Current Affairs IES 2012

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Current Affairs
South Sudan a landlocked country , is bordered by Ethiopia ,
Kenya, Uganda , the Democratic Republic of the Congo , the
Central African Republic , and Sudan . Its capital and the
largest city is Juba. South Sudan includes the vast swamp
region of the Sudd formed by the White Nile, locally called
the Bahr al Jabal. South Sudan became independent from
Sudan on 9 July 2011. It is a 193rd member of UN. South
Sudan is mainly Christian populated while Sudan is mainly
Muslim Populated. Major part of the South Sudan is covered
by the forest whereas Sudan is Predominantly a Desert area.
The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), was passed
on September 11, 1958 by the Parliament of India. It
conferred special powers upon armed forces in what the
language of the act calls "disturbed areas" in the states of
Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram,
Nagaland and Tripura (It was first applied to the North
Eastern states of Assam and Manipur and was amended in
1972 to extend to all the seven states in the north- eastern
region of India). It was later extended to Jammu and Kashmir
as The Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers
Act, 1990 in July 1990.
Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) was
established on Novemeber 16, 1860. CAG together with
Indian Audit and Accounts Department is known as Supreme
Audit Institution in India (SAI). CAG audits all receipts and
expenditure of the Government of India and the state
governments, including those of bodies and authorities
substantially financed by the government. He also acts as the
external auditor of government-owned companies. The
reports of the CAG are taken into consideration by the Public
Accounts Committees, which are special committees in the
Parliament of India and the state legislatures. The CAG of
India is also the head of the Indian Audit and Accounts
Department. CAG of India is also known as the Sentinel of
Indian Exchequer or Friend, Philosopher and Guide of Public
Accounts Committee or Guard of Public Money or Indian
Financial Watchdog. The Constitution of India [Art.148]
provides for an independent office to the CAG of India. The
CAG could not be removed from office other than through a
procedure of impeachment similar to what is applicable to a
Judge of the Supreme Court of India. CAG is appointed by the
President of India for 6 years or 65 years of age whichever
copletes first. The current CAG of India is Vinod Rai, who was
appointed on 7 January 2008. He is the 11th CAG of India.
First ever CAG was C V Narhari Rao.
Census 2011
The population of India has increased by more than 181
million during the decade 2001-2011. India is adding more
number of people per year in the Global Population than that
of any other country of the world.
Population growth percentage in 2001-2011 is 17.64 (males
17.19 and females 18.12).
2001-2011 is the first decade (with the exception of 1911-
1921) which has actually added lesser population compared
to the previous decade.
Uttar Pradesh (199.5 million) is the most populous State in
the country followed by Maharashtra with 112 million.
The total number of children in the age-group 0-6 is 158.8
million (-5 million since 2001). Uttar Pradesh (29.7 million),
Bihar (18.6 million), Maharashtra (12.8 million), Madhya
Pradesh (10.5 million) and Rajasthan (10.5 million) constitute
52% children in the age group of 0-6 years. Population (0-6
years) 2001-2011 registered minus (-) 3.08 percent growth
with minus (-) 2.42 for males and 3.80 for females. The
proportion of Child Population in the age group of 0-6 years
to total population is 13.1 % while the corresponding figure in
2001 was 15.9 percent. The decline has been to the extent of
2.8 points.
Overall sex ratio at the national level has increased by 7
points to reach 940 at Census 2011 as against 933 in Census
2001. This is the highest sex ratio recorded since Census 1971
and a little lower than 1961. Increase in sex ratio is observed
in 29 States/Union Territories. Three major States (J&K, Bihar
& Guj-arat) have shown decline in sex ratio as compared to
Census 2001. Kerala with 1084 has the highest sex ratio
followed by Puducherry with 1038; Daman & Diu has the
lowest sex ratio of 618.
Overall Child sex ratio (0-6 years) of India is 914. Increasing
trend in the child sex ratio (0-6) seen in Punjab, Haryana,
Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Mizoram and A&N
Islands. In all remaining 27 States/UTs, the child sex ratio
show decline over Census 2001. Mizoram has the highest
child sex ratio (0-6 years) of 971 followed by Meghalaya with
970. Haryana is at the bottom with ratio of 830 followed by
Punjab with 846.
Literacy rate has gone up from 64.83 per cent in 2001 to
74.04 per cent in 2011 showing an increase of 9.21
percentage points.
Census 2011 covered:
States/Ut's 35
Districts 640
Towns 8001
Villages 640852
Census 2011 Mascot: A lady Enumerator
Slogan of Census 2011 is "Our Census, Our Future".

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Census 2011 is the 15th National Census of the country. The
Census is a statutory exercise conducted under the provisions
of the Census Act 1948 and Rules made there under. The first
ever census took place in 1972 during Mayo but first
synchronised census took place in 1881 during Ripon. Iris
information was added for all persons aged 15 years and
above. First March 2011 was the reference date for Census
2011. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner
is the part of Ministry of Home Affairs. Dr. C. Chandramouli is
the resent Registrar General & Census Commissioner.
Ranjana Sonawne is the first Indian to get the 12 digit UID
(Unique Identification). Tembhli, a tribal village in Nandurbar
district of Maharashtra becomes the first village in India to
get the Unique Identification Numbers (UIDs) and is declared
as an Aadhar' village.
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has
been created as an attached office under the Planning
Commission. On 25 June 2009, the Cabinet also created and
approved the position of the Chairperson of the UIDAI, and
appointed Mr. Nandan Nilekani as the first Chairperson in the
rank and status of a Cabinet Minister. The UIDAI is
headquartered in Delhi. Aadhaar is the UID brand name and
logo.
IMR and MMR
The Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) in the country has shown a
steady decline from 53 per 1000 live births (SRS 2008) to 47
per 1000 live births (SRS 2010). Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) in
rural area is 51 per 1000 live births whereas in urban area
IMR is 31 per 1000 live births. Goa having the Lowest IMR of
10 whereas MP having the Highest IMR of 62 per thousand
Live births. Goa (10), Kerala (13), Manipur (14) and Nagaland
(23) are the only four states that achieved an IMR below the
MDG target so far. The same also holds true for Union
territories Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Daman
and Diu, Lakshadweep and Puducherry. It remained static in
Lakshdweep and Puducherry. The Millennium Development
Goals (MDG) targets of 30.
The maternal mortality ratio (MMR) has come down to 212
(2007-09) from 254 in 2004-06 in India. Assam (390) reported
the Maximum MMR while Kerala (81), Tamil Nadu (97) and
Maharashtra (104) have achieved the MDG Target of 109 well
before the stipulated to be achieved by the year 2015. MMR
in India have declined from the level of 398 in 1997-1998 to
212 in 2007-2009. EAG states and Assam together have
registered the MMR of 308.
NOTE: IMR measures number of infant( < 1 year) deaths per
1000 live births.Maternal Mortality rate (MMR) measures
number of women aged 15-49 years dying due to maternal
causes per 1,00,000 live births. TFR measures average
number of children born to a woman during her entire
reproductive period. The EAG States are Madhya Pradesh,
Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand,
Orissa and Rajasthan.
Nuclear Liability law passed in India limits the responsibility
of the nuclear operator to 1500 crore. There are total 20
reactors operational in India, Kaiga 4 is the 20
th
. Jaitapur
Nuclear reactor is going to be established in Maharashtra
with the French Company Areva assistance.
Central Vigilance Commission was established in 1964 on the
recommendation of the Committee on the Prevention of the
corruptions headed by K Santhanam. Nittor Srinivasu Rau
was the First CVC. CBI was established 1963, through a Home
Ministry. D P Kohli was the founder director of the CBI.
The Mullaperiyar Dam is a masonry gravity dam on the
Periyar River on the Cardamom Hills of the Western Ghats in
Thekkady, Idukki District of Kerala. The dam is controlled and
operated by Tamil Nadu. Mullaperiyar is derived from a
portmanteau of Mullayar River and Periyar River, at the
confluence of which the dam is located below. On 29 October
1886, a lease indenture for 999 years was made between the
Maharaja of Travancore, Visakham Thirunal Rama Varma and
the British Secretary of State for India for Periyar Irrigation
Works.
The Delhi Durbar also known as the Imperial Durbar, it was
held three times, in 1877, 1903, and 1911, at the height of
the British Empire. The 1911 Durbar was the only one
attended by the sovereign, who was George V. Durbar of
1911 in December to commemorate the coronation in Britain
a few months earlier of King George V and Queen Mary. The
Gateway of India in Mumbai was erected to commemorate
the landing of King George V and Queen Mary when they
visited India in 1911.
The European Organization for Nuclear Research known as
CERN is having its HQs in Geneva. CERN's main function is to
provide the particle accelerators and other infrastructure
needed for high-energy physics research. Numerous
experiments have been constructed at CERN by international
collaborations to make use of them. It is also the birthplace of
the World Wide Web.
The String of Pearls refers to the Chinese sea lines of
communication which run through the strategic traffic points
like Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb (connecting the Red Sea to the
Gulf of Aden), Strait of Malacca (between the Malay
Peninsula and the island of Sumatra), Strait of Hormuz
(between the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf), and Strait
of Lombok (connecting the Java Sea to the Indian Ocean, is
located between the islands of Bali and Lombok in Indonesia),
as well as other strategic naval interests.
Palestine became the 195th full member of UNESCO with the
vote of UNESCOs full membership was 107 to 14, with 52


abstentions. The step will cost the UNESCO one-quarter of its
yearly budget the 22 percent contributed by the United
States (about $70 million) plus another 3 percent contributed
by Israel. UNESCO's headquarters is in Paris and its Director-
General is Irina Bokova from Bulgaria. India, as Chair of the
Group of 77 and China within UNESCO, played a crucial,
contributory yet constructive role in response to a legitimate
demand on the part of the Palestinian people said Vinay
Sheel Oberoi, India's Permanent Representative to UNESO.
The 10th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas (PBD) was held on 7-9
January, 2012 in Jaipur with the theme of The Global Indian:
Inclusive Growth . The first woman Prime Minister of
Trinidad and Tobago, Kamla Persad Bissessar was the Chief
Guest. First PBD took place in 2003 in New Delhi. Pravasi
Bharatiya Divas (PBD) is celebrated on 9th January every year
to mark the contribution of Overseas Indian community in
the development of India. January 9 was chosen as the day to
celebrate this occasion since it was on this day in 1915 that
Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest Pravasi, returned to India
from South Africa

Important Base Years
1. National Income Estimation - 2004 -05 (Estimation By CSO).
2. Inflation (WPI) 2004-05 ( By Office of the Economic Advisor,
ministry of commerce). The WPI Series of Base 2004-05 is
effective from August 2010 and its date of first release is
September 14, 2010. Primary Articles 20.12% (in which food
articles constitute for 14.34% and the Non food articles
Constitute for 4.26% and minerals 1.52%), Fuel and Power
14.91%, Manufactured goods 64.97% (In which food products
9.97%).
3. The Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ministry of Statistics and
Programme Implementation has introduced a new series of
Consumer Price Indices (CPI) on base 2010=100 for all-India
and States/UTs separately for rural, urban and combined with
effect from January, 2011.
4. New series of Index of Industrial Production having a Base
year of 2004-05.
Defence
The Officers Training Academy (OTA) in Gaya is poised to
conduct its maiden Passing Out Parade on June 9, heralding a
new era in the history of Indian Army. Officers Training
Academy, Gaya, better known as OTA Gaya is the third pre-
commissioning military academy in the country. It was raised
on July 18, 2011. At present, there are two such pre-
commissioning military training academies - The Indian
Military Academy in Dehradun and the Officers Training
Academy in Chennai for commissioning in the Indian Army.
Rustom-1 is a medium-altitude and long-endurance
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), developed by the Bangalore-
based Aeronautical Development Establishment.
The world's fastest helicopter has been developed by Sikorsky
Aircraft of US.
DRDO Develops UAV 'Netra' to aid in Antiterrorist Operations
India to Get First Defence University in Binola in Haryana.
India, Russia signed agreement to jointly develop Military
Transport Aircraft.
Tata Group to centre its aerospace and defence operations in
Hyderabad
Sagarika (K-15) is Submarine to surface missile, Range 750km
Akash, Medium range surface to air missile, Range 30km
Nag, Third generation fire and forget anti tank missile
HELINA, Aerial Version of Nag to be launched from ALH/LCH
Nirbhay, a subsonic cruise missile, Range 1000 km
Dhanush, The ship based surface to surface missile, Range
350 km, naval version of Prithvi
Avtaar, reusable rocketplane to place satellite into the near
earth orbit, under development
Tejas, Name given by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, A light Combat
Aircraft, to fitted with kaveri Engine.
Samudra Prahari or Guardian of the Sea is the Pollution
Control Vessel of Indian Coast Guard.
Sharabh: Oldest Commissioned ship
Shardul: landing ship tank
Aridaman: INS Arihant Class Nuclear powered Submarine
Shivalik: India's first indigenously developed stealth frigate
INS Chakra: India have taken on lease for 10 years from
Russia, An Akula II Class nuclear powered submarine.
Important Defence Exercises
Nomadic Elephant India-Mongolia-Military
Varuna India-France-Naval
Indra India-Russia
Indradhanush India-UK- Airforce
Garuda India-France-Air
Konkan India-UK-Naval


