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The Member of Parliament Local Area Development Division is entrusted with the responsibility of implementation of Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS). Under the scheme, each MP has the choice to suggest to the District Collector for, works to the tune of Rs.5 Crores per annum to be taken up in his/her constituency. The Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament can recommend works in one or more districts in the State from where he/she has been elected. The Nominated Members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha may select any one or more Districts from any one State in the Country for implementation of their choice of work under the scheme. The Department has issued the guidelines on Scheme Concept, implementation, and monitoring. The Department has initiated all necessary steps to ensure that the scheme is successfully implemented in the field. The progress of the works being implemented under the scheme is monitored on a regular basis.

Socio Economic Survey The Socio-Economic Surveys conducted by NSSO are in the form of Rounds, each round being normally of one-year duration. The subject coverage of SE inquiries for different rounds is decided on the basis of a 10 year time frame. In this cycle, 1 year is devoted to land and live stock holdings, debt and Investment; 1 year to social consumption ( education and health care, etc. ), 2 years to quinquennial surveys on household consumer expenditure, employment & un-employment situation and 4 years to non- agricultural enterprises, namely, manufacturing, trade and services in un-organised sector. The remaining 2 years are for open rounds in which subjects of current/special interest on the demand of Central Ministries, State Governments and research organizations are covered. The Socio-Economic Surveys cover the whole of the Indian Union except for (i) interior villages of Nagaland situated beyond five kilometers of the bus route (ii) villages in Andaman & Nicobar Islands which remain inaccessible throughout year. All the States and Union Territories except Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Chandigarh and Lakshadweep participate at least on an equal matching basis. Well qualified and trained Investigators of NSSO and the State Governments collect information through enquiry method, using the same methodology & schedules that are specially designed for the survey. Official Amendments to Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill 2011

Salient features of amendments to lokpal and lokayuktas bill 2011 approved by the cabinet on January 31, 2013 are as below:-

Collegium for Selection of Lokpal: The Bill provides for selection of Members of Lokpal by a Selection Committee comprising the Prime Minister, Speaker (Lok Sabha), Leader of Opposition (Rajya Sabha), Cheif Justice of India or a Supreme Court judge nominated by CJI and an eminent jurist nominated by the President. The Select Committee has recommended that the fifth member of the Selection Committee (i.e., eminent jurist) may be nominated by the President on the basis of recommendation of the first four members of the Selection Committee. Government has accepted this recommendation.

Jurisdiction over bodies receiving donations from public: The Select Committee has recommended exclusion of bodies and institutions receiving donations from the public from the purview of Lokpal. Government has decided to exempt only such bodies or authorities established, constituted or appointed by or under any Central or State or Provincial Act providing for administration of public religious or charitable trusts or endowments or societies for religious or charitable purposes registered under the societies Registration Act. Other non governmental bodies receiving donation from the public would thus remain within the purview of Lokpal.

Power to order investigation straight away: Select Committee has recommended that the Lokpal should be given power to order an investigation straightaway (without first ordering a preliminary inquiry) in case Lokpal finds that a prima facie case exists. Government has accepted this recommendation subject to the modification that the Lokpal should, before coming to a conclusion that there exists a prima facie case for entrusting the matter for investigation, call for the explanation of the public servant and then decide whether there exists a prima facie case for ordering investigation.

Opportunity of Hearing to public servant: The Select Committee has recommended that the seeking of comments from the public servant during the preliminary inquiry by the investigating agency should not be mandatory [clause 20 (2)]. Committee has also recommended that the opportunity of hearing by Lokpal before ordering investigation may be dispensed with [clause 20 (3)]. The affording of an opportunity to the public servant and to the government/competent authority at the preliminary inquiry stage and before ordering formal investigation would help clear doubts in several cases and would substantially reduce the number of cases going for regular investigation. Therefore, Government has decided not to accept this recommendation of the Select Committee and move an official amendement for the purpose.

Power to order prosecution of public servants: The Select Committee has recommended that the power to grant sanction for prosecution of public servants could be shifted to the Lokpal in place of the Government. The Select Committee has also recommended that Lokpal may be required to seek comments of the competent authority and the public servant before taking such decision. Government has decided to accept this recommendation of the Select Committee.

