committees.

Leaving date 5/13/1962 5/13/1967 5/3/1969 7/20/1969 8/24/1969 8/24/1974 2/11/1977 7/25/1977 7/25/1982 7/25/1987 7/25/1992 7/25/1997 7/25/2002 7/25/2007 7/25/2012 Incumbent

(4) Acts as President when vacancy occurs in the office of the President due to his resignation. Removal, death, or otherwise.

Removal

(1) He can be removed by a resolution of the Rajya Sabha passed by an absolute majority & agreed to by the Lok Sabha. But, no such resolution can be moved unless at least 14 days advance notice has been given.

Prime Minister Appointment (1) By President

Position

(1) Real executive authority (de facto executive). (2) Head of the Government. (3) Leader of the majority party in the Lok Sabha.

Election

(1) Elected directly by the people.

Term

(1) 5 years (2) The PM actually stays in office as long as he enjoys the confidence of the parliament, but the normal term is automatically reduced if the Lok Sabha is dissolved earlier.

The election commission of India is not concerned with the election of panchayats and municipalities.

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POLITY Powers (1) Advise the President to summon & prorogue the Parliament & dissolve the Lok Sabha. (2) Act as a Link between the cabinet & the President. (3) All the members of the Council of Ministers are appointed by the List of Prime Ministers of India Narendra Modi 2014 till date Manmohan Singh 2004-14 Atal Bihari Vajpayee 1998-2004 IK Gujral 1997-98 HD Deve Gowda 1996-97 AB Vajpayee 1996 PV Narasimha Rao 1991-96 Chandra Shekhar 1990-91 VP Singh 1989-90 Rajiv Gandhi 1984-89 Indira Gandhi 1980-84 Charan Singh 1979-80 Morarji Desai 1977-79 Indira Gandhi 1966-77 Gulzarilal Nanda 1966-66 Lal Bahadur Shastri 1964-66 Gulzarilal Nanda 1964 Jawaharlal Nehru 1947-64

Governor

President on the recommendations of the Prime Minister. (4) Allocates Portfolios among the various ministers & reshuffles them. (5) Presides over the meetings of the Council of ministers. (6) Ask a minister to resign. (7) Coordinates the policies of the various departments & ministries. Party Name Bharatiya Janata Party Indian National Congress Bharatiya Janata Party Janata Dal Janata Dal (Secular) Bharatiya Janata Party Indian National Congress Samajwadi Janata Party Janata Dal (National Front) Indian National Congress Indian National Congress Janata Dal (Secular) Janata Dal Indian National Congress Indian National Congress Indian National Congress Indian National Congress Indian National Congress

Position

•• Chief Executive of the State. •• Act as an head agent of the Central Government. Qualification •• Citizen of India. •• Completed 35 years. •• Not hold any office of profit under government. •• Not a member of Parliament or State legislature. Appointment •• Appointed by President. •• Term is 5 years. & Tenure Oath •• Administered by Chief Justice of High Court Powers and (A) Executive Powers – •• Appoints Chief Minister & other ministers, Advocate General, chairman & Functions Members of State PSC, State Election Commissioner & Finance Commission, Vice Chancellors of Universities in State. •• Nominate one member of Anglo Indian Community to the Legislative Assembly of his State & 1/6th members of Sate Legislative Council. •• Recommend President that government of the Sate cannot be carried on in accordance with the Provisions of the Constitution. (B) Legislative Powers – •• Summon, adjourn & Prorogue State legislature & Dissolve the State Legislative Assembly. •• Address the state legislature at the commencement of the first session after each general election and the first session of each year. •• Give or withold Assent to the bill. The interpretation of the Constitution falls within the domain of the Constitutional Bench which must consist of at least 5 judges.

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POLITY •• Return or reserve the Bill. •• Submission reports from auditor General, State PSC, State Finance Commission before the legislature. (C) Discretionary Powers – •• Appointing a new Chief Minister when no Single Party Commands a clear-cut majority in Legislative Assembly. •• Dismissal of ministry if he is convinced that it has lost majority support. (D) Other powers – •• Grant Pardons & Suspend the sentence of any person but cannot Pardon in case of death sentence. •• No demand of grants can be made except on the recommendation of the Governor. •• Ensures that Budget of State is laid before State legislature every year.

Chief Minister

Appointment By Governor Tenure 5 years

Qualification Member of either house of the State legislature Powers & Functions

(1) Chief link between the Governor & the Council of Ministers. (2) Head of the Council of Ministers. (3) Recommends to the Governor the names of persons to be appointed as members of the Council of Ministers (4) Allocates portfolios among Ministers. (5) Supervises & coordinates Policies of the several Ministries & Departments.

Council of Ministers (At Centre & State Level) : Composition

Assist Ministers with whom they are attached & perform administrative duties

Individual Responsibility to President at Central level & Governor at State level.

S O F S TA ER T

MIN IS

Y M I NISTE

No Separate charge

Head Important Ministries of Central / State Government

Collective Responsibility to Lok Sabha at Central level and Legislative Assembly at State level

Attend Cabinet’s meetings & decide policies

CABINET MINISTERS

(Independent Charge)

Supreme Executive authority

Independent charge of Ministries / Departments.

Work under Supervision & guidance of Cabinet ministers.

Not members of Cabinet & donot attend Cabinet meeting.

Part IV of The Constitution i.e. States Govt. is not applicable to Jammu and Kashmir.

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POLITY THE NEW COUNCIL OF MINISTERS AT THE CENTRE 2016 S.No. Portfolio

Name Union Council of Ministers

Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Department of Narendra Modi

Home Affairs

Atomic Energy, Department of Space, All important policy issues and All other portfolios not allocated to any Minister Cabinet Ministers

Rajnath Singh

External Affairs

Smt. Sushma Swaraj

Finance, Corporate Affairs

Road Transport and Highways, Shipping

4 6 7 8 9

Urban Development, Housing and Alleviation, Information & Broadcasting

Urban

Poverty M. Venkaiah Naidu

Defence

Water Resources, Rejuvenation

River

Development

Suresh Prabhu and

10 Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution 11 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises 12 Women and Child Development

13 Chemicals and Fertilizers, Parliamentary Affairs

14 Law & Justice, Electronics & Information Technology 15 Health and Family Welfare 16 Civil Aviation

17 Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises

Nitin Jairam Gadkari Manohar Parrikar

Railways

Statistics & Programme Implementation

Arun Jaitley

D.V. Sadananda Gowda

Ganga Sushri Uma Bharati Ramvilas Paswan Kalraj Mishra

Smt. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi Ananth kumar

Ravi Shankar Prasad

Jagat Prakash Nadda

Ashok Gajapathi Raju Pusapati Anant Geete

18 Food Processing Industries

Smt. Harsimrat Kaur Badal

20 Steel

Chaudhary Birender Singh

22 Agriculture & Farmers Welfare

Radha Mohan Singh

24 Textiles

Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani

26 Human Resource Development

Prakash Javadekar

19 Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Drinking Water and Narendra Singh Tomar Sanitation

21 Tribal Affairs

23 Social Justice and Empowerment

25 Science and Technology, Earth Sciences

Jual Oram

Thawar Chand Gehlot

Dr. Harsh Vardhan

While debating or during general discussion on a bill, the members of the parliament have to address only to the Speaker.

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POLITY

Parliament Indian Legislature

Union Leg (Parliament) President

Rajya Sabha

State Leg Lok Sabha

Bicameral

Upper House

Lower House

Total members-250

Maximum Strength - 552

Also known as council of states

House of People

Leg. Council or Vidhan Parishad

530 20 2 (Nominated 238 12 Indirectly Nominated (States) (UTs) members from Anglo-Indian elected Community)

Permanent Body

Term of individual member - 6 years

1/3 rd members retires at expiration of every 2nd year. Presiding officers

Chairman

Deputy Chairman

Qualification

Citizen of India

Members are directly elected Term - 5 years

Presiding Officers

Speaker

Deputy Speaker

Qualification

Citizen of India

Not less than 25 years.

Unicameral

Legislative Assembly Leg. Assembly or Vidhan Sabha

Upper House

Maximum Strength - 1/3 rd of total strength of Assembly. Minimum Strength - 40 Members are indirectly elected Permanent body

Lower House

Maximum Strength - 500 Minimum Strength - 60

Members are directly elected by people Term - 5 years

1/3rd of its members retire every second year. Term - 6 years

Not less than 30 years

Sessions of Parliament

Budget Session

Monsoon Session

Winter Session

February- May

July-September

November–December

Only the president can save a person guilty in the supreme court who has been given the death sentence.

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POLITY CONTROL OF THE PARLIAMENT OVER THE EXECUTIVE Question hour •• •• •• ••

Zero hour

Half-an-hour discussion

First hour of every parliamentary sitting. Starred questions are answered orally and supplementary questions can follow. Unstarred questions are answered in writing. Short notice questions are asked giving less than 10 days notice.

•• Starts immediately after the question hour. •• Any matter can be discussed during the zero hour.

•• To clear fact on matters of public importance on which lot of debate has occurred.

Short duration •• To discuss urgent matters. discussions •• Also known as two hour discussion. Calling Attention Motion

•• Moved to call the attention of a minister to matters of public importance.

Adjournment •• To draw attention of Parliament to a matter of urgent public importance. Motion •• Motion needs the support of 50 members for admission. •• Rajya Sabha cannot move this motion. No Confidence •• Motion •• •• •• Censure Motion

Moved to prove the confidence of Lok Sabha in the Council of Ministers. If No Confidence Motion is passed, Council of Ministers has to resign. No Confidence Motion needs the support of 50 members to be admitted. Can be moved only in Lok Sabha.

•• This motion seeks to censure the government for its lapses. •• If the Censure Motion is passed against the government, it should pass a Confidence Motion as soon as possible to regain the confidence of the house. •• And government, does not need to resign immediately unlike in case of NoConfidence Motion. •• It can be moved against an individual minister for specific policies or actions. This motion should state the reason for its adoption. It is in practice since 1954.

INDIAN JUDICIARY INTEGRATED JUDICIARY President

Governor

Supreme Court 1. Chief Justice 2. Judges High Courts 1. Chief Justice 2. Judges

Parliament

The presiding officer (Speaker or Chairman) declares the house adjourned sine die, when the business of a session is completed.

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POLITY

Courts Indian Judiciaries The Supreme Court Delhi High Courts (In States)

(In Districts) District and Session Courts

(Civil) Subordinate Courts

Munsif Courts

Provincial Small Cases Courts

(Criminal) Session Courts

Judicial Magistrate

Executive Magistrate

Nyaya Panchayat

Supreme Court •• •• ••

•• ••

Metropolitan Areas

Subordinate Magistrate Courts

Supreme court is the final interpreter & guardian of our Constitution. It is the highest court of appeal in India. Presently there are 31 judges (including Chief justice) in Supreme Court. The CJI is appointed by the President. The present CJI is Hon’ble Mr. TS Thakur. There is no fixed period of office for SC judges. Once appointed, they hold office till the age of 65 years. A judge of SC can be removed from his office only by the process of impeachment.

Jurisdiction of Supreme Court

Metropolitan Magistrate Courts City - Civil and Session Courts

Presidency Small Cases Courts

Panchayat Courts

••

According to Article 129, SC is a “Court of Record”. It means:-

(a) Court records are admitted to be of evidentiary value. (b) It can punish for Contempt of the Court.

Qualification for appointment as a Judge of SC :-

(1) Citizen of India. (2) Either be a distinguished jurist, or one who has been a High Court Judge for atleast 5 years or an advocate of a High Court ( or 2 or more such courts in Succession ) for atleast 10 years.

Types of Jurisdiction Original Jurisdiction

Appellate Jurisdiction

Advisory Jurisdiction

Review Jurisdiction

Give its legal opinion on matters referred to it by the President Power of Judicial Review (means it can pronounce upon the constitutional validity of laws passed by legislature and actions taken by administrative Appeal in Appeal in Appeal in Special leave authority. Civil cases Criminal cases Constitutional cases to Appeal

Disputes involving Disputes violation of relating to Union and the fundamental rights states (writ jurisdiction)

Supreme Court at Calcutta was established by the Regulating Act 1773.

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POLITY High Court

•• Qualification: a person appointed as a judge of HC should (1) Be a citizen of India. (2) Must have held a judicial office in the territory of India for 10 years or have been on advocate a high court for 10 years.

•• The judiciary in a State consists of a HC & a hierarchy of Subordinate courts. •• The judges of HC are appointed by the President . •• The judge of a HC holds office until he attains the age of 62 years. He can be removed by the process of Impeachment.

Jurisdiction of High Court

Types of Jurisdiction Original Jurisdiction

Writ Jurisdiction

Issue writs for enforcement of FRs of citizens

Matters of Disputes relating Revenue Admirality matter to election of Parliament and state legislature

Appellate Jurisdiction

Appeal against judgements of subordinate courts in civil and criminal matters

Review its own judgement

Crime The Indian Penal Code was passed in the year 1860 and came into effect from January 1, 1862. The Indian Penal Code applies to the whole of India except for the state of Jammu & Kashmir. It contains 23 Chapters and 511 Sections. Before the Indian Penal Code came into effect, the Mohammedan Criminal Law was applied to both Mohammedans and Hindus in India.

Broad classification of crimes under the Indian Penal Code (IPC)

1. Crimes Against Body: Murder, its attempt, Culpable Homicide not amounting to Murder, Kidnapping & Abduction, Hurt, Causing Death by Negligence;

Court of Record

Jammu and Kashmir has its own constitution and its own flag.

Judgements Proceedings and Acts are recorded for legal references

Power to punish for contempt of court

2. Crimes Against Property: Dacoity, its preparation & assembly, Robbery, Burglary, Theft; 3. Crimes Against Public order: Riots, Arson; 4. Economic Crimes: Criminal Breach of Trust, Cheating, Counterfeiting; 5. Crimes Against Women: Rape, Dowry Death, Cruelty by Husband and Relatives, Molestation, Sexual harassment and Importation of Girls; 6. Crimes Against Children: Child Rape, Kidnapping & Abduction of Children, Procreation of minor girls, Selling/Buying of girls for Prostitution, Abetment to Suicide, Exposure and Abandonment, Infanticide, Foeticide; 7. Other IPC crimes.

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POLITY

Few Known Sections

LEGAL TERMS

Section 120 : Concealing design to commit offence punishable with imprisonment

Affidavit: This is a sworn statement made by a party, in writing, made in the presence of an oath commissioner or a notary public which is used either in support of applications to the Court or as evidence in court proceedings. Alimony: The maintenance given by a husband to his divorced wife. Amicus curiae: Translated from the Latin as ’friend of the Court’. An advocate appears in this capacity when asked to help with the case by the Court or on volunteering services to the Court. Arbitration: Settling disputes by referring them to independent third parties as an alternative to court proceedings. Audi alteram partem: This is a rule of natural justice which translates from the Latin as ‘hear the other side’ or ’hear both sides’. Bequeath: To dispose of personal property by Will. Caveat: Where it is apprehended that an opposite party may file a case, a party may file a document requesting the court that no order be made in the case without hearing the caveator. Cognizable offence: An offence in which arrest can be made without a warrant. Dasti Notice: Dasti is a persian word, which means ‘by hand’. Dast Notice means service of the notice by the Petitioner on the Respondent(s) in person, and not by the Registry through post. Decree: The formal expression of an adjudication which, so far as regards the Court expressing it, Estoppel: A legal principle that bars a party from denying or alleging a certain fact owing to that party’s previous conduct, allegation, or denial. Habeas Corpus: A writ requiring a person under arrest to be brought before a judge or into court, especially to secure the person’s release unless lawful grounds are shown for their detention.

Section 120-A and B: Definition of criminal conspiracy and Punishment of criminal conspiracy Section 141: Unlawful assembly

Section 146 and 147: Rioting and Punishment for rioting Section 169: Public servant unlawfully buying or bidding for property Section 171-B: Bribery

Section 279: Rash driving or riding on a public way

Section 295: Injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class Section 298: Uttering words, etc., with deliberate intent to hurt the religious feelings of any person Section 300: Murder

Section 304-B: Dowry death

Section 307: Attempt to murder

Section 317: Exposure and abandonment of child under twelve years, by parent or person having care of it.

Section 369: Kidnapping or abducting child under ten years with intent to stealing from their parent.

Section 372: Selling minor for purposes of prostitution, etc. Section 373: Buying minor for purposes of prostitution, etc. Section 378: Theft Section 375: Rape

Section 376: Punishment against rape Section 383: Extortion Section 390: Robbery

Section 397: Robbery, or dacoity, with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt

The first Speaker of Lok Sabha was Ganesh Vasudev Mavlankar who served as the speaker from 1952 to 1956.

POLITY In pari delicto: When both the parties are equally in fault.

Interim Order : Any order by a court before a final order is made. Interlocutory Application: Petition seeking a relief even while the main petition remains in the Court.

Intervenor: A person who is not a party to the proceedings may, with the permission of the court, intervene if it is shown that the outcome of the case will affect such person in some way.

Judgment-debtor: Any person against whom a decree has been passed or an order capable of execution has been made; Judicial Review: A term that describes the function of the judiciary being able to examine and correct the actions of all the organs of State—the executive, the legislature and the judiciary itself.

Justiciable: A matter is justiciable if it lends itself to adjudication by a court. This is determined by criteria laid down in law. Litigation: The totality of the legal proceedings in any dispute.

Locus Standi: Translated from Latin as ‘place of standing’, locus standi gives the right to pursue a litigation. Under this rule, only a person or group of persons affected by the issue may petition the Court. Ordinance: A codified law made, as a temporary measure, by the President of India or the Governor of a State when the Parliament or legislature of a state is not in session. Perjury: This occurs when a person gives false evidence or false affidavit in a case. Petition: A written document filed in a court asserting a claim or a right and seeking relief on legal grounds.

Pleadings: A collective noun for all the petitions, affidavits, replies, rejoinders drafted by or on behalf of the parties to a case.

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Prima facie: At first sight; on the face of it.

Pro bono publico: Translated from the Latin as ’for the public good’. In PIL, this refers to a petitioner acting bonafide in the public interest. Respondent: A party against whom a petition is filed. A proforma respondent is a party against whom no relief is sought.

Stare decisis: The principle that decisions of Courts in previous cases must be followed in subsequent cases of similar nature. Statute: A codified law that is enacted by the Parliament or a State Legislature.

Stay Order: A party filing a petition may require some immediate relief, even before the respondents can be heard or a final decision given. Suo Motu: The Court may take action on its own when facts requiring legal intervention reach its notice. The Court is then said to be acting Suo Moto. Void: One that law regards as never having taken place. Vox populi: Translated from the Latin as ’the voice of the people’.

Writ: A writ is a direction that the Court issues, which is to be obeyed by the authority/person to whom it is issued.

Writ Petition: A petition seeking issuance of a writ is a writ petition.

Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI)

The term Panchayati Raj (PRI) in India signifies the system of rural local self government. It has been established in all the States of India by the Acts of the state Legislatures to build democracy at the grassroot level. It is entrusted with rural development. It was constitutionalised through the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act 1992.

Balwant Rai Mehta Committee had recommended for the decentralization of the government in November 1957.

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POLITY

Committees on Panchayati Raj Committee

Year

1. Balwant Rai Mehta 1957 2. Ashok Mehta

1977

3. GVK Rao

1985

4. LM Singhvi

1986

Constitutionalisation

Important Recommendations •• Three – tier Panchayati Raj System – Gram Panchayat at Village level, Panchayat Samiti at Block level & Zila Parishad at district level.

•• Two – tier PR System – Mandal Panchayats at Village level & Zila Panchayat at district level. •• Official representation of Political Parties at all levels of Panchayat elections. •• Seat for SCs & STs should be reserved. •• Constitutional recognition to PRIs. •• Regular elections to the PRIs. •• Regular, Free & fair elections to PRIs. •• Establishment of Nyaya Panchayats. •• More financial resources to village Panchayats.

73rd Amendment Act 1993

The Parliament has passed 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts in 1993 to ensure the effective participation of rural & urban people in the institutions of local Self government. •• •• ••

Added part -IX (Articles 243 to 243-0) & the 11th Schedule to the Constitution. 11th Schedule contains 29 functional items & deals with Article 243 – G. The important provisions of 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act are as follows –

1. It made mandatory to hold the elections of Panchayats in due time on regular basis. 2. Reservation of seats for women, SCs, STs & OBCs in Panchayats, at all levels. 3. Elections to the panchayats shall be held with in a period of 6 months from the date of dissolution. 4. Members of Block Panchayat & Zila Panchayats are to be elected by people directly along with the election of members of Gram Panchayat. The heads of Gram Panchayat shall be elected by directly elected members of these bodies. 5. Establishment of an independent State Election Commission in every State.

6. Power to the Panchayats to impose and collect taxes in accordance with the provisions made by the State government. 7. Establishment of a State Finance Commission. 8. Prepare & implement the plans for economic development.

Municipalities

For the establishment of self-government in urban areas urban bodies have been established. The urban institutions have been granted constitutional status by 74th Constitutional Amendement (enforced with effect from January 1,1993). In the Part IX A of the Constitution the provisions for Municipalities have been made from Article 243 P to 243 ZG. Besides a 12th Schedule also has been incorporated in the Constitution, which contains 18 subjects relating to the jurisdiction of Municipalities. As per this Constitutional Amendment 3 types of urban institutions have been established on the basis of population they are – 1. Nagar Panchayat for a transitional area. 2. Municipal Council for a smaller urban area. 3. Municipal Corporation for a larger urban area.

The Fifth Schedule of Indian Constitution which deals with Scheduled Tribes and administration of Scheduled Tribe areas do not hold for J&K.

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POLITY CENTRE – STATE RELATIONS The basic provisions regarding the distribution of powers between the central & Provincial governments are in Part XI & XII of the Constitution. Both the Union & the States derive their authority from the Constitution, which divides all powers legislative, executive & financial between them. Our Constitution makers elaborated provisions to govern Centre State relations. A total of 56 Articles, from Article 245 to 300 deal with the Centre State relations. Committees Appointed to study Centre -State relation. 1. Setalvad Committee (1966). 2. Rajamannar Committee (1969) 3. Sarkaria Committee (1983).

Division of Legislative Powers between Centre & the States I.

Three Lists

1. Union List – List I – 97 subjects 2. State List – List II – 66 subjects 3. Concurrent List – List III – 52 subjects

Important Subject in Various Lists Union List (List I) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Atomic energy and mineral resources. Extradition. Banking. Insurance. Stock exchanges and futures markets. Patents, inventions and designs; copyright; trade-marks and merchandise marks. 7. Census. 8. Corporation tax. 9. Any other matter not enumerated in List II or List III including any tax not mentioned in either of those lists.

State List (List II) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Public order. Local government. Public health and sanitation. Libraries, museums and other similar institutions. Agriculture. Fisheries. Gas and gas-works. Markets and fairs. Captivation taxes.

Concurrent List (List III) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Criminal law. Criminal procedure. Preventive detention. Marriage and divorce. Transfer of property other than agricultural land. 6. Contracts. 7. Civil procedure. 8. Contempt of court, but not include contempt of the Supreme Court. 9. Prevention of cruelty to animals. 10. Economic and social planning. 11. Legal, medical and other professions. 12. Electricity. 13. Archaeological sites.

Inter State Council

Inter–State Council is one of the important extra judicial bodies formed in 1990 on the recommendation of Sarkaria Commission. The Article 263 of Constitution empowers the President to appoint or establish an Inter– State Council for: (1) enquiring into & advising upon inter–state disputes. (2) Investigate & Discuss on subjects in which states alone or states & Union have common interest. The Council is headed by the Prime Minister & its members include 6 Cabinet Ministers & Chief Ministers of States.

Zonal Council

Zonal Councils were constituted on the recommendation of States Reorganization Commission 1956. In 1956, five Zonal Councils were established – North, South, East, West & Central. In 1971, the 6th Zonal Council was established i.e. North–east zonal council. Its objectives are:– (a) To promote collective approach & sorting out common problems of the member states. (b) For providing cooperation for the implementation of development plans & progress. Composition: The Union Home Minister is the ex–officio chairman of all the Zonal Councils. Each Zonal Council includes the Chief Ministers of the member states & the Administrators of the Union Territories. The chief secretaries of the member states are also included.

Justice M. Hidayatullah was the first and only Chief Justice of India to have become acting President of India from 20th July, 1969 to 24th August, 1969.

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POLITY

Article 370 Under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, Jammu & Kashmir is granted autonomy. It is a ‘temporary provision’ that accords special status to the State. All the provisions of the Constitution are not applicable to J&K, unlike other states. Except finance, defence, communications, and foreign affairs, Central Government needs the state government’s consensus for applying all other laws. Because of this article, residents

of Kashmir follow separate set of laws in terms of citizenship, property ownership, and other rights. Moreover, as per Article 370, the power of Parliament to make laws for the said State is “limited to those matters in the Union List and the Concurrent List.” It doesn’t have the authority to increase or reduce the borders of the State. For those uninitiated, the article was drafted by N. Gopalaswami

The Supreme Court has no jurisdiction in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

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POLITY Ayyangar in 1949 against the wish of Dr BR Ambedkar, who found it discriminatory and against the interest of India. Despite Jawahar Lal Nehru’s promise that Article 370 will be gradually abrogated, it has not happened even after more than six decades have whiled away. It is not known to many that the article 370 has been eroded time and again due to a series of Presidential Orders. These orders over a period of time have made almost all Union laws applicable to J&K. Today, the State is within the “scope and jurisdiction” of almost every institution of India.

How J & K Different from Other States? •• •• •• •• •• ••

Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) are not applied to J&K but applied to other states. DPSP = states are required to do some things for the welfare of community. President can’t declare financial emergency (salaries and allowances reduction etc.) in relation to J&K. High Court of J&K can issue writs only for enforcement of Fundamental Rights. Right to property is still guaranteed in J&K. Permanent residents of J&K have some special fundamental rights. Although Supreme Court, EC and CAG are applicable to J&K along with all other states.

CONSTITUTIONAL BODIES

Election Commission It is a permanent & an independent body established by the Constitution of India directly to ensure free & fair elections in the country. Elections to Parliament, State legislatures, President & Vice–President are vested in it.

Composition

The Election Commission consists of a Chief Election Commissioner & such other commissioners as the President may form time to time to decide.

Appointment & Term

The CEC & other Election Commissioners are appointed by the President for a term of 6 years. The Regional Commissioners may also be appointed by the President in consultation with the Election Commission for assisting the Election Commission. The CEC can be removed from office before expiry of his term by the President on the basis of a Resolution passed by the Parliament by a special majority on the ground of proved misbehavior or incapacity. The other Election Commissioners may be removed by the President on the recommendation of the CEC.

POWERS & FUNCTIONS

Current Chief Election Commissioner is Mr. Nasim Zaidi

No outsider can purchase land in Jammu and Kashmir.

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Public Service Commissions Union Public Service Commissions (UPSC) •• •• •• ••

Independent Constitutional body. Recruitment of civil servants at the Union level. Chairman & members are appointed by the President & have tenure of 6 years or until age of 65 years. The President can also remove them before expiry of their term on grounds of proved misbehaviour. The President can issue orders for the removal of the members of the UPSC only after the Supreme court makes such a recommendation on the basis of an enquiry.

Functions

1. Conduct examinations for appointment to the services of the Union. 2. Assists the states in framing & operating schemes of joint recruitment. 3. Advises the President of India– (a) All matters relating to methods of recruitment in civil services & for civils posts. (b) Suitability of Candidates for appointments, for promotions. (c) On all disciplinary matters person serving under the goverment of India. 4. Presents annually to the President a report on its performance. The President places this report before both the Houses of Parliament.

State Public Service Commission ••

POLITY ••

Members may resign by writing to Governor. It is only the President who can make a reference to the Supreme Court & make an order of removal in pursuance of the report of the Supreme Court.

Functions

1. Conduct examinations for appointments to the services of the state. 2. Advise on matter that may be referred by the Governor. 3. Present Annual report to the Governor who shall cause it to be laid before the state legislature. 4. Any other function that state legislature may by law assign.

Finance Commission

An instrument which the Constitution has evolved for the purpose of distributing financial resources between Centre & states is the Finance Commission. According to Article 280 of the Constitution, it is to be constituted by the President once every 5 years consisting of a chairman & four other members appointed by the President.

Functions

The duty of the Commission is to make recommendations to the President as to– 1. The distribution between the Union & the states of the net proceeds of taxes which are to be divided between them and the allocation between the states themselves of the respective shares of such proceeds. 2. The principles which should govern the grant– in–aid of the revenue of the states out of the Consolidated Fund of India. 3. The measures needed to augment the consolidated fund of a state to supplement the resources of the Panchayats & the Muncipalities in the state on the basis of the recommendation by the State Finance Commission. 4. Any other matter referred to the Commission by the President in the interests of sound finances.

Recruitment of Civil Services at the state level. •• Two or more states, if parliament provides by law, may have a Joint Public Service Commission. •• Service conditions of SPSC’s members are determined by Governor whereas service conditions of Joint PSC are determined by President. •• Chairman & members of SPSC are appointed by Governor & in case of JPSC by the President. •• Chairman & members of SPSC & JPSC have tenure of 6 years or until age of 62 years. As the Supreme Commander of Indian Armed Forces, President appoints chiefs of Army, Navy and Air Force.

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POLITY National Commission for Scheduled Castes & Tribes The President has power to appoint a National Commission for SCs & STs. The Commission shall consist of a Chairman, a Vice–Chairman & 5 other members. This Commission was given constitutional status by the 65th Amendment Act 1990.

Functions

1. To investigate & monitor all matters relating to the safeguards provided for SCs & STs under the Constitution of India & to evaluate the working of such safeguards. 2. To enquire specific complaints with respect to the deprivation of rights & safeguards of SCs & STs.

3. To submit its annual report to the President.

National Commission for Backward Classes

Article 340 empowers the President to appoint a Commission to investigate the conditions of the socially & educationally backward classes. The Commission recommends removal of all difficulties of Backward Classes & raising them to a higher social, educational & economic standard. After Constitution was adopted two ‘Backward Class Commissions’ were appointed – (1) Kaka Saheb Kalelkar Committee & (2) B.P. Mandal Committee.

RESERVATION

Meaning

Percentage of seats reserved for the socially and educationally backward communities. Constitutional Article 16(4)— Provision Nothing in this article shall prevent the state from making any provision for the reservation of appointments or posts in favor of any backward class of citizens which, in the opinion of the state, is not adequately represented in the services under the state. Commissions Kaka Kalelkar Commission (1955): • First Backward Classes Commission • Relate social backwardness of a class to its law position in the traditional caste hierarchy of Hindu society. • Report was rejected by Central Government. • Mandal Commission (1979): • Established to assess the situation of socially and educationally backward clases. • Recommended 27% reservation for people belonging to OBC in government jobs. Current Scenario • Out of 543 seats in parliament, 84 are reserved for SC and 47 for ST. • In Central Govt. funded higher education institutions— —7.5% reservation to ST. —15% reservation to SC. —27% reservation to OBC. • Protests by the people from SC, ST and OBC communities who were not Demand for a benefited properly from the current reservation system. separate Quota • They demand a separate quota within the SC/ST quota. Recent Examples • Conflict of Mala and Madiga caste in Andhra Pradesh. • Gujjar agitation in Rajasthan. • Jat community in Haryana demanded inclusion of Jats in OBC category. • Patel or Patidar community in Gujarat aggressively campaigned for reservation. Sikkim was made an integral part of India under the 36th Constitutional Amendement.

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Comptroller & Auditor – General (CAG) The CAG is the custodian of public purse & controls the entire financial system of the country. He is appointed by the President for a period of 6 years or till he attains the age of 65 years whichever is earlier. It is his/her duty to see that no money is spent out of the Consolidated Fund of India or of a State without the authority of the appropriate legislation. The reports of the CAG are presented to the President or the Governor, as the case may be, & laid before the Parliament & the respective State legislatures. In Lok Sabha, the Public Accounts Committee considers this Report. The current CAG of India is Shashikant Sharma.

Functions He can audit & report on: 1. All expenditure from Consolidated Fund of India & each state & each Union Territories having a legislative Assembly & see whether expenditure has been in accordance with the law. 2. All expenditure from the Contingency Funds & Public Accounts of the Union & the states. 3. All trading, manufacturing, profit & loss accounts, etc. Kept by any Department of the Union or a State. 4. The receipts & expenditure of the Union & of each state to satisfy himself that the rules & procedures are designed to secure an effective check on the assessment, collection & proper allocation of revenue. 5. The receipts & expenditure of all bodies & authorities substantially financed from the Union or state revenues.

Attorney General (AG)

The AG is the highest legal officer of the Government of India. He is appointed by the President & holds office during the pleasure of the President. He must have the same qualifications as are required to be a judge of the Supreme Court.

POLITY Though the AG of India is not a member of the Cabinet, he has the right to address in the House of Parliment but has no right to vote. In the performance of his official duties the AG is entitled to audience in all Courts in the territory of India.

Functions

1. Give advice on all such legal matters & to perform all such other duties of a legal character as may, from time to time, be referred to him by the President. 2. Discharge the functions conferred on him by the Constitution or any other law for the time being in force. 3. Appear before the Supreme Court & various High Courts in cases involving the Goverment of India.

Advocate General

Each state shall have an Advocate General. He is the state’s counter part of the Attorney General of India. He is appointed by the Governor of the State who holds office during the pleasure of the Governor. A person qualified to be a High Court Judge can be appointed Advocate– General. He has the right to address & take part in the proceedings of the House of the State Legislature. But he has no right to vote. His functions are similar to those of the Attorney – General.

Planning Commission •• •• ••

Set up by a Resolution of the Government of India on March 15, 1950. Non-statutory/extra constitutional body. Jawahar Lal Nehru was the first Chairman.

National Development Council (NDC) •• •• ••

Set up by a Resolution of central government on August 6, 1952. Extra-Constitutional body. Described as a Super Cabinet.

The Constituent Assembly had 15 women members - Ammu Swaminathan, Dakshayani Velayudan, Begum Aizaz Raisul, Vijalakshmi Pandit and SarojiniNaidu to name a few.

POLITY NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India)

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POLITY

Administrative Reforms The nodal agency of the Government for administrative reforms as well as redressel of public grievances relating to the states and Central Government agencies is the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG). The Department comes under the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. The mission of the department is to foster excellence in governance and pursuit of administrative reforms through improvements in Government structures, promoting citizen centric governance with emphasis on grievance redressel, innovations in e-governance and documentation and dissemination of best practices. ARC AT A GLANCE

Appointed by

Government of India.

Two commission

First ARC

Objective

Citizens’ Charter • • • • • •

Recommendations for reforming Indian public administration system. Second ARC

• Set up in Jan. 1966. • • Initially chaired by Morarji R • Desai. • Later chaired by K. Hunmanthaiya. • • Submitted 20 reports contained • 537 major recommendations.

Set up in Aug. 2005. Initially chaired by Mr. Veerappa Moily. Later chaired by Ramachandran. Submitted 15 reports.

First articulated and implemented in the UK by Conservative Government of John Major in 1991. Represents the commitment of the organization towards standard, quality and time frame of service delivery, grievance redressal mechanism, transparency and accountability. It is basically a set of commitments made by an organization regarding the standards of service which it delivers. In India it was first introduced simultaneously in Central departments and in all state governments in May 1997. 2nd ARC has recommended adoption of the “Seven Step Model for Citizen Centricity— Sevottam”, for making citizen’s Charters effective. The Right to Public Service Delivery Act, based on Sevottam model, guaranteeing the delivery of certain time bound services to the citizens have been enacted by many state governments. Madhya Pradesh has led the way and now this act has been enacted by Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, Rajasthan, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab.

Good Governance

The World Bank initially defined Governance simply as “the exercise of political power to manage nations’ affairs”. Good Governance is about making sure that the exercise of power by the government helps improve quality of life enjoyed by all citizens. The idea of the suspension of Fundamental Rights during the emergency was taken from Weimar Constitution of Germany.

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Right to Information (RTI) • RTI Act 2005 mandates timely response to citizen requests for government information. • It has been given the status of a fundamental right under Article 19(1) of the Constitution. • It confers right to access to information held by a Public Authority, in order to promote transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority, the constitution of a Central Information Commission States Information Commissions and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

National Anthem was adopted on 24th January, 1950.

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POLITY National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)

NHRC is a statutory body, established in 1993, to act as the watchdog of human rights in the country, that is the rights relating to life, liberty, equality & dignity of the individual guaranteed by the Constitution or embodied in the international covenants & enforceable by courts in India. The Commission is a multi-member body consisting of a chairman and four members. The Chairman and members are appointed by the President. They hold office for a term of 5 years or until they attain the age of 70 years. Local Govt. State Govt. Central Govt.

State Concurrent List List Union List

of State)

of Govt.)

Government is responsible to parliament

Decentralisation of Authority Representatives Ensure Responsive Government 2 Heads Party Distribution are elected by to the public governs through ReprePolitical of powers opinion people indirectly freedom & sentation assembly or socio-economic P.M. President or directly. parliament (Head (Head development

Parliamentary Democracy

FEATURES OF INDIAN GOVERNMENT

Federal

INDIAN GOVERNMENT

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POLITY INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK

Legislature

Executive

Judiciary

Law-making Body

Law-Implementation Body

Law-Adjudication

Introduction, Discussion & passing of the bills

Make Laws

Includes Ministers & Civil Servants

Responsible to the electorate

Settlement of Disputes

Formulation & Implementation of Plans & Policies

Judicial Review

Guardian of Fundamental Rights

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POLITY ELECTIONS

3 Types

General Election

By Election

Procedure

Mid term Election

Basis

Adult Geographical Single Member Suffrage Representation Territorial Constituencies Nomination of Candidates

Steps

Elections Election Election due to to fill of Lok Dissolvement vacant Sabha of Lok Sabha or seat of & State Assemblies a member Vidhan Sabha before its term of Lok Sabha or is over State Legislative Assembly

Declaration of final list of candidates Allotment of symbols to political parties & Independent Candidates Election Manifesto & campaign Polling Counting of votes Declaration of Result

Committees for Electoral Reform : 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Tarkunde Committee (1974) Dinesh Goswami Committee (1990) Vohra Committee (1993) Indrajit Gupta Committee (1998) Election Commission of India Report on Proposed Electoral Reforms (2004) 6. Tankha Committee (2010)

Important Electoral Reforms :

•• Lowering of voting age from 21 years to 18 years. •• Use of Electronic Voting Machines. •• Adjournment of poll or countermanding of elections in case of booth capturing. Candidates of Recognised Parties Candidates of Listing of Registered •• candidates Unrecognised Names Parties Other Independent Candidates The Rashtrapati Bhavan was designed by Edwin Lutyens.

•• Contestants restricted to two constituencies. •• Campaigning period reduced from 20 to 14 days. •• Declaration of criminal antecedents, assets, etc. by candidates on nomination paper. •• Ceiling on election expenditure increased.

Political Parties

•• Meaning : Group of persons who agree on some ideology & seek to capture the power & form the government on the basis of collective leadership. •• Type of Party System in India : Multi Party System. •• Functions : (i) Representation (ii) Elite Formation & Recruitment (iii) Goal Formulation (iv) Interest Articulation & Aggregation (v) Socialization & Mobilization (vi) Organization of Government. •• Category of Political Party in India:

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POLITY Political Party

State Party

National Party

6% of valid votes in 4 states or more OR + 4 seats in Lok Sabha from any state or states

6% of valid 3% of total votes in state no. of seats OR or 3 seats + 2 seats in in assembly, assembly whichever is more

2% seats in Lok Sabha & members are elected from 3 different states

NATIONAL POLITICAL PARTIES OF INDIA No.

Name

Abbreviation

1. Bharatiya Janata Party BJP 2 Indian National Congress INC 3 Communist Party of India CPI-M (Marxist) 4 Communist Party of CPI India 5 Bahujan Samaj Party BSP 6 Nationalist Congress Party NCP

Pressure Groups

Symbol

Foundation Year

Current Leaders

Lotus Hand Hammer, Sickle and star Ears of corn and sickle Elephant Clock

1980 1885 1964

Amit Shah Sonia Gandhi Sitaram Yechury

•• Represents socio-economic & political interests of a particular section in political system. Eg. farmers, industrial workers etc. •• Organised on the basis of common goals & share similar values.

Types of Pressure Group in India

Types of P.G.

Associational Pressure Groups Industry, Labour, Agriculture, etc. (Eg. ASSOCHAM, AITUC)

1925

1984 1999

Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy Mayawati Sharad Pawar

•• Seek support of party leaders, legislators & bureaucracy in vigorous pursuit of their goals. •• Exert pressure on government in order to obtain laws and administrative measures in favour of their specific interests. •• Termed as a “Anonymous Empire”

Non-Associational Pressure Groups

Institutional Pressure Groups

Religion, Caste, Tribe, language or culture (Eg. Anglo-Indian Christians Association)

Civil Services, Police, Defence services, Public Sector Employees (Eg. AISA)

Manmohan Singh is known as the Father of Indian economic reforms.

Anomic Pressure Groups Adhoc interest Groups set up for specific objective (Eg. All Assam Students Union)

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DIFFERENCE BETWEEN POLITICAL PARTY & PRESSURE GROUP Political Party Pressure Group 1. Strive to organise public opinion in issues Specific or sectional interets (united objectives) of public concern. (Wider objectives)

2. Represents aggregation of interests. Represents specific interest. (Limited (Large membership) Membership) 3. Generalist in organisation of opinion. Specialist in organisation of opinion. 4. Contest elections. 5. Intention of gaining political power. 6. Help in formulating policies.

Do not contest elections. No intention of gaining political power. Tend to influence the policies of government.

FOREIGN POLICY OF INDIA

I. Principles and Objectives 1. Preservation of India’s sovereign independence. 2. Non-alignment. 3. Opposition to Imperialism, colonialism & racial discrimination. 4. Opposition to discriminatory international regimes & hedonistic policies. 5. Panchsheel – •• Mutual respect for each other’s territorial integrity & sovereignty. •• Non-aggression •• Non-interference in each other’s internal affairs. •• Equality & mutual benefit. •• Peaceful co-existence. 6. Support for United Nations & international peace. 7. Promotion of unity & solidarity of Third world for securing an equitable share in world politics.

II. Look East Policy

India’s ‘Look East’ Policy was first initiated in 1992 by the then Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao. Since then, the policy has been one of the cornerstones of India’s foreign policy. It lays emphasis on improving cooperation with India’s neighbouring south-east & east. Asian countries (eg. China, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand etc.) & also engagement with various regional organisations such as ASEAN, East Asia Summit, BIMSTEC & Mekong Ganga Cooperation (MGC). The policy is pursued in a multi faceted manner in diverse areas such as improved connectivity, promotion of trade, investment & cultural exchanges.

III. Gujral Doctrine

The Gujral Doctrine is a milestone in India’s foreign policy. It was propounded & initiated in 1996 by I.K. Gujral, the then Foreign Minister in the Deve Gowda Government. The Doctrine is a 5-point roadmap to guide the conduct of India’s foreign relations with its neighbours. These 5 principles are as follows 1. With the neighbours, India should not ask for reciprocity, but give to them what it can in good faith. 2. No South Asian country should allow its territory to be used against the interest of another country of the region. 3. No country should interfere in the internal affairs of another country. 4. All South Asian countries should respect each other’s territorial integrity & sovereignty. 5. All South Asian countries should settle all their disputes through peaceful bilateral negotiations.

IV. Nuclear Policy of India

India adopted its Nuclear doctrine in 2003. Its main objectives are: 1. India shall pursue a doctrine of credible minimum nuclear deterrence. 2. India will not resort to the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons against states which donot possess nuclear weapons, or are not aligned with nuclear weapon powers. 3. Deterrence requires that India maintain: (a) Sufficient, survivable & operationally prepared nuclear forces. (b) Robust command & control system. (c) Effective intelligence & early warning capabilities. • India’s first nuclear test- 18 May 1974. • India second nuclear test- 11 May & 13 May, 1998.

The original copies of the Indian Constitution are kept in Helium-filled Cases in Parliament’s Library.

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INDIA & ITS NEIGHBOURS India & Myanmar

India & Sri Lanka

Myanmar acts as a land bridge between India & South East Asia. Myanmar is important to India as it looks to counter Chinese presence in South East Asia by creating its own sphere of economic zones. India is one of Myanmar’s largest export markets and the two countries collaborate in a number of bilateral treaties to promote investment, free trade and double tax avoidance. Two issues play a significant role in the growth of New Delhi- Naypyidaw trade relations— (i) The Trilateral Highway project intended to Connect India, Myanmar and Thailand. (ii) The Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport initiated by India in Myanmar’s Rakhine state. Both the countries signed an MOU on border cooperation.

Sri Lanka is India’s largest trade partner in south Asia. India in turn is Sri Lanka’s largest trade partner globally. Four key issues—the Tamil Nadu factor, devolution of power and Tamil interests, the fishermen quandary and Indian Ocean and maritime security—that affects the India-Sri Lanka relationship. India pledged $318 million line of credit for railway upgradation, unveiled a currency swap agreement of US $ 1.5 billion to help stabilize the Sri Lankan rupee and to develop Trincomalee as a regional petroleum hub with the cooperation of Lanka IOC (India Oil Corp’s subsidiary in Sri Lanka) and Ceylon petroleum corporation. Both countries also signed four pacts regarding visa exemption for official passport holders, youth exchanges, customs agreement and the construction of the Rabindranath Tagore auditorium at the Ruhuna University with India’s aid.

India & Pakistan

Strained relations due to disagreements over a number of key issues. In keeping with India’s long—standing policy of strengthening relations with Pakistan based on peace and cooperation, Pakistani Prime Minister Mr. Nawaz Sharif was invited along with other SAARC Leaders to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the new Indian Government on May 26, 2014. New 10—point Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue (CBD) includes following elements— • Peace and security CBMs. • Jammu & Kashmir • Siachen • Sir Creek Boundary Dispute • Wullar Barrage/Tulbul Navigation Project • Economic and Commercial cooperation • Counter-terrorism, Narcotics control People-to- people exchanges • Humanitarian issues • Religious tourism • Pakistan opposed granting India the status of a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

India & Afghanistan

India’s development work in Afghanistan include — Zaranj Delaram highway Salma Dam in Heart province (also known as Afgan-India friendship dam) Afghanistan’s new Parliament building Medical care, food aid and scholarships for Afghan students and policy makers. India is the largest regional donor and Afghanistan is the second largest recipient of Indian aid. Afghanistan is the gateway to the central Asia, an energy rich destinations, for India.

India & Bangladesh

India’s longest land boundary is with Bangladesh, which is strategically located between India’s Northeast region and the rest of the country. The problems of undemarcated and faulty border-drawing, resources sharing and illegal trafficking have often off-set relations.

The hand-in-hand joint training exercise between India-China was first held in 2007.

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POLITY In the Tin Bigha Corridor, Bangladeshi Citizens were granted 24—hour access to Dahargram and Angorpeta. India has also opened its markets to the huge garment industry of Bangladesh. The majority of recent agreements signed between the two countries are focused on improving connectivity. New bus and rail routes are planned, as is the use of Mongla and Chittagong ports and is essential for its development. India and Bangladesh are partners in the SAARC, the BIMSTEC and Bangladesh—China—India—Myanmar Forum for Regional Cooperation. Indian PM Narendra Modi and PM of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina jointly inaugurated the Petrapole Integrated Check Post. It will provide better facilities for smooth cross border movement of person’s goods and transport and for efficient and effective discharge of functions such as security, customs, immigration, quarantine, etc.

India is Nepal’s steadfast partner, supplying to it essential commodities ranging from salt to petroleum products. India is constructing a petroleum pipeline from Raxaul to Amlekhganj for Nepal’s future energy security, besides halving the transportation costs.

India & Nepal

There are elements of cooperation, competition and concern in the ChinaIndia relationship. Major irritants—the boundary dispute, the China–Pakistan nexus, issuing stapled visas to Indians traveling to China from Arunachal Pradesh and China’s reported attempts to check off India’s water supply by building a dam across the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet, Chinese activities in the border regions abutting India’s Northeast States and in the Indian Ocean. India and China hold first joint tactical exercise, named Sino—India Cooperation 2016, in Chushul—Maldo in Jammu and Kashmir.

Nepal matters for the defence of India. After the Chinese established a significant military presence in Tibet, it became an important buffer vis-à-vis China. Nepal has South Asia’s largest potential for hydropower and India is the largest potential consumer. The first direct bus service between Pokhara (Nepal) and New Delhi (India) was launched to connect south Asia’s two important cities. In the infrastructure sector, India’s current development partnership consists of construction of four Integrated Check Post for trade promotion and facilitation, and crossborder rail links at five locations. India and Nepal work together against flood–related disasters, including the repair and maintenance works at major border rivers, especially Kosi and Gandak, embankments of which are maintained by India under bilateral agreements.

India’s contribution to the development of the Maldives include the construction of the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital, faculty of Engineering & Technology, and faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Studies as well as the establishment of the Technology Adoption Programme in Education Sector in Maldives. Through its leading public sector bank, the State bank of India, India has been providing loan assistance to promote Maldivian island resorts, marine products exports, business enterprises and commercial projects. In the defence and security sphere, India’s assistance to the Maldives National Defence Force in training, supply of equipment, capacity building, joint patrolling, aerial and maritime surveillance, and medical treatment has been enormous. In 2016, bilateral agreements were signed in the fields of avoidance of double taxation, conservation and restoration of ancient mosque, tourism and defence.

India & China

India & Maldives

Mohammad Ajgar Ali, an old Bangladeshi casted vote for the first time in an Indian Election.

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World Polity ARMS CONTROL TREATIES Limited Test Ban Treaty (LTBT) Banned nuclear weapon tests in the atmosphere, in outer space and under water. Signed by the US, UK and USSR in Moscow on 5 August 1963. Came into force on 10 October 1963.

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)

Allows only the nuclear weapon states to have nuclear weapons and stops others from acquiring them. For the purposes of the NPT, a nuclear weapon state is one which has manufactured and exploded a nuclear weapon or other nuclear explosive device prior to 1 January 1967. So there are five nuclear weapon states: US, USSR (later Russia), Britain, France and China. Signed in Washington, London, and Moscow on 1 July 1968. Came into force on 5 March 1970. Extended indefinitely in 1995.

Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty I (START-I): Treaty signed by the USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev and the US President George Bush (Senior) on the reduction and limitation of strategic offensive arms in Moscow on 31 July 1991.

Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty II (START-II):

Treaty signed by the Russian President Boris Yeltsin and the US President George Bush (Senior) on the reduction and limitation of strategic offensive arms in Moscow on 3 January 1993.

UN Specialized Agencies UNESCO

The first round of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks began in November 1969. The Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and the US President Richard Nixon signed the following in Moscow on 26 May 1972 – a) Treaty on the limitation of Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems (ABM Treaty); and b) Interim Agreement on the limitation of strategic offensive arms Came into force on 3 October 1972.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Headquarters : Place de Fontenoy, Paris, France Established : 16 November 1945 Head : Irina Bokova, Members : 195 member states Functions: •• Mobilizing for education by providing every child, irrespective of its gender quality education as a fundamental human right •• Creation of World Heritage Sites to support cultural diversity and protect sites of outstanding universal value. •• Pursuing scientific cooperation •• Protecting freedom of expression

The second round started in November 1972. The US President Jimmy Carter and the Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev signed the Treaty on the limitation of strategic offensive arms in Vienna on 18 June 1979.

The United (UNICEF) Headquarters Established Head Members

Strategic Arms Limitation TalksI (SALT-I)

Strategic Arms Limitation Talks II (SALT-II):

UNICEF

Nations

Children’s

: New York City : 11 December 1946 : Anthony Lake : 36 Member States

The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty has a preamble and eleven articles and is reviewed every 5 years.

Fund

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Functions: •• Child protection from violence, exploitation and abuse along with social inclusion for disabled. •• Basic education and gender equality through programmes like girls education innovation for education learning for the peace out-of-school initiative. •• Policy advocacies and partnership through data analysis, leveraging resources and child participation.

ILO

International Labour Organization (ILO) Headquarters : Geneva, Switzerland Established : 1919 [Head: Guy Ryder] Members : 187 of the 193 member states of the United Nations plus the Cook Islands are members of the ILO. Functions: •• Creation of international labour standards. •• Formulation of international policies. •• Technical assistance training. •• Education, research and publishing activities.

World Bank (WB)

Headquarters : Washington DC, USA Established : July 1944 Head : Jim Yong Kim Members : 189 member states Functions: •• World Bank provides various technical services to the member countries. •• Reduce poverty. •• Support development. •• Bank grants loans for a particular project duly submitted to the Bank by the member country.

IMF

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Headquarters : Washington, D.C. Established : 27 December 1945 Head : Christine Lagarde Members : 189 countries Functions: •• Foster global monetary cooperation. •• Secure financial stability. •• Facilitate international trade.

POLITY •• Promote high employment sustainable economic growth. •• Reduce poverty.

and

WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) Headquarters : Geneva, Switzerland Established : 7 April 1948 Head : Margaret Chan, Director General Members : 194 member states Functions: •• Providing leadership on matters critical to health and engaging in partnerships where joint action is needed. •• Shaping the research agenda and stimulating the generation, dissemination of valuable knowledge. •• Providing technical support, catalyzing change, and building sustainable institutional capacity. •• Monitoring the health situation and assessing health trends.

FAO

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Headquarters : Rome, Italy Established : 16 October 1945, in Quebec City, Canada Head : José Graziano da Silva Members : 197 members Functions: •• Help eliminate hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition. •• Make agriculture, forestry and fisheries more productive and sustainable. •• Reduce rural poverty.

IAEA

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Headquarters : Vienna, Austria Established : July 29, 1957 Head : José Yukiya Amano Members : 168 member states Functions: •• Promoting the peaceful uses of nuclear energy by its member states. •• Implementing safeguards to verify that nuclear energy is not used for military purposes. •• Promoting high standards for nuclear safety.

World Food Programme is the largest Humanitarian Organisation which is located in Rome.

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POLITY UNIDO United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Headquarters : Vienna, Austria Established : 1966 (converted to a specialized agency in 1985) Head : Li Yong Members : 170 States Functions: •• Assists developing countries in the formulation of development, institutional, scientific and technological policies and programmes in the field of industrial development. •• Analyzes trends, disseminates information and coordinates activities in their industrial development. •• Acts as a forum for consultations and negotiations directed towards the industrialization of developing countries.

UNWTO

The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Headquarters : Madrid, Spain Established : 1975 Head : Taleb Rifai Members : 157 countries Functions: To promote and develop sustainable tourism so as to contribute to economic development, international understanding, peace, prosperity etc.

WFP

The World Food Programme (WFP) Headquarters : Rome, Italy Established : 1961 Head : Ertharin Cousin Members : 80 Functions: •• Save lives and protect livelihoods in emergencies. •• Support food security and nutrition and (re) build livelihoods in fragile settings. •• Reduce risk and enable people, communities and countries to meet their own food and nutrition needs.

WIPO

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Headquarters : Geneva, Switzerland Established : July 14, 1967

Head

: Francis Gurry (DirectorGeneral) : 189 member states

Members Functions: •• Promoting creative intellectual activity and facilitating the transfer of technology related to industrial property to the developing countries.

WMO

World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Headquarters : Geneva, Switzerland Established : 1950 Head : Petteri Taalos (Secretary-General) Members : 191 Member States and Territories Functions: •• Provides a framework for international cooperation in the development of meteorology and operational hydrology and their practical application. •• Played a unique and powerful role in contributing to the safety and welfare of humanity. •• Under WMO, National Meteorological and Hydrological Services contribute substantially to the protection of life and property against natural disasters.

UNDP

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Headquarters : New York City Established : 1965 Head : Helen Clark Functions: •• Poverty reduction. •• Crisis prevention and recovery. •• Environment and Energy.

UNHCR

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Headquarters : Geneva, Switzerland Established : 14 December 1950 Head : Filippo Grandi Members : 98 members Functions: •• To lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. •• To protect and provide humanitarian assistance to whom it describes as other persons “of concern,” including internally displaced persons.

The Republic of Nauru has become the 189th member of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

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UNEP The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Headquarters : Nairobi, Kenya Established : 15 December 1972 Head : Erik Solheim (Executive Director) Members : 58 nations (Governing Council) Functions: •• Assessing global, regional and national environmental conditions and trends. •• Developing international and national environmental instruments. •• Strengthening institutions for the wise management of the environment.

UNFPA

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Headquarters : New York City Established : 1969 Head : Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin Members : 36 countries Functions: •• Universal access to reproductive health services. •• Universal primary education and closing the gender gap in education. •• Reducing maternal mortality and infant mortality.

UNCTAD

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

Headquarters : Geneva, Switzerland Established : 1964 Head : Mukhisa Kituyi Members : 194 member states Functions: •• To formulate policies relating to all aspects of development including trade, aid, transport, finance and technology.

UN Women

The United Nations agreed to the formation of a new institution named “UN Women” on 2nd July 2010. The main objective will be the sexual/gender equality and women empowerment. The fifty-ninth session of the Commission on the status of Women took place at United Nations Headquarters in New York from 9 to 20 March 2015. Representatives of Member States , UN entities, and ECOSOC-accredited non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from all regions of the world attended the session. The main focus of the session was on the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, including current challenges that affect its implementation and the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of women. The sixtieth session of the Commission on the Status of Women will take place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 14 to 24 March 2016.

OTHER ORGANISATIONS

World Trade Organization (WTO) The World Trade Organisation dealing with the rules of trade between nations. The goal is to help producers of goods and services, exporters, and importers conduct their business. Facts: Location : Geneva, Switzerland Established : 1 January 1995 Created by : Uruguay Round negotiations (1986-94) Membership : 161 members Head : Roberto Azevedo

Functions: •• Administering WTO trade agreements •• Forum for trade negotiations •• Handling trade disputes •• Monitoring national trade policies •• Technical assistance and training for developing countries •• Cooperation with other international organizations

Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)

The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is an intergovernmental organization of states considering themselves not aligned formally with or against any major power bloc. As of now, the organization has 120 members and

United Nations Environment Programme, Nairobi was founded by Maurice Strong.

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POLITY 17 observer countries. Generally speaking the Non-Aligned Movement members can be described as all of those countries which belong to the Group of 77 (along with Belarus and Uzbekistan), but which are not observers in Non-Aligned Movement and are not Oceanian (with the exception of Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu). The organization was founded in Belgrade in 1961, and was largely the brainchild of Yugoslavia’s first President, Josip Broz Tito, India’s first Prime Minister, Jawahar Lal Nehru, Egypt’s second President, Gamal Abdel Nasser, and Indonesia’s first President, Sukarno. All four leaders were prominent advocates of a middle course for states in the Developing World between the Western and Eastern blocs in the Cold War. The purpose of the organisation as stated in the Havana Declaration of 1979 is to ensure “the national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of nonaligned countries” in their “struggle against imperialism, colonialism, neo-colonialism, racism, and all forms of foreign aggression, occupation, domination, interference or hegemony as well as against great power and bloc politics.” They represent nearly two-thirds of the United Nations’s members and 55% of the world population, particularly countries considered to be developing or part of the third world.

The Commonwealth

The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and previously known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states. All except two (Mozambique and Rwanda) of these countries were formerly part of the British Empire. The member states co-operate within a framework of common values and goals. These include the promotion of democracy, human rights, good governance, the rule of law, individual liberty, egalitarianism, free trade, multilateralism and world peace. The Commonwealth is not a political union, but an intergovernmental organisation through which countries with diverse social, political and economic backgrounds.

The symbol of their free association is the Head of the Commonwealth, which is a ceremonial position currently held by Queen Elizabeth II. Member countries span six continents and oceans from Africa (19), Asia (8), the Americas (2), the Caribbean (12), Europe (3) and the South Pacific (10). The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, abbreviated to CHOGM, is a biennial summit meeting of the heads of government from all Commonwealth nations. Every two years the meeting is held in a different member state, and is chaired by that nation’s respective Prime Minister or President, who becomes the Commonwealth Chairperson-in-Office.

European Union

The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union of 28 member states which are located primarily in Europe. The Maastricht Treaty established the European Union under its current name in 1993. The last amendment to the constitutional basis of the EU, the Treaty of Lisbon, came into force in 2009.

SAARC

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is an organization of South Asian nations, founded in 1985. Its seven founding members are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Afghanistan joined the organization in 2007. Meetings of heads of state are usually scheduled annually; meetings of foreign secretaries, twice annually. Headquarter is in Kathmandu, Nepal. •• The concept of SAARC was first adopted by Bangladesh during 1977, under the administration of President Ziaur Rahman. •• Afghanistan was added to the regional grouping on 13 November 2005. •• On 2 August 2006 the foreign ministers of the SAARC countries agreed in principle to grant observer status to the US, South Korea and the European Union. •• The SAARC Secretariat was established in Kathmandu on 16 January 1986 and was inaugurated by Late King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah of Nepal. •• The SAARC Secretariat and Member States observe 8 December as the SAARC Charter Day .

The World Meteorological Organisation and UNEP established the IPCC in 1988.

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NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization or NATO also called the (North) Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949. The NATO headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium, and the organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party. On 1 April 2009, membership was enlarged to 28 with the entrance of Albania and Croatia.

SEATO

The South-East Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) was an international organization for collective defense which was signed on September 8, 1954 in Manila. The formal institution of SEATO was established at a meeting of treaty partners in Bangkok in February 1955. It was primarily created to block further communist gains in SouthEast Asia. The organization’s headquarters were located in Bangkok, Thailand. SEATO was dissolved on June 30, 1977. SEATO was planned to be a South-East Asian version of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), in which the military forces of each member would be coordinated to provide for the collective defense of the members’ country.

INTERPOL

Interpol (the International Criminal Police Organization) is largest organization facilitating international police cooperation. It was established as the International Criminal Police Commission in 1923 and adopted its telegraphic address as its common name in 1956. Its membership of 190 countries provides finance of around $78 million through annual contributions. The organization’s headquarters is in Lyon, France.

GROUP OF 8

The Group of Eight (G-8) is a forum, created by France in 1975, for governments of six countries in the world: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the

POLITY United States. In 1976, Canada joined the group (thus creating the G7). In 1997, the group added Russia thus becoming G8. In addition, the European Union is represented within the G8, but cannot host or chair. “G8” can refer to the member states or to the annual summit meeting of the G8 heads of government.

Group of 77

The Group of 77 (G-77) was established on 15 June 1964 by seventy-seven developing countries signatories of the “Joint Declaration of the Seventy-Seven Countries” issued at the end of the first session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva. Beginning with the first “Ministerial Meeting of the Group of 77 in Algiers (Algeria) on 10 - 25 October 1967, which adopted the Charter of Algiers”, a permanent institutional structure gradually developed which led to the creation of Chapters of the Group of 77 with Liaison offices in Geneva (UNCTAD), Nairobi (UNEP), Paris (UNESCO), Rome (FAO/ IFAD), Vienna (UNIDO), and the Group of 24 (G-24) in Washington, D.C. (IMF and World Bank). Although the members of the G-77 have increased to the original name was retained because of its historic significance.

GROUP OF 15

The Group of Fifteen (G-15) was established at a Summit Level Group of Developing Countries in September 1989, following the conclusion of the Ninth Non-Aligned Summit Meeting in Belgrade. The Group was originally founded by 15 developing countries. While there are now 17 member countries, the original name of the Group has been retained. This forum was set up to foster cooperation and provide input for other international groups, such as the World Trade Organization and the Group of Eight. It is composed of countries from North America, South America, Africa, and Asia with a common goal of enhanced growth and prosperity. The G-15 focuses on cooperation among developing countries in the areas of investment, trade, and technology.

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has designated November 5 as World Tsunami Awareness Day.

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POLITY Group of 20 The Group of Twenty (G-20)Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors from 20 economies: 19 countries plus the European Union, which is represented by the President of the European Council and by the European Central Bank. Their heads of government or state have also periodically meet at summits since their initial meeting in 2008. Collectively, the G-20 economies comprise 85% of global gross national product, 80% of world trade (including EU intra-trade) and two-thirds of the world population. The G-20 was proposed by former Canadian Finance Minister Paul Martin (later, Prime Minister) for cooperation and consultation on matters pertaining to the international financial system.

Asian Development Bank

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 22 August 1966 to facilitate economic development of countries in Asia. The bank admits the members of the UN Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (now UNESCAP) and non-regional developed nations.

Arab League

The Arab League is a regional organisation of Arab states in North and North-east Africa, and South-west Asia. It was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945 with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Yemen joined as a member on 5 May 1945. The Arab League currently has 22 members and four observers. The main goal of the league is to “draw closer the relations between member states and co-ordinate collaboration between them, to safeguard their independence and sovereignty, and to consider in a general way the affairs and interests of the Arab countries.

ASEAN

The Association of South-east Asian Nations is a geo-political and economic organization of 10 countries located in South-east Asia, which was formed on 8 August 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Since then, membership has expanded to include Brunei, Burma

(Myanmar), Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. Its aims include the acceleration of economic growth, social progress, cultural development among its members, the protection of the peace and stability of the region, and to provide opportunities for member countries to discuss differences peacefully. If ASEAN were a single country, it would rank as the 9th largest economy in the world and the 3rd largest in Asia in terms of nominal GDP.

OPEC

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is a cartel of twelve developing countries consisting of Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. OPEC has maintained its headquarters in Vienna since 1965, and hosts regular meetings among the oil ministers of its member countries. Indonesia withdrew in 2008 after it became a net importer of oil, but stated it would likely return if it became a net exporter in the world again.

APEC

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is a forum for 21 Pacific Rim countries that seeks to promote free trade and economic cooperation throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Established in 1989 in response to the growing interdependence of Asia-Pacific economies and the advent of regional economic blocs (such as the European Union and the North American Free Trade Area) in other parts of the world, APEC works to raise living standards and education levels through sustainable economic growth and to foster a sense of community and an appreciation of shared interests among Asia-Pacific countries. Members account for approximately 40% of the world’s population, approximately 54% of world GDP and about 44% of world trade.

OECD

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is an international economic organisation of 34 countries founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade. It defines

CENTO, originally known as the Baghdad Pact was formed in 1955 but was dissolved in 1979.

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itself as a forum of countries committed to democracy and the market economy, providing a platform to compare policy experiences, seeking answers to common problems, identifying good practices, and co-ordinating domestic and international policies of its members. The OECD originated in 1948 as the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC), led by Robert Marjolin of France, to help administer the Marshall Plan for the reconstruction of Europe after World War II. Later, its membership was extended to non-European states. In 1961, it was reformed into the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development by the Convention on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Most OECD members are high-income economies with a high Human Development Index (HDI) and are regarded as developed countries (Chile being the only OECD member which is also a member in the organisation of developing countries, the Group of 77).

Amnesty International

Amnesty International was established on 28 May 1961, with its headquarters at London, by Peter Benson, a British lawyer. A worldwide organization, it investigates violations of human rights. It campaigns for the release of all prisoners of conscience, provided they have not used or advocated violence, fair, and prompt trails for all prisoners, and abolition of torture and capital punishment. It now has more than 1,100,000 members in over 150 countries, with 6,000 local groups in 70 countries in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. It won the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1977.

Red Cross

Red Cross was established in 1864 by Jean Henri Durant. In 1859, J.H. Durant, a Swiss businessman, travelling through Italy witnessed the Battle of Solferino, when France tried to free Italy from Austrian domination, in which about 30,000 soldiers were wounded or killed. He organized relief work for the wounded soldiers and subsequently called for the

POLITY formation of a permanent relief society for those wounded in war. Durant’s appeal had immediate results. An international conference took place in Geneva in 1864 where 26 governments were represented. The Conference led to the Geneva Convention and the emblem of Red Cross was adopted. Each year World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day is celebrated on May 8, the birthday of its founder Henri Durant. Its motto is Charity in War. A red cross on a white background is its symbol (it is the reverse of the flag of Switzerland). The Red Cross completed 132 years on 8 May 1994 and in it 126th year, it adopted the slogan ‘125 Years at Work — and Still Developing’ In the Middle East, a Red Crescent replaces The Red Cross. ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) together with the League of Red Cross Societies, constitutes the International Red Cross. The League of Red Cross Societies was founded in 1929.

BRICS

BRICS is the acronym for an association of five major emerging international economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The grouping was originally known as “BRIC” before the inclusion of South Africa in 2010. The BRICS members are all developing or newly industrialised countries, but they are distinguished by their large, fast-growing economies and significant influence on regional and global affairs; all five are G-20 members. As of 2014, the five BRICS countries represent almost 3 billion people which is 40% of the world population, with a combined nominal GDP of US$16.039 trillion (20% world GDP) and an estimated US$4 trillion in combined foreign reserves. As of 2014, the BRICS nations represented 18% of the world economy. Brazil held the chair of the BRICS group in 2014, having hosted the group’s sixth summit in 2014. Russia chaired the 7th BRICS summit on 8-9th July 2015. 8th BRICS summit was held in Goa (India) on 16 & 17 Oct. 2016.

MTCR (Missile Technology Control Regime) was established by G7 countries in April 1987.

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POLITY Sustainable Development Goals At the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit on 25 September 2015, World Leaders adopted the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, which includes a set of 17 sustainable development goals (SDG) to end poverty, fight inequality and injustice and tackle climate change by 2030. 17 Goals are– 1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere. 2. End hunger, achieve food security and imporve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture. 3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. 4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and pormote life long learning opportunities for all. 5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. 6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. 7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. 8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all. 9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation. 10. Reduce inequality within and among countries. 11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. 12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns. 13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. 14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. 15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial

16.

17.

ecosystems, sustainable management of forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for Sustainable development.

Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR)

The Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) is a multilateral export control regime. It is an informal and voluntary partnership among 35 countries to prevent the proliferation of missile and unmanned aerial vehicle technology capable of carrying above 500 kg payload for more than 300 km. MTCR was established by G-7 countries in 1987. The aim of the MTCR is to restrict the proliferation of missiles, unmanned air vehicles (UAVs), complete rocket systems and related technology for those systems capable of carrying a 500 kilogram payload for at least 300 kms, as well as systems intended for the delivery of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).

Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)

NSG is an elite group or cartel of countries concerned with reducing nuclear proliferation by controlling the export and re-transfer of materials that may be used for development of nuclear weapons. It was set up in 1974 as a reaction to India’s first successful nuclear tests (code name Smiling Buddha conducted on 18 May 1974) to stop so called misuse of nuclear material meant for peaceful purposes. NSG’s members are allowed to trade in and export nuclear technology. Currently, NSG has 48 members (including China) and works by consensus. India is persistently bidding for its membership.

India became the 35th member of the Missile Technology Control Regime in June 2016.

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POLITY IMPORTANT SUMMITS AT A GLANCE

Summits

Location

Theme/Objective

8th BRICS

Goa, India

Ufa, Russia (2015)

11th G-20

Building Responsive, Inclusive and collective solutions

Antalya, Turkey Hamburg, Hangzhou, China Toward an Innovative, Germany Invigorated, Interconnected (2015) and inclusive world (2017) Economy

19th SAARC Islamabad, Pakistan

Postponded

Kathmandu, Nepal (2014)

11th EAS

Vientiane, Laos

28th APEC

Peru, Lima

Matters include maritime security, terrorism, nonproliferation, irregular migration

4th Nuclear Security Summit

Washington, USA To coordinate international Hague, efforts to prevent terror Netherlands organizations from (2015) acquiring nuclear weapons or material

28th and Vientiane, Laos 29th ASEAN

27th NATO Summit

17th NAM

Warsaw, Poland

Margarita, Venezuela

49th (ADB) Frankfurt, Asian Germany Development Bank Annual Meeting

Shanghai Tashkent, Cooperation Uzbekistan Organization (SCO) Summit

Upcoming

Bengaluru, India (2018)

Turning Vision into Reality Kuala Lumpur, — for a Dynamic ASEAN Malaysia (2015) Community

Kuala Lumpur, Philippines Malaysia (2015) (2017)

Quality Growth and Human Philippines, Development Manila (2015)

Vietnam, Hanoi (2017)

Major agenda include— situation in Eastern Europe, reform of NATO’s partnership policy, debate about future nuclear strategy of the alliance,

Wales, UK (2014)

Brussels, Belgium (2017)

—

Peace, Sovereignty and Venezuela Solidarity for Development (2015)

—

Agenda—Sustainable development in Asia and the pacific

Baku, Azerbaijan Yokohama, (2015) Japan (2017)

Issues of strengthening stability and security in Central Asia

Ufa, Russia (2015)

Astana, Kazakhstan (2017)

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POLITY List of Parliament of Different Countries Country India

Pakistan

Bangladesh

China

Parliament Name Sansad/Parliament

National Assembly

Jatiya Sansad

Country Maldives

Spain

Nepal

Shora

Diwan Negara

France

England

Parliament

Switzerland

Canada

Australia

USA

Germany

Parliament of Sri Lanka

Parliament

Congress

Wondstag

Iran

Malaysia

Turkey

Taiwan

Japan

Israel

Governing Political Parties in Different Countries Country

Cortes

Rastriya Panchayat

Duma

Tsondu

Afghanistan

Majlis

National Peoples Congress Russia

Bhutan

Sri lanka

Parliament Name

Ruling Party or Coalition

National Assembly Majlis

Federal Assembly

Grand National Assembly

Yuan Diet

Knesset Parties in opposition

India

National Democratic Alliance led by Bharatiya UPA, non-NDA parties Janata Party

Bangladesh

Awami League

Pakistan China

Bhutan

Pakistan Muslim League (N) Communist Party of China

Pakistan People Party Jatiyo Sangshad

Bhutan Peace and Prosperity Party

People’s Democratic Party

Canada

Liberal Party of Canada

Loyal Opposition

USA

Democratic Party (President), Republican from Jan 2017 Republican Party (Legislature)

United Kingdom Conservative Unionist Party Australia Germany

Sri Lanka

Taiwan Japan

Burma Iraq

Labour Party

Coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party Shadow Cabinet of Australia Christian Democratic Union, Christian Social Union, Social Democratic Party of Germany

National Unity Government (consists of All Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi Ceylon Muslim Congress, Jathika Hela Urumaya, Sri Lanka Freedom Party, Up-Country People’s Front, National Union of Workers, Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, United National Party, Democratic People’s Front) Democratic Progressive Party

Liberal Democratic Party, Komeito National League for Democracy

State of Law Coalition, Al-Muwatin, Al-Ahrar Bloc, Kurdistan Democratic Party, Iraq Alliance

Democratic Party Aung San Suu Kyi

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POLITY

Israel

Likud, The Jewish Home, United Torah Judaism, The Knesset Kulanu, Shas

Nepal

Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist– Nepali Congress Leninist), Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal, Madhesi Jana Adhikar Forum, Nepal (Loktantrik)

Spain

Russia

France Iran

Malaysia Turkey

People’s Party

Spanish Socialist Worker’s Party

United Russia

Shadow Cabinet

Moderation and Development Party

People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI)

Socialist Party, Radical Party of the Left United Malays National Organization (UMNO) Justice and Development Party

National front

People’s Justice Party (PKR), Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) & the Democratic Action Party (DAP) Republican People’s Party

GEOGRAPHY

GEOGRAPHY u Physical

Universe Geographology Oceanography

Atmosphere

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY–MIND MAP

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u India

World

 Theories of Development  Big bang Theory  Steady State theory  Oscilating Universe Theory  Galaxy  Solar Systems  Planets and Moons  Cosmic Bodies  Seasons and Their Formation  Earth  Chronology of the Earth  Geological Era  Internal Structure

 Rocks and their classification  Movement of Earth  Factors Affecting movement of Earth (Endogenetic and Exogenetic Forces)  Outcomes of Earth’s Movement (Fold Mountains, Earthquakes, Volcanoes)  Mountain, Plains, Plateau  Process of Formation and their types    

Ocean Structure Salinity Ocean Tides Coral Reef and Atolls

 Temperature  Ocean Deposits  Ocean Currents

 Atmospheric Structure  Insolation and Heat Budget  Winds and their type  Planetary Wind (Polar winds, Westerlies, Trade winds)  Seasonal Winds (Monsoon)  Local Winds  Cyclones and Anti Cyclones  Recent Major Cyclones  Air masses  Clouds and their types  Precipitation  Conventional, Cyclonic, Orogenic

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GEOGRAPHY ASTRONOMY

NASA defines astronomy as, “The study of stars, planets and space.”

Universe

•• All existing matters and space as a whole forms the Universe. It was termed as cosmos when first conceived as an orderly unit and its study called as cosmology. It is believed to be expanding since its creation in the Big Bang about 13 billion years ago. •• In astronomy & cosmology, space is the vast 3-dimensional region that begins where the earth’s atmosphere ends. There are inter steller & intergalactic spaces. Fact of Universe

Diameter

Volume Mass (ordinary matter) Density

8.8×1026 m (28.5 Gpc or 93 Gly) 4×1080 m3 1053 kg 9.9 × 10–30 g/cm3 (equivalent to 6 protons per cubic meter of space) 13.799 ± 0.021 billion years 2.72548 K

Age Average temperature Contents ordinary (baryonic) matter (4.9%) dark matter (26.8%) dark energy (68.3%) •• Normal matters that are visible (star, planet and galaxies) make up less than 5% of the total mass of the universe rest are made of dark matters. These dark matters are not seen by the astronomers but they can study their effects.

Development Theories Big Bang Theory

•• Big bang theory was proposed by Georges Lemaitre in 1927. •• According to this theory billion of years ago cosmic matters were in

highly compressed state and expansion started with premordial explosion which was bang in superdense ball. These exploded particles travelling at a speed of thousands miles per second gave rise to our galaxies.

Steady State Theory

•• The steady state theory was governed by Hermann Boudi and Thomas Gold. •• It is also known as theory of continuous creation. According to this theory universe has always existed and will always exist and will always look essentially the same, so there is no over all evolution, thus balancing the average density despite the exapansion. •• As old galaxies move apart the new galaxies are being formed.

Galaxy

•• A Galaxy is a large collection of stars, gas, dust, and dark matter bounded by gravitational force. At times they are so big that they are called as Island Universe.

Elliptical Galaxies

Elliptical galaxies can be classified on the basis of their ellipticity, ranging from nearly spherical (E0) to highly elongated (E7). These have low portion of open clusters and low rate of new star formation.

Spiral Galaxies

Spiral galaxies have a central nucleus with great spiral arms trailing round it resembling pin wheel. Andromeda Galaxy and Milky Way are the example of such galaxies. The spiral arms are thought to be areas of highdensity matter, or “density waves”.

Irregular Galaxies

Irregular galaxies are youthful in nature with no sharp and boundary thinning out gradually, these galaxies contain large amount of gas and dust. This type of galaxy is the result of gravitational interaction or collision between formerly regular galaxies.

Mt. Vesuvius (Italy), Mt. Stromboli (Italy), Mt. Etna (Italy) and Mauna Loa (Hawaii) are examples of active volcanoes.

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GEOGRAPHY The Life Cycle of a Star Nebula A nebula is a cloud of gas (hydrogen) and dust in space. Nebulae are the birthplaces of stars. Star: A star is a luminous globe of gas producing its own heat and light by nuclear reactions (nuclear fusion). •• Stars are born from nebulae and consist mostly of hydrogen and helium gas. Red Giant Star

•• Red Giant stars is a dying star, i.e. the later stages of the evolution of a star like the Sun, as it runs out of hydrogen fuel at its centre. •• In few billion years, the Sun will turn into a red giant star, expand and engulf the inner planets, possibly even the Earth. Red Giant stars are very cool, faint and small stars, approximately one tenth the mass and diameter of the Sun. Red Dwarf Stars

Red Dwarf stars are the most common & longest lived stars. •• They are the smallest of the stars with low temperature, e.g. Proxima Centauri & Barnard’s star. White Dwarf A small very dense star that is typically the size of planet. Black Hole is very small, hot star, the last stage in the life cycle of a star like the Sun. The gravitational pull in a black hole is so great that nothing can escape from it, not even light. So, it is invisible. •• S. Chandrasekhar has given Chanderasekhar limit, which is about the formation of Black Holes. •• The closest star to the Earth is the Sun. •• The closest star to our solar system is The Proxima Centauri. •• Light year, Astronomical unit (A.U.). Parsec is the unit of measurement of interstellar distance that is equal to 3.26 light years.

The Solar System

•• The Sun, the eight planets (Pluto is not a planet now, considered as a dwarf planet) along with their satellites,

•• •• ••

•• •• •• •• ••

the asteroids, the comets, the inter planetary dust and the electrically charged gases called plasma, together make up the solar system. Our solar system consists of an average star we call it the Sun, the planets – Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. The Sun is an average star. It isn’t the hottest, it isn’t the coolest, it isn’t the oldest. Nor is it brightest, biggest, etc. Sun’s Mass: The Sun’s mass is in between 99.8% and 99.9% of the solar system. The rest is split between planets, satellites, comets, asteroids, dust particles and gases surrounding the solar system. It is composed mainly of hydrogen and helium. Nuclear fusion in the core of the Sun is source of all its energy. The glowing surface of the Sun is called Photosphere. The Sun has a red coloured Chromosphere and beyond it is Corona (visible during eclipses). The surface of the Sun changes continuously. Bright regions are called Plages and dark spots are called Sun spots which frequently form and disappear.

Sun Statistics •• •• •• •• •• ••

Distance from the Earth – 150 mn km Diameter – 1391980 km Core temperature – 15000000°C Rotation time – 25 days Age – 5 billion years Composition : H2 - 71%, He - 26.5% and other 2.5% •• Mass – 1.99 × 1033 kg

Solar Eclipse

Solar eclipse is caused when the Moon revolving around the Earth comes in between the Earth and the Sun, thus making a part or whole of the Sun invisible from a particular part of the Earth.

Lunar Eclipse

During the revolution of Earth, when it comes between moon and the Sun the shadow of the Earth hides moon either fully or partially. This is called lunar eclipse.

Barren Island in India is an active volcano while Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa is an example of extinct volcano.

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Planet A planet must meet three criteria: (i) It must orbit the Sun, (ii) It must be big enough for gravity to squash it into a round ball, (iii) It must have cleared other objects out of the way in its orbital neighbourhood. •• The Terrestrial Planets or Inner Planets are the four innermost planets in the solar system, which include Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. •• The Jovian Planets or Outer Planets are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune because they are all gigantic compared to Earth, and they have a gaseous nature.

Mercury

It is the smallest and the closest planet to the Sun, without a moon. Surface is full of craters.

Venus

It is the second closest planet to the Sun, known as evening as well as morning star, rotates from east to west. It is the hottest planet. The atmosphere of Venus is covered with thick clouds that strongly reflects sunlight.

Earth

It is the third planet from the Sun with one moon. Perfect place for life. It consists of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and 1% other ingredients envelops it. Moon is the only natural satellite of Earth.

Mars

It is the fourth planet from the Sun with two moons (Phobos and Deimos). It is known as the Red Planet because iron minerals in the Martian soil oxidize, or rust, causing the soil and the dusty atmosphere to look red. The planet is characterized by volcanoes, canyon systems, riverbeds, crated terrains.

Jupiter

It is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the solar system. Its atmosphere is made up mostly of hydrogen (H) and helium (He). It has the fastest rotational velocity, completing one rotation in less than 10 hours.

GEOGRAPHY Jupiter has 67 known satellites and 4 Galilean moons. It has the biggest magnetosphere in the entire solar system.

Saturn

It is the second largest planet of the solar system and surrounded by ring like structures. These rings are made of premordial dust and ice particles. More over Saturn is a gaseous planet. The planet has 62 prominent moons among which the largest moon is Titan which is the second largest in the entire solar system.

Uranus

It is the seventh planet from the Sun. One day on Uranus takes about 17 hours (the time it takes for Uranus to rotate or spin once). Uranus makes a complete orbit around the Sun (a year in Uranian time) in about 84 Earth years. It has 27 moons. It is characterized by usual magnetic and electric field.

Neptune

It is the eighth planet from the Sun. Its atmosphere is made up mostly of hydrogen (H), helium (He) and methane (CH4). Triton is its largest moon. It is having a earth size blemish called as Green dark spot. It has 14 satellites among which Triton and Nereid are the prominent ones. Pluto (not a planet now). It is now considered as a dwarf planet. It has the slowest orbital velocity and hence, the longest year, Charon, is nearly half its size.

Dwarf planet– A dwarf planet is a planetary-mass object that is neither a planet nor a natural satellite. It shares its orbits around the Sun with other objects such as asteroids or comets. It is massive enough for its shape to be in hydrostatic equilibrium under its own gravity, but has not cleared the neighborhood around its orbit. The first 5 recognised dwarf planets are – Ceres, Pluto, Eris, Haumea & Makemake.

Light year– A light-year is a unit of astronomical distance. It is the distance that light can travel in one year. It is approximately 9.5 trillion kilometres (or about 6 trillion miles).

The zone on the globe which does not experience an earthquake is known as the shadow zone.

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GEOGRAPHY Planets Facts

Cosmic World

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Asteroid: 645,118

Biggest Planet-Jupiter Biggest Satellite-Jupiter Blue Planet-Earth Green Planet-Uranus Brightest Planet-Venus Brightest Planet outside Solar SystemSirus 7. Closest Star of Solar System-Proxima 8. Coldest Planet-Neptune 9. Evening Star-Venus 10. Farthest Planet from Sun-Neptune 11. Planet with maximum no. of satellitesJupiter 12. Fastest revolution in solar systemMercury 13. Hottest Planet-Venus 14. Densest Planet- Earth 15. Fastest Rotation in Solar System-Jupiter 16. Morning Star-Venus 17. Nearest Planet to Earth-Venus 18. Nearest Planet to Sun-Mercury 19. Red Planet-Mars 20. Slowest Revolution in Solar SystemNeptune 21. Slowest Rotation in Solar System-Venus 22. Smallest Planet-Mercury 23. Smallest Satellite-Deimos 24. Earth’s Twin-Venus 25. Atmosphere like Earth-Titan

A small rocky body orbiting the sun is termed as asteroid. Large numbers of these, are found between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, though some have more eccentric orbits.

Meteor

A meteoroid is a small rocky or metallic body travelling through space and range in size from small grains to 1 meter-wide objects. When it enters the atmosphere to become visible it is called meteor. It is also known as “shooting star” or “falling star.” One can see nearly 20 million of meteors in a day. In Huba the largest meteorite was found (Namibia – 60 tons).

Oort Clouds

They are roughly spherical, shell of icy objects found in the outermost reaches of the solar system is called Oort Clouds. Astronomers believe that it is remains of the disc of material that formed the Sun and planets. Estimates put it at around 2 trillion. It is also referred to as Trans-Neptunian object applied to objects in the Kuiper Belt. Astronomers think that long-period comets have their origins in the Oort Clouds.

INFORMATION BULLETIN ON EARTH

•• Human population of the Earth •• World Population Growth •• Countries of the world

: Seven billion as of on 2011, 7.389 billion (as of Dec 2015) : 1.13% as of (2015-16) - 2014 estimate : 196 (195 Excluding Taiwan)

•• Earth’s Circumference at the : 24,901.55 miles (40,075.16 km) Equator •• Earth’s Circumference between : 24,859.82 miles (40,008 km) the North and South Poles

•• Earth’s Diameter at the Equator : 7,926.28 miles (12,756.1 km) •• Average Distance from the : 92, 935, 700 miles Earth to the Sun

•• Average Distance from the : 238.900 miles/384, 400 km Earth to the Moon •• Highest Elevation on Earth

: Mt. Everest, Asia : 29,035 feet (8850 m)

Light takes about 4.3 years to reach us from the next nearest star Proxima Centauri.

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GEOGRAPHY

•• Tallest Mountain on Earth from : Mauna Kea. Hawaii: 33,480 feet (rising to 13.796 Base to Peak feet above sea level) (10204 m, 4205 m)

•• Point Farthest from the Center : The peak of the volcano Chimborazo in Ecuador at of the Earth 20,561 feet (6267 m) is farthest from the center of the Earth due to its location near the equator and the oblateness of the Earth. •• Lowest Elevation on Land

•• Deepest Point in the Ocean

: Dead Sea: 1369 feet below sea level (417,27 m)

: Challenger Deep. Mariana Trench. Western Pacific Ocean: 36,740 feet (11022 m)

•• Highest Temperature Recorded : 135.80F - A1 Aziziyah, Libya, Sep. 13,1922 (57.7°C) •• Lowest Temperature Recorded •• Water vs Land

•• Atmosphere content •• Rotation on Axis

•• Revolution Around the Sun

: –128.5°F - Vostok, Antarctica. July 21, 1983 (–89.2°C) : 4.5 to 4.6 billion years

: 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen and 1% traces of argon, carbon dioxide and water.

: 23 hours and 56 minutes and 04.09053 second. But, it takes an additional four minutes for the earth to revolve to the some position as the day before relative to the sun (i.e., 24 hours) : 365 . 2425 day

•• Chemical Composition of the : 34.6% Iron, 29.5% Oxygen, 15.2% Silicon, 12.7%, Earth Magnesium, 2.4% Nickel, 1.9% Sulphur and 0.05% Titanium.

Planet Earth

•• The form of Earth is ‘Oblate spheroid’. •• The axis of the Earth is inclined to the plane of Earth’s orbit at an angle of 66 1/2°giving rise to different seasons and varying lengths of day and night. •• At equator, day and night are of equal length throughout the year.

between the tropics and polar region (23½° of 66½°) having moderate climate.

Frigid Zones

Torrid Zone

The Mid-day Sun shines vertically overhead at least once a year between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. Thus, this region receiving the maximum heat and is called Torrid Zone.

Temperate Zones

These are the areas where climatic condition is not extreme. The area lies

Jupiter is known as winter planet as its average temperature is very low (–148ºC).

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GEOGRAPHY

These are the two extremely cold zones situated in the Polar regions extending to the Arctic circle in the North and to the Antarctic circle in the South.

Seasons Formation

Revolution of the Earth around the Sun along with it spinning around its axis, which is tilted at an angle of 23.5 degrees, is the main cause of season’s formation. Around the June Solstice, the Northern Hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun, therefore experiencing summer. The Southern Hemisphere on the other hand, is tilted away from the Sun and thus, experiences winter. The opposite occurs around the December Solstice, when the Southern Hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun, while the Northern Hemisphere is tilted away.

Seasons and their Formation

Northern summer/Southern winter

Northern fall/Southern spring 21. March Periapsis ill. 3. January Equinox 47 m 1 m k

21. June

Line of Solstice

21. December

sid

p fa

Lin ll.

Apoapsis 3. July

2 15

Northern summer/Southern winter

23. September Northern fall/Southern spring

There are four seasons: Summer when the Sun’s ray falls directly over the tropic of cancer. In autumn, the Sun’s ray falls directly over the equator. During winter it is over tropic of Capricorn and during spring it falls back on equator. Equinoxes is the day which happens twice a year and day and night are of equal length. March 21 is called as Vernal equinox and 23rd September is autumnal equinox. Solstice in the same ways occurs when the difference between the lengths of day and night are maximum. Occurs twice in a year firstly when the Sun’s ray falls on tropic of cancer and secondly when over tropic of Capricorn.

Eclipse

It is related to obscuring light of the sun or the moon by any other body. There are two types of eclipse. Lunar eclipse occurs when the earth comes in middle of the sun and the moon. It occurs on full moon day but not every full moon day experiences lunar eclipse. Solar eclipse occurs when the moon comes in middle of the sun and the earth. It occurs on the new moon day when the moon is in line with sun. Lake Eyre (–15.8 m) is the lowest point in Australia and Kosciuszko mountain (2.228 m) is the highest point.