Ekuverin India-Maldives-Military
Garuda Shakti India-Indonesia-Military
Malabar India-US
Yudhabhyas India- US
Vajra Prahar India - US
Slinex India- Srilanka Naval
Sampriti India - Bangladesh
Shakti India - France Army
Eastern bridge India - Oman Air Force
Bold Kurukshetra India- Singapore Army
Shoor veer Indian Army and Airforce
Sudarshan Shakti Indian army
Note: Milan is the biennial gathering of Various Navies in the
Indian Ocean.
Important Operation
Operation Atalanta is formally known as European Union
Naval Force Somalia.
Operation Unified Protector was an NATO operation
enforcing United Nations Security Council resolutions 1970
and 1973 concerning the Libyan civil war to implement an
arms embargo, a no-fly zone and to use all means necessary,
short of foreign occupation, to protect Libyan civilians and
civilian populated areas.
Operation Odyssey Dawn was the U.S. code name for the US
part of the international military operation in Libya to enforce
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973. Similar
British operation was Operation Ellamy, the Canadian
participation was Operation Mobile,and the French
participation was Opration Harmattan.
Operation Desert Storm (1991) commonly referred to as
simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a UN-authorized
coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States,
against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of
Kuwait.
Operation Safed Sagar: Indian Airforce operation during
Kargil War
Opeation Polo: (1948) Inclusion of Hyderabad into India.
Operation Meghdoot (1984): Indian Armed Forces operation
During conflict at the Siachen Glacier (Highest battle ground
of the World also known as the 3rd pole). Siachen Glacier is
located in the eastern Karakoram range. The region is home
to rare species like snow leopard, brown bear and ibex. The
major passes on this ridge are, from north to south, Sia La,
Bilafond La, and Gyong La.
Operation Neptune Spear, the May 2011 US operation that
resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad,
Pakistan. Sometime unofficially referred to as op. Geronimo
after the Native American guerilla fighter.
Operation Pawan (1987) Operation by the Indian Peace
Keeping Force to take control of Jaffna from the LTTE
Operation 'Saiyam' Indian Army launched on November
2010 to neutralize around 17000 munitions used in gulf-war.
Organisations And Summits
4th BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa)
summit took place in India for the first time in march 2012 in
New Delhi. The theme of the Summit was BRICS Partnership
for Global Stability, Security and Prosperity. The BRICS
nations Agreed on trade in and to set up a development
bank. First BRIC summit took place in 2009 Yekaterinburg,
Russia and in 2011 in Sanya, China. In 2011 S Africa joined
and it became BRICS. Next summit in 2013 will take place in
South Africa.
The 17th SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional
Cooperation) Summit held in Addu, Maldives with the theme
of Building Bridges. Here members signed four agreements:
1. SAARC Agreement on Rapid Response to Natural Disasters,
2. SAARC Agreement on Multilateral Arrangement on
Recognition of Conformity Assessment, 3. SAARC Agreement
on Implementation of Regional Standards, 4. SAARC Seed
Bank Agreement. 18th Summit will be held in Nepal in 2012.
SAARC having 8 Members (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India,
Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan (latest)
was established in 1985 in Dhaka. Its secretariat is in
Kathmandu, Nepal.
The Ninth BASIC (Brazil, South Africa, India and China)
Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change was held in Beijing,
China. BASIC block was established in 2009 mainly to have a
common position on the global Climate Change Negotiation.
The 12th India-EU Summit was held in New Delhi.
The 6th G20 (Major Economies) summit was held in Cannes,
France in Nov. 2011. Important members of G 20 are
European Union, India, Mexico, Indonesia, Brazil, China and
South Africa, US, UK, France, Saudi Arab. Nest summit will be
in June 2012 Los Cabos, Mexico.


The second nuclear security summit was held in Seoul,
capital of South Korea. First summit took place in 2010 in
Washington, USA whereas the Third will be in 2014 in
Netherlands.
The sixth East Asia Summit (EAS) took place in Bali,
Indonesia. EAS have 18 countries including ten ASEAN
countries and China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia,
New Zealand, US and Russia.
20th ASEAN summit took place in April in Phnom Penh,
Cambodia. ASEAN was established in 1967 by Singapore.
Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Philippines. Its Secretariat
is in Jakarta. It is having 10 members. ASEAN+3 includes
China, Japan and South Korea.
22nd Biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government
Meeting (CHOGM) took place in Perth, Australia, in Oct. 2011
under the theme Building National Resilience, Building
Global Resilience. Indian delegation was led by Hamid Ansari
and the absence of Indian PM was seen as a kind of Indian
protest against Australia's decision of not selling uranium to
India till India do not sign Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty.
Canadian PM Stephen Harper did not attended the last day of
summit protesting against Srilanka being declared a host of
CHOGM 2013. Indian Kamlesh Sharma was reappointed for
second term as the Secretary General of Commonwealth for a
four year. Proposal of India was seconded by Pakistan and
was accepted unanimously by everybody.
In the Tshwane Declaration at 5th IBSA Summit in Pretoria
the Leaders noted that the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA)
Dialogue Forum brings together three large pluralistic, multi-
cultural and multiracial
societies from three continents. The IBSA Dialogue Forum
(India, Brazil, South Africa) was established in June 2003.
19th APEC Economic Leaders Summit Meeting took place in
Honolulu, Hawaii Islands. 2012 meeting will be held in 2012
in Vladivostok, Russia. Headquarters of APEC is at Singapore
and have 21 Members. India and Pakistan are not the
members.
The Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum held in
Davos.
The fifth edition of World Future Energy Summit 2012 will be
held in Abu Dhabi.
India hosted the World Tiger Summit for first time in 2010 in
Ranthambore (Rajasthan). Recently international tiger Forum
took place in Russia.
P5 + 1 is five UN Security Council permanent members and
Germany. P5+1 Discussing Irans Nuclear Programme with
Iran.
Six Party Talks is going on to ask North korea to stop their
Nuclear Programme. Six Party countries are US, Russia, China,
Japan, South Korea and North Korea.
G4 is the group of 4 countries (India, France Brazil, and
Germany) seeking permanent membership of security
council. Coffee Club or Uniting for Consensus is the name of
the group of countries opposing G4 proposal which includes
Italy, Pakistan, Mexico, South Korea etc.,.
Important Publications
World Economic Outlook - IMF.
World Investment report - UNCTAD
World Development Report - World Bank
Asian development Outlook - Asian Development Bank
HDR 2011 with the theme of Sustainability and Equity: A
Better Future for All studied 187 countries ( 185 out of 193
UN members and Hongkong and Palestine). India ranks 134
out of 187 countries in 2011 whereas India ranked 119 out of
169 countries in 2010. A steady progress in the countrys
Human Development Index (HDI) value could be gauged from
the 1.51 per cent growth achieved over the 1980-2011 time
period. Albeit Indias Inequality adjusted HDI (IHDI) fell from
0.392 in 2010 to 0.365 in 2011 indicating the loss due to the
rising inequality . Indias Gender Inequality Index value is
0.617 and it ranks 129 out of 146 countries in this measure.
The Multidimensional Poverty Index value is 0.283 for India
and as per this 53.7% population of India is BPL.
Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), which featured in the
HDR 2011 and covered 109 developing countries, was
launched on 2 November 2011. MPI was developed in 2010
by Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative and the
UNDP. The MPI identifies deprivations across health,
education and living standards, and shows the number of
people who are multidimensionally poor and the deprivations
that they face at the household level. It uses following ten
indicators across three dimensions.


The Human Development Index (HDI) measures the average
achievements in a country in three basic dimensions of
human development: a long and healthy life (Life Expectancy
at birth) , access to knowledge (Education) and a decent
standard of living (Per Capita Income). These three
dimensions are put on a scale of 0 to 1, where greater is
better.
Some Important Ranks in HDR 2011: 1st Norway, 2nd
Australia, 3rd Netherlands, 4th United States, 66th Russia,
84th Brazil, 97th Sri Lanka, 101 China, 123 South Africa, 124
Indonesia, 134 India, 141 Bhutan, 142 Solomon Islands, 145
Pakistan, 146 Bangladesh, 149 Myanmar, 172 Afghanistan
and 187th Democratic Republic of the Congo.
First ever HDR was published in 1990 by the efforts of
Mehboob Ul haque of Pakistan assisted by Amartya Sen.
Environment, forest and Wildlife
Convention on Biological Diversity meeting (COP 10) in
Nagoya, Japan. Nagoya Protocol to ensure that the benefits
of natural resources and their commercial derivatives are
shared with local communities was signed. 2010 is celebrated
as International Year Of Biodiversity.
The first India Biodiversity Congress 2010 and Indian
Biodiversity expo was held in Thiruvanthapuram.
Important Projects
Project Elephant 1992
Project Tiger Reserve-1973
Project Crocodile 1975
Project Snow Leopard 2009
Chitwan National Park (a World heritage Site) is the first
national park in Nepal.
Great Indian Bustard Wildlife sanctuary, India's largest
among 515 wild life sanctuaries is in Maharashtra.
Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary is located in Eastern Goa, India.
It is connected to The Madei Wildlife Sanctuary.
Keibul Lamjo National Park (on Loktak Lake) in Manipur is
the Only Floating National Park of the World.
The Pobitora wildlife sanctuary is in central Assam.
Annamalai National Park in Tamilnadu is known as Top Slip.
Gharial is known as River Guardian.
MEDICINAL PLANTS
India is known for its herbs and spices from ancient times.
Some 2,000 plants have been described in Ayurveda and
atleast 500 are in regular use. The World Conservation
Unions Red list has named 352 medicinal plants of which 52
are critically threatened and 49 endangered.
The commonly used plants in India are:
Sarpagandha : Used to treat blood pressure; it is found only
in India.
Jamun : The juice from ripe fruit is used to prepare vinegar
which is carminative and diuretic, and has digestive
properties. The powder of the seed is used for controlling
diabetes.
Arjun : The fresh juice of leaves is a cure for earache. It is also
used to regulate blood pressure.
Babool : Leaves are used as a cure for eye sores. Its gum is
used as a tonic.
Neem : Has high antibiotic and antibacterial properties.
Tulsi Plant : Is used to cure cough and cold.
Kachnar : Is used to cure asthma and ulcers. The buds and
roots are good for digestive problems.
Important International Territorial Dispute
Kuril Islands dispute between Japan and Russia
Ilemi Triangle Claimed by Kenya and South Sudan
Perejil Island claimed by Spain and Morocco
The Paracel Islands in South China sea controlled by China,
also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan.
Shebaa Farms controlled by Israel but also claimed by
Lebanon and Syria