Strengthening of CBI: The Select Committee has recommended a number of amendments in the Bill for strengthening the CBI. These include-

(i) The setting up of a Directorate of prosecution headed by a Director of Prosecution under the overall control of Director, CBI; (ii) The appointment of the Director of Prosecution on the recommendation of the Central Vigilance Commission; (iii) Maintenance of a panel of advocates by CBI, other than the Government Advocates, with the consent of the Lokpal for handling Lokpal referred cases; (iv) Provision of adequate funds to CBI for investigating cases referred by Lokpal;

(v) Transfer of officers of CBI investigating cases referred by Lokpal with the approval of Lokpal.

Government has decided to accept all these recommendations except the last one, i.e., seeking approval of Lokpal for transfer of officers of CBI investigating cases referred by the Lokpal , which is proposed not to be accepted as it would affect the smooth functioning of the CBI. Other salient features of the Bill

Powers of supervision over CBI : The Bill confers powers of superintendence on the Lokpal over the Delhi Special Police Establishment (CBI) in respect of matters referred by the Lokpal for inquiry/investigation. Appointment of Director, CBI: A high powered Committee chaired by the Prime Minister will recommend selection of the Director, CBI. Attachment/confiscation of ill-gotten property: The Bill contains provisions for attachment/confiscation of property acquired by corrupt means, even while prosecution is pending. Enhancement of punishments under Prevention of Corruption Act: The Bill proposes to enhance punishments under Prevention of Corruption Act: (a) Maximum punishment from 7 years to 10 years (b) Minimum punishment from 6 months to 2 years.

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World Energy Leaders Take Action on Clean Energy Inaugurating the fourth Clean Energy Ministerial taking place in New Delhi this week, India`s Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh said that "there is need for inter-country consultation and discussion in these areas to promote information exchange and to identify possible areas of collaboration, and also to learn from each other`s experience in addressing common problems. The Clean Energy Ministerial has made a major contribution to such discussions." The energy ministers and other high level delegates from the 23 participating governments outlined progress made to date under the 13 CEM initiatives and committed to furthering their efforts to accelerate clean energy supply, improve energy efficiency and expand clean energy access around the world. They also welcomed further work on the topic of clean energy finance to be delivered to ministers at CEM5. Through the Clean Energy Ministerial, we are accelerating the transition to clean energy technology around the world," said U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu. "While this is a young process, we are already achieving results - from saving consumers and businesses money with energy efficient appliances to providing millions with access to clean, affordable energy supply." Since its launch in 2010, the CEM has leveraged a unique distributed leadership approach. Countries choose to participate in those initiatives that are of interest to them and important to their citizens. This approach is driving faster implementation and boosting the enthusiasm of each participating country in the various initiatives. CEM has now matured into a process with actionable agendas and programmes and is working to achieve them, said India Planning Commission Deputy Commissioner Montek Singh Ahluwalia. The Indian participation has extended to new initiatives and we look forward to greater integration of the developing world in the clean energy strategy for the world. A unique feature of this Ministerial was the Innovation Showcase Pavilion, hosted bythe Government of India. The Pavilion featured 45 companies from around the world that are at the forefront of the clean energy revolution in technology sectors such as solar, smart and mini- grid, energy storage, lighting, electric vehicles, and energy efficiency and finance. During a ceremony at the Ministerial, the Super-efficient Appliance and Equipment Deployment (SEAD) initiative recognized the winners of the SEAD Global Efficiency Medal competition for most energy efficient flat-panel televisions. The global awards program encourages the production and sale of super-efficient equipment, appliances, and electronics. The winning models are 33 to 44 percent more energy efficient than TVs with similar technology. The competition is already spurring the adoption of increased energy efficient policies and standards that will help consumers and businesses save thousands of dollars on electricity. The Ministerial discussions and new actions announced build on steps taken over the past three