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GEOGRAPHY

Chronological age of the Earth EON

ERA

PERIOD Quaternary

Phanerozoic

Mesozoic

Paleozoic

Tertiary

Paleogene

Cretaceous Jurassic

Millions of Years Ago 0.011477

Miocene

23.03

Pleistocene Pliocene

Oligocene Eocene

Paleocene

Triassic

Permian

Charboniferous

Cenozoic

Neogene

EPOCH Holocene

Proterozoic

Precambrian

Mesoproterozoic Paleoproterozoic

Archean

Neoarchean

Mesoarchean

Paleoarchean Eoarchean

5.332 33.9 55.8 65.5

145.5 199.5 251

299

Pennsylvanian

318.1

Mississippian

359.2

Devonian

416

Silurian

443.7

Ediacaran

630

Ordiviclan Neoproterozoic

1.806

Cambrian

Cryogenian

488.3 542

850

Tonian

1000

Calymmian

1600

Stenian

Ectasian

Statherian Orosirian Rhyacian Siderian

Hadean

Kilimanjaro (5,895 m) is the highest while Lake Assai (–156.1 m) is the lowest point in Africa.

1200 1400 1800 2050 2300 2500 2800 3200 3600 4000 4567

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GEOGRAPHY Internal Structure of Earth

The thickness and deepness of the Earth is the study of seismology. The interior structure of the Earth is layered in spherical shells. It was Edmund Halley (1692) who put forth the idea of earth consisting of a hollow shell about 500 miles thick, with two inner concentric shells around an innermost core. These shells can be divided by mechanical properties such as Rheology, or chemically. Mechanically, are divided into lithosphere, asthenosphere, mesospheric mantle, outer core, and the inner core. The interior of Earth is divided into 5 important layers. Chemically, are divided into the crust, upper mantle, lower mantle, outer core, and inner core. Depth (Km)

Upper crust er cr ust Low

Uppe

m 0k m k 20 m k 40

r Mantl e

Meso

sphere

km 400 km 650

D” Layer

Oute

m 0k 270 0 km 9 8 2 m

515

0-60

Lithosphere (locally varies between 5 and 200 km) (density 2.9-3.3)

35-60

Uppermost part of mantle

0-35

r Mantl Lowe e

Crust (locally varies between 5 and 70 km)

35–2,890

r Core

Layers

Mantle

r Inne Core

100–200

6378 km

2,890–5,150 Outer core (density 10.00-13.3)

660–2,890

Upper mesosphere (density 3.3-4.3)

Lower mesosphere (density 4.3-5.5)

5,150–6,360 Inner core (density 13.3-13.6) Crust (6-11 km oceanic, 25-90 km continental)

Lower Mantle id qu Li re co

6300 km 3500 km 1200 km

Solid inner core Fe Fe + Ni + S (?)

Upper Mantle down to about 100 km (the upper mantle and crust form the rigid lithosphere)

Mt. Mckinley (6,194 m) is the highest and Death Valley (–85.9 m) is the lowest point in North America.

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GEOGRAPHY GEOMORPHOLOGY

Rock Rock is a naturally occurring mineral and relatively hard.

Proportion of Elements Found in Rock 7% Others

5.5% Others

15% Silicon

8% Aluminium

35% Iron

47% Oxygen

13% Magnesium 30% Oxygen

Type of Rocks Sedimentary Rocks

In Earth

3% Sodium

28% Silicon

In Earth Crust

Sedimentary rocks are formed through lithification, compression and cementation of sediments deposited in a particular place mainly aquatic areas.

Igneous/Primary Rocks

Igneous rocks are formed from solidification and cooling of magma. Usually this magma partially melts off the pre-existing rocks from mantle or crust of the earth. This melting of rocks is caused by one or more processes namely: increase in temperature, decrease in pressure, or a change in composition e.g. Basalt, Granite.

Metamorphic Rocks

When the change occurs in the form or composition of the pre-existing rock (igneous or sedimentary) without any disintegration taking place is called as metamorphic rock.

Earth Movement The forces affecting earth’s crust and the resultant movement can be categorized into two broad categories and further into sub-categories. Aconcagu (6,960 m) is the highest while valdes Peninsula (–39.9 m) is the lowest point in Latin America.

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GEOGRAPHY Forces which affects the Earth’s Crust Endogenetic Forces

Exogenetic Forces

Sudden Catastrophic Forces

Diastrophic Forces

Epeirogenetic Forces Upward Movement (Emergence)

Orogenetic Forces

Downward Movement (Submergence) Compressional Forces

Tensional Forces Crustal Fracture

Cracking

Volcanic Eruption Earthquakes

Crustal Bending

Faulting (Faults) Upwarping

Folding (Folds)

Warping Downwarping

Weathering • Physical • Chemical • Biological

Endogenetic Forces

Types of Folds

The forces which originate within the Earth surface are defined as endogenetic forces. They can result in both horizontal and vertical movement of the earth surface. Internal heat causing chemical reactions inside the earth and transfer of rock materials on the surface of the earth by external forces results in release of endogenetic energy. Endogenetic forces are of two types: Diastrophic movements and Sudden movements. These movement causes fold, fault, earthquake and volcanic activities.

••

Folds

These are the wave like structure formed in the crustal rock due to tangential compressive force resulting from horizontal movement caused by endogenetic forces.

•• ••

Erosion • Ice • River water • Sea • Wind • Underground water

Symmetrical fold is the simple fold, the limbs of which incline uniformly. Asymmetrical Fold is the fold with unequal and irregular inclination and length. Monoclinal Fold is the fold with one limb inclined moderately with regular slope while the other limb inclines steeply at right angle and the slope is almost vertical. Isoclinical Fold is a fold where compressive force, forces both the limbs of the fold to become parallel but not horizontal to its axis. Recumbent Fold is formed when compression force is strong enough to make both the limbs of the fold parallel as well as horizontal to its axis.

The explorer Ferdinand Magellan, who circumnavigated the Earth, named the Ocean ‘Pacific’ meaning peaceful.

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GEOGRAPHY

Faults

Types of Volcanoes:

These are the slippage or displacement occuring in the crust along the fracture plane. Four types of faults: i) normal, ii) reverse, iii) lateral and iv) step faults.

Volcano

It is a fissure or vent in the earth’s crust communicating with the interior, from which lava, rock fragments, hot vapour and gases are ejected. A volcano begins to form when magma, which is hot molten rock from deep within the earth, rises toward the earth’s surface and collects in magma chambers.

(a) Active Volcanoes: Alive now (b) Dormant Volcanoes: Have not erupted for quite some time (c) Extinct Volcanoes: Have not erupted for several centuries

Earthquake Motion ranging from faint terror to wild shaking of the earth surface is called earthquake. It occurs mainly due to tectonic activities caused by continuous endogenetic processes inside earth’s crust. The place from where it starts is called as focus or hypocenter and the point directly above it is known as epicenter. It is measured in Richter scale varying from 0 to 9.

Plate Tectonic Theory Our earth surface is made up of plates which are in motion due to the convection current flowing beneath it. This movement

in the earth’s plate is called as tectonic movement. This movement has been widely accepted cause of continental drift, earthquakes, volcanoes, mountains, and oceanic trenches.

The Mariana Trench is the World’s deepest trench with a depth of 11,033 metres.

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GEOGRAPHY Types of Plates Minor Plates

Minor Plates

Africa Plate

Cocos Plate

North American Plate

Juan de Fuca Plate

Pacific Plate

Antarctic Plate Eurasian Plate

Australian Plate

Filipino Plate

Caribbean Plate Scotia Plate Nazca Plate

South American Plate and Arabian Plate Indian Plant

Exogenetic/Denudational/Destructional Forces The forces which act above the earth surface changing relief of earth surface are known as exogenetic forces. These processes are continuously engaged in destructing the relief features created by endogenetic forces. These forces are carried on by the agents of erosion such as wind, water, glacier etc., the process through which these agents work on the earth surface are weathering and erosion. •• ••

Weathering is a process in which breaking down of the earth surface takes place but the debris do not move from their place. Erosion refers to the movement in the weathered material.

Denudation is a long-term sum of processes that is caused by weathering, leading to a reduction in elevation and relief of landforms and landscapes and erosion.

Major Landforms Mountains

These are the second order relief features having an abrupt natural rise from the adjacent surrounding area. Collective system of long, narrow elevated land for some distance is a Mountain Ridge. Several parallel long narrow mountains of different period is called as Mountain chain. Mountain Range is a series of mountain ridges, peaks, and summits and the valley of same age but structurally different. Cordilleras are the huge set

of several mountain groups and systems having different ridges, ranges, mountain chains etc.

Types of Mountains Folded Mountains

originated by compressive forces. Young, mature and old are its sub types. E.g. Alps in Europe, Rockies in North America, Andes in South America and the Himalayas in Asia. Block fault Mountain originated by tensile and compressional forces. E.g. Black forest mountains on the border of France and Germany. Dome Mountain originated by magnetic intrusion and unwrapping of the crustal surface. Volcanic Mountain formed by accumulation of volcanic materials e.g. Mount Mauna Loa in Hawaii, Mt. Fujiyama in Japan and Mt. Popa in Central Myanmar. Residual mountain E.g. Vindhyachal Aravalli, Eastern and Western Ghats.

Plateau

A second order relief feature characterized by flat and rough top surface and steep wall with a height difference of at least 300 m from its surrounding areas.

Types of Plateau: (i) Intermontane

Bolivian, Peru, Mexican, Iranian)

Plateau

Columbian

(Tibetan, Plateau,

(ii) Piedmont Plateau (Appalachian Piedmont Plateau, Patagonian Plateau) (iii) Continental Plateau (Deccan Plateau of India, Chota Nagpur Plateau) (iv) Coastal Plateau (Coromandel Coastal upland of India)

Lake

Lakes are static bodies of water surrounded by land from all sides. These are not permanent features on the earth surface. Sometimes lakes are found near along the sea coast. There are two type lakes e.g. freshwater lakes and saline lake.

Oceanography

Ocean Structure ••

Ocean can be divided into two main groups (i) the ocean (ii) the sea. Ocean covers 70% of the earth surface and has an average depth of more than 12,400 feet.

The Atlantic Ocean has the longest coastline and is also the busiest ocean for trade and commerce.

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GEOGRAPHY

•• Geographically the oceans have been divided into (i) the Pacific (ii) the Atlantic (iii) the Indian and (iv) the Arctic ocean. •• Pacific Ocean, the largest and oldest occupies 50% of the ocean world, followed by Atlantic (29.9%), Indian (21%). •• Arctic is strictly not an ocean and not navigable.

Continental shelf

•• Continental margin submerged under ocean water upto 100 fathoms (600 feet) with slope of 1° to 3° and often determined by the coastal reliefs. High mountainous coast have narrow self. In Atlantic Ocean it is 2 km to 80 km.

Deep Sea Plain/Abyssal Plain

•• Most extensive relief, covering 75.9% of the total area of ocean basin. Flat and rolling submarine having depth from 3000 m to 6000 m. The Mariana Trench near Guam Island is the deepest of all.

Temperature of Ocean

Ocean is divided into three layers according to temperature. (i) First layer upto 500 m from top having temperature of 20° - 25°C (ii) Thermocline layer - below 500 m where temperature decreases at a rapid rate with the increase in depth. (iii) Third layer is very cold and extends upto deep ocean floor. Polar region has this layer from surface to deep ocean form. Daily Range of temperature is the difference of maximum and minimum temperature of a day which is 0.3°C at low latitude and 0.2° to 0.3°C at higher latitudes. Annual Range of temperature: Maximum temperature is recorded in August and minimum in February in the northern hemisphere. Average annual range of temperature of ocean water is - 12°C usually.

Factors affecting temperature

distribution

•• Major factors include: Latitude, Unequal distribution of land and sea, prevailing wind and ocean current •• Minor factors include: Submarine ridges, local weather, location and shape of sea.

Density of Ocean •• Amount of mass per unit volume of substance, measured in g/cm3 •• Density of pure water is 1 g/cm3 at 4°C. and ocean water is 1.0278 g/cm3 (2-3% higher than water) at 4°C. •• It increases with lowering of temperature of ocean. Highest density is recorded at –1.3°C.

Salinity of the Ocean

•• Average salinity of ocean water is 35%. Salinity of ocean water is affected by marine organism, plant community and physical properties of ocean such as temperature, density, waves, pressure and currents. •• Highest salinity is observed between 20° - 40° N (36%). •• Boiling point of saline water is higher than pure water. •• The line with same salinity is joined by Isohalines.

Source of Salinity

Salts brought by rivers is the main source. It contains 60% of calcium sulphate and 2% of sodium chloride. SALTS IN OCEAN WATER

Name of Salts

Sodium Chloride

77.8

Calcium Sulphate

03.6

Magnesium Chloride

Magnesium Sulphate Potassium Sulphate Calcium Carbonate

Magnesium Bromide

10.9 04.7 02.5 00.3 00.2

Factors controlling salinity

•• Evaporation is positively related to the salinity level. •• Precipitation has a negative relation with it. •• Influx of river water has inverse relation with salinity level. •• Atmospheric pressure and wind are of directional help in the redistribution of water salinity. •• Circulation of ocean water is the controlling factor of salinity in a region.

A shallow lake formed between the sand and the sea coast is called lagoon and kayal in Kerala.

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GEOGRAPHY Ocean Currents The movement of a mass of oceanic water parallel to the coast is called as ocean current. Currents are of two types on the basis of temperature. (i) Warm current (ii) Cold current On the basis of velocity, dimension and direction.

Drift

It is slow movement of the ocean current under the influence of prevailing wind.

Current

Movement or circulation of ocean water in a definite path having great velocity.

Stream

Movement of ocean water involving large volume in a definite direction with velocity. It is a continuous flow.

Origin

Origin of ocean current occurs due to following factors: • Rotation of earth • Temperature difference in ocean • Salinity difference in ocean • Density Difference • Air pressure and wind • Rainfall and Evaporation • Direction, shape and configuration of coast • Bottom relief • Seasonal variation

Distribution of Currents Atlantic Ocean

North Equatorial Current (warm) South Equatorial Current (warm) Counter Equatorial Current (warm) Gulf stream (warm) North Atlantic Current Canary Current (Cold) Labrador Current (Cold) Brazil Current (warm) Falkland Current (Cold) South Atlantic Drift (Cold) Benguela Current (Cold)

Pacific Ocean • •

North Equatorial Current (Warm) South Equatorial Current (Warm)

• • • • • • • •

Counter Equatorial Current (Warm) Kuroshio System (warm) Oyashio Current (Cold) California Current (Cold) Peru Current (Cold) El Nino or Counter Current (warm) Eastern Australian Current (warm) West Wind Drift (Cold)

Indian Ocean • • • • • •

North-east Monsoon Current (warm) Indian Counter Current (warm) South West Monsoon (warm) Indian Equatorial Current (warm) Mozambiqe Current (warm) West Wind Drift (cold)

Seas of Ocean Pacific ocean

Arafura sea, Bering sea, Celebes sea, Coral sea, Java sea, Gulf of Carpentria, Yellow sea, Japan sea, Bohol sea, Gulf of Alaska, Molucca sea and South China sea.

Indian ocean

Arabian sea, Andaman sea, Bay of Bengal, Timor sea, Red sea, Laccadive sea, Gulf of Oman, Gulf of Aden, Mozambique Channel.

Atlantic ocean

Caribbean sea, Celtic sea, Labrador sea, Marmara sea, Norwegian sea, Bothnia sea, Gulf of Finlang, Bay of Fundy, Barents sea, Beaufort sea, Amunden sea, Baffin Bay, Laptev sea, White sea, Pechora sea, Kara sea, East Siberian sea, Greenland sea, Prince Gustav Adolf sea.

Inland Seas

Caspian sea, Aral sea, Salton sea, Dead sea and Black sea. Strait is a narrow passage of water connecting two seas or two other large areas of water. Strait of Malacca is a funnel-shaped narrow waterway 800 km long that connects the South China & Andaman Sea. Bass strait is the widest (240 km). Bosphorous, the narrowest strait in world used for international navigation, that connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara.

Andaman and Nicobar islands are separated by the Ten Degree Channel because 10ºN latitude passes through this place.

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GEOGRAPHY MAJOR STRAIT OF THE WORLD

Name

Joins

Malacca Strait

Andaman Sea & South China Sea Indonesia - Malaysia

Palk Strait

Sunda Strait

Yucatan Strait

Messina Strait

Otranto Strait

Bab-el-Mandeb Strait

Cook Strait

Mozambique Strait

North Channel

Taurus Strait

Bass strait

Bering Strait

Bonne-Fasio Strait

Bosphorus Strait

Dardanelle Strait

Davis strait

Denmark strait

Dover strait

Florida Strait

Hormuz strait

Hudson strait

Gibraltar Strait

Magellan strait

Makassar Strait

Tsugaru Strait

Tatar Strait

Gulf

Location

Palk Bay & Bay of Bengal

India-Sri Lanka

Java Sea & Indian Ocean

Indonesia

Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea Mexico-Cuba

Mediterranean Sea

Adriatic Sea & Ionian Sea

Red Sea & Gulf of Aden

South Pacific Ocean

Indian Ocean

Irish Sea & Atlantic Ocean

Arafura Sea & Gulf of Papua

Tasman Sea & South Sea

Bering Sea & Chukchi Sea

Mediterranean Sea

Black Sea and Marmara Sea

Marmara Sea and Aegean Sea

Baffin Bay & Atlantic Ocean

North Atlantic and Arctic Ocean

English Channel & North Sea

Italy-Sicily

Italy-Albania

Yemen-Djibouti

New Zealand (N & S islands)

Mozambique - Malagasy

Ireland-England

Papua New Guinea - Australia

Australia

Alaska-Russia

Corsika-Sardinia

Turkey

Greenland-Canada

Greenland-Iceland

England-France

Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean USA-Cuba

Gulf of Persia & Gulf of Oman

Gulf of Hudson & Atlantic Ocean

Mediterranean Sea & Atlantic Ocean

Oman-Iran

Canada

Spain-Morocco

Pacific and South Atlantic Ocean Chile

Java Sea & Celebeze Sea

Japan Sea and Pacific Ocean

Japan Sea & Okhotsk Sea

A large area of a sea or ocean partially enclosed by land, especially a long landlocked portion of sea opening through a strait. Gulf and Bay are of economic importance as they serve as excellent harbour in most of the cases. Many important

Indonesia

Japan (Hokkaido-Honshu island)

Russia (E Russia-Sakhalin Island)

trading centers are located on gulfs. It forms a good fishing ground and oil deposits.

The Gulf of Mexico

Bordering the United States, Mexico, and the island nation of Cuba, is the world’s largest gulf. It has a coastline of about 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles).

Anemometer is an instrument used for measuring wind velocity and Beufort Scale is used to identify wind strength.

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GEOGRAPHY The Persian Gulf

Bar-built

In Arabian Sea borders Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman. There a vast deposit of petroleum is found. The Gulf of Carpentaria on northeast coast of Australia, is an inlet of the Arafura Sea.

Sandbars or barrier islands built up by ocean currents and waves in coastal areas created a protected area fed by small streams or rivers. The barrier islands off the Atlantic coastline of North Carolina and Massachusetts enclose bar-built estuaries.

Bay

A bay is a small body of water or a broad inlet that is set off from a larger body of water generally where the land curves inward. Examples of bays include the Bay of Pigs (Cuba), Hudson Bay (Canada), Chesapeake Bay (Maryland and Virginia), and Bay of Bengal (near India).

Choke Point

When a body of water such as a strait is capable of being blocked or even closed in order to control transportation routes, the body is called a “choke point.”

Estuaries

Estuaries are bodies of water and their surrounding coastal habitats typically found where rivers meet the sea. It becomes the home of numerous unique plant and animal communities because their waters are brackish. Brackish is a mixture of fresh water draining from the land and salty seawater.

Delta system

Deltas are formed at the mouths of large rivers from sediment and silt depositing. When the river flow is restricted by the delta, an estuary may form. The Nile River in Egypt and the Mississippi River in Louisiana forms delta systems estuaries.

Tectonic

It is created when a major crack or a large landmass sink, often caused by earthquakes, produced a basin below sea level that fills with water. This type of estuaries usually occurs along fault lines. San Francisco Bay in California is an example of an estuary created by tectonics.

Fjords

Advancing glaciers ground out long, narrow valleys with steep sides. Glacier Bay in Alaska is an example of a fjord.

Clinometer is an instrument used for determing the difference in elevation between two points.

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GEOGRAPHY MAJOR GULFS AND THEIR LOCATION

Gulf of Aden of the southwestern corner of the Arabian Peninsula Gulf of Alaska in the Pacific Ocean south of the state of Alaska Amundsen Gulf in the Arctic Ocean northwest of Canada

Gulf of Aqaba in the northern end of the Red Sea, leading to Israel and Jordan Gulf of Bahrain, part of the Persian Gulf

Gulf of Bothnia, part of the Baltic Sea between Sweden and Finland

Gulf of Cádiz, part of the Atlantic Ocean off the southern border of Spain and Portugal Gulf of California in the Pacific Ocean in northwestern Mexico Gulf of Carpentaria a large bay off northern Australia Gulf of Cazones a large gulf in southern Cuba

Gulf of Corinth, which extends into Greece from the Mediterranean Davao Gulf in the Philippines

Gulf of the Farallones, westward from the opening of the San Francisco Bay and Drakes Bay to the Farallon Islands Gulf of Finland, between the southern coast of Finland and the northern coast of Estonia in the Baltic Sea. Gulf of Genoa inside the Ligurian Sea on the northwestern coast of Italy Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Equatorial Africa

Gulf of Izmir in the Aegean Sea between Turkey and Greece. It was formerly called the Gulf of Smyrna. Gulf of Khambhat in the Arabian Sea, formerly known as the Gulf of Cambay Gulf of Kutch in the Arabian Sea

Lingayen Gulf of western Luzon, the Philippines, in the South China Sea

Gulf of Lion, a bay on the Mediterranean coastline of Languedoc-Roussillon and Provence in France Gulf of Maine, off the State of Maine, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia in the Atlantic Ocean Gulf of Mannar, between India and Sri Lanka

Gulf of Mexico, between Mexico, the United States, and Cuba

Gulf of Morbihan, a natural harbour on the coast of the Département of Morbihan in the south of Brittany Gulf of Nicoya, in Costa Rica, Central America.

Gulf of Oman, between the south eastern Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Pakistan and Arabian Sea. Gulf of Oristano, near Oristano on the Western Sardinian coast Gulf of Panama in the Pacific Ocean south of Panama

Persian Gulf between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula

Fathometer is the instrument used for measuring the depth of the Ocean.

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GEOGRAPHY Gulf of Roses, the most northeastern bay on the Catalan coast

Gulf of Saint Lawrence, the world’s largest estuary and the outlet of the Saint Lawrence River into the Atlantic Ocean Gulf St Vincent, separated from Spencer Gulf by the Yorke Peninsula Gulf of Sidra, just north of Libya in the Mediterranean Spencer Gulf, near Port Lincoln, South Australia

Gulf of Suez, in the northern end of the Red Sea, leading to the Suez Canal Gulf of Thailand, just south of Thailand in the Indian Ocean

Gulf of Tonkin, just east of North Vietnam in the Pacific Ocean Gulf of Tunis, in the Mediterranean off the coast of Tunisia

MARINE RESOURCES

The biotic and abiotic resources found in the oceanic water and lagoons are called as Marine resources. It includes marine water, inherent energy in ocean water (e.g. wave and tidal energy) biotic life (plants and animals), marine deposits and abiotic elements (minerals, fossils fuels, etc).

Marine Zone (i)

Territoral Sea It is a region lying between base line and 12 nautical miles towards sea. 12 nautical mile is the seaward limit of territoral sea and called as contiguous zone. (ii) Exclusive Economic Zone This zone extends upto a 200 nautical miles from the base line. The coastal state has the right of survey, exploitation, conservation and management of mineral resources of ocean deposits, ocean floor, marine water energy, water and ocean organisms with exclusive economic zone. No other country can venture

without the permission of the concern state. (iii) High Sea It extends beyond sea limit of the exclusive economic zone and includes the vast ocean area.

Marine Biological Resources

Those marine - related biological resources such as flora, fauna and micro organism whose inter-community behaviour and action affect or get affected by the piece of marine ecosystem they are living in.

Plankton Community

Planktons are floating and drifting micro plants and animals in photic zone. These are divided into phytoplankton (plant planktons) and zooplanktons (animal planktons). Phytoplankton produces food through the process of photosynthesis with the help of sunlight, water and atmosphere. Algae and Diatoms are most important member of this community. Algae and diatom are called as marine pasture.

MAJOR WETLAND OF THE WORLD AS RANKED BY WORLD HERITAGE SITE

Country

Wetland Name

Area

Canada

Wood Buffalo National Park

44,807 km2

USA USA

Everglades National Park Olympic National Park

6,110 km2

3,734 km²

Isopleth is a line drawn on the map along which the value of a particular phenomenon or product is uniform.

GK-200

GEOGRAPHY

USA

Yellowstone National Park

8,983 km²

Russian Federation

Lake Baikal

31,722 km²

Bulgaria

Romania and Ukraine Russian Federation Spain

Tunisia Malawi

Senegal

Dem. Republic of Congo India

India India

Srébarna Nature Reserve Danube Delta

Volcanoes of Kamchatka Doñana National Park Ichkeul National Park

Lake Malawi National Park

Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary

Virunga National Park

Kaziranga National Park

Keoladeo National Park Manas National Park

6 km²

4,152 km2

43781 km² 543 km² 85 km² 94 km²

160 km²

7,800 km² 430 km²

28 km²

950 km²

Australia

Fraser Island

1,840 km²

Honduras

Río Platano Biosphere Reserve

5250 km²

Australia

New Zealand Mexico

Panama

Colombia

Peru

Coral Reefs and Atoll

Kakadu National Park Te Wahipounamu Sian Ka’an

Darien National Parks

Los Katios National Parks

Manu National Park

It is accumulated and compact skeleton of lime secreting organisms known as coral polyps. They are confined between 25°N - 25°S latitude. They live on lime and in colony form. High mean annual temperature between 68°F to 70°F (20°C - 21°C) is required for the growth of corals. They do not grow in more than 250 feet (60-77 m) of water as they require oxygen and sunlight. Grows in open sea as fresh water is harmful for corals. Types of Coral Reef: (i) fringing reef (ii) barren reef and (iii) atoll

Ocean Tide

Alternative rise and fall in the sea level is known as tide. The rise of sea water and its movement towards coast is high tide. The fall of seawater and moving towards sea is

19,804 km² 26000 km² 3,157 km² 720 km²

5,970 km²

17,163 km²

called ebb/low tide. The difference between high and low tide is called as tidal range.

Types of Tide (i) Spring tide: When the sun, the moon and the earth are in the same line, there is formation of spring tide. The position when all three are in a straight line is called as syzygy. When the sun, the moon and the earth are in sequential order in a straight line is called as conjunction. It occurs on new moon day. When the earth is in between the moon and the sun are called as opposition. It occurs on full moon day. (ii) Neap tide: It’s a quadrature (90o) position between the earth, the sun and the moon on seventh or eighth day of the fortnight. During this time the forces of the sun and the moon acts in Opposite direction.

Isorithm is any line on the map representing continuous value on maps.

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GEOGRAPHY ATMOSPHERE The gaseous envelop which covers a celestial body or planet is called atmosphere. Air is a mixture of gases in various proportions. It has a mass of 5.15 × 1018 kg. of which are concentrated within 11 km of the surface of the earth. The force of gravity plays a vital role in holding the atmosphere close to the earth. Gases which contributes to the formation of atmosphere are Nitrogen (78.084%) Oxygen (20.946%), Argon (0.93%), Carbon dioxide (0.0397), Neon (0.001818), Helium (0.000024), Methane (0.000179) along with Water vapour (0.001% – 0.005%). Proportion of gas in the Atmosphere other 1%

Oxygen 21%

called normal lapse rate. The transition layer separating troposphere from stratosphere is known as tropopause which is between 16 km at equator to 8 km at pole.

Stratosphere

The layer which extends from 18 to 50 km above the earth surface is called as stratosphere. In this layer temperature increases as altitude increases due the ultra violet rays. Ozone forms to be the outer limit for this layer. Turbulence free zone hence is ideal for flying of jet aircrafts.

Mesosphere

Mesosphere lies from 50 to 80 km above the ground level with the temperature below – 100°C at 80 km. Even pressure drops to 1 mb at 50 km to 0.01 mb at 90 km. Mesopause are the upper transitional layer separating mesosphere from ionosphere. It is the zone of meteorites activities.

Ionosphere Nitrogen 78 %

Structure of Atmosphere km 180 160 120 100

ere

sph

r The

Mesopause

Mesosphere

40 20 0

Tropopause -200 -100

Stratopause Stratopause Troposphere 100 200

Homosphere

140

Heterosphere

TEMPERATURE °C

Troposphere The first layer of atmosphere from the earth surface is known as troposphere. It is at the height of 12 km from the earth surface. Here temperature decreases at the rate of 6.5°C per km with the increase in height. This is

The layer between mesosphere and thermosphere is known as ionosphere. Aurora Austrialis and Aurora Borealis occur due to penetration of ionizing particles in this layer. Temperatures rise with increasing height here owing to the absorption of ultraviolet radiation by atomic oxygen. Above 100 km the atmosphere is increasingly affected by solar X-rays and ultra-violet radiation, which causes ionization.

Thermosphere

The thermosphere is the second highest layer of earth’s atmosphere just above mesopause. It forms lower boundary of exosphere is known as exobase. Gradual increase of temperature is witnessed with height reaching up to 1500°C (2700°F).

Exoshpere

Outer most layer extending between of 700 km to 10000 km. Gases like nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide are found. No meteorological phenomenon is possible. Sometimes Aurora Borialis and Aurora Austrialis occur overlapping into the thermosphere.

Isobar is a line of equal pressure and Isobath is a line of equal depth in sea.

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GEOGRAPHY

Insolation

volume and hence temperature falls. Such a change of temperature, where neither addition nor subtraction of heat involves is known as ‘adiabatic change’.

•• The sun is primary source of energy on earth. It enters earth’s atmosphere in the form of short waves. This is known as incoming Insolation solar radiation. The earth receives solar radiation at the rate of 1.94 calories per cm2/m. •• The amount of solar radiation received by earth is affected by four factors which are as follows: 1. Solar Constant: It is the rate at which incoming solar radiation is received per unit area of earth surface when the sun is at its mean distance from the earth. Increase in the sun-spot increases the amount of solar radiation hence affecting insolation as well. 2. Distance from Sun: The path that is followed by the earth around the sun is not at the same distance throughout the year. The orbit of the earth is elliptical in shape. The shortest distance of the earth from the sun is called as Perihelion (147 million km) and Apehelion is time when the earth farthest from the sun. The former occurs in January and the latter in July. 3. Altitude of the Sun: Solar altitude is the relative angle of the sun with respect to earth’s horizon. The angle formed between the sun and the earth surface varies with the latitude at which a place is situated. The area closer to equators receive greater amount of solar insolation than at poles. 4. Length of Day: The amount of insolation received by place also depends on the length the day. Longer the duration of the day more will be the amount of radiation received. Heat Budget Earth balances the incoming solar radiation with the outgoing terrestrial radiation and is called as heat budget. The energy received if not returned back to the space in the form of long waves would increase the temperature of the earth surface. This balancing of heat affects the amount of insolation absorbed. Adiabatic Changes When the air parcel moving towards a low pressure zone without the exchange of heat with surrounding air. It increases volume and reduces the heat available per unit

Inversion of Temperatures

It refers to a condition where temperature increases with increasing height of the atmosphere. The five causes of inversion of temperature are radiation, drainage, frontal, advection, subsidence. •• General tendency to decrease in temperature with increasing latitude is known as ‘temperature gradient’. Not only the temperature but even its nature with latitude changes. The rate of change of temperature is comparatively low between tropics. On the other hand the gradient is high at the poles. Isotherms: The line which join places having equal temperature is called ‘Isotherms’.

Atmospheric Pressure •• Atmospheric pressure is the pressure exerted by the weight of air in the atmosphere of Earth. The standard air pressure at sea level is 1013.25 mb. Air pressure decreases with increase in altitude at the rate of 0.1 inch or 3.4 mb per 600 feet. The rate of decrease is confined to the height of few thousand feet. Line joining places with equal pressure at sea level are called isobars. •• The areas affect by high pressure are called as High Pressure zone or Anticyclones and the low pressure are called as Low or depression or Cyclone. There are seven pressure belts across the globes.

Equatorial Low Pressure Belt

The geographical region situated between 5° N to 5°S is known as Equatorial Low Pressure Belt. This belt gets longer duration of sunshine and sun’s ray falls at a straight angle on earth surface. Intense heat is received by the earth surface causing thermal induced atmosphere. It is also a convergence zone of north-east and southeast trade winds. The area is calm with no wind movement, thus known as Belt of Calm or Doldrums.

Isobronts are lines joining places experiencing a thunderstorm at the same time.

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GEOGRAPHY Sub-Tropical High Pressure The sub tropical high pressure belt extends between 25° to 35° in both the hemisphere. The air upraises in equatorial region. They start descending as they become heavy after cooling at a certain height and are deflected towards poles because of earth’s rotation causing a zone of high pressure. Sub Polar Low Pressure Belt The zone is situated between 60° to 65° in both the hemisphere. The temperature of this area is generally low throughout the year. It is a convergence zone where winds from sub-tropical low and polar high meets together to produce Polar front.

Polar High

The Polar High Pressure zone is situated near the pole. As the name suggests the zone is originated due to thermally induced factor as very low temperature is solely responsible for the creation of a high pressure zone over the polar areas.

Permanent/Planetary/Prevailing Winds Types

Tropical Winds

Sub Types

Polar Wind

High Pressure

Low Low Pressure Pressure

60º

Low High Pressure Pressure Trade Winds (N E)

30º

Low Low Pressure Pressure

0º

Low Low Pressure Pressure

Trade Winds (S E) 30º 60º

Major Pressure Belts Wind Belts Wind can be defined as the movement large volume of gases from high pressure area to low pressure area. There are two types of winds 1) Permanent/Prevailing Winds (blow throughout the year) and 2) Seasonal Wind (blow in particular period of the year).

Characteristics

Doldrum •• It is called as “equatorial calms” because wind over there (5º N - 5ºS) has no motion and cumulonimbus cloud are formed bring Equatorial daily rainfall. westerlies •• It is not continuous belt. Equatorial fronts are formed (15ºN – 35ºN) and equatorial westerlies blow there. It is associated with strong atmospheric disturbances or cyclonic storm.

Trade Winds

Sub Tropical wind

Polar Winds

Westerlies (35º-65ºN and S)

•• A wind flowing from subtropical high pressure to equatorial low pressure belt is termed as Trade Winds. It moves in north east and south east in north and south hemisphere respectively.

Blowing from subtropical high pressure belt (30º - 35ºN and S) to the sub polar low pressure belt (60º - 65ºN and S) is called Westerlies. In the northern hemisphere these wind blow from south west to north east and in southern hemisphere from north west to south east. 40ºS to 50ºSRoaring Forties, 50ºS to 60ºS- Furious Fifties and 60ºS onwards – Shriecking Sixties are its name.

•• A low pressure zone is created in between 600 to 650 in both the hemisphere due to the dynamic factor of the earth. •• It blows from north easterly and south easterlies in northern and southern hemisphere respectively.

Isogonals are the lines joining places with some magnetic declination.

GK-204

GEOGRAPHY

Variable Wind Sub Types Monsoon

Local Winds

Seasonal Winds Characteristics •• It blows from the south west in summer and from north east in winter. It is consistent and bi-directional regular flow of wind over a year. It is thermally induced complex air circulation where all layers of air circulation that is surface, middle and upper layer are involved.

Nature

Region

Fohn Chinook (snow eater) Kalbaisakhi Berg Zonda Loo Santa Ana Southerly Khamsin Harmattan (Doctor) Mistral Samun Purga Levanter Pampero Norwester Harmattan

Warm Warm Warm Warm Warm Warm Warm Cold Warm Warm Cold Warm Cold Cold Cold Warm, dry Warm, dry

Alps Rockies North India S. Africa Andes Indian subcontinent Coastal Southern California New South Wales Burster Egypt Guinea Coast S.E. France Iran Russia France S. America New Zealand Eastern part of Sahara

Levante It blows in western Mediterranean, near the Strait of Gibraltar. It is called as the Viento de Levante or the Levanter and even Solano. It blows moderately or

Norte

strongly bringing rain and damp smell to the region.

The Norte is a strong and cold northeasterly wind which blows in Mexico along the Gulf of Mexico. It results from an outbreak of cold air from the north.

Etesian Etesians blow as winds of northeasterly to northerly direction over Northern Helm

Agean Sea while, in the southern Aegean along with the Cretan and the Carpathian Sea, they blow as northern westerlies. Generally seen in Columbia and England these strong north-easterly wind blows down the south –west slope of the Cross Fell Escarpment.

Buran/ Extremely cold wind full of ice and snow blowing across Russia and eastern Asia. In tundra region, it is also known as Purga. In Alaska this severe northPurga Brickfielder

easterly wind is known as Burga, bringing snow and ice pellets.

It is a hot and dry summer wind blowing in coastal regions of South Australian desert. Blows strongly, for several days at a time, along with dust, and parching all vegetation. In one sense it is a healthy wind, as it destroys many harmful germs due to its heat.

Isohels are Isopleths of equal amount of Sunshine and Isohyet are isopleth of rainfall.

GK-205

GEOGRAPHY Air Mass A large volume of air defined by constant physical properties i.e. temperature and water vapor, spreading over hundreds or thousands of square miles is called as air mass.

Types of Air mass

Continental Polar (cP) forms over cold

and dry land mass during winter near poles north of 50-60 N.

Maritime Polar (mP) is associated with cool or cold, damp and gray day’s weather, near polar coastal areas.

Continental Tropical (cT) form over deserts and plains. It is hot and dry during summer and only dry during winter. Tropical Cyclone

Maritime Tropical (mT) is hot and

humid sticky weather on the tropical coastal regions.

Cyclones

Cyclones are the low pressure centers surrounded by closed isobars having pressure increasing outwards. Blows inward from high pressure to low pressure and hence wind movement is anti-clockwise in northern hemisphere and clockwise in southern hemisphere. They are also termed as atmospheric disturbances. There shape varied from circular to elliptical and sometimes even V shaped. On the basis of place of origin there are two types of cyclones which are as follows:

Temperate / Extra-tropical cyclone

The tropical cyclones have a thermal origin, Formed in middle or high latitudes, due to exclusively over the tropical seas. the development of front (350- 650 N and S).

A low pressure zone is created due to extreme Develops when a frontal surface heat and further intensifies with the increase separates two opposing air masses in temperature (above 270C). The winds from (warm and cold). As the amplitude of surrounding high pressure region rushes to the the wave increases, the pressure at the central low pressure (eye) area developing a centre of disturbance falls, eventually powerful and destructive storm. The velocity of intensifying to the point at which a the cyclone varies from 32-180 km/hour. cyclonic circulation begins. Its velocity decreases and finally decays as When the cold air from the poles sweeps they cross more land mass. Usually ends with off all the warm tropical air and entire heavy downpour of rain and wind bringing cyclone is composed of the cold air mass devastation to the coastal areas. temperate cyclone dies.

Humidity

It is the amount of water vapour present in the air at a particular period of time and place. Humidity of a place can be expressed in three ways:

Absolute Humidity

The measure of water vapour content of the atmosphere which may be expressed as the actual quantity of water vapour present in a given volume of air is called absolute humidity. This is measured as gms per cubic meter air. Absolute humidity changes with place and time. The capacity of air to hold water vapour depends on temperature. Warm air holds more moisture than cold air.

Specific Humidity

Another way to express humidity as the mass of water vapour per unit weight of air or the proportion of the mass of water vapour to the total mass of air is called the specific humidity. Specific humidity is not affected by changes in pressure or temperature.

Isonif are Isopleth of amount of snow and Isohyse are Isopleth of elevation above sea level.

GK-206

GEOGRAPHY

Relative Humidity This is a ratio expressed between actual quantity of water vapour present in the air at a given temperature (absolute humidity) and the maximum quantity of water vapour that the atmosphere can hold at that temperature. Relative humidity determines the amount and rate of evaporation.

Hygrometer is the instrument used for measuring relative humidity. It comprises of wet and dry bulb thermometer. Absolute humidity Relative humidity = · 100 Humidity capacity

••

•• •• •• •• ••

Temperature and evaporation are directly proportional to humidity. The process of transformation of liquid into gaseous form is called as evaporation. Oceanic and coastal regions record higher humidity capacity of air than the remote continental regions. Humidity capacity decreases from equator to polewards as the temperature also decreases. The air having moisture content equal to its humidity capacity is called as saturated air.

Precipitation

Condensation of atmospheric water vapour that falls under the gravity is called as precipitation. This could be in the form of rain, snow or hail etc. Its form depends on the temperature at which water vapour condenses.

Forms of Precipitation Hail

It is a form of solid precipitation consisting of large pellets or spheres of ice balls with the diameter varing between 5 to 50 mm. The falling of hail on the ground surface is called hailstorm. It is destructive as it destroys agricultural crops and claim human and animal lives.

Snowfall

It is the fall of large snowflakes from clouds on the ground surface. The dew point should be below freezing point for receiving snowfall. It is a result of sublimation.

Sleet

It is a mixture of snow and rain. It is a small pellets formed by freezing of raindrops or melting snowflakes.

Rainfall

It is the most common form of precipitation. It is a process wherein warm air ascends, saturates and condenses. Adiabatic cooling takes place when the relative humidity becomes 100 per cent. The condensation of water vapour takes place where large hygroscopic nuclei (salt and dust) is formed. Such droplets are called as cloud droplets shade. Rainfall occurs when cloud droplets change to raindrops which involves two processes: 1. The warm and moist air ascends to such a height that the process of condensation begins below freezing point. Both the water droplets and ice droplets are formed. The condensation takes place as the water droplets evaporates around ice droplets due to difference in vapour pressure. These ice droplets become large and fall when finally they are not able to be held back in the condensed icedroplets. 2. The suspended cloud droplets in the cloud are of varrying sizes. They collide among themselves at different rate as their size varies. They combine to form a large droplet. In this process several cloud droplets are coalesced to form raindrops. When these cloud droplets are large enough that they are unable to hold by ascending air they begin to fall.

Types of Rainfall

Rainfall can be classified into three types: 1. Convectional Rainfall 2. Orographic Rainfall 3. Cyclonic or Frontal Rainfall

Isophence are isopleth of seasonal phenomena and Isorymes are lines of equal frost.

GK-207

GEOGRAPHY

The highest tidal range is observed in the Bay of Fundy.

When the warm and moist air is obstructed by any hill or mountain, it starts ascending along the slope of the hill or mountain and get saturated after reaching a height. As a result condenses around hygroscopic nuclei. The slope of the mountain facing the wind is called as windward side and the other side

ind W

sid

2. Orographic Rainfall

sid

ard

Convectional Rainfall

Warm ascending air Ground Surface

rd wa

Cloud

of that mountain is known as Leeward side. Windward side receives maximum rain and leeward side receives no or little rain. The leeward side is also known as rainshadow region. This type of rainfall is called as orographic rainfall. Le

1. Convectional Rainfall The thermal heating of the ground surface through the process of insolation leads to rise of air as they become warm and light. The process of convectional rainfall mainly depends on two factors. (i) The supply of moisture through evaporation should be abundant so that its relative humidity becomes high. (ii) There should be intense heating through insolation process. The process of convectional rainfall involves intense heating of ground surface through solar radiation. As the warm air rises, the vacant shape is filled by surrounding air which too warm up when come in contact with already warm air. When the air reaches the temperature of its surrounding cumulo-nimbus cloud is formed and there is instantaneous heavy rainfall. •• It occurs daily in afternoon in the equatorial regions. •• It is for short duration but pour down heavily. •• Occurs through thick dark and extensive cumulo-nimbus clouds. •• It is accompanied by number of thunder and lightning.

Orographic rainfall

3. Cyclone or Frontal Rainfall

Cyclonic or frontal rainfall occurs due to ascending of moist air and adiabatic cooling caused by convergence of two extensive air mass.

Clouds

Clouds are the visible mass of condensed water vapour floating in the atmosphere, typically high above the general level of the ground. It plays a major role in the heat budget of the earth and the atmosphere as they reflect, absorb and diffuse the incoming short wave and outgoing long wave terrestrial radiation.

Types of clouds

•• Cirrus : Feather like •• Cirrocumulus : Ripples like •• Cirrostratus : Transparent sheet like causes sun and moonto have ‘halos’. •• Altocumulus : Have bumpy-look •• Altostratus : Sheet like •• Stratocumulus:Large globular masses •• Nimbostratus: Dark grey and rainy looking which gives continuous rain. •• Stratus: Low clouds foggy in appearance •• Cumulus: Round topped and flat based •• Cumulonimbus: Special type of cumulous clouds spread out in form of an anvil. Often indicate convectional rain, lightning and thunder.

GK-208

GEOGRAPHY

GK-209

GEOGRAPHY INFORMATION BULLETIN 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Official name: Republic of India Capital: New Delhi Nationality: Indian Continent: Asia Region: South Asia Indian subcontinent Area: Ranked 7th •• Total 3,287,263 km2 (1,269,219 sq mi) •• Land 90.08% •• Water 9.92% 7. Borders : Total land borders : 15,106.70 km (9,386.87 mi) ••

Bangladesh: 4,096.70 km (2,545.57 mi)

••

Pakistan: 2,910 km (1,808 mi)

••

Nepal: 1,751 km (1,088 mi)

Bordering States - West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram •• China (PRC) : 3,488 km (2,167 mi) Bordering States - Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh)

•• ••

Bordering States- Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat Bordering States – Bihar, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim, and West Bengal

Myanmar: 1,643 km (1,021 mi)

Bordering States – Manipur and Nagaland Bhutan: 699 km (434 mi)

Bordering States: West Bengal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam 8. Highest point: K2 or Godwin Austin (claimed) 8,611 m (28,251.3 ft) Kangchenjunga (administered) 8,598 m (28,208.7 ft) 9. Lowest point: Kuttanad; –2.2 m (–7.2 ft) 10. Longest river: Ganges, Brahmaputra 11. Largest lake: Chilka Lake (Odisha)

Major Physiographic Divisons

The landmass of India can be divided into following major physiographic divisions. The Himalayan Mountain, Northern plain, Peninsular plateau, Indian desert, Coastal plains, the islands. Name of India has been derived from the river Indus.

The Himalayan Mountains The Himalayas are the youngest mountains in the world. They are structurally folded mountains, form an arc of about 2,400 km long from west to east. The width varies from 400 km in Kashmir to 150 km in Arunachal Pradesh. The altitudinal variations are greater in the eastern part than in the western part. There are four parallel ranges in its longitudinal extent. Zaskar range lies west of Himalayas and Indus gorge is beyond it.

The Great or Inner Himalayas

It is known as ‘Himadri, it is the most continuous range with loftiest peaks. Average height of peaks here is 6,000 meters. Asymmetrical folds having granite in the core are snow covered throughout the year. The Lesser Himalayas or Himachal This lies south of the Great Himalayas and north of Shiwalik with altitude varying from 3,700 m to 4,500 m. Average width of this range is 60-80 km. This range is mainly composed of highly compressed and altered rocks. Pir Panjal, Dhaula Dhar, Mahabharat and Mussorie ranges are found as we move west to east. The Shiwaliks or the Outer Himalayas It is an outermost range and is also known as lesser Himalayas. The altitude varies between 900 - 1100 km and the width varies between 10 -50 km in this range. The longitudinal valleys lying between the Himachal and Shiwaliks are called ‘Dun’ and are composed of unconsolidated sediments. Trans Himalayas

It includes Karakoram and Ladakh Ranges. Karakoram Range (Krishnagiri) lies north of Indus. Extended from Pamir crossing Gilgit river reaches Ladakh. Elevation is above 5500 m and width is 120-140 Km. Ladakh Range is situated in Kashmir between Indus and its tributary Shyok. Highest peak is Mt. Rakaposhi (7880).

GK-210

GEOGRAPHY

Major Mountain Peaks Peak Mt. Everest Kanchenjunga Makalu Dhaulagire Nanga Parbat Annapurna Nanda Devi Kamet Namcha Barwa Gurla Mandhata

Valleys in India

Important Straits

Country Height in meters Nepal 8848 India 8598 Nepal 8481 Nepal 8172 India 8126 Nepal 8078 India 7817 India 7756 India 7756 Nepal 7728

Location

Channel

Indira point-Indonesia

Great Channel

Minicoy-Lakshadweep

9° Channel

Little Andaman and Nicobar Maldives-Minicoy India-Sri Lanka

10° Channel

8° Channel

Gulf of Mannar and Palk Strait

Valleys and its locations • Araku Valley

Andhra Pradesh

• Dzukou Valley

North-eastern part

• Damodar Valley • Darma Valley • Johar Valley

• Markha Valley • Nubra Valley

• Sangla Valley • Saur Valley

• Suru Valley

• Tons Valley

• Yumthang Valley

: : : : : : : : : :

Jharkhand and West Bengal Uttarakhand Uttarakhand Ladakh Ladakh

Himachal Pradesh Uttarakhand Ladakh

Uttarakhand Sikkim

Mountain Passes of India

Himalayan passes

• • • • •

Banihal pass — between Doda and Anantnag (Jawahar Tunnel), J & K. Shipki La — River Sutluj enters India from Tibet, Himachal Pradesh. Bara Lachan La — between Kyelang and Leh, Himachal Pradesh. Rohtang pass — between Kullu and Kyelang, Himachal Pradesh. Bomdila pass — between Tezpur and Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh.

Himalaya passes between India and China • • • • •

Shipki La — Himachal Pradesh. Thaga La and Niti La — Uttarakhand . Lipu Lekh La — Tri-junction, India-Nepal-China, Uttarakhand. Jelep La — Between India and China (Gangtok-Lhasa Road) Sikkim. Nathu La — Between India and China (Entry to Chumbi Valley) Sikkim.

The Southernmost Point of India was called the Pigmation point and now it is known as the Indira point.

GK-211

GEOGRAPHY Trans Himalayan passes

• Karakoram pass and Aghil pass — Jammu & Kashmir.

Passes in Western Ghats • • • • ••

Palghat — between Palakkad and Coimbatore. Shenkota — between Kollam and Madurai. Thalghat — between Mumbai and Pune. Bhorghat — between Mumbai and Nasik.

The best known passes of the Pir Panjal range are the Pir Panjal Pass (3480 m), the Bidil (4270m), Golabghar (9812m) and Banihal Pass (235m). The JammuSrinagar highway uses the Banihal Pass.

Some important facts about peaks • Highest Mt. Peak in India: K2 or Godwin Austin • Highest peak in Aravalli: Gurushikhar (in Mt. Abu) • Highest peak in Satpura - Dhupgarh (Mahadeo Hills) • Highest peak in E. Ghats - Mahendragiri (Odisha) • Highest peak in W. Ghats - Anaimudi (Annamalai Hills - Kerala) • Highest peak in Nilgiris - Doda Betta • Hills in Southern Hill complex - Nilgiri, Annamalai, Cardamom & Palani • Hills in Eastern Ghats: Shevaroy, Javadi, Palkonda, Nallamalai, Northern Circars • Oblique ranges to Western Ghats in Maharashtra: Ajanta, Satmala, Harishchandra, Balaghat • Satpura range from East to West: Amarkantak - Maikal- Mahadeo Gawilgarh - Rajpipala • Highest peak in Andaman and Nicobar is lands- Saddle Peak • The highest peak of Naga hills is Saramati peak.

The Northern Plain

The northern plain of India is formed by three river systems, viz. the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra along with their tributaries. Alluvial soil has been deposited over millions of years. The total area of the northern plain is about 7 lakh square kilometer. It is about 2400 km long and about 240 to 320 km broad. The northern

plain is divided into three sections, viz. the Punjab Plain, the Ganga Plain and the Brahmaputra Plain.

Punjab Plains

It is western part of the northern plain. Formed by the Indus and its tributaries like Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej.

Ganga Plains

This plain extends between Ghaggar and Tista rivers. The northern states, Haryana, Delhi, UP, Bihar, part of Jharkhand and West Bengal lie in the Ganga plains.

Brahmaputra Plains

This plain forms the eastern part of the northern plain and lies in Assam. •• Based on the relief features the northern plain can be divided into four regions, viz. bhabar, terai, bhangar and khadar.

The Peninsular Plateau

The peninsular plateau is a tableland. It is composed of the oldest rocks and drifted from Gondwana land with elevation of 600900 Km. Broad and shallow valleys with rounded hills are the characteristic features of this plateau. The plateau can be broadly divided into two regions, viz. the Central Highlands and the Deccan Plateau. The slope of the Deccan Plateau is from west to east as the rivers flows.

The Central Highlands

It lies to the north of Narmada river (Satpura range), covering portion of Malwa plateau. It is wider in west and narrower in east. Bundelkhand and Baghelkhand mark the eastward extension. The plateau further extends eastwards into the Chhota nagpur plateau. Touches Aravilli in the west covering Rajasthan uplands.

The Highest peak is Andaman and Nicobar Island is the Saddle Peak.

GK-212

GEOGRAPHY

The Deccan Plateau

The Islands

It is triangular in shape, Satpura range makes its northern boundary. The Mahadev, Kaimur Hills and Maikal ranges make its eastern part. It extends into the north east which encompasses Meghalaya, Karbi-Anglong Plateau and North Cachar Hills. Garo, Khasi and Jaintia hills are the prominent ranges starting from west to east.

The Lakshadweep Islands are in the Arabian Sea. Its area is 32 sq km. This group of islands is rich in terms of biodiversity. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands group of islands can be divided into two groups. The Andaman is in the north and the Nicobar is in the south. These islands too have rich biodiversity.

The Western and the Eastern Ghats

ISLANDS OF INDIA

The average elevation of Western Ghats is 900 – 1600 metres compared to 600 metres in case of Eastern Ghats. The Eastern Ghats stretch from Mahanadi Valley to the Nilgiris in the south.

The Indian Desert

It lies towards the western margins of the Aravali Hills. This region gets scanty rainfall which is less than 150 mm in a year. Hence, the climate is arid and vegetation is scanty. The Thar Desert

• The Thar desert extends across Gujarat, Haryana and Punjab; and covers more than 60% of the geographical area of Rajasthan. The region is also called as ‘MARUSTHALI’. • Luni is the seasonal river and gets very little rainfall. • It has an arid climate and vegetation is sparse. • Ghaggar flows through Rajasthan and disappears at the heart of the Thar desert.

The Coastal Plains

Towards the west and east of Peninsular stretches narrow coastal strips are situated. They run along the Arabian Sea in west and along the Bay of Bengal in east. The western coast lies between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea. It is divided into three sections. The Konkan is northern part, comprised of Mumbai and Goa. The Kannada Plain makes the central part and the Malabar coast is the southernmost coast. The eastern coastal plain is wider and runs along the Bay of Bengal.

Major Island Group Two major island groups are situated on either side of Indian peninsula. Andaman and Nicobar island group lies on the eastern part, i.e. in Bay of Bengal and Lakshadweep island group lies on the western part of India, i.e. in Arabian Sea. Altogether there are 247 smaller islands from which 204 are in Bay of Bengal and 43 islands are in Arabian Sea.

Drainage in India

The pattern of drainage in India is mostly influenced by its varied physiological divisions. Thus, they are classified into three major types such as: Himalayan, Peninsular and Inland drainage.

Himalayan Rivers

The Himalayan Rivers mostly originate from Himalayan mountain range. These are mostly perennial in nature which means availability of water throughout the year as they obtain water from the large ice cover of great Himalayan range. Major rivers of this section are the Indus, the Ganges and the

The northernmost point of the country is in Jammu and Kashmir, known as Indira col.

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GEOGRAPHY Brahmaputra. Other important tributaries of this section are Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej of Indus river system, Yamuna, Son, Ramganga, Ghaghara, Gandak, Kosi of the Ganges river System, and Tista, Lohit, Manas, Subansiri River, Dhansiri River of the Brahmaputra River System.

•• •• •• ••

The Ganga River System •• ••

Ravi •• •• •• ••

It originates from Kullu hills near the Rohtang Pass in Himachal Pradesh. It cuts a deep gorge in the Dhaula Dhar range after crossing Chamba. It enters Punjab Plains near Madhopur and later enters Pakistan 26 km below Amritsar. It debouches into the Chenab a little above Rangpur in Pakistani Punjab.

•• •• ••

Beas ••

••

•• •• ••

Sutlej •• •• •• ••

It rises from the Mansarovar - Rakas Lake near Darma Pass in western Tibet, where it is also known as Langcher Khambab. In Nari Khorsan province of Tibet, it has created an extraordinary canyon. It is joined by the Spiti river at Namgia near the Shipki La. Before entering the Punjab Plain, it cuts a gorge in Naina Devi Dhar (Bhakra Dam has been constructed here).

It is the largest in India. The total area of the Ganga basin in India is 861,404 sq km which accounts for 26.3% of the geographical area of the country. The Ganga basin covers over 12,500 sq km in northern India.

Ganga

••

It also originates near Rohtang Pass, close to the source of the Ravi. It crosses the Dhaula Dhar range through a deep gorge from Lorji to Talwara. It debouches on the plain near Pong and meets the Sutlej river at Harike. It lies entirely within the Indian territory.

It enters the plain at Rupnagar (Ropar). It is joined by the Beas at Harike. From near Ferozepur to Fazilka, it forms the boundary between India and Pakistan for nearly 120 km. It joins the Indus a few kilometers above Mithankot.

•• •• •• •• •• ••

It originates as Bhagirathi from the Gangotri glacier. Alaknanda joins it at Devaprayag. Pindar river joins it at Karan Prayag and Mandakini or Kali Ganga at Rudra Prayag. The combined waters of the Bhagirathi and the Alaknanda flow in the name of the Ganga, below Devprayag. It debouches on plain from hills in Haridwar. It is joined by Yamuna in Allahabad. Beyond Farakka, it is known as Padma in Bangladesh. It bifurcates itself into BhagirathiHooghly in West Bengal and PadmaMeghna in Bangladesh. The delta formed by the GangaBrahmaputra is the largest delta of the world covering an area of 58,752 sq km. Sundarbans is a part of the world’s largest delta. The total length, 2525 km, is distributed among states: (i) Uttar Pradesh – 1140 (ii) W. Bengal – 520 km (iii) Bihar – 445 km, (iv) Uttarakhand – 310 km.

The most important waterfall by river Narmada is Dhuandhar falls near Jabalpur, is also called the Marble falls.

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GEOGRAPHY The Drainage System

Name of the river

Source

Length (in km)

Area drained (sq km)

Ganga

Gangotri Glacier at 7,010 m

2,525

861,404

Chambal

Near Mhow (Indore-M.P)

1,050

139,468

Yamuna

Ramganga Ghaghra Gandak Kosi

Yamnotri Glacier at 6,330

1,376

Garhwal district at 3,110 m

366,223

596

Near Gurla Mandhota peak

1,080

South of Manasarovar

425 in India

Tibet-Nepal border at 7,620 Sikkim Nepal- Tibet Himalaya

730 in India

32,493

127,950

46,300 (7,620 in India)

86,900 (21,500 in India)

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DELTA AND ESTUARY

Delta

Estuary

1. The triangular deposits made by rivers 1. The sharp edged mouth of rivers, devoid of at their mouth form a delta. any deposits is known as estuary.

2. Deltas are founded in the regions of 2. Regions of high tides and rift valleys witness 100 tides and coastal plains. estuaries. 3. Deltas are fertile lands.

3. Estuary does not have fertile lands.

4. Ganga, Brahmaputra, Krishna, Kaveri and 4. Narmada and Tapi rivers form estuaries. Mahanadi rivers form Delta.

Yamuna •• •• •• •• ••

It is the largest and the most important tributary of the Ganga. It originates from the Yamunotri glacier on the Bandarpunch Peak in Garhwal in Uttarakhand. It enters the plains near Tajewala. Tons, a tributary of it, joins it below Kalsi. At this site, the water carried by the Tons is twice the water carried by the Yamuna. It takes a southerly course upto Mathura and south easterly in its onward journey upto Allahabad where it unites with the Ganga.

Chambal •• •• •• ••

It rises near Mhow in the highlands of Janapao Hills in MP. It enters a gorge at Chaurasigarh. It joins Yamuna in Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh. Banas joins it near Sawai Madhopur.

Quartz is the chief rock that has formed the Aravalli Ranges.

••

Betwa, rising in Bhopal, joins the Yamuna near Hamirpur. Dhasan is an important tributary of Betwa.

Son •• •• •• •• •• ••

It is a large south bank tributary of the Ganga. The Son river springs from the Amarkantak Plateau. It joins the Ganga near Danapur in Patna district. Its catchment area is 71,259 sq km. Almost all the tributaries join it on its right bank. Tributaries are Johilla, Rihand, Kanhar and North Koel.

Damodar •• ••

It rises in the hills of the Chota Nagpur plateau and flows through a rift valley. It is also called ‘Sorrow of Bengal’.

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GEOGRAPHY •• •• ••

It joins the Hooghly 48 km below Kolkata. The total length of the river is 541 km. Its catchment area is 25,820 sq km.

Ramganga •• •• ••

It rises in the Garhwal district of Uttarakhand. It enters the Ganga plain near Kalagarh. Its basin covers 32,493 sq km.

Ghaghra •• •• •• ••

It originates near the Gurla Mandhota peak, south of Manasarovar in Tibet. It is known as the karnali in Western Nepal. It joins Ganga a few kilometres downstream of Chapra in Bihar. The total catchment area of the river is 127,950 sq km out of which 45% is in India.

Kali •• •• ••

It rises in high glaciers of snow covered region of trans-Himalayas. It forms the boundary between Nepal and Kumaon. It is known as the Sarda or Chauka after it reaches the plains near Tanakpur.

Gandak •• •• ••

It originates near the Tibet-Nepal border. Kali Gandak, Mayangadi, Bari and Trishuli are the major tributaries of it. Its drainage area is 46,300 sq km out of which 7620 sq km is in India.

Burhi Gandak •• ••

Originating from the western slopes of Sumesar hills near the India-Nepal border, it joins the Ganga opposite Munger town. Its length is 610 km and drainage area is 12,200 sq km.

Kosi •• ••

The Kosi river consists of seven streams, namely, Sut Kosi, Tamba Kosi, Talkha, Doodh Kosi, Botia Kosi, Arun and Tamber and is popularly known as Saptkaushiki. Seven rivers mingle with each other to form three streams named the Tumar, Arun and Sun Kosi.

••

Then all three streams unite at Triveni north of the Mahabharat Range to form the Kosi.

Peninsular Rivers

The Peninsular Rivers are mostly having their origin from Western Ghats running parallel with western coast from north to south. They are seasonal in nature as the source of water is rainfall only. The rivers form deltas at their mouth. Some of the rivers such as Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Cauvery are drained into the Bay of Bengal whereas the other prominent rivers like Narmada and Tapi both fall into the Arabian Sea.

The West Flowing Rivers Narmada •• •• •• •• •• ••

It is the largest of all the west flowing rivers of the Peninsula. It rises from the Amarkantak plateau in Shahdol district of Madhya Pradesh. It flows through a rift valley between the Vindhyan Range on the north and the Satpura range on the south. The Dhuandhar (Clouds of Mist) falls is formed by the Narmada river in Jabalpur. It makes an estuary studded with several islands. Aliabet is the largest island. The Sardar Sarovar Project has been constructed on this river.

Tapi (or Tapti) •• It is the second largest west flowing river of the Indian peninsula. •• It is also known as ‘the twin’ of the Narmada. •• It originates from Multai in Betul district of Madhya Pradesh. Sabarmati •• ••

This 320 km long river is the name given to the combined streams-the Sabar and the Hathmati. It rises from the hills of Mewar in the Aravalli Range. Its tributaries are Hatmati, Sedhi, Wakul, Meshwa, Vatrak, etc.

Rann of kutch is believed to have once been a part of the Arabian Sea.

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GEOGRAPHY

Mahi

Inland Drainage

••

Some rivers of India do not reach upto the sea and constitute inland drainage. These rivers are mostly present in the drier regions of the country like Western Rajasthan, Ladakh and Aksai Chin etc. Ghaggar river is the most important example of inland drainage. It is a seasonal stream rising from the lower slopes of Himalayas and is said to flow on the dried bed of ancient river Saraswati. It forms boundary between Punjab and Haryana for much of its length and gets subsumed in Rajasthan desert. Another such river is Luni, which is the largest river of Rajasthan. It originates near Pushkar and flows South-West of Aravalis till it reaches Rann of Kutch.

•• •• •• ••

It rises in the Vindhyan range and debouches into the Gulf of Khambhat. Its length is 533 km. It drains an area of 34,862 sq km. The main tributaries are Som, Anas and Panam. Mahi river cuts tropic of cancer twice.

Luni (or the Salt River) •• •• ••

Its water is brackish below Balotra. Its source lies to the west of Ajmer (Rajasthan) in the Aravallis. The river is known as the Sagarmati in its upper course and from Govindgarh, where Sarsuti joins it, becomes Luni. Finally, it gets lost in the Rann of Kachchh.

Famous Cities and River Banks

City

River

Allahabad

At the confluence Ferozpur of the Ganga and Guwahati Yamuna (Sangam) Haridwar

Agra

Ayodhya

Yamuna Saryu

Ahmedabad Sabarmati Badrinath

Alaknanda

Cuttack

Mahandadi

Bareilly

Kurnool Delhi

Dibrugarh

Ram Ganga Tungabhadra Yamuna

Brahmaputra River

City

Hyderabad Jabalpur

River

City

River

Satluj

Mathura

Yamuna

Musi

Panjim

Mandavi

Brahmaputra Nasik Ganga

Narmada

Patna

Srinagar

Jamshedpur Swarnarekha Surat Jaunpur Kanpur Kota

Kolkata

Lucknow

Ludhiana

Gomti

Ganga

Chambal

Hooghly

Gomti Sutlej

Sambalpur

Tiruchurapalli Ujjain

Vijayawada Varanasi

Brahmaputra

33.8

Indus

4.3

Godavari

Mahanadi Krishna

Narmada

The highest range of the western ghats is called the Sahyadri Range.

Ganga

Jhelum Tapti

Mahanadi

Serirangapatam Cauvery

Annual yield of water Contribution (%)

Ganga

Godavari

25.2 6.4 3.6 3.4 2.9

Cauvery Kshipra

Krishna Ganga

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GEOGRAPHY Important Rivers of India Name

Origin From

Fall into

Length (km)

Ganges

Combined Sources

Bay of Bengal

2525

Indus

Near Mansarovar Lake

Arabian Sea

2880

Satluj Ravi

Beas

Jhelum

Yamuna

Chambal Ghagra Kosi

Betwa Son

Brahmaputra Narmada Tapti

Mahanadi Luni

Ghaggar

Sabarmati Krishna

Godavari Cauvery

Tungabhadra

Mansarovar Rakas Lakes Kullu Hills near Rohtang Pass Near Rohtang Pass

Verinag in Kashmir

Chenab Chenab Satluj

Chenab

Yamunotri

Ganga

M.P.

Yamuna

Matsatung Glacier

Near Gosain Dham Park Vindhyanchal Amarkantak

Near Mansarovar Lake Amarkantak

Betul Distt. of M.P.

Raipur Distt. in Chattisgarh Aravallis

Himalayas

Ganga Ganga

Yamuna Ganga

Bay of Bengal

Gulf of Khambat Gulf of Khambat Bay of Bengal

Rann of Kuchchh Near Fatehabad

Aravallis

Gulf of Khambat

Western ghats

Nasik distt. in Maharashtra

Bay of Bengal Bay of Bengal

Brahmagir Range of Western Bay of Bengal Ghats Western Ghats

Important River Valley Projects in India Bhakra Nangal Project Mandi Project Chambal Valley Project

Damodar Valley Project Hirakud Project

Krishna River

1050 720 470 725

1375 1050 1080 730 480 780

2900 1057 724 858 450 494 416

1327 1465 805 640

Situated on Sutlej in Punjab. Highest in India. Ht. 226m. Reservoir is called Gobind Sagar Lake. On Beas in Himachal Pradesh On Chambal in Madhya Pradesh & Rajasthan, 3 dams include Gandhi Sagar Dam, Rana Pratap Sagar Dam and Jawahar Sagar Dam On Damodar in Bihar, based on Tennessee Valley Project USA On Mahanadi in Odisha, World’s Longest Dam: 4801m

The Dzukou valley is a valley located at the border of Nagaland and Manipur.

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Rihand Project Kosi Project Mayurkashi Project Kakrapara Project Nizamsagar Project Nagarjuna Sagar Project Tungabhadra Project Shivasamudram Project Tata Hydel Scheme Sharavathi Hydel Project Kundah & Periyar Project Farakka Project Ukai Project Mahi Project Salal Project Mata Tila Multipurpose Project Thein Project Pong Dam Tehri Dam Sardar Sarovar Project

Lakes

GEOGRAPHY On Son in Mirzapur, Reservoir is called Gobind Vallabh Pant reservoir On Kosi in N. Bihar On Mayurkashi in West Bengal On Tapi in Gujarat On Manjra in Andhra Pradesh On Krishna in Andhra Pradesh On Tungabhadra in Andhra Pradesh & Karnataka On Cauvery in Karnataka. One of the oldest river valley projects in India. On Bhima in Maharashtra On Jog Falls in Karnataka In Tamil Nadu On Ganga in WB. Apart from power and irrigation, also helps to remove silt for easy navigation. On Tapti in Gujarat On Mahi in Gujarat On Chenab in J&K On Betwa in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh On Ravi, Punjab. On Beas, Punjab On Bhagirathi, Uttarakhand On Narmada, Gujarat/MP.

Lakes of India are of high importance as they prevent flooding during high rain and on the other hand it stimulate an even water flow during dry seasons. India is bestowed with some really beautiful lakes which are not only of geomorphologic importance but also attracts a large number of tourists every year. Many such lakes are Dal Lake,Wular, Chilka, Loktak, Nakki, Kodaikanal, Sukhna, Puskar, Nakki, Sukhna, Manasbal, Bhojtal, Hussain Sagar, Tam dil, Pulicat etc.

Important lakes in India

Lakes Name Kolleru Lake, Pulicat Lake Deepor Beel, Chandubi Lake, Haflong Lake, Son Beel Kanwar Lake Hamirsar Lake, Kankaria Lake, Nal Sarovar, Sursagar Lake Brighu Lake, Dashir Lake, Dhankar Lake, Kareri (Kumarwah) Lake, Khajjiar Lake, Macchial Lake, Maharana Pratap Sagar, Manimahesh Lake, Nako Lake, Pandoh Lake, Johar valley in Uttarakhand was a major trade route with Tibet.

State Andhra Pradesh Assam Bihar Gujarat Himachal Pradesh

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GEOGRAPHY Prashar Lake, Renuka Lake, Suraj Taal, Chandra Taal

Himachal Pradesh

Dal Lake, Pangong Tso, Sheshnag Lake

Jammu & Kashmir

Badkhal Lake, Brahma Sarovar, Karna Lake, Sannihit Sarovar, Surajkund Lake, Tilyar Lake, Blue Bird Lake

Bellandur Lake, Ulsoor Lake, Sankey Lake, Agara Lake, Karanji lake, Kukkarahalli lake, Lingambudhi Lake, Pampa Sarovar Ashtamudi Lake, Maanaanchira Lake Upper Lake, Lower Lake Moti Jheel

Manipur

Palak Dil Lake, Tam Dil Lake

Anshupa Lake, Chilka Lake, Kanjia Lake

Kanjli Wetland, Harike Wetland, Ropar Wetland

Spatial Distribution: Wide spread in northern plains and river valleys such as Indus-Ganga- Brahmaputra plain, NarmadaTapi plain, deltas and estuaries of Peninsular India. Property: Mixture of Humus, lime and organic matters and hence highly fertile. Colour: Light Grey to Ash Grey. Texture: Sandy to silty loam or clay. Suitable for: Production of Wheat, rice, maize, sugarcane, pulses, oilseed.

Red soil

Spatial Distribution: Mainly found in the areas of low rainfall. The states with red soils are Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, South-east part of Maharashtra, Eastern Part of Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, Chota Nagpur in Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattishgarh

Madhya Pradesh Meghalaya

Loktak Lake

Alluvial soil

Kerala

Maharashtra

Umiam Lake

As a prime natural resource soil plays an important role in the growth of human activities of a specific location. The type of soil found in India can be classified in number of ways but as per All India Soil Survey Committee of Indian Council of Agricultural Research there are 8 types of soil found in India.

Karnataka

Uttar Pradesh

Gorewada Lake, Lonar Lake

Soil

Haryana

Mizoram Odisha

Punjab

Parts of South Bihar, Birbhum and Bankura districts of West Bengal, Mirzapur, Jhansi, Banda, Hamirpur district of UP, Aravali Hills and eastern half of Rajasthan. •• Property: Abundance of Ferric oxide Absence of lime matters and hence highly fertile. •• Colour: Red •• Texture: Sandy to clay and loamy. •• Suitable for: Production of Wheat, cotton, pulses, tobacco, oilseeds, potato.

Black / Regur soil

•• Spatial Distribution: Most of the Deccan is occupied by Black soil. •• Property: Mature soil with high water retaining capacity, become sticky when wet and shrinks when dried. Iron, lime, calcium, potassium, aluminum and magnesium. •• Colour: Deep black to light black. •• Texture: Clayey. •• Suitable for: Best soil for cotton production.

Arid / Desert soil

•• Spatial Distribution: Seen widely under Arid and Semi-Arid conditions such as Rajasthan, Parts of Haryana and Punjab.

Markha river is a tributary of Zanskar river lying within Hemis National Park.

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•• Property: Lack of moisture and Humus and contains impure Calcium Carbonate. •• Colour: Red to Brown. •• Texture: Sandy •• Suitable for: Salt tolerant crops like barley , rapeseed, wheat , millet, maize.

Laterite soil

•• Spatial Distribution: mostly found in Eastern Ghats, the Rajmahal Hills, Vidhyas, Satpura and Malwa Plateau. •• Property: Prone to leaching of lime and silica from soil, rich iron and aluminum, •• Deficient in Nitrogen, Potash, Potassium, Lime, Humus •• Colour: Red colour due to iron oxide •• Texture: Clayey rocky •• Suitable for: Rice, Ragi, Sugarcane and Cashew nuts are cultivated mainly.

Saline soil

•• Spatial Distribution: mostly found Andhra Pradesh and Karnatak, in Drier parts of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. In Gujarat the area around gulf of Khamart, vast estuaries of the Narmada, Tapi and Mahi river. •• Property: Mainly saline and alkaline in nature, rich in sodium, magnesium, calcium salt, and sulphurous acid. •• Not suitable for agricultural productivity.

Peaty/marshy soil

•• Spatial Distribution: generally found Coastal areas of Odisha and Tamil Nadu, Sunderbans of West Bengal, Bihar and Almora district of Uttarakhand. •• Property: heavy and highly acidic in nature, deficient in Potash and Phosphate. •• Colour: Black •• Suitable for: Paddy Cultivation.

GEOGRAPHY Forest soil and Mountain Soil •• Spatial Distribution: Mostly found in Himalayan Region mainly in valley basins, and Western and Eastern Ghats of Peninsular India •• Property: Rich in humus, deficient in Potash, Phosphorous and lime. •• Suitable for: Wheat, maize, barley in southern India and temperate fruit in Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Climate

Although India is basically a tropical country, it experiences wide variation in climatic condition depending upon the altitude, latitude, distance from sea and relief. The variability can be observed in number of factors such as: •• Western Rajasthan experiences a high temperature during June where as the areas close to Kashmir are relatively experiencing a much lower temperature. The coastal lands are comparatively having a moderate climate due to the nearness of sea. •• The amount of rainfall also varies throughout the country. The rainfall in India is primarily governed by Monsoon wind which generally hits the south west coast of India generally in June and known as onset of Monsoon. The wind then starts circulating via the Bay of Bengal covering the entire eastern, north eastern and parts of central India. The highest rainfall is experienced in Mawsynram Cherrapunji in Meghalaya i.e. 1221 cm of annual rainfall every year. On the other hand in the month of October and November the monsoon trough of Low pressure starts receding from Northern Plain results into rain in Southern India. About 50% to 60% of rainfall in Tamil Nadu is caused due to Retreat of Monsoon from North East.

Tache gompa is an important Buddhist monastry in the Markha valley.

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GEOGRAPHY Rain fall Distribution in India Amount Heavy Rainfall of Rain fall States

(> 200cm)

Moderately Heavy

Less Rainfall

Scanty Rainfall

Rainfall

(50-100 cm)

<50cms

Upper Ganga valley, eastern Rajasthan, Punjab, Southern Plateau of Karnataka, Andhra Pradessh and Tamil Nadu.

Northern part of Kashmir, Western Rajasthan, Punjab and Deccan Plateau

(100-200 cm) Southern Parts of West coasts, on the western Gujarat, East Tamil Nadu, North-eastern Ghats, SubHimalayan areas Peninsular, Western in North East and Ghats, eastern Meghalaya Hills. Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Southern Odisha, the middle slopes of eastern Ganga valley. Himalayas.

NATURAL VEGETATION

Natural Vegetations or the forest type of India vary from place to place depending upon several factors such as climate, soil, rainfall, temperature as well as their seasonal variation along with varied edaphic and biotic conditions. Various botanist and ecologist have given different classification on the basis of climatic and adaptive factors. On the basis of such suggestion a generalised classification can be done with 5 main types and 16 sub types of vegetation.

Classification of Natural Vegetation Type Moist Tropical Forest

Dry Tropical Forest Mountain Forest

Mountain Forest

Sub- Types •• Tropical wet Evergreen •• Tropical semi evergreen •• Tropical Moist Deciduous •• Littoral and Swamp •• Tropical dry evergreen •• Tropical dry deciduous •• Tropical Thorn

Sub-tropical •• Sub tropic Broad leaved hill •• Sub tropical Moist hills (pine) •• Sub tropic dry evergreen

Alpine Forest

Temperate •• Mountain Wet Temperate •• Himalayan Moist Temperate •• Himalayan Dry Temperate •• Sub- Alpine •• Moist – Alpine Scrub •• Dry Alpine Scrub

Nubra Valley lies in the Ladakh Valley is a high altitude cold desert.

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GEOGRAPHY

Spatial Distribution of Natural vegetation in India

LANGUAGES According to the schedule eight of our constitution, there are 22 officially recognized languages in India; among all, Hindi dominates the scene as it is spoken by 41.03% of people followed by Bengali (8.11 %), Telugu (7.19 %), Marathi (6.99), Tamil (5.91 %) and Urdu (5.01%). Sanskrit, Bodo, Manipur, Dogri and Konkani are the languages which have least speakers in India. Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santhali were added to the Eighth Schedule with the passing of the 100th Amendment to the Constitution of India in 2003, taking the The little Andaman and the South Andaman is separated by the Duncan Passage.

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GEOGRAPHY total number of Scheduled languages to 22 in 2001. There are total 234 identifiable mother tongues. Official languages in India: Article 343 of the Indian Constitution considers Hindi Tribal Group Abhor Adivasi

Ahgani

Apatani Baiga Bakarwal Bhil Birhor Chang Chenchuas Sutiya Gaddis

Gallong Garo Gond

Gujjar Irula

Jaintia

Jarawa Kanikar Kalkari Kharia Khond Khasi

to be the official language of the country along with English to be an additional language. Other than these two French and Portuguese are the official languages of Puducherry and Goa respectively.

Tribal Groups of India Region Tribal Group Arunachal Pradesh Kharia A.P, Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, Kol Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Some Northeastern States, West Bengal, Andaman and Nicobar Manipur Kolam

Arunachal Pradesh Madhya Pradesh Jammu and Kashmir M.P and Rajasthan M.P and Bihar Nagaland Telengana, Karnataka Assam Himachal Pradesh

Arunachal Pradesh Meghalaya M.P and Bihar

Rajasthan Tamil Nadu

Meghalaya

Andaman, Islands Tamil Nadu and Kerala Maharashtra Maharashtra Jharkhand Meghalaya

Kota Kuki Lahaula Lepcha Lushai Muria Miha Moplah Munda

Nishi Naga Oraon

Onges Singpho

Santhal

Sangtam Sema Sentinelese Shompen Toda Uralis Wancho Warli

Region

Jharkhand, Odisha Madhya Pradesh

Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telengana, M.P Karnataka Mizoram Himachal Pradesh Sikkim Mizoram, Manipur Chhattisgarh Rajasthan Malabar West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattishgarh Assam Nagaland MP, Bihar and Odisha, Chhota Nagpur, W.B, Andaman & Nicobar Assam, Arunachal Pradesh WB, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam Nagaland Nagaland Andaman & Nicobar Andaman & Nicobar Tamil Nadu Kerala Arunachal Pradesh Maharashtra, Daman and Diu, Bihar, Madhaya Pradesh, West Bengal Dadra and Nagar Haveli

The Andaman group of Islands is separated from the Nicobar group by the 10 Degree Channel.

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GEOGRAPHY AGRICULTURE IN INDIA

A wide range of crops can be grown in India as the land is supported by element essential for crop growth such as relief, soil, climate, abundant sunshine and long growing seasons.

Kinds of Crops

The major Indian crop can be divided into following categories: Food crops

Rice, Wheat, Maize, Millet, Jower, Bajra, Ragi, and pulses like Gram, Tur (Arhar) Cash crops

Cotton, Jute, Sugarcane, Tobacco, Oilseeds, Ground Nut, Linseed, Sesame, Castor seed, Rapeseed, Mustard Plantation crops

Tea, Coffee, Spices, Cardamom, Ginger, Turmeric, Coconut, Areca nut and Rubber Horticulture

Apple, Peach, Pear, Apricot, Almond, Strawberry, Walnut, Mango, Banana, Citrus Fruit, Vegetables.

Agro-climatic Regions

(i) Western Himalayan Region Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and the hill region of Uttarakhand fall into it. Valley floors grow rice, while the hilly tracts grow maize in the kharif season. Winter crops are barley, oats, and wheat. Apple orchards and other temperate fruitls such as peaches, apricot, pears, cherry, almond, litchis, walnut, etc. Saffron is grown in this region.

(ii) Eastern Himalayan Region

Arunachal Pradesh, hills of Assam, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, and the Darjeeling district of West Bengal come into this region. Annual rainfall is 200-400 cm. The main crops are rice, maize, potato, tea. Orchards of pineapple, litchi, oranges and lime are also found.

(iii)Lower Gangetic Plain Region Located in West Bengal (except the hilly areas), eastern Bihar and the Brahmaputra valley lie in this region with the rainfall of 100 cm-200 cm. Rice is the main crop which at times yields three successive crops (Aman, Aus and Boro) in a year. Jute, maize, potato, and pulses are other important crops.

(iv) Middle Gangetic Plain Region

Large parts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are covered and receive 100 cm and 200 cm of rainfall. Rice, maize, millets grow in kharif; wheat, gram, barley, peas, mustard and potato in rabi are important crops.

(v) Upper Gangetic Plains Region

Central and western parts of Uttar Pradesh and Haridwar and Udham Nagar districts of Uttarakhand fall into it. Rainfall is between 75 cm-150 cm. Wheat, rice, sugarcane, millets, maize, gram, barley, oilseeds, pulses and cotton are the main crops.

(vi) Trans-Ganga Plains Region

Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and the Ganganagar district of Rajasthan come under it. Rainfall varies between 65 cm and 125 cm. The main crops are wheat, sugarcane, cotton, rice, gram, maize, millets, pulses and oilseeds etc. The region faces the threat of water logging, salinity, alkalinity, soil erosion and fall of water table.

(vii) Eastern Plateau and Hills

Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Dandakaranya come under it. 80 cm150 cm of annual rainfall is received. Rice, millets, maize, oilseeds, ragi, gram, potato, tur, groundnut and soyabean grow on rainfed areas.

The largest reserves of Kyanite are found in the Lapsa Buru area in Jharkhand.

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GEOGRAPHY (viii)Central Plateau and Hills Bundelkhand, Baghelkhand, Bhander Plateau, Malwa Plateau, and Vindhyachal Hills receive rainfall 50 cm-100 cm. Crops like millets, wheat, gram, oilseeds, cotton and sunflower grow in this region. (ix) Western Plateau and Hills

Malwa plateau and Deccan plateau (Maharashtra). 25 cm-75 cm. of annual rainfall. Wheat, gram, millets, cotton, pulses, groundnut, and oilseeds are

the main crops in the rain-fed areas, while in the irrigated areas, sugarcane, rice, and wheat, are cultivated.

(x) Southern Plateau and Hills

Interior Deccan includes parts of southern Maharashtra, the greater parts of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu uplands from Adilabad district in the north to Madurai district in the south. Annual rainfall is between 50 cm and 100 cm. Millets, oilseeds, pulses grows here.

AGRO-CLIMATIC ZONES OF INDIA

I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII.

Western Himalayan Region Eastern Himalayan Region Lower Gangetic Plain Region Middle Gangetic Plain Region Upper Gangetic Plains Region Trans-Ganga Plains Region Eastern Plateau and Hills Central Plateau and Hills

IX. X. XI. XII. XIII. XIV. XV.

Western Plateau and Hills Southem Plateau and Hills Eastern Coastal Plains and Hills Western Coastal Plains and Ghats Gujarat Plains and Hills Western Dry Region Island Region

Mining and Smelting of copper in India are managed by Hindustan Copper Ltd (HCL).

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GEOGRAPHY

(xi) Eastern Coastal Plains and Hills Coromandal and northern Circar coasts of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha come into it. Annual rainfall here varies between 75 cm and 150 cm. Main crops include rice, jute, tobacco, sugarcane, maize, millets, groundnut and oilseeds. Cultivation of spices (pepper and cardamom) and development of fisheries is also done.

(xii) Western Coastal Plains and Ghats

Malabar and Konkan coastal plains and the Sahyadris are included in it. Annual rainfall is more than 200 cm. Rice, coconut, oilseeds, sugarcane, millets, pulses and cotton are the main crops. The region is famous for plantation crops and spices.

(xiii)Gujarat Plains and Hills

They includes hills and plains of Kathiawar, and the fertile valleys of Mahi and Sabarmati rivers. Annual rainfall varies between 50 cm and 100 cm. Groundnut, cotton, rice, millets, oilseeds, wheat and tobacco are the main crops. It is an important oilseed producing region.

(xiv)Western Dry Region

Extended over Rajasthan, West of the Aravallis, this region has an erratic rainfall of an annual average of less than 25 cm. Horticultural crops like watermelon, guava and date palm grow here.

(xv) Island Region

It includes Andaman-Nicobar and Laksha-dweep which have typically equatorial climate (annual rainfall less than 300 cm). Main crops are rice,

maize, millets, pulses, turmeric and cassava. Nearly half of the cropped area is under coconut plantation. The area is covered with thick forests and agriculture is in backward stage.

Major Growing Seasons in India Kharif (July to October)

Major crops are rice, maize, sorghum, pearl

millet/bajra, finger millet/ragi (cereals), arhar

(pulses),

soyabean,

(oilseeds), cotton, etc.

groundnut

Rabi (October to March) Major crops wheat, barley, oats (cereals), chick pea/gram (pulses), linseed, mustard (oilseeds) etc.

Zaid (March to June) Muskmelon, Watermelon, Vegetables of cucurbitacae family such as bitter gourd, pumpkin, ridged gourd etc.

International Boundaries with India

• India shares its international boundaries with Pakistan in the West, Nepal, China and Bhutan in the North-East.

• It

surrounded

Bangladesh to the East.

Burma

and

• Sri Lanka is located in the South of India.

• Radcliffe line separates India and Pakistan.

• The McMahan Line is the effective boundary between India and China.

• The Durand Line is boundary between India–Afghanistan Afghanistan.

Gypsum is a hydrated sulphide of Calcium used for reclaiming alkaline soils.

and

Pakistan–

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GEOGRAPHY

Industry Major Industrial Regions of India There are eight major industrial regions in India. 1. Mumbai-Pune Industrial Region 2. Hugli Industrial Region 3. Bangalore-Tamil Nadu Industrial Region 4. Gujarat Industrial Region 5. Chota Nagpur Industrial Region 6. Vishakhapatnam-Guntur Industrial Region 7. Gurgaon-Delhi-Meerut Industrial Region 8. Kolfam-Thiruvananthapuram Industrial Region

Major Industrial Type As per the type raw materials used in the industry and its finished product, the categories of Indian Industry can be divided into: •• Agro Based Industry ¾¾ Cotton Textile ¾¾ Jute Textile ¾¾ Sugar ¾¾ Silk •• Metallurgical Industry ¾¾ Iron and Steel Industry ¾¾ Aluminum smelting Industry •• Engineering Industry •• Fertilizer Industry •• Aircraft Industry •• Glass Industry •• Cement Industry •• Chemical Industry

Fertilizer and Cement industries are the largest consumers of gypsum produced in the country.

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GEOGRAPHY MINERALS IN INDIA

Minerals are the natural resources which are materials, cement materials, clay, chromite, used in many industries as raw materials. Iron lime, dolomite, and gold, but deficient in ore, manganese, bauxite, copper, etc. are such copper, lead, mercury, zinc, tin, nickel, minerals. petroleum products, rock phosphate, Minerals are of two types: metallic and non- sulphur, and tungsten. metallic. Iron ore and copper are metallic Mineral resources like potassium are totally minerals while limestone and dolomite are absent and have to be imported. Minerals non-metallic minerals. like crude petroleum (which accounts Metallic minerals are further sub-divided into for about 80% of the total value of Indian ferrous and non-ferrous minerals. Those metallic minerals which have iron content imports), diamonds (uncut), sulphur, and rock belong to ferrous group. The metallic minerals phosphorus are imported. belonging to non-ferrous group do not have The state with the highest mineral output is Jharkhand. India is rich in ferrrous metals iron content. India is rich in iron, mica, manganese, but its reserves of non-ferrous metals are bauxite; self sufficient in antimony, building poor. Mineral Resources Aluminium - Kerala. Antimony - Antimony deposits are found in Punjab and Karnataka. Asbestos - Karnataka and Rajasthan. Barytes (Barium - Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Manbhum and Singhbhum districts of Sulphate) Jharkhand. Bauxite - Ranchi and Palamau districts of Jharkhand, Belgaum, Jharia and Thana districts of Maharashtra, Balaghat, Jabalpur, Mandya and Bilaspur districts of Chhattisgarh. Beryllium Sands - Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Kashmir and Bihar. Cement - Katni (M.P.), Lakheri (Rajasthan), Jabalpur (M.P.), Guntur (Andhra Pradesh), Jhinikapani (Singhbhum district of Jharkhand), Surajpur (Haryana). China Clay - Rajmahal Hills, Singhbhum (district of Jharkhand), Kerala. Chromite - Singhbhum and Bhagalpur (Jharkhand), Ratnagiri, Salem (Tamil Nadu), Karnataka, Keonjhar (Odisha), Ladakh (Kashmir). Coal - Raniganj (West Bengal), Jharia, Bokaro (Jharkhand), Giridih, Karanpur, Panch Valley and Chanda (M.P.), Singareni (Andhra Pradesh) and Mukum (Assam). Cobalt - Rajasthan and Kerala. Copper - Jharkhand (Singhbhum and Barajamda), Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan (Khetri). Diamond - Diamond mines are found in Panna district of Madhya Pradesh, Raipur district of Chhattisgarh. Feldspar - Burdwan (West Bengal), Rewa (M.P.), Tiruchirapalli (Tamil Nadu), Alwar and Ajmer. Gold - Kolar gold-fields (Karnataka). Graphite - Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Odisha and Kerala. Gypsum - Bikaner and Jodhpur (Rajasthan), Tiruchirapalli (Tamil Nadu), Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. Cuttack and Keonjhar district have the largest amount of chromite reserves.