The Spratly Islands are a group of more than 750 reefs, islets,
atolls, cays and islands in the South China Sea Claimed by
Vietnam, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of
China (Taiwan), Malaysia and the Philippines. Brunei has also
claimed an EEZ in the southeastern part of the Spratlys.
Chagos Archipelago Claimed by United Kingdom, Mauritius,
Seychelles. The Chagos Archipelago and later also Oil Islands,
and Phehandweep is a group of seven atolls comprising more
than 60 individual tropical islands in the Indian Ocean. Diego
Garcia is currently the only inhabited island in the Chagos, all
of which comprise the British Indian Ocean Territory, usually
abbreviated as BIOT.
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the
southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the
Mediterranean is also claimed by Spain.
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic
Ocean. The archipelago comprises East Falkland, West
Falkland, and 776 lesser islands. Stanley, the capital and only
city, is on East Falkland. The islands are a self-governing
British Overseas Territory, with the United Kingdom
responsible for their defence and foreign affairs. The islands
continue to be claimed by Argentina.
Important revolutions
Jasmine Tunisia
Buldozer Serbia
Orange Ukraine
Tulip Kyrgyzstan
Purple Iraq
Cedar Lebanon
Lotus Egypt
(18 day Revolution)
Green Iran
MENA is the term used for "Middle East and North Africa"
countries mainly the Muslim populous Arab countries.
Some Important longest serving Monarchs
King Bhumibol Adulyadej (King Rama IX) of Thailand for 65
years
Queen Elizabeth II of UK for UK 60 years
Sultan Qaboos Bin Said of Oman for 41 years
King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden for 38 years
Now, there are the six recognised national parties, these are
Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party, Communist Party of India
(CPI), CPI (M), Bahujan Samaj Party and Nationalist Congress
Party. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), lost recognition. There
are 52 state parties and 1112 registered unrecognised
parties. A party having status of state party in the four states
is recognized as national party.
First PBD was hosted in Delhi in 2003 by Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
To commemorate Mother Teresas birth centenary year
government issued a 5 Rupee coin and an exhibition train
named Mother Express from Sealdah station. Mother Teresa
was born in Skopje (Macedonia) in the former Yugoslavia.
Rail Bandhu, a first in-house magazine to be published by the
Railways
The Department of Posts introduced solar-powered postal
delivery rickshaws as pilot programme Soleckshaw which
would run in Ajmer (Rajasthan). Indian postal department is
running project Arrow.
Jal Hans is the first sea Plane service jointly launced by Pawan
Hans Helicopters Limited and the Andaman and Nicobar
administration on an equal profit-sharing basis.
Kolkata Metro Railway became the 17th independent zonal
railway. Indira Gandhi, laid the foundation stone for the
Metro project in 1972.
India will set up Norman Borlaug Institute of South Asia in
Pusa in Bihar. Borlaug received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970.
The Nalanda Mentor Group, chaired by Nobel laureate
Amartya Sen.
Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta (US) is the
world's busiest airport as per the overall traffic movement
while London Heathrow Airport is the worlds busiest airport
as per International traffic movements.
National Innovation Council is headed by Sam Pitroda.
Government took decision to observe the current decade
(2010-2020) as the Decade of Innovation.
Schemes
Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls
known as Sabla targeting girls in the age group 11-18.
Swavalamban is a pension scheme for workers in the
unorganised sector who do not have access to the social
security net.


Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY): Promoting Institution delivery
by skilled birth attendant is key to reducing both maternal
and neo-natal mortality.
Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakaram (JSSK): launched on 1st
June, 2011, which entitles all pregnant women delivering in
public health institutions to absolutely free and no expense
delivery including caesarean section. The initiative stipulates
free drugs, diagnostics, blood and diet, besides free transport
from home to institution, between facilities in case of a
referral and drop back home. Similar entitlements have been
put in place for all sick newborns accessing public health
institutions for treatment till 30 days after birth.
Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY) is a monetary
scheme for pregnant women and lactating mothers of 19
years of age for first two child. Each pregnant and lactating
woman will receive Rs. 4,000 in three instalments between
the second trimesters of pregnancy until the child is six
months old.
Rajasthan (Sriganganager) has become the first state in the
country to launch the Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana.
The Mobile Number Portability is operational in India from
Jan 20, 2011. The MNP scheme was first launched in Haryana
in November 2010.
Project Read is launched by The Rajasthan Government and
education NGO Pratham.
The Central Employment Guarantee Council (CEGC) is the
apex monitoring agency for the implementation of National
Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS).
Antyodaya Anna Yojana covering 2.5 crore poorest of the
poors providing Rice and Wheat at RS. 2 and Rs. 3 per Kg
respectively.
Point Calimere Wildlife Sanctuary is in Tamil Nadu.
Various Events and Incidents
The Bhopal gas tragedy took place in December
1984.Methylisocyanate gas was leaked out from the Union
Carbide plant. Warren Anderson, was the chairman of Union
Carbide.
Godhara incident took place in 2002.
Kanishka air crash took place in 1985.
UNESCO inscribes 3 Indian performing art forms, Mudiyettu,
ritual theatre of Kerala, the Chaau dance of eastern states,
Kalbelai folk songs and dances of Rajasthan in Representative
list of Intangible Cultural heritage of Humanity in Nairobi.
Bangladesh Govt has requested to rename the train linking
West Bengal to Tripura via Banglades as Sonar Tari. Earlier
the name of the train as envisaged in the Railway Budget
2010 is Epar Bangla Opar Bangla. "Sonar Tari" is one of
Tagore's greatest creation. It is a collection of 19 poems.
Sonar Tari is the first. Rabindranath created it in the year
1894. Tagore wrote the National Anthem of India as well as
of Bangladesh (Amar Sonar Bangla)
South-East Asias biggest desalination plant at Minjur in
Tiruvallur district of Tamilnadu.
Polavaram Project on Godavari river is named as Indira Sagar.
The United Nations has decided to recognize the Mahatma
Gandhi Tanta Mukti Gaon Muhim (Dispute free Village
Scheme) of Maharashtra Government. The government did
not have to spend a single rupee for the implementation of
the scheme. In April 2010, Khairlanji was recognised by the
scheme as a dispute-free village.
START Treaty is a treaty between Russia and US.
Russia and Norway have signed an Arctic border pact.
Change-2 is Chinas lunar probe.
Hot liquid sulfides, are commonly known as black chimneys
17 July 2010(birth day of Nelson Mandela) to observed as the
first international Anti Aparthied day.
As per the Stockholm International Peace research Institute,
India is the worlds largest buyer of Arms.
New Zealand is the most peaceful country as per global peace
index 2010.India ranks 128.
Belgium became the Europes first country to ban burqa.
Russia abolished two of its eleven time Zones.
The social Network film is about facebook founder Mark
Zuckerberg.
The winner of football Asia Cup in 2011 is Japan.
women football world cup 2011 won by Japan in Germany.
Goodluck Jonathan is President of Nigeria.
Arjun Atwal is the first Indian to win PGA tour title of golf.
India has joined the Thirty Metre Telescope (TMT) project,
the next generation astronomical observatory that will be
located on Mauna Kea, Hawaii and begin operations in 2018.


India and the U.K. decided to constitute a joint CEOs Forum to
be co-chaired by Peter Sands and Ratan Tata and an India-
U.K. Infrastructure Group in order to double bilateral trade in
the next five years.
The Eleventh European Union - India Summit was held in
Brussels on 10 December 2010.
The Government of India had a target for Atomic Energy
installed capacity of 35000 MWe by the year 2022, and
60,000 MWe by 2032.
India and Cuba observed the 50 Years of Friendship.
Severe flooding occurred during the 2011 monsoon season in
Thailand.
Under the proposed food security bill eligible BPL family will
receive 35 kg of subsidised foodgrains (Re. 1 per kg for
millets, Rs. 2 for wheat and Rs. 3 for rice) every month.
List of the Important Car Manufacturer
Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Opel, Porsche, Volkswagen, all
are the German Car Manufacturers. Toyota ( Japan), General
Motors ( United States), Renault-Nissan ( France Japan),
Ford ( United States), Hyundai ( South Korea), Honda (
Japan), Fiat ( Italy), Suzuki ( Japan).
The Term Caste is derived from Portuguese use.
A presidential Ordinance can remain in force for 6 months.
Pituitary gland is situated in the base of the brain.
The exchange of commodities between two countries is
referred to as Balance of Trade.
The only land area antipodal to India is Easter Island, which is
antipodal to the western corner of Rajasthan.
Hardeep Puri, Indias permanent representative in the UN is
elected to chair the key counter-terrorism committee (UNSCR
1373) and international security committee (UNSCR 1566).
India will also chair two other committees on Somalia and
Eritrea.
Justice P. N. Bhagwati and Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer were
among the first judges to admit PILs in the court.
Tunisia, is the northernmost country in Africa.
1.054615 gigajoule is equivalent to 1 MMBTU Natural Gas.
Madhusudan Datta had translated the famous drama Neel
Darpan in English.
The first Official language commission was appointed in 1955
with Sri BG Kher as its chairman.
Venezuela in Italian means "Little Venice"
World's largest lake is Caspian Sea. world's largest freshwater
lake in respect to the volume of water is Lake Baikal.
Michigan-Huron which is a single water body in United States
& Canada is largest Freshwater lake if considered one body by
surface area. However Lake superior in US & Canada is largest
single lake with respect to surface area if Michigan-Huron is
counted as two lakes. In this condition if Michigan & Huron
are third and fourth largest lakes. Lake Baikal is also world's
deepest lake.
World's biggest Landlocked country is Kazakhstan.
Stillwell road connects India with china.
Arun Bajpayee became the youngest Indian to scale Mount
Everest.
Highest Mountain Peaks: Kilimanjaro (Africa), Vinson Massif
(Antarctica), Kosciuszko (Australia), Everest or Sagarmatha or
Chomolungma (Asia), Elbrus or Minghi-Tau (Europe), Mount
McKinley or Denali (North America), Aconcagua (South
America).
BASEL Norms are related with Banking Prudency. At the
summit in Seoul in November 2010, the G20 leaders
endorsed Basel III and pledged to rigorously implement the
framework.
Gramika is the rural tourism brand of Great India Rural Tours.
The Carrefour Group (France) is second largest retail brand
after Wall mart of US.
Singhe Khababs is the festival of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Jarawas having noticeable connection to the extinct
Jangil tribe are one of the adivasi indigenous peoples of the
Andaman Islands in India. The Andamanese people include
the Great Andamanese, Jarawa, Onge, Sentinelese, and the
extinct Jangil.
French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde appointed as the
Chief of International Monetary Fund. Now she is the first
woman Managing Director of an organization whose head
had conventionally always been from Europe. She Replace
Dominique Strauss Kahn who stepped down after facing the
sexual harassment charges.
Meghdoot awards are given to the postal employees in India.
Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme was
launched in 1993-94.
National Knowledge Commission is headed by Sam Pitroda.