years and continue to drive progress across the 13 CEM initiatives. The sixteen governments participating in the SEAD initiative also announced the launch of the SEAD Global Efficiency Medal competition for electric motors. Electric motors, which are ubiquitous in everything from small appliances to large industrial equipment, account for a staggering 43% ofworld electricity consumption. Winners will be recognized at CEM5 in Korea. The Government of India announced the first-ever database featuring national and state clean energy and energy efficiency policies and incentives in India. The Indian Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Policy Database (IREEED), will disseminate renewable energy and energy efficiency policies, regulations, and incentive programs for the benefit of project developers, businesses, and consumers. Developed through support from the Clean Energy Solutions Center, IREEED will be a featured resource on the site (cleanenergysolutions.org). The World Bank announced the launch of a South-South-North Knowledge Exchange (SSNKE) facility. The SSNKE Facility will enable the exchange of ideas and experiences in clean energy among the members of the CEM and will function within the 21st Century Power Partnership, a CEM initiative led by India and the United States. The SSNKE Facility will support learning networks and communities of practice, study tours and field visits, policy dialogues, peer-to-peer interactions, and formal training programs. Some of these activities will be piloted during 2013-2014. The World Bank sees the Facility as an important instrument to bring policy-makers, private sector and civil society actors together in sharing and learning from each other. The government of India announced that it has joined the Electric Vehicle Initiative. The government of the United Kingdom announced it will join the Global Lighting and Energy Access Partnership (Global LEAP) initiative. Global LEAP also announced the launch of a new competition that will help transform the global market for products designed for use in an off-grid context (i.e., with home-scale power systems) by recognizing the most efficient, high-quality and affordable DCpowered appliances. The Global LEAP Outstanding Off-Grid Product Awards competition builds on the success of the IFC`s Lighting Global programawards for integrated solar lanterns and the first rounds of competition will be for DC-powered LED lighting and color televisions. Looking ahead, the Government of Mexico announced that it will host the sixth Clean Energy Ministerial in Mexico City in 2015. With CEM5 to be held in the Republic of Korea next year, plans for the next two Ministerials are now in place.

eview of the Economy 2012-13 - Highlights

Dr. C. Rangarajan, Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister released the document Review of the Economy 2012-13 at a Press Conference in New Delhi today. Following are the highlights of the document:

Economy to grow at 6.4% in 2013-14

The Advance Estimates of CSO have pegged the growth of Agriculture at 1.8% in 2012-13. In expectation of normal or mostly normal monsoon, the farm sector growth is likely to improve and is projected to grow at 3.5% in 2013-14. The Advance Estimates of CSO have pegged the growth of Industry (including manufacturing, mining and quarrying, electricity, gas, water supply and construction) at 3.1% in 2012-13. It is projected to grow at 4.9% in 2013-14. Manufacturing sector is projected to grow at 4% in 2013-14. The Advance Estimates of CSO have pegged the growth of Services at 6.6% in 201213. It is projected to grow at 7.7% in 2013-14.

Global Situation: Global growth although projected to pick up in 2013 would continue to remain at modest levels. In such a scenario Indias projected growth rate of 6.4% is relatively high and respectable.

Structural Factors: Investment rate is estimated to be 35.8% of GDP in 2012-13. There has been a sharp decline in the productivity of capital as the Incremental Capital Output Ratio (ICOR) has shot up from its historical level of around 4.0 to much higher levels. The computed ICOR for 2011-12 and 2012-13 ranges from 5.4 to 11.4, depending on how the ratio is calculated. It appears that investment capital accumulated in projects is not yielding commensurate output. Domestic savings rate is estimated to be around 30.8 % of GDP 2012-13. The decline in the domestic savings rate over the past few years is owing to the increase in the negative savings by the Government, the decline in profitability of private corporates, and decline in net financial savings of households.

Trends in Corporate Financial Results In 2009-10 and 2010-11 the real net sales growth figures derived from the corporate data were closer to the ASI numbers than the IIP. If the corporate numbers are a better guide of manufacturing, the GDP estimates by CSO for both 2011-12 and 2012-13 could be revised upwards.

External Sector: Controlling CAD remains our main concern at present.

Current Account Deficit is estimated to be $94 billion (5.1% of GDP) in 2012-13 and is projected to be $100 billion (4.7% of GDP) in 2013-14.

o Merchandise trade deficit is estimated to be $200 billion (10.9% of the GDP) in 201213 and is projected to be $213 billion (9.9% of GDP) in 2013-14. o Net invisibles earnings are estimated to be $105.8 billion (5.7 % of GDP) in 2012-13 and are projected to be $113 billion (5.3 % of GDP) in 2013-14.