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GEOGRAPHY Iron Ore Lac Lead Lignite Limestone

- Singhbhum (Jharkhand), Chhattisgarh, Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj (Odisha). - West Bengal. - Zawar in Udaipur and at the Banjavi mines in Jaipur. - Neyveli in South Arcot district (Tamil Nadu). - Singareni and Singhbhum (Jharkhand), Panchmahals (Gujarat), Balaghat, Bhandara, Chhindwara, Nagpur, Indore, Vishakhapatnam, Sandur (Tamil Nadu). Manganese - Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. Marble - Jaipur (Rajasthan). Mica Koderma in Hazaribagh district, Jharkhand, Munger (Bihar), Nellore in Andhra Pradesh. Monazite Sands - Found in abundance in Travancore Coast (Kerala). Nitre - Bihar, U.P., Tamil Nadu and Punjab. Petroleum Digboi, Badarpur, Musimpur and Patharia fields of Assam. Pitchblende - Gaya (Bihar). Red Stone - Jodhpur (Rajasthan). Salt

Saltpetre Silmanite Silver Tungsten Uranium Zinc Zircon

- Sambhar Lake (Rajasthan), and is also obtained from ocean water in Rann of Kutch, on the north-western and south-eastern littoral (seashore) of India. - Punjab, U.P. and Bihar. - Khasi Hills (Assam), Rewa (M.P). - Goldfields (Karnataka), Singhbhum and Manbhum (Jharkhand), Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan. - Bihar, Nagpur (Maharashtra) and Marwar. - Bihar - Zawar mines in Udaipur (Rajasthan). - Beach sands of Kerala and Cape Comorin.

CENSUS 2011

The 15th Indian National census was conducted in two phases, houselisting and population enumeration. Information for National Population Register was also collected in the first phase, which will be used to issue a 12-digit unique identification number to all registered Indians by Unique Identification Authority of India. Census Data Population

According to the provisional reports released on March 31, 2011, the Indian population increased to 1.21 billion with a decadal growth of 17.64%. Adult literacy rate increased to 70.04% with a decadal growth of 9.21%. Information on castes was included in the census following demands from several ruling coalition and opposition parties. Statistics

Total Population

1,21,01,93,422 (persons)

Ratio

940 Females/1000 Males

Males

Females

62,37,24,248 58,64,69,174

The chief producer of kyanite in India is the Indian Copper Corporation Ltd.

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Decadal Growth (2001-2011) Density of Population Literacy (in percent)

Highest/Lowest Population

GEOGRAPHY 18,14,55,986 (17.64%) 382 per sq. km. Total: 74.04, Males: 82.14, Females: 65.46

State with Highest Population

State with Lowest Population

UT with Highest Population

UT with Lowest Population

District with Highest Population

Uttar Pradesh

Sikkim

Delhi

Lakshadweep

Medinipur (West Bengal)

District with Lowest Population Population Density Persons/Sq. Km.

Yanam (Pondicherry)

State with highest Population Density

West Bengal

India

State with lowest Poxpulation Density

540,851

13,850,507 60,650

9,610,788 31,394

UT with Lowest Population Density

District with Highest Population Density

Sex Ratio (Females per Thousand Males)

Delhi

Andaman & Nicobar Islands

North East (Delhi)

Lahul & Spiti (Himachal Pradesh)

India Rural Urban State with Highest Female Sex Ratio Kerala State with Lowest Female Sex Ratio Haryana UT with Highest Female Sex Ratio Pondicherry UT with Lowest Female Sex Ratio Daman & Diu District with Highest Female Sex Ratio Mahe (Pondicherry) District with Lowest Female Sex Ratio Daman (Daman & Diu)

Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes Population Scheduled Castes Scheduled Tribes Scheduled Castes

Population 166,635,700 84,326,240

325

903

Arunachal Pradesh

UT with Highest Population Density

District with Lowest Population Density

166,197,921

9,340 43

29,468 940 946 900 1,058 861 1,001 710 1,147 591

Percentage 16.2% 8.2%

State with highest proportion of Scheduled Castes

Punjab (28.9%)

UT with lowest proportion of Scheduled Castes

D&N Haveli (1.9%)

State with lowest proportion of Scheduled Castes UT with highest proportion of Scheduled Castes

District with highest proportion of Scheduled Castes District with lowest proportion of Scheduled Castes Meghalaya is the leading producer of sillimanite.

Mizoram (0.03%)

Chandigarh (17.5%) Koch-Bihar (50.1%) Mizoram (0.01%)

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GEOGRAPHY Scheduled Tribes State with highest proportion of Scheduled Tribes State with lowest proportion of Scheduled Tribes UT with highest proportion of Scheduled Tribes UT with lowest proportion of Scheduled Tribes District with highest proportion of Scheduled Tribes District with lowest proportion of Scheduled Tribes Religion Based Data Religions Hindus Muslims Christians Sikhs Buddhists Jains Other Religions & Persuasions Religion not stated Total *

Rural Urban Distribution

Composition 827,578,868 138,188,240 24,080,016 19,215,730 7,955,207 4,225,053 6,639,626 727,588 1,028,610,328

Rural-Urban Distribution

Population * (%) 80.5 13.4 2.3 1.9 0.8 0.4 0.6 0.1 100

Population

Rural Urban State with highest proportion of Urban Population State with lowest proportion of Urban Population UT with highest proportion of Urban Population UT with lowest proportion of Urban Population

Quick facts •• India’s population has jumped to 1.21 billion, an increase of more than 181 million during 2001-11, according to provisional data of Census 2011 released. •• Though the population is almost equal to the combined population of the U.S, Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Japan (1,214.3 million). •• The percentage decadal growth rates of the six most populous states have declined during 2001-11 compared with 1991-2001. •• The overall sex ratio nationwide has increased by seven percentage points to 940 against 933 in Census 2001. Sex ratio is defined as the number of females per 1,000 males. •• An increasing trend in the child sex ratio was seen in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu,

Mizoram (94.5%) Goa (0.04%) Lakshadweep (94.5%) A & N Islands (8.3%) Sarchhip, Mizoram (98.1%) Hathras, Uttar Pradesh (0.01%)

(%)

742,490,639 72.18% 286,119,689 27.82% Goa 49.8 Himachal Pradesh 9.8 Delhi 93.2 Dadra & Nagar Haveli 22.9

Mizoram and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, but in the remaining States/ UTs, the ratio showed a decline. The total number of children in the age group of 0–6 is now 158.8 million, less by five million since 2001. •• The literacy rate has gone up from 64.83% in 2001 to 74.04%, an increase of 9.21% points. •• Kerala, with 93.91%, continues to occupy the top position while Mizoram’s Serchhip district (98.76%) and Aizawl (98.50%) recorded the highest literacy rates among districts. Madhya Pradesh’s Alirapur district has the lowest literacy rate of 37.22% as also the naxaliteaffected Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district, where the literacy rate is 41.58 per cent. Lakshadweep followed Kerala with a literacy level of 92.28%, while Bihar remained at the bottom of the ladder at 63.82%, followed by Arunachal Pradesh at 66.95%.

The beach sands of Kerala are the most important source of sillimanite.

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GEOGRAPHY

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GEOGRAPHY EARTH INFORMATION BULLETIN •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• ••

Total Surface Area - 510, 072,000 km² Land Area - 148,094,000 km² Water Area - 361,132,000 km² Percentage of Land - 29.2% Percentage of Water - 70.8% Water Type - 97% salt water, 3% fresh water Circumference - 40,066 km at Equator, 39,992 km at Poles Continents - 7 recognized Countries - 193 recognized Oceans - 5 Population - 7,214,958,996 (2015) Largest continent - Asia (43,810,582 km²) Most populated continent - Asia (4,361,416,312) 2015 Smallest continent - Australia/Oceania (8,112,000 km²) Least populated continent- Antarctica (no native population)

•• Largest country - Russia (17,075,400 km²) •• Most populated country - China (1,401,586,609) 2015 •• Smallest country - Vatican City (0.44 km²) •• Least populated country - Vatican City (1000) 2015 •• Highest point - Mount Everest (8,848 m) •• Lowest point - Dead Sea (-409 m) •• Largest Ocean - Pacific (155,557,000 km²) •• Smallest Ocean - Arctic (14,056,000 km²) •• Largest Sea - South China sea (2,974,600 km²) •• Largest Saline Lake - Caspian Sea (371,000 km²) •• Longest River - Nile (6,695 km)

CONTINENTS OF WORLD

A continent is one of the large landmasses on Earth generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, with up to seven regions commonly regarded as continents. They are Asia, Europe, Africa, North America, South America, Australia and Antarctica. Continent

1. Asia 2. Africa 3. North America 4. South America 5. Europe 6. Australia or Oceania 7. Antarctica

Asia

Asia is the world’s largest continent, having an area of 44,444,100 sq km. Asia covers to the east of the Suez Canal, the Ural River, and the Ural Mountains, and

% of Earth Area 29.5 20.4 16.3 11.8 7.1 5.3 9.6

Madagascar is often called the land of the living fossils.

Continents (by the number of countries) 44 54 23 12 46 14

south of the Caucasus Mountains and the Caspian and Black Seas. It is bounded on the east by the Pacific Ocean, on the south by the Indian Ocean and on the north by the Arctic Ocean.

Physical Features Region-wise it can be classified into 6 regions which are:

Central Asia : Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan

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Eastern Asia :China, Hong Kong, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Macau, Mongolia, Taiwan Northern Asia : Russia Southeastern Asia: Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, TimorLeste, Vietnam Southern Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka Western Asia : Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cyprus, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, State of Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates,Yemen.

Natural Vegetation of Asia •• •• •• •• •• •• •• ••

The Tundra The Taiga Temperate Grasslands, the Steppes Mediterranean Scrubland and Forest Desert Vegetation Monsoon Region Tropical Rainforest Vegetation in the Mountains

Africa

Africa is the second largest continent in area (30,330,000 sq Km), covers 6% of Earth’s total surface area and 20.4% of its total land area. Algeria is Africa’s largest country by area, and Nigeria by population. Africa’s population is the youngest among all the continents; 50% of Africans are 19 years old or younger. Separated from Europe by the Mediterranean Sea, it is joined to Asia at its northeast extremity by the Isthmus of Suez 163 km wide.

Physical Features

Region-wise it can be classified into 6 regions which are listed below. Northern Africa : Algeria, Canary Islands, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Ceuta, Egypt, Libya, Madeira, Melilla, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia, Western Sahara. Northeast Africa : Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia

The inhabitants of Madagascar refer themselves as Malagasy.

GEOGRAPHY Eastern Africa : Burundi, Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mozambique, Reunion, Rwanda, Seychelles, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe. Central Africa : Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, São Tomé and Príncipe. Southern Africa: Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland Western Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Saint Helena, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo

Natural Vegetation of Africa •• •• •• •• •• ••

Tropical Rain Forests Tropical Savannas Tropical Steppes and Deserts Mediterranean Forests Montane Forests Mangrove Forests

Europe

The continent comprises the westernmost part of Eurasia bordered by Arctic Ocean in north, the Atlantic Ocean in west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. To the east and southeast, it is separated from Asia by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways of the Turkish Straits. The coastline of Europe is 80,500 km, which is longer than Africa. It is the second smallest continent in the world.

Physical Features

Region-wise classification of Europe Western Uplands: Landscape of Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, and Denmark), Finland, Iceland, Scotland, Ireland, the Brittany region of France, Spain, and Portugal. Central Uplands : Central Europe, western France and Belgium, southern Germany, the Czech Republic, and parts of northern Switzerland and Austria.

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GEOGRAPHY Alpine Mountains : The Italian and Balkan peninsulas, northern Spain, and southern France. The region includes the mountains of the Alps, Pyrenees, Apennines, Dinaric Alps, Balkans, and Carpathians. North European Plain: France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Poland, the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania), and Belarus. Island : British Isles, Corsica, Alba, Sardinia, Crete , Malta , Cyprus, are some of the major Islands of Europe. Deserts : Accona Desert, Bardenas Reales, Bledowska Desert, The Stone Desert, Larzac, Santorini and Anafi, are some of the major deserts of Europe

Natural Vegetation of Africa •• •• •• •• •• •• ••

Sub tropical dry forest Subtropical Mountain Forest Temperate Oceanic Forest Temperate continental Forest Boreal Coniferous forest Boreal Tundra Forest Boreal Mountain

North America

North America covers about 4.8% of the planet’s surface or about 16.5% of its land area, having the population of 565 million (2013) in 23 independent states. It is the third largest continent by area, following Asia and Africa and fourth largest in terms of population with the density of 24 million/sq km. It extends from 7° N to 85° N latitudinalwise and longitude-wise 20°W to 179°W. It has 5 time zones.

Physical Features

It can be classified into 5 regions: Western Region : Young Mountains rise in the west. The most familiar of these mountains are probably the Rockies, North America’s largest chain. They stretch from the province of British Columbia, Canada, to the U.S. state of New Mexico. Great Plains : In the middle of the continent lies the Great Plain. Deep rich soil blankets large areas of the plains in Canada

and the United States. Grain grown in this region, called the “Bread basket of North America,” feeding a large part of the world. Canadian Shield: The Canadian Shield is a raised but relatively flat plateau. It extends over eastern, central, and north western Canada. The Canadian Shield is characterized by a rocky landscape packed by an astounding number of lakes. Eastern Region: This varied region includes the Appalachian Mountains and the Atlantic coastal plain. North America’s older mountain ranges, including the Appalachians, rise near the east coast of the United States and Canada Caribbean Region: The Caribbean Region includes more than 7,000 islands, islets, reefs, and cays. The region’s islands and smaller islets are varied in their topography. Natural Vegetation of Africa •• Arctic/ Tundra Forests •• Boreal Forests/ Taiga/ Coniferous forests •• Eastern Deciduous Forests •• Grasslands •• Desert Scrub •• Mediterranean and Madrean Scrublands and Woodlands •• Pacific Coast Coniferous Forests •• Western Montane Coniferous Forests •• Tidal Wetlands

South America

This is a triangular shape continent, stretching from 12° N to 55°S latitude. Towards its west lies Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean on the east and, North America and the Caribbean Sea lie to the northwest. It is the fourth largest continent of the world with smooth and inlet coastline.

Physical Features It can be classified into 5 regions :

The Pacific coastal strip lies between the west Pacific and Andes. The Andes stretches through entire continent in length running in north-south direction from Isthmus of Panama to Strait of Magellan.

The southwestern sections of Africa are rimmed by the Cape fold mountains and Karoo rock series.

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GEOGRAPHY

The Central Lowland: Two great river system are covered under it namely the Amazon-Orinoco and Parana-Paraguay rivers. The Eastern Highland consists of Brazilian and Guiana Highlands along with Patagonia.

Natural Vegetation of South America •• •• •• •• •• ••

Equatorial Forest Temperate Forests Mediterranean Forests Savanna Grasslands Pampas Desert

Australia

Thousands of islands combined to form Oceania region, mostly covering the Central and South Pacific Ocean. The region is dominated by world’s biggest island and two other major landmasses, microcontinent of Zealandia (including New Zealand) and the western half of the island of New Guinea, made up of the nation of Papua New Guinea. Oceania also includes three island regions: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia (including the U.S. state of Hawaii). It stretches from the Strait of Malacca to the coast of Americas. Tropic of Capricorn divides it into almost two halves. There are 28 countries and Island groups in Australasia/Oceania covering 5.3% of the Earth’s land and 1.5% of the Earth’s surface. The largest cities of this region includes: Jakarta, Manila, Sydney, Bandung, Melbourne, Surabaya, Medan etc.

Physical Features It can be classified into 3 regions such as: The Great Western Plateau covers two third of Australia. The Central Lowland extends from the shallow Gulf of Carpentaria in the north to the Southern Ocean. The Eastern Highlands stretch along the eastern edge of Australia, all the way from Cape York to Tasmania. Natural Vegetation •• The tropical Rainforest •• The deciduous forest Savanna •• The dry desert and desert scrub

Antarctica

The continent of Antarctica is the fifth– largest continent in terms of geographical area, and it is situated in a remote cold location of Southern. The continent covers approximately 20% of the hemisphere. As such there are not countries in this continent except some parts of few nations such, New Zealand, Australia, France, Norway, the United Kingdom, Chile, and Argentina.

Physical Features

As a frozen continent it has only a few prominent physiographic units such as: Trans – Antarctic Mountain dividing the continent into West Antarctica and East Antarctica. The Antarctic Peninsula The islands of the Antarctic region which contains South Orkney Islands, South Shetland Islands, South Georgia, and the South Sandwich Islands, all claimed by the United Kingdom.

LANGUAGES OF WORLD

There are numerous languages in the world but they have varying number of speakers for each one of them. Approximately 2,300 languages are spoken in Asia, 2,140, in Africa, 1,300 in the Pacific, 1,060 in the Americas, and 280 in Europe (2015). Chinese tops the list of most popular world languages, with over one billion speakers. English trails in third place, with 335 million speakers. This data represents first-language speakers. The Okarango region of Kalahari is called the Jewel of Kalahari.

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GEOGRAPHY Major Languages Spoken in the World

Language

Approx number of speakers

1. Chinese

1,197,000,000

4. Hindi

260,000,000

2. Spanish

414,000,000

3. English

335,000,000

5. Arabic

237,000,000

6. Portuguese

203,000,000

7. Bengali

193,000,000

8. Russian

167,000,000

9. Japanese

122,000,000

10. Javanese

84,300,000

Major religion of the world Religion

Followers (in millions)

Christianity

2,200

Hinduism

1,100

Islam

1,600

Chinese folk religion

754 — 1,000

Buddhism

488 — 535

World Climatesic types Climate zone

Climate Type

Polar climate zone

Polar climate

Sub polar climate

Temperature zone

Subtropical climate zone Passat climate zone

Tropical seasonal climate zone Equatorial climate zone

High mountains climate zone

Subpolar climate

Marine West coast

Transitional climate

Cool continental climate

Warm summer continental climate East coast climate

Subtropical East Coast climate

West coast winter rain climate Dry passat climate

Humid Passat climate

Tropical seasonal climate Equatorial climate

High mountains climates

The first European to reach Angola was the Portuguese navigator Diogo cao.

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GEOGRAPHY

Major Industrial Regions of the World

`` Asian major

These are areas where manufacturing industries are carried out on a relatively large scale and employ a relatively large proportion of population. The industrial regions of the world are very unevenly distributed. With the development of machinery, many industrial centres have come up where there is abundance of coal, iron, and extensive water-power are in abundance. The major industrial regions of the world are as follows:

•

USA and Canada Industrial Regions

Industrial region of USA and Canada comprises the New England Regions, The New York - Mid-Atlantic Region, North - Eastern Region. The Southern Region, Western Region & Pacific Region. These regions include several major American industrial cities & Metropolitans like Hartford, New Haven, areas from New York to Baltimore with New Jersey, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, etc.

•

European Industrial Region • •

•

Western Europe major industrial regions. United Kingdom’s industrial regions are located in Lancashire, London's basin, Scotland, Midland, South-Wales, etc. producing manufacturing products like engineering, ferrous, chemical textile, food & beverages, etc. The Saar Region, the Hamburg Region, Berlin Region & Leipzig Region with iron & steel heavy chemicals, textiles & different consumer goods Industries. France’s industrial region produces iron & steel, textile, glass, leather, automobiles with Northern, Lorraine & Paris Industrial Regions. Other European countries like Italy, Switzerland, Holland Belgium and Sweden are industrial giants. Eastern Europe has six major industrial regions out of which four are in Russia, one in Ukraine, and one in southern Poland and northern Czech Republic.

China is the most dominant and powerful industrial agglomeration of Asia. The regions of Manchurian region, Yangtze region, North-China region, South China region, etc. with many manufacturing units producing steel, heavy chemical's textiles, paper, cement, automobiles, toys, etc are major industrial regions. Japan has several industrial cities producing steel, Pedro-chemical, cement, footwear. toys, etc. at TokyaYokohama region, Osaka - Kobe region, north Kyushu region. India’s conurbation of Kolkata, the Mumbai-Pune Industrial belt, Ahmedabad-Vadodara belt, Southern industrial regions with Chennai, Coimbatore, Bangalore industrial belt, Damodar Valley industrial belt, Northern regions with centers like Delhi, Ambala, Ghaziabad, Mathura, etc. Other major industrial regions include Allahabad, Varanasi, Hyderabad, Patiala, Jaipur, Bilaspur, Jalandhar, Meerut, Lucknow, Kanpur, etc.

Trans-Continental Railways of World •• •• •• •• ••

•• •• ••

Canadian Pacific Rail Route : It runs from Halifax to Vancouver. Candian National Rail Route: It joins St. John City to Vancouver. Trans-Siberian Rail Route: It connects St. Petersburg to Vlalivoslok. Trans-caucasus Rail Route: It starts from Batum, cross Tergana and reaches Krusk. North Trans continental Rail Route: It originates at Seattle (USA) New York. Mid Transcontinental Rail Route: It joins San Francisco to New York. Southern Transcontinental Rail Routes : It runs from Los Angeles to New York and then reaches New Orleans. Oriental Express Rail Route: Connects Paris to Kustuntunia (Turkey).

Volga and Dnieper river are the most important for transport and hydroelectric source for Europe.

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GEOGRAPHY ••

••

Cape-Cairo Rail Route: It is the longest rail route of Africa running from Cape Town in Southern part of continent and reaches Ciro near the coast of Mediterranean sea situated in the northern part of continent. Trans-Andean Rail Route: Starting from Valparais (Chile) reaches other end of the continent running west to east to Buenos Aires (Argentina).

Trans-Australian Continental Rail Route: It connects west end of Australia to east end starting from Perth and reaches Sydney. Transe-Asiatic Railways Line : This is a proposed project of united Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific. It will connect 28 countries including China, Thailand Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Iran and Turkey. ••

WATER TRANSPORT

Water transport is considered to be one of the oldest form of transport. It is cheapest mode of transport. The cost of production alongwith the cost of operation is also low incase of water transport. There are evidences which shows that boats were used in the form dugout canoe (a boat made from a hallowed tree trunk) in ancient period. It is considered that Egyptians probably were the first to use sail boat. The Mesopotamian and Indus valley civilization excavation have shown the presence of habour and ports. Water transportation includes canals, lakes, rivers, seas and oceans. It is mainly divided into two categories:

Sea Routes

Oceans provide smooth traversable highway in all direction with low maintenance cost. Major sea routes are:

The North Atlantic Sea Route

It is linking two major industrially developed regions of the world such as North-Eastern USA and North-Western Europe.

The Mediterranean-Indian Ocean Sea Route

It is considered to be the most important sea route as it serves more countries and people than this route are port said, Aden, Mumbai, Colombo, and Singapore. The distance covered by this route has drastically reduced with the construction of Suez canal.

Gora Narodnaya is the highest peak in the Ural Mountains.

The Cape of Good Hope Sea Route It connects west European and West African countries with Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay in South America.

The North Pacific Sea Route

It is connecting Western European, North American with Australian countries. It is used for reaching Hong kong, Philippines and Indonesia. Honolulu is the most important seaport of this route.

Inland Water Transport

River, canals, lakes and coastal area the important components of inland water transport as they facilitate transportation of goods and services with in the country. Boats and steam are the important means of transport. The significant waterways of the world are:

The Rhine Waterway

River Rhine flows through Germany and Netherland. It is navigable for 700 km. It serves industrial areas of Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands.

The Dawube Waterway

River Danube serves Eastern Europe as it rises from Black forest and flows eastward through many countries. The navigation is possible only upto Taurna Sevenin, this river transport facilitates the export of wheat, maize, timber and machinery.

The Volga Waterways

Volga is one of important waterways of Russia which provides a navigable water route of 11,200 km and it drains into Caspian sea.

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GEOGRAPHY THINGS TO REMEMBER Continent’s Highest and Lowest Points

Continent

Highest Point

Lowest Point

1. Asia

Everest (8848 m)

Dead Sea (–396.8m)

4. South America

Aconcagua (6960 m)

Valdis Penin (–39.9 m)

2. Africa

3. North America 5. Europe

6. Australia

7. Antarctica Name 1. Mount Everest 2. K2 (Godwin Austen) 3. Kanchenjunga 4. Lhotse 5. Makalu I 6. Dhaulagiri I 7. Manaslu I 8. Cho Uyo 9. Nanga Parbat 8. Annapurana I

Name 1. Pacific Ocean

2. Atlantic Ocean

Kilimanjaro (5894 m) Mckinley (6194 m) Elbrus (5663 m)

Koscisko (2228 m)

Vinson Massif (5140 m)

Lake Assai (–156.1 m)

Death Valley (–85.9 m) Caspian Sea (–28.0 m) Lake Eyre (–15.8 m) (Unexplored)

Highest Mountain Peaks (World) Height (in metres)

Range

8848 8611 8598 8511 8481 8167 8156 8153 8126 8091

Himalayas Karakoram Himalayas Himalayas Himalayas Himalayas Himalayas Himalayas Himalayas Himalayas

Three Deepest Oceans Greatest depth (in metres) 11,033 9,460 7,542

Greatest depth location Mariana Trench

Puerto Rico Trench

3. Indian Ocean

Some Important Boundary Lines

Durand Line Hindenberg Line 49th Parallel Mac Mahon Line Maginot Line 38th Parallel Oder Neisse Line Radcliffe Line

Between Pakistan and Afghanistan Between Germany and Poland Between USA and Canada Between India and Tibet/China Between France and Germany Between North and South Korea Between Germany and Poland Between India and Pakistan

Mt. Elbrus in the caucasus is the highest peak in Europe.

Java Trench

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GEOGRAPHY Longest Rivers Length in kms

Basin Area m2km

Nile, Africa

6695

3.25

Mississippi Missouri, USA

5959

3.20

Name, Nation/Continent Amazon, South America Yangtze Kiang, China Ob Irtysh, Russia

Yenisey Angari a Selenga, Asia Yellow (Hwang Ho), China Congo (Zaire), Africa

Parana Rio de la Plata, S. America Irtysh, Asia

Mekong, Asia India Indus Brahmaputra Ganga-Hooghly-Padma Godawari Sutlej Krishna Narmada Chenab Ghaghara Shortest River (metres) Europe Ombia River, Croatia North America, Roe River, Montana, USA South America – Azvis River, Brazil Deepest Lakes Baikal, Russian Tanganyika, Africa Caspian Sea, Asia-Europe Malawi of Nyasa, Africa Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan

Largest Deserts of the World Subtropical Sahara, North Africa Arabian, Middle East Great Victoria, Australia Kalahari, Southern Africa Chihuahuan, Mexico Thar, India/Pakistan Great Sandy, Australia

The world’s deepest lake, Lake Baikal is drained by Angara River.

6516 6380 5568 5550 5464 4667 4500 4440

4425 REGION Asia Asia India India India India India India India

6.14 1.72 2.97 2.55 – –

2.58 –

– LENGTH 3180 2948 2620 1465 1372 1300 1289 1086 1080 30 61 147

1620 m 1463 m 1025 m 706 m 702 m

8,600,650 sq. km 2,300,000 sq. km 647,475 sq. km 582,727 sq. km 453,232 sq. km 453,232 sq. km 388,485 sq. km

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GEOGRAPHY

Gibson, Australia Sonoran, S.W. USA Simpson/Stony, N Africa Mohave, S.W. USA

310,788 sq. km 310,788 sq. km 145,034 sq. km 139,854 sq. km

Cool coastal

Atacama, Chile SA Namib, S.W. Africa

139,854 sq. km 33,668 sq. km

Cold winter

Gobi, China Patagonian, Argentina Great Basin, S.W. USA Karakum, West Asia Colorado, Western USA, also called the Painted Desert Kyzyl-kum, West Asia Taklamakan, China

1,166,450 sq km 673,374 sq km 492,081 sq. km 349,636 sq. km 336,687 sq. km 297,838 sq. km 271,939 sq. km

Deep-Sea Trenches

Name Mariana Tonga Kermadec (S. Pacific) Kuril-Kamchatka Philippine Java-Indian

Length 2250 2575 2250 1350 2250

Depth 10.924 10.850 10.542 10.539 7725

Deepest Pt. Challenger Deep Vityaz 11 (Tonga) Galathea Deep Planet Deep

Some Important Tribes and their Home and (World)

Aleuts : Alaska Ainus : Japan Aeta : Phillip Cines Bushman : Kalahari Buryak : Central Asia Berbers : N. Africa Bedouin : Sahara and Middle East Bindibu or Aborigins : Australia Chukchi : N.E. Asia, U.S.S.R., North Siberia Eskimos : Greenland, North Canada, Alaska, N. Siberia Fulani : Western Africa Gobi Mongols : Gobi Guicas : Amazon forest area Hausa : North Nigeria Hotten tots : Hot tropical Africa Ibans : Equatorial rain forest region of South-East Asia India Tribes : Amazon basin

Koryaks : N. Siberia, Eurasian Tundra, N.E. Asia Kalmuk : Central Asia Kareus or Meos : Myanmar Kirghiz : Asiatic steppes Kazakhs : Kazakhstan Lapps : N. Finland, Scandinavia Maoris : New Zealand Masai : East and Central Africa Orange Asli : Malaysia Pygmies : Congo basin, Zaire Red Indian : N. America Somoyeds : Siberia Semangs : East Sumatra Turregs : Sahara Tapiro : Papua New Guinea Yoakuts : Siberia Zulus : South Africa

Verkhoyansk has recorded the lowest temperature on the globe outside Antarctica.

ECOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT

ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT

TOP TRENDS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD ECOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT

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ECOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT INTRODUCTION

Ecology is a branch of biology that deals with the distribution and interaction of living organisms among themselves and their environment. There are four basic concepts of ecology which are as follows: •• Holism: is a term which conceived as a directive and creative principle operating from initial to last level in ecology. It means whole are much important than individual element. •• Ecosystem: involve both the living and non-living factors interacting together, working in a complex web. •• Succession: the living organisms and their environment commonly reactive and influence each other in different ways. Increase in the capacity of tolerance towards changing environment by modifying their adaptability as the process of growth, dispersal, reproduction, death and decay follows changing the abiotic component of ecosystem is called as succession. •• Conservation: Regulation of the population through naturally-operating trophism ensures resilience of the system.

Realm of Ecology

Ecology as a basic division of biology explains patterns within and among organism. The hierarchical level of ecology is shown below. •• Biosphere •• Ecosystem •• Communities •• Population •• Organism

Biosphere

Biosphere is the layer of the planet Earth where life exist. This layer ranges from heights of upto ten kilometers above the sea level. Biosphere is an ecological system integrating all living beings and their relationship. Including their interaction with the elements of the lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere. In general

biosphere are any closed, self-regulating systems containing ecosystem.

Ecosystem

Ecosystem is defined as a specific and recognizable landscape such as forest, wetland, coastal area, grass lands, deserts, etc. having interaction of biological community and physical and chemical factors that make up its non-living or abiotic environment.

Components of Ecosystem

•• Abiotic components are the non-living elements of an ecosystem as air, water, climate and soil, etc. containing both organic and inorganic matters. •• Biotic components consist of all the living community of plants and animals in any area together with the non-living components of the environment such as soil, air and water.

Function of Ecosystem

Ecosystem is a functional and life sustaining environmental system. Consists of biotic and abiotic components in any particular habitat. The function of ecosystem can be referred a producer consumer arrangement of nutrients known as energy cycles and each food level of this pyramid is known as trophic level. The three major aspects of energy cycles are food chain, food web and ecological pyramids. Food chain It is a chain or series of feeding relationship among different living things in a particular environment or habitat. Plant is always the first step of food chain as it produces its own

Fresh water ecosystem can be categorised as Lentic (pools, ponds and lakes), Lotic (streams and river) and Wetlands.

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ECOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT food from non living things and eventually eaten by the next higher level of living orgasm such as herbivores who only takes plant as their food item. Plants are known as producers and animals depend upon producers are known as primary consumer. The next level in this hierarchy is known as secondary consumer who depends on primary consumer for food. Food Web It is defined as the system of interlocking and interdependent food chains.

•• Energy flows in a one way direction through ecosystem i.e. not recycled. •• It passes from one trophic level to another. •• Only 10% energy (that was stored in adipose tissue of one trophic level organism), passes to another trophic level. It is called 10% law or LENDEMANN LAW. •• In the same way carnivores store only 10% of the stored energy of herbivore.

Types of Ecosystem

Ecosystems are classified on the basis of climate, habitat and plant communities. Types of Ecosystem

Aquatic Ecosystem

Energy Pyramid It is a graphical presentation of the trophic levels in an ecosystem where the energy from the sun is transferred through the ecosystem by passing through various trophic levels. Only 10% of energy gets transferred from one trophic level to the next. Top Carnivore

1 kg

Primary Carnivore

Producers

• Fresh water • Tropical rainforest • Estuarine • Temperate decidusous • Marine • Coniferous forest • Grassland • Desert • Taiga • Tundra Aquatic Ecosystem The aquatic ecosystem has been classified in a number of ecological ways. On the basis of salt content in water they are further divided into fresh water, estuarine and marine ecosystem. Terrestrial Ecosystem It is further divided into forest, grassland, desert ecosystem and artificial ecosystems such as crop fields, gardens, etc.

Aquatic Ecosystem

Herbivores

Terrestrial Ecosystem

100

1000 kg

Energy Flow in Ecosystem •• Ecosystem obtains energy from sun, which is trapped by producers via photosynthesis and is converted into chemical energy. •• The chemical energy is converted into mechanical and heat energy in cellular activities. •• Energy enters in the ecosystem as light and exits as heat.

World Wetland Day is celebrated on 2nd February every year.

On the basis of salt content in water they are further divided into: •• Fresh water. •• Estuarine and •• Marine ecosystem.

Fresh Water

•• Freshwater ecosystem can be categorised into three types of fresh water ecosystem, i.e. lotic, lentic & wetlands.

Lotic and Lentic

Lotic ecosystem refers to the dynamic (moving) water habitat eg. river, brook etc. Lentic ecosystem refers to the static water habitats like ponds, lake, swamps

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and marshes. However, both of ecosystem have fresh water source, but weather and climatic condition can lead to a wide ranges of salinities.

Wetlands

•• Wetlands are lands which, due to geological or ecological factors, have a natural supply of water – either from tidal flows, flooding rivers, connections with groundwater, or because they are perched above aquifers. •• The periodicity of water level fluctuations is termed as hydroperiod and it is the key factor that determines the productivity and species composition of the wetland community. •• Generally low lying areas, covered by shallow water and have characteristic soils and water tolerant vegetation. •• Wetlands occupy only 2% of the surface area of earth and they are estimated to contain 10 to 14% of carbon. •• Man made wetlands: paddy fields, fishery ponds, Trapa & Euryale cultivation ponds and other aquaculture habitats.

Significance of Wetlands

•• Nutrient rich and have high primary productivity. •• Since they have both aquatic and semiaquatic environmental conditions so support specialized vegetation and fauna. Often a prime breeding habitat for waterfowl, many migratory birds and other aquatic or semi aquatic vertebrates.

•• Helps in controlling flood by holding excess water, and the flood water stored in wetlands then drains slowly back ino the rivers, providing a steady flow of water throughout the year. •• Serve as groundwater recharging areas. •• Provide important commercial products, including wild rice and various types of berries (such as black berries, blue berries, etc.).

ECOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT •• Hold sediments and accumulate soil along the shoreline. •• National Wetland Conservation Programme (NWCP) has been initiated for identified wetland which are at present 66 covering 21 states.

Estuaries

•• An estuary (from Latin aestus, “tide”) is a semi-enclosed coastal body of water, which has a free connection with the open sea. •• Nutrients from the river enrich estuarine waters, making estuaries one of the most biologically productive ecosystem on earth and thus have more biodiversity in unit area. •• It is strongly affected by tidal action which is an important physical regulator and an energy subsidy. •• They are transitional zones/ecotones between the freshwater and marine habitats. •• Examples include river mouths, coastal bays tidal marshes and bodies of water behind barrier beaches and extensive intertidal mudflats or salt marshes often border them. •• Estuary provides the “nursery grounds” for most coastal shellfish and other fishes. e. g. shrimp and spawn.

Marine Ecosystem

It is Earth's largest aquatic ecosystem, which includes salt marshes, intertidal zones, lagoons, mangroves, coral reefs and sea floor.

Mangroves

•• Found in tropical and sub tropical landsea ecotones. •• They are potential “land builders” that help to form islands and to extend seashores. •• On the basis of salinity, five zones of mangrove distribution are considered, namely euhaline, polyhaline, mesohaline, oligohaline and limnetic zones. •• Indian coastline covers about 7500km and it accounts for 8% of the world’s mangrove area which is approximately 700,000 ha.

Significance of Mangroves

•• Mangroves perform a variety of productive as well as protective

The Gulf of kachchh & the Gulf of khambhat constitute the major mangrove zones of the Gujarat Coast.

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ECOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT functions. The resilient mangroves protect the hinterland against cyclonic storms during cyclones, super cyclones, and ingress of sea water during tidal surges and other natural catastrophes acting as an effective shelterbelt.

•• They are considered as “land builders”. It is belived that the roots of mangroves secrete a substance, which modifies the coarse particles into fine ones and help in soil formation. The tangles of stilt roots also trap the sediments. •• Support a range of interconnected food webs, which directly sustain the fisheries. Algae and detritus sustain shrimps and prawns, which provide a food source for fishes and prawns. •• They are repositories of immense biological diversity. •• The mangrove conservation programme was launched in 1987 and so far 35 mangrove areas have been identified for intensive convervation and management in our county. •• A mangrove genetic resource center is established in the Pichavaram mangrove area, Chidambaram, India where the endangered mangrove species are being conserved.

Coral Reefs

•• Coral is plant-animal super organism, an algae called zooxanthellae, grow inside the tissues of the animal polyp, thus exhibits mutualism between polyps & algae. •• Located generally between 30 degrees North and 30 degrees South latitudes. •• Found scattered in coastal zones above contineantal shelves throughout the tropical and subtropical western Atlantic and Indo-pacific oceans.

•• The polyp is able to feed itself using stinging cells found on its tentacles, but is able to feed itself partially. The ramainder comes from the zooxanthellae and the carbohydrates are also used by the polyp to make calcium carbonate via calcification. This material forms the skeleton of the coral and eventually the framework known as the coral reef. •• Polyps secrete hard limestone deposits (calcium carbonate that ramain when polyps die. •• Coral reefs are sometimes referred to as ‘tropical rainforests of the deep’. •• Bleaching: Under environmental stress much of the algae are lost and corals appear white in colour. If the symbiotic green algae leave the coral animal and the mutumlism is not restored then the coral slowly dies of starvation.

Importance of Coral reefs

•• Apart from tropical rain forests, they are the other most productive natural ecosystems in the world.

•• They protect coastline from storms & high waves by breaking the force of the waves, thereby allowing mangroves and sea grass to flourish. •• They serve as nurseries for many fish species and provide resources for fisheries. •• Coral skeletons are being used as bone substitutes in reconstructive bone surgery. The pores and channel in certain corals resemble those found in human bone. Bone tissue and blood vessels gradually spread into the coral graft. Eventually, bone replaces most of the coral implant.

Terrestrial Ecosystem

Biomes Biome can be defined as major ecological communities of flora and fauna, which

Major reef formations in India are restricted to the Gulf of Mannar, Palk bay, Gulf of Kutch, Andaman and Nicobar Island and the Lakshadweep Islands.

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Community

A group of population of different species living together in a given area with mutual tolerance and beneficiary interactions is defined as community. The species may be plant, animal or microorganism.

Characteristics

•• Biodiversity 1. Species richness 2. Relative abundance •• Dominant vegetation •• Stability/disturbance •• Succession

Population

A population is a summation of all the organisms of the same group or species, which live in a particular geographical area, and have the capability of interbreeding.

Population Dynamic It is the change in the number of individuals in a population or the vital rates of a population over time. It is the key to •• Examine the response of species to ecosystem manipulation, •• Analyze the endangered species •• Understand ecosystem dynamics and ecology

Theories of Population Dynamics

•• Exponential population growth is when the birth rate is constant over a period of time and isn’t limited by food or disease. A species growing exponentially would also affect other species directly due to competition for food and other resources. Exponential growth can be affected by modern medicine, quality and quantity of food and the overall standard of living for a species. (a) Exponential (unrestricted) growth The growth rate of the population accelerates

Population size

generally extend over a large part of the earth surface and usually characterized by a distinct type of vegetation. The main terrestrial biomes are: •• Tundra •• Coniferous forests/Temperate evergreen forests •• Temperate Broadlead deciduous forests •• Mediterranean Shrublands •• Grasslands •• Deserts •• Tropical deciduous forests •• Tropical scurubs/Thornwoods •• Tropical rain forests •• F.E elements and V.E shelford (1939) introduced the biome concept. •• Ecotone: boundary between two biomes. •• Bailey (1976) developed the concept of ecoregion. •• Ecoregions: Ecosystems based on a continuous geographical or landscape area across which the interactions of climate, soil and topography are sufficiently uniform to permit the development of similar types of vegetation.

ECOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT

Time

•• Logistic growth describes a sustainable growth of populations which slows down after a period of significant development as the availability of living space and resources, along with other factors, limits its growing ability. The logistics growth model is a more reliable measure of population growth than the exponential model because it accounts for the real-world factors that inhibit population growth.

The term Biodiversity was popularized by the sociologist- Edward Wilson.

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ECOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT

Population size

(b) Logistic (restricted) growth Carrying capacity of environment

The rate slows down

The rate accelerates

Organism

Point of maximum growth

Time

The genetic diversity helps the population to adapt changing environment. If a population has more diversity it can adapt better to the changed environmental conditions. The low diversity leads to uniformity. The genetic variability is therefore, considered to be the raw material for specialisation.

2. Species Diversity

The measurement of species diversity is its richness, i.e. the number of species per unit area. The greater is the species richness the more will be the species diversity. In nature, the number and kind of species, as well as the number of individual per species, vary, and this leads to greater diversity.

3. Ecological diversity

An organism, is any form of contiguous living system such as an animal, plant or bacterium with cell as its basic units. All organism have developed with some degree of response to stimuli, reproduction, growth and development and homeostasis. As the basic unit of every organism is cell it can be categorized into both uni cellular and multi cellular depending upon the no. of cells present in the organism. Mostly the unicellular organisms are microscopic in nature.

Biodiversity

Biodiversity means diversity or heterogeneity at all levels of biological organization, i.e. from macromolecules of the cells to the Biomass. The important levels of biodiversity are 1. Genetic diversity, 2. Species diversity, 3. Ecological diversity

1. Genetic Diversity

It is the diversity at genetic level, or at subspecies level, i.e. below species level, in a single species.

It is the diversity at community level. It can be of 3-types: Alpha (α) diversity: It is the diversity of organisms within the same community or habitat. Beta (b) diversity: It is the diversity between communities or different habitats. Higher the heterogeneity in the altitude, Humidity and Temperature of a region, the greater will be the dissimilarity between communities, and higher will be the β diversity. Gamma (γ) diversity: It is the diversity of organisms over the entire geographical area, covering several ecosystems or habitats and various trophic levels and food webs. Such diversity is most stable and productive.

Causes of Loss of Biodiversity

The accelerated rate of species-extinction is largely due to human activities. There are 4-major causes, called ‘The Evil Quartet’, for the loss of biodiversity – 1. Habitat loss and fragmentation 2. Overexploitation 3. Invasion of Alien or exotic species 4. Co-extinctions

Biodiversity Conservation

In-situ conservation

National Parks and Sanctuaries Terrestrial

Biosphere reserves

Ex-situ conservation

Sacred lakes and forests Marine

Zoos, Botanical Gardens, Arboreta and Aquaria

Seed Bank/ Gene bank (Cryopreservation)

Sacred groves

The first national park of the world, Yellow stone, in U.S.A., was founded in 1872 and India's first national park established in 1936 as Jim Corbett National Park.

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ECOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT

The Conservation of biodiversity can be in situ (on site) or ex situ (off site)–

In Situ Conservation

In such conservation the endangered species are protected in their natural habitat with entire ecosystem. The conservationists, on global basis, have identified certain Biodiversity Hot Spots. The 3-biodiversity hot spots of India, that cover rich-biodiversity regions, are 1. Western Ghat 2. Himalaya 3. Indo-Burma The in situ conservation in India, consists of 15–Biosphere reserves, 90-National Parks, more than 450 sanctuaries and several Sacred Groves or the tracts of forests.

National Parks They are reserved for the betterment of wild life, both fauna and flora. In national parks private ownership is not allowed. The grazing, cultivation, forestry etc. is also not permitted.

Sanctuaries

Biosphere Reserves

In sanctuaries the protection is given to fauna only. The activity like harvesting of timber, collection of forest products and private ownership rights are permitted so long as they do not interfere with the well being of the animals. The important wildlife sanctuaries are Chilka wildlife sanctuary (Odisha), Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary (Rajasthan),

They represent natural biomes which contain unique biological communities. They include land as well as coastal environment. (i) Core (natural) zone – It is inner most zone (ii) Buffer zone – In this zone limited human activity is allowed for research and education purposes. (iii) Transition (manipulation) zone – It is the outermost zone of biosphere reserve in which large number of human activities are permitted,

Ex situ conservation In such type of conservation the threatened animals and plants are taken out of their natural habitat and are protected in special parks or areas like, Zoological parks, Wild life safari parks and Botanical gardens, etc. The ex situ conservation also includes Cryopreservation.

The Sacred Groves

These are found in Khasi and Jaintia hills (Meghalaya), Aravalli hills (Rajasthan), Western ghats (Karnataka and Maharashtra) and Sarguja, Chanda and Bastar areas of Madhya Pradesh.

ENDANGERED SPECIES IN INDIA

Birds

White-bellied heron Great Indian bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps) Forest owlet (Athene blewitti) Baer’s pochard (Aythya baeri) Spoon-billed sandpiper (Eurynorhynchus pygmeus) Siberian crane (Grus leucogeranus) White-rumped vulture (Gyps bengalensis) Indian vulture (Gyps indicus) Slender-billed vulture (Gyps tenuirostris) Bengal florican (Houbaropsis bengalensis) Himalayan quail (Ophrysia superciliosa) Jerdon’s courser (Rhinoptilus bitorquatus) Pink-headed duck (Rhodonessa caryophyllacea) Red-headed vulture (Sarcogyps calvus) Sociable lapwing (Vanellus gregarius) Bugun liocichla (Liocichla bugunorum)

Cryopreservation is the process of freezing biological material at extreme temperature, most common –196ºC in liquid (N2).

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ECOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT Fish

Knifetooth sawfish (Anoxypristis cuspidata) Pondicherry shark (Carcharhinus hemiodon) Ganges shark (Glyphis gangeticus) Deccan labeo (Labeo potail) Largetooth sawfish (Pristis microdon) Longcomb sawfish (Pristis zijsron) Humpback mahseer

Reptiles and Northern river terrapin (Batagur baska) Amphibians Red-crowned roofed turtle (Batagur kachuga) Hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) Ghats wart frog (Fejervarya murthii) Gundia Indian frog (Indirana gundia) Toad-skinned frog (Indirana phrynoderma) Charles Darwin’s frog (Ingerana charlesdarwini) Rao’s torrent frog (Micrixalus kottigeharensis) Amboli bush frog (Pseudophilautus amboli) White-spotted bush frog (Raorchestes chalazodes) Griet bush frog (Raorchestes griet) Munnar bush frog (Raorchestes munnarensis) Ponmudi bush frog (Raorchestes ponmudi) Sacred Grove bush frog (Raorchestes sanctisilvaticus) Shillong bubble-nest frog (Raorchestes shillongensis) Resplendent shrubfrog (Raorchestes resplendens) Anaimalai flying frog (Rhacophorus pseudomalabaricus) Patinghe Indian gecko (Geckoella jeyporensis)

Mammals

Coral

Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) Namdapha flying squirrel (Biswamoyopterus biswasi) Himalayan wolf (Canis himalayensis) Andaman Shrew (Crocidura andamanensis) Jenkins’ shrew (Crocidura jenkinsi) Nicobar shrew (Crocidura nicobarica) Northern Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis lasiotis) Kondana soft-furred rat (Millardia kondana) Pygmy hog (Porcula salvania) Indian Javan rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus inermis) Malabar large-spotted civet (Viverra civettina) Elvira rat (Cremnomys elvira) Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) Kashmir stag (Cervus canadensis hanglu) Fire corals (Millepora boschmai) Spiders Rameshwaram Ornamental or Parachute Spider (Poecilotheria hanumavilasumica) Gooty Tarantula, Metallic Tarantula or (Poecilotheria metallica)

NATIONAL PARKS IN INDIA

Name Bandipur National Park (1974)

State Karnataka

Notability Chital, grey langurs, Indian giant squirrel, gaur, leopard, sambar deer, Indian elephants, honey buzzard, red-headed vulture and other animals.

Biodiversified hotspots are geographic area that contain high levels of species diversity but are threatened with extinction.

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Karnataka Bannerghatta National Park (Bannerghatta Biological Park) (1974) Betla National Park Jharkhand (1986) Bhitarkanika Odisha National Park (1988)

Buxa Tiger Reserve West Bengal (1992) Dachigam National J&K Park (1981) Dudhwa National U.P Park (1977) Gir Forest National Gujarat Park (1965) Great Himalayan Himachal National Park (1984) Pradesh Tamil Nadu Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park (1980) Indravati National Chhattisgarh Park (1981) Jaldapara National West Bengal Park (2012) Jim Corbett National Uttarakhand Park (1936) Kanha National Park Madhya (1955) Pradesh Kaziranga National Assam Park (1905) Keibul Lamjao Manipur National Park (1977) Keoladeo National Rajasthan Park (1981) Manas National Park Assam (1990) Mandla Plant Fossils Madhya National Park (1983) Pradesh Marine National Park, Gujarat Gulf of Kutch (1980) Namdapha National Arunachal Park (1974) Pradesh Nanda Devi National Uttarakhand Park (1982) Neora Valley National West Bengal Park (1986) Nokrek National Park Meghalaya (1986)

ECOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT White Tiger, Royal Bengal Tiger, Bear, other animals Tiger, Sloth Bear, Peacock, Elephant, Sambar deer, mouse deer and other animals. Mangroves, Saltwater crocodile, white crocodile, Indian python, black ibis, wild pigs, rhesus monkeys, chital and other animals Tiger Only area where Kashmir stag is found

Swamp deer, sambar deer, barking deer, spotted deer, hog deer, tiger, Indian rhinoceros, Asiatic lion UNESCO World Heritage Site

Green turtles and Olive Ridley turtles and whales. Wild Asian Buffalo, Tiger Reserve, Hill Mynas Indian one horned rhinoceros Tiger

Swamp Deer, Tigers

Indian rhinoceros, UNESCO World Heritage Site Only floating park in the world UNESCO World Heritage Site UNESCO World Heritage Site Plant Fossils National Park

70 species of sponges, Coral 52 species along with puffer fishes, sea horse and sting ray Snow Leopards, Clouded Leopards, Common Leopards and Tigers UNESCO World Heritage Site Clouded leopard, red panda and musk deer UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve

Dobson unit is measurement for the total amount of ozone in the atmosphere above a point on the earth's surface 1 Dobson unit equivalent to a layer of pure ozone 0.01 mm.

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ECOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT Periyar National Park Kerala (1982) Ranthambore Rajasthan National Park (1981) Sariska Tiger Reserve Rajasthan (1955) Simlipal National Odisha Park (1980) Sultanpur National Haryana Park (1989)

Tigers

Tigers, Leopards, Striped Hyenas, Sambar deer and Chital Tiger Tiger, Leopard, Asian elephant, Sambar, Barking deer, Gaur, Jungle cat, Wild boar, and other animals Siberian crane, greater flamingo, ruff, black-winged stilt, common teal, northern pintail, and yellow wagtail UNESCO World Heritage Site

Sundarbans National West Bengal Park (1984) Valley of Flowers Uttarakhand Flying squirrel, Himalayan black bear, red fox, National Park (1982) Himalayan weasel, Himalayan yellow-throated marten, and Himalayan goral

WILDLIFE SANCTUARIES

India has 515 animal sanctuaries referred to as wildlife sanctuaries category IV protected areas. Among these, the 48 tiger reserves are governed by Project Tiger, and are of special significance in the conservation of the tiger.

WILDLIFE SANCTUARIES IN INDIA

Name of the Sanctuary

Location

Major Species

Gir Wildlife Sanctuary Wild Ass Sanctuary Hingolgadh Sanctuary Marine Sanctuary

Sasan Gir, Junagadh, Amreli Little Rann of Kachchh Hingolgadh, Rajkot Gulf of Kachchh, Jamnagar

Lion, Leopard, Chausinga, Chital, Hyena, Sambar, Chinkara, Herpetofauna, Crocodiles and birds Wild Ass, Chinkara, Blue bull, Houbara bustard, Wolf, Waterfowls, Herpetofauna Chinkara, Blue bull, Wolf, Hyena, Fox, Birds, Herpetofauna Sponges, Corals, Jellyfish, Sea horse, Octopus,Oyster, Pearloyster, Starfish, Lobster, Dolphin, Dugong, waterfowls Elephant, Tiger, Leopard, Gaur, Cheetal

Simlipal Sactuary

Odisha

Kutch Desert Sanctuary Rampara Sanctuary Ghana Bird Sanctuary Panchmarhi Dandeli Sanctuary

Great Rann of Kachchh Rampara, Rajkot

Madhya Pradesh Karnataka

Kutch Bustard Sanctuary

Near Naliya, Kachchh

Rajasthan

Chinkara, Hyena, Fox, Flamingo, Pelicans & other waterfowls, Herpetofauna Blue bull, Chinkara, Wolf, Fox, Jackal, Birds, Herpetofauna Water Bird, Black-buck, Cheetal, Sambar Tiger, Panther, Sambhar, Nilgai, Baskeng, Deer Tiger, Panther, Elephant, Cheetal, Sanbhar, Wild Boar Great Indian Bustard, Lesser Florican, Houbara bustard, Chinkara, Blue bull, Herpetofauna

Biosphere Reserves has three zones – core, buffer and transition.

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ECOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT BIOSPHERE RESERVES IN INDIA AREA-WISE

Name

State

Key Fauna

Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve

Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka

Nilgiri tahr, lion-tailed macaque

Gulf of Mannar

Tamil Nadu

Dugong or sea cow

Sundarbans

West Bengal

Uttarakhand Nanda Devi National Park & Biosphere Reserve

Himalayan musk deer, mainland serow, Himalayan tahr

Nokrek

Red panda

Manas

Simlipal

Dihang-Dibang

Meghalaya Assam

Odisha

Arunachal Pradesh

Pachmarhi Madhya Pradesh Biosphere Reserve

Madhya Pradesh, AchanakmarChhattisgarh Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve Great Rann of Kutch Gujarat Cold Desert

Royal Bengal tiger

Golden langur, red panda

Gaur, Royal Bengal tiger, elephant

Mishmi takin, red goral, musk deer Giant squirrel, flying squirrel

Four horned antelope (Tetracerus quadricornis), Indian wild dog (Cuon alpinus), Saras crane (Grus antigone), Asian white-backed vulture (Gyps bengalensis), Sacred grove bush frog (Philautus sanctisilvaticus) Indian wild ass

Himachal Pradesh Snow leopard

Khangchendzonga Sikkim

Snow leopard, red panda

Great Nicobar Andaman and Biosphere Reserve Nicobar Islands

Saltwater crocodile

AgasthyamalI Kerala, Tamil Biosphere Reserve Nadu Dibru-Saikhowa

Assam

Panna

Madhya Pradesh

Seshachalam Hills Andhra Pradesh

Nilgiri tahr, elephants

Golden langur

Yellow-throated bulbul

Tiger, chital, chinkara, sambhar and sloth bear

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

Deforestation It is the conversion of forest to another land use or the long-term reduction of the tree canopy cover. This includes conversion of natural forest to tree plantations, agriculture, pasture, water reservoirs and urban areas but excludes timber production areas managed to ensure the forest regenerates after logging. Material that get into the stratosphere can stay there for long time, such the case for the ozone-destroying chemicals called CFCs (Chlorofluorocarbon).

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ECOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT Causes Subsistence farming (48%) Commercial agriculture (32%) Logging (14%) Fuel wood removals (5%)

Impact • Physical and ecological processes, (e.g. disruption of hydrological regimes and loss of watershed protection). • Soil and water resources, (e.g. soil erosion, loss of nutrients and increase in sediment loads in river systems)on local and global climate, e.g. albedo changes, changes in surface energy budget, and alteration of biogeochemical cycles (such as the global carbon cycle) leading to an increase in atmospheric CO2 and other trace gases, affecting the climate and causing global temperature change, Diversity and abundance of terrestrial species through destruction and fragmentation of habitats and the “edge effects”, decreasing ecological complexity.

Desertification

The U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) defines it as “land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities.” This process is the result of a long-term failure to balance human demand for ecosystem services and the amount the ecosystem can supply. The stress mounts on dry land ecosystems for providing services related to basic human existence. The situation worsens when combined with human factors (such as population pressure and land use patterns) and climatic factors (such as droughts). Causes Overgrazing

Effects Soil becomes less usable

Measures Afforestation and planting of soil binding grasses can check soil erosion, floods and water logging

Farming of Average Land Vegetation is lacking Crop rotation and mixed cropping imor damaged prove the fertility. Destruction of Plants in Causes Famine Artificial bunds or covering the area with Dry Regions vegetation. Incorrect Irrigation in Food Loss Salinity of the soil can be checked by Arid Regions Causes a improved drainage Build-up of Salt in the Soil

Ozone Layer Depletion: Causes and Effects

Chlorofluorocarbons or associated hydrocarbons start dissociating in presence of UV rays which release chlorine, which is catalyst of destroying ozone. Ozone Layer Depletion: A process wherein oxygen molecules are photolyed splitting into two atoms, weakening the ozone as solar UV enters accentuating conversion

Effects on Human Health: Causes nonmelanoma skin cancer, malignant melanoma development and clouding of eyes

Effects on Marine Ecosystem: Phytoplankton lead aquatic food webs which are effected by amount of sunlight received

Effects on Biogeochemical Cycles: Increased UV radiation affects terrestrial and aquatic biogeochemical cycles

Effects on Materials: Synthetic polymers and naturally occurring biopolymers are affected by UV rays

Effects on Plants: amount of UVB in presentday sunlight affecting the plant growth directly

Delhi government ran odd even plan in two phases — 1st to 15th January 2016 and 2nd phase from 15th to 30th April 2016 to combat pollution in Delhi.

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ECOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION Pollution Types and Measures of their Control Pollution: The process which contaminates natural environment that resulting in adverse change.

Air Pollution: Photochemical smog, Acid rain

Primary Pollutants enter the atmosphere directly from various sources (CO, HCs, SO2, NO)

Secondary Pollutant formed during chemical reaction between primary pollutant and other atmospheric constitution (water vapour)

Anthropogenic Sources: Combustion from power plant, vehicles, household fuel etc. Pollution control devices: •• Vapour recovery systems •• Phytoremediation •• Sewage /industrial waste treatment •• Scrubber (Baffle spray, Cyclonic spray, Ejector venture, mechanically aided Spray tower) •• Bag houses

Light pollution: It is caused by light trespass, over- illumination and astronomical interference How to Control? •• recycling

•• reusing

•• Waste minimization

•• mitigating

•• preventing

•• compost

Littering: It is caused by man-made objects, piling onto public and private properties.

Noise pollution: It is created by vehicles, aircraft, sonar, underground leakage etc.

Visual pollution: It is caused by overhead power line, motorway billboard, municipal solid waste, debris, scarred landforms.

Water Pollution: It is caused by waste disposal to the water bodies (sewage, commercial by-products, surface runoff).

Radioactive contamination: It is caused by nuclear power generation and nuclear weapons research, manufacture and deployment.

Plastic pollution: It is caused by plastic products in the environment, adversely affects wildlife, wildlife habitat, or humans.

Thermal pollution: It is caused by temperature change in natural water bodies (using water as a coolant).

Soil Pollution: It is caused by Chemical spill or underground leakage (hydrocarbons, heavy metals, MTBE, pesticides).

The pollutants may be inorganic, biological or radiological in nature. (i) Bio-degradable pollutants are domestic wastes which are rapidly decomposed by micro-organisms. (ii) Non-biodegradable pollutants include chemicals, mercuric salts, lead compounds, pesticides, etc. (iii) Natural pollution is caused by radioactive substances, volcanic eruptions, forests and mines fires, floods, etc. According to UNICEF, more than 3000 children die everyday globally due to consumption of contaminated drinking water.

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ECOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT (iv) Artificial pollution is caused by industries, thermal plants, automobile, exhausts, sewage, etc. Environment: The conditions existing around animal or human life. Atmosphere : The gaseous envelop surrounding the earth. It has been classified into following regions:(i) Stratosphere: The layer of the earth’s atmosphere above the troposphere and below the mesosphere. (ii) Troposphere: The lowest region of the atmosphere extending from earth’s surface to the lower boundary of the stratosphere. In this region, human beings along with other organisms live. It contains water vapour and is greatly affected by air pollution. Note: The other two layers are Thermosphere and Mesosphere. Material that get into the stratosphere can stay there for long time, such is the case for the ozone - destroying chemicals called CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons).

Air Pollution • •

The WHO defines air pollution as, "the presence of materials in the air in such a concentration which are harmful to man and his environment." Infact, are pollution is the addition of foreign particles, gas and other pollutants into the atmosphere which have an adverse effect on human beings, animals, vegetation, buildings, etc. Air Pollutants

Carbon monoxide

Sulphur dioxide

Nitrogen Oxides

Smoke and dust

Air pollutants: The major air pollutants are (i) Carbon monoxide (CO): It is produced by incomplete combustion of gasoline in motor vehicles, wood, coal, incineration and forest fires. It is deadly poisonous gas. It induces headache, visual difficulty, coma and death. It blocks the normal transport of oxygen from the lungs to other parts of the body. (ii) Sulphur dioxide (SO2): It is produced by petrol combustion, coal combustion, petrol refining and smelting operations.

It hinders the movement of air in and out of lungs. It is particularly poisonous to trees causing chlorosis and dwarfing. In presence of air it is oxidised which is also irritant. 2SO2 + O2 (air) → 2SO3 In presence of moisture it is converted into highly corrosive sulphuric acid. SO3 + H2O (moisture) → H2SO4 It attacks marble, limestone, vegetation, paper and textiles and injurious to human beings. (iii) Oxides of nitrogen: Source - combustion of coal, gasoline, natural gas, petroleum refining, chemical plants, manufacturing explosives and fertilizers, tobacco smoke. Breathing NO2 causes chlorosis to plants and chronic lung conditions leading to death. It reacts with moisture to form acids. (iv) Smoke, dust: Sources: cement works, iron and steel works, gas works, power generating stations. Smog: It is a mixture of smoke and fog in suspended droplet form. It is of two types: (a) London smog or classical smog: It is coal smoke plus fog. The fog part is mainly SO2 and SO3. It has sulphuric acid aerosol. It causes bronchial irritation and acid rain. (b) Photochemical smog or Los Angeles smog: The oxidised hydrocarbons and ozone in presence of humidity cause photochemical smog. Hydrocarbons + O2, NO2, NO, O, O3 → Peroxides, formaldehyde, peroxyacetylnitrate (PAN), acrolein etc. It is oxidising in nature and causes irritation to eyes, lungs, nose, asthmatic attack and damage plants. • Acid rain: The oxides of C, N and S present in the atmosphere, dissolve in water and produce acids and lower the pH of water below 5.5. The acids are toxic to vegetation, react with marble and damage buildings. Acids corrode water pipes and produce salts with heavy metals ions viz Cu, Pb, Hg and Al toxic in nature.

Pollen and aeroallergan in high levels also leads to rising temperature. This causes asthma which affects 300 millions people worldwide.

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ECOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT

Air Pollution is a major factor in many of the world's leading causes of death Global burden of disease Burden attributable to motorized road transport Rank Cause Deaths DALYs Deaths DALYs 1 Ischemic heart disease 7,029,270 129,795,464 90,639 1,909,563 2 Stroke 5,874,181 102,238,999 58,827 1,148,699 3 COPD 2,899,941 76,778,819 17,266 346,376 4 Lower respiratory 2,814,379 115,227,062 5,670 489,540 infections 5 Lung cancer 1,527,102 32,405,411 11,395 232,646 6 HIV/AIDS 1,465,369 81,549,177 --7 Diarrheal disease 1,445,798 89,523,909 --8 Road injury 1,328,536 75,487,102 1,328,536 75,487,104 9 Diabetes Mellitus 1,281,345 46,857,136 --10 Tuberculosis 1,195,990, 49,399,351 --All other causes 24,207,527 1,682,995,639 --Total 52,769,676 2,482,258,070 1,512,333 79,613,928 China

United States India

Russia Japan

Germany

Iran South Korea Canada United Kingdom Saudi Arabia South Africa Mexico Indonesia Brazil

Air pollution can also pose a significant cost on GDP Deaths CO2 emissions (million tons) 8287 1,233,890 2009

5433

627,426

1741 1171 745

94,558 64,196 41,582

572 568 499 494 464 460 444

434 420

Greenhouse Effect The retention of heat by the earth and atmosphere from the sun and its prevention to escape into the outer space is known as greenhouse effect. Global warming is average increase in the temperature of earth due to increase in concentration of greenhouse gases.

103,027

32,288 23,036 7,171 23,373 8,550 3,208 20,496

63,826 7,582

%GDP 9.7%-13.2% 3.2%-4.6%

5.5%-7.5% 6.9%-9.8% 4.9%-7.7%

5.1%-7.3%

4.7%-6.2% 4.6%-7.1% 2.0%-3.2% 3.7%-5.5% 3.4%-4.4% 0.6%-1.0% 1.9%-2.5% 2.8%-3.9% 0.3%-0.7%

Consequences of global warming: (i) Rise in sea level due to increased rate of melting of glaciers and floods. (ii) Increase in infectious diseases like malaria, dengue, etc. Ozone layer and its depletion The ozone layer, existing between 20 to 35 km above the earth’s surface, shield

To address climate change, countries adopted the Paris Agreement at the COP 21 in Paris on 12 December 2015. In this agreement, all countries agreed to work to limit global temperature rise to well below 2 degree celsius, and given the grave risk, to strive for 1.5 degrees celsius.

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ECOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT the Earth from the harmful U.V. radiations from the Sun. The U.V. radiations cause skin cancer, cataract of eye, and harm to vegetation. Depletion of ozone is caused by oxides of nitrogen. N2 + hv → N + N reactive nitric oxide The presence of chlorofluorocarbons also increase the decomposition of O3. Control of air pollution It can be controlled by 1. Dissolving HCl, HF in water and, in alkaline solution. 2. Adsorbing gas and liquid molecules over activated charcoal and silica gel. 3. Chemical reactions. 4. Use of precipitators to settle charge particles. 5. Use of settling chambers under the action of gravity. 6. Use of natural gas in place of diesel, petrol, etc.

Water Pollution

The contamination of water by foreign substances which would constitute a health hazard and make it harmful for all purposes (domestic, industrial or agriculture, etc.) is known as water pollution. The polluted water may have offensive odour, bad taste, unpleasant colour, murky oily, etc. Sources of water pollution (a) Domestic sewage: Discharges from kitchens, baths, lavatories, etc. (b) Industrial waters: Wastes from manufacturing processes which includes acids, alkalines, pesticides, insecticides, metals like copper, zinc, lead, mercury, fungicides, etc. (c) Oil: From oil spills or washings of automobiles. (d) Atomic explosion and processing of radioactive materials. (e) Suspended particles (organic or inorganic) viruses, bacterias, algae, protozoa, etc.

(f) Wastes from fertilizer plants such as phosphates, nitrates ammonia, etc. (g) Clay: Ores, minerals, fine particles of soil. Aerobic and anaerobic oxidation The oxidation of organic compounds present in sewage in presence of good amount of dissolved or free oxygen (approx. 8.5 ml/l) by aerobic bacterials is called aerobic oxidation. When dissolved or free oxygen is below a certain value the sewage is called stale. Anaerobic bacterias bring out putrefaction producing H2S, NH3, CH4, (NH4)2S, etc. This type of oxidation is called anaerobic oxidation. Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) It is defined as the amount of free oxygen required for biological oxidation of the organic matter by aerobic conditions at 20°C for a period of five days. Its unit is mg/l or ppm. An average sewage has BOD of 100 to 150 mg/l. Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) It is a measure of all types of oxidisable impurities present in the sewage. COD values are higher than BOD values.

Soil Pollution

The addition of substances in an indefinite proportion changing the productivity of the soil is known as soil or land pollution. Sources of soil pollution (i) Agricultural pollutants: Chemicals like pesticides, fertilizers, bacteriacides, fumigants, insecticides, herbicides, fungicides. (ii) Domestic refuge and industrial wastes. (iii) Radioactive wastes from research centres, and hospitals. (iv) Soil conditioners containing toxic metals like Hg, Pb, As, Cd, etc. (v) Farm wastes from poultries, dairies and piggery farms. (vi) Improper disposal of human and animal excreta. (vii) Pollutants present in air from chemical works.

The Red list of 2012 was released on 19 July 2012 at Rio +20 Earth Summit, nearly 2000 species were added, with 4 species to the extinct list, 2 to the rediscovered list.

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ECOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT

Greenhouse Effect and Global Warming Greenhouse effect is the phenomenon of heating of atmosphere as a result of short wave radiations transmitted inward through earth atmosphere owing to its absorption by atmospheric carbon dioxide, water vapour, methane, and other gases. It’s a natural process that keeps the temperature suitable for sustenance of life. But the matter of concern is enhanced greenhouse effect which refers to intensification of the effect due to increase in the toxic gaseous envelop of these gases and ultimately lead to the rise of temperature. The process of rise in temperature is known as Global Warming. Greenhouse gas emission in the atmosphere absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range. The primary green house gases in Earth’s atmosphere are water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone.

WHO IS DOING WHAT FOR CLIMATE?

GHG emission Country

24%

15.5%

III

10.8%

6.4%

4.9%

2.9%

VII

2.1%

VIII

1.6%

1.5%

Source: TOI

CHINA : Envisages a peak in emissions by around 2030, and reducing carbon intensity (CO2 emitted per unit of GDP) by 60-65% by 2030 compared with 2005 levels. The world’s most populous nation will boost the share of nonfossil fuel in primary energy consumption from 11.2% in 2014 to 20%, and boost the volume of CO2-absorbing forest by about 4.5 billion cubic metres.

UNITED STATES : Has pledged a 26-28% reduction in emissions from 2005 levels by 2025. Power plants are to cut carbon dioxide pollution by 32% by 2030.

EUROPEAN UNION : The 28-member bloc tends to cut emissions by at least 40% by 2030 over 1990 levels, and has set 27% targets for renewable energy supply and efficiency gains. INDIA : Plans to reduce carbon intensity by 35% by 2030 from 2005 levels, and generate 40% of its electricity from renewable sources by the same date.

RUSSIA : Has mooted cutting emissions by 25-30% by 2030 from 1990 levels, conditional on the pledges of other “major emitters”.

JAPAN : Has pledged a 26% reduction in emissions from 2013 levels by 2030, with nuclear energy – offline since the 2011 Fukushima disaster – providing 20-22% of electricity by then. Renewable electricity production, including hydro power, would be expanded to a 22-24% share, from 11% in 2014. BRAZIL : Will cut emissions by 37% by 2025 from 2005 and 43% by 2030.

IRAN : Iran has made an unconditional pledge to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions in 2030 by four per cent compared with a “business as usual” secnario. In addition, Tehran said it would reduce emissions by another 8% if it receives financial and technology support, and if what it describes as : unjust sanctions where lifted. INDONESIA : A 29% cut in emissions by 2030 compared with what the level would have been with our any action. With financial and other help, this could be raised to 41%.

CANADA : Will seek to cut emissions by 30% from the 2005 levels by 2030. Canada has done its bit by cutting carbon emission and putting a curb on pollution in major cities in the country.

India's Western Ghats and Eastern Himalayas are amongst the 32 biodiversity hotspots on Earth.

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ECOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT Carbon Budget

A carbon budget is the maximum amount of carbon that can be released into the atmosphere while

keeping a reasonable chance of staying below a given temperature rise. The concept of carbon budget was first time adopted by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its 2013 report. In its most recent synthesis report, published in early 2014 states that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) laid out estimates of how much CO2 we can emit and still keep global average temperature rise to no more than 1.5C, 2C or 3C above pre-industrial levels. The first four carbon budgets, leading to year 2027, have been set in law. The UK is currently in the second carbon budget period (2013-17). Meeting the fourth carbon budget (2023-27) will require that emissions be reduced by 50% on 1990 levels in 2025. Carbon Sinks are increasing with time: As Carbon dioxide is increasing day by day in the atmosphere the three major sink (atmosphere, ocean and land) are absorbing more carbon. The carbon sink are increasing alarmingly due to deforestation, fossil fuel emission and industrialization. Although we tend to focus on growing atmospheric carbon concentrations, ocean acidification is also hugely worrying. As the world continues to warm the future function of ocean and land sinks may come under strain.

Global Share of CO2 The largest producers of CO2 emissions worldwide in 2015, based on their share of global CO2 emissions. In recent years, there has been a tremendous surge in carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the atmosphere. These atmospheric carbon dioxide rises are believed to be the result of the earth’s industrialization. China was the biggest emitter of carbon dioxide; the country accounted for around 28.03 percent of global CO2 emissions that year. In 2014 five largest CO2 producers includes United States of America, Brazil, Russia India and China out of which China is at the top position in carbon dioxide emission. Today, there are a number of measures to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. These measures include reforestation, the introduction of a price for carbon, a reduction of livestock and a decreased use of fossil fuels in energy generation.

INDIA'S INITIATIVES TOWARDS ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

•• •• •• •• •• ••

•• ••

National Solar Mission: The NAPCC (National Action Plan for Climate Change) aims to promote the development and use of solar energy for power generation and other uses with the ultimate objective of making solar competitive with fossil-based energy options. National Water Mission: With water scarcity projected to worsen as a result of climate change, the plan set a goal of a 20% improvement in water use efficiency through pricing and other measures. National Mission on Sustainable Habitat: To promote energy efficiency as a core component of urban planning. National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency: The government initiative will address national problems of inefficient energy use. National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem: The plan aims to conserve biodiversity, forest cover, and other ecological values in the Himalayan region, where glaciers that are a major source of India’s water supply are projected to recede as a result of global warming. National Mission for a “green India”: Goals include the afforestation of 6 million hectares of degraded forest lands and expanding forest cover from 23% to 33% of India’s territory. National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture: The plan aims to support climate adapation in agriculture through the development of climate-resilient crops, expansion of weather insurance mechanisms,and agricultural practices. National Mission on Strategic knowledge for Climate Change: To gain better understanding of climate science, impacts and challenges, the plan envisions a new Climate Science Research Fund, improved climate modeling, and increased international collaboration.

International conventions for climate change entered into force on 21 March 1994.

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ECOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT

INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS FOR CLIMATE CHANGE Convention

Place

Crucial documents

Washington, International Whaling Commission D.C., United States. (1946)

•• To keep under review and revise as necessary the measures laid down in the Schedule to the Convention which govern the conduct of whaling throughout the world.

Ramsar Convention on Wetland (1971)

Ramsar, Iran

Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (1976)

Bad Godesberg, Germany

•• Halt the worldwide loss of wetlands and •• To conserve, use and manage, those that remain. •• This requires international cooperation, policy making, capacity building and technology transfer.

Washington, Convention on International Trade in U.S.A. Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (1963)

International Tropical Geneva Timber Organization (1983) Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (1987)

Helsinki, Finland

•• Help in conservation of species

•• It is an intergovernmental treaty •• Should promote, cooperate in and support research relating to migratory species •• Endeavour to provide immediate protection for migratory species •• Conservation and management of migratory species included in Appendix II •• Provide an effective framework for cooperation between tropical timber producers and consumers •• To encourage the development of national policies aimed at sustainable utilization •• Conservation of tropical forests and their genetic resources •• Play role in controlling the ozone depletion

Basel Convention on Basel, the Control of Trans Switzerland boundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal (1989)

•• To reduce hazardous waste generation and promote environmental sound management system for their disposal. •• Restrict trans boundary movement of such wastes and •• Provide regulatory system applying to cases where such movement is allowable.

Convention on Biological Diversity (1993)

•• The conservation of biological diversity •• The sustainable use of the components of biological diversity •• The fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources

United nation Rio de Conference on Janeiro, environment and Brazil Development or Earth Summit (1992)

•• Draft Earth Charter •• Convention on climate change and Biological Diversity •• Convention on Forest •• Agenda 21

The existing Tiger Reserves represent around one-third of India's high density forest area.

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ECOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1994)

Kyoto, Japan

Global tiger forum (1994)

New Delhi, India

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (1994) United Nations Forum on Forests (2000)

Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (2001) Rotterdam Convention (2004)

KYOTO Protocol

Stockholm, Sweden Rotterdam, Netherlands

•• Gather and share information on greenhouse gas emissions, national policies and best practices •• Launch national strategies for addressing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to expected impacts, including the provision of financial and technological support to developing countries •• Cooperate in preparing for adaptation to the impacts of climate change •• Set up to embark on a worldwide campaign to save the wild tiger •• Promotes a global response to desertification, land degradation and drought

•• Implementation of agreements and foster a common understanding on sustainable forest management; •• To provide policy development and dialogue among Governments and international organizations, •• To enhance cooperation •• To foster international cooperation and •• To monitor, assess and report on progress of the above functions and objectives •• Tostrengthenpoliticalcommitmenttothemanagement, conservation and sustainable development. •• It develops a risk management evaluation •• Determines whether the substance fulfills POP screening. •• Manage and dispose of POPs wastes in an environmentally sound manner •• Convention promotes open exchange of information •• Calls on exporters of hazardous chemicals to use proper labeling •• Inform purchasers of any known restrictions or bans

Kyoto Protocol was an agreement negotiated by many countries in December 1997 and came into force with Russia's ratification on February 16, 2005. The reason for the lengthy timespan between the terms of agreement being settled upon and the protocol being engaged was due to terms of Kyoto requiring at least 55 parties to ratify the agreement and for the total of those parties emission to be at least 55% of global production of greenhouse gases. The protocol was developed under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. UNFCCC Participating countries that have ratified (which is an important term that I'll clearly)

the Kyoto Protocol have committed to cut emissions of not only carbon dioxide, but of also other greenhouse gases, being: Methane (CH4) Nitrous oxide (N2O) Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) Perfluorocarbons (PFCs) Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) If participant countries continue with emissions above the targets, then they are required to engage in emissions trading; i.e. buying “credits” from other participant countries who are able to exceed their reduction targets in order to offset. The goals of Kyoto were to see participants collectively reducing emissions of greenhouse gases by 5.2% below the emission levels of 1990 by 2012.

Hemis National Park in Jammu and Kashmir is the largest national park in India.

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ECOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT

While the 5.2% figure is a collective one, individual countries were assigned higher or lower targets and some countries were permitted increases. For Example, the USA was expected to reduce emissions by 7%. India and China, which have ratified the Kyoto protocol, are not obligated to reduce greenhouse gas production at the moment as they are developing countries; i.e. they weren't seen as the main culprits for emissions during the period of industrialization thought to be the cause for the global warming of today. This is a little odd given that China is about to overtake the USA in emissions, but take into account the major differences in population and that much of the production in these countries is fuelled by demand from the West and influence from the West on their own culture. As a result of this loophole, the West has effectively outsourced much of its carbon emissions to China and India.

This phenomenon, whether intended or coincidental is a major hole in the Kyoto Protocol.

About National Air Quality Index

•• The national AQI is published for every month by CPCB along with a numerical value and a colour code which helps in comparing air pollution levels in cities. •• It is determined on the basis of concentration of 8 pollutants, including Particulate Matter (PM 2.5, PM 10), sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO) ozone (O3), ammonia (NH3) and lead (Pb). •• The colour categories are classified into 6 categories depending upon numerical value as Good (0-50), Satisfactory (51100), Moderately polluted (101-200), Poor (201-300), Very poor (301-400) and Severe (401-500).

ANIMAL WELFARE

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) It is a non-profitable American animal rights organization based in Norfolk, Virginia. Led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president, founded in 1980 with a slogan of “Animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, use for entertainment, or abuse in any other way.” It focuses its attention on the four areas in which the largest numbers of animals suffer the most intensely for the longest periods of time: on factory farms, in the clothing trade, in laboratories, and in the entertainment industry.

World Wide Fund for Nature

The organisation was conceived in Morges, Switzerland (29 April, 1961). It is an international non-governmental organization in nature. Works in the field related to biodiversity conservation, and the reduction of humanity’s footprint on the environment. It is the world’s largest conservation organization with the slogan of “For a Living Planet.” The method of its working involves Lobbying Research and Consultancy. Basically it’s a charitable trust.

WWF’s giant panda logo originated from a panda named Chi Chi. It has been designed by Sir Peter Scott from preliminary sketches made by Gerald Watterson. The main missions of WWF are as follows: •• conserving the world’s biological diversity •• ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable •• promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption. At present WWF’s current strategy of achieving its mission which is related to restoring populations of 36 species (species or species groups that are important for their ecosystem or to people, including elephants, tunas, whales, dolphins and porpoises), and ecological footprint in 6 areas (carbon emissions, cropland, grazing land, fishing, forestry and water).

Animal Welfare Board of India Functions

•• To keep the law in force in India for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals under constant study and to advise the government on the amendments to be undertaken in any such law from time to time.

Rann of Kutch, also known as the Indian Wild Ass sanctuary is the largest wildlife sanctuary in India.

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ECOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT •• To advise the Central Government on the making of rules under the Act with a view to preventing unnecessary pain or suffering to animals. •• To advise in the design of vehicles so as to lessen the burden on draught animals. •• To take all such steps as the Board may

think fit for amelioration of animals by encouraging, or providing for the construction of sheds, water troughs and the like and by providing for veterinary assistance to animals. •• To advise in the design of slaughter houses or its maintenance.

Project Tiger

Project Elephant (PE)

It is a Government of India initiative for conserving its national animal, the tiger. The project was launched in 1973. Since then the number of tiger reserve has been increased from 9 to 47 which accounts for 2.08% the total geographical area of our country. The area of tiger projects have been developed on core/buffer strategy. The core areas are legally termed as National Parks and the buffering areas are a mixture of forest and non-forest land managed as a multiple used area. The project aims at fostering an exclusive tiger agenda in the core areas of tiger reserves, with an inclusive people oriented agenda in the buffer

It is a Central Government initiative to provide financial and technical support to major elephant bearing states of India. It was launched in February 1992. It aims at protecting the elephants, their habitat and corridor. It also looks after the human elephant issues. It is implemented in 13 States / UTs, viz. Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Uttranchal, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

INDIA INITIATIVES TOWARDS ANIMAL PROTECTION

Project Rhino

It was joint venture of the Assam Forest Department and Wildlife Trust of India - International Fund for Animal Welfare (WTI-IFAW) and initiated in February 2006 with the trans location of a hand-raised rhino calf to Manas Wildlife Sanctuary. The projects aims at repopulating the one horn rhino by displacing them to Manas wild life sanctuary from Kaziranga National Park. The whole project is supported by Bodoland Territorial Council and the Assam Forest Department.

Project Crocodile Conservation

It was launched in 1975 in different States for protecting the endangered crocodile species like Gharial, Gavialis gangeticus; Mugger crocodile, Crocodylus palustris and Saltwater crocodile, Crocodylus were on the verge of extinction by the seventies. The funds and technical support for the project came from UNDP/ FAO through the Government of India.

SAVE

Saving Asia’s Vultures from Extinction (SAVE) is a consortium of regional and international organization to co-ordinate conservation, campaigning and fundraising activities to help the plight of south Asia’s vultures. The key strategies of vulture conservation SAVE is involved in a wide range of conservation activities across South Asia including: •• breeding vultures in captivity so that their offspring can be released back in to the wild when the environment is free from diclofenac •• an active advocacy programme targeting the vets and farmers using diclofenac •• legislation controlling the manufacture and sale of veterinary drugs •• in-situ conservation actions focused around the small but key remaining vulture populations in the wild •• an active research programme that underpins these activities and monitors their effectiveness

In India the first biosphere reserve, Nilgiri was declared in 1986.

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ECOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT

Project Dolphin Gangetic river dolphins is India’s national aquatic animal and is often known as the ‘Tiger of the Ganges’. This dolphin species is an indicator animal which represent healthy river ecosystem in a same position as a tiger in a forest. Their population is estimated to be less than 2,000 in the country. Some of the major threats are habitat fragmentation due to construction of dams and barrages, direct killing, indiscriminate fishing and pollution of rivers.

For conservation of dolphins, India’s first Dolphin Community Reserve established in West Bengal to protect the endangered mammal, Gangetic river dolphins. The reserve would be set up in the Hooghly River between Malda and Sundarbans as per provisions of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. State Forest department also has announced that it would also conduct a census to estimate the population of dolphins.

ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS

•• The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 •• The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Rules, 1975 •• The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act, 1977 •• The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Rules, 1978 •• The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 •• The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Rules, 1982 •• The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 •• The Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986 •• Hazardous Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 1989 •• Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemical Rules, 1989

•• •• •• ••

Hazards are the situations which occur on the earth surface and have the capability of impacting life, health, property and environment negatively. When they really start impacting they turned into disasters. Major types of natural disasters are:

loss of vegetation, loss of farmland, loss of livestock and loss of life due to famine or dehydration.

•• •• •• •• •• •• •• ••

The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 The Forest (Conservation) Rules, 1981 The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 The Wildlife (Transactions and Taxidermy) Rules, 1973 The Wildlife (Stock Declaration) Central Rules, 1973 The Wildlife (Protection) Licensing (Additional Matters for Consideration) Rules, 1983 The Wildlife (Protection) Rules, 1995 The Wildlife (Specified Plants - Conditions for Possession by Licensee) Rules, 1995 The Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991 The Public Liability Insurance Rules, 1991 The National Environment Tribunal Act, 1995 The National Environment Appellate Authority Act, 1997

DISASTER MANAGEMENT

Drought

It is a period of unexpected rainfall deficit which results in a shortage of water, which develops slowly affecting an extensive area. The associated impacts of drought are the lack of adequate drinking water,

Floods

These are the overflow of water from rivers and streams which submerge the connected dry lands caused due to excessive precipitation driven by atmospheric factors. They can be divided into two types, river flood and sea flood basing upon their place of occurrence.

Tiger census added 295 tigers and total estimated population reaches to 1706. In the latest census, Karnataka has surpassed Madhya Pradesh for the number of tigers.

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ECOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT 'Chennai' the capital city of Tamil Nadu along with its surrounding areas had faced one of the most dangerous and catastrophic flood situation during 1st and 2nd week of December 2015 as a result heavy down pour which had occurred from 28th Nov to 4th Dec 2015.

Tsunamis

These are the series of huge sea waves that strike a coast with the massive amount of water in the coastal areas as a result of underwater seismic disturbances.

Earthquakes

These are the vibration of the earth surface caused due to the convergence of two plates under the earth crust giving rise to physical damage such as demolition of buildings, rupture in the roads etc. Nepal earthquake killed over 9,000 people and injured more than 23,000 occurred on 25th April 2015 with intensity of 7.8 on Richter Scale.

Tornadoes

These are the localized gust of wind moving in a circular motion over the land surface. Generally they form funnel like structure and commonly termed as thunder storm as well. Numerous tornadoes scoured the landscape across central Indiana and into Northwest Ohio on August 24,2016

Hurricanes

These are the typical disturbance of the North Atlantic and East Pacific Oceans. In other ocean basins they are known as Typhoons, Tropical Cyclones, or Cyclones. These are the low pressure zones over the ocean surface which continues to intensify as long as they are moving on it. Once they hit the coast they start to weaken and result into heavy down pour with high velocity of wind.

Super Typhoon Meranti has become the strongest cyclone hurricane or typhoon, of 2016 and is one of three most powerful typhoons ever recorded. Cyclonic storm ‘Komen’ hit Bangladesh coast on 30th July 2015, bringing heavy rainfall to Gangetic West Bengal and Odisha. The wind speed was approximately 300km/h.

Landslide

It is a downward movement of rock and soil debris that becomes detached from the underlying slope. The material can move by falling, toppling, sliding, spreading and flowing. Twand district in Arunachal Pradesh faced a landslides triggered by heavy rains on April 24, 2016

Forest Fire

Human-made forest fires in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand have been regular and a historic feature. In 2016 Indian state of Uttarakhand caught forest fire in mainly pine forest in the slope of sub-Himalayan Region. The forest department estimated that 3,500 hectares (8,600 acres) of forest had been burnt. National Disaster Response Force was deployed for rescue operations in the Kumaon and Garhwal regions. MI17 helicopters were used to spray water to control forest fire. Reports were published in local media which variously blamed local people and timber mafia for the forest fires.

Managing a Disaster

•• Disaster management practices are the policies, initiative or operational activities, that pertains to various stages of disasters at all levels. •• These are applied management practices with systematic observation and analysis of the types of disaster, measures of improvement related to prevention, emergency response, recovery and mitigation and finally planning for and responding to disasters including both pre and post disaster activities.

In 2016, forest fire, have been noted in pine forest of Uttarakhand and according to forest department 3,500 hectares of forest had been burnt.

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ECOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT Integrated Disaster Management Recovery

Preparedness (Activities prior to a disaster) •• Preparedness plans •• Emergency exercises •• Training, •• Warning Sytem

Response (Activities during a disaster) •• Public Warning system •• Emergency Operations •• Search and rescue

Institutional Framework for Disaster Management The disaster management practice is an integrated effort of several institution who joins hand together to mitigate the problem and rehabilitate the victims in best possible way. The top down approach of the institutional framework for disaster management cell is as follows:

Disaster Management Structure

•• NDMA Apex Body with Prime Minister as Chairperson. •• National Executive Committee Secretaries of 14 Ministries and Chief of Integrated Defence Staff.

Centre Level

•• Central Ministries; National Disaster Management Authority, •• National Institute of Disaster Management •• National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).

State Level

•• SDMA headed by Chief Minister. •• State Executive Committee (SEC).

District Level

•• DDMA headed by District Magistrate. •• Interface between Govt. and Public.

Important Dates for Ecology & Environment

 2nd February: World Wetland Day

2016 Theme: Wetland for one future: Sustainable livelihood.

(Activities following a disaster) •• Temporary housing •• Claims processing •• Grants •• Medical care

(Activities that reduce effects of disasters) •• Building codes & Zoning •• Vulnerability analyses •• Public education

 22nd March: World Water Day

2016 Theme: Better Water, Better Jobs

 23rd March: World Meteorological Day

2016 Theme: Hotter, Drier, Weter – Face the Future.

 22nd April: World Earth Day

2016 Theme: Trees for the earth.

 5th June: World Environment Day

2016 Theme: Zero tolerance for the illegal trade in Wildlife

 8th June: World Ocean Day

2016 Theme: Healthy Ocean healthy Planet.

 29th July: International Tiger Day

 16th September: World Ozone Day

2016 Theme: Ozone and climate: Restored by a world united.

 3rd October: World Habitat Day.

2016 Theme: Housing at the centre.

 3rd December: World Conservation

Day

 5th December: World Soil Day

2016 Theme: Soil and pulses, a symbiosis for life.

 14th

Ecology term was coined by the German biologist Ernst Haeckel.