Important Books
Losing Control - Stephen King
Luka and the Fire of Life - Salman Rushidie
Makers of Modern India - Ramchandra Guha
The Lost Symbol Dan Brown
The Museum of Innocence - Orhan Pamuk
Harappa Files: Orhan Pamuk
The Masque of Africa - V. S. Naipul
The Rediscovery of India Meghanad Desai
A Journey - Autobiography by Tony Blair
Convenient Action - Narendra Modi
True Colors Adam Gilchrist
Conversations with Myself - Nelson Mandela
The Grand Design - Shephen Hawking
India in Turmoil Ved Marwah
The winner stands alone Paulo Coelho
Listening to grasshoppers Arundhati Roy
River of Smoke Amitav Ghosh
Fierce focus: Greg Chappel
Last man in the tower - Arvind Adiga
My country My life L K Adwani
Indian War of Independence - V D Savarkar
Matters of Discretion: An Autobiography- I K Gujral
Convenient Action : Narendra Modi
Decision Point : George W. Bush
Controversially Yours: Shoaib Akhtar
Fault Lines: Raghuraman Rajan
To the Point: Herschelle Gibbs
The ground beneath her feet: Salman Rushdie
Tale of Two Cities : Charles Dickens
The vault of Shiva: Andy McDermott
Beyond the Invisible hand: Kaushik basu
The Valleys of masks: tarun j Tejpal
Satanic Verses: Salman Rushdie
The Aleph: Paulo Coelho
The Good Muslim: Tahmima Anam
Target 3 Billion: APJ Abdul Kalam and Srijan Pal Singh
Non Stop India : Mark Tully
Two Mother And Other Stories: Khalid Mohamed
The Age of deception: Md. Elbaradei
Sports
30th Olympic Olympics 2012 will be held in London and
2016 in Rio De Jeneiro, Brazil. In 2012 Olympics women
boxing is added while Baseball and Softball removed. Rugby
Seven and Golf are included in the 2016 Olympics. The
London bid was headed by former Olympic champion
Sebastian Coe. London will become the first city to
officially host the modern Olympic Games three times (
Earlier in 1908, 1948). Wenlock and Mandeville are the
official mascots for the 2012 Summer Olympics and
Paralympics respectively being held in London .
Wenlock and Mandeville are animations depicting two
drops of steel from a steelworks in Bolton.
FIFA world Cup 2010- South Africa (first time in Africa, winner
Spain defeated Netherland, Mascot- Zakumi, a leopard),
World cup 2006-Germany, 2014- Brazil, 2018- Russia, 2022-
Qatar.
Jamaican triple jumper Trecia Smith awarded David
Dixon award in the CWG 2010. India won 101 medals
with overall second rank after Australia in CWG 2010
with 38 Gold, 27 Silver and 36 Bronze. India's first Gold
medal in CWG was bagged by 'the Flying Sikh' Milkha
Singh who won the 440 yards track event in the sixth
edition of the Games in 1958 in Cardiff.
F1 Race Flags
Chequered flag : Indicates to drivers that the session
has ended; Yellow flag : Indicates danger; Red flag :The
session has been stopped; Blue flag :Warns a driver that
he is about to be lapped and to let the faster car
overtake; Yellow and red striped flag : Warns drivers of
a slippery track surface, usually due to oil or water;
Black with orange circle flag : warns a driver that he has
a mechanical problem and must return to his pit; Half
black, half white flag : warns of unsporting behaviour;
Black flag : directs a driver to return to his pit and is
most often used to signal to the driver that he has been


excluded from the race; White flag : Warns of a slow
moving vehicle on track.
Argentina women claimed the Women Hockey World Cup.
India finished ninth.
Durand Cup is associated with the game of football.
Sudiraman Cup and Rahamtulla Cup with Badminton
Barcelona's 24-year-old Argentina striker Lionel Messi was
awarded the FIFA Ballon d'Or Award and Homare Sawa
(Japan) was named FIFA Women's World Player of the Year
for 2011. The FIFA Ballon d'Or award started in 2010 after
France Football's Ballon d'Or and the FIFA World Player of the
Year award were merged. The winner of the inaugural 2010
FIFA Ballon d'Or was Lionel Messi.
Jamaican sprint icon Usain bolt and Australias Sally Pearson,
the World 100m hurdles champion, were named athletes of
the year by athletics governing body.
ICC awards 2011
Cricketer of the Year: Jonathan Trott (England)
Test player of the year: Alastair Cook (England)
ODI player of the year: Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka)
ICC Emerging player of the year: Devendra Bishoo (West
Indies)
Spirit of Cricket award: India
ICC Associate player of the year: Ryan ten Doeschate
(Netherlands)
Umpire of the year: Aleem Dar (Pakistan)
LG peoples choice award: Kumar Sangakkara (SL)
Important BCCI Awards 2010-11:
Col. CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award: Ajit Wadekar
Polly Umrigar Award: Rahul Dravid
Best woman cricketer: Jhulan Goswami
SPORTS CALENDAR
VII Asian Winter Games 2011, Almaty, Kazakhstan
XXXIV National Games 2011, Jharkhand
35
th
National Games 2012, Kerala
5th Military World Games 2011, Rio de Janerio
IV Commonwealth Youth Games 2011, Isle of Man
XX Commonwealth games 2014, Glasgow (Scotland)
XXI CWG 2018, Gold Coast, Queensland Australia
I South Asian Beach Games 2011, Hambantota
I Winter Youth Olympic Games 2012, Austria
VII Asian Winter Games 2012, Almaty, Kazakhstan
XXX Olympic Games 2012, London
Olympic Games 2016, Rio de Janeiro
12
th
South Asian Games 2012, India
Hockey World Cup 2014, The Hague, Netherlands
Football World 2014, Brazil, 2018 in Russia and 2022 in Qatar.
Note: 29
th
August, the Birth Anniversary of Major
Dhyanchand is observed as National Sports Day in India.
13th world athletics championship took place in South Korea.
Nomura Cup is related to golf.
Important Indian Athletes
Athletics: Tintu Luka, Gayathri, Vikas Gowda, Om Prakash
Singh Karhana
Badminton: Saina Nehwal, Guru Sai Dutt, P. Kashyap, Sai
Praneeth, P V Sindhu
Boxing: Mary Kom, Sanjay Kolte, Usha Nagisetty, Nanao
Singh, Suranjoy Singh, Shiva Thapa
Shooting: Gagan Narang, Tejaswini Sawant, Annu, Rakesh
Manpat, Rekha, Sanjeev Rajput, Vijay Kumar, Omkar Singh

Important Buildings/Palaces/Offices:
Writers Building, Kolkata is the name of the Secretariat
building of West Bengal Government.
Panchawati (7RCR), New Delhi : Official Residence of PM of
IndiaUjjayanta Palace, Agartala : Legislative assembly of
Tripura
Matralaya, Mumbai: Administrative Head quarter of
Maharashtra Government In Mumbai
The Elysee Palace: official residence of the President of the
French Republic
Camp David: the country retreat of the President of the
United States and his guests
Kremlin: The complex serves as the official residence of the
President of the Russian Federation.
Economy
Bank Rate : A rate at which RBI provides loans to the
commercial Banks.


Repo Rate : A short term lending by the RBI to the Banks.
Reverse Repo : Parking of Surplus funds by banks with the RBI
or Short term borrowing by the RBI from the commercial
Banks.
CRR : Certain percentage of the bank deposits kept as
reserves by the Banks with the RBI in the form of Cash.
RBI is the apex banking institution of India, established in
1935 as a private shareholders bank under the RBI act
1934.It was nationalized in 1949. Head Quarter is in Mumbai (
Originally it was in Calcutta).
National Housing Bank established in 1988 is the wholly
owned subsidiary of RBI.
Trade in services is also Known as Trade in Invisibles.
Direct Tax code will replace the Existing Income Tax Act from
April 1, 2012.
13
th
finance commission was headed by Vijay L Kelkar,
appointed under article 280 of the constitution
recommended 32% of the tax revenue to be given to states
for a duration of 2010-2015. Finance commission
recommends the distribution of tax revenues between centre
and states.
The Rupee Symbol was presented by D Uday Kumar. On
Rupee 1 Note, the Secretary to Finance Ministry puts the
signatures. All notes of rupee 2 and above are printed by RBI
and Rupee 1 by Govt. of India. All coins are designed and
Minted by Government of India.
India is the third largest economy of the world on the basis of
PPP ( Purchasing Power Parity) after US and China.
India becoming the largest single borrower from both the
IBRD and the IDA in 2009-10
The quota share of India in IMF will improve to about 2.75
per cent (from the present level of 2.44 per cent) and Indias
rank will be 8
th
from present 11
th
.
Sectoral Contribution in India's GDP:
Agriculture and Allied - 13.9%
Industries - 27.0%
Services - 59.0%
International Observations
INTERNATIONAL YEARS
2014 International Year of Family Farming
2013 International Year of Water Cooperation
International Year of Quinoa
2012 International Year of Cooperatives
International Year of Sustainable Energy for All
2011 International Year for People of African Descent
International Year of Chemistry
International Year of Forests
International Year of Youth (12 Aug. 10 - 11 Aug.
2011)
2010 International Year of Youth (12 Aug.10 11 Aug.
2011)
International Year for the Rapprochement of
Cultures
International Year of Biodiversity
International Year of the Seafarer

Year 2011 was observed as the International Year of
Chemistry 2011 under the theme Chemistryour life, our
future. The year 2011 also coincided with the 100th
anniversary of the Nobel Prize awarded to Madame Marie
Curie.
World Water Day 2012 was observed on March 22
with the theme of water and food security. It also marked
the achievement of MDG target 7.c (halving the proportion of
people without sustainable access to safe drinking water)
making it amongst the first MDG targets to be met, well in
advance of the 2015 deadline.
The United Nations General Assembly has declared
2012 as the International Year of Cooperatives with the
theme of Cooperative Enterprises Build a Better World.
The United Nations General Assembly has
proclaimed 2011 as the International Year of Forests with
the Theme: Forests for People.

International Decades
20052015 International Decade for Action, Water for Life
20112020 Third International Decade for the Eradication of
Colonialism, United Nations Decade on Biodiversity, Decade
of Action for Road Safety
Important Awards and Honours
Former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was honoured
posthumously with the highest Bangladesh award the
Bangladesh Swadhinata Sammanona (Bangladesh Freedom


Honour) on 25 July 2011. It was received by Sonia Gandhi.
Bangladesh President Zillur Rahman presented the award, the
highest honour for any foreign national after 40 years of
Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan.
Jnanpith Award
1st G Shankar Kurup Malayalam 1965
43rd O.N.V. Kurup Malayalam 2007
44th Akhlaq Khan Shahrayar Urdu 2008
45th Amar Kant and Srilal Shukla Hindi 2009
46th Chandrasekhar kambar kannada 2010
Nobel Prize is given into the 6 categories of which five since
1901 and the Economy Nobel was established in 1968 by
Sweriges Riksbank, Sweden. All Nobel Prizes except Nobel
Peace are given in Sweden, Nobel Peace is Given in Oslo,
Norway.
Nobel Prizes 2011
Physiology or Medicine: Bruce A. Beutler (US), Jules A.
Hoffmann born in Luxembourg but a naturalised French
citizen), Ralph M. Steinman (Canada)
Contribution: The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2011
was divided, one half jointly to Bruce A. Beutler and Jules A.
Hoffmann for their discoveries concerning the activation of
innate immunity, our first-line response to pathogens, Mr.
Beutler and Mr. Hoffmann identified receptor proteins that
trigger the molecular cascade which is the innate immune
system. and the other half to Ralph M. Steinman for his
discovery of the dendritic cell and its role in adaptive
immunity , or acquired, immunity. Ralph Steinman, died on
September 30, three day before the Nobel Assembly had
announced the 2011 Nobel Laureates in Physiology or
Medicine without knowing of Ralph Steinmans death.
Physics: Saul Perlmutter, Brian P. Schmidt, Adam G. Riess for
the discovery of the accelerating expansion of the Universe
through observations of distant supernovae.
Chemistry : Dan Shechtman (Israel) for The discovery of
quasicrystals, a mosaic like chemical structure that
researchers previously thought was impossible.
Literature : Tomas Gosta Transtromer (Sweden)
Some of the famous works of Transtromer are Windows and
Stones (1966), The Great Enigma (2004).
Peace Prize : Ellen Johnson Sirleaf- (First elected oman
Liberian President), Leymah Gbowee- Liberian peace activist,
Tawakkol Karman-Yemeni journalist
The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory
of Alfred Nobel 2011 : Thomas J. Sargent (US), Christopher A.
Sims (US) for their empirical research on cause and effect in
the macroeconomy

Two Indians -Nileema Mishra, a lender to the poor in
Maharashtra and US-trained Indian engineer Harish Hande (a
graduate from IIT Kharagpur) who revolutionized the use of
solar lights were among six people to have received the
Ramon Magsaysay Award for 2011.
Former India striker Shabbir Ali, became the first footballer to
win the prestigious Dhyan Chand award as recognition for
his lifetime achievement in sports. Award was instituted in
2002. The award carries a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh, a statuette,
a ceremonial dress and a scroll of honour.
Eight Indian companies featured in the list of the world's 500
largest companies compiled and released by Fortune
magazine on 11 July 2011. Indian Companies are IOC (Rank
98), RIL (134), SBI (282), BPCL (307), HPCL (354), Tata Steel
(410), ONGC (413) and Tata Motors (442). The list is topped
by retail giant Wal-Mart Stores. Wal-Mart Stores is followed
by Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil at second and third
positions, respectively.
Top 10 Companies of the World:
Rank Company Country Field
1 Wal-Mart Stores US Retail
2 Royal Dutch Shell Netherlands Petroleum
3 Exxon Mobil US Petroleum
4 BP UK Petroleum
5 Sinopec China Petroleum
6 China National Petroleum China Petroleum
7 State Grid China Power
8 Toyota Motor Japan Automobiles
9 Japan Post Holdings Japan Diversified