Capital flows

o It is estimated that for 2012-13 the net inflow of FDI was $18 billion ($26 billion inbound and $ 8 billion outbound). For 2013-14 EAC has projected higher inbound flows of the order of $36 billion. Outbound FDI is also expected to increase, resulting in net FDI inflow of $24 billion. o FII inflows were weak in the first quarter of 2012-13, but picked up in the second and third quarters. For the year as a whole, portfolio inflows are estimated to be close to $24 billion. Portfolio capital flows are projected to be $18 billion in 2013-14. o The total inflows under the head of loans are estimated to be about $30 billion in 201213. This comprises mostly of external commercial borrowings (ECBs) and short-term loans. The projected figure for 2013-14 is $36 billion. o The total banking capital inflows for 2012-13 are estimated to be $24 billion and are projected to be at $ 22 billion for 2013-14.

Inflation

In 2013-14, the headline WPI inflation is expected to be around 6.0 %, with primary food inflation around 8%, fuel at about 11% and manufactured goods at around 4%. The provisional figure for inflation at the end of 2012-13 is 5.96%.

Fiscal Situation

The fiscal deficit of the Centre for 2012-13 is estimated to be 5.2% of GDP. It was Rs 520,924 crores in 2012-13 as per revised estimates, and is expected to be Rs 542,499 crores in 2013-14 as per budget estimates. The total Central subsidies stood at Rs. 257,654 crores (2.6% of GDP) in 2012-13 but, are expected to go down to Rs 231,084 crores in 2013-14 largely owing to the pruning down of petroleum subsidies which have been the major cause of missing our fiscal deficit targets in the past.

As growth recovers tax collections are expected to improve. The 2013-14 BE target of 19% gross tax revenue growth is realizable. On the expenditure side, control over the magnitude of petroleum subsidies is clearly the most important element in keeping expenditures within the overall budgeted limits. The budget has laid firm foundations for the process of fiscal consolidation which should help in achieving high growth in a sustained way.

Conclusions: Growth and, more particularly, industrial growth has slowed. But the decline appears to have bottomed out. Overall economic growth is expected to rise to 6.4 per cent in 2013-14 from 5 per cent in the previous year. Investment and savings rates have come down. But economic growth has declined more steeply than what is warranted by the decline in investment. The main reason for this is that while capital assets have been formed, counterpart output has not flowed into the economy. Capital accumulated in projects is not yielding commensurate output, as the implementation of projects has slowed. Policy and administrative actions such as the recently constituted Cabinet Committee on Investment can help to overcome obstacles in the speedy execution of projects. While even existing rates of investment should enable us to grow at 7.5 to 8.0 per cent over the short term, a return to higher levels of savings and investment can take us back to the very high levels of growth which we had seen earlier. Inflation continues to remain high, but there are definite signs that headline WPI inflation is coming down. Non-food manufacturing inflation remains around the comfort zone. As inflation comes down, it will create more space for monetary policy to support growth. The road map for fiscal consolidation has been well laid out. Government has shown its determination to contain the fiscal deficit. The current account deficit, however, remains a source of concern, despite the fact that the financing of the deficit has not been a problem so far. While in the short run, we should take such actions that are necessary to encourage capital flows, over the medium term, we need to bring down the current account deficit to moderate levels. The next decade will be a crucial decade for India. If we grow at 8 to 9 per cent per annum, we will graduate to the level of a middle income country by 2025. It is once again a faster rate of growth which will enable us to meet many of our important socio-economic objectives.

Issues to be addressed:

Speedy project clearances: While the Constitution of the Cabinet Committee on Investment has helped in speeding up project clearances, more needs to be done in the coming months so that new investment can be facilitated. In the current context, achieving the production and capacity creation targets in the key infrastructure sectors