December: Conservation Day

National

Energy

ECONOMY

TOP ECONOMICAL TRENDS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD

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ECONOMY

ECONOMY Micro-Macro Economics Demand Supply Price Elas city Marginal U lity Equilibrium Revenue & Cost Profit & Loss Recession & Depression Market Factors of Produc on Land Labour Capital Entrepreneur Infla on

Public Finance

Indian Economy

Budget

Na onal Income

Revenue

Terms

Expenditure

Measurement Human Development

Deficit

Index

Tax

Five Year Plans

Types Classifica on Methods

Poverty Unemployment Type

Banking &

Schemes Agriculture

Insurance Deficit Financing

Green Revolu on

in India

NABARD

Government

Food Security Industries

Subsidies

Manufacturing

Finance

Services

Commission Stock Exchanges SEBI

MICRO–MACRO ECONOMICS Demand Demand refers to how much (quantity) of a product (goods) or service is desired by buyers. The quantity demanded is the amount of a product people are willing to buy at a certain price; the relationship between price & quantity demanded is known as the demand relationship. The law of demand states that as the price of a good increases (or decreases), the quantity of that good demanded will decrease (increase).

Supply

Supply represents how much the market can offer. The quantity supplied refers to

India’s retail market is estimated to be worth US$450 billion.

the amount of a certain good producers are willing to supply when receiving a certain price. The correlation between price & how much of a good or service is supplied to the market is known as the supply relationship. The law of supply states that as the price of a good increases (or decreases), the quantity of that good supplied will increase (decrease).

Price

Price is the amount of money that has to be paid to acquire a given product. Price mechanism is based on the principle that only by allowing prices to move freely, the supply of any given commodity match demand. If supply is excessive, prices will

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ECONOMY be low & production will be reduced, this will cause prices to rise until there is a balance of demand & supply. In the same way, if supply is inadequate, prices will be high, leading to an increase in production that in turn will lead to a reduction in prices until both supply & demand are in equilibrium.

Demand

⇓

Demand↓

Price↓ ⇓

Demand↑

The concept of elasticity is intended to measure the degree of responsiveness of a buyer or seller to a change in a key determinant, in particular price. OR Elasticity is a ratio of relative changes in quantity demanded/supplied & price.

Elasticity – I (Price is determinant)

Elastic ← (buyer response) → Inelastic

Price↑

Elasticity

Supply

Elastic ← (seller response) → Inelastic

Quantity Demanded Price↑ OR Price↓ ⇓ ⇓ is same at Supply ↑ Supply ↓ any price Elasticity – II

Supply is unaffected when price changes

(Demand/supply is determinant)

Demand

Supply

Elastic ← (buyer response) → Inelastic Price is Price is unaffected Supply ↑ Supply↓ constant when supply OR ⇓ ⇓ irrespective Price ↓ changes Price ↑ of demand

Elastic ← (seller response) → Inelastic

Marginal Utility

Marginal utility is the additional satisfaction a consumer gains from consuming one more unit of a goods or service. It is used by the economist to determine how much of an item a consumer will buy.

Equillibrium

When supply & demand are equal (i.e. when the supply function & demand function intersect) the economy is said to be at

equilibrium. At this point, the suppliers are selling all the goods that they have produced & consumers are getting all the goods that they are demanding. Supply

Equilibrium

Price

Demand↑ Demand↓ ⇓ OR ⇓ Price↑ Price↓

Mumbai is the financial capital of India and headquarter of LIC, NSE, BSE.

Quantity

Demand

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ECONOMY

Revenue Revenue refers to the amount received by a firm or an individual from the sale of a given quantity of a commodity in the market. It is directly influenced by sales level, i.e. as sales increases, revenue also increases.

REVENUE

Total Revenue (TR) ↓ TR = Quantity of commodity sold × Price of commodity

Average Revenue (AR) ↓

AR=

TR No. of units sold

Marginal Revenue (MR) ↓ It is the addition of TR from the sale of one extra commodity.

MR =

Cost

Change in total revenue

Change in total quantity

Cost is defined as the money expenditure incurred by the producer to purchase ( or hire) factors of production & raw materials to produce goods & services. TYPES OF COST

Fixed cost

Variable cost

Explicit cost

Expenditure on Expenditure on Expenditure inhiring/purchasing of variable inputs curred on both fixed & variable inputs fixed inputs (eg. land) (eg. labour) CONCEPTS

Total Cost (TC)

↓

TC = Total fixed cost + Total variable cost

Profit

Average Cost (AC)

↓

AC = Total cost Total output

Profit is the surplus of revenue over total cost of production.

Profit = Total Revenue – Total Cost Normal profit: This occurs when total revenue is equal to total cost. This is the Break-even Point for a firm. It is the minimum profit level to keep the firm in the industry in the long run. Supernormal profit: This occurs when total revenue is more than total cost.

Loss

Implicit cost Cost of self supplied factors

Marginal Cost (MC)

↓

MC = Increase in total cost due to increase in one extra unit of output

Loss is a situation in which a producer does not earn the level of profit that would justify remaining in business in the long run. Loss = Total cost – Total revenue

Recession

A period of temporary economic decline during which trade and industrial activity are reduced, generally identified by a fall in GDP in two successive quarters.

According to 2016 estimates, India has more than 502.3 million available labour force..

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ECONOMY Depression

Market

A period during which business, employment, & stock-market values decline severely or remain at a very low level of activity.

Market is a place where forces of demand & supply operate, & where buyers and sellers interact to trade goods, services, or contracts or instruments, for money or barter.

FEATURES OF MARKET STRUCTURE

S. Market Types of Numbers of Entry & exit Price determination No. product sellers/firms 1. Perfect Homogeneous Many Freedom of entry Firms are price-takers competition product & exit 2. Monopoly Unique One Barriers to entry Firm is price-makers 3. Oligopoly

Differentiated Few products 4. Monopolistic Differentiated Many Competition products

Factors of Production

An economic term to describe the inputs that are used in the production of goods or services in the attempt to make an economic profit are called factors of production. The factors of production include – land, labour, capital & entrepreneurship. •• •• •• ••

Land: Represents all natural resources used in the production of goods. Labour: All work that labourers & workers perform at all levels of an organization. Capital: All of the tools, machinery, cash used to produce a goods or service. Entrepreneur: Individual who takes an idea & attempts to make an economic

Barriers to entry

Firm are price-makers

Freedom of entry & exit

Firms are price - makers

profit from it by combining all other factors of production.

Inflation

In a broad sense, inflation is that state in which the prices of goods & services rise on one hand & value of money falls on the other.

Types of Inflation

1. Demand Pull Inflation: It is that inflation when prices rise due to higher demand for goods & services over the available supply. 2. Cost Push Inflation: It is the type of inflation in which prices rise due to increased input costs.

Degree of Inflation

Creeping Inflation

↓

Trotting Inflation

↓

Running Inflation

↓

Hyper Inflation/ Runaway/Galloping Inflation

↓ Price rise at Price rise moderately Price rise rapidly Price rise at very fast very slow rate (10 - 20%) (Less than 10%) rate (20 – 100%) less than 3% (Between 3 – 7%)

Measurement of Inflation

1. General Price or Wholesale Price Index: It measures the changes in average prices of goods & services. A base year is selected & its index is assumed as 100 & on this

basis price index for the current year is calculated. If the index of the current year is below 100 it indicates the state of deflation &, on the contrary, if index of the current year is above 100 it indicates the state of inflation.

China, European Union, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Switzerland are the main import partners of India.

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2. Consumer Price Index (CPI): It measures the average change in prices paid by ultimate consumers for a particular basket of goods & services over a period of time. CPI actually measures the increase in price a consumer will have to pay for the designated commodity basket which may be revised every 4 – 5 years to factor in changes in consumption pattern.

Price Index = Current year’s price/base year’s price × 100 In India, inflation is measured in terms of the WPI.

Causes of Inflation

The inflation occurs due to two main factors :(a) Increase in demand for goods & services

(b) Decrease in the supply of goods & services (a) Factors causing an increase in demand for goods & services: (i) Increase in public expenditure (ii) Increase in pvt. expenditure (iii) Increase in exports (iv) Reduction in taxation (v) Rapid growth of population (vi) Black money (vii) Deficit financing (viii) Cheap money policy (ix) Increase in consumer spending (x) Department of Tax internal debts. (b) Factors causing decrease in supply of goods & services: (i) Shortage of supplies of factors (ii) Industrial disputes (iii) Natural calamities (iv) Loop-sided Production (v) Hoarding by traders (vi) Operation of Law of Diminishing Returns.

Impact of Inflation

Inflation is the most regressive form of taxation as it affects the poor and vulnerable sections of the society the most. Such a situation leads to increase in income disparities. Inflation dampens exports by making our products expensive and, conversely, makes imports attractive. Such a situation may warrant formal or informal devaluation of the currency in order to make our exports competitive.

ECONOMY Inflation leads to recession, as people with fixed incomes set apart an increasing share of their income to meet the growing costs of essential commodities, leaving very little for expenditure on non-essential terms. The production of such items has to be reduced, leading to shutdowns and recession.

Policy measure to control inflation

The issue of inflation is addressed from both demand and supply sides. Demand management implies putting a check on the demand of the public for goods and services. Demand management is achieved by measures such as postponing public expenditure, reducing up excess liquidity either through taxes or saving schemes and restrictions on ad hoc treasury bills. While such measures help contain the money supply, there is a danger that these will contract the economy and lead to an increase in unemployment. Rationalisation of excise and import duties of essential commodities to higher the burden on poor. RBI assists in controlling inflation through monetary measures such as quantitative and selective credit controls and by manipulating the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) and the Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR). These are the monetary policies adopted by government. On the supply side, the mechanism of Public Distribution System (PDS) ensures availability of essential commodities for the vulnerable sections of society. This helps to maintain price levels. Fixation of maximum prices to eliminate the incentive for hoarding and speculative activity in foodgrains. Control over private trade in foodgrains. Adoption of Open General Licence (OGL) to ease the imports of sugar, pulses, etc.,in case of shortages. Coupled with this is the open market sale of rice and wheat resorted to by FCI from its buffer stock in times of price rise.

Related Terms

Deflation: Deflation is that state in which the value of money rises & the price of goods & services falls. Stagflation: It refers to the situation of coexistence of stagnation & inflation in the economy. Stagnation means low National Income growth & high unemployment. Disinflation: The rate of inflation at a slower rate is called disinflation.

On 30 June 2015, Greece became the first developed country to fail to make an IMF loan repayment.

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ECONOMY PUBLIC FINANCE Budget

Budget is an annual financial statement. The Budget in India is divided into 2 parts – Revenue Account & Capital Account.

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New Classification of Expenditure

ECONOMY

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ECONOMY Important Terms

(1) Revenue– It is the income received by the government. (2) Expenditure– It is the amount incurred by the government to meet day to day & regular needs. (3) Deficit– It means shortage. The gap between the Receipts & Expenditure is called deficit. The important types of deficit are as follows: (a) Budget Deficit = Total Expenditure – Total Receipts (b) Revenue Deficit = Revenue Expenditure – Revenue Receipts (c) Fiscal Deficit = Total Expenditure – Total Receipts except Borrowing & Other Liabilities. (d) Primary Deficit = Fiscal Deficit – Interest Payment

Tax

The money which public have to pay to the government so that it can pay for public services is called tax. (i)

Types of Taxes

Indirect Tax

Direct Tax

Income Tax

Excise Value added Goods & Services Wealth Minimum Alternate Tax Duties Tax (VAT) Tax (GST) Tax Custom Corporate Commodities Service Transaction Tax Duties Tax Tax

(ii)

Broad Areas of Tax

Tax on Income & Expenditure

Tax on Commodities

Personal Income, Corporate Income, Sales Tax

Excise Duty

(iii)

Tax on Property & Property Transaction Wealth Tax, Estate & Succession Duties

Classification of Taxation

Proportional Taxation Tax levied as a% of tax base at a uniform

Progressive Taxation Tax rate increase with increase in size of tax base .

Regressive Taxation Tax rate decrease with increase in tax base .

India ranks second in world fish production, contributing about 5.4 per cent of global fish production.

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ECONOMY

Types of Taxes •• Direct Tax– The tax that people pay directly to the government is called direct tax. •• Indirect Tax– The tax burden when shifted to another person that tax is called indirect tax. •• Income Tax– Tax on the personal income of the individuals. •• Corporate Tax– Levied on Company’s profit income. •• Wealth Tax– Imposed on the accumulated wealth or property of every individual. •• MAT (Minimum Alternate Tax) – Imposed on zero tax companies (companies pay very low tax by using the provisions of exemptions, deductions, incentives, etc. •• Excise Duties– Tax on production of commodities. •• Custom Duties– Tax on Import & Export of commodities. •• VAT (Value Added Tax) –Tax on sale of commodities. It is a state level tax. The tax rate is imposed as x of value added.

•• GST– It is a uniform tax on goods & services throughout the country. METHODS OF TAXATION OF GOODS

Methods of Taxation on Goods

Ad– Valorem

Specific Duty

(1) Ad Valorem– If tax is levied as x of the value of the goods regardless of number of units produced/ sold/ imported, then it is called ad valorem. Eg. Price of car Tax Amount ` 2 lakh ` 20,000 ` 4 lakh ` 40,000 (2) Specific Duty– If tax is levied at a flat rate per unit of goods produced/ sold/ imported regardless of the value then it is called specific duties. Eg. Car’s Price Tax ` 2 lakh ` 10,000 ` 4 lakh

INCOME TAX SLAB FOR FY 2016 -17

` 10,000

1. For Individual/HUF/Association of person

Income tax slab (in `)

Tax

0 to 2,50,000

Nil

2,50,001 to 5,00,000

10%

Above 10,00,000

30%

5,00,001 to 10,00,000 2. For Senior Citizen (who is 60 years or more but less than 80 years) Upto ` 3,00,000

` 3,00,01 – ` 5,00,000

Next Slabs are same as general

3. For Super Senior citizen (80 years of age or more). Upto ` 5,00,000

Next Slabs are same as general

20%

Nil

10%

Nil

Mutual Funds asset base of equity funds and Equity Linked Saving Scheme (ELSS) increased to `4.68 trillion (US$ 70.0 billion) at the end of September 2016.

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ECONOMY BANKING SYSTEM Reserve Bank of India [Central Bank and supreme monetary authority of the country] Scheduled Banks

Unscheduled Bank

Scheduled Co-operative Banks

Scheduled Commercial Bank Private Public Sector Sector Banks (27) Banks (25)

Other Public Sector Bank

Foreign Regional Bank in Rural India (39) Banks (357)

Nationalised Banks (19)

State Bank of India & its Associates (8)

Scheduled Urban Cooperative Banks (53)

Old Private Banks (17)

Scheduled State Cooperative Banks (31)

New Private Banks (8)

RESERVE BANK OF INDIA •• It is the apex regulatory body of Indian Banking system. Also called as the Central Bank. •• It keeps the cash reserves of all Scheduled Banks & hence is known as the ‘Reserve Bank’. •• It was inaugurated in April 1935. •• Situated in Mumbai. •• Fully owned by the Government of India. •• Presently, the Governor is Dr. Urjit R. Patel. •• Has 19 regional offices.

Functions of RBI–

(a) Bank of Issue (All notes except ` 1 note & coins are issued by RBI). One rupee note & coins are issued by Ministry of Finance but circulated by RBI. (b) Banker & debt manager to Government. (c) Banker’s Bank. (d) Custodian and manager of Foreign Exchange. (e) Controller of credit

(f) Supervision over cooperative banks.

Commercial Banks

commercial

Accept deposits, give loans and provide other financial services to earn profit. Consist of both public sector and private sector banks.

Public Sector Banks

Public sector banks are those banks in which the majority of ownership is with government. The majority of ownership means, shareholding of more than 51%.

State Bank Group

State Bank group means State Bank of India (SBI) and its Associates. Previous name of SBI was Imperial Bank of India. It was created in 1921 by amalgamating the three Presidency Banks of Bengal (1806), Bombay (1840) and Madras (1843). Imperial Bank of India was partially nationalized on July 1, 1955 and renamed as State Bank of India (SBI).

EXIM Bank was established for financing, facilitating and promoting foreign trade in India.

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ECONOMY

Other Nationalised Bank

Repo Rate

The public sector banks other than SBI and its associates are other nationalised banks. For examples – PNB, BOI, etc.

It is the rate at which commercial banks borrow from RBI by mortgaging their dated government securities and treasury bills. If repo rate is increased, the banks have two options either to reduce the borrowing from RBI or borrow at higher rate from RBI and charge higher interest rate from customer. If banks borrow fewer amounts, the credit creating capacity of banks will come down and money supply will come down. If bank borrows and charges higher interest rate, the customer will borrow less. The money supply will come down. If the rate is decreased the reverse will be the case.

The Regional Rural Banks (RRB):

These banks were established since 1975, under RRBs Act 1976. These banks were set up by public sector banks. RRBs were established to lend to weaker section called target group like landless labour, artisan and craftsmen at concessional rate.

Co-Operative Banks

Cooperative banks are established by State laws. These banks are called as cooperative banks because these have cooperation of stake holders as motive. Along with lending, cooperative banks accept deposits.

NABARD

NABARD was set up in July 1982. The functions of NABARD, viz. financing of agriculture and refinancing of cooperative banks and RRBs. NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development) is the apex body of cooperative sector in India.

Tools of Credit Control

RBI acts as controller of credit. Control of Credit means control of lending & deposit creating capacity of the banks. These controls result in control of money supply which is essential to control inflation & there by promote economic growth. Some of the important measures or tools of credit control are as follows:

Bank Rate

It is the rate charged by the Central Bank for lending funds to commercial banks.

CRR

Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) is a specified minimum fraction of the total deposits of customers which commercial banks have to hold as reserves with the Central Bank.

Reverse Repo Rate

It is the rate at which RBI borrows from commercial banks by mortgaging its dated Government securities and Treasury bills. If the reverse repo rate is increased, the banks have two options either to lend to RBI or lend to customer at higher interest rate. If banks lend to RBI, the money available with the bank to lend to its customer will come down. The credit creating capacity of banks and money supply will come down. If the banks raise interest rate on loans to customers at higher rate, the customer will borrow lesser amount. So, the money supply will come down. The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana has set an ambitious target of bringing more than 7.5 crore un-banked families into India’s banking system by opening more than 15 crore bank accounts at the rate of two bank accounts per household by 15 August 2015. The remaining hilly areas and the other 75 naxalite-affected districts will be covered under the Yojana by the end of August 2016.

According to World Bank report, 42% of the world’s poor live in India.

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ECONOMY INSURANCE Insurance It is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss.

Insurance policy

It is a financial contract between the insurer & the policy holder where the details of the policy is mentioned including the benefits & the premium that policy holder has to pay.

Premium

It is the periodic payment made on an insurance policy. Insurance premiums are collected in monthly or quarterly or halfyearly or yearly mode.

Major Types of Insurance:

(a) Life Insurance: Descendent’s family receives financial benefits. (b) Automobile Insurance: Protects policy holder against financial loss

in the event of an incident involving a vehicle they own. (c) Health Insurance: Covers the expenditures associated to treatment & medical expenditures. (d) Property Insurance: Provides protection from risks associated to theft, fire, floods, etc. •• Insurance Industry in India The Indian Government passed an ordinance on January 19, 1956 whereby the life insurance sector was nationalised & the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) came into existence. The Indian Parliament passed the General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Act in 1972 & the general insurance sector was brought under governmental control from January 1, 1973.

Insurance Companies in India

IRDA

General Insurance

Life Insurance

IRDA

Public Sector (LIC)

Private Sector (24 Companies)

Public Sector (5 G.I Cos)

Private Sector (23 G.I. Cos.)

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) is an autonomous apex statutory body which regulates and develops the insurance industry in India. It was constituted by a Parliament of India act called Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999 and duly passed by the Government of India. The agency operates from its headquarter at Hyderabad, Telangana, shifted from Delhi in 2001. The key objectives of the IRDA include promotion of competition so as to enhance customer satisfaction through increased consumer choice and lower premiums, while ensuring the financial security of the insurance market. India has the seventh largest foreign currency reserves in the world.

Term Plan

Taken for entire Nominee duration of receives insured’s life. It a fixed is a pension plan. payment once the policy holder dies during policy period.

Whole life plan

Money Back Used as a form of investment that produces good financial returns energy 4th/5th year in future for using in various purposes.

Endowment

Provide lump sum once the policy holder dies to nominee or when the policy matures to policy holders.

Life Insurance Plans Personal

Unit linked Taken by Insurance individual to cover plans are against one where the financial accidental death, worth of injury, a policy is health. dependent on present Net Asset Value (NAV) of the core investment assets related to it in the share market.

ULIP

Insurance Plans

For rural based business or individuals, provide coverage from life & health to natural disasters.

Rural Availed by companies to get protection for important projects, construction, contracts & equipments.

Industrial

General Insurance Plans

Coverage for damage to work, operations, equipments, etc.

Commercial

Compulsory for vehicles. It covers theft, damage and third party accident.

Motor

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ECONOMY India’s Public Debt Public Debt The Public Debt of the Govt. of India is composed of – (a) Internal Debt & (b) External Debt.

Internal Debt

It comprises of market loans, compensation bonds, prize bonds & 15–year annuity certificates. It also includes borrowings of a temporary nature, viz treasury bills issued to the RBI, commercial banks, etc. & also non– negotiable, non–interest bearing securities issued to international financial institutions like the IMF, World Bank & the Asian Development Bank.

External Debt

It includes borrowings by Central Government from external sources & are based upon historical rates of exchange. The total Public Dept & other liabilities of the Indian Government would come to `68,94, 691 crores by end March 2016; it was only `15, 58, 900 crores in March 2003, Central Govt’s public debt & other liabilities has increased by nearly 4.5 times.

Government Subsidies

It is the money paid by government to help an industry to reduce its costs, so that it can provide products services at lower prices. Subsidies– A sum of money granted to support an undertaking held in public interest. Types of Subsidies – Cash Subsidies Providing food or fertilizers to the consumer at prices lower than those at which government procures the commodities. Interest or credit subsidies It relates to loans given at rates lower than market rates. This takes the form of concessional credit to small scale industries or priority sector loans to individuals to buy a taxi, an auto-rickshaw or to set up some small enterprise by buying some equipment. Tax subsidies It can be in the form of tax exemption of medical expenses, postponing collection of tax arrears. Procurement subsidies It is the purchase of food grains at an assured price which is higher than the prevailing market price.

In-Kind subsidies Provision of free medical services through government dispensaries, provision of equipment to physically handicapped persons.

Regulatory subsidies

Fixation of prices of goods produced by the public sector at less than the cost with a view to providing inputs to industry or helping certain other categories of consumers. Examples are making steel, coal or other minerals available to industry, providing electricity to farmers at a rate much lower than the cost.

Finance Commission

Under the provisions of Article 280 of the Constitution, the President is required to constitute a Finance Commission every fifth year for the specific purpose of devolution of non-plan revenue resources. The functions of the Commission are to make recommendations to the President in respect of (i) the distribution of net proceeds of taxes to be shared between the Union and the States and the allocation of share of such proceeds among the States, (ii) the principles which should govern the payment by the Union Govt. as grantsin-aid to the States, and (iii) any others matter concerning financial relations between the Union and the States. The appointment of the Finance Commissioner is of great importance, for it enables the financial relation between the Centre and the units to be altered in accordance with changes in need and circumstances.

Stock Exchange in India

In India, there are small and big stock exchanges. The most prominent exchanges are National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Bombay Stock Exchanges (BSE).

National Stock Exchange (NSE)

The NSE is the leading stock exchange of India, located in Mumbai. It was established in 1993 on the recommendation of Pherwani Committee. Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) is the main promoter of this exchange. The number of listings in NSE is 1696.

India is the world’s second largest importer of arms and spent $50 billion in the last decade

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ECONOMY

Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) It is an Indian stock exchange located at Dalal Street, Kala Ghoda, Mumbai. Established in 1875, the BSE is Asia’s first stock exchange and the World’s fastest stock exchange with a median trade speed of 6 micro seconds. More than 5500 companies are publicly listed in the BSE. Top 10 Stock Exchanges of the World 1. New York Stock Exchange 2. NASDAQ 3. London Stock Exchange 4. Japan Exchange Group 5. Shanghai Stock Exachange 6. Hong Kong Stock Exchange 7. Euronext 8. Shenzhen Stock Exchange 9. TMX Group 10. Deutsche Borse

Like wholesale price index which measures the rise/fall in the price of commodities, there are share price indices. The most prominent indices in India are Sensex, Nifty and Nifty Junior. Sensex stands for Sensitive index. This is an index of Bombay Stock Exchange. This measures the price movement of top 30 company shares. The top 30 companies are called Blue Chip Companies. Nifty stands for National Index for fifty. This and Nifty Junior are indices of National Stock Exchange. Nifty measures price movement of top fifty companies. Nifty Junior is an index of next 50 top companies. The top companies are selected on the basis of total value of all shares that are traded in the stock exchange.

SEBI (Security and Exchange Board of India)

SEBI was established in 1988 for the development & regulation of securities market (Shares & Debentures) through a resolution of government. It was given statutory status in 1992. Its head office is in Mumbai. Its regional offices are in Kolkata, Delhi & Chennai. SEBI was authorized to regulate all merchant banks on issue activity, lay guidelines & supervise & regulate the working of mutual funds & oversee the working of stock exchanges in India.

INDIAN ECONOMY

National Income National Income of a country is the total value of all final goods and services produced in the country in a particular period of time usually, one year. The growth of National Income helps to know the progress of the country. National Income is a flow, not a stock. In India, National Income estimates are related with the financial year, i.e. April 1 to March 31. Measures/Concepts of National Income

GDP

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the total money value of all final goods & services produced within the geographical boundaries of the country (produced by resident citizens + foreign nationals) during a given period of time, generally one year.

GDP = Q × P,

Q = Total quantity of final goods & services. P = Price of final goods & services.

GNP

Gross National Product (GNP) is the money value of total output or production of final goods & services produced by the nationals of a country during a given period of time, generally a year. In this case, the income of all the resident & non-resident citizens of a country is included whereas the income of foreign nationals who reside within the geographical boundary of the country is excluded.

India is the largest producer of milk, i.e. 17% of global production.

GNP = GDP + (X – M) X = Export of goods & services M = Import of goods & services

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ECONOMY X – M = Net Factor Income from Abroad (NFIA) So,

NNP

GNP = GDP + NFIA

Net National Product (NNP) can be calculated in 2 ways:(i) NNP at market price: NNP = GNP – Depreciation

Depreciation means wear & tear of goods produced. NNP at market price includes Indirect taxes and excludes subsidies. (ii) NNP at factor cost: NNP at factor cost calculates National Income only on the basis of cost incurred to produce the goods & services. This cost is the payment made to the factors of production. NNPfc = NNPmp – Indirect Taxes + Subsidy

When NNP is obtained at factor cost, it is known as National Income. Likewise, GDP at factor cost also can be calculated. GDPfc = GDPmp – Indirect Taxes + Subsidy

Personal Income

It is that income which is actually obtained by nationals in one year.

P.I. = National Income – Undistributed Profits of Corporation – Payments for Social Security Provisions – Corporate Taxes + Government Transfer payments + Business Transfer payments + Net Interest paid by government. SOCIAL SECURITY PROVISIONS = Payments made by employees towards pension & provident fund TRANSFER PAYMENTS = Payments that are not made against any productive activity. eg. old age pension, unemployment compensation, disaster relief payment, etc. DISPOSAL PERSONAL INCOME (DPI): Income that is available to individuals that can be disposed at their will. DPI = Personal Income – Direct Taxes.

National Income at constant price & current price NI @ CONSTANT PRICE = Total quantity of all final goods & services produced in a particular year × Price of base year.

Base year of National Income accounts is the year chosen to enable inter – year comparisons. The new series changes the base to 2011–12 from 2004–05 NI @ CURRENT PRICE = Total quantity of all final goods & services produced in a particular year × Price of goods & services in that particular year.

Measurement of National Income Methods of Measurement

Product/Output/Production method

Income method

Consumption/Expenditure method

Gross value added = Output N.I. = Total Rent + GDP = Consumption of final goods & services – Total wages + Total Expenditure of Consumers Intermediate Consumption Interest + Total profit + Consumption Expenditure GDP = Gross value added + Indirect Taxes – Subsidy

of investors or entrepreneur called investment + consumption of government

The average Indian is nearly 20 years younger than the average Japanese (26 against 45).

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ECONOMY

IMPORTANT INTERNATIONAL REPORTS INDEX Human Development Index The UNDP Human Development Report ranks countries on basis of measuring human development by combining indicators of the Health, Education & Income into a composite Human Development Index (HDI). The HDI classifies the World into 4 broad segments : Very High → High → Medium and → Low Human Development Components of HDI. HDI includes

(a) Health : Life Expectancy at Birth (b) Education : Mean years of schooling, Expected years of schooling

(c) Living standards: Gross National Income Per Capita India has been classified in the Medium Human Development Category, placed at 130 rank out of 187 countries (Human Development Report 2015). The title of 2015 edition of, HDR is ‘work for Human Development’. The top 3 nations in 2015 HDI are Norway (1st),Australia (2nd) & Switzerland(3rd).The first Indian Human Development Report was formally released by the then Prime Minister Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee on April 23, 2002. Madhya Pradesh was the first state to release statelevel Human Development Report.

INDIA’S RANK IN IMPORTANT INTERNATIONAL REPORTS/INDEX Index / Report

India's Rank 130th (Out of 155 countries)

Gender Inequality Index 2015 Global Hunger Index 2016

28.5 (Serious hunger situation)

World Investment Report 2016

10th (in FDI inflows in the world)

55th (Out of 140 economies)

Global Competitiveness Report 2015-16 Global Gender Gap 2015

Ease of Doing Business Index 2017 Global Innovation Index 2016

Global Human Capital Index 2016

108th (Out of 145 economies)

130th (Out of 190 economies) 66th (Out of 128 countries)

105th (Out of 130 countries)

FIVE YEAR PLANS

Plans

Period

Growth Performance (% p.a.) Target

Actual

1st Plan 2nd Plan 3rd Plan

(1951 - 56) (1956 - 61) (1961 - 66)

2.1 4.5 5.6

3.5 4.2 2.8

4th Plan 5th Plan Annual Plan

(1969 - 74) (1974 - 78) (1979 - 80)

5.7 4.4 –

3.2 4.7 – 5.2

Annual Plan (1966 - 69) (Plan Holiday)

–

3.9

Themes

Development of primary sector Development of public sector (Industries) Agricultural Development, Defence Industry, Price stabilization Growth with stability & progress towards self-reliance. (Nationalisation of Banks, Green Revolution). Employment, Poverty Alleviation Economic Liberalisation Growth, Modernisation, Self-Reliance & Social Justice

According to latest data, Indian Railways is one of the largest rail networks in the world, giving employment to more than 1.4 million people.

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ECONOMY 6th plan

(1980 - 85)

5.2

5.5

7th plan

(1985 - 90)

5.0

5.6

Annual Plan 8th Plan 9th Plan 10th Plan 11th Plan 12th Plan

Poverty

(1990 - 92) (1992 - 97) (1997 2002) (2002 - 07) (2007 - 12) (2012 - 17)

– 5.6 6.5

7.9 9.0 8%

3.4 6.5 5.5 7.7 8.0

Poverty can be defined as a social phenomenon in which a section of the society is unable to fulfil even its basic necessities of life.

Magnitude of Poverty in India

The Planning Commission of India has estimated rural and urban poverty in India from the sixth Five Year Plan ownwards. Type of Poverty 1. Absolute 2. Relative

Rural & Urban Poverty I. Rural Poverty

Main Reasons for Rural Poverty 1. Rapid population growth. 2. Lack of capital. 3. Lack of alternative employment opportunities other than agricultural. 4. Excessive population pressure on agriculture. 5. Illiteracy 6. Regional disparities. 7. Joint family system. 8. Child marriage tradition. 9. Indifferent attitude towards investment. 10. Lack of proper implementation of public distribution system.

Government Efforts for Eliminating Rural Poverty

1. Legal elimination of bonded labourers 2. Preventing the centralisation of wealth by modifying the law

Human Development in various aspects, Beginning of Liberalization - Privatisation- Globalization

Growth with Equity & Distributive Justice

Equity with Social Justice

Towards more Inclusive Growth

Faster more Inclusive & Sustainable Growth

3. Antyodaya plan 4. Small Farmer Development Programme (SFDP) 5. Drought Area Development Programme (DADP) 6. Twenty Point Programme 7. Food for Work Programme 8. Minimum Needs Programme (MNP) 9. Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) 10. National Rural Employment Programme (NREP) 11. Rural Labour Employment Guarantee Programme (RLEGP) 12. Jawahar Gram Samriddhi Yojana (JGSY) (Formerly known as Jawahar Rojgar Yojana) 13. TRYSEM scheme 14. Family Planning/Welfare programme for population control 15. Employment Assurance Scheme 16. Scheme for Rural artisans / craftsmen 17. DWCRA programme 18. Swarna Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana 19 Mahila Samriddhi Yojana 20 National Social Assistanc Programme (NSAP) 21 Group Life Insurance Scheme for Rural Areas 22. Rural Housing Programme 23. Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yojana (PMGY) 24. Swarna Jayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana 25. Sampurna Gramin Rojgar Yojana 26. Indira Awaas Yojana 27. Samagra Awaas Yojana

India is the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the World.

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28. Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Yojana 29. Agriculture Income Insurance Scheme 30. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS)

II. Urban Poverty

Main Reasons for Urban Poverty 1. Migration of rural youth towards cities. 2. Lack of vocational education /training. 3. Limited job opportunities of employment in the cities. 4. Rapid increase in population. 5. Lack of housing facilities. 6. No proper implementation of public distribution system (PDS).

ECONOMY 2. Under-employment The labourers are under-employed who obtain work but their efficiency and capability are not utilised at their optimum and as a result they contribute in the production upto a limited level.

3. Disguised Unemployment

If a person does not contribute anything in the production process or in other words, if he can be removed from the work without affecting the productivity adversely, he will be treated as disguisedly unemployed. The marginal productivity of such unemployed person is zero.

4. Open Unemployment

When the labourers live without any work and they don’t find any work to do, they come under the category of open unemployment. Educated and unskilled labourers unemployment are included in open unemployment.

Government Efforts for Eliminating Urban Poverty

1. Emphasis on vocational education. 2. Nehru Rozgar Yojana (NRY). 3. Self-Employment Programme for the Urban Poor (SEPUP). 4. Financial assistance for constructing houses. 5. Self-Employment to the Educated Urban Youth (SEEUY) Programme. 6. Prime Minister’s Rozgar Yojana (Also implemented in rural areas). 7. National Social Assistance Programme. 8. Urban Basic Services for the Poor (UBSP) Programme. 9. Prime Minister's Integrated Urban Poverty Eradication Programme (PMIUPEP). 10. Swarna Jayanti Shahri Rozgar Yojana.

Unemployment

In broad sense a state of unemployment appears when a labour does not obtain employment opportunity despite his willingness to work on existing wage rate. Different Types of Unemployment in India

1. Structural Unemployment This type of unemployment is associated with economic structure of the country, i.e. rapidly growing population, technological change and their immobility fall in rate of capital formation.

NREGS (National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) NREGS was started by the UPA Government as a national programme to provide 100 days of employment to begin with through asset-creating public works every year at minimum wages to oneable bodied person in every poor class household. The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act came into force in 2006 in India’s 200 most backward districts. In 2007, it was extended to another 130 districts. With effect from April 1,2008, the Act is to cover all districts. The following are the major shortcomings of NREGS:

••

Lack of adequate professional staff

•• Lack of project planning •• Bureaucratic resistance of NREGA on account of the widely held belief that it is much more difficult to make money under NREGS as compared with other employment programmes. •• Lack of transparency and absence of social audit •• Inappropriate rates of payment.

Brown field FDI is investment made by a foreign company’s existing production arrangements.

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ECONOMY VARIOUS DEVELOPMENT AND EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMMES IN INDIA – AT A GLANCE Programme/Plan/ Institution

Year of beginning

Command Area Development 1974-75 Programme (CADP) Twenty Point Programme 1975 (TPP) Antyodaya Yojana 1977-78

Objective/Description

To ensure better and rapid utilisation of irrigation capacities of medium and large projects. Poverty eradication and raising the standard of living. To make the poorest families of the village economically independent (only in Rajasthan). Training Rural Youth for 1 August Programme of training rural youth for selfSelf-Employment (TRYSEM) 15,1979 employment. Integrated Rural Development October 2, All-round development of the rural poor through a Programme (IRDP) 1980 programme of asset endowment for self-employment National Rural Employment 1980 To provide profitable employment opportunities to Programme the rural poor. National Fund for Rural February To grant 100% tax rebate to donors and also to Development (NFRD) 1984 provide financial assistance for rural development projects. Industrial Reconstruction March To provide financial assistance to sick and closed Bank of India 1985 industrial units for their reconstruction. Council for Advancement of September To provide assistance for rural prosperity. People’s Action and Rural 1, 1986 Technology (CAPART) Jawahar Rozgar Yojana April 1989 For providing employment to rural unemployed Nehru Rozgar Yojana October For providing employment to urban unemployed. 1989 Members of Parliament December To sanction ` 1 crore per year to every Member of Local Area Development 23, 1993 Parliament for various development works in their Scheme (MPLADS) respective areas through DM of the district. Scheme of Infrastructural 1993-94 To provide capital through special institutions for Development in Mega Cities water supply, sewage, drainage, urban transportation, (SIDMC) land development and improvement of slum projects undertaken in Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad. Mid-Day Meal Scheme 1995 Improving the nutritional status of children in government, local body, government aided schools and Education Guarantee scheme and Alternate & Innovative education centres with the main objective of enabling poor children to attend school regularly. Mahila Samridhi Yojana October 2, To encourage the rural women to deposit money in Post Office Savings & Account 1993 Kasturba Gandhi August 15, To establish girls schools in districts having low female literacy rate. Education Scheme 1997 Swarna Jayanti Shahari December To provide gainful employment to urban unemployed and under employed poor through Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY) 1997 self-employment or wage employment. Greenfield investment is investment in new plants.

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Annapurna Yojana

Swarna Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana. Jan Shree Bima Yojana

Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yojana Antyodaya Anna Yojana

ECONOMY Year of beginning

March To provide 10 kg foodgrains to senior citizens (who 1999 did not get pension). April 1999 For eliminating Rural poverty and unemployment and promoting self-employment. Aug. 10, Providing Insurance Security to people living 2000 below poverty line 2000 To fulfil basic requirements in rural areas.

Dec. 25, 2000 Pradhan Mantri Gram Dec. 25, Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) 2000 Vande Matram Scheme Feb. 9, 2004 National Food for Work Nov. 14, Programme 2004 Janani Suraksha Yojana April 12, 2005 Bharat Nirman Dec. Programme 16,2005 Jawaharlal Nehru National 2005 Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) National Rural Health Mission (NRHM)

Objective/Description

2005

To provide food security to poor.

To provide good all-weather road connectivity to unconnected villages. Major initiative in public-private partnership during pregnancy check-up. Programme to intensify the generation of supplementary wage employment. Providing care to expectant mothers. Development of Rural Infrastructure including six components : Irrigation, Water Supply, Housing, Road, Telephone and Electricity. To assist cities and towns in taking up housing and infrastructural facilities for the urban poor in 65 cities in the country. To provide effective healthcare to rural population and universal access to healthcare with emphasis on women.

National Rural Employment Feb. 2, To provide atleast 100 days wage employment in Guarantee Scheme (MNREGA) 2006 rural areas. Beti Bachao Beti Padhao 2014 Generating awareness and improving the efficiency Yojana of delivery of welfare services meant for women. Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan 2014 To link poors at grassroot level by providing bank Yojana accounts. Atal Mission for 2015 To upgrade urban infrastructure across 500 towns Rejuvenation and Urban and cities. Transformation (AMRUT) Shyama Prasad Mukherji September To deliver integrated project based infrastructure Rurban Mission in the rural areas. 2015 Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan 2001 Programme for achievement of universalization of (SSA) elementary education in a time bound manner. Make in India August To revive manufacturing sector. 2015 National Skill Mission July To develop skill and entrepreneurship. 2015 NABARD is the apex institution for providing credit facility to agricultural & rural areas.

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ECONOMY Programme/Plan/ Institution

Atal Pension Yojana

Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY)

Year of beginning

March 2015 May 2015

Objective/Description

For Social Security.

To provide a renewable 1 year accidental deathcum-disability cover of ` 2 lakh for partial/ permanent disability to all savings bank account holders in the age group of 18-70 years for a premium of ` 330 per annum per subscriber.

AGRICULTURE Features of Indian Agriculture Sector (1) Accounts for almost 27% of GDP (2) Contributes 21% of total exports (3) Provides employment to around 65% of the total workforce (4) Provides raw materials to several industries

Green Revolution in India

Since the mid-1960’s, the traditional agricultural practices are gradually being replaced by modern technology & farm practices in India & veritable revolution is taking place in our country. American Scientist Dr. William Grande termed it as Green Revolution. During the middle of 60s, Indian agricultural scientists developed a number of new high yielding varieties of wheat by processing wheat seeds imported from Mexico. These varieties were having production potentialities of 60 – 65 quintals per hectare. As a result Green Revolution ensured India’s self-dependence in foodgrains. The credit for it goes not only to Nobel Laureate Dr. Norman Borlaug but also to Dr. M. S. Swaminathan.

Second Green Revolution

(Strategy Adopted in 11th Plan) The urgent need for taking agriculture to a higher trajectory of 4% annual growth can be met only with improvement in the scale as well as quality of agricultural reforms undertaken by the various states and agencies at the various levels. These at efficient use of resources and conservation of soil, water and ecology on a sustainable basis, and in a holistic framework. Such a holistic framework must Food Corporation of India was established in 1965.

incorporate financing of rural infrastructure such as water, roads and power.

Evergreen Revolution

The pioneer of Indian green revolution Mr. M.S. Swaminathan, presently chairman of National Commission on farmers gave a new call for ‘Evergreen Revolution’ for doubling the present production level of foodgrains from 210 million tonnes to 420 million tonnes. For making ‘Evergreen Revolution’ a success, he stressed on adopting organic farming. He also mentioned four pre-requistes for getting the success: i. Promoting soil health. ii. Promoting Lab to Land exhibitions. iii. Making rainwater harvesting compulsory. iv Providing credit to farmers on suitable conditions.

Agricultural Revolution in a nutshell Revolution

1. Green

2. White 3. Yellow 4. Blue 5. Red 6. Golden 7. Grey 8. Black/ Brown 9. Silver

10. Round

Area

Foodgrain production Milk Oil seeds Fisheries Meat and Tomato Fruits Fertilizers Non-conventional & Energy Sources Eggs Potato

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Food Security World Development Report defined food security as “access by all people at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life”.

Main components of the food security system :

1. Promoting domestic production to meet the demands of the growing population and also to reduce under-nutrition among quite a large section of the population. 2. Providing minimum support prices for procurement & storage of food items. 3. Operating a Public Distribution System. 4. Maintaining buffer stocks so as to take care of natural calamities resulting in temporary shortage of food.

Public Distribution System (PDS) ••

•• •• ••

••

It is established by the Government of India in an Indian Food Security system. It distributes subsidized food & nonfood items to India’s poor. Scheme was launched in India on June 1997. Major commodities distributed include staple foodgrains, such as wheat, rice, sugar, and kerosene oil, through a network of public distribution shops, (also known as ration shops) established in several states across the country. Food Corporation of India procures and maintains the PDS.

Minimum Support Price of Agriculture Production

Minimum Support Price (MSP) announced by the Government is the price at which Government is ready to purchase the crop from the farmers directly if crop price becomes lower to MSP. As a result, market price of the crop never comes down from the levels of MSP. The minimum price security gives incentives to farmers to increase their production.

NABARD

A National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) was, set up in July 1982 by an Act of Parliament to take over the functions of ARDC and the refinancing functions of RBI in relation to co-operative banks and RRBs. NABARD is linked originally

ECONOMY with the RBI by the latter contributing half of its share capital the other half being contributed by the Government of India and nominating three of its Central Board Directors on the board of NABARD, besides a Deputy Governor of RBI being appointed as Chairman of NABARD.

Functions of NABARD

(i) It provides refinance facilities to all banks and financial institutions lending to agriculture and rural development. (ii) It provides short-term, medium-term and long-term credits to State Cooperative Banks (SCBs), RRBs, LDBs and other financial institutions approved by RBI. (iii) NABARD gives long-term loans (up to 20 years) to State Governments to enable them to subscribe to the share capital of co-operative credits societies. (iv) NABARD gives long-term loans to any institution approved by the Central Government. (v) NABARD has the responsibility of coordinating the activities of Central and State Governments, the Planning Commission and other all- India and State level institutions entrusted with the development of small scale industries, village and cottage industries, rural crafts, industries in the tiny and decentralised sectors, etc. (vi) It has the responsibility to inspect RRBs and co-operative banks, other than primary co-operative societies; and (vii)It maintains a Research and Development Fund to promote research in agriculture and rural development.

India’s agriculture in Current Scenario

Agriculture plays a vital role in India’s economy. Over 58 per cent of the rural households depend on agriculture as their principal means of livelihood. Total food grains production in India reached an alltime high of 251.12 million tonnes in FY15. India has the second largest agricultural land in the World with 157.35 million hectares of land available. Agriculture sector in India contributes 16% of GDP & 10% of export earnings.

The General Budget is presented in Lok Sabha by the Minister of Finance.

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ECONOMY 2nd Largest Agricultural Land in the World 157.35 million hectares of available land

Growth of Agriculture Industry in India Growth drivers of Indian Agriculture Demand-side drivers

• Hybrid and genetically modified seeds • Mechanisation Supply-side • Irrigational facilities drivers • Green Revolution in Eastern India

•

• •

Growth drivers

Policy support

Population and income growth Increasing exports Favourable demographics

• Growing institutional credit • Increasing MSPs • Introduction of new schemes • Opening up of exports of wheat and rice

Among 15 Leading Exportern of Agricultural Products Agricultural exports from India (USD billion) CAGR: 27%

Policy Support

11.3

15.6

FY10 FY11

24.7

29.2

29.6

FY12

FY13

FY14

• 100% FDI under automatic route for development of seeds • Agricultural Technology Agency (ATMA)

Management

• Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC)

• Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) • Pradhan Mantri Gram Sinchai Yojana

Growth of Agriculture Industry in India Growth in Agriculture

According to the advanced estimates of Central Statistical Organisation, agriculture and allied sector recorded a growth of 8.3 per cent in FY 15. Agriculture is the primary source of livelihood for about 58 per cent of India’s population Deficit financing was first done in the USA.

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GDP by value added - size of agriculture and allied activities (US$ billion)

Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Print Release, RBI Tech sci Research;

Note: GDP- Gross Domestic Product, cso-Central Statistical Organisation

INDUSTRIES Types of Industries Primary

Secondary (Manufacturing)

Tertiary (Services)

Production of goods with help of nature

Transform raw material into finished product with the help of manpower machines.

Eg. Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, Horticulture

Heavy & Light Industries, Travel & Tourism, Automobile, Oil Refining, Information Technology, Textile, Energy Production etc.

Liberalisation

Provide services to other people & industries

Liberalisation is a relaxation of Government restrictions, usually in areas of social, political

and economic policy. It is commonly known as free trade. It implies removal of restrictions & barriers to free trade.

1. Privatization: Privatization can be partner and players in the global defined as the

transfer of ownership arena & control of public sector units to private individuals or companies.

2. Globalization: It refers to a process whereby there are social, cultural, technological exchanges across the border. RBI is the nodal agency for implementing the monetary policy.

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ECONOMY CPSEs (Central Public Sector Enterprises)

Structure of PSEs in India The PSEs in India are basically categorised under four broad types based on their ownership structure. These include: (i) departmental undertakings, (ii) statutory corporations, (iii) government-owned companies and (iv) autonomous bodies set up as registered societies. Public Enterprises

Departmental Undertakings

Statutory Corporations

Government Companies

• Railways • Post • All India Radio • Doordarshan

• Airport Authority of

• Steel Authority of

India • National Highway authority of India • Food corporation of India • Industrial Finance Corporation of India

(i) Departmental undertakings Departmental undertakings are primarily meant to provide essential services such as railways. They function under the control of the respective ministries of Government of India (GOI). A departmental undertaking structure is considered suitable for activities the government aims to keep in its control in view of the public interest.

(ii) Statutory corporations

Statutory corporations are public enterprises that came into existence by a Special Act of the Parliament. The Act defines the powers and functions, rules and regulations governing the employees and the relationship of the corporation with government departments.

National Stock Exchange (NSE) was set up in 1984.

Autonomous Bodies registered under Societies Registration Act

• Indian Council of Agricultural India Ltd. Research • Coal India Ltd. • Hindustan Copper • Council of Scientific & Industrial Ltd. • State Bank of India Research

(iii) Government-owned companies Government-owned or controlled companies refer to companies in which 51% or more of the paid up capital is held by the central or any state government (partly or wholly by both). It is registered under the Indian Companies Act and is fully governed by the provisions of this Act.

(iv) Autonomous bodies

Autonomous bodies are set up whenever it is felt that certain functions need to be discharged outside the governmental set up with some amount of independence and flexibility without day-to-day interference from the governmental machinery. These bodies are set up by the concerned ministries or their

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departments and are funded through grants-in-aid, either fully or partially, depending on the extent which such institutes generate internal resources of their own. These grants are regulated by the Ministry of Finance (MOF) through

their instructions. They are mostly registered as societies under the ‘Societies Registration Act’ and in certain cases they have been set up as statutory institutions under the provisions contained in various Acts.

CPSE’s Role in Economy

•• CPSE investments have a multiplier effect on the economy During the first five-year plan (1950-51 to 1955-56) there were only 5 CPSEs with a total financial investment (Including equity plus long-term loans) of `290 million, whereas at present, in 2015, there are as many as 290 CPSEs, wherein, 169 are Holding CPSEs and 121 are the subsidiaries. As of March 31, 2012, the total financial investment of CPSEs was 7,292.3 billion, showing a CAGR of around 12% during the same period. •• CPSEs continue to dominate domestic output of key sectors CPSEs continue to hold control across several industries, despite opening up of several sectors for private investment. CPSEs continue to have complete monopoly in nuclear power generation. Other leading areas of dominance are coal (over 80%), crude oil (over 70%), refineries (over 55%) and wired lines (over 80%). However, their share has decreased considerably, with the exception of coking coal and power generation.

Corporations & Government companies are divided into three categories - Maharatna, Navratna and Miniratna. As on 26th October 2014 there are 7 Maharatna, 17 Navratna & 73 Miniratna.

Maharatna

Criteria for grant of Maharatna status : The CPSEs fulfilling the following criteria are eligible to be considered for grant of Maharatna status. (i) Having Navratna status. (ii) Listed on Indian stock exchange with minimum prescribed public shareholding under SEBI regulations. (iii) Average annual turnover of more than ` 25,000 crore, during the last 3 years. (iv) Average annual net worth of more than ` 15,000 crore, during the last 3 years. (v) Average annual net profit after tax of more than ` 5,000 crore, during the last 3 years. (vi) Should have significant global presence/ international operations. Companies: 1. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited

2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Coal India Limited GAIL (India) Limited Indian Oil Corporation Limited NTPC Limited Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Limited 7. Steel Authority of India Limited

Navratna

Criteria for grant of Navratna status : The Miniratna Category – I and Schedule ‘A’ CPSEs, which have obtained ‘excellent’ or ‘very good’ rating under the Memorandum of Understanding system in three of the last five years, and have composite score of 60 or above in the six selected performance parameters, namely, (i) net profit to net worth, (ii) manpower cost to total cost of production/ services, (iii) profit before depreciation, interest and taxes to capital employed, (iv) profit before interest and taxes to turnover, (v) earning per share and (vi) inter-sectoral performance.

The BOP of a country reflects its economic strengths and weaknesses.

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ECONOMY Companies: 1. Bharat Electronics Limited 2 Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited 3. Container Corporation of India Limited 4. Engineers India Limited 5. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited 6. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited 7. Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited 8. National Aluminium Company Limited 9. National Buildings Construction Corporation Limited 10. NMDC Limited 11. Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited 12. Oil India limited. 13. Power Finance Corporation Limited 14. Power Grid Corporation of India Limited 15. Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited 16. Rural Electrification Corporation Limited 17. Shipping Corporation of India Limited

Industrial Policy 1991

(A) Main Features (objective) •• to maintain a sustained growth in productivity. •• to enhance gainful employment. •• to achieve optimum utilisation of human resources. •• to attain international competitiveness •• to transform India into a major partner and players in the global arena. (B) Main Focus on •• deregulating Indian industry. •• allowing the industry freedom & flexibility in responding to market forces •• providing a policy regime which facilitates and fosters growth of Indian industry (C) Policy Measures (i) Liberalisation of Industrial Licensing Policy. (ii) Introduction of Industrial Entrepreneur’s Memorandum (i.e. no industrial approval is required for industries not requiring compulsory licensing). (iii) Liberalisation of Locational Policy. (iv) Liberalised policy for Small Scale Sectors.

(v) Non-Resident Indians Scheme (NRIs are allowed to invest upto equity on nonrepatriation basis in all activities except for a small negative list). (vi) Electronic Hardware Technology Park (EHTP)/ Software Technology Park (STP) Scheme for building up strong electronic industry to enhance exports. (vii) Liberalised policy for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

Core Industries

There are 8 core industries in the economy having a weightage of 38% in the IIP. (Index of industrial production). There 8 core Industries are-Coal, Crude oil, Natural Gas, Petroleum Refinery production, Fertilizes, steel, Cement and Electricity.

MAJOR INDUSTRIES:-

Biotechnology Industry in India India is among the top 12 biotech destinations in the world and ranks third in the Asia-Pacific region. The Indian biotech industry holds about 2% share of the global biotech industry. The Indian biotechnology sector is expected to grow from the current US$ 5-7 billion to US$ 100 billion by 2025, growing at an average rate of 30%. Biopharma is the largest sector contributing about 64% of the total revenue followed by bioservices (18%), bioagri (14%), bioindustry (3%), and bioinformatics contributing (1%). The high demand for different biotech products has also opened up scope for the foreign companies to set up base in India. India has emerged as a leading destination for clinical trials, contract research and manufacturing activities owing to the growth in the bioservices sector. India has all the ingredients to become a global leader in affordable healthcare. If there is an annual investment of US$ 4.01 billion to US$ 5.02 billion in the next five years, the biotech industry can grow to US$ 100 billion by 2025, with a 25% return on investment, and set a growth rate of 30% year-on-year.

Asia’s first Export Processing Zone (EPZ) set up in Kandla in 1965.

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12th Five-Year Plan fund allocation

ECONOMY precious stones, gold, silver and platinum. It contributed US$ 39.9 billion in terms of foreign exchange earnings in FY 2014-15. According to a report by Research and Markets, the jewellery market in India is expected to grow at a CAGR of 15.95% over the period 2014-2019.

Manufacturing Industry in India

Source : Deptt. of science and Technology, Planning commission, Aranca Research

Cement Industry in India

India is the second largest producer of cement in the world. India’s cement industry is a vital part of its economy, providing employment to more than a million people, directly or indirectly. Some of the recent major government initiatives such as development of 100 smart cities are expected to provide a major boost to the sector. Expecting such developments in the country and aided by suitable government foreign policies, several foreign players such as LafargeHolcim, Heidelberg Cement, and Vicat have invested in the country in the recent past. India’s cement demand is expected to reach 550-600 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) by 2025. The housing sector is the biggest demand driver of cement, accounting for about 67% of the total consumption in India. In the 12th Five Year Plan, the Government of India plans to increase investment in infrastructure to the tune of US$ 1 trillion and increase the industry’s capacity to 150 MT.

Gems and Jewellery Industry in India

Contributor to semi-skilled employment. Consists of 3 segments – Diamonds, Gold Jewellery & Coloured Gemstones. It is extremely export oriented and labour intensive. It contributes to 6 – 7% of the GDP. The gems and jewellery sector in India is engaged in sourcing, manufacturing, and processing, which involves cutting, polishing and selling precious gemstones and metals such as diamonds, other

Indian Manufacturing sector currently contributes 16% to GDP (2015) and gives employment to 12% (2014) of the country’s workforce. Studies have estimated that every job created in manufacturing has a multiplier effect, creating 2–3 jobs in the services sector. Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi, has launched the ‘Make in India’ initiative to place India on the world map as a manufacturing hub to give global recognition to the Indian economy. In a major boost to the ‘Make in India’ initiative, the Government of India has received investment proposals of over US$ 3.05 billion till end of August 2015 from various companies. India has become one of the most attractive destinations for investments in the manufacturing sector. Clean energy investments in India increased to US$ 7.9 billion in 2014, helping the country maintain its position as the seventh largest clean energy investor in the world.

Oil and Gas Industry in India

The oil and gas sector is among the six core industries in India and plays a major role in influencing decision making for all the other important sections of the economy. In 1997–98, the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) was envisaged to fill the everincreasing gap between India’s gas demand and supply. The Government of India has adopted several policies to fulfil the increasing demand. The Government has allowed 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) in many segments of the sector, including natural gas, petroleum products, and refineries, among others. Presently, domestic production accounts for more than three-quarters of the country’s total gas consumption. India increasingly

The Industrial Policy Resolution, 1948 was the first economic policy of our country.

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ECONOMY

a cle u N

Wind

relies on imported LNG. The country was the fifth-largest LNG importer in 2013, accounting for 5.5% of global imports. India’s LNG imports are forecasted to increase at a CAGR of 33% during 2012–17.

Pe t Na role tu um ra lG & as

Hydro

Coal

Energy consumption pattern in India State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) dominates the upstream segment (exploration and production), accounting for approximately 68% of the country’s total oil output (FY14). PAHAL - Direct Benefit Transfer for LPG consumer (DBTL) scheme was launched in 54 districts on November 11, 2014 and expanded to rest of the country on January 1, 2015 will cover 15.3 crore active LPG consumers of the country. 24×7 LPG service via web launched to provide LPG consumers an integrated solution to carry out all services at one place, through MyLPG.in, from the comfort of their home. The Government of India launched the ‘Give It Up’ campaign on LPG subsidy that helped it save ` 140 crore (US$ 21.11 million) as on 22nd July 2015 with nearly 12.6 lakh Indians registering for the cause. Subsidised cooking gas will no longer be provided to consumers earning ` 10 lakh or more a year from January 1, 2016. The rule will initially be implemented on selfdeclaration basis for cylinders booked from January 2016 onwards. India has proven oil reserves of 5.7 billion barrels, and gas reserves of 1.4 trillion Indian Railway network is the biggest railway of Asia.

cubic meters, yet given the low production base, the country remains a net importer of energy.

Real Estate Industry in India

India is the second largest employer of Real estate after agriculture and is slated to grow at 30% over the next decade. The real estate sector comprises four sub sectors - housing, retail, hospitality, and commercial. Bengaluru is expected to be the most favoured property investment destination for NRIs, followed by Ahmedabad, Pune, Chennai, Goa, Delhi and Dehradun. The Indian real estate market is expected to touch US$ 180 billion by 2020. The housing sector alone contributes 5-6% to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Mumbai is the best city in India for commercial real estate investment, with returns of 12-19% likely in the next five years, followed by Bengaluru and DelhiNational Capital Region (NCR). Under the Sardar Patel Urban Housing Mission, 30 million houses will be built in India by 2022, mostly for the economically weaker sections and low-income groups, through public-private-partnership (PPP) and interest subsidy.

Textile Industry in India

India’s textiles sector is one of the oldest industries in Indian economy dating back several centuries. Even today, textiles sector is one of the largest contributors to India’s exports. India is the world’s second largest exporter of textiles and clothing contributing approximately 12% of total exports. The Indian textiles industry, currently estimated at around US$ 108 billion, is expected to reach US$ 223 billion by 2021. The textile industry contributes to 10% of manufacturing production, 2% of India’s GDP and to 13% of the country’s export earnings. With over 45 million people employed directly, textile industry is one of the largest source of employment generation

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in the country. Readymade garments are the largest contributor to total textile and apparel exports from India in FY15. The segment had a share of 40% in overall textile

exports. Cotton and handmade textiles were also major contributors with shares of 31% and 16%, respectively. The textile and apparels industry is broadly classified into the following segments:

Segments

Cotton & Jute & Silk & Jute Silk Cotton Textiles Textiles Textiles

Wool & Hand- Technical ReadyWoolen crafted Textiles made garments Textiles Textiles

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in textile sector increased to US$ 1,587.8 million in FY15 from US$ 1,424.9 million in FY14. The Ministry of Textiles is encouraging investments through increasing focus on schemes such as Technology Up-gradation Fund Scheme (TUFS).

IT & ITeS Industry in India

India is the world’s largest sourcing destination for the information technology (IT) industry, accounting for approximately 67% of the US$ 124-130 billion market. India’s IT industry amounts to 12.3% of the global market, largely due to exports. Export of IT services accounted for 56.12% of total IT exports (including hardware) from India. The Business Process Management (BPM) segment accounted for 23.46% of total IT exports during FY15. The IT industry has also created significant demand in the Indian education sector, especially for engineering and computer science. The Indian Information Technology (IT) sector is expected to grow 11% per annum and triple its current annual revenue to reach US$ 350 billion by FY 2025, as per National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM).

The IT industry is the biggest private sector employer in India.

India’s internet economy is expected to touch `10 trillion (US$ 151.6 billion) by 2018, accounting for 5% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), according to a report by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). India’s internet user base reached over 350 million by June 2015, the third largest in the world, while the number of social media users grew to 143 million by April 2015 and smartphones grew to 160 million. Indian start-ups are expected to receive funding worth US$ 5 billion by the end of 2015, a 125% increase in a year, according to a report by IT Industry association NASSCOM. The Government of India has launched the Digital India program to provide several government services to the people using IT and to integrate the government departments and the people of India. The adoption of key technologies across sectors spurred by the ‘Digital India Initiative’ could help boost India’s gross domestic product (GDP) by US$ 550 billion to US$ 1 trillion by 2025, as per research firm McKinsey. SMAC, increasing at a CAGR of approximately 30% to around US$ 650-700 billion by 2020. The social media is the second most lucrative segment for IT firms, offering a US$ 250 billion market opportunity by 2020.

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ECONOMY The Indian e-commerce segment is US$ 12 billion in size and is witnessing strong growth and thereby offers another attractive avenue for IT companies to develop products and services to cater to the high growth consumer segment.

Indian Autombile Industry

The Indian automobile industry registered a growth of 8.68% in the FY 2014 – 15 over last year and produced 23.37 million vehicles. The automobile industry accounts for 7.1% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). Two-wheeler production is projected to rise from 18.5 million in FY15 to 34 million by FY20. Furthermore, passenger vehicle production is expected to increase to 10 million in FY20 from 3.2 million in FY15. The government aims to develop India as a global manufacturing as well as a research and development (R&D) hub. It has set up National Automotive Testing and R&D Infrastructure Project (NATRIP) centres as well as a National Automotive Board to act as facilitator between the government and the industry. Alternative fuel has the potential to provide for the country’s energy demand in the auto sector as the CNG distribution network in India is expected to rise to 250 cities in 2018 from 125 cities in 2014. Furthermore, the luxury car market can register high growth and is expected to reach 150,000 units by 2020.

Coal Industry in India

Coal is one of the important parts of India’s energy mix. It has the fifth largest coal reserves in the world. It is a major source of electricity production in India. Coal India Limited (CIL) was formed as a holding company in 1975, incorporating the state-owned companies that were created following the nationalisation of India’s coal assets. Coal India Limited accounts for around 80% of India’s total coal production.

Iron & Steel Industry Started by TISCO at Jamshedpur in 1907. India is world’s 3rd largest producer of crude steel. Provides employment to large number of people. Steel sector contributes nearly 2% of GDP. Key industry for construction. Backbone of all industries. SAIL is the largest public sector steel producing company. India is the largest producer of sponge iron in the world.

Travel & Tourism Industry

According to World Economic Forum’s Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2015, India ranks 52nd globally out of 141 economies ranked on Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index. Tourism in India accounts for 6.8% of the GDP & is the 3rd largest foreign exchange earner for the country. The direct contribution of Tourism & Hospitality sector to GDP totalled US $ 44.2 billion in 2015. Over 7.757 million foreign tourist arrivals were reported in 2015. Important Travel Companies in India Cox Kings Ltd., India Tourism Development Corporation Ltd., Thomas Cook Ltd.

Foreign Direct Investment Policy 2016

The FDI policy amendments are meant to liberalize and simplify the FDI policy so as to provide ease of doing business is the country leading to larger FDI inflows contributing to growth of investment, incomes and employment. Measures undertaken by the Government, in previous years, have resulted in increased FDI inflows at US$ 55.46 billion in financial year 2015-16, as against US $ 36.04 billion during 2013-14. This is the highest ever FDI inflow far a particular financial year. However, it was felt that the country has potential to attract far more foreign investment which can be achieved by further liberalizing and simplifying the FDI regime. Thus changes introduced in the FDI policy 2016 included increase in sectoral

MSME is the largest job provider and contributes about 8% to the GDP of India.

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caps, bringing more activities under automatic route and easing of conditionalities for foreign investment. The amendments have made India the most open economy in the world for FDI.

FDI 2016 in Various Sectors Sector

Limit

Food Products (Manufactured/Produced in India) Defence

100%

Government

Brownfield Airport Projects

100%

Automatic

Broadcasting Carriage Services Brownfield pharmaceuticals Animal Husbandry Agriculture

Construction Development: Townships, Housing, Built-up Infrastructure Industrial Parks Telecom Services Multi Brand Retail Trading Banking—Private Sector Banking—Public Sector Insurance Pension

MSME contributes about 40% to India’s exports.

100% 74%

100%

100% 100% 51% 74% 20% 49% 49%

Entry Route

Government Automatic

Automatic

Automatic Upto 49%—Automatic Above 49%—Government Government Upto 49%—Automatic Above 49%—Government & Upto 74% Government Automatic Automatic

MAJOR POLICIES/ACTS – AT A GLANCE

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MAJOR POLICIES/ACTS – AT A GLANCE

VARIOUS DEVELOPMENT AND EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMMES IN INDIA – AT A GLANCE Programme/Plan/ Year of Objective/Description Institution beginning National Institution of 1977 Training, investigation and advisory organisation for Rural Development rural development. Rural Landless August 15, For providing employment to landless farmers and Employment Guarantee 1983 labourers. Programme (RLEGP) Self-Employment to the 1983-84 To provide financial and technical assistance for Educated Unemployed self- employment. Youth (SEEUY) Self-Employment September To provide self-employment to urban poor through Programme for the Urban 1986 provision of subsidy and bank credit. Poor (SEPUP) District Rural 1993 To provide financial assistance for rural Development Agency development. (DRDA) Valmiki Ambedkar Awas December Constructing slum houses in urban areas. Yojana (VAMBAY) 2, 2001 Community Development 1952 Overall development of rural areas with people’s Programme (CDP) participation. 1960-61 To provide loan, seeds, fertilizer tools to the Intensive Agriculture farmers. Development Programme (IADP) Green Revolution 1966-67 To increase the foodgrains, specially wheat production. Nationalisation of 14 Banks

July 1969

Crash Scheme for Rural Employment (CSRE) Food for Work Programme

1972-73

Drought-Prone Area Progr-amme (DPAP)

1973

1977-78

To provide loans for agriculture, rural development and other priority sectors.

To try an expedient for protection from drought by achieving environmental balance and by developing ground water. For rural employment.

Providing food grains to labour for the works of development.

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MAJOR POLICIES/ACTS – AT A GLANCE

Programme/Plan/ Institution Jawahar Rozgar Yojana

Agricultural and Rural Debt Relief Scheme (ARDRS) Scheme of Urban Micro Enterprises (SUME)

Scheme of Urban Wage Employment (SUWE)

National Renewal Fund (NRF)

Year of Objective/Description beginning April 1989 For providing employment to rural unemployed. 1990 1990

1990

February 1992

Employment Assurance October 2, Scheme (EAS) 1993 Sixth Five Scheme of Integrated Development of Small and Year Plan Medium Towns

To exempt bank loans upto ` 10,000 of rural artisans and weavers.

To assist the urban poor people for small enterprise.

To provide wage employment after arranging the basic facilities for poor people in the urban areas where population is less than one lakh. To protect the interest of the employees of Public Sector.

To provide employment of at least 100 days in a year in villages. To provide resource and create employment in small and medium towns for prohibiting the migration of population from rural areas to big cities. Child Labour Eradication August 15, To shift child labour from hazardous industries to Scheme 1994 schools.

November Prime Minister’s Integrated Urban Poverty 18, 1995 Eradication Programme (PMIUPEP) National Social Assistance 1995 Programme

To attack urban poverty in an integrated manner in 345 town having population between 50,000 to 1 lakh. To assist people living below the poverty line.

Ganga Kalyan Yojana

1997-98

To provide financial assistance to farmers for exploring and developing ground and surface water resources.

BhagyaShree Bal Kalyan Policy

October 19, To uplift the conditions of girls. 1998

Social Security Pilot Scheme

January 23, Scheme for labourers of unorganised sector for 2004 providing family pension, insurance and medical.

Sampurna Gramin Rojgar September Providing employment and food security. Yojana 25, 2001

WOMEN EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMMES

Name of the Year of Objective/Description Beginning Programmes Rashtriya Mahila Kosh1993 It extends micro-finance services through a client (National Credit Fund for friendly and hasslefree loaning mechanism for Women) livelihood activities, housing micro-enterprises, family needs, etc to bring about the socio-economic upliftment of poor women. Support to Training and 2003-04 To increase the self-reliance and autonomy of Employment Programme women by enhancing their productivity and for Women (STEP) enabling them to take up income generating activities.

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MAJOR POLICIES/ACTS – AT A GLANCE Ujjawala

December A comprehensive scheme for prevention 4th, 2007 of trafficking with 5 specific components : prevention, rescue, rehabilitation, re-integration and repatriation of victims. Dhan Laxmi March Conditional cash transfer scheme for the girl child 2008 to encourage families to educate girl children and to prevent child marriage. National Mission for 2010 To achieve empowerment of women socially, Empowerment of Women economically and educationally by securing (NMEW) convergence of schemes.

Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for November It aims at empowering adolescent girls of 11 to 18 Empowerment of Adolescent 19th, 2010 years by improving their nutritional and health Girls (RGSEAG)- ‘Sabla’ status, upgradation of home skills, life skills and vocational skills. Saakshar Bharat September National Literacy mission has been recased as 8th, 2009 ‘Saakshar Bharat’. The aim is to cover all adults, in the age group of 15 and above, with its primary focus on women.

POLICIES

Policy New Pension System

Year of Beginning January,  2004   

National Food Security Mission

2007



Mega Food Parks Scheme (MFPs)

2008



Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) Direct Benefit Transfer Digital India

2009

2013



  

July, 2015   

Objective/Description To provide retirement income to all the citizens. Structured in 2 tiers – Tier-1 account is a basic retirement pension account available to all citizens and does not permit withdrawal of funds before retirement. Tier-2 account is a prospective payment system account that permits some withdrawal of pension prior to retirement under exceptional circumstances. To increase production and productivity of wheat, rice and pulses. To bridge the yield gap through spreading of improved technologies and farm management practices. To set up modern infrastructure facilities for food processing. To reduce wastage of perishables. To assign a 12-digit UID number (Aadhaar) to all residents of India. Direct transfer of subsidy under various social schemes into beneficiaries’ bank accounts through Aadhar Payment Bridge Creation of digital infrastructure. Delivering services digitally. Digital literacy.

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MAJOR POLICIES/ACTS – AT A GLANCE June, 2015   

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan MUDRA Bank Yojana Payment Banks

2 October,  2014  April 8, 2015 2015



Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana Soil Health Card Scheme

2015



February,  2015

Citizenship (Amendment) February Bill 27, 2015

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The Constitution (119th Amendment) Act

May 2015 

Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill

March, 2015

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To promote, cities that provide core infrastructure, and give a decent quality of life to its citizens. A clean & sustainable environment and application of smart solutions. Cover 100 cities and its duration will be 5 years (2015-16 to 2019-20). To have a cleaner India. Introduce modern and scientific municipal solid waste management practices. Regulate the micro finance to the rural and needy population. RBI granted ‘in principle’ approval for payment banks to 11 entities, including Reliance Industries, Airtel, Vodafone etc. New stripped - down type of banks, which are expected to reach customers mainly through their mobile phones rather than traditional bank, branches. These banks can’t offer loans but can raise deposits of upto ` 1 Lakh, and pay interest on these balances. To provide 24×7 uninterrupted electricity supply to each rural household across the nation by 2022. To help farmers to improve their farm productivity by evaluating the quality by of the soil. The bill allows the central government to register a person as an Overseas Citizen of India cardholder even if he/she does not satisfy the given eligibility under special circumstances only. Constitution (119th Amendment) Act, 2015 is related to the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) between India and Bangladesh. The bill aims to amend the 1st schedule of the constitution for the exchange of disputed territories occupied by both the nations in agreement with the 1974 bilateral LBA(Land Boundary Agreement) The bill describes “e-cart or e-rickshaw” as a special purpose battery powered vehicle of power not exceeding 4000 watts, having three wheels for carrying goods or passengers. The bill empowers Union Government to make the rules on the specifications for e-carts and e-rickshaws with conditions and manner for issuing driving licenses.

MAJOR POLICIES/ACTS – AT A GLANCE The Rights of Transgender April 2015  Persons Bill •

Insurance (Amendment) Bill

Laws

March 2015

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•

Land Acquisition Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill

11th May,  2015 • •

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• SAHAJ Scheme

2015

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GK-307 The Bill guarantees reservation in education, jobs, financial aid and social inclusion. The bill promises for creation of welfare boards at the Centre and State level for the community with two per cent reservation in government jobs along with providing for pensions and unemployment allowances; and establishment of Transgender rights court. The Amendment will hand over the responsibility of selecting insurance agents to insurers and provides for IRDAI to standardize their eligibility, qualifications and other aspects. It allows agents to work for variety of companies in various business categories; upholding the conflict of interest that would not be allowed by IRDAI via suitable rules. The amendments provide a comparatively easier process for payment to the nominee of the policy holder, as the insurer would be discharged of its legal liabilities once the payment is made to the nominee. The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill, 2015 was introduced on 11th May, 2015. The Bill seeks to amend the principal Act (LARR Act, 2013) passed in 2013. The bill empowers the government to excuse five categories of projects including defence, rural infrastructure, affordable housing, industrial corridors and infrastructure including PPPs, from the requirements of: (i) social impact assessment, (ii) restrictions on acquisition of multi-cropped land, and (iii) consent for private projects and public private partnerships (PPPs) projects. The bill eliminated the provisions from the principal act which deemed the head of a government department guilty for an offence conducted by the department and added the requirement of a prior sanction to take legal action against a government employee. The government allowed this ordinance on the land acquisition act to lapse on 31st August 2015. Under the SAHAJ scheme, people are required to fill up forms online for a new LPG connection and avoid visiting the LPG distributors. It involves filing the KYC form by uploading bank account details and photographs.

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MAJOR POLICIES/ACTS – AT A GLANCE

‘SAMANVAY’ portal

2015

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USTAAD Scheme

2015

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• • Namami Gange Project

May, 2015 

Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana

9 May, 2015

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Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao campaign

January 22nd, 2015

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Sukanya Samridhi Yojana

January 22nd, 2015

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• •

‘SAMANVAY’ web portal was launched by the Union Ministry of Rural Development to supervise the progress and execution of the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) for development of Gram Panchayats. The USTAAD scheme was launched in order to improve the degrading condition of the world renowned Banaras Saree weavers belonging to various minority communities. The Scheme seeks to upgrade the Skills and Training of the minority communities by preservation of their customary ancestral Arts and Crafts. It also focuses on improving upon the skills of craftsmen, weavers and artisans who are already engaged in the traditional ancestral work. Namami Gange Project was launched as an intergrated effort by the Union Government for the conservation and improvement of the Ganga River. Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) was launched by the Union finance minister Arun Jaitley with the aim to extend life insurance cover to people both in the cases of natural deaths or accidents. Union Government launched one of its most ambitious projects Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao (BBBP) on 22nd January 2015 whose prime objective is to create awareness about the diminishing child sex ratio in the country. Sukanya Samridhi Yojna was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 22nd January 2015 as a girl child prosperity scheme to ensure the bright future of the girl child in India. Under the scheme, parents need to deposit ` 1,000 at the time of her birth and thereafter deposit multiples of ` 100 with the maximum deposit of ` 1,50,000. The yojana permits the girl child to access her account after she is 10 years old and a withdrawal of 50% from the account is permitted at the age of 18 years for higher education purpose.

MAJOR POLICIES/ACTS – AT A GLANCE Nai Manzil scheme

August  8th, 2015 •

Thari Pension, Thare Pass

August, 2015

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• ‘Aapki Beti Hamari Beti’ Scheme

Green Highways Policy

January 22nd, 2015

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2015

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• ‘Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana’ One Rank One Pension (OROP)

Swadesh Darshan Yojana

2015

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September  5, 2015 2015

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GK-309 The scheme seeks to deal with educational and livelihood needs of minority communities in general and Muslims in particular as it lags behind other minority communities in terms of educational attainments.

The focus of the scheme is to provide educational intervention by offering bridge courses to the trainees, getting them certificates for class XII and X through distance educational system and facilitate them with trade basis skill training in 4 courses namely manufacturing, engineering, services and soft skills. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar launched the Thari Pension Thare Pass in Chandigarh, seeking to directly transfer pension into the bank accounts of beneficiaries. Over 10 lakh beneficiaries from 1,744 villages and 81 towns in the state would get pensions through banks and post offices under the first phase of the scheme. Haryana government launched the ‘Aapki Beti Hamari Beti’ scheme aiming to combat the problem of declining child sex ratio and promote girls’ education. The scheme is to be implemented in both rural and urban areas of the state covering first-born girl child of Scheduled Caste (SC) and Below Poverty Line (BPL) families. The aim of the policy is to promote greening of Highway corridors with participation of the community, farmers, private sector, NGOs, and government institutions.

The target for the first year is to plant trees along 6,000 km of highways, for which 12,000 hectares of land allotted. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched ‘Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana’, which aims to offer 24 lakh Indian youth meaningful, industry relevant, skill based training. To provide uniform pension to ex-servicemen of the same rank and the same length of service, regardless of their date of retirement. Develop world class tourism infrastructure.

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MAJOR POLICIES/ACTS – AT A GLANCE

National Heritage January  City Development and 21, 2015 Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY)

Bringing together urban planning, economic growth and heritage conservation to preserve the heritage character of each Heritage City.

Gold Monetisation Scheme November,  2015 UJWAL Discom Assurance November,  Yojana (UDAY) 20, 2015

To reduce the reliance on gold imports.

Udaan Scheme

November,  2014

Encouraging girls for higher technical education and aims to provide them with better learning opportunities. To reduce the interest burden, cost of power, power losses in distribution sector, and improve operational efficiency of DISCOMs.

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BUSINESS

BUSINESS ENTITIES Sole Proprietorship It is an unincorporated business with one owner who pays personal income tax on profits from the business.

Partnership A type of business organisation in which two or more individuals pool money, skills, & other resources, & share profit & loss in accordance with terms of the partnership agreement. Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) It is a partnership in which some or all partners have limited liabilities.

Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) It is an extended family arrangement prevalent throughout the Indian subcontinent consisting of many generations living in the same household, all bound by the common relationship. A HUF is a legal term related to the Hindu Marriage Act. The female members are also given the right of share to the property in the HUF. Cooperative It is a firm owned, controlled, & operated by a group of users for their own benefit. Each member contributes equity capital & shares in the control of the firm on the basis of onemember, one-vote principle.

Dormant Company The Companies Act 2013 (section 455) introduces a concept of a dormant company within its ambit. The Dormant Company is a company formed & registered under this act for a future project or to hold an asset

or intellectual property & has no significant accounting transaction, such a company or an inactive company may make an application to the registrar in such manner as may be prescribed for obtaining the status of a Dormant company.

Family Owned Business It is a kind of business in which two or more family members are involved & the majority of ownership or control lies within the family. Private Limited Company A type of company that offers limited liability, or legal protection for its shareholders but places certain restrictions on its ownership.

Small Company It is a company that satisfies either of the following conditions: (i) Paid-up share capital which does not exceed 50 lakh rupees or such higher amount as may be prescribed which shall not be more than 5 crore rupees. OR (ii) Turnover of which as per its last profit & loss account does not exceed 2 crore rupees or such higher amount as may be prescribed which shall not be more than 20 crore rupees.

Public Limited Company A company whose securities are traded on a stock exchange & can be bought & sold by anyone. Its formation, working & its winding up, in fact, all its activities are strictly governed by laws, rules & regulations.

Goldmansach was founded in 1869 and became a public company in 1999.

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BUSINESS

Public Sector Unit (PSU) The government owned corporations are termed as public sector undertakings (PSUs) in India. In a PSU, majority (51% or more) of the paid up share capital is held by Central Government or by any state government & partly by one or more state governments. One Person Company It is a registered company who has only one shareholder. It is a private company.

Unlimited Company It is a company in which all members or shareholders have total & joint responsibility to cover all debts & other liabilities the company generates, regardless of how much capital each contributes. Incorporated Company A company that has been granted a charter legally recognizing it as a separate entity having its own privileges, rights, & liabilities distinct from other business & persons.

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

The framework of rules & practices by which a Board of Directors ensures accountability, fairness, & transparency in a company’s relationship with its all stakeholders (financiers, customers, management, employees, government, & the community). The corporate governance framework consists of : 1. explicit & implicit contracts between the company & the stakeholders for

distribution of responsibilities, rights & rewards. 2. procedures for reconciling the sometimes conflicting interests of stakeholders in accordance with their duties, privileges & roles. 3. procedures for proper supervision, control & information-flows to serve as a system of checks & balances.

The Companies Act (Amendment) Bill 2016 seeks to amend the Companies Act 2013 which regulates the incorporation, regulation and winding up of companies. The Bill in the wake of facilitating ease of doing business aims to bring some radical changes in the previous Act. In March 2016, the Bill was introduced in

Lok Sabha. This Bill is mainly based on the recommendations of the companies Law Committee. The Bill was then referred to the standing Committee on finance for examination. Brief description of the key changes proposed is 2016 Bill compared with provisions of the 2013 Act:

COMPANIES ACT AMENDMENT BILL 2016

Key Features

Companies Act, 2013

Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2016 Private Placement Separate offer letter to be given to Removes the requirement of isprivate individuals. A record of such suing a separate offer letter, and offers must be filed with the Regis- recording such offers with the trar of Companies (ROC) in 30 days. ROC.

Forward dealing & Prohibits forward dealing in secu- Removes the provisions related Insider trading rities by the Director or Key mana- to prohibition of forward dealgerial personnel. Prohibits insides ing and insider trading. trading by all persons in a company. Memorandum of a Requires to state the objects for Memorandum may contain genCompany which the company is being incor- eral objects which state that the porated, and other related matters. company may engage in any lawful activities or businesses. Edmund Jerome McCarthy propounded the theory of 4 P’s of marketing.

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BUSINESS Managerial remuneration

Approval of the Central Government Omits the requirement of oband shareholders must be obtained taining approval from the Cenfor payment of managerial remu- tral Government. neration if exceeds prescribed limits. Cap on investInvestments in a company cannot Removes the restrictions on ments be made through more than two lay- number of layers of investment ers of investment companies. companies. Subsidiary comSubsidiary Company is one in Replaces the term ‘shares’ pany and Associate which a parent company holds with voting power. Preferential Company more than 50% of its ‘Shares’. shareholders, who do not have Associate Company is one voting power are excluded. where another company holds at lest 20% of its ‘Shares’. (Includes equity & Preferential shareholders). Ratification of Auditors

Appointment or continuance of au- Omit this requirement ditor of a company should be ratified annually by the members of the company. Loans to Directors A company is not allowed to ad- Allows company to advance a loan vance any loan to its Directors or to in relation to any person a Direcany person in whom the director is tor is interested in if the company passes a special resolution. interested. Register as a Private Company

Any company formed, consisting For the words ‘seven or more of seven or more members, may members’, the words ‘two or at any time register under this Act more member’ shall be substias an unlimited company, or as a tuted. A company with less than company limited by shares, or as a seven members shall register as company limited by guarantee. a private company.

PENSION SYSTEM Pension Plans provide financial security & stability during old age when people don’t have a regular source of income. To provide social security to more citizens the Government of India has started the National Pension System. Government of India established Pension Fund Regulatory & Development Authority (PFRDA) on 10th October 2013 to develop & regulate pension sector in the country. The National Pension System (NPS) was launched in 1st January, 2004 with the objective of providing retirement income to all the citizens. With effect from 1st May 2009, NPS has been provided for all citizens of the country including the unorganised sector workers on voluntary basis. Additionally, Central Government launched a co-contributory pension scheme, ‘Swavalamban Scheme’ in the Union Budget of 2010-11, under which the Government will contribute a sum of ` 1,000 to each eligible NPS subscriber who contributes a minimum of ` 1,000 & maximum ` 12,000 per annum. The NPS is structured in 2 tiers. A Tier-1 account is a basic retirement pension account available to all citizens from 1 May 2009. It doesnot permit withdrawal of funds before retirement. A Tier-2 account is a prospective payment system account that permits some withdrawal of pension prior to retirement under exceptional circumstances, usually related to the provision of health care.

The 4 P’s of the marketing theory are Product, Price, Place, Promotion.

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BUSINESS MINISTRY OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS

MCA regulates corporate affairs in India through the Companies ACT, 1956, 2013 and other allied Acts, Bills and Rules. MCA also protects investors and offers many important services to stakeholders. The Ministry is also responsible for administering the Competition Act, 2002 to prevent practices having adverse effect on competition, to promote and sustain competition in markets, to protect the interests of consumers through the commission set up under the Act. Besides, it exercises supervision over the three professional bodies, namely, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) which are constituted under three separate Acts of the Parliament for proper and orderly growth of the professions concerned

Registrar of Companies

Registrars of Companies (ROC) appointed under Section 609 of the Companies Act covering the variuous States and Union Territories are vested with the primary duty of registering companies and LLPs floated in the respective states and the Union Territories and ensuring that such companies and LLPs comply with statutory requirements under the

Act. These offices function as registry of records relating to the companies registered with them, which are available for inspection by members of public on payment of the prescribed fee. The Central Government exercises administrative control over these offices through the respective Regional Directors.

Income Tax Department

The Income Tax Department, also referred to as IT Department, is a government agency in charge of monitoring the income tax collection by the Government of India. It functions under the Department of Revenue of the Ministry of Finance. It is responsible for administering following direct taxation acts passed by Parliament of India. •• Income Tax Act •• Wealth Tax Act •• Gift Tax Act •• Expenditure Tax Act •• Interest Tax Act •• Various Finance Acts (Passed Every Year in Budget Session) The IT Department is also responsible for enforcing the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements and deals with various aspects of international taxation such as Transfer Pricing.

BALANCE SHEET A financial statement that summarizes a company’s assets, liabilities and shareholders’ equity at a specific point in time. These three balance sheet segments give investors an idea as to what the

company owns and owes, as well as the amount invested by shareholders. The balance sheet adheres to the following formula: Assets = Liabilities + Shareholders’ Equity

Production function is the relationship between physical inputs and physical output of a commodity.

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BUSINESS Balance Sheet Template

Company Name Here

Balance Sheet For the period Ended ___________ Assets Current Assets Cash Short-term investment Accounts Receivables Inventories Prepaid Insurance Others

XXXXXX

Liabilities Current Liabilities Account Payable Salaries Payable Accrued Interest Taxes payable Current Portion of Notes

XXXXXX XXXXX XXXXX XXXX XXXXXX XXXXXXXX

XXXXXX XXXXXXX

XXXXXXX

Long Term Liabilities Note Payable Mortgage Liability

XXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXXXXX

Land XXXXXX Building and Equipment XXXXXX Less Accumulated Depreciation (XXXXX) XXXXXX

XXXXXX

Long Term Investments Stock Investments Cash Value of Insurance

Fixed Assets

Intangible Assets Good Will

Other Assets Receivables from Employees Total Assets

XXXXXX XXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXXX

Total Liabilities

XXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX

Stock Holder’s Equity Capital Stock Retained Earnings

Total stock Holder’s Equity

Total Liabilities

XXXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXX

XXXXXX XXXXXXXX

SOURCES OF FUNDS Debt A duty or obligation to pay money delivery goods or render service under an express or implied agreement. Debentures It is a medium- to long-term debt instrument used by large companies to borrow money, at a fixed rate of interest. Shareholder’s Equity It represents the amount by which a company is financed through common and preferred shares.

Seed Funding It is a type of securities contribution in which an investor invests capital in exchange for an equity stake in the company. This sort of funding is done in the initial stages of a business.

Venture Funding It is the capital invested, or available for investment, in an enterprise that offers the probability of profit along with the possibility of loss. This sort of funding is done, generally, after a company has a proof of concept and has crossed early stages of business. IPO Initial public offering or IPO is the first sale of a company’s shares to the public, leading to a stock market listing. A lot of venture funds adopts this route to exit a company in which they have invested.

Shares A unit of ownership that represents an equal proportion of a company’s capital. It entitles its holder( the shareholder) to an equal

Relationship marketing is a form of marketing developed from direct response marketing campaign conducted in 1960.

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claim on the company’s profits & an equal obligation for the company’s debts & losses.

There are 2 major types of shares•• Ordinary shares: Entitles the shareholder to share in the earnings of the company & to vote at the company’s annual general meetings & other official meetings. •• Preference shares: Entitles the shareholder to a fixed periodic income but generally do not give him/her voting rights. Loans: A loan is a debt provided by an entity (organisation of individual) to another entity at an interest rate.

Performance of a company

Debt/Equity Ratio It is a debt ratio used to calculate company’s financial leverage. It is calculated by dividing a company’s total liabilities by its stockholder’s equity. It shows how much debt a corporation is using to fund its assets relative to the amount of value represented in shareholder’s equity. P/E Ratio The price-to earnings ratio is an equity valuation multiple. It is defined as market price per share divided by annual earnings per share, (EPS = total income of company divided by number of shares issued)

Turnover Ratio The turnover ratio measures how well a company is utilizing its capital to support a given Level of Sales. A high turnover ratio indicates that management is being extremely efficient is using a firm’s short term assets & liabilities to support sales. Conversely, a low ratio indicates that a business is investing in too many accounts receivable & inventory assets to support its sales, which could eventually lead to an excessive amount of bad debts & obsolete inventory.

Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); sometimes also small and medium enterprises) or small and medium-

BUSINESS sized businesses (SMBs) are businesses whose personnel numbers fall below certain limits. Indian Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) sector has emerged as a highly vibrant and dynamic sector of the Indian economy over the last five decades. SMEs not only play crucial role in providing large employment opportunities at comparatively lower capital cost than large industries but also help in industrialization of rural areas. SMEs are complementary to large industries as ancillary units and this sector contributes enormously to the socioeconomic development of the country. The sector consisting of 36 million units, as of today, provides employment to over 80 million persons. The Sector through more than 6,000 products contributes about 8% to GDP besides 45% to the total manufacturing output and 40% to the exports from the country. The SME sector has the potential to spread industrial growth across the country and can be a major partner in the process of inclusive growth. SMEs also play a significant role in Nation development through high contribution to Domestic Production, Significant Export Earning, Low Investment Requirements, Operational Flexibility, Location Wise Mobility, Low Intensive Imports, Capacities to Develop Appropriate Indigenous Technology, Import Substitution, Contribution towards Defence Production, Technology – Oriented Industries, Competitiveness in Domestic and Export Markets thereby generating new entrepreneurs by providing knowledge and training.