10 Chevron US Petroleum

Rajiv Gandhi National Quality Awards to those
entrepreneurs who, through sustainable and continual
improvement in the quality of goods and services, have
become role models for other Indian industries to emulate.
The award has been named after our late Prime Minister Shri
Rajiv Gandhi. The Award has been designed by the Bureau of
Indian Standards (BIS) in line with international quality
awards, like `Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award of
USA`, `Deming Prize of Japan` and European Quality Award.
BIS is a statutory body under the Ministry of Consumer
Affairs, Food & Public Distribution.
Soumitra Chatterjee (Actor) from West Bengal has been
conferred upon with the Dada Saheb Phalke Award for the
year 2011. For 2009 it was given to Film producer from
Andhra Pradesh, Dr. D. Ramanaidu and for 2010 to Tamil film
Director K Balachander for 2010. Dada Saheb Phalke Award is
the highest film award in India, first conferred upon Devika
Rani in 1969, carries a cash prize of Rupees 10 lakh.
The Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, disarmament and
Development for 2009 to Ms. Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister
of Bangladesh (2008 Prize was given to Md. El Baradei the
former director general of IAEA). Former Brazilian President
Luiz Incio Lula da Silva has been selected for the Indira
Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for
2010.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel was on 9 May 2011 was
chosen for Rupee 1 Crore Jawaharlal Nehru Award for
International Understanding for 2009 . The jury was chaired
by Vice-President Mohammad Hamid Ansari. Award was
established in 1965 and is administered by Indian Council for
Cultural Relations.
Academy Award, also known as the Oscar, given by the
American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
(AMPAS). These were first awarded in 1929. It is also the
oldest award ceremony in the media; its equivalents, the
Grammy Awards (for music), Emmy Awards (for television),
and Tony Awards (for theatre) are modelled after the
Academy.
The Golden Bear is the highest prize awarded for the best
film at theBerlin International Film Festival. Bears are the
symbol of Berlin.
A Golden Globe Award is an accolade presented by the 93
members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA)
to recognize excellence in film and television, both domestic
and foreign.
The Golden Lion is the highest prize given to a film at the
Venice Film Festival. The Venice Film Festival is the oldest film
festival in the world.
The Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at
the Cannes Film Festival, France and is presented to the
director of the best feature film of the official competition.
Genie Awards are given out to recognize the best of
Canadian cinema by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and
Television.
59th National Film Awards
Awarded by Vice President of India
Presented by Directorate of Film Festivals
Best Feature Film-Byari (Beary Language) and Deool (Marathi)
Best Non-Feature Film And We Play On

Misc
The poetry Singhasan Khaali Karo Ke Janata Aaati Hai was
written by Ram Dhari Singh Dinkar.
The Poetry Ho gayi hai peer parwat see pighalni chahiye
was written by Dushyant Kumar.
Shri Charan Singh, on the death of Jayaprakash Narayan
called him, "the conscience of the nation".
The Indian Navy undertook a Passage Exercise (PASSEX) with
the Turkish Navy on 10th and 11th July 2011.
Private sector lender HDFC Bank has launched personal loan
Swift.
Kazi Nazrul Islam was a Bengali poet, musician and
revolutionary which earned him the popular title of
Nazrul is officially recognised
as the national poet of Bangladesh.
Gandhiji criticized Industrialisation and western
civilisation in his book Hind Swaraj written in 1909.
UN's International Literacy Day is observed annually on 8
September.
Lukoskin, a herbal product for Leucoderma developed by
DRDO was launched in New Delhi on 7 September 2011
Madhya Pradesh became the First State in the Country to
Offer Air Taxi Services.
Indian swimmer Virdhawal Khade on 27 July 2011 became the
second Indian swimmer to qualify for 2012 London Olympics
after Sharath Gayakwad.


Power Sector Scenario in India:
Thermal Power 66.14% (of which Coal 56.42, Gas 9.11, Oil
0.59), Hydro Power (Renewable) 19.33%, Nuclear Power
2.37%, Renewable Energy 12.15%. Total installed capacity in
india as on April 30, 2012 is 201637MW.
India joined the Financial Action Task Force on Money
Laundering which has its headquarter in Paris.
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear crisis took place in japan on
Honshu Island in March 2011.
The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) proposes to
develop first bio-cultural park in bhubaneshwar.
The nation's biggest hydropower project in the private sector,
Karcham Wangtoo hydro-electric project in Himachal
Pradesh's Kinnaur district, set up by Jaypee Group.
Kishanganga hydropower project is in J&K.
Gazprom Global LNG is a Russian Company.
Ford India Pvt. Ltd, the local arm of Michigan-based Ford
Motor Co., will set up its second manufacturing facitity either
at Chakan near Pune or Sanand in Gujarat, preferably in
Gujarat.
The Central Government, after a decade, is escalating the
yearly distribution of MPLAD finances as of Rs.2 crore to Rs.5
crore for each MP..
Important agricultural revolutions
Black Revolution - Petroleum production
Blue Revolution - Fish production
Brown Revolution - Leather/non-conventional (India)/Cocoa
production
Golden Revolution - Overall Horticulture
development/Honey Production
Green Revolution - Food grain (Cereals, Wheat &Leguminous
plant) production
Grey Revolution - Fertilizer production
Pink Revolution - Onion production/Pharmaceutical
(India)/Prawn production
Red Revolution - Meat & Tomato production
White Revolution - Milk/Dairy production (In India -
Operation Flood - 1970)
Yellow Revolution - Oil Seeds production
M.S. Swaminathan also known as Father of Green revolution
in India.
Verghese Kurien known as Father of white revolution
(Operation flood).
Person in News
Yingluck Shinawatra is Thailand's first female Prime Minister.
Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Srilanka (Ceylon) was the first
woman Prime Minister in the World. Julia Gillard is the
first female Prime Minister of Australia. Dilma Vana Rousseff
is the first female president of Brazil.
Har Gobind Khorana, an Indian-born American biochemist
who shared the 1968 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine
with Marshall W. Nirenberg and Robert W. Holley for
research that helped to show how the nucleotides in nucleic
acids, which carry the genetic code of the cell, control the
cells synthesis of proteins, died on 9 November 2011. Har
Gobind Khorana was born of Hindu parents in Raipur, a little
village in Punjab, which is now part of eastern Pakistan. He
became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1966 and
subsequently received the National Medal of Science.
On 30 November 2011, UNICEF appointed of the Padma
Bhushan award-winning actor and producer Aamir Khan, as
its Ambassador promoting nutrition for children. Earlier in the
past Priyanka Chopra, (August 2010) and Sharmila Tagore
(December 2005) had also been appointed as the national
ambassador of UNICEF. Amitabh Bachchan was appointed a
UNICEF International Goodwill Ambassador in April 2005.
Pallava Bagla from India has won the David Perlman Award
for excellence of Science Journalism by American Geophysical
Union (AGU).
Sachin Tendulkar was conferred the Indian Air Force's (IAF)
honorary rank of Group Captain in a ceremony on September
3, 2010. He is the first sportsperson and the first personality
with no aviation background to be conferred such a rank by
the IAF. Group Captain of IAF is Equivalent in rank to that of
Colonel of Army and Captain of Navy.
Indira Goswami : She was an Assamese editor, poet,
professor, scholar and writer also called Mamoni Baideo who
died recently. She was the winner of the Sahitya Akademi
Award,the Jnanpith Award and was also India's first Principal
Prince Claus Laureate. She was noted for her novels which
include The Moth Eaten Howdah of a Tusker, Pages Stained
with Blood and The Man from Chinnamasta.
Ustad Sultan Khan: He was an Indian sarangi player from
Jodhpur, Rajasthan who died recently. He was one of the
members of the Indian fusion group Tabla Beat Science. He
was awarded the Padma Bhushan and many other prizes.


Rosa Otunbayeva, the first woman president in Kyrgyzstan.
Diseases in News
Down syndrome is a genetic condition in which a person has
47 chromosomes instead of the usual 46. Down syndrome
occurs when there is an extra copy of chromosome 21. This
form of Down syndrome is called Trisomy 21. Individuals with
Down syndrome may have some or all of the following
physical characteristics: microgenia (an abnormally small
chin), an unusually round face, macroglossia (protruding or
oversized tongue), poor muscle tone, etc,.
Blue baby syndrome (or simply, blue baby) is a layman's term
used to describe newborns with cyanotic heart lesions. Blue
Baby Syndrome or Methemoglobinemia is caused by
decreased ability of blood to carry oxygen, resulting in oxygen
deficiency in different body parts. Infants are more
susceptible than adults. The disease can be caused by intake
of water and vegetables high in nitrate, exposure to
chemicals containing nitrate, or can even be hereditary.
Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs either when the
pancreas does not produce enough insulin or when the body
cannot effectively use the insulin it produces. Insulin is a
hormone that regulates blood sugar. Hyperglycaemia, or
raised blood sugar, is a common effect of uncontrolled
diabetes.
There are two main types of diabetes:
Type 1 diabetes : when the insulin-producing cells in the body
have been destroyed and the body is unable to produce any
insulin. It usually starts in childhood or young adulthood, and
is treated with diet control and insulin injections. It was
previously known as insulin-dependent, juvenile or
childhood-onset. The cause of type 1 diabetes is not known
and it is not preventable with current knowledge.
Type 2 diabetes: when the body do not produce enough
insulin. It tends to affect people as they get older and usually
appears after the age of 40, but increasingly is seen in
younger, overweight people. Type 2 diabetes comprises 90%
of people with diabetes around the world, and is largely the
result of excess body weight and physical inactivity. It was
formerly called non-insulin-dependent or adult-onset.
14th Nov. is observed as World Diabetes Day. The World
Diabetes Day (WDD) logo is the blue circle. WDD 2012 has a
slogan of DIABETES: PROTECT OUR FUTURE.
Japanese Encephalitis; Japanese encephalitis is a viral disease
(caused by a flavivirus) that infects animals and humans. It is
transmitted by mosquitoes and in humans causes
inflammation of the membranes around the brain. The virus
causing Japanese encephalitis is transmitted by mosquitoes
belonging to the Culex tritaeniorhynchus and Culex vishnui
groups, which breed particularly in flooded rice fields. The
virus circulates in ardeid birds (herons and egrets). Pigs are
amplifying hosts, in that the virus reproduces in pigs and
infects mosquitoes that take blood meals, but does not cause
disease.
Science and Technology
NASA on November 26, 2011 launched the $2.5 billion
nuclear-powered Mars Science Laboratory, nicknamed
Curiosity. It is the most ambitious and complex robotic rover
built to explore the Red Planet scheduled to land in Gale
Crater approximately on August 6, 2012. The goal of the rover
is to find elements that could prove whether life ever existed
on Mars. An Atlas V rocket hoisted the rover. Curiosity is
about five times larger than the Spirit or Opportunity Mars
exploration rovers. It is designed to explore for at least 687
Earth days (1 Martian year). Mars is the fourth planet from
the Sun, named after the Roman god of war, Mars, it is often
described as the "Red Planet" as the iron oxide prevalent on
its surface gives it a reddish appearance. Phobos Grunt was a
Mars Mission by Russia, which was to reach Martian moon
Phobos, to pick up sample of soil and return to earth.
However the mission failed due to engine failure and it is now
stuck in Low Earth Orbit.
Real Time Train Information System (RTIS) based on
SIMRAN becomes Functional from 19TH October 2011. This
new tracking system is based on Satellite Imaging for Rail
Navigation (SIMRAN) and has been developed jointly by the
Ministry of Railways Research arm namely Research, Design
and Standards Organization (RDSO), Lucknow and noted
engineering institute, IIT, Kanpur.
SAGA-220 is a supercomputer built by the Indian Space
Research Organisation (ISRO). As of May 2011, it is the fastest
supercomputer of India with a maximum theoretical speed of
220 TFlops. The name SAGA-220 stands for Supercomputer
for Aerospace with GPU Architecture-220 teraflops. It is
located at the supercomputing facility named Satish Dhawan
Supercomputing Facility at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre
(VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram.