such as coal, power, roads, railways and ports, which are largely in the public sector or public-private partnership (PPP) domain, will act as a great stimulus to private investment and faster growth. Reducing CAD: Net oil imports and gold, account for bulk of the increase in merchandise trade deficit. Price and subsidy reforms in petroleum products need to be completed to control our oil import bill. It is also vitally necessary to encourage exports of both merchandise and services. As inflation is brought under control, peoples appetite for gold will also diminish. Maintaining an attractive return in financial assets will also help in bringing down the demand of gold. Managing the capital account: To ensure that the CAD is comfortably financed, capital inflows will need to be encouraged and, where necessary, procedures streamlined. Improving Net Energy Availability: There is a close link between our dependence on imports of oil and natural gas and our external payments situation. Hence, steps should be taken to improve the energy economy in all aspects-production, transformation and final use. Facilitating an increase in domestic coal production will make a substantial difference. The conditions for exploration and production of hydrocarbons must be improved to increase domestic supply. Containing inflation: Both supply side management and the approach to administered pricing have to be informed about the urgency in regard to stabilizing primary food inflation at a lower level. Reforms in Agricultural Marketing and Supply Chains: The Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee Act (APMC Act) prevailing in a number of states limits the freedom of farmers to sell, and this has prevented the modernization of the supply chain and also contributes to primary food inflation. Regulatory obstacles in the way need to be cleared. Moving Savings Products: Over the past few years there have been serious setbacks in the distribution of savings products, especially mutual funds and life insurance. However, sales of mutual fund products, especially to smaller investors, have been continuously negative for some time and the premium growth in insurance was (-) 10 % in 2010-11 and 2011-12, after strong growth in previous years. There is a need to reverse this decline in investment in financial assets through more attractive savings products and environment.

Table 1 Year-on-year rates of growth at constant (2004-05) prices Unit: per cent, unless otherwise specified ANNUAL RATES 2005- 2006-07 2007- 2008- 2009-10 2010-11 2011- 201206 08 09 12 13 5.1 4.2 5.8 0.1 0.8 QE AE 7.9 3.6 1.8 201314 Proj 3.5

1 Agriculture & allied activities

2 Mining & Quarrying 3 Manufacturing 4 Electricity, Gas, Water Supply 5 Construction 6 Trade, Hotels, Transport, Storage & Communication 7 Finance, insurance, real estate & business services 8 Community & personal services 9 GDP (factor cost) 10 Farm Sector 11 Industry (2 + 3 + 4 + 5) 12 Services (6 + 7 + 8) 13 Non-Farm GDP (9 - 1) 14 GDP (factor cost) per capita

1.3 10.1 7.1 12.8 12.0 12.6

7.5 14.3 9.3 10.3 11.6 14.0

3.7 10.3 8.3 10.8 10.9 12.0

2.1 4.3 4.6 5.3 7.5 12.0

5.9 11.3 6.2 6.7 10.4 9.7

4.9 9.7 5.2 10.2 12.3 10.1

0.6 2.7 6.5 5.6 7.0 11.7

0.4 1.9 4.9 5.9 5.2 8.6

2.3 4.0 6.4 7.0 7.6 9.0

7.1 9.5 5.1 9.7 10.9 10.5 7.8

2.8 9.6 4.2 12.2 10.1 10.8 8.0

6.9 9.3 5.8 9.7 10.3 10.1 7.8

12.5 6.7 0.1 4.4 10.0 8.1 5.2

11.7 8.6 0.8 9.2 10.5 10.1 7.1

4.3 9.3 7.9 9.2 9.8 9.6 7.8

6.0 6.2 3.6 3.5 8.2 6.6 4.8

6.8 5.0 1.8 3.1 6.6 5.5 3.7

6.0 6.4 3.5 4.9 7.7 6.8 5.1

15 GDP factor cost32.5 49.4 52.4 55.0 58.5 2004/05 prices in Rs lakh crore (Trillion) 16 GDP market & current 36.9 42.9 49.9 56.3 64.8 78.0 89.7 100.3 113.7 prices in Rs lakh crore (Trillion) 17 GDP market & current 834 949 1,241 1,234 1,370 1,715 1,865 1,847 2,126 prices in US$ Billion 18 Population in Million 1,106 1,122 1,138 1,154 1,170 1,186 1,202 1,217 1,232 19 GDP market prices per 33,394 38,277 43,823 48,787 55,366 65,728 74,66782,400 92,290 capita current prices in Rs 20 GDP market prices per 754 846 1,090 1,069 1,171 1,446 1,551 1,518 1,725 capita in current US$

Some Magnitudes 35.6 39.0 41.6 45.2

Table 2 Actual and Projected Balance of Payments US$ billion 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 * * Merchandise 85.2 105.2 128.9 166.2 189.0 182.4 250.5 309.8 301.1 329.7 Exports