E–Commerce in India

E-commerce or electronic commerce deals with the buying & selling of goods & services, or the transmitting of funds or data, over an electronic platform, mainly the internet. These business transactions are categorised into– •• Business to Business (B2B) •• Business to Consumers (B2C)

First Five-Year Plan (1951-1956) was based on the “Harold-Domar Model”.

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BUSINESS •• Consumer to Consumer (C2C) •• Consumer to Business(C2B) Business to Business to Consumer E–commerce processes are conducted using applications, such as Email, fax, online catalogues & shopping carts, electronic data interchange, file transfer protocol & web services & e–newsletters to subscribers. E–Travel is the most popular form of E–commerce, followed by e–Tail which essentially means selling of retail goods on the internet conducted by the B2C category. Mobile Commerce (M – Commerce)

M–Commerce is the buying & selling of goods & services through wireless handheld services such as cellular telephone & personal digital assistants. The phrase mobile commerce was originally coined in 1997 by Kevin Duffey at the launch of the Global Mobile Commerce Forum. Mobile Commerce transaction continues to grow, & the term includes online banking, bill payment & so on.

MNC

A corporation that has its facilities and other assets in at least one country other than its home country. Such companies have offices and/or factories in different countries and usually have a centralized head office where they co-ordinate global management. It can also be referred as an international corporation, a “transnational corporation”, or a stateless corporation.

NGO

A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an organization that is neither a part of a government nor a conventional for-profit business. The term “non-governmental organization” was first coined in 1945, when the United Nations (UN) was created. The UN, itself an inter-governmental organization, made it possible for certain approved specialized international non-state agencies, i.e. nongovernmental organizations to be awarded observer status at its assemblies and some of its meetings. Later the term became used more

widely. Today, according to the UN, any kind of private organization that is independent from government control can be termed an “NGO”, provided it is not-for-profit, non-prevention, and not simply an opposition political party. Examples include improving the state of the natural environment, encouraging the observance of human rights, improving the welfare of the disadvantaged, or representing a corporate agenda. However, there are a huge number of such organizations and their goals cover a broad range of political and philosophical positions. This can also easily be applied to private schools and athletic organizations.

FICCI (Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry)

Established in 1927, FICCI is the largest and oldest apex business organisation in India. A non-government, not-for-profit organisation, FICCI is the voice of India’s business and industry. From influencing policy to encouraging debate, engaging with policy makers and civil society, FICCI articulates the views and concerns of industry.

Agmark

It is a certification mark employed on agricultural products in India, assuring that they confirm to a set of standards approved by the Directorate of Marketing & Inspection, an agency of the Government of India.

ISI Mark

ISI (Indian Standards Institute) mark is a certification mark for industrial products in India. The mark certifies that a product confirms to the Indian Standard, mentioned as IS: xxxx on top of the mark, developed by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). The ISI mark is mandatory for certifying products to be sold in India, like many of the electrical appliances, kitchen appliances, other products like LPG valves, LPG cylinders, automotive tyres, etc.

Second Five-Year Plan (1956-1961) was based on the P.C. Mahalanobis Model.

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BUSINESS Important Business Terms

Term Ahead of the Curve Backroom Deal Go broke

In the black In the red

Lose – Lose situation Pink Slip

Snail Mail

Meaning To be more advanced than the competition

An agreement or decision that is made without the public knowing about it. To go bankrupt or to loose all the money a person or business had.

If a company is “in the black”, it means that they are making a profit

If a company is “in the red” it means that they are not profitable & are operating at a loss.

When someone has to choose between various options & all the options are bad. If someone gets the “pink slip”, it means they have fired.

Letter or messages that are not sent by email, but by regular post.

Blue Collar Worker Someone who works with his/her hands (manufacturing construction, maintenance, etc.). White Collar Worker Someone who works in an office (customer service, management, sales, etc.) Win – Win situation A situation where everyone involved gains something. Corner a market Downsizing

Venture Capital Opportunity Cost Logistics

Equity Merger Acquisition Hedging

To dominate a particular market.

A planned reduction in the number of employees needed in a firm in order to reduce costs & make the business more efficient. Money that is invested in new or emerging companies that are perceived as having great profit potential. Cost in terms of foregone alternatives.

Process of strategically managing the efficient flow & storage of raw materials, in-process inventory, & finished goods from point of origin to point of consumption. Difference between market value of a property & claims held against it. Combination of two or more companies into a single firm. Taking over the control of one company by another.

A Risk management strategy used in limiting or offsetting probability of loss from fluctuations in the prices of commodities, currencies, or securities.

Intellectual Property Knowledge, creative ideas, or expressions of human mind that have commercial value & are protectable under copyright, patent, servicemark, trademark, or trade secret laws from imitation infringement, & dilution. Swap Exchange of one type of asset, cash flow, investment, liability, or payment for another. Bankrupt When individual/company cannot pay their debts & are not able to reach an agreement with their creditors. Liquidity How quickly assets can be converted into cash. Abid Hussain committee was formed for the development of capital markets.

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BUSINESS BUSINESS CONCEPTS Agent A business entity that negotiates, purchases, and/or sells, but does not take title to the goods.

Doing Business As (DBA) DBA stands for “Doing Business As,” which is a company name, also commonly called a “Fictitious business name.” When a sole proprietor operates a company using any name except his or her own given name, then the DBA or ficticious business name registration establishes the legal ownership to satisfy banks, local authorities, and customers. Ideas vs Opportunities Ideas are the basis of potential business opportunities. Good ideas do not necessarily represent good opportunities.

Initial Public Offering (IPO) A corporation’s initial efforts of raising capital through the sale of securities on the public stock market.

Inventory Goods in stock, either finished goods or materials to be used to manufacture goods. Outsourcing Purchasing an item or a service from an outside vendor to replace performance of the task with an organization’s internal operations.

SWOT Analysis A formal framework of identifying and framing organizational growth opportunities. SWOT is an acronym for an organization’s internal Strengths and Weaknesses and external Opportunities and Threats.

CRM CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. At its simplest, a CRM system allows businesses to manage business relationships and the data and information associated with them. Supply Chain Management (SCM) It is the oversight of materials, information,

The World Trade Organisation was earlier known as GATT.

and finances as they move in a process from supplier to manufacturer to wholesaler to retailer to consumer. Supply chain management involves coordinating and integrating these flows both within and among companies. Memorandum of Association (MoA) MoA is a legal document prepared in the formation & registration process of a limited liability company to define its relationship with shareholders.

Articles of Association It is a document of a company which defines the responsibilities of the directors, the kind of business to be undertaken, & the means by which the shareholders exert control over the board of directors. Start–ups A start-up company is an entrepreneurial venture or a new business in the form of a company, a partnership or temporary organization designed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model. These companies, generally newly created, are innovative in a process of development, validation and research for target markets.

Boot Strap A situation in which an entrepreneur starts a company with little capital. An individual is said to be boot strapping when he or she attempts to lay foundation and build a company from personal finances or from the operating revenues of the new company. Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) ESI is a self-financing social security & health insurance scheme for Indian workers. The ESI is managed by the ESI Corporation (ESIC) according to rules and regulations stipulated there in the ESI Act 1948, which oversees the provision of medical and cash benefits to the employees and their family through its large network of branch offices, dispensaries and hospitals throughout India.

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Provident Fund (PF) It is a fund which is composed of contributions & made by the employee during the time he/she worked along with an equal contribution by his employer. Its purpose is to help employees save a fraction of their salary every month, to be used in an event that the employee is temporarily or no longer fit to work or at retirement.

TDS

Tax deducted at source (TDS), as the very name implies aims at collection of revenue at the very source of income. It is essentially an indirect method of collecting tax which combines the concepts of “pay as you earn” and “collect as it is being earned.” Its significance to the government lies in the fact that it prepones the collection of tax, ensures a regular source of revenue, provides for a greater reach and wider base for tax. At the same time, to the tax payer, it distributes the incidence of tax and provides for a simple and convenient mode of payment. Lease

A legal document outlining the terms under which one party agrees to rent property from another party. A lease guarantees the lessee (the renter) use of an asset and guarantees the lessor (the property owner) regular payments from the lessee for a specified number of months or years. Both the lessee and the lessor must uphold the terms of the contract for the lease to remain valid.

Financial Leasing

As one of the most popular financing tools in modern business world, Financial Leasing Services uses finance leases to leverage assets. A Finance Lease (or Capital Lease) is a lease that is primarily a method of raising finance to pay for assets, rather than a genuine rental.

BUSINESS It is a commercial arrangement where: •• the lessee (customer or borrower) will select an asset (equipment, vehicle, software); •• the lessor (finance company) will purchase that asset; •• the lessee will have use of that asset during the lease; •• the lessees will pay a series of rental or installments for the use of that asset; •• the lessor will recover a large part or all of the cost of the asset plus earn interest from the rentals paid by the lessee; •• the lessee has the option to acquire ownership of the asset (e.g. paying the last rental, or bargain option purchase price). The finance company is the legal owner of the asset during duration of the lease. E-FILING Electronic tax filing, or e-filing, is a system for submitting tax documents to a revenue service electronically, often without the need to submit any paper documents. E-filing has manifold benefits; the taxpayer can file a tax return from the comfort of home, at any convenient time, once the tax agency begins accepting returns. E-filing saves the tax agency time and money, because the tax data is transmitted directly into its computers, significantly reducing the possibility of keying and input errors.

Corporate Tax

Corporate taxes are taxes against profits earned by businesses during a given taxable period. Corporation tax is a tax imposed on the net income of the company. The present corporate tax is 30% on the Net Income of the company. It was announced in Union Budget 2015 that corporate tax rate will be gradually reduced from 30% to 25% over the period of 4 years, starting in April 2016. 2% surcharge was introduced on earnings above 10 crores.

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) was established on 12 July 1982.

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BUSINESS Surcharge is applied in the following cases: •• If the company has a total income less than ` 1 crore, then it does not have to pay any income tax. •• If the net income of the company for that year is in the range of ` 10 crore then 5% surcharge is applied on its net income. •• If the net income of the company for that year exceeds ` 10 crore then 10% surcharge is applied on its net income education cess Profitability of Company

Profitability is the ability of a business to earn a profit. A profit is what is left of the revenue a business generates after it pays all expenses directly related to the generation of the revenue, such as producing a product, and other expenses related to the conduct of the business activities. Dividend

A share of the after-tax profit of a company, distributed to its shareholders according to

the number and class of shares held by them. Start-ups and other high-growth companies such as those in the technology or biotechnology sectors rarely offer dividends because all of their profits are reinvested to help sustain higher-than-average growth and expansion. Larger, established companies tend to issue regular dividends as they seek to maximize shareholder wealth in ways aside from supernormal growth. Issued Capital

The share capital that has been issued to the shareholders. This is part of a company’s authorised capital. Paid up Capital

The amount of a company’s capital that has been funded by shareholders. Paid-up capital can be less than a company’s total capital because a company may not issue all of the shares that it has been authorized to sell. Paidup capital can also reflect how a company depends on equity financing.

FORBES LIST OF MONEY MASTERS 2016

The Most Powerful People In The Financial World Top 10 People

Firm

Stephen Schwarzman

Blackstone Group.

Jamie Dimon

JP Morgan Chase & Co.

2. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

10.

33.

David Tepper

Warren Buffett Laurence Fink Ken Griffin

Jeffrey Gundlach Carl Icahn

Lloyd Blankfein

George Soros Uday Kotak

Appaloora Management. Berkshire Hathaway Black Rock Citadel

Double line Capital Icahn Enterprises Goldman Sachs

Soros Fund Management Kotak Mahindra Bank

The idea of credit card was first developed by a Bavrarian Farmer, Franz Nesbitum McNanaera, an American businessman.

Meaning & Objective

among SCs/STs & women candidates.

Simplification Funding & Hand holding support & Incentives

Industry Academia Partnership & Incubation

intellectual property.

Driven by technology or

innovation development, deployment or commercialization of new or improved products, processes services.

Working towards

not exceeding INR 25 crore in any preceding financial year.

unusual dynamism in startup sector

19-Point Action Plan (See Next Page)

HDFC Smartup

RBL Bank

India is 3rd largest base of technology startups in world. 19,400 technologyenabled startups. India is home ground for 8 startups in unicorn club with valuations greater than $1 billion Startups grown by 40%, creating 80,000-85,000 jobs in 2015. Indian startups have raised $3.5 billion in funding in first half of 2015. No. of active investors in India increased from 220 in 2014 to 490 in 2015.

Imp Data

SBI Incube Branch

Financial e-commerce

Focus

Banks' Dedicated Branch for Startups

Launched Focused Coverage by PM on Areas 16/1/2016 Cities Wide array Drive sustainable of sectors From tier economic growth. 1, 2 to tier healthcare 3 cities Generate large education manufacturing including scale employment technology opportunities. semi-urban agriculture & rural Promoting others areas. entrepreneurship

strong ecosystem for nurturing innovation & startups.

To build

Economic Survey 2015-16

Annual turnover

Definition An entity, incorporated or registered in India for not more than 5 years.

Startup India Action Plan

STARTUP INDIA

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BUSINESS

3- year Income Tax Exemption

Tax exemption on Profits

Credit Guarantee Funding

Setting up of INR 100 billion corpus fund

Faster exit Mechanism

Relaxed norms of Public Procurement

Easier Patent Filing

Simplifying Processes with Mollie App & Portal

Snapdel

Top startups

Oyo Rooms

Policy Bazaar

Urban Ladder

First cry

Car Dekho

Annual startup Fests

Rapido

College Dekho

Free Charge

Ola

Quikr

Paytm

Grand Challange

Annual Incubator

Innovation Focused Programs for students

Promotion of Biotechnology sector

Research Parks to propel innovation

R&D centres across the country

Setting up of Incubator Network

Launch of world class Innovation Hubs under Atal Innovation Mission

Tax exemption on Investments above fair Market Value

Grofers

Flipkart

Self Certification Compliance

Pepper Tap

Single point of Contact via startup India Hab

19-Point Action Plan

BUSINESS GK-323

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BUSINESS

MAJOR ACQUISITIONS IN 2016 Company that is Acquired 1. Mindtree Magnet 360. 2. Tech Mahindra Ltd. BIO Agency Ltd. 3. Dabur Discaria. 4. Myntra Jabong 5. Quikr Common Floor. 6. Titan Industries Carat Lane. 7. Yatra Mgaadi. 8. Road Runnr Tiny Qwl 9. Shop clues Momoe. 10. Russia’s Rosneft Oil Company India’s Essar Oil 11. Sony Pictures Networks Sports Channels of Zee Entertainment. 12. IDFC Bank Grama Vidiyal Micro Finance Ltd. 13. Google Moodstocks. 14. Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Forever 21. 15. Future Group Fab Furnish. 16. Flipkart Phone Pe International Pvt. Ltd. 17. Bharti Airtel Ltd. Videocon Telecommunication Ltd’s Spectrum. Reliance Communications and Marxis Communications Berhad, promoters of Aircel, merged their wireless businesses to form the 4th largest telecom operator in the country. Company

Dear Money is a money which is very expensive to borrow because of high real interest rates.

FOREIGN TRADE AND INVESTMENT IN INDIA

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Foreign Trade and Investment

Introduction

Foreign Exchange Reserves

India's Foreign Trade

Balance of Payments

India's Balance of Payments Trends Problems

Gold Special Drawing Right (SDR)

Protectionist Policies

Foreign Currency Assets (FCA) Reserve Tranche Position (RTP)

External Debt Export Promotion Exchange Rate Trade Policy Special Economic Zone (SEZ)

History India's Export India's Import Profile Profile

Foreign Direct Investment Introduction

Structure of Balance of Payments Current Account Capital Account Reserve Account Balance

INTRODUCTION • Foreign trade is exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories, which involves the activities of the government and individuals. • In most countries, it represents a significant share of gross domestic product (GDP). Foreign trade in India, includes all imports and exports to and from India. At the level of Central Government it is administered by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. India exports approximately 7500 commodities to about 190 countries.

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FOREIGN TRADE AND INVESTMENT IN INDIA FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES

• Foreign exchange reserves also called forex reserves or FX reserves are assets held by a central bank or other monetary authority, usually in various reserve currencies and used to back its liabilities, e.g. the local currency issued, and the various bank reserves deposited with the central bank by the government or by financial institutions. • The foreign exchange reserves of India comprise of three elements: (i) Gold, (ii) Special Drawing Rights (SDR), (iii) Foreign Currency Assets (FCA).

Gold

• It accounts for only 5% of our foreign exchange assets.

Special Drawing Rights (SDR)

• An international type of monetary reserve currency, created by International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 1969 which operates as a supplement to the existing reserves of member countries. • It is also known as “paper gold”, created in response to concerns about the limitations of gold and dollars as the sole means of settling international accounts, SDRs are designed to augment international liquidity by supplementing the standard reserve currencies. • Its value is based on a basket of five key international currencies and SDRs can be exchanged for freely usable currencies. The basket of five international currencies includes US dollar, Euro, Chinese yuan, Japanese yen and British pound.

Foreign Currency Assets (FCAs)

• Foreign currency assets include foreign exchange reserves less gold holdings, special drawing rights and India’s reserve position in the IMF. India imports 6000 commodities from 140 countries.

Foreign Exchange Management • Foreign exchange management (FEM) can be managed in three possible ways: fixed currency rates, floating currency rates and managed exchange rates.

Fixed Exchange rates

• Fixed rates are currency values which are tied to a precious metal such as gold, or anchored to another currency, like the US Dollar. This method was brought by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). • The IMF system involved the US$ as the anchor for the system with the US$ given a specific value in terms of gold, and other currencies were then given a value in terms of the US$, such as £1 = $2.40. India was part of this regime too and in 1948, 1$ was equal to ` 3.30. • However, the system collapsed in 1971 for a variety of reasons, including the build up of US debts abroad as a result of the need to fund the war in Vietnam, inflation in the USA and growing doubts about the stability of the US$.

Floating Exchange Rates

• Under a floating system, a currency can rise or fall due to changes in demand or supply of currencies on the foreign exchange market. • The advantages of floating exchange rates are flexibility and automatic adjustment in case of balance of trade disequilibrium.

Managed Exchange Rates

• This is a combination of fixed and floating rates. In today’s economic situation, almost all countries follow this system of exchange rate determination. The governments usually let the market determine the exchange rates but intervene whenever needed.

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FOREIGN TRADE AND INVESTMENT IN INDIA Reserve Tranche Position • Each member of the IMF is assigned a quota, part of which is payable in SDRs or Specified usable currencies and part

in the member’s own currency.

• The difference between a member’s quota and the IMF’s holdings of its currency is a country’s Reserve Tranche position (RTP).

INDIA’S FOREIGN TRADE

• Historically, India ran a trade surplus for centuries together through export of spices, handicrafts, textiles, etc. No restrictions on imports or exports were officially maintained.

• Before India got independence, import of goods from great Britain received official encouragement through Imperial preferences. • Statutorily, it was the Sea Customs Act, 1878 that provided the basis for implementing the official bias in favour of imports from Britain.

• The Government of India Act, 1935 granted Central government the exclusive legislative powers to regulate import of goods into India and export of goods from India. However, this power was used when the Imports and Exports (Control) Act, 1947 was enacted. • The initial life of the Imports and Exports (Control) Act, 1947 was three years but it was extended from time to time till 1971. • To protect industries from influx of imported goods the government issued the Imports (Control) Order 1955 allowing most of the imports only against an import licence. • In 1976 many changes were made to the Imports and Exports (Control) Act, 1947. • Beginning mid-1991, the Government of India introduced a series of reforms to liberalise and globalise the Indian economy.

• The Import policies prior to 1992 contained an Open General Licence under which specific goods could be imported and exported by specific categories of importers and exporters subject to fulfilment of certain conditions. • In 1992, the policy was amended to open general licence and allow imports and exports of all goods without a licence, except those specifically mentioned in a small negative list. • In 1950s, India’s share in the world trade was 1.78% which was decline to 0.59% in 1990 and remained low for many years. India’s share in world trade is currently around 2% (2015) and our country has set for itself the ambitious target of gaining 3.5% of world trade by 2020. • As per the rankings of WTO for the year 2014, India was the 19th largest exporter (with a share of 1.7%) and 12th largest importer (with a share of 2.5%) of merchandise trade in the world. • In Commercial services, India is the 6th largest exporter (with a share of 3.3%) and 7th largest importer (with a share of 2.9%). Service sector has been a major financer for India’s merchandise trade deficit. Service surplus financed around 53% of merchandise trade deficit during 2013-14. • India has been pursuing a policy of market diversification directing her export promotion efforts at Asia and ASEAN, Latin America and Africa through Focus Market Initiatives and bilateral trade agreements.

India’s foreign exchange reserves were US$ 367.14 billion in the week up to October 21, 2016.

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FOREIGN TRADE AND INVESTMENT IN INDIA BALANCE OF PAYMENTS (BOP)

Introduction • Balance of payments (BoP) is statistical statement of all transactions made between one particular country and all other countries during a specified period of time. BoP compares the dollar difference of the amount of exports and imports, including all financial exports and imports. • A negative balance of payments means that more money is flowing out of the country than coming in. The balance of payment is maintained by Central Bank of India, i.e. Reserve Bank of India (RBI). • Balance of payments may be used as an indicator of economic and political stability. For example, if a country has a consistently positive BoP, this could mean that there is significant foreign investment within that country. It may also mean that the country does not export much of its currency. • BoP indicates trade balance, foreign investments and investment by foreigners. Even a negative BoP does not signify unfavourable climate for the economy. It is unfavourable only if the economy lacks the means to fill the gap created by negative BoP.

Balance of trade and balance of payment

• Balance of trade takes into account only those transactions arising out of exports and imports (the visible items). It does not consider the exchange of services rendered such as shipping. Balance of payment takes into account the exchange of both visible and invisible items. • Hence, the balance of payments represents a better picture of a country’s economic transactions with the rest of the world than the Balance of trade.

Structure of Balance of Payments Accounts

A balance of payments statement is a summary of a nation’s total economic

transaction undertaken on international account. It is usually composed of three sectors: 1. Current account, 2. Capital account, 3. Reserve account balance.

Current Account

This account is the summary of all international trade transactions of the domestic country in one year. It records the following 3 items: (i) Visible items of trade • The balance of exports and imports of goods is called the balance of visible trade, e.g. Tea, Coffee, etc. (ii) Invisible Trade • The balance of exports and imports of services is called the balance of invisible trade. The invisible are divided into three categories: (a) Servicesinsurance, travel, transportation, miscellaneous (like communication, construction, financial, software, etc.), (b) Income, and (c) Transfers (grants, gifts, remittances, etc.). (iii) Unilateral transfers • Unilateral transfers are receipts which residents of a country make without getting anything in return, e.g. gifts, etc.

Capital Account

• This account is the summary of foreign capital transactions. On the credit side of this account receipt of foreign exchange due to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), Foreign Capital Investment (FCI) and Foreign Borrowing (FB) is recorded. • On the debit side of capital account payment of foreign exchange due to Direct Investment Abroad (DIA), Portfolio Investment Abroad (PIA) and Foreign Lending (FL) is recorded. • While India made the rupee fully convertible under current account, it was felt that the economy was not yet ready for capital account convertibility (CAC).

Net inflow into equity schemes during September 2016 stood at `3,743 crore (US$ 559.9 million).

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FOREIGN TRADE AND INVESTMENT IN INDIA Reserve Account Balance • This is the adjusting account in balance of payment. It makes an adjustment between current account balance and capital account balance. • If the deficit in the current account is followed by surplus in capital account than the excess foreign exchange is diverted into capital account to current account so that deficit in the current account is eliminated. • The remaining surplus in the capital account is transferred to the Reserve account and recorded on the credit of reserve account. Therefore both Current Account and Capital Account is always balanced. • The Reserve Account is also the indicator of Forex Reserves of the country. If surplus in the Capital Account is more than deficit in the Current Account, there is net increase in the Forex Reserves of the country at the end of the year. • On the other hand if deficit in the current account is more than surplus in the Capital Account then there is net decrease in Foreign Reserves of the country at the end of the year.

Balance of Payment (BoP) Crisis

• If international reserves of a country are not enough to balance a combined deficit in current and capital account on a sustained basis, then the phenomenon is called a BoP crisis. • It can be tackled by exporting more or by limiting imports through tariffs, quotas, etc. • Contractionary fiscal and monetary policies can also tackle the crisis through lower import demand with fall in average income levels. • Another short term solution is currency devaluation which encourages exports and discourages costlier imports.

India’s Balance of Payment

• The international Balance of Payments (BoP) of a country reflects its economic strengths and weaknesses. A typical

problem of the developing countries is that of a chronic BoP deficit, India being no exception.

• Our country has been facing BoP disequilibrium right since independence, culminating into a disaster in 1990-91, the year of the acute BoP crisis. India then had foreign exchange reserve of mere 1 billion dollar, barely sufficient to finance a month’s import bill. The country was on the verge of defaulting. • This crisis led to the massive changes in the country’s economic policy, popularly known as the Structural Adjustment Program or New Economic Policy (NEP) regime, focusing on liberalization and globalization of the economy.

Trends & Problems Of India’s BoP – 1949-50 To 1999-2000.

•• The disequilibrium in India’s BoP has been caused by both internal as well as external factors. The need for development of such a big nation with a huge population is one of the main causes for the recurring BoP problem. •• The BoP is always under pressure and had huge deficits due to high imports of food grains and capital goods, the heavy external borrowings and its payment and poor exports.

• India faced a major BoP crisis in the early 1990s. We had to borrow

from IMF to be able to sustain the

economy. This loan came with a number of conditions. The following are some of the conditions that came with the medium term loan given by IMF to India for restructuring of the economy: •• Government expenditure to be cut by 10% per annum, •• Devaluation of rupee by 22%, •• Excise duty to be increased by 20%, •• Custom duty to be cut drastically from the peak of 130% to 30%.

Protectionist Policies

• The main objective of the Second Five Year Plan (1956-57 to 1960-61) was to attain self reliance through industrialization. Self reliance was to be achieved through import substitution.

India’s Index of Industrial Production (IIP) grew by -0.7 % in August 2016, as compared to a growth of -2.5% growth in July 2016.

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• For this basic industries had to be set up which required import of capital goods. Exports were expected to automatically take-off with industrialization. • All focus was on import substitution, with gross neglect of exports. Such inward looking protectionist policies did result in some self-reliance in the consumer goods industries, but the capital goods industries remained mostly import intensive. • The high degree of protection to Indian industries led to inefficiency and poor quality products due to lack of competition. The high cost of production further eroded our competitive strength. • Rising petroleum products demand, the two oil shocks, harvest failure, all put severe strain on the economy. The BoP situation remained weak throughout the 1980s, till it reached the crisis situation in 1990-91, when India was on the verge of defaulting due to heavy debt burden and constantly widening trade deficit.

External Debt

• India had to resort to large scale foreign borrowings for its developmental efforts in the field of basic social and industrial infrastructure. The country’s resources were very much limited due to low per capita income and savings • The situation worsened because Government of India resorted to heavy foreign borrowings to correct the BoP situation in the short run out of panicky. By the Seventh Five Year Plan, the debt service obligations rose sharply because of harder average terms of external debt, involving commercial borrowing, repayments to the IMF and a fall in concessional aid flow.

Export Promotion

Although by the Sixth Five Year Plan we had done away with the need of food grain imports and some crude oil was being produced domestically, BoP position was still not comfortable due to low exports. The need for export promotion was felt during the 1960s. The Third Five Year Plan introduced certain export promotion policies like cash compensatory schemes, tax exemptions, duty

FOREIGN TRADE AND INVESTMENT IN INDIA drawbacks, Rupee devaluation, etc. However, our exports remained discouraging. Indian exports depended largely on world trade situation. We were mainly primary product exporters, the price of which fluctuated heavily with fluctuations in world market demand. • Primary products exporting countries have an unfavorable term of trade. The earnings from primary product exports were low and unstable. • Secondly, the quality of Indian products was not up to the world standards due to which we could not sustain markets. • Third, only residue products were mainly exported. The fact that export earnings also contribute to economic development was overlooked. Cumbersome procedures for license, etc. served as disincentives for exporters. Domestic inflation further reduced the competitiveness of India’s export.

Exchange Rate

• The instability of the exchange value of the rupee was another problem. The constant devaluations (to promote exports) raised the amount of external debt. The value of rupee was managed by the central bank (fixed exchange rate). • The gap between official and market exchange rate created problems for the exporters and importers. The strict foreign exchange controls also encouraged hawala trade. • India followed a strongly inward looking policy, laying stress on import substitution. Ideally, imports should be financed by export earnings. But because there was export pessimism, the deficit was financed either by the invisible earnings or by foreign aid or depletion of valuable foreign exchange reserve. Much import constraint to check trade deficit was also not possible because India’s imports were mainly ‘maintenance imports’. • On one hand import reduction was not possible and on the other exports suffered due to the recession in the 1980s.

India’s largest trading partners in descending order are UAE, China, USA, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Singapore, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iraq and Japan.

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FOREIGN TRADE AND INVESTMENT IN INDIA India’s BoP was thus beset with several problems. The process of liberalization began from the mid 1980s. Restriction on certain imports were removed,

particularly those which were used as inputs for export production. But by then the situation was already bad and all the mismanagement ultimately led to the 1990-91 BoP crisis.

Aiming to nearly double India’s exports of goods and services to $900 billion by 2020, the government has announced several incentives in the five-year Foreign Trade Policy for exporters and units in the Special Economic Zones (SEZ). Unveiling the first trade policy of the NDA government, Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the FTP (2015-20) will introduce Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) and Services Exports from India Scheme (SEIS) to boost outward shipments. The new policy aims at boosting India’s exports and it is believed that PM Narendra Modi’s pet projects, ‘Make in India’ and ‘Digital India’ will be integrated with the new Foreign Trade Policy.

• Agricultural and village industry products to be supported across the globe at rates of 3% and 5% under MEIS. • Higher level of support to be provided to processed and packaged agricultural and food items under MEIS. • Industrial products to be supported in major markets at rates ranging from 2% to 3%. • Served from India Scheme (SFIS) will be replaced with Service Export from India Scheme (SEIS). • Branding campaigns planned to promote exports in sectors where India has traditional strength. • SEIS shall apply to ‘Service Providers located in India’ instead of ‘Indian Service Providers’. • The criteria for export performance for recognition of status holder have been changed from Rupees to US dollar earnings. • Manufacturers who are also status holders will be enabled to self-certify their manufactured goods as originating from India. • Reduced Export Obligation (EO) to (75%) for domestic procurement under EPCG scheme. • Online procedure to upload digitally signed document by Chartered Accountant/ Company Secretary/Cost Accountant to be developed. • Inter-ministerial consultations to be held online for issue of various licences. • No need to repeatedly submit physical copies of documents available on Exporter Importer Profile. • Export obligation period for export items related to defence, military store, aerospace and nuclear energy to be 24 months instead of 18 months.

FOREIGN TRADE POLICY 2015-20

Trade Policy (2015-20) Key Features

• India to be made a significant participant in world trade by 2020. • Merchandize exports from India (MEIS) to promote specific services for specific Markets Foreign Trade Policy. • FTP would reduce export obligations by 25% and give boost to domestic manufacturing. • FTP 2015-20 introduces two new schemes, namely “Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS)” and “Services Exports from India Scheme (SEIS)”. The ‘Services Exports from India Scheme’ (SEIS) is for increasing exports of notified services. These schemes (MEIS and SEIS) replace multiple schemes earlier in place, each with different conditions for eligibility and usage. Incentives (MEIS and SEIS) to be available for SEZs also e-Commerce of handicrafts, handlooms, books, etc. eligible for benefits of MEIS. FTP benefits from both MEIS and SEIS will be extended to units located in SEZs.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows have increased 29 per cent during April 2015 – March 2016 to reach US$ 40 billion.

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FOREIGN TRADE AND INVESTMENT IN INDIA

• Calicut Airport, Kerala and Arakonam ICDS, Tamil Nadu notified as registered ports for import and export; Vishakhapatnam and Bhimavarm added

as Towns of Export Excellence. • Certificate from independent chartered engineer for redemption of EPCG authorisation no longer required.

• Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is a specifically delineated duty-free enclave that has economic laws different from a country’s typical economic laws, usually the goal is to increase foreign investments. • India was one of the first in Asia to recognise the effectiveness of the Export processing Zone (EPZ) model in promoting exports, with Asia’s first EPZ set up in Kandla in 1965. With a view to attract larger foreign investments in India, the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) Policy was announced in April 2000. • Today, there are approximately 3,000 SEZs operating in 120 countries which account for over US $ 600 billion in exports and about 50 million jobs. • As a major step forward meant to invoke confidence in investors and signal the government’s commitment to a stable SEZ policy regime, a comprehensive Special Economic Zones Act, 2005 was passed by the Parliament in May 2005. It received Presidential assent on the 23rd of June 2005. This Act came into force w.e.f. February 10, 2006.

• 100% income tax exemption for 5 years, 50% for the next 5 years and 50% of ploughed back export profits for 5 years thereafter for SEZs units. • Exemption from capital gains on transfer of an undertaking from an urban area of SEZs. • 100% income tax exemption to SEZ developers for a block of 10 years in 15 years. • Exemption from dividend distribution tax to SEZ developers. • 100% income tax exemption for 5 years and 50% for next five years for off shore Banking units located in SEZ. • Exemption to SEZ developer and units from Minimum Alternate Tax. • CST exemption to SEZ developer and units on inter-state purchase of goods. • Constitution of an authority for each SEZ with a view to providing greater administrative, financial and functional autonomy to these zones. • Establishment of designated courts and a single enforcement agency to ensure speedy trial and investigation of offences committed in SEZs. • Encouragement to State Governments to liberalise State laws and delegate their powers to the Development Commissioners to the SEZs to facilitate single window clearance.

SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE (SEZ)

The main objectives of the SEZ Act

• Generation of additional economic activity. • Promotion of exports of goods and services. • Promotion of investment from domestic and foreign sources. • Creation of employment opportunities. • Development of infrastructure facilities.

The salient features of SEZs Act

• Exemption from customs duty, excise duty, etc. on import/domestic procurement of goods for the development, operation and maintenance of SEZs and the units therein.

Export Oriented Units, Export processing Zone and Special Economic Zone Schemes

• The Government has liberalised the scheme for export-oriented units and export processing zones. Agriculture, horticulture, poultry, fisheries and dairying have been included in exportoriented units.

Passenger vehicle sales in September 2016 grew by to 278,428 units, as compared with to 258,000 units in August 2016.

FOREIGN TRADE AND INVESTMENT IN INDIA

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• Export processing zone units have also been allowed to export through trading and star trading houses and can have equipments on lease. These units have been allowed cent per cent participation in foreign equities.

3. Export Houses, Trading Houses and Star Trading Houses

1. Export Processing Zones

• Before getting converted into Special Economic Zones (SEZs), these Export Processing Zones (EPZs) were playing important role in promoting exports of the country. These zones were created to develop such an environment in the economy which may provide capability of facing international competition. • The Export Processing Zone (EPZs) set up as enclaves, separated from the Domestic Tariff Area by fiscal barriers, were intended to provide a competitive duty free environment for export production. • All the 8 EPZs, located at Kandla and Surat (Gujarat), Santa Cruz (Maharashtra), Cochin (Kerala), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Vishakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), Faeta (West Bengal) and Noida (U.P) have been converted into Special Economic Zones.

• To increase the marketable efficiency of exporters, the Government introduced the concept of export houses, trading houses and star trading houses. • Since April 1, 1994 a new category named Golden Super Star Trading Houses was added by the Government which has the highest average annual foreign exchange earnings. On March 31, 2003 there were 4 Golden Super Star Trading House working in the country.

4. Export Promotion Industrial Parks (EPIP)

• Since 1981, the Government introduced a complementary plan of EPZ (Now converted into SEZ) scheme for promoting export units (making export of their cent per cent production. Under this scheme the Government provides various incentives to increase the production capacity of these units so as to increase exports of the country.

• A Centrally-sponsored ‘Export Promotion Industrial Park (EPIP)’ scheme was introduced in August 1994 with a view to involving the state governments in the creation of infrastructure facilities for export oriented production. It provides for 75% (limited to 10 crore) grant to state government towards creation of such facilities. • The Central Government has so far approved 25 proposals for establishments of EPIPs in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, U.P., Gujarat, Bihar, J&K, Assam, M.P., West Bengal, Odisha, Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram and Tripura. • At present, the number of formally approved SEZs is 523, notified is 352 and operational is 196. The total number of units approved in SEZs is 4,102. A total investment of ` 3,48,983.22 crores has been done till 2015. Moreover, till now 15,04,597 persons have received employment through SEZs.

• Foreign direct investment (FDI) is an investment in a business by an investor from another country for which the foreign investor has control over the company purchased. The Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) defines control as owning 10% or more of the business. Businesses that make foreign direct investment are after

called Multinational Corporations (MNCs) or Multinational Enterprises (MNEs). • A MNE may create a new foreign enterprise by making a direct investment, which is called a greenfield investment. • A MNE may make a direct investment by the acquisition of a foreign firm, which is called an acquisition or prownfield investment .

2. Export-Oriented Units

FDI

India’s current account deficit stood at US$ 277 million in April-June quarter, as against US$ 0.3 billion in Jan-Mar 2016 quarter.

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Advantages FDI 1. Economic Development Stimulation. 2. Easy International Trade. 3. Employment and Economic Boost. 4. Development of human capital Resources. 5. Tax incentives. 6. Resource Transfer. 7. Reduced disparity between revenues and costs. 8. Increased productivity. 9. Increment in income.

Disadvantages of FDI

1. Hindrances to domestic Investment. 2. Risk from political changes. 3. Negative influence on exchange rates. 4. Higher costs. 5. Economic non-viability. 6. Expropriation. 7. Modern-day Economic colonialism. • FDI, being a non-debt capital flow, is a leading source of external financing, especially for the developing economies. It not only brings in capital and technical know-how but also increases the competitiveness of the economy. • The current phase of FDI policy is characterized by negative listing, permitting FDI freely except in a few sectors indicated through a negative list. Under the current policy regime, there are three broad entry options for foreign direct investors: 1. In some sectors, FDI is not permitted (negative list); 2. In another small category of sectors, foreign investment is permitted only till a specified level of foreign equity participation. 3. The third category, comprising all the other sectors, is where foreign investment up to 100 % of equity participation is allowed. The third category has two subsets –

FOREIGN TRADE AND INVESTMENT IN INDIA a. one consisting of sectors where automatic approval is granted for FDI (often foreign equity participation less than 100 %), and b. the other consisting of sectors where prior approval from the Foreign Investment Approval Board (FIPB) is required. • FDI policy changes increasingly reflect the requirements of industry and are based on stakeholder’s consultation. Upfront listing of negative sectors has helped focus on reform areas, which are reflected in buoyant FDI inflows.

100% FDI

• Advertising, agriculture, air transport services (domestic airlines), courier services, drugs and pharmaceuticals, electricity, power, films and studios, hotel and tourism, housing and real estate, construction, mass rapid transport system, mining (gold and silver), NBFC, marketing, pipelines and refining of petroleum products, tourism, transport infrastructure, townships, SEZs, railways, single brand retail (upto 49% automatic and from 49 to 100% has to be approved by FIPB), telecommunications (upto 49% automatic, 49-100% by FIPB), and asset reconstruction companies ( upto 49% automatic, 49-100% by FIPB).

74% FDI

• Airports, broadcasting, coal and lignite, credit information companies, direct to home (DTH), mining (diamonds & precious stones), satellites, and private sector banking are the sectors with FDI limit of 74%.

26–49% FDI

• Airlines/aviation, defence, insurance and pension are the sectors which have 49% FDI limit. Sectors with 26% FDI limits print media (newspaper – 26%, scientific & periodicals – 100% ) and FM radio. Public sector Banks have the lowest FDI limit of 20%.

India’s Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation rate declined to 3.6% in September 2016 as against 3.74% in the previous month.

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GENERAL SCIENCE

GENERAL SCIENCE u Physics u Chemistry u Life Science u Everyday Science

PHYSICS Unit & dimension

Some Important Conversions

Physical Quantities

(i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) (vii) (viii)

Those quantities which can describe the laws of physics and possible to measure are called physical quantities. The physical quantities which do not depend upon other physical quantities are called fundamental quantities. In Standard International (S.I.) system the fundamental quantities are mass, length, time, temperature, luminous intensity, electric current and amount of substance. The physical quantities which depend on fundamental quantities are called derived quantities, e.g. speed, acceleration, force, etc.

Units The unit of a physical quantity is the reference standard used to measure it. 1. Fundamental Units: The units defined for the fundamental quantities are called fundamental or base units. Fundamental Unit for Mass- Kilogram (Kg), Length-metre (m), Time-second(s), Temperature-kelvin (K), Electric Currentampere (A), Luminous intensity - Candela (cd), Amount of Substance - mole (mol). 2. Derived Units: The units defined for the derived quantities are called derived units. e.g. unit of speed or velocity (metre per second), acceleration (metre per second2), etc.

(ix) (x) (xi)

(xii)

1 yard = 0.9144 m ≅ 0.91m 1 foot (1’) = 0.305 m 1 inch (1”) = 2.54 cm = 0.025 m 1 mile = 1609 m = 1.609 km 1 ltr. = 1000 cc = 10-3 m3 1 cm2 = 10-4 m2 1 mm = 10-3 m 1 atomic mass unit 1 (amu) = 1.67 × 10-27 1 slug = 14.57 kg 1 tonne = 10 quintal = 1000kg 1 kg/m3 = 1000 g/cm3

5 m/s and 18 18 1 m/s = km/h 5 1 km/h =

(xiii) 1 newton = 105 dyne, 1 kg wt = 9.8 N and 1 g wt = 981 dyne (xiv) 1 joule = 107 erg, 1 eV = 1.6 × 10–19 J (xv)

1 atm = 76 cm of Hg = 1.01 × 105

= 1.01 ×

cm 2

(xvi) 1 h.p. = 746 watt (xvii) 1 kw h = 3.6 × 106 J (xviii) 1 tesla = 1 web/m2 = 104 gauss

Mechanics

Path Length or Distance: The length of the actual path between initial and final positions of a particle in a given interval of time is called distance covered by the particle.

The MKS and CGS system are called metric or decimal system.

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Displacement: The shortest distance from the initial position to the final position of the particle is called displacement.

Speed, Velocity and Acceleration Distance travelled Speed = TimeTaken Displacement Velocity = Time interval Change in velocity Acceleration = Time interval

Kinematic equations for uniformly accelerated motion Motion under uniform acceleration is described by the following equations.

v = u + at ; s = ut + at2 and 2 v2 = u2 + 2as Distance travelled in nth second of

uniformly accelerated motion

a S th = u + (2n − 1) n 2

Relative velocity

  If v A and v B be the respective velocities

of object A and B then relative velocity of A



w.r.t. B is v A B = v A − v B Similarly, relative velocity of B w.r.t. A is

   v BA = v B − v A

Scalars and Vectors

The physical quantities which require only magnitude to express, are called scalar quantities, e.g. Mass, distance, time, speed, volume, density, pressure, work, energy, power, charge, electric current, temperature, potential, specific heat, frequency, etc. Certain physical quantities have both magnitude and direction, they are called vector quantities, e.g. Displacement, velocity, acceleration, force, momentum, impulse, electric field, magnetic field, current density, etc.

Newton’s Laws of Motion

1st law: Every body continues to be in its state of rest or of uniform motion in a straight line unless compelled by an external force to change its state. This fundamental property of the body is called inertia.

This law is known as Newton’s first law of motion or law of inertia. Inertia: Inertia is the property of a body due to which it opposes the change in its state. Inertia of a body is measured by mass of the body. It is directly proportional to the mass of the body i.e., Inertia ∝ mass.

Momentum



The linear momentum of a body ( p ) is defined as the product of the mass of the body (m) and its velocity. i.e., P = mv . Relation between momentum and kinetic energy: Consider a body of mass (m) moving with velocity (v). Linear momentum of the body, p = mv. KE of a particle can be expressed as

P2 and p = 2mE 2m

2nd law: The rate of change of momentum of a body is directly proportional to the unbalanced external force applied on it.











i.e., F ∝ dp or, F = k dp or F = ma

Force (F) = ma where m = mass of the object and a = acceleration produced

Impulse: If a large force acts on a body or particle for a smaller time, then impulse = product of force and time. Impulse = F∆t 3rd law: According to this law, every action has equal and opposite reaction. Action and reaction act on two different bodies and they are simultaneous. There can be no reaction without action.

Law of conservation of linear momentum If the total external force acting on a system is equal to zero, then the final value of the total momentum of the system is equal to the initial value of the total momentum of the system.    p = constant or pf = pi

Motion in a Lift

Let a man of weight W = Mg be standing in a lift. Case (a): If the lift is moving with constant velocity v upwards or downwards.

When a body moves in space, then the motion is called three–dimensional motion.

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GENERAL SCIENCE a=0

The fictitious force F0 = Ma acts upward while weight of a man W = Mg always acts downward, therefore apparent weight, W ‘ = W + F0 = Mg – Ma = M (g – a)

Friction

W = Mg In this case there is no accelerated motion hence no pseudo force experienced by observer ‘O’ inside the lift. So apparent weight, W’ = actual weight W Case (b): If the lift is accelerated i.e., a = constant and in upward direction. Then net forces acting on the man are (i) weight W = Mg downward (ii) fictitious force F0 = Ma downward. So apparent weight, W’ = W + F0 = Mg + Ma = M (g + a)

W’ = M(g+a) Case (c): If the lift is accelerated downward with acceleration a < g:

a<g

Whenever a body moves or tends to move over the surface of another body, a force comes into play which acts parallel to the surface of contact and opposes the relative motion. This opposing force is called friction.

Circular Motion

Motion of a body along a circular path is called circular motion. Centripetal force: The force directed towards the centre required for traversing a circular path is called centripetal force. Centripetal force = F = • •

mv 2 = mω2 r . r

In a banked path with curvature (q) with friction, the safe velocity is given by v = √ [rg (tan θ + µ) / (1 – µ tan θ)]. Bending of cyclist: In order to take a circular turn of radius r with speed v, the cyclist should bend himself through an angle q from the vertical such that

tan θ =

v2 rg

Centrifugal force: A force that is equal and opposite to the central force is called centrifugal force. e.gs. cream separator, centrifugal dryer, etc.

Torque and angular momentum Torque is the moment of force. It is the cross product of the force with the perpendicular distance between the axis of rotation and the point of application of force with the force.   Torque = t = r × F ; S.I. unit is N – m Angular momentum is the moment of linear momentum. It is also the product of the linear momentum and the perpendicular distance of the mass from the axis of rotation.

   t =r×p

W’ = M (g – a) Relation between angular velocity and linear velocity, V = rw

where r = position relative to origin p = linear momentum at position.

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GENERAL SCIENCE

  Angular momentum L = r × p =: S.I unit 2 kg m /s Relation between torque and angular momentum, 

 dL T= dt

Moment of inertia It is equivalent to mass in rotational motion. It is defined as the sum of the product of the constituent masses and the square of their perpendicular distances from the axis of rotation. n

= ∑ mi ri

i =1

S.I. unit is kg/m2 and it is a scalar quantity. Periodic motion Any motion that repeats itself in equal intervals of time is called periodic motion. A periodic motion can be represented in terms of sines and cosines, so it is called a harmonic motion. The uniformly rotating earth represents a periodic motion that repeats itself at every 24 hours. An oscillatory motion is always periodic but a periodic motion may not be oscillatory. Examples of S.H.M. (i) clock pendulum, (ii) oscillating liquid in a U-tube, (iii) oscillating block in a liquid, (iv) oscillating frictionless piston fitted in a cylinder filled with ideal gas, etc.

Work

Work done by a force on a body is defined as the product of force and the displacement of the body in the direction of force. SI unit of work is joule.  W = F.S = FS cos θ where θ is the angle



between F and S .

Power : Power is the rate of doing work.   dW F.dS   = = F.v Power = P = dt dt Its SI unit is watt. 1 Horse power [1HP] = 746 W, 1 calorie = 4.2J and 6 1 kW h = 3.6 × 10 J

Board of Trade unit (B.O.T.U) = kwh, i.e., kilo watt hour 1 kwh = 1 unit = 3.6 × 106 joule This is to measure domestic electric energy consumption.

Energy

Energy is the capacity of doing work. It is also a scalar quantity. The SI unit is joule. Work-energy theorem states that the work done on a body is equal to the change in its kinetic energy. Kinetic energy: K.E. is the energy possessed by the body due to its motion. K.E. =

1 mv 2 2

Potential energy: P.E. is the energy possessed by the body due to its position or shape. Gravitational P.E. = mgh (due to change in position) Law of conservation of energy states that energy can neither be created nor be destroyed but it can be transformed from one form to another. For eg. Dynamo: Mechanical Energy into Electrical Energy. Electric Motor: Electrical Energy into Mechanical Energy. Microphone: Sound Energy into Electrical Energy. Loud Speaker: Electrical Energy into Sound Energy. Electric Bulb: Electrical Energy into Light Heat Energy. Solar Cell: Solar Energy into Electrical Energy. Candle: Chemical Energy into Light & Heat Energy. Sitar: Mechanical Energy into Sound Energy. Mass-energy equivalence: According to this theorem mass and energy are interconvertible. E = mc2. 8 where c = 3 × 10 ms–1 is velocity of light in vacuum or air.

The amount of heat produced by unit mass or unit volume of a fuel is called its calorific value.

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GENERAL SCIENCE Collision If the path of a body is affected by another body when two bodies physically come in contact, then collision is said to have taken place. Elastic collision: Both momentum and K.E. are conserved. For elastic collision in one dimension, Inelastic collision: Only momentum is conserved. Coefficient of restitution is defined as the ratio of velocity of separation to the velocity of approach. Coefficient of restitution =e=

v 2 − v1 u1 − u 2

e = 1 for perfectly elastic collision e = 0 for perfectly inelastic collision Centre of Mass: It is an imaginary point at which the whole mass of a body is supposed to be concentrated.

Gravitation • • • • •

• • •

Gravitation is a natural phenomenon by which all physical bodies attract each other. On Earth, gravity gives weight to physical objects employing a downward force to keep them grounded. Gravitational force is always attractive. For example, earth always attracts us but never repels. It is weakest force among the four natural forces in nature i.e. electromagnetic, weak and strong nuclear force. If there are two objects of mass m1 and m2 and they are placed at distance r apart. Then force between them will be: F = G(m1m2)/r2 where G is the universal gravitational constant. This is called Newton’s Universal Gravitational law. G = 6.67 × 10–11 Nm2/kg2 Gravitational force is a central and conservative force. They can operate over a very long distances.

• • • • • • •

According to Newton’s theory, the gravitational attraction between the planets and the sun holds the planets in elliptical orbits around the sun. The earth’s moon and moons of the other planets are held in orbits by the attraction between the moons and the planets. The force of gravity depends upon the object’s mass or the amount of matter in the object. The weight (w) of an object is equal to the mass of the object multiplied by the acceleration due to gravity(g). W = mg gmaximum at poles and gminimum at equator. g(moon) =

1 (gearth) g(earth) 6

The value of ‘g’ decreases with altitude, depth from the earth’s surface. • g decreases due to rotation of earth. Weight of a body in a lift (i) If lift is stationary or moving with uniform speed (either upward or downward), the apparent weight of a body is equal to its true weight. (ii) If lift is going up with acceleration, the apparent weight of a body is more than the true weight. (iii) If lift is going down with acceleration, the apparent weight of a body is less than the true weight. (iv) If the cord of the lift is broken, it falls freely. In this situation the weight of a body in the lift becomes zero. This is the situation of weightlessness. (v) While going down, if the acceleration of lift is more than acceleration due to gravity, a body in the lift goes in contact of the ceiling of lift. • Escape speed (ve) is the minimum speed with which an object just crosses the earth’s gravitational field and never comes back.

V =

•

2GM

= 2gR

The escape velocity of Earth is about 11.2 kilometres per second and on moon it is 2.4 km/sec.

At the centre of the earth, weight becomes zero. This is due to the fact that 8 in all directions becomes equal and all forces canal each other.

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Satellite It is a heavenly body or an artificial object which revolves round a planet in a particular orbit. The required centripetal force is provided by the gravitational force. Kepler’s laws of planetary motion are applicable to them. (a) Orbital velocity of a satellite: Velocity with which the satellite orbits around the planet.

vo =

(b)

Time period of a satellite: Time taken by it to complete one revolution around the planet.

(c)

(d)

(e)

GM R+h

2π R

( R + h )3 g

Height of a satellite above the surface of the planet:

 T 2 R 2g   2  –R  4π 

H = 

“Total energy of a satellite orbiting on a circular path is negative” with potential energy being negative but twice as the magnitude of positive kinetic energy. Binding energy of a satellite is the energy required to remove it from its orbit to infinity.

GMm B.E. = No energy is required 2r

to keep the satellite in its orbit. Geostationary satellites: The satellites in a circular orbit around the earth in the equatorial plane with a time period of 24 hours, appears to be fixed from any point on earth are called geostationary satellite. For geostationary satellite, height above the earth’s surface = 35800 km and orbital velocity = 3.1 km/s. Polar Satellites: A satellite that revolves in a polar orbit along north-south direction while the earth rotates around its axis in east west direction. Weightlessness: A situation where the effective weight of the object becomes zero. An astronaut experiences weightlessness in space satellite because the astronaut as

well as the satellite are in a free fall state towards the earth.

Properties of Matter

Elasticity and Plasticity The property of the body to regain its original configuration (length, or shape) when the deforming forces are removed is called elasticity. On the other hand, if the body does not have any tendency to regain its original configuration on removal of deforming force the body is called plastic body and this property is called plasticity. Perfectly elastic body: A body which regains its original configuration immediately and completely after the removal of deforming force from it, is called perfectly elastic body. Quartz and phosphorous bronze, are closed to perfectly plastic body. Perfectly plastic body: A body which does not regain its original configuration at all on the removal of deforming force, however small the deforming force may be is called perfectly plastic body. Putty and mud are closed to perfectly plastic body. Stress: The internal restoring force acting per unit area of a body is called stress. i.e., Stress = Restoring force/ Area Strain: The ratio of change in configuration to the original configuration is called strain. i.e., Strain =

Change in configuraion Original configuration

Strain being the ratio of two like quantities has no units and dimensions. Elastic Limit Elastic limit is the upper limit of deforming force up to which, if deforming force is removed, the body regains its original form completely and beyond which, if deforming force is increased, the body loses its property of elasticity and gets permanently deformed. Hooke’s law It states that within the elastic limit stress is directly proportional to strain. i.e., Stress ∝ strain or Stress = E × strain Here E is the coefficient of proportionality and is called modulus of elasticity or coefficient of elasticity of a body.

The geostationary environment satellites are used for short range whereas polar satellites are used for longer term forecasting.

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GENERAL SCIENCE Materials-Ductile, Brittle and Elastomers (i) Ductile materials: The materials which have large range of plastic extension are called ductile materials. They can be drawn into thin wires, e.g., copper, silver, aluminium, iron, etc. (ii) Brittle materials: The materials which have very small range of plastic extension are called brittle materials. These materials break as soon as the stress is increased beyond the elastic limit. e.g., glass, ceramics, cast iron, etc. (iii) Elastomers: The materials which can be stretched to large values of strain are called elastomers. e.g., rubber, elastic tissue of aorta, etc. Young’s modulus of elasticity (Y): It is defined as the ratio of normal stress to the longitudinal strain within the elastic limit. Thus, Y =

Fluids

Normal stress Longitudinal strain

Fluids are the substances that can flow. Therefore liquids and gases both are fluids. The study of fluids at rest is called fluid statics or hydrostatics and the study of fluids in motion is called fluid dynamics or hydrodynamics. Both combined are called fluid mechanics. Density (r) Mass per unit volume is defined as density. So density at a point of a fluid is represented as

ρ = lim

∆v →0 dV

dm m = dV V

Relative Density It is defined as the ratio of the density of the given fluid to the density of pure water at 4°C. Relative density (R.D). =

Density of given liquid Density of pure water at 4°C

The density of water is maximum at 4°C and is equal to 1.0 × 103 kgm–3 Pressure If a uniform force is exerted normal to an area (A), then average pressure (pav) is defined as the normal force (F) per unit area. i.e.,

Pav =

F A

In limiting sense, pressure p = lim

∆F

∆A →0 ∆A

Pressure is a scalar quantity. SI unit: pascal (Pa), 1 Pa = 1 N/m2 Practical units: atmospheric pressure (atm), bar and torr 1 atm = 1.01325 × 105Pa = 1.01325 bar = 760 torr = 760 mm of Hg column pressure. Pascal’s Law of Transmission of Fluid Pressure Pascal’s law is stated in following ways: • The pressure in a fluid at rest is same at all the points if gravity is ignored. • A liquid exerts equal pressures in all directions. • If the pressure in an enclosed fluid is changed at a particular point, the change is transmitted to every point of the fluid and to the walls of the container without being diminished in magnitude. Applications of Pascal’s law: Hydraulic machines, lifts, presses and brakes, are based on the Pascal’s law. Atmospheric Pressure Force exerted by air column on unit crosssection area of sea level is called atmospheric pressure (P0)

P0 =

F = 101.3kN / m 2 A

Barometer is used to measure atmospheric pressure which was discovered by Torricelli. Atmospheric pressure varies from place to place and at a particular place from time to time. Sudden fall in barometer reading is the indication of storm. • Slow fall in barometric reading is the indication of rain. • Slow rise in barometric reading is the indication of clear weather. Buoyancy and Archimedes Principle If a body is partially or wholly immersed in a fluid, it experiences an upward force due to the fluid surrounding it. This phenomenon of force exerted by fluid on the body is called buoyancy and force is called buoyant force or upthrust.

Thicker liquid like honey, coaltar, glycerine, sugar solution, etc. have a larger viscosity.

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GENERAL SCIENCE

Archimedes’ Principle: It states that the buoyant force on a body that is partially or totally immersed in a fluid equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by it. Bernoulli’s Principle When incompressible, non-viscous, irrotational liquid i.e., ideal liquid flow from one position to other in streamline path then in its path at every point, the sum of pressure energy, kinetic energy and potential energy per unit volume remains constant. Blowing of roofs by storms, sprayer action of carburetor, etc. based on Bernoulli’s principle. Viscosity The property of a fluid due to which it opposes the relative motion between its different layers is called viscosity (or fluid friction or internal friction) and the force between the layers opposing the relative motion is called viscous force. Terminal Velocity It is maximum constant velocity acquired by the body while falling freely in a viscous medium. Surface Tension Surface tension is basically a property of liquid. The liquid surface behaves like a stretched elastic membrane which has a natural tendency to contract and tends to have a minimum possible surface area. This property of liquid is called surface tension. Surface tension T =

Force F Length L

Examples of surface tension (i) Raindrops are spherical in shape. (ii) The hair of a shaving brush cling together when taken out of water. (iii) Oil spread on cold water but remains as a drop on hot water etc.

Capillarity A glass tube with fine bore and open at both ends is known as capillary tube. The property by virtue of which a liquid rise or fall in a capillary tube is known as capillarity. Rise or fall of liquid in tubes of narrow bore (capillary tube) is called capillary action. Rise of kerosene in lanterns, rise of ink in fountain pen etc. are due to capillary action.

Heat Temperature and Heat

Temperature is defined as the degree of hotness or coldness of a body. It is a scalar quantity. Its S.I. unit is kelvin (K). Heat is a form of energy which causes sensation of hotness or coldness. The flow of heat is always from higher temperature to lower temperature. No heat flows from one body to other, when both the bodies are at the same temperature. The two bodies are said to be in thermal equilibrium. The SI unit of heat is joule. Its CGS unit is calorie, 1 cal = 4.2 joule Measurement of Temperature A branch of science which deals with the measurement of temperature of a substance is called thermometry. Thermometer is a device used to measure the temperature. Thermometer used for measuring very high temperatures are called pyrometer. Relationship between different scales of temperature

C − 0 F − 32 R − 0 K − 273 Ra − 492 = = = = 100 180 80 100 180 OR

C F − 32 R K − 273 Ra − 492 = = = = 5 9 4 5 9 Normal temperature of human body is 310.15 k (37°C = 98.6°F) At –40° temperature, celsius and fahrenheit thermometers read the same. Ideal-gas Equation and Absolute Temperature The equation, PV = nRT where, n = number of moles in the sample of gas R = universal gas constant; (its value is 8.31 J mol–1 K–1), is known as ideal-gas equation It is the combination of following three laws (i) Boyle’s law: When temperature is held constant, the pressure is inversely proportional to volume. i.e., P ∝ 1 ( at constant temperature)

Coffee powder is easily soluble in water because water immediately wets the five granules of coffee by the action of capillarity.

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GENERAL SCIENCE (ii) Charle’s law: When the pressure is held constant, the volume of the gas is directly proportional to the absolute temperature. i.e., V ∝ T (at constant pressure) (iii) Avogadro’s law: When the pressure and temperature are kept constant, the volume is directly proportional to the number of moles of the ideal gas in the container. i.e., V ∝ n (at constant pressure and temperature) Absolute temperature The lowest temperature of –273.16 °C at which a gas is supposed to have zero volume and zero pressure and at which entire molecular motion stops is called absolute zero temperature. A new scale of temperature starting with –273.16°C by Lord Kelvin as zero. This is called Kelvin scale or absolute scale of temperature. T(K) = t°C + 273.16 Thermal expansion The increase in the dimensions, i.e. length, area or volume of a body due to the increase in its temperature on heating is called thermal expansion. Linear expansion: The fractional increase in length per ºC rise in temperature is called coefficient of linear expansion. Coefficient of linear expansion,  ∆l    dl l α=   = ∆T l.dT

Superficial expansion: On increasing the temperature of a solid, its area increases. This increase in area is referred as superficial expansion. Coefficient of superficial expansion is defined as the fractional increase in area per ºC rise in temperature. Cubical expansion: On increasing the temperature of a solid, its volume increases. This increase in volume with increase in temperature is called cubical or volume expansion. Coefficient of volume expansion is defined as the fractional increase in volume per ºC rise in temperature. i.e., Coefficient of volume expansion, ∆V / V dV g= = ∆T V.dT

Relation between coefficient of linear expansion (α), coefficient of superficial expansion (β) and coefficient of cubical expansion (γ)

b g = ⇒ a : b : g = 1: 2 : 3 2 3

Anomalous expansion of water Almost all liquids expand on heating but water when heated from 0°C to 4°C its volume decreases and hence density increases until its temperature reaches 4°C. Its density is maximum at 4°C, on further heating its density decreases. This behaviour of water is called anomalous behaviour of water. Specific heat capacity It is the amount of heat energy needed to raise the temperature of unit mass of substance by 1ºC (or 1K). It is denoted by s or c.

Cwater = 1 cal/g °C = 1 cal/g K = 1 kcal/kg K=4200 joule/kg K Latent heat or hidden heat When state of a substance changes, change of state takes place at constant temperature (m.pt. or b.pt.) heat is released or absorbed and is given by, Q = mL where L is latent heat.

Change of State of Matter

Any state of a substance (solid/ liquid/ gas) can be changed into another by heating or cooling. The transition of a substance from one state to another is called a change of state. Some common changes of states: (i) Melting: When heat is supplied, solid substance changes into liquid, this change of state of substance is called melting. Heat

Solid  → Liquid

The temperature at which the solid and the liquid states of a substance coexist in thermal equilibrium with each other is called its melting point. (ii) Freezing: When heat is released, liquid changes into solid, this change of state of substance is called freezing. Cool

Liquid  → Solid

The air having moisture content equal to its humidity capacity, is called saturated air. Humidity capacity of air is directly proportional to the temperature.

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(iii) Condensation: When vapour is cooled, it changes into liquid, this change of state is called condensation. Cool

Vapour  → liquid

(iv) Evaporation: Conversion of liquid into gaseous state at all the temperatures is called evaporation or boiling. Heat

Liquid  → Vapour

The temperature at which the liquid and vapour states of a substance coexist in thermal equilibrium with each other is called its boiling point. It is a phenomenon that occurs at the surface of liquids. The rate of evaporation increases with rise in temperature. Heat required to change unit mass of liquid into vapour at a given temperature is called heat of evaporation at that temperature. (v) Sublimation: It is the conversion of a solid directly into vapour. Heat

Solid  → Vapour

Sublimation takes place when boiling point is less than the melting point. Heat transfer: Heat energy transfer from a body at higher temperature to a body at lower temperature by three different methods. They are conduction, convection and radiation. Conduction: Conduction is that mode of transmission of heat in which heat is transferred from a region of higher temperature to a region of lower temperature by the aid of particles of the body without their actual migration. Conduction requires material medium. Convection: Convection like conduction requires a material medium. It is the process in which heat is transferred from one place to other by actual movement of heated material particles. Radiation: When a body is heated and placed in vacuum, it loses heat even when there is no medium surrounding it. The process by which heat is lost in this case is called radiation. This does not require the presence of any material medium. It is by radiation that the heat from the sun reaches the earth.

Newton’s Law of Cooling The rate of cooling of a body (rate of loss of heat) is directly proportional to the excess of temperature of the body over the surroundings, provided that this excess is small and loss of heat by radiation only. If θ and θ0 are the temperatures of the body and its surroundings respectively, then according to Newton’s law of cooling, Rate of loss of heat, −

dQ ∝ ( θ − θ0 ) dt

Thermodynamics The thermodynamics is the branch of science in which the conversion of heat into mechanical work and vice versa is studied. Triple point of water: The triple point of water represents the co-existence of all the three phases of water ice, water and water vapour in equilibrium. The pressure corresponding to triple point of water is 6.03 × 10–3 atmosphere or 4.58 mm of Hg and temperature corresponding to it is 273.16 K. Zeroth Law of Thermodynamics If objects A and B are separately in thermal equilibrium with a third object C then objects A and B are in thermal equilibrium with each other. First Law of Thermodynamics If some quantity of heat is supplied to a system capable of doing external work, then the quantity of heat absorbed by the system is equal to the sum of the increase in the internal energy of the system and the external work done by the system. i.e., δQ = δU + δW The first law of thermodynamics is essentially a restatement of the law of conservation of energy, i.e. energy can neither be created nor be destroyed but may be converted from one form to another. Heat Engines Heat engine is a device which converts heat energy into work. Efficiency of heat engine,

η=

Work done (W ) Heat taken from source (Q1 )

Refrigerators and Heat Pumps A refrigerator is the reverse of a heat engine. A heat pump is the same as a refrigerator.

The measuring of temperature closed to OK, is known as cryogenics while dealing with the measurement of very high temperature, is called pyrometry.

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GENERAL SCIENCE Waves • A wave is a disturbance which propagates energy from one place to the other without the transport of matter. • These are of two types (i) Mechanical waves (ii) Electromagnetic waves

Mechanical Waves

A mechanical wave is a periodic disturbance which requires a material medium for its propagation. (a) Transverse wave: When the particles of the medium vibrate in a direction perpendicular to the direction of propagation of the wave, the wave is known as the transverse wave. For example, waves produced in a stretched string, waves on the surface. These waves travel in form of crests and troughs. These waves can travel in solids and liquids only. (b) Longitudinal wave: When the particles of the medium vibrate along the direction of propagation of the wave then the wave is known as the longitudinal wave. For example sound wave in air, waves in a solid rod produced by scrubbing etc. These waves travel in the form of compressions and rarefactions. These waves can travel in solids, liquids and gases.

Electromagnetic Waves

The waves which do not require medium for propagation are called electromagnetic waves. This means that these waves can travel through vacuum also. For example, light waves, X-rays, γ-rays, Infrared waves, radio waves, microwaves, etc. These waves are of transverse type. • In the 1860’s and 1870’s, a Scottish scientist named James Clerk Maxwell noticed that electrical fields and magnetic fields can couple together to form electromagnetic waves.

Difference between sound waves and electromagnetic waves (i) Sound waves are longitudinal and electromagnetic waves are transverse. (ii) Sound waves travel at a speed of 340 m/s whereas electromagnetic waves travel at a speed of 3 × 108 m/s.

(iii) Sound waves do not pass through a vacuum but electromagnetic waves (light) do. Characteristics of Sound Waves • Audible sound for human is 20 Hz to 20000 Hz. • Sound higher than 20000 Hz are called ultrasonics. • Sounds less than 20 Hz are called infrasonics. Speed of Sound in Different Mediums Medium

Speed of sound (In m/s)

Air(0°C)

332

Air (20°C) 343 Steam (at 100°C) 405 Mercury 1450 Water (20°C) 1482 Sea water 1533 Iron 5130 Glass 5640 Sound is characterised by three parameters: (i) Pitch (ii) Loudness (iii) Quality (i) Pitch: Pitch is the sensation (brain interpretation) of the frequency of an emitted sound and is the characteristic which distinguishes a shrill (or sharp) sound from a grave (or flat) sound. (ii) Loudness: Loudness or softness of a sound wave is the sensation that depends upon its amplitude. The loudness of sound is a measure of the sound energy reaching the ear per second. • The loudness of sound is measured in decibel (dB). The loudness of sound of people talking quietly is about 65 dB, the loudness of sound in a very noisy factory is about 100 dB. (iii) Quality (Timber): Quality or timber of a sound wave is that characteristic which helps us in distinguishing one sound from another having same pitch and loudness. We recognise a person (without seeing) by listening to his sound as it has a definite quality.

Shark protective oceanic device (Shark POD) protects divers from shark. It consists of two metal electrodes, one attached to diver’s fins and other to diver’s air tank.

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A pure sound of single frequency is called a tone. An impure sound produced by mixture of many frequencies is called a note. It is pleasant to listen. Reflection of Sound When sound waves strike a surface, they return back into the same medium. This phenomenon is called reflection. Laws of reflection of sound waves (i) Angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection. (ii) The incident wave, the reflected wave and the normal all lie in the same plane. Echo Phenomenon of hearing back our own sound is called an echo. It is due to successive reflection from the surface of obstacles of large size. Conditions for the formation of Echoes (i) The minimum distance between the source of sound and the reflecting body should be 17.2 metres. (ii) The wavelength of sound should be less than the height of the reflecting body. (iii) The intensity of sound should be sufficient so that it can be heard after reflection. Reverberation Persistence of sound after its production stopped, is called reverberation. When a sound is produced in a big hall, its wave reflect from the walls and travel back and forth. Due to this energy does not reduce and the sound persist. A short reverberation is desirable in a concert hall (where music is being played) because it gives ‘life’ to sound.

Optics

Optics The branch of physics which deals with the propagation, nature and behaviour of light is known as optics.

Light

Light is a form of energy which enables human beings and creatures to ‘see’ things. Light is an electromagnetic radiation which exhibits properties like a wave as well as a particle. It always propagates in a straight line. Light travels with a speed nearly equal to 3 × 108 m/s. According to current theories, no material particle can travel at a speed greater than the speed of light.

GENERAL SCIENCE Luminous and non-luminous objects Luminous objects are those which emit its own light e.g., sun, glowworm, burning candle, electric lights. Non-luminous objects do not give out its own light but are visible only when light from a luminous object falls on it. e.g., moon, earth, table, paper, etc. Transparent, Translucent and Opaque materials Transparent materials are those which allow most of light to pass through them. Example: Glass, water, air. Translucent materials allow only a part of light to pass through it. We cannot see distinctly through them. Example: greased paper, paraffin wax, etc. Opaque materials do not allow any light to pass through it. They reflect or absorb all the light that falls on them. Example: Books, desk, stone, rubber, trees, etc. • Speed of light in different mediums Medium Glass Turpentine oil Water Vacuum

Reflection of Light

Speed of light 2 ×108 m /sec 2.04 ×108 m /sec 2.25×108 m/sec 3×108 m/sec

The turning back of light in the same medium is called reflection of light. Laws of reflection 1. The angle of incidence ‘i’ is equal to the angle of reflection ‘r’. 2. At the point of incidence, the incident rays, the normal to the surface and the reflected ray all lie in the same plane. Images and their properties An ‘image’ is defined as the impression of an object carried over and formed by light reflected from it. An image is said to be a real image if it can be caught on a screen, and a virtual image if it cannot be caught on the screen. For example, the image on the screen in a theatre is a real image and the image observed in a plane mirror is a virtual image. Real image 1. When the rays of light actually meet, the image so formed is known as real image. 2. A real image can be caught on a screen since it is formed by actual meeting of rays.

Humming of mosquito has high pitch (high frequency) but low intensity (low loudness) while the roar of a lion has high intensity (loudness) but low pitch.

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GENERAL SCIENCE 3. 4.

A real image is always inverted. A real image is formed by a convergent reflected beam. 5. In ray diagrams, for real image, the rays are represented by full lines. Virtual image 1. When the rays of light appear to meet, the image so formed is known as virtual image. 2. A virtual image cannot be caught on a screen since it is formed by meeting of imaginary rays. 3. A virtual image is always erect. 4. A virtual image is formed by a divergent reflected beam. 5. In ray diagrams, for virtual image, the rays are generally represented by dotted lines. Characteristics of images formed by a plane mirror The image formed by a plane mirror is (a) virtual (the image cannot be formed on a screen), (b) upright, (c) laterally inverted (the left side of an image is formed by the right side of an object), (d) the same size as the object, (e) the same distance behind the mirror as the object is in front of the mirror.

Concave and Convex Mirror

Concave mirror: If the reflection takes place from the inner surface of a spherical mirror, then the mirror is called concave mirror. Uses of concave mirrors: (i) In torches, search-lights and vehicles headlights to get powerful beams of light. (ii) As a shaving mirror to see a large image of the face. (iii) As a dentists mirror to see large images of the teeth of patients. (iv) Large sized concave mirror is used to concentrate sunlight to produce heat in solar furnaces. Convex mirror: If the outer surface of the spherical mirror acts as a reflector then the mirror is called convex mirror. Uses of convex mirrors: (i) As a rear -view mirrors in vehicles. (ii) For security purposes. (iii) In sodium reflector lamp.

Mirror Formula If an object is placed at a distance u from the pole of a mirror and its image is formed at a distance v (from the pole) then,

1 1 1 + = v u f

Magnification If a thin object linear size O situated vertically on the axis of a mirror at a distance u from the pole and its image of size I is formed at a distance v (from the pole), magnification (transverse) is defined as (+ve means erect image) m I v O u

(–ve means inverted image) (|m| >1 means large image)

(|m| < 1 means small image)

Refraction of Light

When a ray of light passes from one medium to another medium it bends – towards the normal when goes from rarer to denser and away from the normal when goes from denser to rarer medium. This phenomenon is called refraction of light. Twinkling of stars, sun is visible to us about 2 minutes before the actual sunrise, and about 2 minutes after actual sunset etc. due to atmospheric refraction. Refractive index Refractive index of medium II with respect to medium I.

µ 21 =

Speed of light in medium I Speed of light in medium II

Laws of Refraction (i) Snell’s law: For any two media and for light of a given wavelength, the ratio of the sine of the angle of incidence to the sine of the angle of refraction is a constant. i.e.,

sin i = constant sin r

where i = incidence angle, r = refraction angle. (ii) The incident ray, the refracted ray and the normal at the incident point all lie in the same plane. When object is in denser medium and observer is in rarer medium: Refractive index µ =

Real depth Virtual depth

If half of the mirror is covered, then image formed is complete but its intensity reduces (because less amount of light is reflected from the mirror).

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GENERAL SCIENCE

Some Phenomena based on Refraction (i) Twinkling of stars (ii) Oval Shape of sun in the morning and evening. (iii) Rivers appear shallow (iv) Coins appear raised in glass filled with water. (v) Pencils appear broken in the beaker filled with water. (vi) Sun appears above horizon at sunset and sunrise. (vii) Writing on a paper appears lifted on putting glass slab on it. Refractive index Material medium Air Ice Water Alcohol Kerosene Fused quartz Turpentine oil Benzene Crown glass

Refractive index 1.0003 1.31 1.33 1.36 1.44 1.46 1.47 1.50 1.52

Refraction through a thin lens (lens formula) If an object is placed at a distance u from the optical centre of a lens and its images is formed at a distance v (from the optical centre) and focal length of this length is f then

1 1 1 − = v u f

This is called lens formula.

Power of a lens The power of a lens is defined as

1 . The unit of power is diopter. f (in m ) Total Internal Reflection P=

When the object is placed in an optically denser medium and if the incident angle is greater than the critical angle then the ray of light gets reflected back to the originating medium. This phenomenon is called total internal reflection.

(viii)An object in a denser medium appears to be nearer when seen from a rarer medium, eg. fish in water, a coin at the base of a water filled vessel.

Lens

A lens is a piece of transparent material with two refracting surfaces such that atleast one is curved and refractive index of used material is different from that of the surroundings.

Material medium Canada Balsam

Refractive index 1.53

Carbon disulphide Dense flint glass Ruby Sapphire Diamond

1.63 1.65 1.71 1.77 2.42

Rock salt

1.54

Critical angle (ic): When a ray passes from an optically denser medium to an optically rarer medium, the angle of refraction r is greater than the corresponding angle of incidence i. From Snell’s law. Let µ1 = µ 2 and µ 2 = 1 and let for i = ic, r = 90º then sin ic = 1 / µ

∴ ic = sin −1

1 ; ic is called the critical angle. µ

This phenomenon takes place in shining of air bubble, sparkling of diamond, mirage, looming, in optical communication, endoscopy using optical fibre.

Dispersion of Light

When a white ray of light or sunlight passes through a prism it breaks into its seven constituents colours, i.e. violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange and red (VIBGYOR). This phenomenon is called dispersion of light. The band of seven constituents colours is called spectrum. The deviation is maximum for violet colour and least for red colour.

At the sunrise and sunset, the sun appears flattened. This apparent flattening of the Sun’s disc is also due to the atmospheric refraction.

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GENERAL SCIENCE The Rainbow A rainbow is a spectrum of white light from the sun. This is a phenomenon due to combined effect of dispersion, refraction and reflection of sunlight by spherical water droplets of rain. (i) Primary rainbow: It is formed due to two refractions and one total internal reflection of the light incident on the droplet. Sunlight is first refracted as it enters a raindrop which cause different colours of light to separate. The observer sees a rainbow with red colour on the top and violet on the bottom. (ii) Secondary rainbow: It is formed due to two refractions and two total internal reflection of light incident on the water droplet. It is due to four step process. The intensity of light is reduced at the second reflection and hence the secondary rainbow is fainter than the primary rainbow.

Scattering of Light

As sunlight travels through the earth’s atmosphere it gets scattered by the small particles present in the atmosphere. According to Rayleigh law, the amount of scattering is inversely proportional to the

 1 .   λ4 

fourth power of the wavelength 

Phenomenon based on scattering of light (i) Blue colour of sky: Blue colour has a shorter wavelength than red colour therefore blue colour is scattered strongly. Hence the bluish colour predominates in a clear sky. (ii) White colour of clouds: Clouds contain large dust particles, water droplets or ice particles. These large sized Particles do not obey Rayleigh law of scattering. All wavelengths are scattered nearly equally. Hence clouds are generally white. (iii) Sun looks reddish at the Sunset or Sunrise: At sunset or sunrise, the sun’s rays have to pass through a larger distance in the atmosphere. Most of the blue and other shorter wavelengths are scattered. The least scattered light reaching our eyes, therefore the sun looks reddish.

Power of Accomodation of Eye

The ability of the lens to change its shape to focus near and distant objects is called accommodation. A normal human eye can see objects clearly that are between 25 cm and infinity. Microscope: It is an optical instrument used to see magnified image of a tiny objects. Resolving power (R.P.) of a microscope Resolving power of a microscope is defined as the reciprocal of the least separation between two close objects, so that they appear just separated, when seen through the microscope. Telescope (Astronomical): It is an optical instrument used to increase the visual angle of distant large objects. It is used to see far off objects clearly. Resolving power (R.P.) of a telescope Resolving power of telescope is defined as the reciprocal of the smallest angular separation between two distant objects, so that they appear just separated, when seen through the telescope. D Resolving power of telescope =

1.22λ

Interference of Light Waves The phenomenon of redistribution of light energy in a medium due to superposition of light waves from two coherent sources is called interference of light. Conditions for sustained interference: (i) Two sources must be coherent. (ii) Amplitudes of waves should be either equal or approximately equal. (iii) Light should be monochromatic. Polarisation It is the phenomenon of restricting the vibration of light in a particular plane. Light waves are transverse in nature i.e., the electric field vector associated with light wave is always at right angles to the direction of propagation of the wave. When unpolarised light is incident on a polaroid (Nicol Prism), the light wave gets linearly polarised i.e., the vibration of electric field vector are along a single direction.

Electricity

Electric Charges Charge is something associated with matter due to which it produces and experiences electric and magnetic effects.

Interference of light can be seen when the kerosene oil spread on the water surface seems to have a decent colour because of the interference of the light.

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The study of charges at rest is called static electricity or electrostatics while the study of charges in motion is called current electricity. There are two types of electric charge: (i) Positive charge and (ii) Negative charge The magnitude of elementary positive or negative charge is same and is equal to 1.6 × 10–19 C. Charge is a scalar quantity and its SI unit is ampere second or coulomb (C). Basic properties of electric charge (1) Similar charges repel and opposite charges attract each other. (2) A charged body attracts light uncharged bodies. (3) Accelerated charge radiates energy.

Conductors and Insulators

The materials which allow electric charge (or electricity) to flow freely through them are called conductors. Metals are very good conductors of electric charge. Silver, copper and aluminium are some of the good conductors of electricity. The materials which do not allow electric charge to flow through them are called nonconductors or insulators. For example, most plastics, rubber, nonmetals (except graphite), dry wood, wax, mica, porcelain, dry air etc., are insulators. Coulomb’s law It states that, the electrostatic force of interaction (repulsion or attraction) between two electric charges q1 and q2 separated by a distance r, is directly proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of distance between them.

Electric Field The region surrounding an electric charge or a group of charges in which another charge experiences a force of attraction or repulsion is called ‘electric field’. The S.I. unit of electric field intensity is N/ coul or volt/metre. Electric lines of force An electric line of force is that imaginary smooth curve drawn in an electric field along which a free isolated unit positive charge moves.

GENERAL SCIENCE Two lines of force never intersect. If they are assumed to intersect, there will be two directions of electric field at the point of intersection, which is impossible.

Capacitors and Capacitance

A capacitor or condenser is a device that stores electrical energy. It consists of conductors of any shape and size carrying charges of equal magnitude and opposite signs and separated by an insulating medium. The symbol of a capacitor is or The net charge on a capacitor is zero. Capacitance or capacity of a capacitor is a measure of ability of the capacitor to store charge on it. When a conductor is charged then its potential rises. The increase in potential is directly proportional to the charge given to the conductor. i.e. Q ∝ V or Q = CV or, C =

Q V

The constant C is known as the capacitance of the conductor. Its SI unit is farad (F) or coulomb/volt Capacitance of the conductor depends upon: (i) Size of conductor (ii) Surrounding medium (iii) Presence of other conductors nearby

Electric Current

The time rate of flow of charge through any cross-section is called electric current. If ∆q charge passes through a cross-section in time ∆t then, average current I av =

∆q ∆t

Instantaneous current I = lim

∆q

∆t →0 ∆t

dq dt

Electric current is measured in ampere (A). Types of electric current: (a) Direct current: The current whose magnitude and direction does not vary with time is called direct current (dc). The various sources are cells, dc dynamo, etc. It’s symbol is

Polaroids are useful in three dimensional motion pictures, i.e. in holography.

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GENERAL SCIENCE (b) Alternating current: The current whose magnitude continuously changes with time and periodically changes its direction is called alternating current. It has constant amplitude and has alternate positive and negative halves. It is produced by ac dynamo. It’s symbol is Resistance, Conductance and Resistivity Resistance (R): It is the property of a substance due to which it opposes the flow of current through it. Its SI unit volt/ampere called ohm (Ω). The reciprocal of specific resistance is conductance i.e. σ =

1 ρ

Superconductors

At a very low temperature, the resistance of the conductor may vanish completely. When it happens, the conductor is called a superconductor. For example, helium is a superconductor at 4.2 K (– 268.8°C). Ohm’s law It states that if the physical state i.e. temperature, nature of material and dimensions of a conductor remain unchanged then the ratio of potential difference applied across its ends to current flowing through it remains constant. i.e. V ∝ I or V = I R, where R =

resistance of conductor.

V is the I

Electrical Energy

When a current is passed through a resistor energy is wasted in overcoming the resistance of the wire. This energy is converted into heat. The heat generated (in joule) when a current of 1 ampere flows through a resistance of R ohm for T second. This is the joule’s law of heating 1 unit of electrical energy = 1 Kilowatt hour (1 KWh) = 3.6 × 106 joule This is known as Board of trade (B.O.T) unit of electrical energy.

Power

Energy liberated per second is called its power. The electrical power P delivered or

consumed by an electrical device is given by P = VI, where V = Potential difference across the device and I = current. Ammeter : An ammeter is a low resistance galvanometer used to measure strength of current in an electrical circuit. Conversion of galvanometer into ammeter: A galvanometer can be converted to an ammeter by connecting a low resistance or shunt in parallel to coil of galvanometer. Voltmeter: A voltmeter is a high resistance galvanometer used to measure potential difference. Conversion of galvanometer into voltmeter: A galvanometer is converted to a voltmeter by connecting a high resistance in series with the coil of galvanometer.

Alternating Current When an alternating voltage is applied across a coil or a bulb, it sends a similar varying current (i.e., of the same nature as that of voltage) through the coil. The current is called alternating current (A.C.). The current flowing in only one direction in a circuit is called direct current (D.C.). Batteries, thermocouples and solar cells are some of the sources of direct current. Advantages of Alternating Current Over Direct Current (i) A.C. can be obtained over a wide range of voltages. These voltages can be easily stepped up or stepped down with the help of transformers. (ii) The generation of A.C. is found to be economical than that of D.C. Transformers It is a device used for transforming a low alternating voltage of high current into a high alternating voltage of low current and vice versa, without increasing power or changing frequency. Principle: It works on the phenomenon of mutual induction. If a low voltage is to be transformed into a high voltage, then the number of turns in secondary is more than those in primary. The transformer is called a step up transformer.

The process of protecting certain field from external electric field, is called electrostatic shielding.

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If a high voltage is to be transformed into a low voltage, then the number of turns in secondary is less than those in primary. The transformer is called a step-down transformer. Uses of Transformer A transformer is used in almost all ac operation. (i) In voltage regulators for TV, refrigerator, computer, air conditioner, etc. (ii) In the induction furnaces. (iii) Step down transformer is used for welding purposes. (iv) In the transmission of ac over long distance. AC Generator/Dynamo/Alternator An electrical machine used to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy is known as AC generator/alternator or dynamo. Principle: It works on the principle of electromagnetic induction, i.e. when a coil is rotated in uniform magnetic field, an induced emf is produced in it. DC Motor A D.C. motor converts direct current energy from a battery into mechanical energy of rotation. Principle: It is based on the fact that when a coil carrying current is held in a magnetic field, it experiences a torque, which rotates the coil. Efficiency of the d.c. motor:

η=

EI E Back e.m. f . = = VI V Applied e.m. f .

Uses of D.C Motor 1. The D.C. motors are used in D.C. fans (exhaust, ceiling or table) for cooling and ventilation. 2. They are used for pumping water. 3. Big D.C. motors are used for running tram-cars and even trains.

Magnetism Magnetism

The phenomenon of attracting magnetic substances like iron, cobalt, nickel etc. is called magnetism. A body possessing the property of magnetism is called magnet.

GENERAL SCIENCE Lodestone or magnetite is natural magnet. Earth is also a natural magnet. In magnetised substance all the atomic magnets are aligned in same direction and thus resultant magnetism is non-zero. Bar Magnet: A bar magnet consists of two equal and opposite magnetic poles separated by a small distance. Poles are not exactly at the ends. The shortest distance between two poles is called effective length (Le) and is less than its geometric length (Lg). For bar magnet Le = 2l and Le =(5/6) Lg.

L= e 2 l Lg Bar magnet Properties of Magnet (i) Attractive property: The places where its attracting power is maximum are called poles. (ii) Directive property: When a magnet is suspended its length becomes parallel to N-S direction. The pole pointing north is called the north pole while the other pointing in the geographical south is called the south pole of the magnet. (iii) Poles of a magnet always exist in pairs: In a magnet the two poles are found to be equal in strength and opposite in nature. (iv) Repulsive property: A pole of a magnet attracts the opposite pole while repels similar pole. Demagnetisation of Magnet A magnet gets demagnetised, i.e. loses its power of attraction if it is heated, hammered or alternating current is passed through a wire wound over it. Permanent and Temporary Magnets (Electromagnets) The permanent artificial magnets are made of some metals and alloys like Carbonsteel, Alnico, Platinum-cobalt, Alcomax, Ticonal etc. The permanent magnets are made of ferromagnetic substances with large coercivity and retentivity

Thermistor is a heat sensitive device whose resistivity changes very rapidly with change of temperature.

GENERAL SCIENCE The temporary artificial magnets like electromagnets are prepared by passing current through coil wound on soft iron core. These cannot retain its strength for a long time. These are made from soft iron, non-metal and alloy. Electromagnets are stronger than permanent magnet. Some applications of electromagnets (i) Electric motors (ii) Doorbells (iii) In scrapyards to separate iron from other metals Magnetic Field The space around a magnet (or a current carrying conductor) in which its magnetic effect can be experienced is called the magnetic field. Magnetic Lines of Force Magnetic line of force is an imaginary curve tangent to which at a point gives the direction of magnetic field at that point or the magnetic field line is the imaginary path along which an isolated north pole will tend to move if it is free to do so. Magnetic lines of force do not intersect each other. Because if they do, there will be two directions of magnetic field which is not possible.

The Earth’s Magnetism

The branch of Physics which deals with the study of earth’s magnetic field is called terrestrial magnetism. William Gilbert suggested that earth itself behaves like a huge magnet. (a) A freely suspended magnet always comes to rest in N-S direction. (b) A piece of soft iron buried in N-S direction inside the earth acquires magnetism. Geographic meridian: It is a vertical plane passing through geographic north and south pole of the earth. Geographic equator: A great circle on the surface of the earth in a plane perpendicular to geographical axis is called geographic equator. All places on geographic equator are at equal distances from geographical poles. Magnetic meridian: It is a vertical plane passing through the magnetic north and south pole of the earth.

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Magnetic equator: A great circle on the surface of the earth in a plane perpendicular to magnetic axis is called magnetic equator. All places on magnetic euqator are at equal distance from magnetic poles. Magnetic Elements The physical quantities which determine the intensity of earth’s total magnetic field completely both in magnitude and direction are called magnetic elements. Angle of declination (φ): The angle between the magnetic meridian and geographical meridian at a place is called angle of declination. Angle of dip or inclination (θ): The angle through which the N pole dips down with reference to horizontal is called the angle of dip. At magnetic north and south pole angle of dip is 90°. At magnetic equator the angle of dip is 0°. Horizontal component of earth’s magnetic field: The total intensity of the earth’s magnetic field makes an angle θ with horizontal. It has (i) component in horizontal plane called horizontal component BH. (ii) component in vertical plane called vertical component BV. Comparison of properties of soft iron and steel: (1) The area of hysteresis loop for soft iron is much smaller than for steel, so energy loss per unit volume per cycle for soft iron is smaller than steel. (2) The retentivity of soft iron is greater than that of steel. (3) The coercivity of steel is much larger than that of soft iron. (4) The magnetisation and demagnetisation is easier in soft iron than steel. (5) Soft iron acquires saturation magnetisation for quite low value of magnetising field than in case of steel or soft iron is much strongly magnetised than steel. Diamagnetic Substances: The substances which when placed in a magnetic field are feebly magnetised in a direction opposite to that of the magnetising field are called diamagnetic substances.