Gliese 581 g and unofficially Zarmina's World, is an
unconfirmed extrasolar planet of the red dwarf star Gliese
581, 20.5 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Libra.
Gliese 581g has a mass three to four times that of Earth and
orbits its star in just under 37 days. Its mass indicates that it is
probably a rocky planet with a definite surface and enough
gravity to hold on to an atmosphere. It is the sixth planet
discovered in the Gliese 581 planetary system and the fourth
in order of increasing distance from the star.
The Nano Hummingbird or Nano Air Vehicle (NAV) equipped
with a small video camera for surveillance and
reconnaissance purposes, is a tiny, remote controlled aircraft
built to resemble and fly like a hummingbird, developed in
the United States by AeroVironment, Inc.
The Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) is an
American lunar science mission in NASA's Discovery Program
which uses high-quality gravitational field mapping of the
Moon to determine its interior structure.
Graphene, a single atomic layer of carbon, is the first two-
dimensional crystalline material that has been identified and
analyzed. Graphene is an ultimately thin, mechanically very
strong, transparent, flexible conductor, and can be used in
touch screens, light panels and solar cells. It is more than 100
times stronger than the strongest steel and is very
stretchable.
Garima-II is a cloned buffalo calf was born at the Carnal-
based National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI).
India's latest supercomputer 'Annapurna' was unveiled at the
Institute of Mathematical Sciences (IMSc) in Chennai.
Bharti will be India's third research station of Antarctica first
was Gangotri and Second was Maitri. Himandri a station in
Arctic.
A virus, know as "Stuxnet" highly affected the computer
system in Iran.
MESSENGER (an acronym of MErcury Surface, Space
ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging) is a robotic NASA
spacecraft orbiting the planet Mercury, the first spacecraft
ever to do so.
The first Elds deer was born via in vitro fertilization at the
Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Thailand. Eld's Deer also known as
the Thamin or Browantlered Deer is an endangered species of
deer indigenous to southeastern Asia. The Keibul Lamjao
National Park (KLNP) covering marshland called the Phumdis
within the larger Loktak Lake was gazetted in 1977 specifically
to protect the Cervus eldi eldi (one of the species of Elds
deer)or the Sangai in Manipuri language.
International scientists had found signs of the Higgs boson,
an elementary particle believed to have played a vital role in
the creation of the universe after the Big Bang. Scientists at
the CERN physics research centre near Geneva, however,
said they had found no conclusive proof of the existence of
the particle, which, according to prevailing theories of
physics, gives everything in the universe its mass.
PSLV-C17 Launches GSAT - 12 Satellite Indias Polar Satellite
Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C17) successfully launched 1,410
kilogram GSAT-12 communication satellite on July 15, 2011
from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota. ISRO
Telemetry Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC)s ground
station at Biak, Indonesia acquired the signals from GSAT-12
immediately after the injection of the satellite. It is the
second satellite to be placed in GTO using PSLV, the first
being the Kalpana-1 weather satellite. Kalpana-1 was
launched in September 12, 2002 as Metsat-1, before being
renamed after astronaut Kalpana Chawla, who was killed in
the Columbia Shuttle Disaster in 2003.
On October 12, 2011, Main power horse commercial launch
vehicle of ISRO, the PSLV was successfully launched for the
19th consecutive times in its total 20 flights since 1993. On
board of the PSLV C18 were the Indo-French MEGHA-
TROPIQUES Satellite, JUGNU from IIT, Kanpur , SRMSat from
SRM University, Chennai and VesselSat-1 from Luxembourg.
MEGHA-TROPIQUES Satellite, a joint work of ISRO and the
French National Space Agency (CNES), is intended to study
the water cycle and energy exchanges in the tropical region
covering 20 deg on either side of the Equator. There are four
Science instruments in the MEGHA-TROPIQUES Satellite: A
Scanning Microwave Imager MADRAS (developed jointly by
ISRO and CNES), A Scanner ScaRaB (developed by CNES), A
Sounder SAPHIR (developed by CNES) for Atmospheric
Profiling of Humidity in the inter-tropical Region. GPS Radio
Occultation Sensor ROSA(procured by ISRO from
Italy).MEGHA-TROPIQUES is only the second mission of this
kind in the world , next to the Tropical Rainfall Measurement
Mission (TRMM) launched in 1997 by USA and Japan.
The nanosatellite Jugnu weighing 3 kg is designed and
developed by Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur . The
nanosatellite SRMSat weighing 10.9 kg is developed by the


students and faculty of SRM University attempts to address
the problem of Global warming and pollution levels in the
atmosphere by monitoring Carbon dioxide (CO2) and water
vapour (H2O).
YOUTHSAT is a joint Indo-Russian stellar and atmospheric
satellite mission GSAT-8, a Geo-Stationary Satellite launched
on 21st May, 2011 by Ariane-5 VA-202, Indias advanced
communication satellite, is a high power communication
satellite being inducted in the INSAT system.
Satellite-Based Regional GPS Aided GEO Augmented
Navigation system (GAGAN) also known as Space-Based
Augmentation System (SBAS) is as part of the Satellite-Based
Communications, Navigation and Surveillance (CNS)/Air
Traffic Management (ATM) plan for civil aviation. The first
GAGAN navigation payload was sent onboard of GSAT-8
which was launched on May 21, 2011 by the Ariane 5 from
kouru in French Guyana.
Aditya1 is the First Indian space based Solar Coronagraph to
study solar Corona in visible and near IR bands is planned to
be launched in 2012-13 during the next high solar activity
period (the solar maxima).
Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) is a
new and powerful telescope used by NASA astronomers for
studying the atmospheres of planets and the formation of
stars.
Juno : NASA launched the billion-dollar solar-powered
spacecraft Juno on a five-year journey to Jupiter on August 5,
2011.
Important Agencies
RBI The Reserve Bank of India was established on April 1,
1935 in accordance with the provisions of the Reserve Bank
of India Act, 1934. It was established on the recommendation
of the Hilton Young Commission. It is an apex Banking
Institution in India.
SEBI - The Securities and Exchange Board of India was
established on April 12, 1992 in accordance with the
provisions of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act,
1992.
NABARD Establised in 1982 on the recommendation of the
Committee to Review Arrangements for Institutional Credit
for Agriculture and Rural Development (CRAFICARD) set up by
the RBI under the Chairmanship of Shri B Sivaraman. NABARD
is set up as an apex Development Bank.
RBI, SEBI, IRDA, PFRDA are the statutory bodies.
UIDAI
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has been
created as an attached office under the Planning Commission.
On 25 June 2009, the Cabinet also created and approved the
position of the Chairperson of the UIDAI, and appointed Mr.
Nandan Nilekani as the first Chairperson in the rank and
status of a Cabinet Minister. The UIDAI is headquartered in
Delhi. Aadhaar is the UID brand name and logo.
The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) signed in
Tokyo on October 2011 by Australia, Canada, Japan,
Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and the
United States, is a multinational treaty for the purpose of
establishing international standards for intellectual property
rights enforcement. The agreement aims to establish an
international legal framework for targeting counterfeit goods,
generic medicines and copyright infringement on the
Internet, and would create a new governing body outside
existing forums, such as the World Trade Organization, the
World Intellectual Property Organization, or the United
Nations.
Important Committee and Commissions
The Telangana Panel was headed by Justice B. Srikrishna.
V. K. Shunglu Committee for investigation into the CWG 2010
Scam.
Madhava Menon heads university autonomy panel The
Justice Ranganath Mishra Commission on Religious and
Linguistic Minorities
N.K. Singh Committee on FDI
Malegam committee On Microfinance
Narasimhan Committee on Financial and Banking Reforms
Shivraj Patil Committee for agriculture Reforms
Dharmadhikari Committee on integration of employees after
the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines
Shyamala Gopinath Committee For comprehensive review of
the National Small Savings Fund.
C R Sundaramurti Committee suggested a complete overhaul
of government accounting norms
Pratyush Sinha committee To look into Antrix-Devas deal
Pulok Chatterji Committee for Power sector Reforms,
Tourism Sector


Adi Godrej Committee On corporate governance
Mukul Mudgal Committee Athletes facing Doping Charges
Naresh Chandra Task Force on Defence management
19th Law Commission headed by Justice P V Reddy
The Constitution of India
The Constitution of India is the longest written constitution of
any sovereign country in the world, while the United States
Constitution is the shortest written constitution.
India is a Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic.
Words Socialist, Secular and Integrity were added by the 42
nd

constitution amendment 1976 during Indira Gandhi tenure.
As on March 2011 it consists of a preamble, 24 parts,
containing 450 articles, 12 schedules, 2 appendices and 114
amendments.
The Consitution (114th Amendement) Bill, 2010 seeks to
amend Article 217 and 224 of the Constitution to increase the
retirement age of High Court Judges from 62 years to 65
years.
Important Parts of the Constitution
Parts Part III - Fundamental Rights (Known as Corner stone of
the constitution or Magna Carta of India. Part III and IV
together are known as Conscience of the Constitution.) Rights
under article 15,16 and 19 belong only to the citizens.
Part IV - Directive Principles and Fundamental Duties.
Part IX - Panchayat system
PART IXA The Municipalities
Part XV - Elections
Part XVII Languages
Important Articles of the Constitution
Article 32 Right to Constitutional Remedies (in Supreme
Court) (Ambedkar called it heart and soul of the Indian
Constitution)
Article 72 Pardoning power of the the President
Article 76 Attorney General (First Legal officer of the Govt
of India having right of audience in all courts)
Article 79 Parliament (Consist of President, Lok Sabha and
Rajya Sabha)
Article 143 Power of President to consult Supreme Court
and under art. 143(1) SC may give the opinion whereas under
143(2) SC shall give the opinion.
Article 169 Legislative councils can be abolished or created
by the simple act of the Parliament on the recommendation
of Legislative Assembly.
Article 324 Election Commission
Article 326 Elections to the House of the People and to the
Legislative Assemblies of States to be on the basis of adult
suffrage (not less than 21 yeas
Article 352 National Emergency
Article 356 State Emergency (Presidents Rule)
Article 360 Financial Emergency
Article 368 Amendment to the consitution
Article 370 Special Status of Jammu and Kashmir
Important Schedules of the Constitution
Third Schedule - Forms of Oaths
Fourth Schedule seats in the Rajya Sabha
Seventh Schedule - The union state, and concurrent lists of
responsibilities i.e., the distribution of powers between
centre and the state.
Eighth Schedule - 22 languages, Originally there were 14
languages, Sindhi was the first be added
Ninth Schedule - Articles mentioned here are immune from
judicial review.
Tenth Schedule -"Anti-defection" provisions, inserted by the
52
nd
constitution Amendment in 1985.
Eleventh Schedule - Panchayati Raj
Twelfth Schedule - Municipalities
Latest Constitution Amendment Acts
91st Restrict the size of council of ministers to 15 %
of legislative members & to strengthen Anti
Defection laws (Amends articles 75 and 164,
Inserts article 361B.Amends schedule 10)
92nd Enable Levy of Service Tax & Include Bodo, Dogri,
Santhali and Maithali in the eighth schedule (Amends article
270, Inserts article 268A, Amends schedules 7 and 8)
93rd To enable provision of reservation for other
backward classes (O.B.C.) in government as well
as private educational institutions (Amend article 15)
94th To provide for a Minister of Tribal Welfare in
newly created Jharkand and Chattisgarh States
(Amend article 164)