Merchandise Imports Merch Trade Balance Net Invisibles o/w Software & BPO Private Remittances Investment Income Current Account Foreign Investment o/w FDI (net) Inbound FDI Outbound FDI Portfolio capital Loans Banking capital Other capital Capital Account Errors & Omissions Accretion to Reserves

118.9 -33.7

157.1 -51.9

190.7 -61.8

257.6 -91.5

308.5

300.6

381.1 -130.6

499.5 -189.8

501.1 -200.0

542.7 -213.0

-119.5 -118.2

-4.7% 31.2 4.3% 14.7

-6.2% 42.0 5.0% 23.8

-6.5% 52.2 5.5% 27.7

-7.4% 75.7 6.1% 37.2

-9.7% -8.6% 91.6 79.7 7.4% 47.0 5.8% 41.5

-7.6% -10.2% -10.9% 84.6 111.6 105.8 4.9% 49.6 6.0% 60.1 5.7% 62.4

-9.9% 113.0 5.3% 72.0

20.5 -4.1 -2.5 -0.3% 13.0 3.7 6.0 2.3 9.3 10.9 3.9 0.7 28.0 3.9% 0.6 26.2 3.6%

24.5 -4.1 -9.9 -1.2% 15.5 3.0 8.9 5.9 12.5 7.9 1.4 1.2 25.5 3.1% -0.5 15.1 1.8%

29.8 -6.8 -9.6 -1.0% 14.8 7.7 22.7 15.0 7.1 24.5 1.9 4.2 45.2 4.8% 1.0 36.6 3.9%

41.7 -4.4 -15.7 -1.3% 45.0 15.4 34.2 18.8 29.6 41.9 11.8 9.5 108.0 8.7% 1.2 92.2 7.4%

44.6 -6.6 -27.9

53.5 -5.5 -38.5

53.1 -16.4 -45.9 -2.7% 38.0 7.7 24.0 16.3 30.3 27.9 5.0 -10.4 60.0 3.5% -2.6 11.5 0.7%

63.5 -16.5 -78.2 -4.2% 39.2 22.1 33.0 10.9 17.2 19.3 16.0 -6.9 67.8 3.6% -2.4 -12.8 -0.7%

65.6 -24.0 -94.2 -5.1% 41.5 17.8 26.1 8.3 23.7 30.5 24.2 -2.0 94.2 5.1% 2.5 2.5 0.1%

69.0 -28.0 -100.0 -4.7% 42.0 24.0 36.0 12.0 18.0 36.0 22.0 0.0 100.0 4.7% 0.0 0.0 0.0%

-2.3% -2.8% 3.5 51.2 17.5 35.0 17.5 -14.0 4.1 -3.2 4.5 8.7 0.7% 1.1 -18.1 -1.5% 18.8 33.1 14.4 32.4 14.3 1.5 -13.0 53.4 3.9% -1.6 13.3 1.0%

Note: * The column for 2012-13 is estimated and that for 2013-14 is projected

The report of the committee set up under the chairmanship of Dr C. Rangarajan, Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister to look into the Production Sharing Contract Mechanism in petroleum industry, submitted recently to the Prime Minister, has been made available in the public domain, on the website of the Economic Advisory Council (www.eac.gov.in). Members on the committee were Justice Jagannadha Rao, Shri B.K. Chaturvedi, Prof. Ramprasad Sengupta, Shri J. M. Mauskar and Shri Joeman Thomas; Dr. K. P. Krishnan was convener, and Shri Giridhar Aramane was secretary to the committee. Highlights of the reports recommendations are given below: Fiscal Terms under the PSC 2. The existing PSC allows the contractor to recover his cost, before giving the Government its share in the contractor`s revenues, in case there is commercial discovery leading to production. A certain proportion of the balance revenues of the contractor are shared with the Government, based on the value of an investment multiple for each year. These are biddable parameters. This investment multiple is the ratio of cumulative net cash income to cumulative exploration & development cost. Government`s share increases as the multiple increases, which happens when cumulative income increases at a rate higher than the rate of increase for cumulative cost. 3. Under this system, a close scrutiny of costs becomes critical for the Government since there is incentive for contractors to book as costs expenses that do not reflect the true economic cost to the contractor (e.g., through transfer pricing). This is perceived by contractors as interference in commercial decision-making, whereas the Government and CAG view it as legitimate and necessary. Since decisions are taken in a joint committee, called Management Committee, having government and private party representatives, decisions get delayed and execution under the contract is hampered. 4. Since cost recovery is at the root of the problems experienced, it is proposed to dispense with it, in favour of sharing of the overall revenues of the contractor, without setting off any costs. The share will be determined through a competitive bid process for future PSCs. The bids will be made in a bid matrix, in which the bidder will offer different percentage revenue shares for different levels of production and price levels. The bids will have to be progressive with respect to both volume of production and price level. This will ensure that as the contractor earns more, Government gets progressively higher revenue, and will also safeguard government interest in case of a windfall arising from a price surge or a surprise geological find. Further, the underlying cause of the Management Committee and audit related problems will be removed, and the Management Committee will no longer go into issues relating to approval of budget or procurement issues. Investor interests should remain unaffected, since investors will be free to bid the Government share, and they will also have a more hassle-free operational environment. 5. The committee has also recommended that an extended tax holiday of 10 years, as against 7 years already available for all blocks, be granted for blocks having a substantial portion involving drilling offshore at a depth of more than 1,500 metres, since cost of a single well can be as high as US$ 150 million.