Magnetic field inside the body forms the basis of obtaining the images of different parts of body and it is done by using a technique MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging).

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Some diamagnetic substances are Cu, Zn, Bi, Ag, Au, Pb, He, Ar, NaCl, H2O, marble, glass, etc. Paramagnetic Substances: The substances which when placed in a magnetic field are feebly magnetised in the direction of magnetising field are called paramagnetic substances. Some paramagnetic substances are Al, Na, Sb, Pt, CuCl2, Mn, Cr, liquid oxygen, etc. Ferromagnetic Substances: The substances which when placed in a magnetic field are strongly magnetised in the direction of the magnetising field are called ferromagnetic substances. Iron, cobalt, nickel, etc. are some examples of ferromagnetic substance.

Semiconductor Electronics

Metals, Semiconductors and Insulators On the basis of electrical conductivity (σ) or resistivity (ρ = 1/σ) the solids are classified as

(i) Metals – have low resistivity ρ ∼ 10–2 to 10–8 Ωm σ ∼ 102 to 108 Sm–1 (ii) Semiconductors – have intermediate resistivity ρ ∼ 105 to 100 Ωm σ ∼ 10–5 to 100 Sm–1 (iii) Insulators – have high resistivity ρ ∼ 108 Ωm σ ∼ 10–8 Sm–1 i.e. the Semiconductors are the materials whose conductivity is more than insulators but less than conductors. Types of Semiconductors : Intrinsic semiconductors or Pure semiconductors In semiconductors forbidden energy gap is more than metals or conductors and less than insulators. Silicon (Si) and Germanium (Ge) are the examples of pure semiconductors. In pure or intrinsic semiconductor, ne = nh = ni where, ne = no. of electrons; nh = no. of holes and ni = no. of intrinsic carrier concentration. (a) n – type semiconductor: Si or Ge with pentavalent doping.

GENERAL SCIENCE (b) p - type semiconductor: Si or Ge with trivalent doping. The trivalent atom is negatively charged as it acquires an electron and is called acceptor atom or impurity. Formation of p – n junction: Part of p-type can be converted into n – type by adding pentavalent impurity. There is concentration gradient between p and n sides, holes diffuse from p side to n side (p → n) and electrons move from (n → p) creating a layer of positive and negative charges on n and p side respectively called depletion layer. Symbol of p-n junction diode

Special purpose p – n junction diode: Zener diode: It is fabricated by heavy doping of p and n sides of p – n junction. Depletion region is thin < 10–6 m. Electric field of junction is high ~ 5 × 106 V/m. Reverse bias ~ 5V. It is used as voltage regulator. p-n junction diode is used as a rectifier. Rectifier is a device which converts A.C. into D.C. Inverter converts D.C. into A.C. Optoelectronic junction devices: (a) Photodiode: It work on the principle of photoelectric effect. It is always lightly doped. It is a p – n junction fabricated with a transparent window to allow light photons to fall on it. These photons generate electron hole pairs upon absorption. The generation of electron hole pair is near the junction and due to junction field they remain separated till external load is connected. The electron are collected on n–side and holes on p–side near junction and give rise to an emf. When external load is connected, current flows. The magnitude of current depends on intensity of incident radiation.

Now-a-days large electromagnets are used to levitate modern trains, these trains are called, maglev.

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GENERAL SCIENCE (b) Light emitting diode Principle (LED): Photoluminonce It consists of heavily doped p – n junction in forward bias. Electrons move from n to p and holes from p to n (minority carriers). Thus, near junction, minority carrier concentration increases (under no bias it is less) and they combine with majority carriers near the junction to release energy in form of photons with energy equal to or less than band gap energy. As forward bias increases, current increases till light intensity reaches maximum. Junction Transistor: Types: (i) n-p-n type, (ii) p-n-p type. Structure: (i) Emitter (E), (ii) Base (B), (iii) Collector (C)

Symbol:

E C

B n-p-n type

E C

B p-n-p type

Important Discoveries in Physics Discovery Laws of motion Law of electrostatic attraction Atom Photography (On metal) Law of electric resistance Law of floatation Electromagnetic induction Photography (On paper) Dynamite Periodic table X-Rays Radioactivity Electron Radium Quantum theory Wireless telegram Diode Photoelectric effect Principle of relativity Triode Atomic Structure Proton Raman effect Neutron

Scientist Newton Coulomb John Dalton J.Neepse G.S. Ohm Archemedes’ Michael Faraday W.Fox Talbot Alfred Nobel Mandeleev Roentgen Henry Becquerel J.J. Thomson Madam Curie Max Plank Marconi Sir J.S. Fleming Albert Einstein Albert Einstein Lee de Forest Neil Bohr & Rutherford Goldstein C.V. Raman James Chadwick

Year 1687 1779 1808 1826 1827 1827 1831 1835 1867 1888 1895 1896 1897 1898 1900 1901 1904 1905 1905 1906 1913 1886 1928 1932

We come across the metal detect or at some public places like railway stations, airport, etc. walking through a metal detector is walking through a coil of wire that carries a small electric current and is associated with some magnetic field.

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Nuclear Reactor Law of electrolytic dissociation Thermionic emission

Some more Inventions

Invention Adding machine Aeroplane Ball-point pen Barometer Bicycle Calculating machine Centrigrade scale Cinematograph Clock (mechanical) Diesel engine Dynamo Electric lamp Evolution(theory) Film (with sound) Fountain Pen Gramophone Jet Engine Lift Match (safety) Microphone Motor car(petrol) Motorcycle Printing Press Radium Radio Razor (safety) Refrigerator Rubber(vulcanized) Safety pin Sewing machine Steam engine (piston) Steam engine (condenser) Stainless Steel Telephone Television Thermometer Tractor

Anrico Fermi Faraday Edison

Inventor Pascal Wright brothers C. Biro E. Torricelli K. Macmillan Pascal A. Celsius Thomas Alva Edison Hsing and ling-Tsan Rudolf Diesel Michael Faraday Thomas Alva Edison Charles Darwin Dr Lee do forest L.E. Waterman T.A. Edison Sir Frank Whittle E.G. Otis J.E. Lundstrom David Hughes Karl Benz Edward Butler J. Gutenberg Marie and Pierre Curie G.Marconi K.G. Gillette USA J. Harrison and A. Catlin Charles Good year William Hurst B. Thimmonnier Thomas Newcome James Watt Harry Brearley Alexander Graham Bell John Logie Bared Galileo Galilei J.Froelich

1942 – – Country France USA Hungary Italy Scotland France France USA China Germany England USA England USA USA USA England USA Sweden USA Germany England Germany France England USA Britain USA USA France Britain Scotland England USA Scotland Italy USA

Year 1642 1903 1938 1644 1839 1642 1742 1891 1725 1892 1831 1879 1858 1923 1884 1878 1937 1852 1855 1878 1885 1884 1455 1898 1901 1895 1834 1841 1849 1830 1712 1765 1913 1876 1926 1593 1892

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GENERAL SCIENCE Scientific Instruments and their uses Instrument Altimeter Ammeter Anemometer Audiometer Bolometer Calorimeter Cardiogram (ECG) Chronometer Colorimeter Cryometer Dynamo Electroencephalograph (EEC) Electroscope Endoscope Fathometer Galvanometer Hygrometer Hydrophone Hypsometer Kymograph Lactometer Machmeter

Manometer Micrometer

Microphone Microscope Periscope Photometer Polygraph Pyrheliometer Pyrometer Radar

Salinometer Sphygmometer Stereoscope Stethoscope

Use Measures Altitudes (in aircraft) Measures electric current Measures force and velocity of wind and directions Measures intensity of sound To measures heat radiation Measures quantities of heat Traces movement of the heart; recorded on a Cardiograph Determines longitude of a vessel at sea. Compares intensity of colours A type of thermometer used to measure very low temperatures, usually close to 0°c To convert mechanical energy into electrical energy Records and interprets the electrical waves of the brain (brain waves) recorded on electroence-phalograms Detects presence of an electric charge To examine internal parts of the body Measures depth of the ocean Measures electric current Measures level of humidity Measures sound under water To determine boiling point of liquids Graphically records physiological movement. (e.g. blood pressure/ heartbeat) Measures the relative density of milk to determine purity Determines the speed of an aircraft in terms of the speed of sound

Measures the pressure of gases Measure thickness, width, wavelength, diameter of hair, wool, radiation or cell or bacteria. Converts sound wave into electrical vibrations To obtain a magnified view of small objects To view objects above sea level (used in submarines) Compares the luminous intensity of the source of light Instrument that simultaneously records changes in physiological processes such as heartbeat, blood-pressure and respiration; used as a lie detector Measures components of solar radiation Measures very high temperature To detect the direction and range of an approaching aeroplane by means of radio waves, (Radio, Angle, Detection and Range) Determines salinity of solutions Measures blood pressure To view two-dimensional pictures Used by doctors to hear and analyze heart and lung sounds

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Telemeter Thermostat Tonometer

Records physical happenings at a distant place. Regulates temperature at a particular point Measures the internal pressure of the eye to detect a disease (glaucoma) Rain gauge to measure the quantity of rain To measure and use ultrasonic sound (beyond hearing); use to make a Ecogram to detect brain tumours, heart defects and abnormal growth Measures the viscosity of liquid As a switch, an amplifier, an oscillator, etc.

Udometer Ultrasonoscope Viscometer Transistor

Nano Technology Introduction

Nanomaterials are cornerstones of nanoscience and nanotechnology. Nanostructure science and technology is a broad and interdisciplinary area of research and development activity that has been growing explosively worldwide in the past few years. It has the potential for revolutionizing the ways in which materials and products are created and the range and nature of functionalities that can be accessed. It is already having a significant commercial impact, which will assuredly increase in the future. Nanoscale materials are defined as a set of substances where at least one dimension is less than approximately 100 nanometers. A nanometer is one millionth of a millimeterapproximately 100,000 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair. Nanomaterials are of interest because at this scale unique optical, magnetic, electrical, and other properties emerge. These emergent properties have the potential for great impacts in electronics, medicine, and other fields. Some nanomaterials occur naturally, but of particular interest are engineered nanomaterials (EN), which are designed for, and already being used in many commercial products and processes. They can be found in such things as sunscreens, cosmetics, sporting goods, stain-resistant clothing, tyres, electronics, as well as many other

everyday items, and are used in medicine for purposes of diagnosis, imaging and drug delivery. Engineered nanomaterials are resources designed at the molecular (nanometre level to take advantage of their small size and novel properties which are generally not seen in their conventional, bulk counterparts. The two main reasons why materials at the nanoscale can have different properties are increased relative surface area and new quantum effects. Nanomaterials have a much greater surface area to volume ratio than their conventional forms, which can lead to greater chemical reactivity and affect their strength. Also at the nanoscale, quantum effects can become much more important in determining the materials properties and characteristics, leading to novel optical, electrical and magnetic behaviours. It could be nanoscale in one dimension (eg: surface film), two dimension (eg: strands of fibre) or three dimension (eg: particle). Application So, due to the important features it find its application in (a) Medicine (b) electronics (c) cosmetic TiO2, (Sun protection factor in sunscreen) (d) automobiles (e) decrease pollutant. It is used as nano optics nanomagnetic, nanoelectronic, But its utilisation in nano mechanic is still a challenge for scientists.

The diameter of a proton is approximately 0.000000000001 mm (1/25,000,000,000,000 inch).

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CHEMISTRY Chemistry : It is a branch of physical science that studies the composition, structures, properties and change of matter. So, we initiate our learning from matter.

Nature of Matter

Matter Physical classification of matter

Chemical classification of matter Mixtures

Pure Substances

Homogeneous Elements

Metalic

Heterogeneous

Liquid

Gas

Compounds Organic

Inorganic

Metalloids

Non-metallic

Everything in this universe is made up of material. Scientist have named matter air, food we eat, stones, clouds, plants and animals, particle of sand-everything is matter. All the thing mentioned above occupy space and have mass. i.e they have both mass and volume. State of Matter

Solid

Matter is made up of particles where the particle of matter (i) Has space between them (ii) Particle of matter attract each other. Due to above characteristic matters are classified as follows with their properties in the table.

Properties

Example

Solid

• Definite shape (tightly packed particle, so rigid) Ice, salt, rubber band, • Fixed volume sponge

Gas

• No fixed shape (Largest space between particle Water vapour oxygen, so can diffuse easily) hydrogen • No fixed volume (High compressibility)

Liquid

• No fixed shape, more space than solid particle, so Water, Petrol, etc. not rigid, can flow so it is fluid • Fixed volume

Plasma, fourth state of matter can be found on the earth in flames, lightning and the polar auroras.

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NOTE : Gas and Liquid both are fluids Factors determining the state of matter are (i) Pressure (ii) Temperature Heat

Heat

Liquid state

Solid state

Cool

Gaseous state

Cool

Pure Substance

Pure substance is one that is a single form of matter and has a uniform composition. Such a substance always have the same texture and taste. e.g. water, salt, sugar, etc.

Testing the purity of a substance

The purity of substance can easily be checked by checking its melting points in case of a solid substance or by checking its boiling points in case of a liquid substance.

Types of pure substances

Two different types of pure substances are (i) Element: An element is a substance which can not be split up into two or more simpler substances by usual chemical methods of applying heat, light or electric energy, e.g. hydrogen, oxygen, sodium, chlorine etc. (ii) Compound: A compound is a substance made up of two or more elements chemically combined in a fixed ratio by weight, e.g. H2O (water), NaCl (sodium chloride), etc. S No. 1. 2.

Mixture

A mixture is a substance which consists of two or more elements or compounds not chemically combined together.

Types of mixtures Mixtures are impure substances. They are of

two types: (i) Homogeneous mixture: It has a uniform composition throughout and its components can not be distinguished visually. e.g. a well mixed sample of vinegar. (ii) Heterogeneous mixture: It is one that is not uniform throughout. Different samples of a heterogeneous mixture may have different composition. e.g. a mixture of salt and pepper.

Solution

It is a homogeneous mixture of two or more substances whose composition can be varied, e.g. solution of common salt in water, solution of ammonia in water. Some other examples are lemonade, coke, pepsi, etc.

Separating the components of a mixture

Depending upon the type of mixture (i.e. whether it is a homogeneous mixture or heterogeneous mixture) different methods used are given below:

Separation Method

Example

Insoluble solid in solvent Sedimentation followed by Sand in water tank filtration. In case of a fine solid centrifugation is used instead of filtration Solution of solid in liquid Evaporation, crystallization, distillation

NaCl in water sugar solution

Immiscible mixture of liquids

Water-kerosene mixture

Miscible mixture of liquids

Fractional distillation Separating funnel

Mixture of two solids one Sublimation of which is sublime

Mixture of substances in Chromatography solution

Mosquitoes like the scent of estrogen, thus women get bitten more often than men do.

Petroleum products Camphor in iron ore.

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GENERAL SCIENCE •

•

Solute: The component of solution that is dissolved and present in smaller quantities in a solution is known as solute. Solvent: The component of solution in which solute is dissolved is known as solvent. It is always present in larger amount in a solution. Saturated Solution: A solution in which no more solute can be dissolved at the same temperature is called saturated solution. Unsaturated Solution: It is a solution in which more solute can be dissolved at the same temperature. Super-saturated Solution: It is a solution which contains more mass of the dissolved solute than the saturated solution at the same temperature and pressure. Concentration of a solution: Concentration of a solution is the amount of solute present in a given amount (mass or volume) of a solution or the amount of solute dissolved in a given mass or volume of a solvent.

Dispersed phase

Dispersing Medium

Concentration= • •

•

Type

Solubility: It is defined as the amount of solute dissolved in 100g of solvent to form a saturated solution. Suspension: It is a non-homogeneous mixture in which solids are dispersed in liquids. The solute particles do not dissolve but remains suspended through out the bulk of the medium. Colloids or colloidal solution: Colloid is a heterogeneous mixture. The size of particles of a colloid is intermediate between true solutions and suspensions (i.e between 1nm and 100 nm). The particles of a colloid can not be seen with naked eye. It shows tyndall effect. Types of colloidal solution: Since colloidal solution is heterogeneous mixture it consists of two phases. These are (i) dispersed phase (colloidal particles) (ii) dispersion medium (The medium in which colloidal particles are dispersed.) Example

Liquid

Gas

Aerosol

Fog, clouds, mist

Gas

Liquid

Foam

Shaving cream

Solid

Liquid Solid Gas

Liquid Solid

•

Gas

Liquid Liquid Solid Solid Solid

Aerosol

Smoke, automobile exhaust

Emulsion

Milk, face cream

Sol

Milk of magnesia, mud

Foam

Foam, rubber, sponge, pumice

Gel

Solid Sol

Emulsion: Emulsions are liquid-liquid colloids. • Types of Emulsion: Emulsions are of two types: (i) water in oil (ii) oil in water

Amount of solute Amount of solvent

Jelly, cheese, butter

•

Coloured gemstone, milky glass

Emulsifiers are those substances that help in forming stable emulsions of oil and water, e.g. milk, cod-liver oil, cold creams, vanishing creams, moisturising cream, paints, etc.

Nanotechnology in the interdisciplinary field that has evolved from the study of colloids and the techniques of integrated circuit fabrication.

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•

Physical change: During such a change no new substances is formed and there is no change in the chemical properties of the substances. Chemical change: Such a change is accompanied by change in chemical properties and formation of new substances.

Structure of Atom

Atomic Laws and Theory

Law of conservation of mass: This law was stated by Lavoisier in 1744. It states that “In all physical and chemical changes, the

total mass of reactants is equal to total mass of products.”

Law of constant proportions (or constant composition): This law was first stated by Proust in 1797. According to the law “a

chemical compound is always found to be made up of the same elements combined together in the same proportions by weight” e.g. the ratio

of hydrogen and oxygen in pure water is always 1: 8 by weight. This law is also called law of definite proportions. Law of multiple proportions: This law was given by John Dalton (1803) and states that “when two elements combine to form two or more compounds, the different mass of one of the elements and the fixed mass of the one with which it combines always form a whole number ratio”. This law explains the concept of formation of more than one compound by two elements. Dalton’s Atomic theory: Postulates of

Dalton’s Atomic Theory

(i) Matter is made up of extremely small indivisible particles called atoms. (ii) Atoms of the same substance are identical in all respects, i.e. they possess same size, shape, mass, chemical properties, etc. (iii) Atoms of different substances are different in all respects, i.e. they possess different size, shape, mass, etc.

GENERAL SCIENCE (iv) Atom is the smallest particle that takes part in a chemical reaction. (v) Atoms of different elements may combine with each other in a fixed simple, whole number ratio to form compound atoms. (vi) Atoms can neither be created nor destroyed, i.e. atoms are indestructible. Atom: It is the smallest particle of an element which can take part in a chemical change. It may or may not be capable of independent existence. Symbol: The abbreviation used for lengthy names of elements are termed as their symbols. The symbol of an element is the first letter or the first and another letter of English name or Latin name of the element. While writing a symbol, the first letter is always capital and the second is always small. Molecule: It is the smallest particle of an element or compound that is capable of independent existence and shows all the properties of that substance. Atomicity: The number of atoms present in a molecule of an element or a compound is known as its atomicity, e.g. the atomicity of oxygen is 2 while atomicity of ozone is 3.

Formula of Simple and Molecular Compounds

Binary compounds are those compounds which are made up of two different elements e.g. NaCl, KBr, CaO, etc. Following rules are to be followed for writing the formula. (i) The valencies or charges on the ions must be balanced. (ii) For a compound made up of a metal and a non-metal the symbol of metal is written first. (iii) In compounds formed with polyatomic ions, the ion is enclosed in a bracket before writing the number to indicate the ratio.

The most abundant type of atom in the universe is the hydrogen atom. Nearly 74% of the atom in the milky way galaxy are hydrogen atoms.

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GENERAL SCIENCE Valency: The electrons present in the

outermost shell of an atom are known as valence electrons. These electrons determine the valency of an atom.

Valency is equal to the number of valence electrons.

In case the number of valence electrons is close to its full capacity. Then,

Valency=8 − valence electrons

Atomic number (Z): Atomic number of an element is equal to the number of protons present in the nucleus of an atom. Atomic number (Z) = number of protons = number of electrons. Mass number (A): It refers to the total number of neutrons and protons (i.e., sum of protons and neutrons) called collectively as nucleus, present in an atom. Mass number (A) = number of protons + number of neutron Isotopes: Atoms of the same element having same atomic number but different mass numbers are known as Isotopes e.g. 35 and 36 Cl , and 1 H and 2 H , 12 C 17 Cl 17 1 1 6 and 14 C etc. 6

Applications of Isotopes: Isotopes are used in various fields. For example (i) Isotope of uranium is used as a fuel in nuclear reactor. (ii) Isotope of cobalt is used in treatment of cancer. (iii) Isotope of iodine is used in treatment of goitre. Isobars: Atoms of different elements having same mass numbers are known as Isobars, e.g. K-40 and Ar-40 The discovery of cathode rays was done by J.J. Thomson, an English physicist.

Sub-atomic particles

Electron, proton and neutron are subatomic

particles. The credit for discovery of these particles goes to : Electron — J.J. Thomson and Proton— E. Goldstein. Another subatomic particle which is neutral and has a mass approximately equal to that of a proton was called neutron and was discovered by Chadwick. The neutron is a neutral particle found in the nucleus of an atoms.

Properties of Atomic Particles (Comparative) Particles (i) Symbol

Electron

Proton

Neutron

e or e–

(ii) Nature

Negatively charged Positively charged

(iv) Mass (a) amu (b) kg

(a) 1.00893 amu (a) 0.0005486 amu (a) 1.00753 amu (b) 1.67265× 10–27 kg (b) 1.67495 × 10–27 kg (b) 9.1 × 10–31kg

(a) –1.6 × 10 –19 C (iii) (a) Charge (b) Unit charge (b) –1 (v) Location

(vi) Notation (vii) Relative mass

(a) +1.6 × 10 –19 C (b) + 1

Extra nuclear space nucleus

−1e

1/1840

1 1P

neutral (no charge) 0 0

nucleus

1 0n

The number of protons in the atom will determine its chemical element, and the number of neutrons will determine its isotope.

Lithium

Sodium

Chlorine

Argon

Sulphur

Phosphorus

Silicon

Aluminium

Magnesium

Neon

Fluorine

Oxygen

Atomic Number

Nitrogen

Carbon

Boron

Beryllium

Hydrogen

Helium

Symbol

Element

Number of Protons

Number of Neutrons

Number of Electrons

Distribution of Electrons

Composition of Atoms of the First Eighteen Elements with Electron Distribution in Various Shells

3.5

Valency

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GENERAL SCIENCE Radioactivity •

•

It was discovered by Henry Becquerel but term radioactivity was given by Madam Curie. It is the process of spontaneous disintegration of nucleus and is measured by Geiger counter. It is a nuclear phenomenon, thus remains unaffected by external factors like temperature, pressure, etc.

Radioactive rays •

Radioactivity involves emission of a, b and g rays or particles. The original unit of radioactivity is curie (Ci). Curie is replaced by becquerel (Bq) in SI unit.

Alpha (a) Rays • • •

These rays consist of positively charged helium nuclei (He++). They have +2 unit charge and 4 mass. They have low penetrating power but very high ionising power and kinetic energy. An a-emission reduces the atomic mass by 4 and atomic number by 2, thus, the new nuclei formed occupy a position two places left to the parent nuclei in the periodic table (Soddy Fajans group displacement law).

Beta (b) Rays • • • •

These rays consist of negatively charged electrons (–1e0) and have – 1 unit charge and zero mass. These are more dangerous than a-rays. These have high penetrating power as compared to a-rays. A b-emission increased the atomic number by one with no change in atomic mass, thus, the new nuclei obtained occupy a position one place right to the parent nuclei in the periodic table (Soddy Fajans group displacement law).

Gamma (g) Rays • • •

These are electromagnetic radiation and have very high penetrating power. These have low ionising power and kinetic energy. Their emission does not affect the position of nuclei in the periodic table.

Half-Life Period

It is the time in which a radioactive substance remains half of its original amount.

Nuclear Fission • •

It is a process in which a heavy nucleus is broken down into two or more lighter fragments. It is usually accompanied with the emission of neutrons and large amount of energy. It is used in nuclear reactor and atom bomb.

Atom Bomb •

It is based on uncontrolled nuclear fission. It contains 235U or 239Pu as fuel.

Nuclear Reactor • •

•

It is a device that is used to produce electricity and permits a controlled chain nuclear fission. It contains fuels, e.g. 92U235, moderator (e.g. graphite and heavy water, D2O) to slow down neutrons and control rods (made up of boron steel or cadmium) to absorb neutrons. It may also contain liquid sodium as coolant.

Nuclear Fusion • • •

It is a process which involves fusion of two or more lighter nuclei to give a heavier nuclei. It occurs only at extremely high temperature (> 106 K), so also called thermonuclear reactions. It is used in hydrogen bomb. Energy of Sun is also a result of a series of nuclear fusion reactions.

Hydrogen Bomb

It contains a mixture of deuterium oxide (D2O) and tritium oxide (T2O) in a space surrounding an ordinary atom bomb.

Radiocarbon Dating •

It is used in determining the age of carbon bearing materials such as wood, animal fossils, etc. It is based on the concentration of C and C isotopes.

Uranium Dating

It is used to determine the age of earth, minerals and rocks.

The half life of carbon-14 is used in carbon dating to determine the age of fossils.

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Uses of Radioisotopes

Formula of compound

1. Iodine-131 is employed to study the structure and activity of thyroid gland. It is also used in internal radiation therapy for the treatment of thyroid disease. 2. Iodine-123 is used in brain imaging. 3. Cobalt-60 is used in external radiation therapy for the treatment of cancer. 4. Sodium-24 is injected along with salt solution to trace the flow of blood. 5. Phosphorus-32 is used for leukemia therapy. 6. Carbon-14 is used to study the kinetics of photosynthesis.

A molecule of a compound may be made up of atom of different elements linked up together chemically and in definite proportion by weight.

General Concepts of Chemistry

The study of chemistry is sub-divided into various branches such as: (i) Physical chemistry (ii) Inorganic chemistry (iii) Organic chemistry (iv) Biochemistry (v) Analytical chemistry (vi) Industrial chemistry (vii) Agricultural chemistry (viii) Applied chemistry

Ions or Radicals

An ion is formed when electrons are removed from or added to an atoms or group of atoms. When electron(s) is/are removed the resulting ion is called a cation or basic radical. A cation is positively charged ion. (e.g. Na+). When electron(s) is/are added the resulting ion is called an anion or acidic radicals. An anion is negatively charged ion (e.g. Cl–, O22–) An ion or radical is classified as monovalent, divalent, trivalent or tetravalent when the number of charges over it is 1, 2, 3 or 4 respectively.

Formula of elements

The molecule of an element is denoted by writing the symbol of the element and, to the right and below it, a number expressing the number of atoms in the molecule.

Chemical Formula

It is of two types: (i) Molecular formulae: Chemical formulae that indicate the actual number and type of atoms in a molecule is called molecular formulae. (ii) Empirical formulae: Chemical formulae that indicate only the relative number of atoms of each type in a molecule is called empirical formulae.

Equivalent weight

(i) Equivalent weight of element Molecular mass = Basicity of acid / Acidity of base (ii) Eq. wt of an acid/base =

Molecular mass Basicity of acid / Acidity of base

(iii) Eq. wt of salts =

Formula mass (Valency of cations)(No.of cations)

Expression of strength / concentration of solution (i) Mass percent =

Weight of solute(gm) × 100 Weight of solution (gm)

(ii) Normality =

Number of gram equivalents of solute Volumeof solution (lit.)

(iii) Molarity =

Number of gram moles of solute Volumeof solution (lit.)

(iv) Molality =

Gram moles of solute Weight of solvent (kg)

Most radicals may be considered to have arisen by cleavage of normal electron – pair bonds.

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GENERAL SCIENCE (v) Mole fraction: Mole fraction of solute

nA = XA = nA + nB

Mole fraction of solvent

= XB =

nB nA + nB

XA + X B = 1

Chemical change A chemical change is generally accompanied by a change of state, change of colour, evolution of a gas or change of temperature etc.

Chemical equation

The qualitative representation of a chemical reaction in a short hand or concise form in term of symbols and formulae, is called a chemical equation.

Skeletal chemical equation or symbol equation

A chemical equation written in the form of symbols and formulae is called a skeletal chemical equation.

Balanced chemical equation

A chemical equation in which number of atoms of each elements on L.H.S. (i.e. reactants) and R.H.S. (i.e.products) is equal is called a balanced chemical equation.

Balancing of chemical equations

The process of making the number of different elements on both side of the equation equal is known as balancing of chemical equation.

Types of chemical reactions

Various types of chemical reactions are:(i) Combination reactions: Combination reactions are those in which one element reacts with another to form a compound. (ii) Decomposition reactions: Decomposition reactions are those reactions in which a compound breaks down into simpler compounds (or substances). These reactions require energy in the form of heat, light, electricity, etc. (iii) Simple displacement reaction and simple substitutions: A displacement reaction is a reaction in which an atom, or group of atoms, present in

a molecule is displaced by another atom. This type of reaction can be represented as follows: AB + C AC + B

→

(Compound) (New compound)

(iv) Double displacement reactions or Double decomposition: The reactions in which mutual exchange of radicals takes place are known as double decomposition reactions. (v) Oxidation-Reduction Reactions Oxidation: Oxidation is defined as a process which involve addition of oxygen or removal of hydrogen. Reduction: The term reduction is defined as a process which involve the removal of oxygen or addition of hydrogen. (vi) Redox reactions: Those reactions in which oxidation and reduction takes place simultaneously, are known as redox reactions. (vii)Exothermic and endothermic reaction: Chemical reactions usually proceed with either liberation of heat or the absorption of heat. When a chemical reaction liberates heat to the surroundings, it is said to be ‘exothermic reaction’ and when it absorbs the heat from the surroundings, it is said to be endothermic reaction. Rancidity: The most important cause of deterioration in fats and fatty foods is oxidation of fats. What we perceive is an unpleasant change in the flavour and odour of a food, called rancidity.

Classification of Elements and Periodicity in Properties Doberiner’s Law of Triads

According to this law, “in certain triads (group of three elements) the atomic mass of the central element was the arithmetic mean of the atomic masses of the other two elements.”

Limitations of Doberiner’s Triads: He could identify only a few such triads and so the law could not gain importance. In many traids like in the triad of Fe, Co, Ni, all the three elements have a nearly equal atomic mass and thus does not follow the above law.

Most oxidation-reduction (redox) processes involve the transfer of oxygen atoms, hydrogen atoms or electrons.

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Newland’s Law of Octaves

According to this law “the elements are arranged in such a way that the eighth element starting from a given one has properties which are a repetition of those of the first if arranged in order of increasing atomic weight like the eight note of musical scale.”

Drawback of Newland’s law of octaves: (i) According to Newland only 56 elements exists in nature and no more elements would be discovered in the future. But later on several new element were discovered whose properties did not fit into law of octaves. (ii) In order to fit new elements into his table Newland adjust two elements in the same column, but put some unlike elements under the same column. Thus, Newland’s classification was not accepted.

Mendeleev’s Periodic Table

Mendeleev arranged 63 elements known at that time in the periodic table. According to Mendeleev, “the properties of the elements are

a periodic function of their atomic masses.” The table consists of eight vertical column called ‘groups’ and horizontal rows called ‘periods’.

Merits of Mendeleev’s periodic table:

(i) At some places the order of atomic weight was changed in order to justify the chemical and physical nature. (ii) Mendeleev left some gap for new elements which were not discovered at that time. (iii) One of the strengths of Mendeleev’s periodic table was that, when inert gases were discovered they could be placed in a new group without disturbing the existing order.

Achievements of Mendeleev’s periodic table

(i) The arrangement of elements in groups and periods made the study of

elements quite systematic

(ii) Prediction of new elements and their properties: Many gaps were left in this table for undiscovered elements. The elements silicon, gallium and germanium were discovered in this manner. Bee stings are acidic while wasp stings are alkaline.

GENERAL SCIENCE (iii) Correction of doubtful atomic masses: Mendeleev corrected the atomic masses of certain elements with the help of their expected positions and properties.

Limitations of Mendeleev’s classification: (i) He could not assign a correct position of hydrogen in his periodic table, as the properties of hydrogen resembles both with alkali metals as well as with halogens. (ii) The isotopes of the same element will be given different position if atomic number is taken as basis, which will disturb the symmetry of the periodic table. (iii) The atomic masses do not increases in a regular manner in going from one elements to the next. So it was not possible to predict how many elements could be discovered between two elements.

Characteristics of the Periodic Table

Its main characteristics are: (i) In the periodic table, the elements are arranged in vertical rows called groups and horizontal rows called periods. (ii) There are eight groups indicated by Roman Numerals I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII. The elements belonging to first seven groups have been divided into sub-groups designated as A and B on the basis of similarities. Group VIII consists of nine elements arranged in three triads. (iii) There are six periods (numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6). In order to accomodate more elements, the periods 4, 5, 6 are divided into two halves. The first half of the elements are placed in the upper left corners and the second half occupy lower right corners in each box.

Modern Periodic Law

Modern this law was given by Henry Moseley in 1913. It states, “Properties of

the elements are the periodic function of their atomic numbers”. Cause of periodicity: Periodicity may be defined as the repetition of the similar properties of the elements placed in a group and separated by certain definite gap of atomic numbers.

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GENERAL SCIENCE Modern periodic table Moseley proposed this modern periodic table and according to which “the physical

and chemical properties of elements are periodic function of their atomic number and not the atomic weight.”

(i) The modern periodic table has 18 vertical columns called “groups” and seven horizontal rows called “periods”. The groups have been numbered 1, 2, 3.......18 from left to right. (ii) The elements belonging to a particular group make a family and usually named after the first member. In a group all the elements contain the same number of valence electrons. (iii) In a period all the elements contain the same number of shells, but as we move from left to right the number of valence shell electrons increases by one unit. The maximum number of electrons that can be accommodated in a shell can be calculated by the formula 2n2 where n is the number of the given shell from the nucleus.

Trends in modern periodic table

The trends observed in some important properties of the elements in moving down the group (from top to bottom of the table) and across a period (from left to right in a period) are discussed below: (i) Valency: Valency may be defined as

“the combining capacity of the atom of an element with atoms of other elements in order to acquire the stable configuration (i.e. 8 electron in valence shell. In some special cases it is 2 electrons).”

(ii) Atomic size: It refers to the distance between the centre of nucleus of an isolated atom to its outermost shell containing electrons. The atomic radius decreases on moving from left to right along a period. This is due to an increase in nuclear charge which tends to pull the electrons closer to the nucleus and reduces the size of the atom. In a group atomic size decreases from top to bottom due to increase in number of shells.

(iii) Metallic and non-metallic properties: In a period from left to right metallic nature decreases while non-metallic character increases. In a group metallic character increases from top to bottom while non-metallic character decrease. (iv) Electronegativity: The relative tendency of an atom to attract the shared pair of electrons towards itself is called electronegativity. In a period from left to right, the value of electronegativity increases while in a group from top to bottom the value of electronegativity decreases.

Acids, Bases and Salts Acids and Bases

The term acid, in fact, comes from the latin term acere, which means “Sour”. In everyday life we come across many compounds that chemists classify as acids. Bases are compounds which taste bitter eg. milk of magnesia.

A. Properties of acids

Chemical properties: (i) Action of metals Metal + Acid → Salt + Hydrogen (ii) Action with metal oxides (Basic oxides) Basic oxide + Acid → Salt + Water (neutralisation reaction) (iii) Action with metal carbonates and metal hydrogen carbonates Carbonate/bicarbonate + Acid → Salt + water + carbon dioxide.

B. Properties of bases

Chemical Properties: (i) Reaction of metals with bases: Metals (e.g. Zn, Al, Sn) dissolve in NaOH (an alkali) to liberate hydrogen gas. (ii) Action with acids: It is a neutralisation reaction. Base + Acid → Salt + Water Non-metallic oxides react in the same way hence non-metallic oxides are acidic

in nature.

Acids and bases are important in the human body. Stomach secretes hydrochloric acid, to digest food. Bile juice secreted from liver are rich in base bicarbonate to neutralize stomach acid before it reaches to small intestine.

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GENERAL SCIENCE

Strength of Acids and Bases The strength of an acid or a base can be easily estimated by making use of universal indicator which is a mixture of several indicators. The universal indicator show different colours at different concentrations of hydrogen ions in solution.

pH Scale

It is a scale that is used for measuring H+ ion (hydrogen ion) concentration of a solution. The term pH stands for “potential” of “hydrogen”. It is the amount of hydrogen ions in a particular solution. For acids pH < 7 For bases pH > 7 For neutral substances pH = 7

Importance of pH in Daily Life

(i) Blood pH: For proper functioning our body needs to maintain blood pH between 7.35 and 7.45. Values of blood pH greater than 7.8 or less than 6.8 often results in death. (ii) Acid rain: When pH of rain water is less than 5.6, it is called acid rain, when acid rain flows into rivers, it lowers the pH of river water. Approximate Values of pH for some Familiar Solutions Solution 1 M NaOH 1 M NH3 (household ammonia) Saturated Mg(OH)2 (milk of magnesia) Blood Saliva Urine Coffee Beer Tomato Juice Wine Vinegar Lemon juice Gastric juice Battery acid 1 M HCI

pH 14 11.6 10.5

7.3 – 7.5 6.5 – 7.5 5.5 – 7.5 4.5 – 5.5 4.0 – 5.0 4.0 – 4.4 2.8 – 3.8 2.4 – 3.4 2.2 – 2.4 1.0 – 3.0 0.5 0

Salts

A salt is an ionic compound which dissociates to yield a positive ion other than hydrogen ion (H+) and negative ion other than hydroxyl ion (OH–) e.g. NaCl. Salts are formed by the reaction of acid and base which is also known as neutralisation. (i) Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) or Caustic soda: It is prepared on commercial scale by the electrolysis of strong solution of sodium chloride (NaCl) also called brine. The process is called chlor-alkali process. The overall reaction taking place is: 2NaCl(aq) + 2 H2O(l) → H2(g) + Cl2(g) + 2NaOH(aq) Uses: (a) Sodium hydroxide is used as a base in the laboratory. (b) It is used in many industries, mostly as strong chemical base in manufacture of pulp and paper, textiles, drinking water, soap and detergents etc. (ii) Baking soda, Sodium hydrogen carbonate, (NaHCO3) NaCl + H2O + CO2 + NH3 → NH4Cl + NaHCO3 When heated the following reaction occurs

2NaHCO3

Heat

 →

Na2CO3 + H2O + CO2

The above reaction occurs when baking soda is heated during cooking. Uses: (a) In baking powder: The most practical use of baking soda is as a leavening agent in baking. (b) As an antacid: Baking soda reacts with acid due to its alkaline nature and neutralizes acidity (i.e. acts as an antacid). (c) In fire extinguishers: It is used in

soda-acid fire extinguisher.

(iii) Washing soda, Na2CO3. 10H2O, Sodium carbonate Sodium carbonate can be obtained by heating baking soda; recrystallisation of sodium carbonate gives washing soda. It is also a basic salt.

Black salt is made in India by mixing saltwater with harad seeds. The mixture is left to evaporate leaving behind black lumps of salt. When the salt is ground, the resulting powder is pink.

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GENERAL SCIENCE Uses: (a) Sodium carbonate (washing soda) is used in glass, soap and paper industries. (b) It is used for removing permanent hardness of water. (iv) Bleaching powder: Calcium hypochlorite is a chemical compound with formula CaOCl2. It is a yellowish powder with smell of chlorine. It is widely used for water treatment and as a bleaching agent (bleaching powder) 2Ca(OH)2 + 2Cl2 → CaOCl2 + CaCl2 + 2H2O Calcium hypochlorite is used for the disinfection of drinking water or swimming pool water. (v) Plaster of Paris, CaSO4 .1/2 H2O It can be obtained by heating gypsum (CaSO4. 2H2O)

(CaSO 4 .2H 2O + heat →

1   3  CaSO 4 . H 2O  + H 2O 2   2

Plaster of paris is a white powder and on mixing with water it changes to gypsum once again giving a hard solid mass Uses: It is used (a) for making moulds or casts for toys, pottery, cermics etc. (b) in surgical bandages for setting fractured bones.

Metals and Non-metals

Metals and Non-Metals

There are 118 elements present in the periodic table. New 4 elements have been added recently, earlier it was 114 elements. These elements can be broadly classified into two categories, i.e. metals and nonmetals. Out of 118 elements, 22 are nonmetals. Some element share the property of both metal & non-metal are called metalloid. List of metalloid : Silicon (Si), Germanium (Ge), Arsenic (As) Antimony (Sb), Tellurium (Te)

NEWLY added 4 elements in Periodic table are : 115 Ununpentium (Uup) 116 Livelmorium (Lv) 117 Ununxptium (Uus) 118 Ununoctium (Uuo).

Physical properties of metals:

(i) They are usually shiny i.e. have a metallic lustre. (ii) Metals have a high density. (iii) Metals are ductile, i.e. they can be drawn into wires. (iv) Metals are malleable i.e. they can be hammered into thin sheets. (v) Metals are good conductors of electricity. (vi) Metals have high melting point and are generally in solid state at room temperature. (vii) Metals are good conductors of heat and sound.

Uses of metals:

Metals are used in manufacturing of bridges, railways, aeroplanes, diesel mobile units (DMU), electric mobile units (EMU), motor cars, electric motors, telephones, televisions, interplanetary space vehicles, or even common articles like cooking utensils and coins. Metals are very important for the economy of a country. Some metals, such as titanium, chromium, manganese and zirconium are strategic metals. These metals and their alloys find wide applications in atomic energy, space science projects, jet engines and high grade steels. Gold and silver ornaments are obtained from small pieces of metals by hammering. Noble metal: Noble metals are metals that are resistant to corrosion or oxidation, unlike most base metals. Examples include tantalum, gold, platinum, and rhodium. Precious metal: A precious metal is a rare metallic chemical element of high economic value. Precious metals include the platinum group metals: ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium, and platinum, of which platinum is the most widely traded. Alloy: An alloy is a mixture of two or more elements in solid solution in which the major component is a metal. Combining different ratios of metals as alloys modify the properties of pure metals to produce desirable characteristics.

Sodium bicarbonate combine with water and work as cleaning agent and also as deodoriser.

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Uses For making utensils and cartridges. For making statues, medals, ships, coins and machines 3 Solder Sn = 50%, Pb = 50% For joining metals, solding wire and electronic components etc. 4 Duralumin Al = 95.5%, Cu = 3%, Used in bodies of aircrafts, kitchen ware and Mn = 1.0%, Mg = 0.5% automobile parts etc. 5 German Silver Cu = 60%, Zn = 20%, Ni For making utensils and ornaments = 20% 6 Gun metal Cu = 90%, Sn = 10% For gears and castings etc. 7 Bell metal Cu = 80%, Sn = 20% For bells, gangs etc. 8 Magnalium Al = 90%, Mg = 10% For balance beams, light instruments. 9 Type metal Pb = 82%, Sb = 15%, For casting type Sn = 3% 10 Stainless steel Fe, Ni, Cr, C For utensils, cutlery etc. 1 2

Alloy Brass Bronze

GENERAL SCIENCE Composition Cu = 80%, Zn = 20% Cu = 90%, Sn = 10%

Physical properties of non-metals:

(i) They are dull, however diamond, graphite and iodine are lustrous. (ii) They are poor conductors of heat and electricity. Graphite is a good conductor. (iii) They are weak and brittle (they easily break or shatter). (iv) They have a low density (they feel light for their size). (v) They do not make a ringing sound when they are hit. (vi) Melting points and boiling points are usually low. (vii) Non-metals are usually soft. (Diamond is an exception, it is quite hard. It is a crystalline solid). (viii)They exist in allotropic forms. Uses of Non-Metals (i) Oxygen is essential for survival of life. (ii) Hydrogen is used to convert vegetable oil into vegetable ghee by hydrogenation. (iii) Nitrogen is used to preserve food and for manufacturing proteins by plants. (iv) Carbon in the form of diamond is used for cutting rocks and in the form of graphite as electrode and in manufacturing of lead pencils. (v) Sulphur is used in vulcanization of rubber, as fungicide and in manufacture of dyes, gun powder etc. (vi) Chlorine is used as water disinfectant and in the manufacture of pesticides like gammaxene.

Extraction of Metals (i) Minerals: The natural substance in which the metals or their compounds occur in the earth is called minerals. (ii) Ores: The minerals from which the metals can be conveniently and economically extracted are called ores. (iii) Native ores: These ores contain metals in the free state, e.g., silver, gold, platinum, etc. (iv) Metallurgy: The whole process of obtaining a pure metal from one of its ore is known as metallurgy. (v) Gangue or matrix: Ores usually contain soil, sand, stones and others useless silicates. These undesired impurities present in ores are called gangue or matrix. (vi) The removal of unwanted earthy and silicious impurities from the ore is called ore-dressing or concentration of ores and the process used to concentrate an ore is called the benefication process. Ore is achieved by (1) Physical methods: (a) Hand-picking: It is used in the case when the impurities are quite distinct from the ore so that these may be differentiated by naked eye. (b) Hydraulic washing or Levigation or Gravity separation: The separation is based on the difference in the specific gravities of the gangue particles and the ore particles.

Amulgum used for dental fillings, is made from mercury, tin, silver, zinc and copper.

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GENERAL SCIENCE (c) Electromagnetic separation: When one component either the ore or impurity is magnetic in nature, this method can be used for separation. (d) Froth floatation process: This method is used for the concentration of sulphide ores.

(2) Chemical method (Leaching) involves the treatment of the ore with a suitable reagent as to make it soluble while impurities remain insoluble. The ore is recovered from the solution by suitable chemical method. (3) Extraction process used to obtain metals in free state from concentrated ores is called extraction.

S. Name of the ore Formula of the ore no. 1 Bauxite Al2O3.2H2O 2.

Haematite

Fe2O3

6. 7.

Litharge Malachite

PbO CuCO3.Cu(OH)2

Magnetite

4. 5.

Zincite Cuprite

8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.

Magnesite Lime stone Cinnabar Chalcopyrite Zinc blende Galena Common salt

Fe2O4 ZnO Cu2O

CaF2

17. Chalcocite

Cu2S

16. Horn silver

Electrochemistry

Electrolysis

The process in which a non-spontaneous reaction is carried out by using electrical energy.

It is used • • •

in production of oxygen for spacecraft and nuclear submarines. in layering metals to fortify them. in production of hydrogen for fuel.

Iron (Fe)

Oxide

Oxide Carbonate

AgCl

It is the study of production of electricity from energy released during spontaneous chemical reactions and use of electrical energy to carry out non-spontaneous chemical transformations.

Oxide

Iron (Fe)

Oxide Oxide

MgCO3 CaCO3 HgS CuFeS2 ZnS PbS NaCl

15. Fluorspar

Types of ore Metal obtained from the ore Oxide Aluminium (Al)

• • • •

Carbonate Carbonate Sulphide Sulphide Sulphide Sulphide Chloride (Halide) Fluoride (Halide) Chloride (Halide) Sulphide

Zinc (Zn) Copper (Cu)

Lead (Pb) Copper (Cu)

Magnesium (Mg) Calcium (Ca) Mercury (Hg) Copper (Cu) Zinc (Zn) Lead (Pb) Sodium (Na) Calcium (Ca) Silver (Ag)

Copper (Cu)

In electrolytic etching of metal surfaces like tools or knives with a permanent mark or logo. Electrometallurgy is the process of reduction of metallic compound into pure metal by electrolysis. Anodisation is an electrolytic process that makes the surface of metals resistant to corrosion. Electrolysis of brine (the water, saturated or nearly saturated with salt, usually sodium chloride) gives hydrogen and chlorine. The products are gaseous. 2NaCl + 2H2O  →

2NaOH + H2 + Cl2

Diamonds being the rarest gems have been replaced by jadeite which costs about $3 million per carat.

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GENERAL SCIENCE

Faraday’s Laws of Electrolysis

Mercury Cell

First Law of Electrolysis It states that the quantity of elements separated by passing an electric current through a molten or dissolved salt is proportional to the quantity of electric charge passed through the circuit. w ∝ Q ; w ZQ = Z it (Charge Q = Current × Time) Second Law of Electrolysis The amount of different substances liberated at the electrodes by the same quantity of electricity passing through the electrolytic solution are proportional to their chemical equivalent weights.

•

W ∝ E or

W1 E = 1 W2 E 2

Electrochemical Cell •

• •

It is a device that produces an electric current from energy released by a spontaneous redox reaction (in short which converts chemical energy into electrical energy). This kind of cell includes the galvanic cell or voltaic cell. It has two conductive electrodes, i.e., anode (at which oxidation occurs) and cathode (at which reduction occurs) It contains an electrolyte in between the electrodes, which contains ions that can move freely.

Battery • •

It is an arrangement of one or more cells connected in series. It is basically a galvanic cell.

These are of two types 1. 2.

Primary batteries (non-rechargeable) e.g., dry cell, mercury cell etc. Secondary batteries (rechargeable) e.g., lead storage battery, nickelcadmium battery.

Lechlanche Cell or Dry Cell •

• •

It consists of a zinc container that acts as anode and carbon (graphite) rod surrounded by powdered manganese dioxide and carbon which acts as cathode. It contains a paste of NH4Cl and ZnCl2 in between the electrodes. It is used in transistors and clocks. It has a potential of 1.5 V.

• •

It is suitable for the low current devices like hearing aids and camera, etc. It consists of zinc-mercury amalgam as anode and a paste of HgO and carbon as cathode. The electrolyte is a paste of KOH and ZnO. It has potential of 1.35 V. This potential remains constant during its whole life.

Lead Storage Battery • • • • • •

It is a secondary battery. It acts as electrochemical cell during discharging (i.e., during use) and as electrolytic cell during charging. It is used in automobiles and invertors. It consists of lead as anode and a grid of lead packed with lead dioxide (PbO2) as cathode. A 38% solution of sulphuric acid is used as an electrolyte. It consists of a series of six identical cells assembled in series. Each cell may produce a potential of 2 V, hence overall voltage produced is12 V. PbSO4 is formed when lead storage battery is in use and lead dioxide are formed when it is charged.

Fuel Cell

These are galvanic cells which use energy of combustion of fuels like hydrogen (H2), methane (CH4), methanol (CH3OH), etc. as the source to produce electrical energy. e.g. hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell.

Corrosion of Metals

Corrosion is an oxidation reaction with atmospheric oxygen in the presence of water on the surface of a metal. Rusting is 3 Fe(s) + O2(g) + xH2O(l ) → 2 Fe2 O3 .xH2O(s) i.e. rust is hydrated iron oxide.

Prevention of Corrosion

Iron and steel (alloy of iron) are most easily protected by paint which provides a barrier between the metal and air/water. Moving parts on machines can be protected by a water repellent oil or grease layer. Other important methods are

Faraday is basically the charge on 1 mole of electrons. Its exact value is 96487.

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GENERAL SCIENCE (i) Alloying: Iron or steel along with other metals can also be protected by ‘alloying’ or mixing with other metals (e.g., chromium) to make non-rusting alloys. (ii) Galvanizing: Coating iron or steel with a thin zinc layer is called ‘galvanizing’.

Purity of Gold

Mould blowing: This method was developed after the technique of free blowing. In this method, molten glass is inflated into a wooden or metal carved mould with the help of blow pipe which gives the molten glass the shape and design of the interior of the mould.

24-Carat gold: The carat (abbreviation ct or Kt) is a measure of the purity of gold alloys. Carat is used to measure the mass of gemstones, pearls, etc.

Chemical properties of glass

Glass

Types of glass

Some Important Man Made Materials

It consists of a mixture of two or more silicates.

Preparation of glass

Common glass (or soft glass): It is used to make bottles, glass wares etc. and is obtained by heating together silica (in the form of sand), sodium carbonate or sodium sulphate and chalk or lime stone (calcium carbonate). Some broken glass and a little coke are usually added. The glass so prepared consists of silicates of sodium and calcium. Na2CO3(s) + SiO2(s) → (silica)

Na2SiO3(s) + CO2(g) Na2SO4(s) + SiO2(s) → Na2SiO3(s) + SO3(g) CaCO3(s) + SiO2(s) → CaSiO3(s) + CO2(g)

Hard glass: For preparation of hard glass K2CO3 is used in place of Na2CO3. It consists of a mixture of calcium and potassium silicates.

Physical properties of glass

Hard, rigid, high viscosity, bad conductor of heat and electricity, brittle, etc. Blowing: It is a method to cast the molten glass into different moulds. There are two different methods of glass blowing: (i) Free blowing and ( ii) mould blowing Free blowing: It involves the blowing of air to inflate the molten glass which is gathered at one end of the blow pipe to give the desired shape.

(i) It is resistant to action of air and acids except hydroflouric acid. (ii) It is alkaline in nature. (iii) It slowly reacts with water to form alkaline solution.

(i) Silica glass: For this type of glass the raw material used is 100% pure form of quartz. It is quite expensive. It is used in the manufacture of laboratory apparatus. It has low thermal expansion. Its softening point is very high and it is resistant to a wide variety of chemicals. (ii) Alkali silicate glass: For it the raw materials used are sand and soda. It is also called water glass because it is soluble in water and used only as a solution. It is generally used to make gums and adhesives. (iii) Lead glass: For this type of glass lead oxide is added to ordinary glass. The addition of lead oxide increases the density and also the refractive index. This type of glass is used for the manufacture of ornamental glass ware, decorative articles, etc. (iv) Optical glass: This type of glass is used in the manufacture of optical instruments like binoculars, spectacles, lenses, prisons, telescopes, microscopes etc. It is transparent and can be grounded into the required shape. It generally contains phosphorus, and lead silicates with little cerium oxide which absorbs UV radiations. (v) Processed glass: The properties and applications of glass also depend upon the processing of glass.

Nowadays, Ni-MH (Nickel-metal hydride) batteries are widely used. These batteries have 25% more rechargeable life and is less hazardous as compared to Ni-Cd (Nickel-Cadmium) battery.

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GENERAL SCIENCE

Some types of processed glass and their applications are given here: 1.

Processed glass Laminated glass

Foam glass

Fibre glass

Opaque glass

Applications Used for doors and windows of automobiles. (It has high strength). Used for reinforcing purpose (It has enough tensile strength)

Used for civil construction and insulation purposes (it is light weight).

In it non-transparent glass filters the light entering into it. Thus provides an aesthetic look.

(vi) Borosilicate glass: It contains silica and Boron oxide and small amount of oxides of sodium and aluminium. It is resistant to a wide variety of chemicals due to this property it is used in the manufacture of laboratory ware.

Fertilizers

Fertilizers are chemical compounds which when added to the soil increase their fertility and directly supply the need of essential elements [N, P, K] of primary importance.

Classification

Chemical fertilizers are broadly classified into the following three types: (i) Nitrogenous fertilizers: Ammonium sulphate, urea etc. (ii) Phosphatic fertilizers: Super phosphate, ammonium phosphate (iii) Potash fertilizers: Potassium chloride, potassium sulphate.

Soaps and Detergents

Soap: Fatty acid salts of sodium and potassium are known as soaps. These are prepared by the action of fatty acids with sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide. Fatty acid + sodium hydroxide → Soap + glycerol. Detergents are sodium salt of long chain sulphonic acids or alkyl hydrogen sulphate. Advantages of detergents over soaps (i) Detergents can be used for laundering even with hard water as they are soluble even in hard water. (ii) Detergents possess better cleansing properties than soaps. Disadvantages of detergents over soap: Detergents are prepared from hydrocarbons, while soaps are prepared from edible fatty oils. Thus they are non biodegradable.

Saponification It is the process of making of soap by the hydrolysis of fats and oils with alkalis. Both soaps and detergents are soluble in water and act as surfactants which reduce the surface tension of water to a great extent. This increases the water - fabric interaction as a consequence of which dirt particles, grease spots etc are washed away effectively. In other words soaps and detergents enhance the cleansing action of water.

Portland Cement

It was first discovered in England. It is essentially a mixture of lime stone and clay. It was called Portland cement because in presence of water it sets to a hard stone-like mass resembling with the famous Portland rock. The approximate composition of Portland cement is Calcium oxide (CaO) 62% Silica (SiO2) 22% Alumina (Al2O3) 7.5% Magnesia (MgO) 2.5% Ferric oxide (Fe2O3) 2.5% The above compounds are provided by the two raw materials, namely lime stone (which provides CaO) and clay (which provides SiO2, Al2O3 and Fe2O3). In cement, almost entire amount of lime is present in the combined state as calcium silicate (2CaO. SiO2 and 3CaO. SiO2) and calcium aluminates (3CaO. Al2O3 and 4 CaO. Al2O3). (i) Cement containing excess amount of lime cracks during setting; while cement containing less amount of lime is weak in strength. (ii) Cement with excess of silica is slowsetting and that having an excess of alumina is quick-setting. (iii) Cement containing no iron is white but hard to burn.

Water glass is basically a compound of Sodium Silicate (Na2 SiO3) and prepared by heating sodium carbonate with silica.

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GENERAL SCIENCE

Cement is manufactured by two processes, viz. wet and dry. A small amount (2–3%) of gypsum is added to slow down the setting of the cement so that it gets sufficiently hardened. Setting of cement is an exothermic process and involves hydration of calcium aluminates and calcium silicates.

Lime stone and clay are powdered and mixed

Burnt at 1770-1870K in a rotatory kiln Substance Alum Bleaching Powder Blue Vitriol

Chemical Potash

Addition of

Calcium silicates + calcium aluminates

Portland Cement gypsum

Composition Potassium, Sulphur, Aluminium, Hydrogen and Oxygen Calcium, Chlorine, Oxygen

Calcium hypochlorite Copper Copper, Sulphur and Oxygen sulphate Calomel Mercurous Mercury, Chlorine chloride Caustic Lotion Silver nitrate Silver, Nitrogen, Oxygen Candy Fluid Potassium Potassium, Manganese, Oxygen permanganate Caustic Potash Potassium Potassium, Hydrogen, Oxygen hydroxide Chalk Calcium Calcium, Carbon, Oxygen carbonate Caustic Soda Sodium Sodium, Hydrogen, Oxygen hydroxide Baking Soda Sodium Sodium, Hydrogen, Carbon, Oxygen bicarbonate Common Salt Sodium Sodium, Chlorine chloride Epsom Salt Magnesium Magnesium, Sulphur, Oxygen sulphate Galena Lead sulphide Lead and Sulphur Green Vitriol Iron sulphate Iron, Sulphur, Oxygen Glauber’s salt Sodium sulphate Sodium, Sulphur, Oxygen Gypsum Calcium sulphate, Calcium, Sulphur, Oxygen Hypo Sodium Sodium, Sulphur, Hydrogen, Oxygen thiosulphate Laughing gas Nitrous oxide Nitrogen, Oxygen Lime water Calcium Calcium, Hydrogen, Oxygen hydroxide

Formula K2SO4Al2(SO4)3

CaCl(OCl)4 H2O CuSO45H2O Hg2Cl2

AqNO3 KMnO4 KOH

CaCO3 HaOH

NaHCO3 NaCl

MgSO4.7H2O

PbS FeSO4.7H2O Na2SO4.10H2O CaSO4.2H2O Na2S2O3.5H2O N2O Ca(OH)2

Excess of lime in the cement causes cracks in cement during solidification. While excess of alumina in it causes easy and quick solidification of cement.

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GENERAL SCIENCE

Substance Litharg Nitre

Formula PbO KNO3

Chemical Composition Lead monoxide Lead, Oxygen Potassium Potassium, Nitrogen, Oxygen nitrate Plaster of Paris Calcium Calcium, Sulphur, Hydrogen, Oxygen sulphate Quartz Sodium silicate Sodium, Silica, Oxygen Quick lime Calcium oxide Calcium, Oxygen Red lead Triphumbic Lead, Oxygen tetroxide Sal ammoniac Ammonium Ammonia, Chlorine chloride Soda ash Triplumbic Sodium, Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen tetroxide Soda bicarb Ammonium Sodium, Hydrogen, Carbon, Oxygen chloide Washing soda Sodium Sodium, Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen carbonate White vitriol Zinc sulphate Zinc, Sulphur, Hydrogen, Oxygen

General Organic Chemistry Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are defined as the optically active polyhydroxy aldehydes or ketones or substances which yield these on hydrolysis.

Classification of Carbohydrates Based on Molecular Size

Carbohydrates Monosaccharides

Oligosaccharides

Based on Nature Carbohydrates are also classified as reducing and non-reducing sugars depending on whether they reduce Fehlings and Tollen’s reagent or not. Based on Taste Carbohydrates with sweet taste are called sugars while those without a sweet taste are called non-sugars.

Lipid

Lipids are organic compounds soluble in non-polar fat solvents such as acetone, ether,

2CaSO4.H2O Na2SiO3 CaO Pb3O4 NH4Cl

Na2CO3.10H2O NaHCO3

Na2CO3.10H2O ZnSO4.7H2O

chloroform, benzene, etc. and insoluble in water. The most important role of lipids is that of biological fuel. Lipids supply more energy than carbohydrates, excess of lipids is stored in the body and used at the time of starvation.

Proteins

Proteins are highly complex, natural compounds, composed of a large number of different amino acids joined together with peptide linkage, i.e. they are naturally occurring polypeptides. The biological importance of proteins can be judged by the fact that the animals can live for a long time without fat or carbohydrate, but not without protein.

Nucleic Acids

Nucleic acids are colourless, complex, amorphous, compounds made up of three units: bases, sugar and phosphoric acid. These are macro-molecules of high molecular weight and are present in every living cell.

Though solid at room temperature, gallium will liquefy in your hand.

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GENERAL SCIENCE LIFE SCIENCE Cell biology and Genetics

Biology is the science of life. Biologist study the structure function, growth origin, evolution and distribution of living organism. It include both plants & animals. Father of biology & zoology: Aristotle Father of Botany : Theophratus.

Cell

Cell is a basic structural and functional unit of life. •• Robert Hooke in 1665 coined the word ‘cell’. •• Anton van Leeuwenhoek first saw and described a live cell. •• Robert Brown later discovered the nucleus. •• Cell theory was proposed by Schleiden and Schwann in 1855 to explain the concept of the cellular nature of living organism. Note : Every cell originate from pre-existing cell.

Cell are of 2 types : Prokaryotic cell and Eukaryotic cell

Prokaryotic Cells

•• Prokaryotic cells are morphologically most primitive. •• Prokaryotic cells are devoid of membrane bound organelles like nucleus, plastids, mitochondria and advanced (9+2) flagella. •• Prokaryotic cells are represented by bacteria, cyanobacteria (blue green algae), mycoplasma and PPLO (pleuropneumonia like organisms).

Eukaryotic Cells

Eukaryotic cells contain a nucleus (which absent in prokaryotes) and many organelles like mitochondria, lysosomes, golgi complex, etc.

COMPONENTS OF A CELL

Cell Membrane

Cytoplasm

Cell Organelles Membrane Bound

Nucleus

Cell Inclusions Non-Membranous

Endoplasmic Reticulum

Ribosomes

Golgi Complex

Cytoskeleton

Mitochondria

Centrioles

Plastids ** Lysosomes * NOTE : * Only in animal cells ** Only in plant cells

Storage Products – Starch – Fats and Oils – Proteins Secretory Problems – Enzymes – Hormones – Pigments ** – Alkaloids ** – Resins ** – Gums ** Excretory Products ** – Inorganic Salts – Latex – Tannin – Essential Oils

Archaebacteria are the primitive type of prokaryotes which includes methanogeus, halophiles and thermoacidophiles.

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GENERAL SCIENCE

A eukaryotic cell consists of the following components: Golgi apparatus

Smooth endoplasmic reticulum Nuclear envelope

Nucleus

Plasma membrane Centriole

Lysosome Ribosomes Mitochondrion Rough endoplasmic reticulum Cytoplasm

Cell Wall

•• The cell wall is a non-living, semi-rigid, external protective covering of the cell. •• Cell wall is entirely absent in animals. •• It is made up of cellulose secreted by the cell itself.

Cell Membrane

•• The cell membrane is a living, thin, elastic and semi-permeable membranous covering of plant and animal cells.

Fluid mosaic model of plasma membrane •• S.J. Singer and G. Nicolson in 1972 proposed the most accepted model of membrane structure. The plasma membrane is a lipid-bilayer with proteins embedded in it. •• Lipids are amphipathic, i.e. they are structurally asymmetric with polar hydrophilic and non-polar hydrophobic group. •• One of the most important function of plasma membrane is the transport of the molecules across it.

Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER)

There are two types of endoplasmic reticulum, i.e. •• Smooth or agranular ER – They do not have attached ribosomes on their surface. It is site for Lipid Synthesis. •• Rough or granular ER – They bear ribosomes on their surface, for protein synthesis.

Golgi Apparatus

•• Golgi apparatus or Golgi complex is a stack of flattened, membrane bounded,

parallely arranged organelles that occur in the association of endoplasmic reticulum in the cytoplasmic matrix. •• The golgi apparatus principally performs the function of packaging materials to be delivered either to the intra-cellular targets or secreted outside the cell.

Lysosomes

•• Lysosomes are popularly called “suicide bags” present in animal cell.

Vacuoles

•• In plant cells, the vacuoles can occupy up to 90% of the volume of the cell. The vacuole is bound by a single membrane called tonoplast. They are responsible for maintenance of turgor pressure.

Mitochondria

•• Mitochondria are also powerhouse of cells.

called

Plastids

•• Plastids are found in plants and few protists Euglena.

Ribosomes ••

Ribosomes are smallest cell organelles. They are protein synthesising factories. There are two types of ribosomes viz., – Prokaryotic or 70S ribosomes – Eukaryotic or 80S ribosomes

Nucleus

•• Nucleus is centrally located, spherical and largest component of the all eukaryotic cell. It contains the genetic material of the cell. Structure of Nucleus •• A typical nucleus consists of four structures: (i) nuclear membrane, (ii) nucleoplasm (iii) chromatin and (iv) the nucleolus. Satellite

Short arm

Secondary constriction

Short arm Centromere

Centromere Long arm Telocentric Acrocentric

Submetacentric

Metacentric

Fig. : Types of chromosomes based on the position of centromere

Nucleolus

•• It is present inside the nucleus. •• It is the site of active ribosomal RNA synthesis.

Mitochondria and Plastid are semi autonomous organelles as they posses their own DNA.

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GENERAL SCIENCE Genetics Study of heredity and variation is called genetics. •• Term genetics was given by - Bateson. •• Father of genetics - Gregor Johan Mendel. •• Father of experimental genetics Thomas Hunt Morgan. •• Father of human genetics - Archibald Garrod. •• Study of genes is known as genetics.

Gene

•• It is a segment of DNA and basic unit of heredity. These are located on chromosomes.

Some Human Body Disorder Disorder Cystic fibrosis

DNA

•• DNA is found in nucleus, and also found in mitochondria and chloroplast. •• It stands for deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). •• It is double stranded. •• It consists of Nitrogenous basesAdenine, Thymine, Cytosine or Guanine, 5-carbon sugar and a phosphate molecule. •• RNA is single stranded. •• It consists of phosphate, ribose sugar, nitrogenous bases- Adinine, Uracil, Cytosine, and Guanine.

Symptoms Defect Mucus clogs lungs, liver, and Failure of chloride ion transport pancreas mechanism Sickle-cell anemia Poor blood circulation Abnormal hemoglobin molecules Tay-Sachs disease Deterioration of central nervous Defective enzyme (hexosaminidase A) system in infancy Phenylketonuria Brain fails to develop in infancy Defective enzyme (phenylalanine hydroxylase) Hemophilia Blood fails to clot Defective blood-clotting factor VIII Huntington’s disease Brain tissue gradually deteriorates Production of an inhibitor of brain in middle age cell metabolism Muscular dystrophy Muscles waste away Degradation of myelin coating of nerves (Duchenne) stimulating muscles Congenital Increased birth weight, puffy face, Failure of proper thyroid development hypothyroidism constipation, lethargy Hypercholesterolemia Excessive cholesterol levels in Abnormal form of cholesterol cell blood, leading to heart disease surface receptor

Mendel’s Laws

•• Mendel conducted cross hybridization experiments on Garden Pea plant (Pisum sativum). The first was the Principle of segregation, which claimed that each trait was specified by paired hereditary determinants (alleles of genes) that separate from each other during gamete formation. This law is also called Law of purity of gametes or Law of splitting of hybrids. •• Gregor Mendel was the first individual to apply a modern scientific approach to the study of heredity. Mendel proposed two basic principles of transmission genetics. •• Mendel’s second basic conclusion was the Principle of independent assortment, which stated that the segregation of one

pair of genes-controlling a given trait was not influenced by the segregation of other gene pairs. Genes located on different chromosomes move to gametes independently of each other during meiosis.

Human Blood Groups

•• The system of blood groups in humans was discovered by Karl Landsteiner in 1900s. •• There are four phenotypes of blood namely A, B, AB and O produced by three different alleles IA, IB and i of a gene. •• The allele IA and IB are equally dominant and do not interfere with expression of each other hence the allele IA IB are said to be co-dominant because both are expressed in the phenotype AB.

Alleolemorph is one of a number of alternative forms of the same gene occupying a given position on a chromosome.

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Blood Group

GENERAL SCIENCE Antigen present Antibody present in RBC in plasma

A B

AB O

Blood

A B

A, B

None

Possibility of blood donation

Can donate blood to A and AB.

a, b

Can donate to all but receive blood only from O.

none

•• Blood is a fluid connective tissue and composed of blood corpuscles, plasma and platelets. •• It is slightly alkaline is nature (pH 7.4). •• Its volume in an adult is 5.8 L. •• The oxygenated or pure blood is bright red while the deoxygenated blood is purple coloured (Darker shade of red). •• People who live at high altitudes have more blood than those who live in low regions. This extra blood supplies additional oxygen to body cells. •• During blood clotting fibrinogen changes into fibrin by thrombin which is obtained from thromboplastin in the presence of Ca2+. •• The haemoglobin content of adult female varies from 13.5-14.5% whereas in adult male its amount varies from 14.5-15.5% Haemoglobin count is highest in the foetus and is about 23 g per 100 mL. of blood at birth.

Blood Vessels

Blood vessels are of three types:

Arteries •• These are thick walled blood vessels which carry the blood away from the heart to various body parts. These are deep seated in the body and have no valves in them. •• These carry oxygenated blood except the pulmonary artery which carries deoxygenated blood to the lungs. In arteries, blood flows at a high pressure and a higher speed.

Veins

•• These are thin walled blood vessels and carry blood away from various body parts towards the heart. These have

Can donate blood to B and AB

Can receive from all but donate to only AB

valves in them to prevent back flow of blood in them. Blood flows at low pressure and at a lower speed. •• These carry deoxygenated blood except the pulmonary vein which carries oxygenated blood to the heart.

Capillaries

•• These are the thinnest blood vessels and connect arteries to the veins. •• These help in exchange of materials like the nutrients, gases, waste product, etc., between blood and cells.

Blood Type of Parent and their Children Blood Type of Parent (Homo or Heterozygous) O×O

Possible Blood Type of Children

O×A O×B O × AB A×A A×B A × AB B×B B × AB AB × AB

Blood Cells

O, A O, B A, B A, O O, A, B, AB A, B, AB B, O A, B, AB A, B, AB

Erythrocytes (RBCs) •• Red blood cells contain the blood’s haemoglobin and distribute oxygen. •• RBCs are the most abundant cells. •• Mature red blood cells lack a nucleus and organelles in mammals. However, in camel and Llama it is nucleated. •• One RBC contains about 280 haemoglobin molecules.

Heparin, a natural anticoagulant in the blood that prevent the conversion of prothombin into thombin in circulating blood.

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GENERAL SCIENCE Leukocytes (WBCs)

These are part of the body’s immune system; they destroy and remove old or aberrant cells and cellular debris, as well as attack infectious agents and foreign substances. These are much less in number than RBCs (1 : 600).

Thrombocytes

(Platelets) It is responsible for blood clotting (coagulation). It changes fibrinogen into fibrin. Comparison between Plasma and Lymph Plasma

Lymph

It contains 92% water, 8% blood plasma Lymph contains a variety of substances proteins and trace amounts of other including proteins, salts, glucose, fats, water and WBCs. materials It is cell free part of blood, contain salts, It is modified tissue fluid, contains cells like considerable amount of proteins as well as lymphocyte and monocytes, salt and small amount of proteins. It is colourless. more or less all constituents of body. It flows within blood vessels.

It flows within lymphatic vessels.

It takes part in nutrition, excretion, respiration, It supplies nutrition to tissue devoid of etc. by transporting various materials and blood supply,takes part in fat absorption and helps in the defence mechanism of the body defence mechanism of the body. by producing antibodies. It can coagulate because it contains fibrinogen It can coagulate but very slowly because it contains these two in small quantities. and prothrombin.

Blood Pressure (BP)

•• The pressure created by the blood on the walls of the blood vessels due to the repeated pumping of heart is called blood pressure. It is measured by sphygmomanometer. •• It can be felt at certain places in our body, viz wrist of the hands etc. •• Blood pressure is recorded as systolic/ diastolic. Blood pressure in a normal person is 120/80 mm Hg. Factors affecting blood pressure are age, cardiac output, total peripheral resistance, etc. •• If a person has persistent high blood pressure then it is called hypertension and persistent high blood pressure is 150/90 mm Hg. Factor responsible are overeating, fear, worry, anxiety, sorrow, etc. Hypotension is condition of low blood pressure, i.e. persistent 100/50 mm Hg. •• Electrocardiograph (ECG) is used to check proper working of heart by using electrodes. Bone marrow is the flexible tissue in the interior of bones.

Sex Determination

•• Henking discovered X body in spermatogenesis of few insects and it was given name of X chromosome. Due to involvement of X and Y chromosomes in determination of sex, they were called sex chromosomes. XX → Girl XY → Boy •• Rest of the chromosomes which determine other metabolic character of the body are called autosomes.

Mutation

•• Phenomenon that results in alteration of DNA sequence and consequently results in change in genotype and phenotype of an organism is called mutation. •• Mutagens are various chemical and physical factors that induce mutations, e.g. UV radiations, carcinogenic chemicals like nicotine, nitric oxide (NO).

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Plant Physiology Photosynthesis

•• Photosynthesis occurs in specialized cells called mesophyll cell which contain chloroplast. •• Photosynthesis follows two main steps: Light dependent reaction which occur in grana of the chloroplast and light dependent reaction which occur in stroma region of the chloroplast. •• It is actually oxidation reduction process in which water is oxidized and CO2 is reduced to carbohydrates. •• The reduction of CO2 to carbohydrates needs assimilatory powers, i.e. ATP and NADPH2.

Respiration

•• Carbohydrates are broken down through the process of oxidation and releasing of energy for cellular use, is called respiration. Respiration occurs in three steps as Glycolysis, Kreb’s Cycle and Electron transport system. C6H12O6 + 6CO2 → 6CO2 + 6H20 + energy •• Glycolysis occurs in the cytoplasm of the cell and the final product is pyruvate which is transported from the cytoplasm to mitochondria. Citric acid cycle/Kreb’s cycle occur in mitochondrial matrix.

Transpiration

•• Loss of water in the form of water vapour from plant through the small pore (stomata) present on leaves is called transpiration.

Nitrogen Metabolism

•• Plants obtain Nitrogen from the soil in the form of nitrites (NO2—), nitrates (NO3—) and ammonium (NH4)+ salts. Nitrogen assimilation is carried out by plants in three steps.

Ammonification

•• It is the process of conversion of complex organic compounds like protein into ammonia in the presence of ammonifying bacteria. •• Proteins → Amino acids → Organic acids → Ammonia

GENERAL SCIENCE Nitrification

•• Ammonia is rapidly converted first to nitrite and then nitrates by the process of nitrification. Nitrification is brought about by nitrifying bacteria such as Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter.

Denitrification

•• It is the process of conversion of nitrate salts present in the soil and water to gaseous nitrogen which escapes into atmosphere. It takes place with the help of bacteria called Pseudomonas.

Plant Growth Regulators

Some chemical molecules secreted by the plants which affect the growth of the plant known as plant growth regulators.

Auxin

•• It controls division in the vascular cambium and xylem differentiation. It Promotes flowering. It also causes the phenomenon of apical dominance.

Gibberellins

•• It causes an increase in length of axis of the plant. It delay senescence and help in induction of seed germination.

Cytokinins

•• It promotes cell division and growth of lateral branches by inhibiting apical dominance. It also promotes formation of adventitious shoot.

Ethylene ••

It is synthesized in the tissue undergoing senescence and ripening of fruits. It promtes in ripening of fruits and accelerate the abscission of flower.

Abscisic acid

•• It causes ageing and abscission of leaves and fruits. It also regulates bud and seed dormancy.

Human Physiology

Human Digestive System

The human digestive system consists of alimentary canal and digestive glands. The alimentary canal consists of mouth, (having teeth and tongue) oesophagus, stomach, small intestine and large intestine.

In transpiration water loss occur in the form of vapour through stomata whereas in Guttation water loss occur in form of water droplets through hydathodes.

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GENERAL SCIENCE Teeth

•• With the help of teeth the food is chewed. Teeth are of four types: Incisors (for cutting) Canines (for tearing) Premolars (for chewing) Molars (for chewing and grinding)

•• Tongue also contains taste buds due to which we sense bitter, sour, salty or sweet taste.

Tongue

•• Saliva, secreted by the salivary glands, is mixed with the chewed food by the tongue.

Digestion of Food Name of the Digestive juice Saliva Pancreatic Juice

Intestinal juice Gastric Juice

Pancreatic Juice Intestinal juice

B1 B2 B12 B5 C

Sweet Taste Areas on the Human Tongue

Ptyalin (Salivary amylase) Amylopsin (pancreatic amylase) Sucrase (invertase), Maltase, Lactase

Starch Starch, Glycogen Sucrose; Maltose, Lactose Proteins, Casein Proteins, Proteins Peptides Peptides

Trypsin, Chymotrypsin, Carboxyl peptidases

Amino peptidase, Dipeptidase

Salt

Substrate

Pepsin, Rennin

Sour

Name of the enzymes

Vitamin Required by the Body Vitamin

Bitter

End product Maltose Maltose and Glucose

Glucose, fructose and galactose

Proteoses and peptones, Calcium caseinate Proteoses and peptides Peptides Amino acid. Amino acids

Chemical Function in Body Deficiency Name Disease Thiamine Part of coenzyme for Beri-beri: pyrophosphate respiration nerve and heart disorders Riboflavin Part of coenzyme Ariboflavinosis: FAD needed for skin and eye respiration disorders CyanocoCoenzyme needed Pernicious balamin for making red blood anaemia cells, bone, blood and nerve changes Nicotinic Part of coenzymes Pellagra: skin, acid (‘niacin’) NAD, NADP used in gut and nerve respiration disorders Ascorbic acid Not precisely known Scurvy: degeneration of skin teeth and blood vessels.

Digestion begins in the mouth with the secretion of saliva and its digestive enzymes.

Sources Cereals, legumes, beans, nuts.

Milk, yogurt, meat, leafy greens, whole grains. Meat, fish, poultry, shellfish, eggs, cheese, milk. Widespread in foods.

Citrus fruits, e.g. lemon.

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A D E K

GENERAL SCIENCE

Not fully known but forms part of visual pigment, rhodopsin Cholecalciferol Stimulates calcium absorption by small intestine, needed for proper bone growth

Xeropthalmia: ‘dry eyes’

Tocopherol

Not precisely known Infertility

Phylloquinone

Involved in blood clotting

Possible haemorrhage

Retinol

Rickets: bone deformity

Mineral Required by Body

Milk, eggs, meat, fish liver oils, Green leafy vegetables. Exposed to sunlight, Dairy products, egg yolk, fish liver oils, oysters, yeast. Plant oils, green, leafy vegetables, egg yolk, nuts, seeds, and liver. Bacterial synthesis in the digestive tract. Green leafy vegetables, cabbage and milk

Minerals Source Function Sodium (Na) Table salt large amounts is present Needed for proper fluid balance, in processed foods, small amounts in nerve transmission, and muscle milk, breads, vegetables, and meats contraction Chloride Table salt, large amounts is present Needed for proper fluid balance, in processed foods, small amounts in stomach acid milk, meats, breads, and vegetables Potassium Meats, milk, fresh fruits and Needed for proper fluid balance, vegetables, whole grains, legumes nerve transmission, and muscle contraction Calcium Milk and milk products, canned Important for healthy bones and teeth, fish with bones (salmon, sardines), helps muscles relax and contract, fortified tofu and fortified soy milk, important in nerve functioning, blood greens (broccoli, mustard green), clotting, blood pressure regulation, immune system health legumes Phosphorus Meat, fish, poultry, eggs, milk, Important for healthy bones and processed foods teeth, found in every cell, part of the system that maintains acid-base balance Magnesium Nuts and seeds; legumes, leafy green Needed for making protein, muscle vegetables, seafood, and chocolate contraction, nerve transmission, immune system health Sulfur Occurs in foods as part of protein, Important for protein meats, poultry, fish, eggs, milk, legumes, nuts Iron Organ meats; red meats, fish, poultry, Part of a molecule hemoglobin shellfish (especially clams), egg yolks, found in red blood cells that carries legumes; dried fruits dark, leafy oxygen in the body, needed for greens, iron-enriched breads and energy metabolism cereals, and fortified cereals Iodine Seafood, foods grown in iodine-rich Found in thyroid hormone, which soil, iodized salt, bread, dairy products helps regulate growth, development, and metabolism

Vitamin B complex is a dieting supplement that delivers all eight of the B vitamins.

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GENERAL SCIENCE Human Respiratory System

•• Human respiratory system consists of external nostrils, nasal cavity, nasopharynx, larynx, trachea, bronchiole and lungs. nasal cavity

larynx

lobes of lung

windpipe (trachea) bronchial tree alveoli are in here

Transport of gases

•• 97% of oxygen is transported from the lungs to the tissues in combination with HbO2, haemoglobin (Hb + O2 oxyhaemoglobin). 3% is transported in dissolved condition by the plasma.

There are three ways of transport of CO2

•• 5%–7% (approximately) of CO2 is transported, being dissolved in the plasma of blood. •• CO2 react with the water to form carbonic acid (H2CO3) by the enzyme carbonic anhydrase (present in RBC). •• CO2 reacts with amine radicals (NH2) of haemoglobin molecule and forms a carbamino – haemoglobin (HbCO2) molecule. Nearly 23% of CO2 is transported through this mode.

Circulatory Pathways

The circulatory patterns are of two types – Open circulatory system is present in arthropods and molluscs in which blood pumped by the heart passes through large vessels into open spaces or body cavities called sinuses. Closed circulatory system •• Annelids and chordates have a closed circulatory system in which the blood pumped by the heart is always circulated through a closed network of blood vessels. All vertebrates possess a muscular chambered heart. •• Fishes have a 2-chambered heart with an atrium and a ventricle.

•• Amphibians and the reptiles (except crocodiles) have a 3-chambered heart with two atria and a single ventricle. Crocodiles, birds and mammals possess a 4-chambered heart with two artia and two ventricles.

Heart Beat and Pulse

The human heart beats at the rate of about 72-80 per minute in the resting condition.

Electrocardiograph

•• ECG is the graphic record of electronic current produced by the excitation of cardiac muscles. •• A normal electrocardiogram is composed of a P wave, QRS complex and T wave. P wave indicate the depolarisation of the atria. QRS complex expresses the ventricular depolarisation. T wave indicate an repolarisation of ventrcle.

Excretion

•• The process of excreting ammonia is -Ammonotelism. Kidney plays a minor role in the elimination of ammonia e.g. teleost fishes, tadpoles, aquatic soft bodied invertebrates. Organism undergoing ammonotelism are called ammonotelic. •• The process of excreting urea is Ureotelism. e.gs. are mammals, many terrestrial adult amphibians and cartilaginous fishes (shark). •• The process of elimination of uric acid is Uricotelism, egs. are land snails, insects, birds and many reptiles. •• Each kidney has nearly one million complex tubular structures called nephrons, which are the functional units of kidney. These filter the blood to produce urine. Excretory Organs of Some Animals Excretory Organ

Animal

Contractile vacuole

Amoeba

Nephridia

Earthworm

Flame cells/solenocytes Renette cell

Malpighian tubules Coxal glands

Green glands

Tapeworm Ascaris

Cockroach Scorpion Prawn

Cigarette smoke contain chemicals that interfere with the filtering of air as it produces mucus and toxic substances result in congestion of the lungs.

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GENERAL SCIENCE

Skeletal System Human Skeleton (comprising 206 bones) divided into Axial Skeleton made up of

Appendicular Skeleton made up of

Skull Vertebral Sternum Ribs Girdles column

Limbs

Joints A joint is a location at which two bones make contact and is essential for all types of movements, involving the bony parts of the body. Synovial joints - Movable joints They are characterised by the presence of a closed space or cavity between the bones. These are classified into six major categories: Plane (gliding joint): Present between carpals. Only sliding motion in all direction is allowed. Hinge joint: Present between Knee joint. Pivot joint: Present between vertebrae. Saddle joint: Present between carpal and metacarpal. Ball and Socket joint: Present between humerus and pectoral girdle.

Neural Control and Coordination

•• The neural system is the control system of the body which consists of highly specialized cells called neurons. •• A neuron consists of main cell body and cytoplasmic processes arising from it. The human brain is divisible into three parts: Forebrain: It comprises the olfactory lobes, cerebrum and diencephalon. Cerebrum is the largest and complex part. It consists of the left and right hemispheres connected by a bundle of myelinated fibres, called corpus callosum. The outer layer of the cerebrum is called the cortex. Diencephalon: The main parts of the diencephalon are epithalamus, thalamus and hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is the highest centre of autonomic nervous system. It governs

emotional reactions and exercise control over sleep mechanism. Midbrain: It is formed of corpora quadrigemina and cerebral peduncles. Cerebral penduncles are bundles of fibres connecting the cerebral cortex with other parts of brain and spinal cord. •• Hind brain: It comprises of: Cerebellum: It controls the balance and posture of the body. Pons varolii - The pons is concerned with maintenance of normal rhythm of respiration. Medulla oblongata - Medullary centres (reflex centres) are present for controlling the functions of important organs, e.g. cardiac centres (heart), respiratory centre, vasomotor centre (for regulating diameter of blood vessels) and reflex centres (for swallowing, vomiting, peristalsis, secretion and activity of alimentary canal, salivation, coughing, etc.)

Sense Organs Eye

Eyes are the sensitive detectors of light. The human eye can distinguish about 10 million colours. It consists of three parts:

Sclerotic Layer

It is the outermost, bony layer, which includes Cornea is the clear dome-shaped tissue, covering the front of the eye. Conjunctiva is the continuation of upper eyelid.

Choroid Layer

It is the middle layer and consists of: Pupil is the black hole in the centre of the iris. It changes size as the amount of light changes. Ciliary muscles regulates the lens curvature. Iris is the coloured part of the eye. It controls the amount of light that enters the eye by changing the size of the pupil. Lens is a biconvex transparent circular solid located just behind the iris. It focuses onto the retina

In chloride shift exchange of chloride and carbonate occur between the plasma and the erythrocytes during exchange of O2 and CO2 .

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GENERAL SCIENCE Lens Iris Pupil Cornea

Retina

Retina Fovea (point of central focus) Optic nerve to brain’s visual cortex

The Eye

Blind spot

•• Light sensitive tissue that lies at the back of the eye. It contains millions of photoreceptors (rods and cones) that convert light rays into electrical impulses that are relayed to the brain via the optic never. •• The image formed on retina is real and inverted. •• Rods are highly sensitive to dim light and contain a reddish purple pigment called rhodopsin. Night vision involves mostly rods (not cones). •• Cones are sensitive to bright light, hence differentiate the colours. •• The fovea centralis is the area of sharpest vision due to high concentration of ones. •• The blind spot (optic disc) has not rods and cone cells, hence no image is form in this region.

Defects of Vision & Remedies

Myopia or Near(short) sightedness

A person suffering from Myopia can’t see the far (distant) object clearly but can see nearby object clearly. Causes •• The eye ball is too long (i.e. elongated) so image is formed before retina. •• Lens being too curved for the length of the eye ball. •• Combination of above, i.e. elongated eyeball & curved lens. •• Shortening of focal length of eye lens. •• Over stretching of ciliary muscles. Remedy: Concave lens is used to diverge the rays at retina.

Hyperopia or Hypermetropia (long (far) sightedness) A person suffering from it can’t see near object clearly but can see distant object clearly.

Causes •• The eye ball is too short so image is formed beyond the retina. •• Cornea is not curved enough. •• Eye lens is farther back in the eye. •• Increase in the focal length of eye lens. •• Stiffening of ciliary muscles. Remedy: Convex lens is used to converge the rays at retina. Target group •• It can affects both children and adults. •• People whose parents are farsighted. •• It can be confused with presbyopia (i.e. “after 40” vision). Astigmatism: Astigmatism is the most common refractive problem responsible for blurry vision. Cylindrical lens is used to correct astigmatism.

Presbyopia (“after 40” vision)

After age 40, and most noticeably after age 45, the human eye is affected by presbyopia, which results in greater difficulty maintaining a clear focus at a near distance with an eye which sees clearly at a far away distance.

Cataract

It is the clouding of the lens of the eye that prevent a person to see. Because light rays can’t pass through the cloudy lens, vision of a person becomes cloudy, blurry, foggy, or filmy. Causes •• Protein builds up in the eye lens & make it cloudy. •• Cloudy protein layers prevent rays to pass through eye lens. •• New lens cells form on the outside of the lens, making older cells compacted into the center of the lens to form cataract. Remedy •• It can be corrected with suitable eye glasses (lenses). •• Cataract surgery is performed when eye glass does not suit.

Ear

•• Ears are meant for both balancing and hearing. •• It can be divided into three parts as External ear (pinna + external auditory canal), Middle ear (tympanic

Synovial fluid is present in the cavities of synovial joints, reduces the friction between the synovial joints.

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•• •• •• ••

GENERAL SCIENCE

cavity) and Internal ear (bony and membranous labyrinth). Hearing is controlled by auditory are of temporal lobe of cerebral cortex. Human ear can list in the sound of 60-80 decibel. Human ear is sensitive to sounds frequency 50-20,000 cycles/sec. Defects of ear are : Otalgia ear, ache (Pain in ear); Othitis media (Acute infection of middle ear), Labyrithine disease (malfunction of inner ear).

Nose

•• Nose is a sense organ for smell or olfaction, It contains 1. Olfactory cells which are more chemosensitive than taste cells. 2. Olfactory stimuli such as, chloroform and ammonia are irritating and can cause tearing. •• Dogs have an acute olfactory sense. They can trace people because they can distinguish between the odours of different persons.

Chemical Coordination in Animal (Hormones) Endocrine Gland Thyroid

Parathyroid

“Adrenal gland (medulla)” Adrenal cortex

Hormone

ARH

Hypothalamus

Pituitary gland anterior lobe

Principal action

Disorders

Cretinism, myxoedema Thyroxine (T4) and Maintains calcium level Triiodothyronine (T3) normal in the body. goiter Calcitonin Increases rate of metabolism in the body. Parathormone (PTH) Increases plasma calcium Parathyroid tetany, osteoporosis “Adrenaline and Increases heart beat, blood Noradrenaline” sugar and also constricts blood vessel “Mineralocorticoids Increases reabsorption of “Addison’s disease (aldosterone)” sodium and excertion of Adrenal virilism” potassium Glucocorticoids Increases blood sugar and Cushing’s syndrome (cortisol) affects carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism TRH SRH

Growth hormone releaing factor Pituitary gland anterior lobe Prolactin

Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) Lutemizing hormone (LH)

Regulates corticotropin secretion Thyrotropin secretion Stimulates secretion of gonadotropins Regulates secretion of prolactin Stimulates general growth

Stimulates milk production and secretion Stimulates ovarian follicle and spermatogenesis

Stimulates corpus luteum and ovulation in females and interstitial cell in males Thyroid stimulating Stimulates thyroid gland to hormone (TSH) secrete hormones Adrenocorticotropic Stimulates adrenal cortex to hormone secrete glucocorticoids

Cornea of the eye is an only tissue that don’t have blood.