95th To extend the reservation of seats for SCs and
STs in the Lok Sabha and states assemblies from
Sixty years to Seventy years (Amend article 334)
96th Substituted "Odia" for "Oriya" in 8th schedule
97th Added the words "or co-operative 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
PM is the ex officio chairperson of the following authorities
or institutions.
Department of Space
Department of Atomic Energy
Planning Commission
National Development Council
National Population Commission
Indian Board of wild life
National Disaster Management Authority
Nuclear Command Authority
CSIR
National Integration Council
National Ganga River Basin Authority
Important Ministries and Their department
1. Departments of Ministry of Home Affairs
Department of Border Management
Department of Internal Security
Department of J & K Affairs
Department of Home
Department of Official Language
Department of States
2. Departments of Ministry of Finance
Dept. of Economic Affairs
Dept. of Expenditure
Dept. of Revenue
Dept. of Financial Services
Dept. of Disinvestment
3. Depts. Of Ministry of health and Family welfare
Dept. of health and Dept. of family welfare
Dept. of Ayurveda, Yoga Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha
and Homeopathy
Dept. of Health Research
4. Depts. Of ministry of Rural Development
Dept. of Rural Development
Dept. of Land Resources
Dept. of Drinking water supply
5. Depts. Of Ministry of HRD
Dept. of School Education and Literacy
Dept of Higher Education
Zonal Council : In the light of the vision of Pandit Nehru, five
Zonal Councils were set up vide Part-III of the States Re-
organisation Act, 1956. The present composition of each of
these Zonal Councils is as under:
The Northern Zonal Council, comprising the States of
Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab,
Rajasthan, National Capital Territory of Delhi and Union
Territory of Chandigarh;
The Central Zonal Council, comprising the States of
Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya
Pradesh;
The Eastern Zonal Council, comprising the States of Bihar,
Jharkhand, Orissa, Sikkim and West Bengal;
The Western Zonal Council, comprising the States of Goa,
Gujarat, Maharashtra and the Union Territories of Daman &
Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli; and
The Southern Zonal Council, comprising the States of Andhra
Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Union
Territory of Puducherry.
The North Eastern States i.e. (i) Assam (ii) Arunachal Pradesh
(iii) Manipur (iv) Tripura (v) Mizoram (vi) Meghalaya and (vii)
Nagaland are not included in the Zonal Councils and their
special problems are looked after by the North Eastern
Council, set up under the North Eastern Council Act, 1972.
The State of Sikkim has also been included in the North
Eastern Council vide North Eastern Council (Amendment) Act,
2002 notified on 23rd December, 2002. Consequently, action
for exclusion of Sikkim as member of Eastern Zonal Council
has been initiated by Ministry of Home Affairs.
The Union Home Minister is the Chairman of each of these
Councils. The Chief Ministers of the States included in each
zone act as Vice-Chairman of the Zonal Council for that zone
by rotation, each holding office for a period of one year at a
time.
Each Zonal Council is an advisory body. A Zonal Council may
discuss, and make recommendations with regard to,any
matter of common interest in the field of economic and social
planning; any matter concerning border disputes, linguistic
minorities or inter-State transport; and any matter connected
with, or arising out of, the re-organisation of the States under
the States Reorganisation Act.


Parliament : According to Article 79 of the Constitution of
India, the Parliament consists of President of India and the
two Houses of Parliament known as Council of States (Rajya
Sabha) and House of the People (Lok Sabha). The President is
elected by the members of an electoral college consisting of
the elected members of both the Houses of Parliament and
the elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of States
and the Union Territories of Delhi and Pondicherry. Every
elected member of the legislative assembly of a State shall
have as many votes as there are multiples of one thousand in
the quotient obtained by dividing the population of the state
by the total number of elected members of the Assembly; If
after taking the said multiples of one thousand, the
remainder is not less than five hundred, then the vote of each
member shall be further increased by one. Each elected
member of either House of Parliament shall have such
number of votes as may be obtained by dividing the total
number of votes assigned to the members of the State
Legislation Assemblies by the total number of elected
members of both the House of Parliament fractions
exceeding one-half being counted as one and & other
fractions being disregarded. The election of the President
shall be held in accordance with the system of proportional
representation by means of the single transferable vote and
the voting shall be by secret ballot. The President shall hold
office for a term of five years from the date on which he
enters upon his office. President resigns his office by writing
under his hand addressed to the Vice President. According to
Article 61 of the Constitution, when a President is to be
impeached for violation of the Constitution. There is no
restriction on the number of time a person can hold the post
of the President of India. If any MP or MLA is elected as
President he shall be claimed to have vacated his seat in that
House on the date on which he enters upon office as
President.
Indian President- Tenure 5years- Renewable any number of
time; US president - Tenure 4 years- Renewable for not more
than two times; Russian President - Tenure 6years-
Renewable not more than two consecutive tenures
The maximum number of members of Rajya Sabha can be
250. Article 80 of the Constitution of India provides that 12
members having special knowledge or practical experience in
the field of literature, Science, Art and Social Service are to be
nominated by the President of India and not more than 238
representatives from the States to be elected by the elected
members of the State Legislative Assemblies in accordance
with the system of proportional representation by means of
the single transferable vote. Rajya Sabha is a Permanent
House and is not subject to dissolution But as nearly as
possible, one third of its members shall retire every 2nd year
and an equal number of members are chosen to replace
them. The origin of Rajya Sabha can be traced to the
Montague-Chelmsford Report of 1918. The Government of
India Act, 1919 provided for the creation of a Council of
State as a second chamber of the then legislature with a
restricted franchise which actually came into existence in
1921. The Governor-General was the ex-officio President of
the then Council of State. The Government of India Act, 1935,
hardly made any changes in its composition. On 23rd August
1954, Chairman made announcement naming this Council of
States as 'Rajya Sabha' in Hindi.
After the Constitution of India came into force on January 26,
1950, the first general elections under the new Constitution
were held during the year 1951-52 and the first elected
Parliament came into being in April, 1952. The First Meeting
of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha commenced on 13th May
1952. The first Speaker of the First Lok Sabha was G V
Mavalankar.

Minimum Age : for Member of Lok Sabha and MLA - 25 yr;
for Member of Rajya Sabha and MLC - 30 yr; for President
and Vice President - 35 yr.
"Unstarred Question"--A question which is not called for oral
answer in the House and the written answer to such a
question is deemed to have been laid on the Table. "Starred
Question"-A question to which a member wishes to have an
oral answer on the floor of the House and which is
distinguished by an asterisk.
Every MP, who is not a Minister, is called a Private Member.
Private Members' Bills are Bills introduced by these MPs. In
Lok Sabha, the last two and a half hours of a sitting on every
Friday are generally allotted for transaction of Private
Members Business, i.e., Private Members' Bills and Private
Members' Resolutions.Till date, Parliament has passed 14
Private Members' Bills. Six of these were passed in 1956
alone.
Important indicators of India
Sex Ratio (females per 1000 males) 940


Child Sex Ratio (females per 1000 males) 914
Human Development Index Value (HDI) 0.547
HDI Rank (out of 187) 134
Inequality Adjusted Human Development Index Value 0.392
Loss in HDI due to Inequalities (%) 28.7
Gender Inequality Index (GII) 0.617
GII Rank (out of 146) 129
Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) 0.497
Literacy Rate (%) 74.04
Male Literacy Rate (%) 82.14
Female Literacy Rate (%) 65.46
Poverty Headcount Ratio (%) 29.8
Multidimensional Poverty Headcount (%) 53.7
Proportion of Undernourished in Population (%) 21
Prevalence of Underweight Children under 5 years of age (%)
43.5
New series of Consumer Price Index:All India weights
Sub
group/group
Rural Urban Combin
ed
Food,
beverages and
tobacco
59.31 37.15 49.71
Fuel and light 10.42 8.40 9.49
Clothing,
bedding and
footwear
5.36 3.91 4.73
Housing 22.53 9.77
Miscellaneous 24.91 28.00 26.31
All Groups 100.00 100.00 100.00

PSLV C-19 on April 26, 2012 launched India's first
Indigenously built Radar Imaging Satellite RISAT-1, with
applications ranging from agriculture to natural disaster
management to place it into a 536-km polar orbit.
RISAT-1, weighing 1,858 kg and the heaviest Remote
Sensing satellite launched yet by the PSLV, is a state-of-
the-art Active Microwave Remote Sensing Satellite
carrying a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) that will
operate in the C-band. The PSLV C-19 is the 21st flight in
the PSLV series of satellite launches, the 20th
consecutive successful launch and the third to involve
the high-end version (PSLV-XL) equipped with six
extended strap-on motors, each carrying 12 tonnes of
solid propellant. The two earlier flights of the PSLV-XL
were used to launch Chandrayaan-1 and the GSAT-12
communication satellite.
Others:
Switzerland tops the overall rankings in The Global
Competitiveness Report 2011-2012 by World Economic
Forum. Singapore overtakes Sweden for second position.
China (26th) South Africa (50th) and Brazil (53rd) move
upwards while India (56th) and Russia (66th) experience small
declines.
Singapore tops in the Doing Business Report of the World
bank too whereas India finished at 132nd.
India won Mens Kabaddi World Cub held in Ludhiana on
November 20, 2011 by defeating Canada in the Finals.
Joachim Gauck, a former Lutheran pastor and anti-communist
activist has recently been elected president of Germany.
China has set a target of completing a space mission of "100
rockets, 100 satellites" during the five years between 2011
and 2015.
Dr Riaz Ahmad Shah, a veterinarian in the animal
biotechnology center of the Sher-e-Kashmir University, and
six other scientists brought the first pashmina goat clone,
Noori, into the world on March 9.
The country's first cooperative university will be set up at
Sibsagar in Assam.
INS vikramaditya which is actually a former Soviet aircraft
carrier Admiral, It is procured from Russia and expected to
enter into service in Indian Navy on 4th December 2012. At
present India is having only one aircraft carrier INS Viraat.
The Eastern Air Command of the Indian Air Force (IAF) has
launched a major exercise code named 'Pralay' in the
Brahmaputra valley and rest of eastern India. This exercise,
which began on Wednesday, also involves joint army-air force
operations by the IAF's Eastern Air Command, based in
Shillong, and the Eastern Command of the army,
headquartered in Kolkata.
PRP stands for Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy and involves
blood being taken from the patients body (in the same way
as in a blood test) then put in a machine that separates the
blood cells, serum and platelets which are then injected
directly back into the face or the area of the body in need of


rejuvenation. This popular treatment is often referred to as
Dracula Therapy.
kutch Desert Wildlife Sanctuary in the Great Rann of Kutch,
Kutch district, Gujarat encompasses a true saline desert
where thousands of Greater Flamingo nest in the world
famous Flamingo City located in the mud flats of the Rann,
about 10 km from Nir outpost on Kala Dungar hill. It is the
only area where flamingoes congregate to breed regularly.
The Little Rann of Kutch is famous for the Indian Wild Ass
Sanctuary, home of the world's last population of Indian wild
ass.
The Keoladeo National Park a world heritage site, is the only
regular wintering area in India for the Critically Endangered
Siberian Crane.