Pituitary dwarfism, gigantism, Acromegaly

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GENERAL SCIENCE Intermediate lobe

Melanocyte Growth and development of stimulating hormone melanocyte

Posterior lobe

“Vasopressin (ADH)”

Oxytocin

Reproductive System

Contraction of uterine muscles and mammary gland cells Promotes reabsorption of Diabetes insipidus water from collecting ducts of kidneys

•• The process by which new individuals are produced from their parents is called reproduction and the organs which are used for this process, collectively constitute the reproductive system. •• Reproduction is of two types, i.e., asexual and sexual. •• In asexual reproduction only one parent is involved and sex cells are not involved. •• In sexual reproduction two parents are involved and formation and fusion of gametes takes place.

Modes of Reproduction in Different Organisms Mode of Reproduction

Organism

Fission (asexual) Amoeba, bacteria, flatworm, etc.

Budding (asexual) Hydra, yeast and sponge.

Syngamy (sexual) Cockroach, frog, human being, etc.

Male Reproductive System

The various organs which constitute the male reproductive system and their functions are tabulated below: Reproductive No Function Organ Testes 2 Produce sperm and testosterone Sperm duct 2 Conduct the sperm from the testes to urethra Seminal 2 Secrete seminal plasma Vesicles Epididymis

2 Temporarily store sperms and provides mobility

Urethra

1 Conduct urine and sperms. Prostate gland 2 Secrete an alkaline fluid to neutralise the acidity of urethra and make the sperm more active. Cowper’s 2 Secrete an alkaline white lubricating fluid gland

Penis (have 1 Pass urine and deposit sperm in female genital rich blood tract supply) •• Males can produce spermatozoa (sperm) throughout their life from age of 13-14 yrs. The growth of hairs on body is due to masculine hormones. Urinary bladder

Prostate gland Bulbourethral gland Erectile tissue of penis Vas deferens Epididymis Testis

Seminal vesicle (behind bladder)

Urethra Scrotum

Glans penis

Male Reproductive System

Female Reproductive System

Female reproductive system includes following organs which are tabulated below Reproductive No Function Organ Ovaries 2 To produce ova and hormones. Oviducts 2 To move the ovum towards uterus. Uterus 1 To provide space for developing child

Vagina

1 To receive the sperms

Ear bone (auditory ossicle) consists of three bones namely malleus, incus and stapes. They are considered as smallest bone.

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GENERAL SCIENCE Ovaries

Uterus

Cervix

Oviduct Follicles

Uterine Corpus luteum wall

Endometrium Vagina

Female Reproductive System

•• If sperm is present, the egg will be fertilised in the ampullary isthmic junction of Fallopian tube. •• After maturity the ovary releases an ovum (egg cell) after every 28 days. •• The connection between developing embryo and mother is made by placenta. It supplies blood, organic and inorganic nutrients, harmones, antibodies etc. •• The embryo develops for nine months in uterus. It is called gestation period. •• Child is delivered after its development and mother produces milk to nourish the child (lactation). •• The first milk which comes out from the mother’s mammary gland just after child birth is caused colostrum. •• This milk is rich in protein, antibodies which imparts immunity to new born baby.

•• On an average menstrual cycle is completed in 28 days. •• It is absent during pregnancy, may be suppressed during lactation and permanently stops at menopause. About 13 mature eggs are released from two ovaries of female in a year. •• Menstrual cycle is controlled by FSH, LH, oestrogen and progesterone harmones.

Birth Control Methods or Contraception Methods ••

The prevention of union of sperm and ovum is known as contraception. The various methods used for it are diaphragm, condoms, contraceptive pills, tubectomy, vasectomy, copper-T etc. •• Amniocentesis or amniotic fluid test is technique of finding out sex and disorder of foetus.

Gestation Periods of Animals

Animal Gestation Animal Gestation Period Period Buffalo

310 days Horse

340 days

Whale

365 days Squirrel

40 days

Elephant 610 days Leopard 105 days Lion

Human

120 days Tiger 280 days Dog

Menstrual Cycle

Plant Kingdom

•• Reproductive period of a human female extends from puberty (10-14 years) to menopause (40-50 years). •• The release of the first menstrual flow or period is called menarche. •• Menarche marks the onset of reproductive life and onset of puberty in females. •• Menopause is stopping of ovulation and menses. It normally occurs between the age of 45 to 55. This stage onwards, woman lose the ability to reproduce. •• The periodic vaginal bleeding during menstrual cycle is called menstruation.

Features of Plants

103 days 61 days

•• Most of the plants are eukaryotic and chlorophyll containing organisms. •• Cell walls of plant cells are comprised of cellulose. •• They have an ability to grow by cell division. •• In life cycle of plant cells, the interchanges occur from the embryos and are supported by other tissues and self produce. •• Plants have both organs and organ systems.

Male produce the smallest human cell – the sperm and female produce the largest human cell → the egg or ovum.

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GENERAL SCIENCE •• They obtain their energy from sun through photosynthesis. •• Plants reproduce both by sexual and asexual. •• Plants develop a self defense mechanism to protect them from being destroyed by animals, fungi and other plants. •• Organisms within Kingdom Plantae are multicellular, eukaryotic and autotrophic. •• They lack motility.

PTERIDOPHYTES

Bryophytes

•• Bryophytes are also called amphibians of the plant kingdom because these plants can live in soil but are dependent on water for sexual reproduction. They usually occur in damp, humid and shaded localities. •• Species of Sphagnum, a moss, provide peat that have long been used as fuel, and because of their capacity to hold water as packing material for transshipment of living material.

Pteridophytes

•• Evolutionarily, they are the first terrestrial plants to possess vascular tissues – xylem and phloem. •• The main plant body is a sporophyte which is differentiated into true root, stem and leaves. These organs possess well-differentiated vascular tissues Examples are Psilotum, Equisetum, Dryopteris, Marsilea, etc.

Gymnosperms

•• Gymnosperms are plants which bear naked seeds i.e. the ovules and the seeds that develop from these ovules after fertilization are not enclosed in fruit wall.

•• Roots have fungal association in the form of mycorrhiza (Pinus), while in some other (Cycas) small specialised roots called coralloid roots are associated with N2– fixing cyanobacteria.

Angiosperms (Flowering Plants)

•• Angiosperms are seed bearing, flowering vascular plants in which seeds are enclosed in fruits. •• The flower is the most characteristic structure of the angiosperms. The male sex organ in a flower is the stamen. Each stamen consists of a slender filament with an anther at the tip. The anthers, following meiosis, produce pollen grains. •• The female sex organ in a flower is the pistil or the carpel. Pistil consists of an ovary enclosing one to many ovules. Within ovules are present highly reduced female gametophytes termed embryo sacs. Each embryo-sac has a seven-celled egg apparatus – one egg cell and two synergids, three antipodal cells and two polar nuclei. The polar nuclei eventually fuse to produce a diploid secondary nucleus. •• Pollen grain, after dispersal from the anthers, are carried by wind or various other agencies to the stigma of a pistil. This is termed as pollination. •• The pollen tubes enter the embryo-sac where two male gametes are discharged. One of the male gametes fuses with the egg cell to form a zygote (syngamy). The other male gamete fuses with the diploid secondary nucleus to produce the triploid primary endosperm nucleus (PEN). Because of the involvement of two fusions, this event is termed as double fertilisation, and event unique to angiosperms.

Fertilization is most possible when the female is at the middle of her menstrual cycle. It is when the hormones promoting pregnancy are at their peak.

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GENERAL SCIENCE

Animal Kingdom KINGDOM ANIMALIA

Unicellular Animals

Multicellular Animals

Protozoa

Metazoa

It lacks cell wall, egs. Amoeba, Euglena, Trypanosoma, Giardia, Paramecium, Plasmodium

Introduction

Animals are the most diverse groups of organisms. Multicellular, heterotrophs characterised by mobility, sensory and nervous systems.

Phylum-Porifera

•• Sponges are aquatic, mostly marine, solitary or colonial and sessile. •• Examples of some sponges are : Sycon (scypha), Spongilla (fresh water sponge) and Euspongia (bath sponge).

Phylum-Coelenterata (Cnidaria) ••

All are aquatic and are mostly marine (exception-Hydra are found in freshwater), solitary or colonial, sessile, or free-swimming and radially symmetrical animals.

•• Example-Physalia (Portuguese man of war), Adamsia (Sea anemone), Pennatula (Sea-pen), Gorgonia (Seafan) and Meandrina (Brain coral).

Phylum-Ctenophora ••

These are diploblastic, radial symmetrical animals with tissue level of organization. •• Examples–Hormiphora (sea walnut), Pleurobranchia (sea gooseberry), Cestum (venus girdle), Beroe.

Invertebrates (No Backbone)

Vertebrates (Backbone)

Sponges Coelenterates Worms Anthropods Mollusca Echinoderms

Fishes Amphibians Reptiles Birds Mammals

Phylum-Platyhelminthes •• These are mostly endoparasites, bilateral symmetrical, triploblastic and acoelomate animals with organ level of organisation. •• Examples– Taenia (Tape worm), Fasciola (liver fluke).

Phylum-Aschelminthes

•• They may be free-living, aquatic and terrestrial or parasitic in plants and animals. •• Examples: Ascaris (Round worm), Wuchereria (filarial worm), Ancylostoma (Hook worm), Enterobius (Pin worm).

Phylum-Annellda •• ••

It is characterised by metameric segmentation forming ring like segments. Example: Neries, Pheretima (Earthworm) and Hirudinaria (Blood sucking leech).

Phylum-Arthropoda

•• They are bilateral symmetry, triploblastic animals, which have organ-system level of organisation. •• Example: Apis (Honey bee), Bombyx (Silkworm), Laccifer (Lac insect).

Since bryophytes lack xylem and phloem only way to move substances through the plant body is by osmosis and diffusion from surface moisture.

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GENERAL SCIENCE Phylum-Mollusca

•• They are aquatic (marine or fresh water), or terrestrial having an organsystem level of organisation. •• Ex. Pila, Octopus (devil fish), Loligo (sea squid).

Phylum-Echinodermata

•• All existing echinoderms are marine, generally live at sea bottom. •• Ex. Asterias (star fish), Cucumaria (commonly called as sea cucumber), Antedon (water lily or feather star).

Phylum-Hemichordata

•• They are bilaterally symmetrical, triploblastic, and entrocoelous animals. •• Ex. Balanoglossus (acorn worm or tongue worm), Saccoglossus.

Phylum-Chordata

•• The fundamental four characters of phylum chordata are presence of notochord, a dorsal hollow nerve cord, paired pharyngeal gill slits and post anal tail either in the embryonic or adult stage. •• Examples: Herdmania (sea squirt), Branchiostoma.

Subphylum Vertebrata is Divided into Two Sections Section 1 Agnatha (The jawless vertebrates) Class : Cyclostomata

•• Mouth jawless suctorial and round. •• All living members are ectoparasites on some fishes. •• Ex. Petromyzon (lamprey), Myxine (hag fish).

Section 2 Gnathostomata (The jawed vertebrates) Superclass : Pisces (Bear fins)

Class : Chondrichthyes •• They have a cartilagenous skeleton. •• Some of them possess electric organs e.g. Torpedo. •• Examples: Scoliodon (Dog fish), Trygon (Sting ray).

Class : Osteichthyes

•• They have a bony skeleton.

•• Examples : Marine – Exocoetus (Flying fish), Hippocampus (Sea horse), Lophius (Angler fish), Fresh water fishes – Labeo (Rohu), Catla (Katla).

Superclass : Tetrapoda (Bear Limbs) Class : Amphibia

•• Adapted for both water and land life. •• They are oviparous and development indirect through distinct larval stage called tadpole. Exambles : Bufo (Toad), Rana (Frog), Hyla (Tree frog), Salamandra (Salamander), Ichthyophis (Limbless amphibia).

Class: Reptilia

•• The class name refers to their creeping or crawling mode of locomotion. •• They are oviparous; Development direct. Examples: Crocodilus (Crocodile), Bangarus (Krait)

Class: Aves

•• Birds are bipedal feathered animals. •• Endoskeleton is fully ossified (bony) and the long bones are hollow with air cavities (pneumatic). Examples : Corvus (crow), Pavo (Peacock).

Class: Mammalia

•• These are warm blooded (homiothermous) animals having hair and mammary glands. •• They are viviparous with few exceptions and development is direct. Example : Oviparous – Tachyglossus = Echidna (spiny Anteater). Viviparous – Pteropus (Flying fox), Camelus (Camel), Macaca (Monkey).

Disease and Defence Mechanism Pratozoan Diseases Disease Malaria Amoebiasis

Giardiasis Sleeping sickness Leshmanis Trichomoniasis

Pathogen Plasmodium Enta moeba histolylica Giardia lambia Trypanosoma Leishmania Trichomonas vaginalis

Corals are marine coelenterates which secrete hard stony substance which form external skeleton.

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GENERAL SCIENCE

Fungal diseases Disease

Immunity Pathogen

Aspergillosis

Aspergillus fumigatuo

Blastomycosis

Blasto myces dermatitidis Sporothrix Schenckii

Candidiasis Ringworm

Sporotnichosis

Candida albicens Trichoplyton

Bacteria Diseases Disease

Pathogen

Dysentery

Shigella

Plague

Pasteurellapestis

Cholera

Vibrio cholerae

Tetanus

Clostridium tetani

Anthrax

Bacillus anthrasis

Diphtheria

Corynebacterium diphtheriae

Tuberculosis

Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Whooping cough Bordetella pertussis Leprosy

Weil’s disease

Mycobacterium leprae Leptospira

Viral Diseases Disease

Pathogen

Rabies

Rabies virus

Measles

Rubeola virus

Dengue

Influenza

German measles Mumps

Chicken pox Small pox Polio

Chikungunya Avian flu

Dengue virus

Influenza virus Rubella virus Mumps virus

Varicella zoster Variola virus Polio virus

Chikungunya (CHIK) Virus H5N1 virus

H1N1(Swine flu) H1N1 virus

•• The term immunity refers to the specific resistance exhibited by the host towards infections by micro-organisms (pathogens) and their products.

Innate or Natural Immunity

•• Innate immunity is developed in an individual without having the disease or immunization, e.g., recreation of sweat glands contain certain chemical substances which prevent the entry of micro-organisms. •• It is present from birth.

Acquired Immunity

•• The resistance against infectious disease that an individual acquires during life is known as acquired immunity.

Antibody Mediated Immunity

•• B cells produce specialized proteins called antibodies (immunoglobulin) which are glycoproteins.

Classification of Antibodies :

(a) Ig A – Protects from inhaled or ingested pathogens. (b) Ig D – Present on lymphocyte surface as receptors, activation of B cells. (c) Ig E – Mediator in allergic response. (d) Ig G – Stimulation of phagocytes and complement system, passive immunity to foetus. (e) Ig M – Activation of B cells.

MERS : Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) is new viral disease related to respiratory illness. Including fever, cough and shortness of breath. Affected countries is Middle East include Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE. SARS : Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) is caused by coronavirus called, SARS-CoV. First time this disease was reported in November 2002 in Guangdong province, China. It begins with high fever headache an overall feeling of discomfort, and bodyaches.

Arthropods have external skeleton composed of poly saccharide called chitin.

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GENERAL SCIENCE Ebola: Ebola hemorrhagic fever (Ebola

HF) is a severe & fatal disease in humans, monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees. It is caused by Ebola virus, named after the Ebola River found in Congo. Ebola is spread through direct contact (through broken skin or unprotected mucous membranes in, for example, the eyes, nose, or mouth). The symptoms appears for Ebola HF from 2 to 21 days. Symptoms are fever, headache, joint and muscle aches, sore throat, and weakness, followed by diarrhoea, vomiting, and stomach pain. Zika : Zika virus is a mosquito-borne virus transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. The virus was first identified in 1947 in Uganda and its name has been derived from Zika Forest. Transmission : Zika virus is transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Most common symptoms : Headache, muscle and joint pain, mild fever, rash, pinkeye and inflammation of the underside of the eyelid. Linkages: It causes neurological disorders and foetal deformation known as Microcephaly in which infants are born with abnormally smaller heads that can cause brain damage.

AIDS :

•• Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is caused by Human Deficiency Virus (HIV) which destroys the CD4 Cells that are essential for the body immune symptoms. •• HIV is transmitted (spread) through the blood, semen, genital fluids, or breast milk of a person infected with HIV. •• Unprotected sex and sharing of drug injection equipment with the person infected with HIV are the most common ways of HIV transmission. •• It takes many years to develop the HIV symptoms but the HIV infected person can spread the virus at any stage of HIV infection. •• 1st December is also remembered as World AIDS day globally people unite together to fight against HIV showing support to the people infected with HIV.

Diabetes Diabetes is a long-term condition caused by too much glucose (sugar) in the blood. There are two main types of diabetes Type 1 Diabetes occurs when the body doesn’t produce enough insulin to function properly or the body’s cells don’t react to insulin. This is known as insulin resistance.

Type 2 Diabetes is a far more common than type 1 diabetes, which occurs when the body doesn’t produce any insulin at all. Symptoms Symptoms common to both types of diabetes include (i) Feeling very thirsty (ii) Urinating frequently, particularly at night. (iii) Feeling very tired. (iv) Weight loss and loss of muscle bulk.

Rabies

Rabies is a viral disease which is endemic in most African and Asian countries and it affects the central nervous system of warm blooded animals, including human. This fatal zoonotic viral disease transmitted to human through contact (mainly bites and scratches) with infected animals both domestic and wild. Clinical signs of rabies in animals will vary depending on the effect of the virus on the brain. Typical signs include sudden behavioural changes and progressive paralysis leading to death.

Dengue

Dengue fever occurs through 1 to 4 types of dengue virus. It is spread by the bite of an infected dengue mosquito (Aedes aegypti). It is characterized by high fever lasting 3-7 days frontal headache pain behind the eyes and muscle joint pain and muscular and rash on skin. There is no specific treatment for Dengue fever till now.

Chikungunya

Chikungunya fever is a viral illness caused by an arbovirus transmitted by the Aedes mosquitoes. Chikungunya disease does not often result in death, but the symptoms can

Bird flu or avian influenza is caused by deadly strain of bird flu – H5N1.

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be severe and disabling. Symptoms appear after 3-7 days after infected by the virus. Most common symptom is fever, joint pain and headache.

Common Heart Diseases Coronary artery disease or Arthrosclerosis: In this disorder the deposition

of calcium, fat, cholesterol and fibrous tissue occur in coronary arteries which makes the lumen of arteries narrower and thereby affect the blood supply. Angina (angina pectoris): Angina is an acute chest pain due to oxygen deficiency to heart muscles. It occurs due to oxygen deficiency to heart muscles. It occurs due to improper blood flow. It is common among middle-aged and elderly person.

Heart Failure (congestive heart failure): It is the condition in which heart

is not pumping blood enough to meet the need of the body. Congestion of the lung is the main symptom. Arteriosclerosis: It is the state of hardening of arteries and arterioles due to thickening of the fibrous tissue and consequent loss of elasticity. It leads to hypertension.

Common Lung Diseases

Asthma: It is a disease caused due to an allergic reaction to foreign substances that affect the respiratory tract. In people with asthma, the walls of these airways become inflamed (swollen) and oversensitive. The airways over react to things like smoke, air pollution, mold, and many chemical sprays. Bronchioles can constrict (narrow) because of muscle spasms. Drugs called bronchodilators (inhalers). These devices help dilate (open up) the bronchioles.

Bronchitis (Inflammation of the Bronchi): A condition where the bronchi

and bronchioles get inflamed and their cavities become narrow so that air cannot pass in and out of lungs easily. The bronchial pathway gets blocked with the accumulation of mucus on the wall of bronchi due to which walls inflammation of the wall occur. Bronchitis occurs due to cough and cold smoking and exposure to air pollutant like carbon monoxide.

GENERAL SCIENCE Common Brain Diseases Epilepsy: Epilepsy is a condition where

a person has recurrent seizures, abnormal discharge of electrical activity in the brain cells which may give rise to abnormal behaviour such as involuntary muscle movements, unusual perceptions and disturbed level of consciousness. Epilepsy can occur due to brain injury, brain tumor, chemical abnormalities and alcohol or drug effects. Loss of Consciousness: Faintness includes the sensation of dizziness lightheadedness and weakness. The majority of attack is due to altered reflex affecting cardiac rate, vascular tone and some time due to severe cardiac disturbances. Cancer : Cancer is a complex genetical disease which occurs due to the environmental factors. Cancer causing agent (carcinogen) may be present in food and water, in air in sunlight and in chemicals.

Biology in Human Welfare

Animal Husbandry

It deals with the care, breeding & management of domesticated animals that are useful to humans.

Poultry Farming

•• Poultry is a rearing of domesticated fowls, ducks, geese, turkeys, guinea fowls and pigeons. •• Poultry birds exclusively grown for meat are called broilers, layers are for egg production, cockerel for young male fowls and rooster are mature male fowls.

Fisheries

•• Pisciculture is the rearing, breeding and catching of fishes. •• Aquaculture is rearing and management of useful aquatic plants and animals like fishes, oysters, and prawns etc.

Apiculture

•• Apiculture is rearing and breeding of honeybees for the production of

Ig A is the main immunoglobulin found in mucous secretions including tears, saliva, sweat, etc.

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GENERAL SCIENCE honey. It also produces beeswax and bee pollen. Beeswax is used for the preparation of cosmetics and polishes of various kinds. •• The commonest species of honeybee is Apis indica.

Animal Breeding

Animal breeding is the production of new breeds of domesticated animals with improved traits. Breeding is the modification of genotype of an organism to make that organism more useful to human. Inbreeding: Mating between the closely related animals of same breed. Out-breeding: Mating between the animals which are not closely related. Crop

Wheat Cauliflower Brassica Cowpea Chilli

Variety

Himgiri Pusa snowball K-1, Pusa shubra Pusa Swarnim (Karan rai) Pusa Komal

Out-crossing: Mating between the animals of the same breed which do not have a common ancestor. Cross-breeding: Mating between the superior animals of different breeds of the same species. MOET (Multiple Ovulation Embryo Transfer) technique is a programme which improves the chances of successful production of hybrids.

Plant Breeding

•• Plant breeding refers to the modification and improvement of genetic material of plants resulting in the development of crops which are more beneficial to human beings. Resistance to diseases

Hill bunt, leaf and stripe rust Blight black rot, Black rot and Curl White rust Bacterial blight

Pusa Chilly mosaic virus, Tobacco mosaic Sadabahar virus and leaf curl. Table : Crop varieties bred by hybridization and selection for disease resistance to fungi, bacteria and viral disease. •• Examples of insect pest resistance crops using living organism cells or enzymes. bred by hybridization are This technology has application in (i) Pusa Gaurav variety of Brassica is agriculture, food processing industry, resistant to aphids. bioremediation, medicine diagnostics, (ii) Pusa Sawani and Pusa A-4 waste treatment and energy production. varieties of Okra (Bhindi) are •• Biotechnology deals with: resistant to shoot and fruit borer. ¾¾ Microbe-mediated processes (iii) Pusa sem 2 and Pusa sem 3 (making curd, bread, wine etc.) varieties of flat bean are resistance ¾¾ In vitro fertilization (‘test tube’ to aphids and fruit borer. baby programme) ¾¾ Synthesis and using of gene Biotechnology and its Application ¾¾ Preparation of a DNA vaccine •• It deals with large scale production and ¾¾ Correcting a defective gene marketing of products and processes

Medical Discoveries Discovery Antibiotic (Penicillin) Antiseptic Aspirin Blood Circulation Blood Group Blood Transfusion

Made by Alexander Fleming Joseph Lister Dr Felix Hoffmann William Harvey K. Landsteiner Jean-Baptiste Denys

DNA was first discovered in 1869 by swiss Friedrich Mieschler.

Country Scotland Scotland Germany Britain Austria France

Year 1928 1867 1899 1628 1900-1902 1625

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GENERAL SCIENCE

Cholera and TB Germs

Diphtheria Germs

Electro cardiogram (ECG)

Heart-Lung machine

Hypodermic Syringe

Heart Transplant

Robert Koch

Klebs and Loffler

William Einthoven

John Heynsham Gibbon

Alexander Wood

Christian Barnard

Kidney Machine

W. J. Kolf

Malaria Germs

A. Laveran

Organ Transplant

Scan (CAT)

Sphygomomanometer

Stethoscope

Thermometer (Clinical)

Ultrasound

X-ray

Important Vaccines

John P. Merril

Godfrey Hounsfield

Scipione Riva-Rocci

Rene Laennec

Sir Thomas Albutt

Ian Donald

W. Roentgen

Germany

1883

Germany

1883-84

Dutch

1903

Britain

South Africa

The Netherlands

France

USA

England

1953

1853 1967

1944 1880

1953 1973

Italy

1896

France

1819

England

1867

Ireland

1950

Germany

1895

Vaccine

Developed by

Country

Year

Small Pox

Edward Jenner

England

1796

TB Vaccine

Albert Calmette and Camille Guerin

France

1922

John F. Enders, Thomas peeble

Cholera

Diphtheria and Tetanus Polio Vaccine

Oral Polio Vaccine Measles Vaccine Rabies Vaccine

Typhus Vaccine

Health Guide

Louis Pasteur

France

Emil Adolf Von Behring and Shibasaburo Germany/Japan Kitasato Jonas E. Salk

Albert Bruce Sabin Louis Pasteur

Charles Nicolle

CALORIE CHART Food Categories

Measure

Calories

MILK & MILK PRODUCTS Milk (Cow)

Milk (Buffalo) Cheese Butter Ghee

90 ml

1 tbsp

45 ml

15 gms 1 tbsp

50 50 50

FRUITS Apple Banana Grapes Mango Musambi Orange CEREAL Cooked Cereal Rice Cooked Chapati

US US

France France 1 small ½ Medium 20 small 1 small 1 Medium 1 small

½ Cup 25 gms 1 Medium

1880 1891 1952 1955 1953 1885 1909 50-60 50-60 50-60 50-60 50-60 50-60 80 80 80

Mostly people in world have cornea defect. It does not need blood match. 1 cornea can be donated at least to 3 persons.

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GENERAL SCIENCE STARCY VEGETABLES Potato 1 Medium Pulses 1 Large Katori 150 gms Mixed Vegetables PROTEIN / MEAT 50 gms Fish 1 oz Mutton 2 pieces Egg (Hen) COOKED FOOD Biscuit (Sweet) Cake (Plain) Cake (Rich Chocolate) Dosa (Masala) Pakoras Puri Samosa Vada (Medu) MAIN DISH Biryani (Mutton) Biryani (veg.) Curry (Chicken) Curry (Veg.) Fried Rice Pullao (Veg.) SWEET DISH Carrot Halwa Jalebi Kheer Rasgulla

15 gms 50 gms 50 gms

1 Medium 1 Medium 1 Large 1 Piece 1 Small 1 Cup 1 Cup 100 gms 100 gms 85 gms 100 gms 50 gms 20 gms 100 gms 150 gms

80 80 80 55 75 100 70 135 225 120 175 85 140 70 225 200 225 130 140 130 300 100 180 140

HEIGHT & WEIGHT CHART Height Weight Height Weight (Cms) (Kgs) (Cms) (Kgs) + Men + Women 157.5 53.5-57.1 147.5 43.5-48.5 160.0

54.8-60.3

150.0

44.4-49.9

165.0

57.8-63.0

155.5

47.1-52.6

162.5

56.2-61.6

152.5

45.8-51.2

167.5

59.0-64.8

157.5

48.5-53.9

175.0

64.4-70.7

165.0

52.6-58.9

170.0

60.7-66.6

172.5

62.6-68.9

178.0

66.2-72.5

180.0

68.0-74.8

183.0

69.8-77.1

185.5

71.6-79.3

188.0 190.5 193.0

73.4-81.6 75.7-83.9 78.0-86.1

160.0 162.5 167.5 170.0 172.5 175.0 178.0 180.0 183.0

49.9-55.3 51.2-57.1 54.4-61.2 56.2-63.0 58.0-64.8 59.8-66.6 61.6-68.4 63.5-70.3 65.3-72.1

+For Medium Frame Persons

Branches of Science Branch Acarology Adenology Angiology

Apiology Arthrology Astheniology Auxology

Barology Biometrics

Bromatology Ctetology Cacogenics

Carcinology Carpology

Catacoustics Cetology

Study – study of mites – study of glands – study of blood flow and lymphatic system – study of bees – study of joints – study of diseases of weakening and aging – science of growth – study of gravitation – study of biological measurement – study of food – study of the inheritance of acquired characteristics – study of racial degeneration – study of cards and other crustaceans – study of fruits and seeds – science of echoes or reflected sounds – study of whales and dolphins

Bt cotton was the first genetically modified crop of cotton variety, which produces an insecticide to ball worms.

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Branch Chemistry

Chirography

Cosmology Craniology Dactylography Dactylology

Demography Demology

Dermatology Ecology Edaphology Emetology Emmenology

Endocrinology Entomology Entozoology

Epidemiology Euthenics

Geochemistry Geogony

Geology Geoponics Graminology Gynaecology

Halieutics Helminthology Hematology Hepatology

GENERAL SCIENCE Study – study of properties of substances – study of handwriting or penmanship – study of the universe – study of the skull – the study of fingerprints – study of sign language – study of population. – study of human behaviour – study of skin – study of environment – study of soils – study of vomiting – the study of menstruation – study of ductless glands – study of insects – study of parasites that live inside larger organisms – study of diseases; epidemics – science concerned with improving living conditions – study of chemistry of the earth’s crust – study of formation of the earth – study of earth’s crust – study of agriculture – study of grasses – study of women’s physiology – study of fishing – study of worms – study of blood – study of liver

Branch Herpetology

Study

– study of reptiles and amphibians Histology – study of the tissues of organisms Horology – science of time measurement Horticulture – study of gardening Hyetology – science of rainfall Hygienics – study of sanitation; health Hygiastics – science of health and hygiene Hypnology – study of sleep; study of hypnosis Insectology – study of insects Ichthyology – study of fish Irenology – the study of peace Kalology – study of beauty Kinematics – study of motion Kinetics – study of forces producing or changing motion Karyology – study of cell nuclei Laryngology – study of larynx Lepidopterology – study of butterflies and moths Leprology – study of leprosy Magnanerie – art of raising silkworms Magnetics – study of magnetism Malacology – study of molluscs Malariology – study of malaria Mammalogy – study of mammals Mastology – study of mammals or mammary glands or breast diseases Meteoritics – study of meteors Meteorology – study of weather Metrology – science of weights and measures

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GENERAL SCIENCE Branch Microbiology

Study

– study of microscopic organisms Microclimatology – study of local climates Microphytology – study of very small plant life Morphology – study of forms and the development of structures Myology – study of muscles Magirics – art of cookery Nasology – study of the nose Neonatology – study of newborn babies Nephology – study of clouds Nephrology – study of the kidneys Obstetrics – study of midwifery Odontology – study of teeth Oncology – study of tumours Oology – study of eggs Optics – study of light Ornithology – study of birds Osteology – study of bones Otology – study of the ear Paedology – study of children

Branch Palaeontology Parasitology Pathology Pharmacology Physiology

Psychology Pyretology Rheumatology Radiology Seismology Sociology Tectonics Toxicology Urology Virology Xylology Zoiatrics Zoology

Study – study of fossils – study of parasites – study of disease – study of drugs – study of processes of life – study of mind – study of fevers – study of rheumatism – study of X-rays and their medical applications. – study of earthquakes – study of society – science of structure of objects, buildings and land forms – study of poisons – study of urine; urinary tract – study of viruses – study of wood – veterinary surgery – study of animals

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GENERAL SCIENCE EVERYDAY SCIENCE

•• Why on mixing salt to the water the level of water remain same? The matter is made up of particle. When we dissolve particle of salt it occupies the space between the particles of water. •• Why is carbon dioxide used in extinguishing fire? Carbon dioxide (CO2) is heavier than oxygen, (O2). So it makes a blanket and do not allow oxygen to come in contact for combustion. •• Evaporation takes place at lower temperature around 60° & above, but boiling at 100° C. Evaporation is a surface phenomenon, occurs only in the upper part of water but boiling is a bulk phenomenon. •• Plant cells are stronger than animal cells. Plant cells lacks lysosome (suicide bag of cell). So in plant cell even dead cell help to strengthen the plant. •• Why number of (white blood cell or WBC) should be maintained? Normally the count of WBC in normal human body is 4500 to 11000 per mg. But its increase will lead to leukaemia and decrease may decrease the immunity which may lead to HIV. •• Why head injury is more vulnerable? The head cells are basically neuron cell, which are specialized cell, which do not regenerate. It ultimately is very fatal. •• Who will possibly learn swimming faster-a fat person or thin person ? The fat person displaces more water which will help him float much more freely compared to a thin person. •• Why is a flash of lightening seen before thunder? Because light travels faster than sound, it reaches the Earth before the sound of thunder. •• Why cannot a fire caused by petrol be extinguished by water?

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Water, which is heavier than petrol, slips down permitting the petrol to rise to the surface and continue to burn. Besides, the existing temperature is so high that the water poured on the fire evaporates even before it can extinguish the fire. The latter is true if a small quantity of water is poured. Why does water remain cold in an earthen pot? There are pores in an earthen pot which allow water to percolate to the outer surface. Here evaporation of water takes place thereby producing a cooling effect. Why do we place a wet cloth on the forehead of a patient suffering from high fever? Because of the body’s temperature, water evaporating from the wet cloth produces a cooling effect and brings the temperature down. When a needle is placed on a small piece of blotting paper which is placed on the surface of clean water, the blotting paper sinks after a few minutes but the needle floats. However, in a soap solution the needle sinks. Why? The surface tension of clean water being higher than that of a soap solution, it can support the weight of a needle due to its surface tension. By addition of soap, the surface tension of water reduces, thereby resulting in the sinking of the needle. To prevent multiplication of mosquitoes, it is recommended to sprinkle oil in the ponds with stagnant water. Why? Mosquitoes breed in stagnant water. The larvae of mosquitoes keep floating on the surface of water due to surface tension. However, when oil is sprinkled, the surface tension is lowered resulting in drowning and death of the larvae. How does oil rise on a cloth tape of an oil lamp? The pores in the cloth tape suck oil due to the capillary action of oil.

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GENERAL SCIENCE •• How are ventilators in a room always made near the roof? The hot air being lighter in weight tends to rise above and escape from the ventilators at the top. This allows the cool air to come in the room to take its place. •• How does ink get filled in a fountain pen? When the rubber tube of a fountain pen is immersed in ink it is pressed, the air inside the tube comes out and when the pressure is released the ink rushes in to fill the air space in the tube. •• Why are air coolers less effective during the rainy season? During the rainy reason the atmospheric air is saturated with moisture. Therefore, the process of evaporation of water from the moist pads of the cooler slows down thereby not cooling the air blown out from the cooler. •• Why does grass gather more dew in nights than metallic objects such as stones? Grass being a good radiator enables water vapour in the air to condense on it. Moreover, grass gives out water constantly (transpiration) which appears in the form of dew because the air near grass is saturated with water vapour and slows evaporation. Dew is formed on objects which are good radiators and bad conductors. •• If a lighted paper is introduced in a jar filled with carbon dioxide, its flame is extinguished. Why ? Because carbon dioxide does not help in burning. For burning oxygen is required. •• Why does the mass of an iron rod increase on rusting? Because rust is hydrated ferric oxide which adds to the mass of the iron rod. The process of rusting involves addition of hydrogen and oxygen elements to iron. •• Why does milk curdle? Lactose (milk sugar) content of milk undergoes fermentation and changes

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into lactic acid which on reacting with milk protein (caesin), forms curd. Why does hard water not lather soap profusely? Hard water contains sulphates and chlorides of magnesium and calcium which forms an insoluble compound with soap. Therefore, soap does not lather with hard water. Why is it dangerous to have charcoal fire burning in a closed room? When charcoal burns it produces carbon monoxide which is suffocating and can cause death. Why is it dangerous to sleep under trees at night? Plants respire at night and give out carbon dioxide which reduces the oxygen content of air under the trees required for breathing. Why does ENO’s salt effervesce on addition of water? It contains tartaric acid and sodium bicarbonate. On adding water, carbon dioxide is produced which when released into water causes effervescence. Why does milk turn sour? The microbes react with milk and grow. They turn lactose into lactic acid which is sour in taste. Why is a new quilt warmer than an old one? In the new quilt the cotton is not compressed and it encloses more air which is bad conductor of heat. Therefore, it does not allow heat to pass. Eskimos live in double-walled ice houses. Why? Because the air in between two ice walls does not allow heat to pass. Ultimately they feel warmer in it compared to environment Curved rail tracks or curved roads are banked or raised on one side. Why? Because a fast moving train or vehicle leans inwards while taking turn and the banked or raised track provides

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required centripetal force to enable it to move round the curve. How do bats fly in dark? When bats fly they produce ultrasonic sound waves which are reflected back to them from the obstacles in their way and hence they can fly without difficulty. Water pipes often burst at hill stations on cold frosty nights. Why? The temperature at hill stations may fall below 0°C during cold frosty nights which converts the water inside the pipes into ice, resulting in an increase in volume. This exerts great force on the pipes and as a result, they burst. Why are white clothes more comfortable in summer than dark or black ones? White clothes are good reflectors and bad absorbers of heat, whereas dark or black clothes are good absorbers of heat. Therefore, white clothes are more comfortable because they do not absorb heat from the sun rays. Why does a rose appear red and grass green in daylight? Rose absorbs all the constituent colours of white light except red which is reflected to us. Similarly, grass absorbs all colours except green which is reflected to us. Why does a ship rise as it enters the sea from a river? The density of sea water is high due to impurities and salts compared to river water. As a result, the upthrust produced by the sea water on the ship is more than that of river water. Why are fuses provided in electric installations? A safety fuse is made of a wire of metal having a very low melting point. When excess current flows in, the wire gets heated, melts and breaks the circuit. By breaking the circuit it saves electric equipment or installations from damage by excessive flow of current.

GENERAL SCIENCE •• Why is it easier to lift a heavy object under water than in air? Because when a body is immersed in water, it experiences an upward thrust (Archimedes’ Principle) and loses weight equal to the weight of the water displaced by its immersed portion, and hence, is easier to lift objects. •• If a highly pumped up bicycle tyre is left in the hot sunlight, it bursts. Why? The air inside the tube increases in volume when heated up. As sufficient space for the expansion of the air is not available because the tube is already highly pumped, it may result in bursting of the tyre. •• What will be the colour of green grass in blue light? Grass will appear dark in colour because it absorbs all other colours of the light except its own green colour. The blue light failing on grass will be absorbed by it, and hence, it will appear dark in colour. •• Why do two eyes give better vision than one? Because two eyes do not form exactly similar images and the fusion of these two dissimilar images in the brain gives three dimensions of the stereoscopic vision. •• Why do we bring our hands close to the mouth while shouting across to someone far away? By keeping hands close to mouth the sound is not allowed to spread (phenomenon of diffraction of sound) in all directions but is directed to a particular direction and becomes louder. •• Why does a corked bottle filled with water burst if left out on a frosty night? Because of low temperature the water inside the bottle freezes. On freezing it expands, thereby its volume increases and pressure is exerted on the walls.

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GENERAL SCIENCE •• Why is a small gap left at the joint between two rails? To permit expansion of rails due to heat generated by friction of a moving train. •• Why cannot a copper wire be used to make elements in electric heater? Copper melts at 108.3°C and forms a black powder on reacting with atmospheric oxygen. For heater elements a metal should have more resistance to produce •• Why are water or mercury droplets always round when dropped on a clean glass? The surface of a liquid is the seat of a special force as a result of which molecules on the surface are bound together to form something like a stretched membrane. They tend to compress the molecules below to the smallest possible volume which causes the drop to take a round shape as for a given mass the sphere has minimum volume. •• Why does a balloon filled with hydrogen rise in the air? Weight of hydrogen is less than the weight of air displaced by it. In balloons hydrogen is normally filled because it is lighter than air. •• Why do we lean forward while climbing a hill? In order to keep the vertical line passing through our centre of gravity always between our feet, which is essential to attain equilibrium or stability. •• Why does smoke curl up in the air? Smoke contains hot gases which being lighter in weight, follows a curved path because of the eddy currents that are set up in the air. •• Why does an electric bulb explode when it is broken? The bulb encompasses partial vacuum and as it breaks, air rushes in causing a small explosion. •• Why does a man fall forward when he jumps out of a running train or bus? He is in motion while in the train or bus. When he jumps out, his feet comes to rest

••

while touching the ground but his upper portion which is still in motion propels him forward. Why does an ordinary glass tumbler crack when very hot tea or milk is poured in it? When a hot liquid is poured into a tumbler, the inner layer of the tumbler gets heated, it expands before the outer layer and an unequal expansion of both layers causes the tumbler to crack. Why is a compass used as an indicator of direction? The magnetic needles of a compass under the influence of the earth’s magnetic field lie in a north-south direction. Hence, we can identify direction. Why is water from a hand pump warm in winter and cold in summer? In winter the outside temperature is lower than that of water flowing out of the pump, and therefore, the water is warm. Whereas, in summer, the outside temperature is higher than the water of the pump, and therefore, it feels cold. Why is a rainbow seen after a shower? After a shower the clouds containing water droplets act like a prism through which the white light is dispersed producing a spectrum. Why does a swimming pool appear less deep than it actually is? The rays of light coming from the bottom of the pool pass from a denser medium (water) to a rarer medium (air) and are refracted (bend away from the normal). When the rays return to the surface they form an image of the bottom of the pool at a point which is little above the real position. Why is one’s breath visible in winter but not in summer? In winter, water vapour contained in the breath condenses into small droplets which become visible but in summer they are quickly evaporated and not seen.

GK-408

•• Why doesn’t the electric filament in an electric bulb burn up? Firstly, because it is made of tungsten which has a very high melting point (3410°C) whereas the temperature of the filament required to glow is only 2700°C. Secondly, oxygen is absent since the bulb is filled with an inert gas which does not help in burning. •• Why does blotting paper absorb ink? Blotting paper has fine pores which act like capillaries. When a portion of blotting paper is brought in contact with ink, ink enters the pores due to surface tension (capillary action of liquids) and is absorbed. •• Why does a small ball of iron sink in water but a large ship float? The weight of water displaced by an iron ball is less than its own weight, whereas water displaced by the immersed portion of a ship is equal to its weight (Archimedes’ Principle). •• Why does ice float on water? The weight of the ice block is equal to the weight of the liquid displaced by the immersed portion of the ice •• Why does moisture gather outside a tumbler containing cold water? The water vapour in the air condenses on cooling and appears as droplets of water. •• Why does kerosene float on water? Because the density of kerosene is less than that of water. For the same reason cream rises in milk and floats at the top. •• Why is the water in an open pond cool even on a hot summer day? As the water evaporates from the open surface of a pond, heat is taken away in the process, leaving the surface cool. •• Why is it less difficult to cook rice or potatoes at higher altitudes? Atmospheric pressure at higher altitudes is low and boils water below 100°C. The boiling point of water is directly proportional to the pressure on its surface.

GENERAL SCIENCE •• Why is it difficult to breathe at higher altitudes? Because of low air pressure at higher altitudes the quantity of air is less, and so also that of oxygen. •• Why are winter nights and summer nights warmer during cloudy weather than when the sky is clear? Clouds being bad conductors of heat do not permit radiation of heat from land to escape into the sky. As this heat remains in the atmosphere, the cloudy nights are warmer. •• Why is a metal tyre heated before it is fixed on wooden wheels? On heating, the metal tyre expands by which its circumference also increases This makes fixing the wheel easier and thereafter cooling down shrinks it; thus fixing the tyre tightly. •• Why is it easier to swim in the sea than in a river? The density of sea water is higher; hence the upthrust is more than that of river water. •• A man with a load jumps from a high building. What will be the load experience by him ? Zero, because while falling, both the man and the load are falling at the same acceleration i.e. acceleration due to gravity. •• A piece of chalk when immersed in water, emits bubbles. Why? Chalk consists of pores forming capillaries. When it is immersed in water the water begins to rise in the capillaries and air present there is expelled in the form of bubbles. •• Why does a liquid remain hot or cold for a long time inside a thermos flask? The presence of air, a poor conductor of heat, between the double glass wall of a thermos flask, keeps the liquid hot or cold inside a flask for a long time. •• Why does a ball bounce upon falling? When a ball falls, it is temporarily deformed. Because of elasticity, the ball

GENERAL SCIENCE

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tends to regain its original shape for which it presses the ground and bounce up (Newton’s Third Law of Motion). Why is standing in boats or double decker buses not allowed, particularly in the upper deck of buses? On tilting the centre of gravity of the boat or bus is lowered and it is likely to overturn. Why is it recommended to add salt to water while boiling dal? By addition of salt, the boiling point of water gets raised which helps in cooking the dal sooner. Why is the boiling point of sea water more than that of pure water? Sea water contains salt, and other impurities which cause an elevation in its boiling point. Why is it easier to spray water to which soap is added? Addition of soap decreases the surface tension of water. The energy for spraying is directly proportional to surface tension. Which is more elastic, rubber or steel? Steel is more elastic for the same stress produced compared with rubber. Why is the sky blue? Violet and blue light have short waves which are scattered more than red light waves. While red light goes almost straight through the atmosphere. Blue and violet light are scattered by particles in the atmosphere. Thus, we see a blue sky. Why does ink leak out of partially filled pen when taken to a higher altitude? As we go up, the pressure and density of air goes on decreasing. A partially filled pen leaks when taken to a higher altitude because the pressure of air acting on the ink inside the tube of the pen is greater than the pressure of the air outside.

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•• On the Moon, will the weight of a man be less or more than his weight on the Earth? The gravity of the moon is one-sixth that of the earth; hence the weight of a person on the surface of the moon will be one-sixth of his actual weight on earth. •• Why do some liquids burn while others do not? A liquid burns if its molecules can combine with oxygen in the air with the production of heat. Hence, oil burns but water does not. •• Why can we see ourselves in a mirror? We see objects when light rays from them reach our eyes. As mirrors have a shiny surface, the light rays are reflected back to us and enter our eyes. •• Why does a solid chunk of iron sink in water but floats in mercury? Because the density of iron is more than that of water but less than that of mercury. •• Why is cooking quicker in a pressure cooker? As the pressure inside the cooker increases, the boiling point of water is raised. Hence, the cooking process is quicker. •• When wood burns, it crackles. Explain. Wood contains a complex mixture of gases and tar forming vapours trapped under its surface. These gases and tar vapours escape, making a crackling sound. •• Why do stars twinkle? The light from a star reaches us after refraction as it passes through various layers of air. When the light passes through the earth’s atmosphere, it is made to flicker by the hot and cold ripples of air and it appears as if the stars are twinkling.

GK-410

GENERAL SCIENCE

•• Why is it easier to roll a barrel than to pull it? Because the rolling force of friction is less than the dynamic force of sliding friction . •• If a feather, a wooden ball and a steel ball fall simultaneously in a vacuum, which one of these would fall faster? All will fall at the same speed in vacuum because there will be no air resistance and the earth’s gravity will exert a similar gravitational pull on all. •• When a man fires a gun, he is pushed back slightly. Why? As the bullet leaves the nozzle of the gun’s barrel with momentum in a forward direction, as per Newton’s Third Law of Motion, the ejection imparts to the gun an equal momentum in a backward direction. •• Ice wrapped in a blanket or saw dust does not melt quickly. Why? Both blanket and saw dust are bad conductors of heat. They do not permit heat rays to reach the ice easily. •• Why do we perspire on a hot day? When the body temperature rises, the sweat glands are stimulated to secrete perspiration. It is nature’s way to keep the body cool. During the process of evaporation of sweat, body heat is taken away, thus, giving a sense of coolness. •• Why does ice float on water but sink in alcohol? Because ice is lighter than water it floats on it. However, ice is heavier than alcohol and therefore it sinks in alcohol.

•• Why do we perspire before rains? Before the rain falls, the atmosphere gets saturated with water vapour, as a result, the process of evaporation of sweat is delayed. •• Why does a thermometer kept in boiling water show no change in reading after 100°C? The boiling point of water is 100°C. Once water starts boiling at this temperature, thermometer records no change in temperature. The quantity of heat supplied is being utilized as latent heat of evaporation to convert the water at boiling point into vapour. •• TB patients are suggested to live in sanatorium. At high altitude count of RBC (haemoglobin) increases. •• Rate of breathing in fish is higher than human being. Fish live in water, where amount of dissolved oxygen in water is less, so fish breath at higher rate to get adequate oxygen for respiration. •• Cornea transplant do not need blood match. Cornea does not have blood vessel. It takes oxygen directly from atmosphere. •• Clay layers are poor aquifers. Clay minerals are dense impermeable material and act as an aquifers i.e a layer of material that is almost impermeable to water.

1. Hair and fingernails continues to grow after death: Reality: People believe that hair and fingernails grows even after the death of the person. The person would need to still be eating and digesting nutrients and performing cellular processes. So there’s no way the body is producing more keratin in order to make hair and fingernails. 2. Antibiotics can kill the virus: Reality: By definition antibiotics can kill only bacteria. The common cold

and influenza are caused by viruses and are not affected by antibiotic use. While some might think that taking antibiotics could be helpful on some level and want them for viral disease that is actually wrong and could bring on more problems. Taking antibiotics in a manner contrary to their intended purpose or dosage instruction could cause other common bacteria within the body to become drug-resistant, which has become critically important.

MYTHS & REALITY IN EVERY DAY SCIENCE

GENERAL SCIENCE 3. Dropping a penny from a tall building will kill someone: Reality: Some people believes that pennies when fall on the head from top of any tall building it may kill the person. Pennies are fairly lightweight at around one gram and being a flat circle doesn’t bode well in terms of aerodynamics. Because it would tumble and flip the entire way down, its low mass and relatively low terminal velocity wouldn’t do much damage to the people rather. It would feel similar to getting flicked in the head. Annoying, yes; but not lethal. 4. Sugar makes children hyperactive: Reality: Some people believe that sugar consumption by children can influence hyperactivity in them as they see them in birthday parties. There has not been much evidence to suggest that the sugar actually makes children hyperactive. It may be due to presence of caffeine and also due to excitement over getting a treat or being around other kids. 5. Tea makes the skin turn darker: Reality: Tea has been blamed for causing darker skin tone however there is no relation between your cup of tea and your skin tone. 6. The Earth revolves around the Sun: Reality: Technically, the Earth, sun and all of the other the planets are orbiting around the centre of mass of the solar system, not specifically the sun. 7. Vitamin C is an effective treatment for a cold: Reality: Flu-sufferers are often encouraged to increase their dosage of Vitamin C, but most experts have stated that there is little or no evidence that the vitamin can help treatment of a cold. Instead of effectively treating a cold, it is thought to help in building up the immune system to ward off potential flu viruses.

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8. Brain cell cannot regenerate: Reality: The study has found that the memory and learning center of the brain can create new cells – giving hope for an eventual cure for illnesses like Alzheimer’s. 9. Meteors are heated by friction when entering the atmosphere: Reality: When a meteoroid enters the atmosphere of the earth (becoming a meteor), it is actually the speed compressing the air in front of the object that causes it to heat up. It is the pressure on the air that generates a heat intense enough to make the rock so hot that is glows brilliantly. 10. Evolution causes something to go from “lower” to “higher”: Reality: It is a fact that according to natural selection organisms having useful variations are selected by nature but there are many cases where an imperfect organism has survived. Some examples of this are fungi, sharks, crayfish, and mosses – these have all remained essentially the same over a great period of time. These organisms 11. People use just 10 per cent of their brain: Reality: Neurologists describe the myth as false and state we use virtually every part of the brain, and that (most of) the brain is active almost all the time. 12. Shaving your hair will make it grow back quicker: Reality: Many believe shaving body hair makes it grow back quicker but shaving hair doesn’t change its thickness, colour or rate of growth. Shaving facial or body hair simply gives the hair a blunt tip which might feel coarse or ‘stubbly’ for a period of time as it grows out. 13. Microwave radiation can cause cancer: Reality: Most experts say that microwave ovens don’t give off enough energy to damage the genetic material (DNA) in cells so they can’t cause cancer.

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14. Handling a baby bird will make its mother reject it: Reality: Most birds have a very poor sense of smell, so in most cases are unable to even notice human scent on baby bird. 15. The Great Wall of China can be seen from space: Reality: The Apollo astronauts confirmed that you can’t see the Great Wall of China from the Moon. In fact, all you can see from the Moon is the white and blue marble of Earth. 16. Plants breathe by inhaling carbon dioxide and exhaling oxygen: Reality: Plants take in air through their leaves. Both carbon dioxide and

GENERAL SCIENCE oxygen are used for different processes. In Photosynthesis plants takes carbon dioxide, while in respiration plants takes oxygen. 17. Physical changes are reversible while chemical changes are not: Reality: Chemical changes are also reversible. Some physical changes are also hard to reverse, for example, crushing a rock. 18. Going out in chilly weather causes you to catch cold: Reality: A cold is caused by a viral infection of the respiratory system. Viruses don’t magically appear in your body because you went out to get the mail without your scarf and mittens.

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TECHNOLOGY & ITS APPLICATION

TECHNOLOGY & ITS APPLICATION BIOTECH INNOVATIONS

Gene Editing

Absorbable Heart Stent

Gene editing is a tool for the CRISPRs (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) which are the segment of prokaryotic DNA containing short repetitions of base sequences. Genome editing techniques were concurrent with other approaches over the years to manipulate gene function, including homologous recombination and RNA interference.

The bio- absorbable version made by Abbott Laboratories in Illinois does its job and disappears. After six months the stent begins to dissolve, and after two years it’s completely gone, leaving behind a healthy artery. But cheap stents are metallic which don’t dissolve.

Cancer Spit Test

Forget biopsies—a device designed by researchers at the University of CaliforniaLos Angeles detects oral cancer from a single drop of saliva.

Smart Contact Lens

Contact lenses developed at the University of California-Davis contain conductive wires that continuously monitor pressure and fluid flow within the eyes of atrisk people. The lenses then relay information to a small device worn by the patient; the device wirelessly transmits it to a computer.

Speech Restorer

For people who have lost the ability to talk, a new “phonetic speech engine” from Illinoisbased Ambient Corporation provides an audible voice. Developed in collaboration with Texas Instruments, the Audio uses electrodes to detect neuronal signals travelling from brain to vocal cords.

Stem cell treatment

Stem cell has been used to treat range of diseases, injuries and other health related conditions. The widely used stem cell treatment is the transplantation of blood stem cells used to treat disease and immune system.

Nanomedicines

Nanomedicine is one of the applications of nanotechnology which is used for diagnosing, treating, and preventing diseases. Nanomedicine shows, the promising use in disease diagnosis, drug delivery on a targeted site in the body and molecular imaging.

Nanosensors

Today, detection of biological and chemical species is the centre of area in the field of health care. Nanosensors are any biological, chemical, or surgical sensory points used to convey information about nanoparticles to the macroscopic world.

DNA App store is an online store for information about our genes and to learn more about our health risks.

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TECHNOLOGY & ITS APPLICATION

Biosensors

Artificial Intelligence

Biosensor is a device for the detection of biological component with a physiochemical detector component. Biosensors can convert the biological data to electrical signal which can be later used to detect enzymes, receptors antibodies and microbial cell.

It is the field of science in which we study how computers and computer softwares can be created that are capable of intelligent behaviour.

Artificial Brain

Artificial brain is a collection of interconnected neural net module which is evolved in a special electronic hardware downloaded into PC and interconnected according to the design of human brain.

Bio-printing

3D bio-printing is the process of creating spatially-controlled cell patterns, in which the behaviour of biological tissues can be reproduced.

MEDICAL INNOVATIONS

Cryonics Cryonics is the low-temperature preservation (usually at -196°C) of people who cannot be sustained by contemporary medicine, with the hope that resuscitation and restoration to full health may be possible in the far future.

De-extinction, or Resurrection Biology, or Species Revivalism

De-extinction is the process of creating an organism, which is either a member of, or resembles an extinct species, or breeding population of such organisms. Cloning is the most widely proposed method, although selective breeding has also been proposed. Similar techniques have been applied to endangered species.

Virotherapy

Virotherapy is a treatment using biotechnology to convert viruses into therapeutic agents by reprogramming viruses to treat diseases. In a slightly different context, virotherapy can also refer more broadly to the use of viruses to treat certain medical conditions by killing pathogens.

Vitrification

Vitrification is the transformation of a substance into a glass, that is to say a noncrystalline amorphous solid. The technology can be used in making of pottery, glass, and some types of food. Some of the other

applications are the disposal and long-term storage of nuclear waste or other hazardous wastes in a method called geomelting and in cryopreservation.

Tooth Regeneration

Tooth regeneration is a stem cell based regenerative medicine procedure in the field of tissue engineering and stem cell biology to replace damaged or lost teeth by regrowing them from autologous stem cells.

Cancer treatment in Nature

The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has discovered a breed of natural cures for cancer in Quercetin, a compound found in fruits and leaves, and plant Vernonia Condensata, which can significantly reduce the tumour size and increase the longevity of life.

Autophagy

This year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to 71-year-old Yoshinori Ohsumi of the Tokyo Institute of Technology for unravelling in the 1990s the underlying molecular mechanism of autophagy. He was the first to visually observe the process. During starvation a person is able to survive for a considerable stretch of time. Despite the obvious stress, the body is able to cope because of an internal physiological process of “self-cannibalisation” through which the body makes use of its inessential and damaged cellular components by breaking them down

HAL Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) is India’s stealth super maneuverable multirole fighter aircraft.

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TECHNOLOGY & ITS APPLICATION and reassembling them into useful proteins and the nutrients needed to sustain its essential functions. This is called autophagy, which literally means “self-devouring”. It is a process that has been evolutionarily conserved and is intrinsic to all organisms, from unicellular yeast to multicellular mammalian systems like humans.

T-cell Therapy of Cancer

Researchers from the Yale Cancer Center have identified that two genes, NR4A1 and ABC transporters, mark a distinct subset of quiescent T cells within human tissues, and have developed methods to mobilize them into circulation for potential application in adoptive T cell therapy of cancer. Adoptive cellular therapy uses the body’s own T cells to boost its immune system to target cancer. The adoptive transfer of T cells has emerged as a promising treatment strategy for cancer, but improvements on enhanced longevity and infiltration to tumor tissue, particularly in solid tumors, are needed.

CYSVAX Vaccine Against Tapeworms

The Indian Immunologicals Limited (IIL) has launched CYSVAX, world’s first vaccine to fight against Taenia solium Tapeworms in pigs. The vaccine has significant potential benefit to reduce the incidence of epilepsy in humans. The CYSVAX is a recombinant porcine (Pigs) Cysticercosis Vaccine. The vaccine has potential to break the Cysticercosis disease parasite’s life-cycle in pigs which is considered to be one of the important reasons for epilepsy in humans.

Mother’s Milk Fight Super bugs

Scientists from University of Sydney (Australia) have found that mother’s milk from marsupials (also known as Tasmanian devils) could help to deadly superbugs which resist antibiotics. They have found that peptides in the marsupial’s milk killed resistant bacteria, including methicillin-resistant golden staph bacteria and enterococcus that is resistant to powerful antibiotic vancomycin. Scientist are hopeful marsupial peptides

could eventually be used to develop new antibiotics for humans to aid the battle against superbugs. Superbugs are deadly bacteria which cannot be treated by current antibiotics and other drugs. According to recent British study, Superbugs could kill up to 10 million people globally by 2050.

Electroactive Bandage

The NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) has developed a new high-tech electroactive bandage that uses electricity to significantly promote healing of injured wounds. The high-tech bandage creates an electric charge to promote the healing process of wounds in space especially in conditions of non-Earth gravity. The electroactive bandage uses a new material called polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) which can be stimulated by pressure of cell growth and body heat. This bandage could be used by astronauts in space, military personnel wounded in field, patients who have undergone surgery or who have suffered a serious wound.

3D – Lungs

Scientists in the United States including those of Indian origin have successfully grown three-dimensional (3D) lungs in the lab, using stem cells.The 3D lungs or organoids was created by coating tiny gel beads with lung-derived stem cells and then allowing them to self-assemble into the shapes of the air sacs found in human lungs. To show that these tiny organoids mimicked the structure of actual human lungs, researchers compared it with real sections of human lung. The laboratory-grown 3D lungs can be used to study diseases including Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) which has been difficult to study using conventional methods and also test possible treatments for the lung diseases.

World’s first climate-controlled domed city is to be built in Dubai.

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IPF is a chronic lung disease characterised by scarring of the lungs. The scarring makes the lungs thick and stiff. It results in progressively worsening shortness of breath and thus results in lack of oxygen to the brain and vital organs. Though researchers do not know what causes IPF in all cases but cigarette smoking and exposure to certain types of dust can increase the risk of developing the disease.

Herb inhibit cancer

Researchers from the Pune-based National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS) have successfully isolated cancer stem cells that cause skin cancer. They have successfully demonstrated that Andrographolide (a compound) isolated and purified from Andrographis paniculata (a herb) found in India is effective in inhibiting tumour growth both in skin cancer and lung metastasis in mice.

Zika Vector Brazilian scientists have identified Culex quinquefasciatus mosquito infected by the Zika virus as another type of Zikatransmitting mosquito. It was identified by researchers from the public Brazilian laboratory Fundacion Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz) in three out of 80 groups of mosquitoes analysed up until now.Up until now, transmission of the Zika virus was only known through the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the same vector that spreads Dengue and Chikungunya. The Culex quinquefasciatus mosquito is known as the domestic mosquito in Brazil. In Recife, where the majority of Zika cases of Brazil were registered, the population of this mosquito is estimated to be 20 times larger than that of the Aedes aegypti.

PHYSICS

Fastest Electric Current Scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics have now created electric currents inside solids which exceed the frequency of visible light by more than ten times They made electrons in silicon dioxide oscillate with ultrafast laser pulses. The conductivity of the material which is typically used as an insulator was increased by more than 19 orders of magnitude.

UV-Photo Detector

The researchers from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru have developed a cost-effective, high-performance, selfpowered UV photodetector.

The self-powered UV photodetector can use the harvested optical energy for direct self-

charging of energy storage devices such as supercapacitor. It can also be used for operating electronic devices in the absence of external power source.

Topology of Matter

British trio of physicists David Thouless, F Duncan M Haldane and Michael Kosterlitz have won the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physics. For their individual researches on theoretical discoveries of topological phase transitions and topological phases of matter. Their research work centres on Topology, a branch of mathematics involving step-wise changes like making a series of holes in an object. They have discovered totally unexpected behaviours of solid materials. The discoveries have paved the way for designing new materials with all sorts of novel properties that have significant potential revolutionize advances in electronics and future quantum computers.

In China, Facebook was blocked following the July 2009 Urumqi riots.

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TECHNOLOGY & ITS APPLICATION CHEMISTRY Water Hydroelectric Cell A team of scientists led by Dr. RK Kotnala from Delhi’s National Physical Laboratory (NPL) have developed a novel way using of producing electricity from water hydroelectric cell at room temperature without using any power or chemicals. In this new method, scientist had used zinc and silver as electrodes to make a cell that produces electricity. They had used nanoporous magnesium ferrite to split water into hydroxide (OH) and hydronium (H3O) ions. As magnesium has high affinity for hydroxide, it spontaneously

splits water into hydroxide and hydronium ions. The H3O ions get trapped inside the nanopores of magnesium ferrite and generate an electric field. The electric field helps in further dissociation of water. To further enhance the activity of magnesium ferrite, about 20% of magnesium is replaced with lithium. The substitution of lithium at magnesium site increases the sensitivity of magnesium ferrite. This is helpful in dissociating water at room temperature as the electrons get trapped in the oxygen deficient sites.

Termite

Snake-like-fish

A new termite species

Scientists have discovered Gymnothorax indicus (proposed name Indian unpatterened moray), a new species of eel (a snake-like fish) in the northern Bay of Bengal region along the West Bengal coast. It was discovered after it was collected in a trawl net by fishermen in northern Bay of Bengal, about 70 km off the coast.

BIOLOGY

Glyptotermes Chiraharitae

was discovered at Kakkayam in the Malabar Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala. It has been named ‘Chiraharitae’ after the tropical evergreen forests of the Western Ghats, where it was spotted.

TECHNOLOGY Tumor-Nanosensor

Gelator

Engineers at MIT have developed new nanosensors that can profile tumors and may yield insight into how they will respond to certain therapies.

Researchers from Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Thiruvananthapuram have developed a compound named gelator to scoop out marine oil spills.

The system is based on levels of enzymes called proteases, which cancer cells use to remodel their surroundings. Once adapted for humans, this type of

sensor could be used to determine how aggressive a tumor is and help doctors choose the best treatment, says Sangeeta Bhatia, the John and Dorothy Wilson.

They had produced gelators using glucose as a starting material and through several other chemical reactions. The gelator molecule is partly hydrophilic and partly hydrophobic. The hydrophilic part

helps in self-assembling to form gelator fibres, while the hydrophobic part is responsible for its diffusion into oil layer. Since outer part of the fibre is hydrophobic,

On 28 August 2016, ISRO conducted a successful test of a scramjet engine on a two stage, solid-fuelled rocket.

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oil tends to gets into spongy network made of fibres. Once inside the fibre network, oil loses fluidity and becomes a gel. The gel was strong enough to be scooped with a spatula.

Human Hair as Cathode

Researchers from Kolkata based Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) have produced cost-effective, metalfree cathodes using human hair for use in solar cells. This is the first instance where a bio-wastederived electrode (in this case human hair) has been used as cathode in a quantum dot sensitised solar cell device.

Eye of Heaven

China has built world’s largest radio telescope nicknamed Tianyan (Heavenly Eye” or “The Eye of Heaven) or the fivehundred-metre aperture spherical radio telescope (FAST). It has started its operation and is part of China’s drive to become a science powerhouse. It is located in the Dawodang depression (vast natural crater), a natural basin in Pingtang County in the Guizhou Province, Southwest China.

Driverless Bus Service

The world’s first daily driverless bus service has started in Lyon, France which

will run in the city’s confluence area. The driverless bus service includes two electric shuttles that will transport passengers on a ten-minute route hosting five stops. The driverless buses can hold up to 15 passengers and are electric buses. It has features like LIDAR radar technology and motion sensors will help to avoid accidents. The LIDAR radar technology allows these buses to know exactly where they are and to detect everything happening around them. Using this technology these buses manage their movement intelligently to avoid collisions. LIDAR is acronym of Light Detection And Ranging. Originally it was created as a portmanteau of “light” and “radar”.

Software Roboties

India’s largest private sector bank ICICI Bank has successfully deployed ‘Software Robotics’ for power banking operations. With this, it becomes first bank in the country and among few globally to deploy ‘Software Robotics’. ICICI Bank has deployed Software Robotics to over 200 business processes across various functions. The 200 business processes include retail banking operations, agri-business, trade & foreign exchange, treasury and human resources management, among others.

SPACE

Artificial Gravity It is the increase or decrease of apparent gravity (g-force) by artificial means, particularly in space as well as on Earth.

Hyper Telescope

Hyper-telescope is a set of telescopes, arranged in a large lens-shape, working together to resolve astronomical images at much higher angular resolutions than possible with each telescope alone.

Space Probes

Space probes are used to explore space at various distances from the Earth. Four main

kinds of probes are : (i) Sounding rockets: It carries instruments into the upper atmosphere and into space near the Earth. (ii) Lunar Spacecraft: It explores the moon to prepare the way for astronauts to land there. (iii) Interplanetary Probes: It explore space between the planets. They do not reach a specific body in space. (iv) Planetary Probes: It travel in orbits around the sun. They may fly past the target planet, go into orbit around it, or land.

The movie Kinoautomat presented in the Czech Pavilion in Expro ‘67 in Monteral is considered to be the first cinema-like interview movie.

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TECHNOLOGY & ITS APPLICATION Remote Sensing The term ‘remote sensing’ refers to the process of sensing, identifying and delineating various objects on ground from a distance without coming into direct physical contact with them. ISRO and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research conducted during 1974-75 a joint experiment called the Agricultural Resources Inventory and Survey Experiment (ARISE). Indian experimental satellites, Bhaskara I and II carried out remote sensing for land cover mapping, geology and vegetation cover of the country. Today, India has the largest group of remote sensing satellites providing services at both the national and global levels.

Launch Vehicle Technology PSLV The PSLV, the country’s firstoperational launch vehicle, is a four-stage rocket. The first stage is a solid propellant, the second stage is based on the liquid engine technology, the third stage is a solid propellant motor and the fourth, a liquid propellant stage.

Cryogenic Engine

The cryogenic engine is crucial to the development of GSLV. Cryogenics refers to technology of sub-zero temperatures, and cryogenic engines use liquid oxygen as the oxidiser and liquid hydrogen as the fuel. India was to acquire the cryogenic engine and technology from the Russian space agency, Glavkosmos. The advantage of the cryogenic engine is that it would develop one-and-a-half times the thrust of conventional liquid rocket engines using fuel storable at room temperature. It is a high risk high technology and would

help bridge the gap between the number of satellite being made by India and the vehicles needed for their launch.

Reusable Launch System

RLS or reusable launch vehicle (RLV) is a launch system which is capable of launching a payload into space more than once. This contrasts with expendable launch systems, where each launch vehicle is launched once and then discarded. Falcon 9 rocket is designed to have a reusable first stage; several of these stages have been safely returned to land after launch. Several partially reusable systems, such as Adeline and Vulcan, are currently under development; one fully reusable system, the Mars Colonial Transporter, is also under development.

Inflatable Space Habitats

The Inflatable space habitats are pressurized structures capable of supporting life in outer space whose internal volume increases after launch. They have frequently been proposed for use in space applications to provide a greater volume of living space for a given mass. The main areas of research are being undertaken by Bigelow Aerospace and NASA. The only designs that have flown in space have been the Genesis I, Genesis II, and Bigelow Expandable Activity Module from Bigelow Aerospace.

Asteroid Mining

Asteroid mining is the exploitation of raw materials from asteroids and other minor planets, including near-Earth objects. Minerals and volatiles could be mined from an asteroid or spent comet then used in space for in-situ utilization (e.g. construction materials and rocket propellant) or taken back to Earth. These include gold, iridium, silver, osmium, palladium, platinum, rhenium, rhodium, ruthenium and tungsten for transport back to Earth.

Dragon Skin Body Armour can withstand a grenade explosion at point-blank range.

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TECHNOLOGY & ITS APPLICATION DEFENCE

Cruise Missiles Cruise Missiles are low flying missiles, which are programmed to target by an on board computer. These missiles are used for long distance warheads with high accuracy. These are self-corrected avionic missiles with high tech aeronautics using transistor and computer technology. BrahMos and Nirbhay missiles of Indian origin are under this category.

Stealth Technology

Stealth technology is a discipline of military tactics and passive electronic countermeasures, which include the techniques used with personnel, aircraft, ships, submarines, missiles and satellites to make them less visible (ideally invisible) to radar, infrared, sonar and other detection methods. Some of the stealth aircraft are F-22 Raptor, SR-71 Blackbird, F-117 Nighthawk, F-35 Lightning II, B-2 Spirit and T-50 PAK FA.

from small arms ammunition and from small arms ammunition manufacturing. Two green ammunition cartridges are the 5.56×45mm NATO M855A1 and the MK281 40 mm grenade.

Directed-energy Weapon

Directed-energy weapon (DEW) emits highly focused energy, transferring that energy to a target to damage it. The applications of this technology include anti-personnel weapon systems, potential missile defense system, and the disabling of lightly armored vehicles such as cars, drones, watercraft, and electronic devices such as mobile phones.

Electromagnetic Pulse

Green bullets are nicknames for a United States Department of Defence program to eliminate the use of hazardous materials

Electromagnetic pulse (EMP), also called a transient electromagnetic disturbance, is a short burst of electromagnetic energy. Weapons have been developed to create the damaging effects of high-energy EMP. These are typically divided into nuclear and non-nuclear devices.

Claytronics

Domed City

Claytronics is an abstract future concept that combines nanoscale robotics and computer science to create individual nanometer-scale computers called claytronic atoms, or catoms, which can interact with each other to form tangible 3D objects that a user can interact with. Claytronics will offer a more realistic sense to communication over long distance called pario. Pario could be used effectively in many professional disciplines from engineering design, education and healthcare to entertainment and leisure activities such as video games.

A domed city is a kind of theoretical or fictional structure that encloses a large urban area under a single roof. In most descriptions, the dome is airtight and pressurized, creating a habitat that can be controlled for air temperature, composition and quality, typically due to an external atmosphere. Domed cities have been a fixture of science fiction and futurology since the early 20th century, and may be situated on Earth, a moon or other planet.

Data Preserved in Soil

of land. However, any idea of future potential must be built on current data, with what data there is then mapped to tell the story of a

Green Bullet

INFRASTRUCTURE

AGRICULTURE

For traditional farming models, the primary determinants are the availability and suitability

The 30th of November is known as “Computer Security Day”.

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TECHNOLOGY & ITS APPLICATION region. This story is effectively written in the dirt, the soil. The Africa Soil Information Service (ASIS) is developing continent-wide digital soil maps for sub-Saharan Africa using new analysis, statistics, field trials and crowdsourcing.

Molecular Assembler

A molecular assembler, as defined by K. Eric Drexler, is a “proposed device able to guide chemical reactions by positioning reactive molecules with atomic precision”. Some biological molecules such as ribosomes fit this definition. This is because they receive instructions from messenger RNA and then assemble specific sequences of amino acids to construct protein molecules.

Greens Fed on Rainbow Waste Hydroponicsis

a growing method based on use of mineralenriched water, whereas aquaponics takes matters a step further, bringing together fish and plant farming in one recirculating system.

Genetically Modified Food (GMF)

Genetically modifying a food involves introducing a gene into a fruit, vegetable, or animal from another organism. Broad scientific consensus suggests that genetically modified foods presents no more danger than conventional food. GMFs have been commercially available since the 1990s and are most often associated with fruits and vegetables.

Cultured Meat Cultured meat, also called synthetic meat is meat grown in cell culture instead of inside animals. It is a form of cellular agriculture. Cultured meat is produced using many of the same tissue engineering techniques traditionally used in regenerative medicine. Due to technical challenges associated with scaling and cost-reduction, cultured meat has not yet been commercialized.

Precision Agriculture

Precision agriculture (PA) or satellite farming is a farming management concept based on observing, measuring and responding to inter and intra-field variability in crops. The purpose of precision agriculture research is to define a decision support system (DSS) for whole farm management with the goal of optimizing returns on inputs while preserving resources. Precision agriculture management practices can significantly reduce the amount of nutrient and other crop inputs used while boosting yields.

Vertical Farming

Vertical farming is the practice of producing food in vertically stacked layers, vertically inclined surfaces and/or integrated in other structures. The modern idea of vertical farming uses controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) technology, where all environmental factors can be controlled. These facilities utilize artificial control of light, environmental control (humidity, temperature, gases...) and fertigation. Some vertical farms use techniques similar to greenhouses, where natural sunlight can be augmented with artificial lighting and metal reflectors.

EDUCATION

E-Learning eLearning is learning or utilizing electronic technologies to access educational curriculum outside of a traditional classroom.

m-Learning

m-Learning is one of the latest developments in e-Learning which takes advantage of mobile devices for learning Skype is banned from the public in China.

on accessible portable platforms. It is ideal for people on the go or for those who can’t access a regular computer.

Virtual Classroom

A virtual classroom is an online learning environment. The environment can be web-based and accessed through a portal or software-based and require a downloadable executable file.

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Smart Board The smart board provides the facility for learners to participate in the instructional process. It gives the platform for students to understand the subject through writing, teaching and drawing. Every student has a facility to participate in the discussion via tablets and notebooks.

MOOCs (Massive Open Online Course) (MOOCs) is a platform where every student can discover a free online course through internet for years, although the quality and quantity of courses changed day by day. It has changed the face of education. MOOCs can be considered as a term or word related to the scalability of open and online education.

DISPLAYS

OLED An organic light-emitting diode (OLED) is a light-emitting diode (LED). They are used to create digital displays in devices such as television screens, computer monitors, portable systems such as mobile phones, handheld game consoles and PDAs.

3 D Display

A stereo display also known as 3D display is a display device capable of conveying depth perception to the viewer by means of stereopsis for binocular vision.

Laser Phosphor Display

Laser Phosphor Display (LPD) is a largeformat display technology that is similar to cathode ray tube (CRT) technology but uses lasers instead of an electron gun to activate the phosphors that create the images. LPD was invented and patented by Prysm, Inc. LPD competes with liquid crystal display (LCD), plasma display panel (PDP), and other large-format display technologies.

FLCD

Ferroelectric Liquid Crystal Display (FLCD) is a display technology based on the ferroelectric properties of chiral smectic liquid crystals. It has been proposed in

1980 by Clark and Lagerwall. These find applications in 3D head mounted displays (HMD), image insertion in surgical microscopes and electronic view finders where direct-view LCDs fail to provide more than 600 ppi resolution.

Quantum Dot Display

A quantum dot display is an experimental type of display technology. Quantum dots (QD) or semiconductor nanocrystals could provide an alternative for commercial applications such as display technology. Currently, they are used only to filter light from LEDs to backlit LCDs, rather than as actual displays.

Laser Video Display

Laser color television, or Laser color video display utilizes two or more individually modulated optical (laser) rays of different colors to produce a combined spot that is scanned and projected across the image plane by a polygon-mirror system or less effectively by optoelectronic means to produce a color-television display.

SPORTS

Kinetic Energy Recovery (KERS)- Auto Racing

System

Used in Formula One racing, this 35-kilogram car part “recovers the kinetic energy that is

DRS was first tested in a India vs Sri Lanka match in 2008.

present in the waste heat created by the car’s braking process.” It takes the energy used when a car brakes and uses it later on to boost acceleration.

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TECHNOLOGY & ITS APPLICATION Computerized Scoring- Bowling The difficulty of keeping score manually can put people off of the game. Bowling, in particular, can be difficult for the infrequent alley visitor to score. However, using a computer eases the pain of scoring by 100%. Having a computer keeping the score can keep all your focus on your next ball rather than adding and multiplying pins.

Above the Net Camera-Hockey

One of the most game-changing devices, a camera above the net will primarily be used to see what goals passed the line, if it beat the clock, etc., just very basic events. The cameraevidence has changed the outcome of numerous games, all for the better.

The Headset-Football

The headset is the best technology football has to offer. Coaches up in the press box can see aerial views of the game, and with the headset they can relay information to the head honcho who may not be able to get that look at ground-level.

Heart Monitor-Training

Heart monitors help out the average joggers as well as the elite athletes. These devices can be used to alert athletes of dehydration and malnutrition. This is a simple wrist or strap-on mechanism that can warn people of an unsafe workout.

Advancements in Protective Gear

With bigger hits than ever on the field, athletes want to be more protected. Rob Vito guarantees that players won’t get hurt on game day. Another company, evoSHIELD, creates gear for all 32 NFL teams. The technology is dubbed a ‘second skin’ and doesn’t add a ton of bulk.

Pink Balls

Pink balls in cricket were developed in the 2000s to enable Tests and first-class

matches played at night. The red ball is unsuited to night tests due to poor visibility, and the white ball is unsuited to firstclass cricket because its rapid deterioration makes it unable to be used for eighty overs as specified in the rules, so the pink ball was designed to provide a satisfactory compromise on both issues.

Umpire Decision Review System

The Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS or DRS) is a technology-based system used in the sport of cricket. The system was introduced in Test cricket, for the sole purpose of reviewing controversial decisions made by the on-field umpires as to whether or not a batsman had been dismissed.

Electronic Line Judge

An electronic line judge is a device used in tennis to automatically detect where a ball has landed on the court. The methods have been based upon the use of pressure sensors, sensors to detect magnetized or electrically conductive tennis balls, infrared laser beams, and most recently video cameras.

Hawk-Eye

Hawk-Eye is a complex computer system used officially in numerous sports such as cricket, tennis, Gaelic football, badminton, hurling, association football and volleyball, to visually track the trajectory of the ball and display a record of its statistically most likely path as a moving image. The system is not infallible and is accurate to within 5 millimetres (0.19 inch) but is generally trusted as an impartial second opinion in sports.

TRANSPORT

Utility fog Utility fog, coined by Dr. John Storrs Hall in 1993 is a hypothetical collection of tiny robots that can replicate a physical

structure. In the original application as a replacement for seatbelts, the swarm of robots would be widely spread-out, and the arms loose, allowing air flow between

Pink ball was first used in a day-night Test match for the first time in November 2015.

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them. In case of a collision the arms would lock into their current position, the result would be to spread any impact over the entire surface of the passenger’s body.

Maglev Trains

The maglev train has no wheels. So, these locomotives levitate. The tracks they run on are magnetized. The trains use the force this creates to propel themselves upward and forward at high speeds. Running these engines requires the consumption of only a small amount of fuel. Thus, in addition to being faster than traditional style locomotives, these ones are more ecofriendly and less costly to operate.

Electric Cars

The electric car is a good solution to the transportation crisis at hand. These automobiles are just plugged in to the appropriate outlet and then they are on the road. The cars do almost no harm to the environment and are also economical. One study published by IDC Energy Insights stated that by the end of 2015 there will be three million cars on the road.

Driverless Cars

A large and complex camera is mounted to the roof of driverless cars which is used to navigate the road. These cars are safer, if the technology is right, to ride in as a precisely calibrated robot is at the wheel. The automobiles also allow people to work or relax during a trip, as they eliminate the need to focus on the road. However, they are bad for the environment.

Vehicular Communication Systems

Vehicular communication systems are networks in which vehicles and roadside

units are the communicating nodes, providing each other with information, such as safety warnings and traffic information. They can be effective in avoiding accidents and traffic congestion.

Supersonic Transport

A supersonic transport (SST) is a civilian supersonic aircraft designed to transport passengers at speeds greater than the speed of sound. To date, the only SSTs to see regular service have been Concorde and the Tupolev Tu-144. The last passenger flight of the Tu-144 was in June 1978 and it was last flown in 1999 by NASA.

Scramjet

A scramjet (supersonic combusting ramjet) is a variant of a ramjet airbreathing jet engine in which combustion takes place in supersonic airflow. An aircraft using this type of jet engine could dramatically reduce the time it takes to travel from one place to another, potentially putting any place on Earth within a 90-minute flight.

Vactrain

A vactrain (or vacuum tube train) is a proposed design for very-high-speed rail transportation. It is a maglev (magnetic levitation) line using partly evacuated tubes or tunnels. Reduced air resistance could permit vactrains to travel at very high speeds—up to 4,000–5,000 mph (6,400–8,000 km/h), which is 5–6 times the speed of sound in Earth’s atmosphere at sea level—using relatively little power. If these trains achieve the predicted speeds, the trip between New Delhi and New York would take less than 2 hours, surpassing aircraft as the world’s fastest mode of public transportation.

PRINTING

3D Printing Printing is no longer limited to flat sheets of paper. 3D printing or additive manufacturing is a process of making 3-dimensional solid objects from a digital file. The creation of a 3D printed object is

carried out using additive processes. In an additive process an object is created by laying down successive layers of material until the entire object is made. Each of these layers can be seen as a thinly sliced horizontal cross-section of the eventual object.

The Mumbai Suburban Railway is the first Rail system in India which began in 1867.

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TECHNOLOGY & ITS APPLICATION Hybrid Printing Hybrid printing is where a mix of printing technologies are used on a press or finishing system to allow for adding variable data to offset or flexo printed content.

Print-on-demand

It is a book distribution method made

possible by, and inseparable from, digital printing. It prints books only in response to orders, and only prints the exact amount ordered. With the capabilities of digital printing, print on demand is capable of filling an order for one book economically.

BUSINESS

Dimensional Marketing Marketing has evolved significantly in the last half-decade. The evolution of digitallyconnected customers lies at the core, reflecting the dramatic change in the dynamic between relationships and transactions. This modern era for marketing is likely to bring new challenges in the dimensions of customer engagement, connectivity, data and insight.

Amplified Intelligence

Amplified intelligence is focused on deploying tools at points when a business really needs it for effective decision-making. Natural language processing techniques (allowing conversational interaction with a complex system), visualisation tools (letting individuals explore data on their own terms and find new patterns of discoveries), or advanced analytics mobile solutions (such as those embedded inside smartphones or tablets) are the examples.

CRM (Customer Relationship Management) (CRM) software is a category of enterprise software that covers a broad set of applications and software designed to help businesses manage customer data and customer interaction, access business information, automate sales, marketing and customer support. It also manages employee, vendor and partner relationships.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is the business process management software that allows an organization to use a system of integrated applications to manage the business and automate many back office functions related to technology, services and human resources. ERP software integrates all facets of an operation, including product planning, development, manufacturing, sales and marketing.

BANKING

Satellite Banking Satellite banking is an upcoming technological innovation in the Indian banking industry, which is expected to help in solving the problem of weak terrestrial communication links in many parts of the country. The use of satellites for establishing connectivity between branches will help banks to reach remote areas in a better way, and offer better facilities, particularly in relation to electronic funds transfers.

Biometrics

A number of banks have started the process of setting up ATMs enabled with biometric

technology to tap the potential of rural markets. People in such areas do not adopt technology as fast as the urban centres due to the large scale illiteracy. Development of biometric technology has made the use of self service channels like ATMs viable with respect to the illiterate population.

The RBI logo was inspired from the East India Company Double Mohur.

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TECHNOLOGY & ITS APPLICATION

RTGS The other payment and settlement systems deployed were mostly aimed at small value repetitive transactions, largely for the retail

transactions. The introduction of RTGS in 2004 was instrumental in the development of infrastructure for Systemically Important Payment Systems (SIPS).

ENTERTAINMENT

Virtual reality Virtual reality (VR), is a technology that offers new and exciting ways to consume information and entertainment. As a nonlinear medium, VR brings a very different viewing experience to the table. VR offers exciting possibilities: as a dynamic new storytelling medium; as a rich narrative device within conventional film; and as a practical, time-saving preproduction tool.

Depth Sensors

Developed as a CGI-video hybrid, the software repurposes the depth-sensing camera from the Microsoft Kinect to capture and visualise the world as wireframe forms. By syncing the Depth Kit to the camera with which shooting is done, a 3D CGI sculpture for every frame of the film is captured, essentially producing a file of 3D animation that perfectly lined up to the film’s characters and action.

Computer-generated Imagery

Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is the application of computer graphics to create or contribute to images in art, printed media, video games, films, television programs, shorts, commercials, videos, and simulators. The term “CGI” is most commonly used to refer to 3D computer graphics used for creating scenes or special effects in films and television.

(Immersion (virtual reality)

Immersion into virtual reality is a perception of being physically present in a non-physical world. The perception is created by surrounding the user of the VR system in images, sound or other stimuli that provide an engrossing total environment. The degree to which the virtual or artistic environment faithfully reproduces reality determines the degree

of suspension of disbelief. The greater the suspension of disbelief, the greater the degree of presence achieved.

Interactive Cinema

Interactive cinema tries to give the audience an active role in the showing of movies. The availability of computers for the display of interactive video has made it easier to create interactive movies. Another newer definition of interactive cinema is a video game which is a hybrid between participation and viewing, giving the player - or viewer, as it were - a strong amount of control in the characters’ decisions.

Second Screen

The second screen involves the use of a computing device to provide an enhanced viewing experience for content on another device, such as a television. The use of such devices provide interactive features during broadcast content, such as a television program, especially social media postings on social networking platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter. The use of a second screen supports social television and generates an online conversation around the specific content.

Smart TV

A smart TV, sometimes referred to as connected TV or hybrid TV, is a television set with integrated Internet and interactive “Web 2.0” features. Smart TV is a technological convergence between computers and flatscreen television sets and set-top boxes. Along with the traditional functions of television sets and set-top boxes provided through traditional broadcasting media, these devices also provide Internet TV, online interactive media, over-the-top content (OTT), as well as on-demand streaming media, and home networking access.

The term “virtual reality” was conceived by Jaron Lanier in 1987.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & COMPUTERS

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & COMPUTERS •• India is the world’s largest sourcing destination for the information technology (IT) industry.

The world’s first website was published on August 6, 1991 by British physicists Tim Berners-Lee.

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•• Accounting for approximately 67% of the US$ 124-130 billion market.

•• The industry employs about 10 million work forces.

•• The IT industry has also created significant demand in the Indian education sector, especially for engineering and computer science. •• The Indian IT and ITeS industry is divided into four major segments:

v v v

IT services;

Business Process Management (BPM);

Software products and engineering services and hardware.

•• The IT-BPM sector which is currently valued at US$ 143 billion is expected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 8.3% yearly. ••

The sector is expected to contribute 9.5% of India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and more than 45% in total services export in 2015-16.

Government Initiatives

1. National Digital Literacy Mission National Digital Literacy Mission (NDLM) Scheme has been formulated to impart IT training to 52.5 lakh persons, including Anganwadi and ASHA workers and authorised ration dealers in all the States/ UTs to enable them to actively participate in developmental process.

2. Digital India (DI)

The Digital India not only envisages giving boost to information technology but also envisages achieving import-export balance in electronics.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & COMPUTERS The initiative is an umbrella programme which shall include all departments and ministries within its scope. The implementation shall be monitored and overseen by a Digital India Advisory group.

Objectives

•• To bring digital empowerment to India and aid in its transition to becoming a knowledge economy. •• Transform so far agrarian Indian economy to a knowledge-centric economy •• Plug the widening digital divide in Indian society •• Give India equal footing with the developed world in terms of development with the aid of latest technology.

Features

•• National Optical Fiber Network (NOFN) to connect 2, 50,000 Gram Panchayats by providing internet connectivity to all citizens. •• To provide high-speed internet at the gram level, e-availability of major government services like health, education, security, justice, financial inclusion etc. thereby digitally empowering citizens. •• Ensure public answerability via a unique ID, e-Pramaan •• To create huge number of jobs. •• To promote of digital usage through mobile phones •• Individuals will maintain a digital identity right from birth. •• Government services can be availed either through mobile phones or through the internet. •• To promote universal digital literacy and make all digital resources universally accessible to the people. •• The DI programme covers a wide range of areas. Thrust Areas in Digital India

  

Broadband highways

Total mobile connectivity

Public Internet Access Programme

Digital India is somewhere derived from the frame work “Vibrant Gujarat” of Gujarat’s developmentary program.

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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & COMPUTERS         

E-Governance, E-Kranti

Boost to electronics firms, Employment

Early harvest programmes Access to information MyGov

Net-Zero Electronics Import Target by 2020 Electronic development fund

3. Smart India Hackathon

•• It is the world’s largest digital national building initiative. •• The Hackathon aims to find digital solutions by harnessing creativity and technical expertise of over 30 lakh students from technology institutes in remotest parts of India. •• It is a joint initiative of All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), University Grants Commission (UGC), MyGov, NASSCOM. •• Finding digital solutions to problems in the areas of education, health, water, power, agriculture, finance, urban & rural development, energy, aviation & shipping, transport, sanitation, law & justice, sports, skill development & entrepreneurship, textiles, tourism, defence, etc.