The Indian government in December 2011 set up an
electronic centre unit in the Finance Ministry to deal with the
unaccounted money issue in IBSA countries- India, Brazil and
South Africa.
Vivek Express is now the Indias longest train service which
links Dibrugarh (Assam) to Kanyakumari (Tamil Nadu).
US Space shuttle Atlantis and Endeavour has ended their
journey by completing their respective final missions.
Nano Ear is the worlds smallest ear which is a tiny piece of
gold suspended in a laser beam that can hear sounds as low
as 60 decibels.
Iran has recently launched a observation satellite named
NAVID.
Cho-Lhamu Lake, located over 18,000 feet above sea level in
Sikkim, has been declared the highest lake in India.
World AIDS Day 2011 was celebrated on 1 December under
the theme of Getting to Zero.
B. K. Chaturvedi committee has been set up by Centre to
suggest restructuring of power utilities of seven major States.
Srinath Reddy-led committee on universal healthcare
coverage set up by the 12th 5 year plan panel has
recommended increasing the public spending on the health
sector.
The Union Ministry for Urban Development has launched the
National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) named More.
Antrix Corporation Limited is the Commercial arm of ISRO
Eminent Kannada author S. L. Bhyrappa was honoured with
20th Saraswati Samman in literature for 2010 for his epic
novel Mandra.
The 17th National Youth Fesival was held in Mangalore,
Karnataka.
As per the World Gold Council, the total gold imported in
India in 2011 was 969 tonnes. India is the world's largest
importer and consumer of the precious metal. India's gold
import bill was USD 46 billion in April- November 2011, next
only to USD 71-72 billion of crude oil. Hence to discourage
gold imports, the government doubled the customs duty on it
to four percent.
Geeta Kumari, the woman wrestler, won a gold in 55kg
category at the Asian qualifying tournament in Astana,
Kazakhastan. Geeta with this victory also made a history, as
she became the first Indian woman wrestler to have ever
qualified for the Olympics. Women's wrestling was first
introduced at the Olympics during the 2004 Athens Olympics.
The COP 17 (17th Conference of Parties to the UNFCCC) 2011
was held in Durban, South Africa, from November 28 to
December 9, 2011. Here countries agreed to extend the
Kyoto Protocol for second Phase of 2013-17 as the Kyoto
protocol will expire in 2012. Qatar will be the host of COP 18.
The COP serves as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto
Protocol (CMP), which also adopts decisions and resolutions
on the implementation of its provisions. However, Parties to
the Convention that are not Parties to the Protocol are able
to participate in the CMP as observers, but without the right
to take decisions.
The 99th Indian Science Congress concluded at Kalinga
Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT University),
Bhubaneshwar first Womens Science Congress. ISC was
inaugurated by the PM Manmohan Singh on 3rd of January
2011.. The theme of the conference was "Science and
Technology for Inclusive Innovation - Role of Women". First
Women's Science Congress was inaugurated by Nirupama
Rao. The 100th Indian Science Congress will be held in
Kolkata, the venue where the first edition of the ISC was held
in 1914. The Focal theme of 100th ISC is "Science for Shaping
the Future of India".
Mexican scientist Raul Rene Drucker who specialises in
Physiology and Neurobiology and is a columnist, was chosen
for UNESCO-Kalinga Prize for 2011, awarded by UNESCO and
funded by Kalinga Foundation Trust, carries a cash award of $
22,000. The Kalinga Prize for the Popularization of Science is
an award given by UNESCO for exceptional skill in presenting
scientific ideas to lay people. It was created in 1952, following
a donation from Biju Patnaik, Founder President of the
Kalinga Foundation Trust in India.
Jantar Mantar in Jaipur is now part of World heritage
Monument list. Raja Jai Singh Constructed 5 observatories in
Delhi, Jaipur, Mathura, Varanasi and Ujjain.


Mumbai gets world's largest diamond bourse. Surat is the
world's largest diamond cutting & polishing centre.
The Archaeological Survey of India planned for Rs. 17 Crore
project on conservation of the "Ta prohm complex" in
Combodia. "Ta Prohm Complex" is the Third most visited site
after Angkor vat and the Bayon temple in Combodia.
Hanoi, the Capital of Vietnam is celebrating 1000 years of its
establishment.
Hambantota Port is in Sri Lanka.
Ingrid Daubechies is the first woman head of the
International Mathematical Union.
Red Sludge in Danube, In Hungary, Danube is the Europe's
largest river.
Recently, one of the most active volcano of Indonesia, Mount
Merapi erupted several times.
The U.S. has released a special postal stamp in honour of
Mother Teresa. Mother Teresa, who died in Kolkata on
September 5, 1997, was also awarded honorary US
citizenship in 1996.
India is having the highest number of the underweight
children in the commonwealth countries.
Interpol (Head Quarters in Lyons, France) can issue 7 types of
notices, six of which are known by their colour codes which
are Red (Red Corner), Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Black.
Enforcement Directorate issued "Light Blue Alert Notice" for
Lalit Modi for alleged foreign exchange violation.
UN Women has been created by the General Assembly. The
first Chairperson of UN Women will be former president of
Chile Michelle Bachelet. She was the first woman president of
Chile.
Schengen Agreement which creates a borderless area among
some European countried was signed in 1985 in Schengen (
Luxembourg). 26 countries are the members of Schengen
Area. UK and Ireland not the members.
India signed two important agreements for the ambitious
Turkmenistan - Afghanistan - Pakistan - India (TAPI) gas
pipeline project. The project, assisted by Asian Development
Bank, envisages the building of 1,680 km of pipeline with a
total gas capacity of 90 million cubic metres per day
(mmscmd). Deora has termed TAPI as a new silk route
between Central Asia and South Asia.
Kyrgyzstan, had the elections the first-ever in a Central Asian
country.
The Asian Clearing Union (ACU), with headquarters in Tehran,
Iran, having the central banks of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Iran,
India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar as a
member
International Congress of Mathematicians in 2010 took place
in Hyderabad. In 2014, it will take place in Seoul, South Korea.
Mongolia Cabinet Meet took place in Gobi (Cold Desert).
Rashtrapati Bhavan was presented with an International
Organization for Standardisation (ISO) 14001 : 2004
Certificate on 25 July 2010, for having emerged as the
country's first urban habitat with excellent environmental
management systems.
India was elected as a non-permanent member of the
Security Council on 12th Oct. 2010. India received highest
number of votes - 187. The polling took place for 5 seats at
the UN head quarter in New York. Germany and Portugal
from West Europe, Columbia from Latin America, South
Africa from Africa are the other countries elected as Non
permanent member in Security Council. This is the seventh
time, India became member in UNSC. Last time, India was
member in 1991-1992.
Jan. 25 is observed as National Voter Day as Jan. 25, 1950 is
the foundation date of Election Commission of India. The first
General Election were held in 1951. First Loksabha was
constituted in 1952.
India based Neutrino project approved at TAMILNADU.
NATIONAL COMMISSION for population control chaired by
PM Manmohan Singh pushed the Population stabilisation
target to 2070 from the earlier 2045.
Jatinga's festivalis celebrated in Assam.
Central Arid Zone Research Institute (CAZRI), Jodhpur
Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA),
Hyderabad
The marathon is 42.195 kilometres (26 miles and 385 yards).
Spain has world's Biggest Solar Power Station.
Pure Banking and Nothing Else is the slogan of State Bank of
India.
Gir Kesar, a famous variety of Mango was in news for the
Geographical Indication Norms.


Jallikattu or Manju Virattu is a bull taming sport played in
Tamil Nadu as a part of Pongal celebrations.
Fortune is a global business magazine published by Time
Inc.(US).
Since the Munich Games of 1972, most Olympic torches have
used a propylene or a propane/butane mixture.
China donates one million $ for Nalanda University
International Anti-Corruption Academy is located in
Laxenburg, Austria. 9th December is observed as
International Anti-Corruption Day.
International Children's Film Festival India (ICFFI) also
popularly known as The Golden Elephant is a biennial festival
organized by Children's Film Society India (CFSI) a national
government body committed to nurturing a dynamic
children's film culture in the country. Since its inception in
1955. The 17th edition of ICFFI took place from 14th to 20th
November 2011 in Hyderabad.
Indian poultry giant Venkateshwara Hatcheries (VH) has
become the first Indian group to own any EPL team,
Blackburn Rovers. The VH Group specialises in poultry
farming, and is Asia's largest poultry group.
The first "rupee" in India was introduced by Sher Shah Suri.
One unit of rupee was restructured equivalent to 100 paise in
1957.
Monetary Policy is framed by the RBI while the Fiscal Policy is
brought out by the government.
TRIPS and TRIMS are related with WTO.
European Union
Important treaties:
Treaty of Paris(23 July 1952) Established European Coal and
steel and community
Treaty of Rome (1 January 1958) Established European
Common Market or European Economic Community
Maastricht Treaty (1 November 1993) Established European
Union
Treaty of Lisbon (1 December 2009) reformed EU and gave
the present shape to the EU.
Important Officials
President of the Council -Herman Van Rompuy (Belgium)
President of the Commission - Jose Manuel Barroso( Former
Portuguese PM)
Speaker of the Parliament - Martin Schulz
Presidency of the Council of the Union rotates among the
member countries every six months
Important EU Institutions and their Seats
European Council - Brussels
European Commission - Brussels
Council of the European Union - Brussels
European Parliament - Strasbourg ( Primary Seat), Brussels (
Secondary Seat)
European Court of Justice - Luxembourg
European Central bank - Frankfurt
EU Motto: United in diversity
EU Anthem: Ode to Joy
EU Flag: Consists of a circle of 12 golden (yellow) stars
on an azure background. Number of stars do not
indicate the member countries.
Important Non EU Member Countries:
Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Turkey
The eurozone was established in 1999. Presently
having 17 European Union (EU) member states that
have adopted the euro () as their common currency
and sole legal tender. The eurozone currently consists
of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France,
Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the
Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain.
Mario Draghi is the present European Central bank
president.
London is the Most Populous city of EU.
In 2011 the EU had a combined GDP of 17.57 trillion
international dollars, a 20% share of the global gross
domestic product (in terms of purchasing power parity),
making it the largest economy in the world. It is the
largest exporter, the largest importer of goods and
services, and the biggest trading partner to several large
countries such as China, India, and the United States.
EU have 23 official and Working languages.
Important National and International Standards
ISO 22000 Food Safety Management Systems
IS 18001:2000 Occupational Health and Safety
Management Systems
ISO 9000 Quality Management
ISO 14000 Environmental Management Systems
ISO 26000 Corporate Social Responsibility
ISO 31000 Risk Management


ISO 50001 Energy Management
ISO was established in 1947 and its HQs is in Geneva.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has
been established under the Food Safety and Standards
Act, 2006 as a statutory body for laying down science
based standards for articles of food and regulating
manufacturing, processing, distribution, sale and import
of food so as to ensure safe and wholesome food for
human consumption
Important Certification Marks in India
ISI mark. For industrial product.
FPO mark. A mandatory mark for all processed fruit
products in India.
Agmark for all agricultural products.
BIS hallmark. Certifies the purity of gold jewellery.
Ecomark. Since 1991- to products
conforming to a set of standards
aimed at the least impact on the
ecosystem.

The Vegetarian mark (green dot symbol) and the Non-
vegetarian mark (brown dot symbol).
Toxicity label. Mandatory on the containers of
pesticides sold in India Where Red label for Extremely
toxic, Yellow for Highly Toxic, Blue for Moderately Toxic
and Green for Slightly Toxic.
Terms In News
Amicus curiae is a legal Latin phrase, which means
friend of the court.
Gerrymandering: In the process of setting electoral
districts, gerrymandering is a practice that attempts to
establish a political advantage for a particular party or
group by manipulating geographic boundaries to create
partisan or incumbent-protected districts.
Duumvirate: Alliance between two equally powerful
political or military leaders.
Kleptocracy: a government or state in which those in
power exploit national resources and steal; rule by a
thief or thieves
National Action Plan On Climate Change was launch by
PM Manmohan Singh on June 30, 2008. It is having
Eight Components;
1. National Solar Mission (renamed as Jawaharlal Nehru
National Solar Mission, The target under this mission is
to deliver 20 GW of solar power by 2022.
2. National Mission for Enhanced Energy Effi ciency
(NMEEE)
3. National Mission on Sustainable Habitat
4. National Water Mission The main objective is,
conservation of water, minimizing wastage and
ensuring its more equitable distribution both across and
within states through integrated water resources
development and management.
5. National Mission on Green India aims at addressing
climate change by enhancing carbon sinks in sustainably
managed forests and ecosystems, enhancing the
resilience and ability of vulnerable species/ecosystems
to adapt to the changing climate and enabling
adaptation of forest-dependent local communities in
the face of climatic variability.
6. National Mission on Sustaining Himalayan Ecosystem
7. National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture
8. National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate
Change
Important Species and their habitat
Pygmy Hog - Manas wildlife sanctuary
Elvira rat - Eastern Ghats of TN
Flying squirrel - Namdapha ( Arunachal Pradesh)
Charles Darwins frog: Andaman and Nicobar
Jerdon's Courser - A nocturnal Bird- Eastern Ghats
The White-bellied Heron - eastern Himalayas
hoolock gibbons - North East India
The lion-tailed macaque - endemic to the Western Ghats

The Indian Vulture and the Indian White-rumped Vulture have
suffered a 99%97% population decrease in Pakistan and India and
between 2000-2007 annual decline rates of this species and the
Slender-billed Vulture averaged over 16%. The cause of this has
been identified as poisoning caused by the veterinary drug
diclofenac. Diclofenac is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug
(NSAID) and when given to working animals it can reduce joint pain
and so keep them working for longer.
The last documented sight of cheetahs in India was in 1947 when an
Indian prince shot three during a hunting expedition. They were
formally declared extinct in 1952.

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