Supercomputing in India

India’s supercomputer programme was started in late 1980s. PARAM 8000 is considered to be India’s first supercomputer. It was indigenously built in 1990 by Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC)and was replicated and installed at ICAD Moscow in 1991 under Russian collaboration.

PARAM-ISHAN

•• PARAM ISHAN is the fastest and most powerful computer. It has been jointly developed by IIT Guwahati and C -DAC.

•• It has a peak computing power of 250 Teraflops and three hundred terabytes capacity. •• It can be used in research initiatives such as computational chemistry, computational electromagnetic, computational fluid dynamics, civil engineering structures, nana-block selfassemble, optimization etc. •• It can be also used for weather, climate modeling and seismic data processing.

IT Trends

Internet.org Social networking services company Facebook along with Samsung, Ericsson, MediaTek, Opera Software, Nokia and Qualcomm have moved into a partnership which is named as Internet. org. This coming together of companies is to attain the objective of bringing affordable access to selected services of Internet in countries. Internet.org was launched on August 20, 2013 by Mark Zuckerberg to improve internet access for people across the world. The platform is available to all developers to have their apps on the portal subject to fulfilling the technical criteria like websites requiring high-bandwidth will be excluded, partner services should be optimized for smart phones and services should promote the exploration of broader internet wherever possible. The first summit of Internet.org was held in New Delhi, India on October 9, 2014. Internet.org has launched its Free Basics Android application to offer free web services to its users.

Net Neutrality

Network Neutrality, Internet Neutrality or Net neutrality is a term that was first given by media law professor of Columbia University, Tim Wu, in the year 2003. The principle makes it necessary for the Internet service providers and governments to treat all Internet data as same. There will not be any charges imposed on by user, application, type of enclosure, content, website, etc. It is the best way for all to enjoy the usefulness of internet without any charges. It is a feature of net neutrality to allow different websites to exist side-by-side

IoT was first coined by Kevin Ashton in a presentation related to use of RFID.

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without affecting others. At the same time and same speed, all the websites are accessible for users. Net neutrality will support competitive market place by providing a chance to each firm irrespective of its size. Net Neutrality has enabled Google, Facebook and Zomato to reach various places around the globe. Until now, India has had no laws to govern the net neutrality. Although Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released rules for unified access service license to encourage net neutrality, they do not execute them. Free Basics by Facebook is a free step to connecting one billion Indians to jobs, education, and opportunities online, and ultimately a better future.

KiloCore, World’s First 1000-Processor Computer Chip

The scientists in June 2016 unveiled a microchip, named KiloCore, containing 1000 independent programmable processors.

Key features

•• The energy-efficient chip has a maximum computation rate of 1.78 trillion instructions per second. •• It contains 621 million transistors. •• Each processor core can run its own small program independently of the others. Cores operate at an average maximum clock frequency of 1.78 GHz. •• It can shut itself down to further save energy when not needed. •• It can execute 115 billion instructions per second, 100 times more efficiently than a modern laptop processor.

Biometric Sensors

Soon, your body could log you into an e-mail account. Intel is providing software so that users can log in to websites via biometric authentication. It serves two purposes: biometric authentication is relatively reliable and secure, and users won’t have to remember dozens of passwords for different sites.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & COMPUTERS Instant Prints Creating instant prints from a digital camera is one of the new electronic inventions in printing. The Polaroid PoGo™ is a small portable printer that weighs only a few ounces. The printer produces full colour 2” x 3” prints using an “inkless” technology. The images are created from heat activated crystals in the photo paper. The photos are water proof, tear proof and smear proof. This new electronic invention connects to a digital camera using a USB cable, or to a mobile phone through wireless Bluetooth. It uses rechargeable batteries or an AC adapter.

Smart Factory/ Industry 4.0

Digital Industry 4.0 known as the fourth industrial revolution is based on cyberphysical production systems that combine

communications, IT, data and physical elements. These systems transform

traditional plants into smart factories. Here, machines “talk” to products and other machines, objects deliver decisioncritical data, and information is processed and distributed in real time resulting in profound changes to the entire industrial ecosystem.

Quantum Computing

Like the first digital computers, quantum computing offers the possibility of technology millions of times more powerful than current systems, but the key to success will be translating real world problems into quantum language. At D-Wave, the first company to offer the technology for commercial use, that process is already underway and it is revealing massive potential.

Internet of Things (IoT)

This is the concept of basically connecting any device with an on and off switch to the Internet (and/or to each other). This includes everything from cellphones, coffee makers, washing machines, headphones,

As of now, the fastest super computer in the world is the Sunway Taihu light, in mainland China.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & COMPUTERS

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lamps, wearable devices and almost anything else you can think of. This also applies to components of machines, for example a jet engine of an airplane or the drill of an oil rig. By 2020 there will be over 26 billion connected devices. The IoT is a giant network of connected “things” (which also includes people). The relationship. The original name of Windows was interface manager.

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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & COMPUTERS mobile web, gaming services, high definition TV, video conferencing, 3D television and cloud computing.

will be between people to people, people to things, and things to things.

ReactJS

ReactJS is an open-source JavaScript library providing a view for data rendered as HTML. It is maintained by Facebook, Instagram and a community of individual developers and corporations. React is currently being used on the websites of Netflix, Imgur, Bleacher Report, Feedly, Airbnb, SeatGeek, HelloSign, and others. As of March 2016, React and React Native are Facebook’s top two open-source projects by number of stars on GitHub, and React is the 6th most starred project of all time on GitHub.

Advanced Machine Learning

Advanced machine learning is what makes smart machines appear “intelligent” by enabling them to both understand concepts in the environment, and also to learn. Through machine learning a smart machine can change its future behaviour. This area is evolving quickly, and organizations must assess how they can apply these technologies to gain competitive advantage.

Mobile Trends

4G Fourth generation, also called as 4G, is the succeeding generation of 3G in mobile telecommunications. It is an advanced system with advanced capabilities of telephony, Noughat 7.1 is current version of Android.

Mobile generations began in 1981 with byte analogue (1G) moving to digital transmission (2G) in the year 1992. Then, in 2001, multimedia supported 3G was introduced. It had byte rate of 200 kb/s. 4G is assumed to have a five times faster speed than its predecessor 3G. 4G aims at providing a download speed of 100MB/s. •• 4G long-term evolution (LTE) is wireless communications standard developed by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). •• 4G LTE is one of several competing 4G standards along with WiMax (IEEE 802.16) and Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB). Presently two standards are commercially used world-wide viz. LTE and Mobile WiMax standard. •• WiMax standard was first commercially in South Korea in 2007 and LTE standard was first used in Norway and Sweden in 2009. •• Designed to provide up to 10x speeds of 3G networks for mobile devices such as tablets, smartphones, netbooks and wireless hotspots etc. •• It can provide internet speed of at least 100 Mbit per second (Mbps) to 1 Gbps. •• 4G technologies are designed to provide IP (Internet Protocol)-based voice, data and multimedia streaming at high speed.

Google Pixel

Google Pixel Smartphone the latest has the following features: •• a 5.00-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 1080 pixels by 1920 pixels at a PPI of 441 pixels per inch. •• powered by 1.6GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor •• 4GB of RAM •• 32GB of internal storage •• 12.3-megapixel primary camera on the rear and a 8-megapixel front shooter for selfies. •• runs Android 7.1 •• 2770mAh non removable battery.

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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & COMPUTERS •• It measures 143.80 x 69.50 x 8.60 (height x width x thickness) and weighs 143.00 grams. •• Connectivity options, Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, NFC, 3G and 4G (with support for Band 40 used by some LTE networks in India). •• Sensors on the phone include Compass Magnetometer, Proximity sensor, Accelerometer, Ambient light sensor, Gyroscope and Barometer.

Reliance Jio •• ••

Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, doing business as Jio, is a LTE (Long-Term Evolution) mobile network operator in India. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries provides wireless 4G LTE service network (without 2G/3G based services) and is the only 100% VoLTE (Voice over Long-Term

Evolution) operator in the country, with coverage across all 22 telecom circles in India.

Unified Payments Interface (UPI)

•• Unified Payments Interface (UPI) application will allow customers to make easier real-time payments via digital means using smartphones. •• It help India to move towards a cashless economy. •• It will provide uniform mobile payment system by leveraging digital trends such as increasing smartphone adoption and deeper penetration of mobile data. •• It will allow customers to send and receive money from their smartphones using virtual payments address without entering bank account details. •• It facilitates ‘virtual address’ as a single payment identifier for sending and collecting money and works on single click 2 factor authentication.

SOME COMMONLY USED TERMS

• Assembler– A programme, which con•

•

• •

•

verts assembly language programme into machine language programme. It is a system software. Bit– It is the basic units of computer. It can have two values 1 and 0 only. BIOS– It stands for Basic Input Output System. This program is stored in ROM. Byte– One byte is a collection of 8 bits. Compiler– It is a computer programme that transforms human readable source code of another computer programme into the Machine readable code that a CPU can execute. Cloud Commuting– It is a new technology for internet services, under which the user need not to have fall softwares and operating system installed on his machine, rather could be provided the same as and when required by the internet e.g., Google. Computer Virus– A virus is a computer programme which attaches itself to and

•

• • •

•

becomes part of another executable programme and thus halts the system by pending to same undesired result. Connector– A connector is a device that joins two networks together. The most common connectors are hub, bridges and router. Cables– A flexible metal or glass wire or group of wires. All cables used in electronics are insulated with a material such as plastic or rubber. Cell– Cells are boxes created by the interaction of rows and columns. Copyright– It means the material and information are the personal property of the owner or producer. Database– It is a collection of files. Data remains in an organized form in a database. Interpreter– It translates some form of source code into a target representation that it can immediately execute but execution is relatively slower than compiler.

Typewriter is the longest word that can write using the letters only on one row of the keyboard of computer.

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• Internet– It is the worldwide accessible system of interconnected computer networks that transmit data by using the internet protocol. • Local Area Network (LAN)– A LAN is a computer network that physically links two or more computers within a geographically limited area (generally one building or a group of buildings).

• Multi-tasking– Allows more than one programme to run concurrently.

• Multi-processing– Supports running a programme on more than one CPU. • Multi-threading– Allows different parts of a single programme to run concurrently.

• Multimedia– It is the use of several media (example, text, audio, graphics, animation, video etc.) to convey the information.

• Microprocessor– It is a single chip based device which is a complete processor in itself and is capable of performing arithmetic and logical operations. • Metropolitan Area Networks (MAN)– MAN is a high-speed network that can carry voice, data, and images at up to 200 Mbps (megabit per second) or faster over distances of up to 75 km ranging from several blocks of buildings to entire cities. • Modem– A modem is a device that allows a computer to communicate through telephone lines.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & COMPUTERS • Network Interface Card (NIC)– An expansion card or other device used to provide network access to a computer or other device, such as a printer. Network interface cards mediate between the computer and the physical media, such as cabling, over which transmissions travel. • Primary Key– It is a field with unique value for each record. • Resource– Any part of a computer system or a network such as a disk drive, printer, or memory that can be allotted to a program or a process while it is running. • Secondary Memory– It is the permanent memory of the computer. • System Software– It performs the basic functions that are necessary to operate a computer system. • Time sharing– It is the concurrent use of a single computer system by many independent users. In time sharing many terminals can be attached to a central computer. • Tag– It is part of HTML. It determines the way, the browser displays text in Web Page. • Wide Area Networks (WAN)– WAN is a computer Network that is distinguished from a Local Area Network because of its longer-distance communications. The network may cover a whole country or may include the sites of a large multinational organization.

B-435 ART & CULTURE

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Geography

ART & CULTURE

Culture plays an important role in the development of any nation. It represents a set of shared attitudes, values, goals and practices. Culture and creativity manifest themselves in almost all economic, social and other activities. A country as diverse as India is symbolized by the plurality of its culture. India has one of the world’s largest collections of songs, music, dance, theatre, folk traditions, performing arts, rites and rituals, paintings and writings that are known, as the ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage’ (ICH) of humanity.

ART FORMS IN INDIA

The vibrant and colourful land of India is also famous for the versatility of its art and culture as each of the forms are different from each other in terms of their place of origin, creativity and raw materials used.

FAMOUS ART FORMS

Names

Patachitra painting

Bengal pat painting

State of Origin Materials Used The art form has its origin dates Canvas made of fine gauze-like cloth back in 5th century BC and since fortified with tamarind paste, chalk then it has been lovingly nurtured powder and gum and natural dyes in the areas like Raghurajpur for intricate painting over it. Village in Puri district of Odisha.

The indigenous art form belongs Artists use dye that are made to Bengal and very interestingly of spices, earth, soot, etc. And it depicts spoofs on retrograde particularly red, indigo, green, black social practices, thus attempting and ochre colours are seen widely in to highlight them for change. such painting.

This art form comes under the cultural Traditionally people used mud coated legacy of Madhubani district of Bihar wall as canvas for painting. But with depicting mythological stories of Lord time the canvases modified into cloth, handmade paper to give the painting Krishna. Various geometric shapes the same authentic look. The colours have given emphasis on the colourful used in the painting are derived from Madhubani painting environment of Madhubani Painting natural element like bamboo shoots, Canvas. turmeric powder, rice powder, flower extracts, pollens etc.

“Pattachitra” is an Indian technique of paintings that is done on palm leaves and is originated in the state of Odisha.

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ART & CULTURE

Developed during Mughal Period The intricate designs are given form i.e. 16th – 19th century this style of by using colours using precious painting are very small in size but stones conch shells, gold and silver. having a lot of niceties of court life and the contemporary personalities, Miniature painting events and actions of the Mughal times. As the name indicates this form of Semi-precious stones, glass and gold art has its origin in Tanjore district are used to give the painting a royal of Southern Tamil Nadu depicting look with embellished designs. the stories of gods and goddess with an aristocratic touch. Tanjore art

Kalamkari

Warli Painting

Gond Art

This ethnic painting is a patronage The art is executed by fine pens of Golkonda and Mughal Sultanate made of bamboo and natural colours and flourished near Kalahasti region extracted from vegetables. of Chennai and Masulipatnam area of Hyderabad. This is a rudimentary wall painting Typical natural elements such as with emphasis on graphical pattern Rice paste, mix with gum and water and legacy of North Sahyadri Range Red clay (Geru), cow dung, mud in India. It’s an age old tribal painting are used to give the painting an started during the 2500 or 3000 BCE depicts the nature, celestial body authentic tribal look. and human invention with different graphical shape. This is a tribal art form developed These art forms are generally drawn by Gond Tribes of Central India. on made on walls, ceilings and floors The typical design Gond art with of village houses. dots and lines depict the nature and social customs of the tribal community.

FAMOUS INDIAN PAINTERS

Rabindranath Tagore

Abanindranath Tagore Amrita Sher-Gil Jamini Roy

7 May 1861 – 7 Aug 1941 7 Aug 1871 – 5 Dec 1951

30 Jan 1913 – 5 Dec 1941

1 Apr 1887 – 24 Apr 1972

Francis Newton Souza

12 Apr 1924 -28 Mar 2002

Satish Gujral

25 Dec 1925 - Till date

S.H. Raza

Tyeb Mehta

Nandalal Bose Manjit Bawa M. F. Husain

Indian Music

22 Feb 1922 - 23 July 2016 25 Jul 1925 – 2 Jul 2009

3 Dec 1882 – 16 Apr 1966 1941-29 Dec 2008

17 Sep 1915 – 9 Jun 2011

The music of India includes multiple varieties of folk music, pop and classical music. India’s classical music tradition, including Hindustani music and Carnatic, has a history spanning millennia and developed over several eras. Music in India began as an integral part of socioreligious life. Indian art industry is estimated to be around 500 crore rupees with a per annum growth of 35-40 %.

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ART & CULTURE LEGENDS OF INDIAN MUSIC Legends

Period & Forte Awards Pandit Ravi Shankar Grammy Award, Padma Bhushan, Magsaysay 7 April 1920 – 11 Dec 2012 award, Padma Vibhushan, UNESCO International Sitar Music, Legion d’honneur, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Kalidas Samman, Bharat Ratna Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia: 1st July 1938 Bansuri

Sangeet Natak Academy, Padma Bhushan, Konark Samman, Yash Bharati Samman, Padma Vibhushan

Ustad Amjad Ali Khan 9 October 1945 Sarod

UNESCO Award, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan, UNICEF’S National Ambassadorship,

Ustad Bismillah Khan 21 March 1913- 21 August 2006 Shehnai Ustad Zakir Hussain 9 March 1951 Tabla

Bharat Ratna, Fellow of Sangeet Natak Akademi, Padma Vibhushan

Pandit Shivkumar Sharma: January 13, 1938 Santoor

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Shri

Padma Bhushan,Padma Shri, Grammy, Sangeet Natak Akademi, Indo-American Award, India’s National Academy of Music

Pandit Bhimsen Gururaj Padma Bhushan, National Film Award for Best Joshi: 4 February 1922 – 24 Male Playback Singer, Sangeet Natak Akademi January 2011 Award, First platinum disc, Padma Vibhushan Indian classical vocalist

Pandit Jasraj: 28 January 1930 Indian classical vocalist M. S. Subbulakshmi 16 September 1916 – 11 December 2004 Classical vocalist

Dr. Lakshminarayana Subramaniam: 23 July 1947 Classical, Carnatic, jazz fusion, Indo jazz, world fusion, Western music M.Balamurali Krishna 6 July 1930-22 Nov, 2016 Carnatic music Bade Ghulam Ali Khan

2 April 1902 – 25 April 1968 Sarangi, Hindustani classic vocal

Padma Vibhushan, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Padma Bhushan, Sangeet Kala Ratna, Master Dinanath Mangeshkar Award

Padma Bhushan, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Sangeetha Kalanidhi, Ramon Magsaysay award, Padma Vibhushan Lifetime Achievement Award, Limca Book of Records, GiMA (Best Carnatic Instrumental Album – Innovations), Asthana Vidwan, ISKCON, Bangalore , Viswa Kala Bharathi Bharat Kalachar Chennai (2004), Sangeet Kalaratna, Sangeet Kala Shiromani, Padma Bhushan. Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan NA

Indian art industry is the only field that has never been affected by the inflation.

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ART & CULTURE

Indian Dance There are many types of dance forms in India which are deeply religious in content to those which are performed on small occasions. The Indian dances are broadly divided into Classical dances and folk dances. The Classical dances of India are usually spiritual in content. Though the folk dances of India are also spiritual and religious in content but the main force behind the folk dances of India is the celebratory mood.

The most popular classical dance styles of India are Bharatnatyam of Tamil Nadu, Kathakali and Mohiniattam of Kerala, Odissi of Odisha, Kathak of Uttar Pradesh, Kuchipudi of Andhra Pradesh and Manipuri of Manipur. All these dance forms use basically the same ‘mudras’ or signs of hand as a common language of expression and were originally performed in the temples to entertain various Gods and Goddesses.

VARIOUS DANCE FORMS

Dance Forms

Odissi

Origin Legends Odissi is believed to be the oldest Kelucharan Mohapatra, Sonal Mansingh form of Indian dance from the Mayadhar Raut , Jhelum Paranjape, state of Odisha. It is considered KumKum Mohanty, Madhumita Raut, a dance of love, joy and intense Aloka Kanungo, Ileana Citaristi passion, pure, divine and human. Bharatnatyam is more popular in Alarmel Valli, Yamini Krishnamurthy,

Bharatnatyam

Kuchipudi

South Indian states. This dance is Rukmini Devi, Padma Subramanyam, almost 2,000 years old.

Mrinalini Sarabhai.

It presents scenes from Hindu Epics Bhavana Reddy, Yamini Reddy, Raja & and mythological tales through Radha Reddy, Kaushalya Reddy dance-dramas. This north Indian dance form is Pandit Birju Maharaj, Kumudini Lakhiya, inextricably bound with classical Sitara Devi, Shovana Narayan, Malabika

Kathak

Kathakali

Mohiniyattam

Manipuri

Hindustani music.

Mitra, Kartik Ram - Kalyan Das, Manisha Gulyani

It literally means story play and is Kalamandalam Krishna Prasad, Kavungal Chathunni Panicker, Kalamandalam an elaborate dance. Ramankutty Nair, Kalamandalam Kesavan Namboodir, Kottakkal Sivaraman, Kalamandalam Gopi It is a very graceful dance meant Smitha Rajan, Sunanda Nai, Jayaprabha to be performed as a solo recital Menon, Pallavi Krishnan, Gopika Varma, by women. Vijayalakshmi

The most striking part of Manipur Poushali Chatterjee , Rajkumar Singhajit dance is its colorful decoration, Singh, Sohini Ray, Guru Nileswar lightness of dancing foot, delicacy Mukharjee, Guru Bipin Singha of abhinaya (drama), lilting music and poetic charm.

20th century Indian art was associated with the nationalist movement as people were using art and paintings as a medium to sway the patriotic feelings of the masses.

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ART & CULTURE Indian Festivals India has numerous national, regional, local, religious, seasonal and social festivities. This is not surprising considering the fact that India is the land of gods, goddesses, saints, gurus and prophets. All these festivals are characterised by colour, gaiety, celebrations, feasts and a variety of prayers and rituals. It may not be out of place to describe India as ‘A Land of Festivals’. Since India is a multireligious and multi- lingual country, it is but natural to find festivals of all major religions in the world being celebrated in India. Thus, we come across, Holi, Dusshera, Krishna Janmashtmi, Hanuman Jayanti, Ganesh Chaturthi, Eid-ul-Adha, Eid-ul-Fitr, Muharram, Shivratri, Buddha Jayanti, Jamshed Navroz, Christmas and Diwali, Main Festival Diwali

Other Festivals Durga Puja, Dussehra,

all celebrated in the spirit of harmony and national oneness. There is also a stream of secular or nonreligious festivals like the harvest festivals of Baisakhi and Pongal-Sankranti, the Raksha Bandhan, which depicts the love of sisters for brothers and vice-versa or the Karwa Chauth, the observance of fasts by Hindu married women for the well-being of their husbands. There are other festivals which are typical of particular states, towns or villages like the Bonnalu of Andhra Pradesh, Pushkar of Rajashthan, Rajrani of Odisha, Teej of Rajasthan or Bogali Bihu of Assam. Some other festivals are associated with renowned historical or cultural places like the Khajuraho Festival, Taj Mahotsava, Nagaur Festival and Vijayanagar Hampi Festival. Main Festival Buddha Purnima

Other Festivals Hemis Gompa, Losar, Ullambana (Bodh)

Christmas

Easter Good Friday

Feast of Passover

Purim(Festivals of Lots)

Chaliho Sahib

Chaliho Sahib (Lord Jhulelal), Cheti Chand

Onam (homecoming of King Mahabal)

Boat Race Festival

Holi,Janmashthami, Eid-ul-Fitr

Navroz

Guru Purab

Ram Navami, Karwa

Chauth, (Hindus) Eid-ul-Adha, Miladun-Nabi (Barawafat), Shab-eBarat, Shab-e-Qadr, Shab-eMeraz, Muharram (Muslims) Zarthost No Deeso, Khordad Sal, Pateli (Parsis)

Guru Nanak Jayanti, Holla Mohalla,

Lohri, Birthday Guru

Ramdassji, Sodal mela, Mahavir Jayanti

Guru Gobind Singh

Jayanti (Sikhs) Mahamastak Abhishek, Diwali,

Paryushan Paryushana Parva (Jains)

(Kerala)

Mughal era saw the emergence of a unique style which was a blend of Islamic, Hindu and Christian art.

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ART & CULTURE

Main Festival Other Festivals Kila Raipur Sports Kila Raipur Sports (India’s Rural Olympics) Karni Mata

Jaisalmer Desert Festival

Nag Panchami

Archaeology

Karni Mata(devotees believe her soul resides in the rats) Jaisalmer Desert Festival, Rajasthan

Nagaraja - Kerala, Nagathamman Chennai, and Hardevja - Jaipur.

Main Festival Hemis Festival Ladakh

Other Festivals Ugadi (Regional) Andhra, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu

Bihu(Regional) Assam

Chhath(Regional) Bihar & Eastern UP

Chapchar Kut Sekrenyi (Regional) (Regional) Mizoram Nagaland

Archaeology studies the story of man’s past through his material remains. Period Indus Civilization

Buddhist

Indian Architecture Indian Sculpture • House, Lothal, Gujarat, • Chaitiva Hall, Bhaja, Maharashtra Harappa, Mohenjodaro, Ropar, Dancing girl, Bronze, MohenKalibangan, Lothal and Rangpur. jo-daro, Pakistan Priest, Clay, Harappa, • Lomas Rishi cave, Bihar Pakistan Bull, bronze, Mohen-jo-daro Toy animal with movable head, Terracotta, Mohen-jo-daro Pakistan Seal : Pasupati, Stone, Mohen-jodaro, Pakistan • Jewellery, Mohen-jo-daro, Pakistan • Prayer Hall or Chaitya, at Karle • Lion capital from Ashoka (Poona district) Stambha, Stone, Sarnath, • Sanchi Stupa No.1, (UP) Madhya Pradesh • Railing and • Bull Capital, from Rampurva, Bihar Gateways at • Chauri-bearer (Yakshi), Lime Stone, Bharhut, Sanchi Didarganj, Bihar and Bodh Gaya(North) • Worship of the Bodhi Tree, Bharhut, • Amravati and Nagarjunakonda (MP) • Sanchi Stupa No.1, Yakshi, (MP) ( South). • Taming of Nalagiri Elephant, Amaravati, State Museum, Chennai, Tamil Nadu

Followers of Zoroastrianism in India don’t bury their dead, but instead leave bodies in buildings called “Towers of Silence” for the vultures to pick clean.

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ART & CULTURE Gupta Period

Indo-Islamic Architecture

Modern Architecture

• Temples 17 & 18 at Sanchi, Vishnu Anantasheshashayee, Madhya Pradesh Vishnu Temple, Deogarh, (UP) • Lad Khan & Durga Temples, Aihole, Karnataka • Draupadi and Arjuna Ratha & Nakula and Sahadev Temple, Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu Standing Buddha, Sarnath, (UP) • Mahabodhi Temple, Bodh Gaya, Bihar • Jagannatha Temple, Puri, Odisha • Kailash Temple, Ellora, Maharashtra • Arches, Qutub Complex, Delhi • Descent of Ganga, Mahabalipuram, • Adhai din-ka-jhonpra, Ajmer, (TN) Rajasthan • Ravana shaking Mount Kailash, • Qutub Minar, Delhi • Trimurti, Elephanta Caves, • Buland Darwaza, Fatehpur Maharashtra Sikri, (UP) • Nayika, Lingaraja Temple, • Amar Singh Gate, Agra Fort, Bhubaneswar, Odisha (UP) • Surya riding chariot, Surya Mandir, • Panch Mahal, Fatehpur Sikri, Konarak, Odisha • Manjira Player, Surya Mandir, Agra, (UP) • Taj Mahal, Konarak, Odisha Agra, (UP) • Mohini, Chennakeshava Temple, • Hawa Mahal, Belur, Karnataka Jaipur, • Pillars with Horse rider, Meenakshi Rajasthan Sundareshvara Temple, Madurai, (TN)

• Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, • ‘Triumph of labour’ by D.P. Roy Mumbai Chowdhury, Delhi • North and South Block, Delhi • Rashtrapati Bhawan & Parliament House, Delhi • Connaught Place, India Gate, Delhi, Supreme Court, Delhi

Parliament House , Delhi

The earliest cotton in the world was spun and woven in India. Roman emperors would wear delicate cotton from India that they would call “woven winds.”

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ART & CULTURE

THEATRES The rich Indian theatre culture has its origin dating back in the first century, CE, and started and nurtured by the society as means of expressing, communicating and sharing the ideas, opinions, emotions and belief of mankind. Since then it has gone through many ups and downs but the culture remain undaunted. Today many of Indian theatre have internationally acclaimed fraternity.

Some of the Important Theatres of Modern India Name

Founder

Year and Place of Establishment

National School of Ministry 1959, New Delhi Drama of Culture, (Deemed Government University) of India. Bhartendu Academy Padma Shri 1975, Lucknow, of Dramatic Arts Raj Bisaria. Theatre Arts Raj Bisaria 1966, Lucknow Workshop (TAW)

People Associated with it Naseeruddin Shah, Irfan Khan, Anupam Kher, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Pankaj Kapur, Himani Shivpuri and many more Rajiv Jain, Raajpal Yadav, Anupam Shyam

TOURISM

Famous Tourist places of India Site

Location

Founder

Aram Bagh

Agra (Uttar Pradesh)

Babur

Adhai Din Ka Jhopra

Ajmer (Rajasthan)

Qutub-ud-din-Aibak

Anand Bhawan Ajanta Caves

Akbar’s Tomb

Bibi ka Maqbara Bharatpur Fort Bundi Fort

Bada Imambada Belur Math

Botanical Garden Chhatra Mahal

Chenna Keshab Temple Char Temple

Chasma-Shahi

Allahabad (Uttar Pradesh) Aurangabad

Sikandera (Uttar Pradesh)

Aurangabad (Maharashtra) Bharatpur (Rajasthan) Bundi (Rajasthan)

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) Kolkata

Shilbpur (West Bengal) Bundi Fort

Belur (Karnataka) Konark (Odisha)

Jammu and Kashmir

Moti Lal Nehru Gupta Rulers Jahangir

Aurangzeb

Raja Surajmal Singh

Qutub-ud-din-Aibak

Nawab Asaf-ud-daulah Swami Vivekanand -

Rani Chhatrasal

Vishnu Vardhan Narasing Dev I

Ali Mardan Khan

India has the world’s largest movie industry, based in the city of Mumbai (known as the “City of Dreams”).

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ART & CULTURE Charar-e-Sarif

Srinagar (Kashmir)

Jainul Abedin

Cochin Fort

Kerala

Portuguese

Chhota Immbada Dewan-e-khas

Dilwara Jain Temple Deeg Palace Dhar Fort

Etamad-ud-daulah’s Tomb Ellora Caves

Elephanta Caves Fatehpur Sikri

Firoz Shah Kotla Fort William Fateh Sagar

Gateway of India Golconda Fort Gol Ghar

Humayun’s Tomb Hauz Khas

Hajratbal Masjid

Harmandir Sahib Junagarh

Jama Masjid

Jantar-Mantar Jodhpur Fort Jaku Temple

Jagannath Temple Jama Masjid Khas Mahal

Kankaria Lake

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) Agra Fort (Uttar Pradesh) Mount Abu (Rajasthan) Deeg (Rajasthan)

Dhar (Madhya Pradesh) Agra (Uttar Pradesh) Aurangabad Mumbai

Agra (Uttar Pradesh) Delhi

Kolkata

Udaipur (Rajasthan) Mumbai

Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh) Patna (Bihar) Delhi Delhi

Srinagar (Kashmir) Patna (Bihar)

Bikaner (Rajasthan) Delhi

Delhi and Jaipur

Jodhpur (Rajasthan) Kolkata

Puri (Odisha)

Agra (Uttar Pradesh) Agra (Uttar Pradesh) Ahmedabad

Mohammad Ali Shan Shah Jahan

Vastu Pal Tejpal

Raja Badan Singh

Mohammad Bin Tughlaq Noor Jahan

Rashtrakuta Dynasty Rashtrakutas Akbar

Firoz Shah Tughlaq Lord Clive

Maharana Fateh Singh British Government

Qutubshahi Dynasty British Government

Hameeda Bano Beghum Ala-ud-din-khilji -

Maharaja Ranjit Singh Raja Jai Singh Shah Jahan

Sawai Jai Singh Rao Jodha Ji

Rani Ras Moni

Chola Gang Dev Shah Jahan Shah Jahan

Sultan Qutub-ud-din

The Bahá’í house of worship in Delhi, known as the “Lotus Temple,” is shaped like a lotus flower with 27 gigantic “petals” that are covered in marble.

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ART & CULTURE

Khirki Masjid

Delhi

Ghiyas-ud-din-Tughlaq

Kanheri Caves

Mumbai

Buddhists

Kandaria Mahadev Laxman Temple

Laxmi Narayan Temple Laxman Jhula Moti Masjid Moti Masjid

Mrignayani Palace Madan Palace Mecca Masjid

Nahargarh Fort Nishaat Bagh

Nakhuda Masjid

Old Fort (Purana Quila) President House Pichhola Lake

Pathar ki Masjid Padari Ki Haveli

Patthar Ki Masjid

Prince of Wales Museum Rani Ki Badi Red Fort

Sheesh Mahal

Safdarjung ka Maqbara Sabarmati Ashram St George Fort

Shalimar Bagh (Garden) Sunset Point

Khajuraho (Madhya Pradesh) Chhatarpur (Madhya Pradesh) Delhi

Rishikesh (Uttarakhand)

Agra Fort (Uttar Pradesh) Delhi Fort

Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh)

Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh)

Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh) Jaipur (Rajasthan)

Jammu and Kashmir Kolkata Delhi Delhi

Udaipur (Rajasthan) Patna (Bihar) Patna (Bihar)

Jammu and Kashmir Mumbai

Bundi (Rajasthan) Delhi

Agra (Uttar Pradesh) Delhi

Ahmedabad

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) Srinagar (Kashmir)

Mount Abu (Rajasthan)

Chandela Kings

Chandela Rulers Birla Family -

Shah Jahan Aurangzeb

Raja Man Singh Tomar Raja Madan Shah Kuli Kutab Shah Raja Jai Singh Asaf Ali -

Sher Shah Suri

British Government -

Parvez Shah

Father Capuchin Noor Jahan George V

Rani Nathvati Shah Jahan Shah Jahan

Shuja-ud-daulah

Mahatma Gandhi

East India Company Jahangir -

Indians made significant contributions to calculus, trigonometry, and algebra. The decimal system was invented in India in 100 B.C.

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ART & CULTURE Sher Shahi Masjid

Patna (Bihar)

Parvez Shah

Taj Mahal

Agra (Uttar Pradesh)

Shah Jahan

Sher Shah’s Tomb Tughlakabad

Umaid Palace Vijay Stambh

Victoria Memorial

Vishnupad Temple

Sasaram (Bihar)

Islam Shah Suri, Son of Sher Shah

Delhi

Ghiyas-ud-din-Tughlaq

Jodhpur (Rajasthan)

Chittorgarh (Rajasthan) Kolkata

Gaya (Bihar)

1983

Ellora Caves (Maharashtra)

1984

Sun Temple Konark (Odisha)

1983 1983 1985 1985 1985 1985 1986 1986 1986 1986 1987 1987 1987 1988 1989 1993

Taj Mahal (Uttar Pradesh) Agra Fort (Uttar Pradesh)

Mahabalipuram Temples (Tamil Nadu) Manas Wildlife Sanctuary, Bharatpur (Rajasthan) Kaziranga National Park (Assam) Keoladeo National Park Bharatpur (Rajasthan) Churches in Goa (Goa)

Khajuraho Temples (Madhya Pradesh) Fatehpur Sikri (Uttar Pradesh) Hampi Temple (Karnataka)

Sunderbans National Park (West Bengal) Elephanta Caves (Maharashtra)

Pattadakal Temples (Karnataka) Nanda Devi National Park (Uttarakhand) Sanchi Stupa (Madhya Pardesh) Humayun’s Tomb (Delhi)

Rana Kumbha -

Rani Ahilya Bai

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India Year of Sites Inclusion 1983 Ajanta Caves (Maharashtra)

Maharaj Ummed Singh

1993 1999 2002 2003 2004 2004 2004 2005 2005 2007 2008

Qutub Minar (Delhi)

Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (West Bengal) Mahabodhi Temple (Bodh Gaya) (Bihar) Rock Shelters of Bhimbetaka (Madhya Pradesh) Brihadeshwara Temple (Gangaikondacholapuram, Tamil Nadu) Airavatesvara Temple, Darasuram Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeologicatl Park (Gujarat) Valley of Flowers (Uttarakhand) Nilgiri Mountain Railway (Tamil Nadu) Red Fort (Delhi)

2012

Kalka-Shimla Railway (Himachal Pradesh) Jantar Mantar, Jaipur (Rajasthan) Western Ghat

2014

Rani ki Vav (Gujarat)

2010 2013 2014

Hill forts of Rajasthan Great Himalayan National Park (Himachal Pradesh)

During the Vedic era in India, horse sacrifice sanctioned the sovereignty of the king.

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ART & CULTURE

Top Ten Monuments With Highest Foreign Visitors in india 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Monuments

No. of Foreign Visitors

% age share

Taj Mahal, Agra Agra Fort, Agra Qutub Minar, Delhi Humayun’s Tomb, Delhi Fatehpur Sikri, Agra Red Fort, Delhi Mattancherry place Museum, Kochi Western Group of Temple, Khajuraho Excavated site, Sarnath Group of Monuments, Mamallapuram

6,95,702 3,63,823 3,07,043 2,76,641 2,55,129 1,41,498 1,04,717 89,511 85,991 70,840

23.2 12.1 10.2 9.2 8.5 4.7 3.5 3.0 2.9 2.4

HANDICRAFTS

India has got international acclamation in terms of its beautiful and creative handicrafts. Given below are the states with diversified crafts: State

Odisha Delhi

Maharashtra West Bengal Gujarat

Rajasthan

Handicrafts

Weaving craft, palm leaf writing, patachitra- the chitrakar’s foray, applique, stone carving, metal craft, Zardozi, lacquer work, clay and paper made dolls

Paithani saris, sawantwadi crafts, warli paintings, kolhapuri chappals, narayan peth

Artistic leather craft, brass & bell metal, pottery, mat making, dhokra metal casting, cane & bamboo, fine arts, clay dolls, horn work, jute products, shell & conch shell, sholapith, famous handloom sarees like dhakai jamdani, tangail etc Bead-work, jewellery, inlay work, embroidery, wood carving, cloth printing, dyeing, patola fabric, zari work Tie-and-dye textiles, hand block printing, quilting, jewellery, gems and stones, blue pottery, leather craft, wood carving

Himachal Pradesh Jewellery, leather craft, woodcarving, architecture, kangra paintings Goa

Andhra Pradesh Karnataka Jharkhand Manipur

Pottery & Terracotta, Brass metal ware, Crochet & Embroidery, Bamboo Craft, Fiber Craft, Jute Macrame Craft, Coconut Mask carving, sea shell craft Priceless Pearls

Wood carving, Ivory carving Woodcraft, paitkar paintings, metal work, stone carving, ornaments, toy making Wood carving, textile weaving, stone-carving, block printing, kauna (water reed) mat, hand-embroidery

Jammu & Kashmir Carpets, Basket Weaving, Namdas, pashmina shawls, Papier-mache, Leather and fur, wood carvings Chandragupta Maurya (340-290 B.C.), was guarded by a band of women on horseback.

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SPORTS & GAMES

TROPHIES ASSOCIATED WITH SPORTS NATIONAL Name of the Trophy

Related game

Aga Khan Cup

Hockey

Bombay Gold Cup

Hockey

Barna Bellack Cup Beighton Cup

Burdwan Trophy D.C.M. Trophy

Dhyan chand Trophy Dr. B.C. Roy Trophy Duleep Trophy Durand Cup Ezra Cup

Table Tennis Hockey

Weight Lifting Football Hockey

Football Cricket

Football Polo

I.F.A Shield

Football

Lady Ratan Tata Trophy Hockey Moin ud daula Gold Cup Cricket Rangaswami Cup

Hockey

Scindia Gold Cup

Hockey

Ranji Trophy

Santosh Trophy

Cricket

Football

Subroto Mukherjee Cup Football (Inter-School) Wellington Trophy Rowing

INTERNATIONAL Name of the Trophy Related game Nehru Trophy Hockey American Cup Yatch Racing Ashes Cup Cricket (AustraliaEngland) Azlan Shah Hockey US Masters Golf Hopman Cup

Lawn Tennis

Tata Open

Lawn Tennis

Colombo Cup Trophy Davis Cup Kings Cup Race Merdeka Cup Thomas Cup Uber Cup

Football Lawn Tennis Air Races (England) Football (Asia) World Badminton (Men) World Badminton (women) US-Open Lawn Tennis French-Open Lawn Tennis Australian Open Lawn Tennis Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Masters Champions Hockey Trophy British Open Golf Malaysian Open Badminton

NUMBER OF PLAYERS ON EACH SIDE

Badminton 1 or 2 Polo 4 Baseball 9 Rugby Football 15 Basketball 5 Tennis and Table tennis 1 or 2 Cricket 11 Water Polo 7 Football 11 Volleyball 6 Hockey 11 Kabaddi 7 Chess 1 Since the modern Olympic Games began, Swiss athletes have won a total of 184 Summer Olympic medals and 137 Winter Olympic medals.

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SPORTS & GAMES Chess

NATIONAL SPORTS OF FAMOUS COUNTRIES Name

National game

Australia Cricket Brazil Football Canada Ice Hockey China Table Tennis England Cricket India No Game Japan Judo or Ju Jitsu Malaysia Badminton Pakistan Hockey Russia Chess, Football Scotland Rugby, Football Spain Bull Fighting United States of America Baseball

TERMS USED IN SPORTS AND GAMES Badminton Baseball Billiards

Boat Race Boxing Bridge

Deuce, Double, Drop, Fault, Game, Let, Love, Smash. Bunt, Diamond, Home, Pitcher, Put out, Strike. Break, Cannons, Cue, In off, Jigger, Scratch, Cox Hook, Jab, Knock-out, Punch, Upper cut. Diamonds, Dummy, Grand slam, Little slam, Revoke, Ruff, Tricks, Trump.

Check, Checkmate, Gambit, Stalemate Cricket Bowling, Bouncer, Crease, Cover point, Drive, Duck, Follow on, Googly, Gulley, Hat Trick, Hit wicket, L.B.W. (Leg Before Wicket), Leg Break, Leg spinner, Leg bye, Maiden over, No ball, Pitch, Run, Silly point, Stumped, Wicket keeper. Football Dribble, Drop Kick, Foul, Hattrick, Off-side, Penalty, Throw in, Touch Down. Golf Bogey, Caddie, Hole, Links, Put, Putting the green, Stymie, Tee. Hockey Bull, Carry, Centre Forward, Carried, Dribble, Goal, Hat trick, Penalty corner, Scoop, Short corner, Sticks, Striking circle, Under cutting. Horse Racing Jockey, Place, Protest, Punter, Win. Lawn Tennis Back-hand-drive, Service, Smash, Volley, Deuce, Game, Set, Love. Polo Bunder, Chuckker, Mallet. Rifle Shooting Bull’s eye. Rugby Drop kick, Screen. Swimming Stroke. Volley ball Booster, Deuce, Love, Service, Spikers. Wrestling Half Nelson, Heave.

SPECIFIC NAMES OF PLAYING AREAS

Sport Badminton Baseball Boxing Cricket

Name of Playing Area Court Diamond Ring Pitch*

Sport Golf Lawn Tennis Ice Skating Wrestling

Name of Playing Area Link, Green** Court Rink Ring, Arena

* Pitch in fact is the space between the wickets and not the entire cricket field. ** It is the area around the hole only.

OLYMPIC GAMES

Olympic Games are an international sporting event which is organised in the form of summer and winter sports. The Summer Olympic Games were first held in 1896. The Winter Olympic Games were created after the huge success of the Summer Olympics. Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894. The Olympic Games are held after every four years, with the Summer and Winter Games alternatively occurring every four years but two years apart from each other. Major Dhyan Chand has a statue with 4 hands and 4 sticks in Austria.

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SPORTS & GAMES The Olympics games originated in the city of Olympia, an ancient city of Greece. These games were held at Mount Olympia. India officially participated in the Olympics for the first time in the year 1920, in the 6th edition of the games at Antwerp, Belgium. The Olympic flag is made up of white silk and contains five intertwined rings as the Olympics emblem.

The colour of rings represents different continents as given below: Blue

Europe

Yellow

Asia

Black

Africa

Red

America

Green

Australia and Oceania

INDIA’S PERFORMANCE IN OLYMPICS

Discipline Wrestling

Hockey

Shooting

Athletics

Year 1952 2008 2012 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1980 2004 2008 2012 1900 1960 1964 1976

Football (Soccer) Tennis Weightlifting Boxing Badminton Wrestling

1980 1984 1956 1996 2000 2008 2012 2012 2016 2016

Performance KD Jadhav won Bronze Medal in Men’s 52-57 kg Freestyle Sushil Kumar won Bronze Medal in men’s 66 kg Freestyle Sushil Kumar won Silver Medal in Men’s 66 kg Freestyle Yogeshwar Dutt won Bronze Medal in men’s 60 kg Freestyle Won Gold Medal Won Gold Medal Won Gold Medal Won Gold Medal Won Gold Medal Won Gold Medal Won Silver Medal Won Gold Medal Won Bronze Medal Won Bronze Medal Won Gold Medal Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore won Silver Medal in double trap Abhinav Bindra won Gold Medal in Men’s 10 m air rifle Vijay Kumar won Silver Medal in 25 Rapid Fire Pistol Gagan Narang won Bronze Medal in 10 m Air Rifle

Norman Pritchard won two Silver Medals in (200 m) and (200 m hurdle) events Milkha Singh-fourth in 400 m final Zora Singh-eighth in 50 km walk Gurbachan Singh Randhawa-fifth in 100 m hurdles (final) Sriram Singh-seventh in 800 m final Shivnath Singh-eleventh in the marathon Sriram Singh-Semifinalist in 800 m PT Usha-fourth in 400 m hurdles Semi-final Leander Paes won Bronze Medal in Men’s Singles event Karnam Malleshwari won Bronze Medal in women’s 69 kg category Vijender Singh won a Bronze Medal (75 kg) Mary Kom won a Bronze Medal in Women’s flyweight Saina Nehwal won a Bronze Medal in Women’s singles P.V. Sindhu won Silver medal in women’s singles Sakshi Malik won Bronze in Women’s freestyle 58 kg.

Mary Leela Rao was the first Indian woman participant in the olympic games.

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SPORTS & GAMES

SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES Year 1896 1900 1904 1906 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948

Venue Athens, Greece Paris, France St Louis, France Athens, Greece (Games were not recognised by IOC) London, Great Britain Stockholm, Sweden Games not held due to World War I Antwerp, Belgium Paris, France Amsterdam, Netherlands Los Angeles, USA Berlin, Germany Games not held due to World War II Games not held due to World War II London, Great Britain

Games 1896 Athens 1900 Paris 1904 St. Louis

1908 London 1912 Stockholm 1920 Antwerp 1924 Paris 1928 Amsterdam 1932 Los Angeles 1936 Berlin 1948 London 1952 Helsinki 1956 Melbourne 1960 Rome 1964 Tokyo 1968 Mexico City 1972 Munich 1976 Montreal 1980 Moscow 1984 Los Angeles 1988 Seoul 1992 Barcelona 1996 Atlanta 2000 Sydney

1952

Helsinki, Finland

1964

Tokyo, Japan

1956 1960 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016

Melbourne, Australia Rome, Italy

Mexico City, Mexico

Munich, West Germany Montreal, Canada Moscow, Russia

Los Angeles, USA

Seoul, South Korea Barcelona, Spain Atlanta, USA

Sydney, Australia Athens, Greece Beijing, China

London, Great Britain Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

INDIA IN THE SUMMER OLYMPICS Gold

Silver

0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Bronze Total did not participate 0 2 did not participate did not participate did not participate 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1

0 0 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 1

Rank 17 23 19 20 22 26 24 32 24 42 43 23 71 71

Over 40 international sports federations and organisations have their headquarters in Switzerland, mostly in the canton of Vaud.

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SPORTS & GAMES 2004 Athens 2008 Beijing 2012 London 2016 Rio de Janeiro

0 1 0 0

Winter Olympic Games

1 0 2 1

0 2 4 1

1 3 6 2

65 50 55 67

Winter Olympic games were started in the year A.D. 1924. The first game, were held at Chamonix (France). The winter games are numbered in rotation as they are held. The programme at the winter games includes ice hockey, figure skating, speed skating, alpine sking, skiting, etc. Like the summer games, the winter games are also awarded gold, silver and bronze medals. Year

1924

1928

1932

1936

1948

1952

1956

1960

1964

1968

1972

1976

Venue

Chamonix, France

St. Moritz, Switzerland

Lake Placid, New York

Garmisch – Parten/Kirchen, Germany

St. Mortiz, Switzerland

Year

1980

1984 1988 1992

1994

Venue

Lake Placid, New York

Sarajevo, Yugoslavia Calgary, Canada

Albertville, France

Lillehammer, Norway

Oslo, Norway

1998

Nagano, Japan

Squaw Valley, United States

2006

Turin, Italy,

Cortina d’ Ampezz, Italy

Innbruck, Austria

2002 2010

Salt Lake City, USA Vancouver, Canada

Grenoble, France

2014

Sochi, Russia

Innsbruck, Austria

2022

Beijing, China

Sapporo, Japan

2018

Pyeongchang, South Korea

PARALYMPIC GAMES

•• Back in 1948, Sir Ludwig Guttman, a neurologist who was working with World War II veterans with spinal injuries at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Aylesbury, began using sport as part of the rehabilitation programmes of his patients. He set up a competition with other hospitals to coincide with the London Olympics in that year. •• The Paralympics are elite sport events for athletes from six different disability groups. Athletes include those with mobility disabilities, intellectual disabilities, visual impairments, cerebral palsy and amputees. •• This event focuses on the athletes’ achievements rather than their disabilities. Switzerland has 1,774 ski lifts, of which 51% are T-bars.

•• Paralympic sports include athletics, cycling, judo, rowing, swimming, and volleyball. •• The Paralympic Games are always held in the same year as the Olympic Games. The name comes from the fact that it runs parallel to the Olympic Games hence the name Paralympics. •• The first Paralympic Games were held in Rome, Italy, in 1960 and involved 400 athletes from 23 countries. Originally, only wheelchair athletes were invited to compete. •• The Paralympics are held in two seasons: summer and winter.

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SPORTS & GAMES

Winter Paralympic Games

1968 - Paralympics III - Tel Aviv - Israel 1972 - Paralympics IV - Heidelberg - West Germany 1976 - Paralympics V - Toronto - Canada 1980 - Paralympics VI - Arnhem - Netherlands 1984 - Paralympics VII - Stoke Mandeville UK, New York - US 1988 - Paralympics VIII - Seoul - South Korea 1992 - Paralympics IX - Barcelona - Spain 1996 - Paralympics X - Atlanta - United States 2000 - Paralympics XI - Sydney - Australia 2004 - Paralympics XII - Athens - Greece 2008 - Paralympics XIII - Beijing - China 2012 - Paralympics XIV - London - United Kingdom 2016 - Paralympics XV - Rio de Janeiro - Brazil

1976 - Paralympics I - Örnsköldsvik - Sweden 1980 - Paralympics II - Geilo - Norway 1984 - Paralympics III - Innsbruck - Austria 1988 - Paralympics IV - Innsbruck - Austria 1992 - Paralympics V - Albertville - France 1994 - Paralympics VI - Lillehammer - Norway 1998 - Paralympics VII - Nagano - Japan 2002 - Paralympics VIII - Salt Lake City - United States 2006 - Paralympics IX - Turin - Italy 2010 - Paralympics X - Vancouver – Canada 2014 - Paralympics XI - Sochi - Russia

Summer Paralympic Games

1960 - Paralympics I - Rome - Italy 1964 - Paralympics II - Tokyo - Japan

COMMONWEALTH GAMES

•• It is the second largest sports festival in the world after Olympics. •• It is held in four years in between the olympic years.

•• The first Commonwealth Games were held in 1930 at Hamilton, Canada. •• India, for the first time, participated in the 2nd Commonwealth Games held in 1934 at London.

COMMONWEALTH GAMES SINCE 1930

Year

Places

Participant Competitions Countries

First Place

India’s Medal

1930 Hamilton (Canada)

England

1938 Sydney (Australia)

Australia No medal

1934 London (England)

1950 Auckland (New Zealand) 1954 Vancouver (Canada)

1958 Cardiff (Wales)

1962 Perth (Australia) 1966 Kingston (Jamaica)

1970 Edinburgh (Scotland)

1974 Christchurch (New Zealand)

England

Not participated 1 Bronze Medal

Australia Not Participated England

England

No medal

Gold-2, Silver-1

Australia Not Participated England

Gold-3, Silver-4, Bronze-5

Australia Gold-5, Silver-3

Australia Gold-4, Silver-8, Bronze-3

There are over 20,000 sports clubs in Switzerland and 2.7 million sport licences.

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SPORTS & GAMES 1978 Edmonton (Canada)

1982 Brisbane (Australia) 1986 Edinburgh (Scotland) 1990 Auckland (New Zealand) 1994 Victoria (Canada)

1998 Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) 2002 Manchester (England) 2006 Melbourne (Australia) 2010 Delhi (India) 2014 Glasgow (Scotland) 2018 Gold Coast (Australia)

• • •

Canada

Gold-5, Silver-4, Bronze-6

England

Not Participated

Proposed

Australia Gold-5, Silver-5, Bronze-3 Australia Gold-13, Silver-8, Bronze-7

Australia Gold-6, Silver-11, Bronze-10 Australia Gold-07, Silver-10, Bronze-8 Australia Gold-32,Silver-21,Bronze19(Third Position)

Australia Gold-22, Silver-17, Bronze-11 (Fourth Position)

Australia Gold-74, Silver-55, Bronze-48 (Second Position) England Gold-15, Silver-30, Bronze-19 (Fifth Position)

ASIAN GAMES

The idea of the Asian Games was first conceived by Prof. G.D. Sondhi. The first Asian Games were held at New Delhi on 4 March 1951. The motto of the Asian Games play the game in spirit of the game” was given by Pt. J.L Nehru. Its emblem is a bright full rising sun with interlocking rings.

ASIAN GAMES SINCE 1951

Games Serial 1

Year

Places

1951 New Delhi(India)

1954 Manila(Philippines)

1958 Tokyo(Japan)

1962 Jakarta(Indonesia)

1966 Bangkok(Thailand)

1970 Bangkok(Thailand)

1974 Tehran(Iran)

1978 Bangkok(Thailand)

Number of Countries 11

Number of Sports 6

Number of Players 491

1021

1422

1545

1945

1752

2869

3000

1982 New Delhi(India)

3447

1990 Beijing(China)

4500

1986 Seoul(S. Korea)

Vishwanathan Anand was the first sportsperson to win the Padma Vibhushan.

3883

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SPORTS & GAMES

1994 Hiroshima(Japan)

7300

2002 Busan(S. Korea)

7711

13 15 16 17 18

1998 Bangkok(Thailand)

2006 Doha(Qatar)

2010 Guangzhou(China)

2014 Incheon(South Korea)

2018 Jakarta (Indonesia)

Scheduled

South Asian Games

38 39 42 36

7000 9524 9704 9501

The SAG(SAF) games was first held in 1984 at Kathmandu, Nepal. The seven participating countries are India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives. The motto of SAG games is “Peace, Prosperity and Progress”. The games year 1986 edition was not staged as it was a year of Commonwealth and Asian Games.

CRICKET WORLD CUP

• • • •

It is organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC) after every 4 years. The first world Cup was organized in England in June 1975. Australia is the champion of ICC Cricket world cup 2015, which also holds the record of winner for maximum number of times. The first Cricket Test Match was played in Melbourne between England and Australia in 1877.

• •

•

The first One day International Cricket Match was played in the year 1971 between England and Australia in Melbourne. The first twenty 20 International match was played on 17 February 2005 between Australia and New Zealand in which the former came out victorious. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was formed in 1927.

LIST OF CRICKET WORLD CUP

1975

Lord’s, England

West Indies beat Australia

1983

Lord’s, England

India beat West Indies

1979 1987 1992 1996 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019

Lord’s, England Kolkata, India

Melbourne, (Australia) Lahore, Pakistan Lord’s, England

Johannesburg, South Africa Bridgetown, West Indies Mumbai, India

Australia/New Zealand England

West Indies beat England Australia beat England Pakistan beat England

Sri Lanka beat Australia Australia beat Pakistan Australia beat India

Australia beat Sri Lanka India beat Sri Lanka

Australia beat New Zealand Scheduled

The average soccer ball is made up of 32 leather panels and held together by 642 stitches and is the most followed sport.

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SPORTS & GAMES ICC TWENTY-20 CRICKET WORLD CUP Year

Host Nations

Final Venue

Winner

Runner-up

2007

South Africa

Johannesburg

India

Pakistan

2009

2010

2012

2014

2016

England

West Indies

Sri Lanka

Bangladesh

India

Lord’s, London

Pakistan

Barbados

R Premdasa Stadium, Colombo

Sher-e Bangla Cricket Stadium, Dhaka

Eden Gardens, Kolkata

IPL 2016

It is a professional Twenty 20 Cricket league in India. It is held every year in April-May which is organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). It was founded by BCCI in 2007. The IPL is the most attended Cricket league in the world and ranks sixth among all sports league. There are total 8 teams in IPL: Delhi Daredevils, Kings XI Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rising Pune Supergiants, Gujarat Lions.

England

West Indies

Sri Lanka

West Indies

Sri Lanka

Australia

Sri Lanka

India

England

The ninth and the latest IPL was held in 2016. The Sunrisers Hyderabad were crowned as the champion after they won against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the finals.

2016 IPL FINAL

Man of the Match

Ben Cutting

Most Valuable player Virat Kohli of the tournament

Emerging player of the Mustafizur season Rehman

FIFA WORLD CUP

It is held after every four years. Germany was the champion of 20th FIFA world cup held last in 2014 in Brazil, which was their 4th title. Brazil has won five times and they are the only team to have played in every tournament. The next two World Cups will be hosted by Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022.

HOCKEY WORLD CUP

• • •

It is organised by the International Hockey Federation. It was started in 1971. It is held every four years. India has won the tournament only once in 1975 since its inception in 1971.

A LOOK AT HOCKEY WORLD CUP

Year 1971 1973 1975 1978

1982 1986

Host Spain Netherlands Malaysia Argentina India England

Winner Pakistan Netherlands India Pakistan Pakistan Australia

Before 1850 golf balls were made of leather and were stuffed with feathers.

Runner-up Spain India Pakistan Netherlands West Germany England

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SPORTS & GAMES Pakistan Australia Netherlands Malaysia Germany India Netherlands India

Netherlands Pakistan Netherlands Germany Germany Australia Australia –

Pakistan Netherlands Spain Australia Australia Germany Netherlands –

TENNIS GRAND SLAMS

The four Grand Slam tournaments also called majors, are the most important annual tennis events. The Grand Slam itinerary consists of the ‘Australian-open’ in mid January, the ‘French open’ in May/June ‘Wimbledon’ in June/July, and the ‘US open’ in August /September. Each tournament is played over a period of two weeks. Grand Slams 1. Australian open 2. French open 3. Wimbledon 4. U.S. Open

ATP/WTA Rankings ATP world tour finals WTA Tour Championships ATP Masters 1000 olympics ATP 500 Series ITF Men’s Circuit ITF Women’s Circuit

Nature of Court Hard court Clay court (Red) Grass court Hard court

No ATP/WTA Rankings Davis Cup Fed Cup World Team Cup Hopman Cup

Australian Open 2016 Venue: Melbourne Par, Melbourne

French Open Wimbledon 2016 2016 Venue: Stade Roland Venue: All England Garris, Paris Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London Men’s Singles Men’s Singles Men’s Singles champion: Novak champion: Novak champion: Andy Djokovic Djokovic Murray Women’s Singles Women’s Singles Current Women’s champion: Angelique champion: Garbine Singles champion: Kerber Muguruza Serena Williams

INDIAN SUPER LEAGUE

US Open 2016 Venue: USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, New York City Men’s Singles champion: Stan Wawrinka Women’s Singles champion: Angelique Kerber

The Indian Super League (ISL) also known as the Hero Indian Super League is a professional football league in India. The league consists of eight franchise teams from all around India. The Indian Super League was founded in 2013 in an effort to make football a top sport in India and to make Indian football a major player worldwide. The inaugural season of the league started on 12th October 2014 and concluded on 20th December 2014. The inaugural season was won by Atlético de Kolkata when it defeated the Kerala Blasters in the final 1–0. The game of Tug-of-war was an Olympic sport from 1900-1920.

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SPORTS & GAMES Team Atlètico de Kolkata Chennaiyin FC Delhi Dynamos FC FC Goa Kerala Blasters FC Mumbai City FC North East United FC FC Pune City

City/State Kolkata, West Bengal Chennai, Tamil Nadu Delhi Margao, Goa Kochi, Kerala Mumbai, Maharashtra Guwahati, Assam Pune, Maharashtra

Stadium Salt Lake Stadium Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium Fatorda Stadium Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium DY Patil Stadium Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

UEFA Champions League also known as Champions League is a yearly continental club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), played by top-division European clubs. The club competition was launched one month after UEFA’s first Congress, held in Vienna on 2 March 1955.

ALL-TIME TOP SCORES

Rank

Player

1 2 3

Cristiano Ronaldo Lionel Messi Raùl Ruud van Nistelrooy Thierry Henry Alfredo Di Stèfano Andriy Shevchenko Eusèbio Karim Benzema Fllippo Inzaghi

5 6 7

Goals Appearances 88 80 71 56

50 49 48 46 46 46

121 102 142 73

112 58 100 65 77 81

NICKNAMES OF FAMOUS PLAYERS AROUND THE WORLD Sachin Tendulkar Master Blaster, Tendlya Virender Sehwag Viru, Sultan of Multan Shoaib Akhtar

Rawalpindi Express

Milkha Singh

Flying Sikh

V V S Laxman

Don Bradman

Sunil Gavaskar

Sourav Ganguly

Very Very Special The Don

Sunny, Little Master

Dada, The Prince of Kolkata

Ricky Ponting Punter Harbhajan Singh Bhajji, Turbanator Shane Warne Brett Lee

Warnie, The King of Spin Bing, Binga, The Speedster

The volleyball sport was invented in the year 1895.

Years

Clubs

2003Manchester United, Real Madrid 2005Barcelona 1995-2011 Real Madrid, Schalke 04 1998-2009 PSV, Manchester United, Real Madrid 1997-2010 Manaco, Arsenal, Barcelona 1955-1964 Real Madrid 1994-2012 Dynamo Kyiv, Milan, Chelsea 1961-1974 Benfica 2006Lyon, Real Madrid 1997-2012 Juventus, Milan PT Usha

Payyoli Express

Allan Donald

White Lightning

Major Dhyanchand Kapil Dev

“The Wizard”

The Haryana Hurricane

Shikhar Dhawan Gabbar Brendon McCul- Baz lum Rahul Dravid

The Wall, Mr. Dependable, Jammy

Michael Phelps

“The Baltimore Bullet”

Mahendra Singh Dhoni Usain Bolt Lionel Messi

Mahi, Captain Cool, MSD

“Lightning Bolt” “La Pulga”

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SPORTS & GAMES

Baichung Bhutia “Sikkimese Sniper” Mahesh Bhupathi “Indian Express” and Leander Paes (Doubles) Novak Djokovic “Djoker” Rafael Nadal “The King of Clay” Andre Agassi “The Las Vegas Kid” Martina Hingis “Can’t-miss-Swiss”

Ajith Wadekar David Beckham Tiger Wood Allan Border PT Usha Major Dhyan Chand

The making of a cricketer My Side How to play golf? Beyond Ten thousand Golden Girl Goal

Sachin Tendulkar Playing it my way

Yuvraj Singh Abhinav Bindra Allan Donald

The test of my life A Shot at History White Lightening

BOOKS BY SPORTS PERSONS

Kapil Dev

Sunil Gavaskar

By God’s Decree

Idol, Sunny Days

World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)

Javed Miandad Vishvanathan Anand

The cutting edge My best game of Chess

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) was established on 10th November 1999. Its primary aim is to promote and coordinate the fight against doping in sport internationally. The organization’s headquarters is located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. WADA was set up as a foundation under the initiative of the IOC with the support and participation of intergovernmental organizations, governments, public authorities, and other public and private bodies fighting doping in sport. WADA is accountable for the World Anti-Doping Code, adopted by more than 600 sports organizations, including international sports federations, national anti-doping organizations, the IOC, and the International Paralympics Committee. Sir Craig Reedie is the current president of the agency.

National Anti Doping Agency

National Anti Doping Agency is responsible for conducting for dope free sports in India. The primary objectives are to implement anti-doping rules as per WADA code, regulate dope control programme, to promote education and research and creating awareness about doping and its ill effects. India is among one of the nation who signed the Copenhagen Declaration on Anti Doping in December 2004.

The average golf ball has 336 dimples.

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HEALTHCARE

HEALTHCARE IN INDIA The healthcare services of India have seen tremendous growth in the past few years which can be revealed by different indicators and health parameters. Inspite of this fact, the expenditure on healthcare is very less, i.e. 4% of the GDP and private parties have the dominance over the sector. * * * * * * * *

•

India has worked in improving the health of the citizens. However, the healthcare sector has been seen as a social sector receiving less focus and low budget allocation.

India spends a total of 4.2% of its GDP on healthcare while USA 18%. As a result of low GDP allocation private players are emerging to fulfil the growing healthcare needs. India shares 20% of the burden of global diseases with only 6% beds and 8 % doctors. Hospital bed density in India is 0.9 per 1,000 persons, against WHO’s recommendation 3.5 per 1,000. India has one doctor per 1,700 citizens against WHO’s a minimum ratio of 1:1,000. India has 387 medical colleges—181 Government and 206 private. India produces 30,000 doctors, 18,000 specialists, 30,000 AYUSH graduates, 54,000 nurses, 15,000 ANMs and 36,000 pharmacists annually. India has about 6-6.5 lakh doctors. But it needs 4 lakh more by 2020 to maintain the required ratio of 1:1,000.

Rise in Per Capita Healthcare Expenditure •

Present Status

Per capita healthcare expenditure is estimated at a CAGR of 5 % during FY 2008–15 to US$ 68.6 billion by 2015. This is due to rising incomes, easier access to high-quality healthcare facilities and greater awareness of

• •

The blue whale has the largest heart weighing over 1,500 pounds.

personal health and hygiene. Greater penetration of health insurance aided the rise in healthcare spending, a trend likely to intensify in the coming decade. Economic prosperity is driving the improvement in affordability for generic drugs in the market.

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HEALTHCARE

Per capita healthcare expenditure (US$) 54

2010

61.9

68.9

• 2011

2012

2013 2014 2015

Source : World Bank, BMI Report, TechSci Research

Growth of Healthcare Industry in India •

Healthcare industry is growing at a tremendous pace owing to its

• •

strengthening coverage, services and increasing expenditure by public as well private players. During 2008-20, the market is expected to record a CAGR of 16.5%. The total industry size is expected to touch US$ 160 billion by 2017 and US$ 280 billion by 2020. As per the Ministry of Health, development of 50 technologies has been targeted in the FY16, for the treatment of disease like Cancer and TB.

HEALTHCARE

Healthcare Sector to Grow at a CAGR of 17% during 2008-20 and healthcare revenues to reach USD 280 billion by 2020 Policy Support 300 200 45.0 51.7 59.5

68.4

280.0 India to Emerge as a global healthcare hub Reduced excise and customs duty Exemption in service taxes Establishment of new drug testing 160.0 laboratories Formulation of the Mental Health Policy 81.3 72.8

According to the Ministry of Health, over 50 technologies are being developed by FY16 for 0 treatmentofCancer,TBandotherdiseases. 9 010 011 12 14 F 8 0 0 0 2 2 20 2 20 20 20 Implementation and Promotion of e-Health 20 Initiatives-Mother and Child Tracking System F-Forecase (MCTS)andFacilitationCentre(MCTF). Healthcare expenditure to grow at a CAGR of 17% during 2011-20 Source: TechSci Research

Dolly, a female domestic sheep was the first cloned mammal.

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HEALTHCARE 7 Structural Problems in India’s Healthcare System

•• India ranked 67th among the top developing countries with a doctor patient ratio of 0.7 doctors per 1000 patient.

•• A wide gap between urban and rural population in terms of provision of medical facilities. •• Poor facilities in large government institutions compared to corporate hospitals. •• Increasing cost of curative medical services, high tech curative services not free. •• India has been affected the most by dengue, the rapidly spreading mosquitoborne viral disease. •• Malaria is still a major concern for Indian Health sector. •• Tuberculosis is the biggest threat to India with 2.2 million tuberculosis patients. •• Hepatitis C patients lack access to affordable treatment and care.

National AIDS Control Programme

National Filaria Control Programme

A division of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare,was established in 1992 to prevent and control HIV/AIDS infection through 35 HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Societies.

Launched in India since 1957 with an objective: •• To carry out surveys in different parts of the state where the problem was known to exist in order to determine the extent of prevalence, types of infection and their vectors. •• To undertake large scale pilot studies to evaluate the known methods of filariasis control in selected areas in different parts of states. •• To train professional and ancillary personnel required for the programme.

1. A weak primary healthcare system. 2. Unequally distributed skilled human resources. 3. Large unregulated private sector 4. Low public spending on health 5. Fragmented health information systems 6. Irrational use and spiralling cost of drugs 7. Weak governance and accountability

Major Concerns in Last Decade

NATIONAL HEALTH PROGRAMMES

National Cancer Control Programme

Launched in 1975 with an initiation of giving priority for equipping the premier cancer hospital/institutions. The further evolution has added few other important aspects which include recognition of new Regional Cancer Centre, strengthening of existing Regional Cancer Centres, development of oncology units, District Cancer Control Programme, etc. Pulse Polio Campaign (Do Boond Zindegi Ke)

Initiated in 1978 the programme aimed at preventing polio by vaccinating against the disease. It was the extended programme of Universal Immunisation Program which successfully covered 95% of the country and as a result India was declared Polio free in 2014.

National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP)

Launched in 1955 is a centrally sponsored Health Scheme of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of India with an objective of eliminating Leprosy with the use of Multi Drug Therapy (MDT) in phases.

Eliminate Kala-azar

A part of National Health Policy envisaged in 2010 to eradicate the dreaded disease

A red blood cell can circumnavigate our body in under 20 seconds.

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‘Kala-azar’ or Visceral Leishmaniasis, also known as ‘Black Fever’ and ‘Dumdum Fever’ from India by 2015.

National TB Control Programme

Launched in 1962 with an objective of eradication of the disease but till 1992 only 30% of the country had been covered. So the programmes has been revised in 1993 with an objective of achieving and maintaining a cure rate of 85% among newly detected infectious (new sputum smear positive) cases. This resulted in the coverage of 450 million populations which is more than 80% in 2004.

TB-Mission 2020

•• TB Mission 2020 was announced by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on 28th October 2014 at WHO’s Global TB Symposium in Barcelona with an initiative to eliminate Tuberculosis in India by 2020. •• The Indian government will take up projects of providing free diagnosis, treatment, nutrition support and financial aid to the affected patients.

National Tobacco Control Programme

Launched in 2007 by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare with objectives: •• To bring about greater awareness about the harmful effects of tobacco use and about the Tobacco Control Laws. • • To facilitate effective implementation of the Tobacco Control Law.

National Rural Health Mission (NRHM)

Launched on 5th April,2005. The Mission was initially started for: •• Creation of cadre of Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA). •• Strengthening all the CHCs, PHCs and sub centres. •• Mainstreaming AYUSH (Indian System of Medicine).

HEALTHCARE •• Integrating health and family welfare programme. •• Developing capacities for preventive healthcare at all levels. •• Promotion of public-private partnerships for achieving public health goals. •• Strengthening capacities for data collection, assessment and review for evidence based planning, monitoring and supervision.

National Urban Health Mission (NUHM)

Launched in 2014 under National Health Mission (NHM). The main objectives are to: •• Improve the healthcare status of the urban population particularly the poor and other disadvantaged sections. •• Strengthen public healthcare system. •• Involve the community and urban local bodies in healthcare delivery. •• Supplement the National Rural Health under a unified National Health Mission.

Special Focus on:

•• Urban poor population living in listed and unlisted slums. •• All other vulnerable populations such as homeless, rag-pickers, street children, rickshaw pullers, construction site workers, sex workers and any other temporary migrants.

Mission Indradhanush

•• Mission Indradhanush was launched to immunize all children against seven vaccine preventable diseases including diphtheria, whooping cough (Pertussis), tetanus, polio, tuberculosis, measles and hepatitis B by the year 2020. •• The mission involves four special vaccination campaigns which were conducted between the months of April and July 2015, focussing on intensive planning and monitoring of these campaigns. •• The campaigns will be planned and executed in accordance with the learning

Sushruta, an ancient Indian physician is known as “The father of surgery” and also called “The first plastic surgeon”

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HEALTHCARE from the successful implementation of the polio programme. •• The focus of the systematic immunization drive will be comprehended through a “catch-up” campaign mode with the aim to cover the left out children who missed out immunization. •• The mission will be carried out in 2 phases in 2015 in which the first phase will cover 201 districts, while the second phase will cover 297 districts. •• The Government has recognised 201 districts across 28 states in the country with 82 districts from Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh having 25% children who are unimmunized or partially immunized.

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan

•• The Swachh Bharat Mission was officially launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 2nd October 2014, covering 4041 statutory towns with the purpose to clean the streets, roads and infrastructure of the nation. •• The mission aims to make the nation ‘open defecation free’ by 2019 through construction of IHHL (individual household latrines), cluster toilets and community toilets. •• SBA also aims at eradication of manual scavenging.

•• It also involves 100% collection and processing/disposal/reuse/recycling of municipal solid waste. •• The campaign involves generation of awareness among the citizens regarding sanitation and public health. •• The mission encourages private sectors to participate in construction and maintenance of sanitary facilities as a part of corporate social responsibility initiative. L&T has announced the construction of 5000 toilets across the nation as the part of their CSR initiative.

National Bal Swachhta Mission

•• The National Bal Swachhta Mission was launched by the Union Government on 14th November 2014, on the 125th birth anniversary of India’s first Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru. •• The Bal Swachhta Mission is an integral part of the famous sanitation drive ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’. •• The six themes to be included in the mission are: 1. Clean Anganwadis 2. Clean Surroundings like Playgrounds 3. Clean Self (Personal Hygiene/ Child Health) 4. Clean Food 5. Clean Drinking Water. 6. Clean Toilets •• Maternity Benefit Program

RECENT OUTBREAK OF MAJOR DISEASES IN INDIA

Disease Outbreak

Symptoms

Influenza A (H1N1) • Chills, Fever, Cough virus 2009 • Sore Throat, Runny or Stuffy Nose, Bodyache, Fatigue, Diarrhoea

Swine flu 20142015

• Cough • Fever • Headache • Sore Throat • Muscle Pain • Chills • Vomiting Or Diarrhoea.

We exercise atleast 36 muscles when we smile.

Recommended Treatment Use of drugs such as • Oseltamivir (Tamiflu®), • Zanamivir (Relenza®) • Peramivir (Rapivab®) • Vaccination to prevent infection. • Oseltamivir (Tamiflu®), • Zanamivir (Relenza®)

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Hepatitis 2009

HEALTHCARE • Liver Inflammation, • Vomiting • Jaundice.

• • • • •

• Dengue 2014-2016 • High Fever, (105°F) • Pain Behind the Eyes & Joints, Muscles, Bones • Severe Headache • Rash over skin • Bleeding from nose/ gum/ stools • Cholera 2010 • Mild fever, Body ache, • Abdominal pain and cramps, Lethargy and fatigue • Excessive thirst • Headaches Plague 1994 • Sudden onset of fever • • • Headache • • Chills • • Weakness and one or more swollen, tender and pain- • • ful lymph nodes (called • buboes)

Chikungunya • Arthritis like pain around the 1963-1973 & 2016 joints • Muscle aches • Fever • Malaise • Headache • Fatigue • Nausea • Vomiting

A3’s Healthcare Challenge in Remote Areas

•• A3rmt is a wireless portable medical technology developed as a solution to area-specific healthcare inefficiencies. A3 is a remote technology came in to help doctors sitting in cities or Our blood is on a 60,000 mile journey per day.

Lamivudine (Zeffix®) Adefovir (Hepsera®) Entecavir (Baraclude®) Tenofovir (Viread®) Pegylated Interferon (Pegasys®)

As such there is no such specific drugs for treating dengue. However doctors prescribe Acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) for alleviating pain and reduce fever.

Antibiotic Oral health drink to prevent dehydration Streptomycin Gentamicin Tetracycline Chloramphenicol Doxycycline Oxytetracycline Sulfamethoxazole/trimethopri

• Aspirin • Non-steroidal inflammatory drugs • Chloroquine Phosphate

anywhere to control patients from long distances, i.e. rural areas. •• The concept and devices useful in developing countries was started by Dr. Shrikant Parikh, founder and CEO of the company, in 2008.

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HEALTHCARE •• Dr. Shrikant Parikh has declared that A3 will help India in tackling its rural health problems by connecting needy patients to medical experts. A3rmt create customized devices to connect patient side units to multiple cloud servers. Doctors just need to have a smartphone/hand held device. •• A3rmt provides detailed information about the specific local challenges in healthcare. •• The A3 services focus on five broad areas: cardiovascular diseases, cuts and wounds, war zone medical care, pregnancy, and radiology.

•• A3 devices are helping doctors and cardiologist of Tamil Nadu State Governmental District Hospital to remotely serve patients in the Primary Healthcare Centre of Kunjapanai village, which lies in a hilly, forested terrain. •• A3 has provided their technology to six Indian states so far, and has even crossed the Indian border to reach the hospital of Mwanza, Tanzania, where patients are remotely monitored by senior doctors in Ahmedabad.

India’s universal health plan that aims to offer guaranteed benefits to a sixth of the world’s population will cost an estimated ` 1.6 trillion (US$ 23.48 billion) over the next four years. Some of the major initiatives taken by the Government of India to promote Indian healthcare industry are as follows: •• Provisions made in the Union budget 2016-17: o National Dialysis Services Programme to be initiated to provide dialysis services in all district hospitals. o A new health protection scheme for health cover upto ` 1 lakh (US$ 1,470) per family. o Setting up 3,000 medical stores across the country to provide quality medicines at affordable prices. o Senior citizens will get additional healthcare cover of ` 30,000 (US$ 441) under the new scheme o Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Yojana to be strengthened, 3000 generic drug store to be opened. •• Government of West Bengal has introduced G1 Digital Dispensary, to provide people from rural areas access to primary healthcare services. •• A unique initiative for healthcare ‘SEHAT’ (Social Endeavour for Health

and Telemedicine) has been launched to empower rural citizens by providing access to information, knowledge, skills and other services in different sectors through digital technologies. •• Government of India has launched the National Deworming initiative to protect 24 crore children of 1-19 years from intestinal worms.

GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES IN HEALTHY SECTOR

Startups Making Difference in Healthcare Digitally

About 90% of the startups evaluated in 2015 were working on preventive healthcare and monitoring solutions, revealed an InnAccel’s report. Hospitals, medical devices, clinical trials, outsourcing, tele-medicine, medical tourism, health insurance and medical equipment collectively form the pillar of healthcare sector. Today, you can locate diagnostic centres, hospitals and doctors just by a swipe on a smartphone’s Apps created by Startups. Below are the list of some healthtech startups: eKincare: It was founded in 2014 by Kiran Kalakuntla and Sunil Motaparti at Hyderabad. It helps users put their health records and keep it on the cloud — where they can access the data anywhere, using a PC or a mobile device.

The beating sound of the heart is the clap of valve leaflets opening and closing.

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Medibox Technologies: Mr. Bhavik Kumar and Kapil Kanbarkar started it at Bengaluru. Medibox allows patients to search for healthcare facilities like pharmacies, hospitals and blood banks across India. It is a mobile application based services. Mediaka Bazaar: It was founded by Mr. Vivek Tiwari in 2015 in Mumbai. Mediaka bazaar is a market place for all medical and healthcare needs. It helps buyers search and compare from over 10,000 medical devices and consumable options for all health and wellness needs. Medical Unique Identity (MUI): Mr. Mayank Harlalka started it in Bengaluru.

The human body has 45 miles of nerves.

HEALTHCARE MUI manages personal health information to deliver quality healthcare to the public. It allows users to maintain lifetime health records and data for improving the quality of medical treatment. BookMEDS.com: It was started by Mohammed Abubakar, Subathra Santanam, and Sajid Sikander in 2013 at Hyderabad. BookMEDS is an e-commerce portal for medicines and medical products. The product categories include orthopedic care, home care, mother and baby care, medical gadgets, hospital equipment, contraceptives care, protein supplements, fitness and sports, homeopathy and ayurveda, ENT, eye, and dental care.

Includes Radio, TV, Newspapers, Magazines, Books, Films

Benefits Provides Entertainment Creates Awareness about programmes/policies Educational programmes

Mass Communication

Facilitate quick delivery in large towns & cities

Six mail channels

Updates current National & International affairs

Periodicals

Journals

Rajdhani Channel Metro Channel Green Channel Business Channel Bulk mail Channel Periodical Channel

Expanding Telephone services 24 hrs STD facility to every village in the country Development of space technology revolutionized the system

Telecommunication

Print Media

Provides knowledge

Newspapers

Handles First class mail Second class mail Indian parcels, postal Includes Book Include Network letters Pockets, cards & Registered etc. Largest in envelopes Newspapers, World Airlifted, Periodicals cover both Carried by land & air surface mail, cover land & water transport

Postal Network

Means of Communication

MEANS OF COMMUNICATION

COMMUNICATION, MEDIA & TRANSPORT

COMMUNICATION MEDIA & TRANSPORT

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COMMUNICATION, MEDIA & TRANSPORT

COMMUNICATION Post Office •• The Department of Posts was founded in India on 1st April, 1774. •• This department serves as an agent of Govt. •• It provides services like letter post, parcel service, EMS, delivery, freight forwarding, third-party logistics, and deposit accounts, saving banks, retailing, life insurance, remittance etc.

•• Indian Post has been terminated two of its major services such as Telegram and Money order in July 2013 and April 2015 respectively due to the increasing pressure of electronic communication media, but still continues with the services of electronic money order (eMO) and instant money order (IMO) which were introduced in 2008.

Quick Facts

Founder of Telegraph and Postal in India : Governor General Lord Dalhousie First General Post Office opened in India : 1774 (Kolkata) First postage stamp of India : Sinde Dawk (1852) Pin system started in India : 1972 The First Indian Post Office Outside India : Dakshin Gangotri in Antarctica (1983), Indian Territory Speed Post started in India : 1986 : 1880 Money Order System : 1884 Postal Life Insurance started Postal Staff College situated at : Ghaziabad (UP) : 9th October World Postal Day is observed on Indian Postal Day is observed on : 10th October

Telecommunication

•• The Telecommunications system in India is the 2nd largest in the world. Telephone services were introduced in 1881-82 in Kolkata for the first time and first automatic exchange was opened up at Shimla in 1913-14 with a capacity of 700 lines only. In 1850, the first experimental electric telegraph line was started between Calcutta and Diamond Harbour. In 1851, it was opened for the use of the British East India Company. The construction of 4,000 miles (6,400 km) of telegraph lines was started in November 1853. These connected Kolkata and Peshawar in the north; Agra, Mumbai through Sindwa Ghats, and Chennai in the south; Ootacamund and Bangalore.

William O’Shaughnessy pioneered the telegraph and telephone in India. A separate department was opened in 1854 when telegraph facilities opened to the public. •• A revolution in wireless communication began in the first decade of the 20th century with the pioneering developments in radio communications by Guglielmo Marconi, who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1909. •• Other highly notable pioneering inventors and developers in the field of electrical and electronic telecommunications include Charles Wheatstone and Samuel Morse (telegraph), Alexander Graham Bell (telephone), Edwin Armstrong, and Guglielmo Marconi (radio), as well as Vladimir K. Zworykin, John Logie Baird and Philo Farnsworth (television).

Chandragupta Maurya is the first Indian King to be depicted on an Indian Stamp.

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COMMUNICATION, MEDIA & TRANSPORT Radio and Television •• At the time of Independence, there were six radio (Akashwani) stations. At present all India Radio is accessible to almost 99% of total population.

•• Doordarshan is the national television service of India. It was started in 1959. •• Under the open skies policies a large number of private parties have registered in India.

Mobile Communication

•• A mobile phone is a telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency carrier while the user is moving within a telephone service area.

•• Modern mobile phones support a variety of services, such as text messaging, MMS, email, Internet access, short-range wireless communications, business applications, gaming, and photography. Mobile phones which offer these and more general computing capabilities are referred to as Smartphone.

•• Wireless data connections used in mobile computing take three general forms. Cellular data service uses technologies such as GSM, CDMA or GPRS, 3G, 4G networks such as W-CDMA, EDGE or CDMA 200 and more recently 4G networks such as LTE, LTE-Advanced. •• GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications, is to describe the protocols for second-generation (2G) digital cellular networks used by mobile phones, first deployed in Finland in July 1991. •• Code division multiple access (CDMA) is a channel access method used by various radio communication technologies. CDMA is used as the access method in many mobile phone standards such as cdmaOne, CDMA2000 (the 3G evolution of cdmaOne), and WCDMA (the 3G standard used by GSM carriers), which are often referred to as simply CDMA.

•• 3G, is the third generation of mobile telecommunications technology. 3G telecommunication networks support services that provide an information transfer rate of at least 200 kbit/s.

•• 4G, is the fourth generation of mobile telecommunications technology, succeeding 3G. A 4G system must provide capabilities defined by ITU in IMT Advanced. Potential and current applications include amended mobile web access, IP telephony, gaming services, high-definition mobile TV, video conferencing, 3D television, and cloud computing.

Communications Satellite ••

A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunications signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver(s) at different locations on Earth.

•• Communications satellites are used for television, telephone, radio, internet, and military applications. •• The first artificial Earth satellite was Sputnik 1. Put into orbit by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957, it was equipped with an on-board radio-transmitter that worked on two frequencies: 20.005 and 40.002 MHz. India has launched 87 Indian satellites (as of now) of many types since its first in 1975. The organisation responsible for India’s satellite program is the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Application Areas •• Agriculture •• Education •• Health

•• e-governance

•• Grid Computing (High Performance Computing)

The first handheld mobile phone was demonstrated by Motorola in 1973.

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COMMUNICATION, MEDIA & TRANSPORT

NEWS & MEDIA All India Radio (AIR) or Akashwani

Newspaper Newspaper is the print media that usually prints information, the activities and happenings around us, generally categorized into daily and weekly basis. It was introduced way back in 1780.

QUICK FACTS

Event

Publishing Year

Name of the Publication

First newspaper in India

1780

Hicky’s Bengal Gazette or Calcutta General Bombay Herald

First newspaper from Bombay First newspaper in Hindi

1789

1854

Registrar of Newspapers

Samachar Sudha Varshan

It is a statutory body of Government of India which is popularly known as RNI. It was established on 1st July 1956 with an objective of regulating and monitoring the printing and publication of newspapers based on the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867. It has both statutory and non-statutory functions.

Press Trust of India (PTI)

It was incorporated in Madras on, 27th August, 1947 but started providing fullfledged news and information both in Hindi and English medium from 1st February, 1949. It’s a non-profit sharing cooperative organization and known for its unbiased news coverage. The corporate and registered offices are located at Sansad Marg, New Delhi and D N Road, Mumbai respectively. It has a news channel known as PTI-TV featuring documentaries.

United News of India (UNI)

It was founded on December 1961 under the Company Acts. However its commercial application started on 21st March 1961.

Prasar Bharti

It is an autonomous body set up by an Act of Parliament on 23 Nov, 1997. It has two major divisions Doordarshan Television Network and All India Radio. It is known to be the largest broadcasting agency in India.

It was formed in 1930 as a part of Prasar Bharti. It is considered to be one of the nation’s premier Public Service Broadcasters which truly lives up to its motto of ‘Bahujan Hitaya: Bahujan Sukhaya’. At the beginning AIR started broadcasting in 23 languages and 146 dialects.

Doordarshan

It was launched on 15 September, 1959 as a part of Prasar Bharti with the motto Satyam Shivam Sundaram. It provides television, radio, online and mobile services throughout metropolitan and regional India with more than 60 channels which broadcast programmes in almost all regional languages along with Hindi and English. It has also a wide spread network in the overseas also.

Reuters

It is an English news service opened in London by Julius Reuter in 1851, and now the most important institution of its kind in the British Empire. It has correspondents in all the great news centres of the world and furnishes telegraph and other news features throughout the eastern hemisphere and, to some extent, to Latin America, the United States and Canada.

AFP Agence France-Presse (AFP)

It is an international news agency. The headquarter of AFP is located in Paris. It was founded in 1944. It is the third largest in the world (after Associated Press and Reuters). AFP has regional offices in Nicosia, Montevideo, Hong Kong, and Washington, D.C., and bureaus in 150 countries. It transmits news in French, English, Arabic, Portuguese, Spanish and German.

AP (Associated Press)

It is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent news gathering. It is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, as a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members. Founded in 1846, AP has covered all the major news events of the past 165 years, providing high quality, informed reporting of everything from wars and elections to championship games and royal weddings. Since the Pulitzer Prize was established, in 1917, AP has received 51 Pulitzers, including 31 photo Pulitzers.

Bharti Airtel launched India’s first 4G service, using TD-LTE technology, in Kolkata on 10 April 2012.

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COMMUNICATION, MEDIA & TRANSPORT BBC (The British Broadcasting Corporation)

Social Media Social Media are computer-mediated technologies that allow the creating and sharing of information, ideas, career interests and other forms of expression via virtual communities and networks. Social media use web-based and mobile technologies on smartphones and tablet computers to create highly interactive platforms through which individuals, communities and organizations can share, co-create, discuss, and modify usergenerated content or pre-made content posted online. Some of the most popular social media websites are Facebook (and its associated Facebook Messenger), WhatsApp, Tumblr, Instagram, Twitter, Baidu Tieba, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Gab, Google+, YouTube, Viber, Snapchat, Weibo and WeChat.

It is the public service broadcaster of the United Kingdom, headquartered at Broadcasting House in London. It is the world’s oldest national broadcasting organisation and the largest broadcaster in the world.

Al Jazeera

It is a Doha-based state funded broadcaster owned by the Al Jazeera Media Network, Partly funded by the house of Thani, the ruling family of Qatar. It is one of the largest news organizations with 80 bureaus around the world. The channel was launched on 1st November 1996 following the closure of the BBC’s Arabic language television station. Hamid bin Thamer Al Thani is the chairman of the channel.

TRANSPORT

A well-knit and coordinated system of transport plays an important part in the development of economic growth of a country. The present transport system of India comprises several modes of transport which includes (a) Rail (b) Roads (c) Inland waterways (d) Coastal shipping and (e) Airways. The Ministry of Transport is responsible for the formation and implementation of policies and programmes for the development of various modes of transport except the railways and the civil aviation. NEED & IMPORTANCE OF TRANSPORT Development of a Country

Production of Goods & Services

Movement of Goods & Services

Require

EFFICIENT Means of Transport

Link areas of production with consumption Importance of Transport System Facilitates movement of Goods, Services & People at local & global level

Economic Prosperity & Maintain Security

The Smallest National Highway is NH47A with length of 6 kms from Bamanbore (Guj) to Nagpur.

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COMMUNICATION, MEDIA & TRANSPORT TRANSPORT

Means of Transport Land

Water

Indian Road Network

Air

•• India has a road network of over approx. 4,689,842 kilometers. •• The Central Government is responsible for development and maintenance of the National Highways system. •• The Ministry carries out development and maintenance work of National Highways through three agencies. viz. National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), State Public Works Department (PWDs) and Border Road Organization (BRO). •• National Highways Development Project (NHDP) is the largest highway project ever taken in the country. •

FEATURES OF ROAD TRANSPORT

Cheap & Easy to Construct & Maintain Feeder to Railways, Air & Seaports

More economical for short distance travel & traffic movement

Road Transport

Constructed in hilly areas, negotiate steep slopes & sharp bends

Provides door-to-door service

More flexible & Accessible

QUICK FACTS