6. Further, the committee has recommended extending the timeframe for exploration in future PSCs for frontier, deep-water (offshore, at more than 400 m depth) and ultra-deep-water (offshore, at more than 1,500 m depth) blocks from eight years currently, to ten years. Contract Management 7. Apart from resolution of problems currently experienced in contract management through the proposed fiscal regime under new PSCs, the committee has suggested two mechanisms for improving progress of exploration and development under existing PSCs. For policy related issues, it has suggested the setting up of a Secretary-level inter-ministerial committee to suggest policy solutions. For issues involving condonation of delay on the part of the contractor in preparing for and seeking approvals, and for minor technical issues, the mandate of the existing Empowered Committee of Secretaries (ECS) can be expanded. The ECS has earlier been empowered, with CCEA approval, to condone delays in the exploration phase only. Audit 8. Issues currently being raised in audit would no longer arise under the proposed fiscal regime for new PSCs. Apart from this, after consulting CAG, it has been recommended that the list of blocks be periodically made available to the CAG for selecting those that it would directly audit. CAG would select blocks on the basis of financial materiality, and would focus on blocks in the exploration and development phase, when costs incurred are higher. Other blocks would be ordinarily audited by CAG-empanelled auditors, although CAG would continue to have its statutory freedom to directly audit even these. Further, it has been recommended that CAG perform the audit within two years of the financial year under audit, as prescribed under the PSC. Also, for PSCs beyond a high financial threshold, a concurrent audit mechanism may be considered. Gas Price Mechanism 9. At present, there is APM gas, and some quantity of non-APM gas. The difficulty in gas valuation for determining Government`s share is that there is no single gas price. India has long-term supply import contracts as well as spot market imports, and the range of prices has significant spread. However, the re-gasification infrastructure limits imports. The domestic gas too does not have adequate transportation infrastructure to enable creation of a domestic market. Internationally, gas hubs and balancing points exist in major regional markets, of which US`s Henry Hub and UK`s National Balancing Point / NBP (which is connected to continental Europe) are the largest. For the Asia-Pacific, Japan`s Custom Cleared rate for crude oil is a benchmark rate, although unlike the US and Europe, it represents an import price rather than a producer price. 10. The PSC provides for arm`s length pricing and prior Government approval of the formula or basis for gas pricing, subject to policy on natural gas pricing. Since no market-determined arm`s length price currently obtains domestically and nor is this likely to happen for several more years, a policy on pricing of natural gas has been proposed. The proposed policy would provide for estimation of an unbiased arm`s length price based on an average of two prices, which can be interpreted as alternative estimates of an arm`s length price for the Indian producer. The relevant price in this context would be the price producers receive in other gasproducing destinations. One price would be derived from the volume-weighted net-back price

to producers at the exporting country well-head for Indian imports for the trailing 12 months. The other would be the volume-weighted price of US`s Henry Hub, UK`s NBP and Japan Custom Cleared (on net-back basis, since it is an importer) prices for the trailing 12 months. The arm`s length price thus computed as the average of the two price estimates would apply equally to all sectors, regardless of their prioritisation for supply under the Gas Utilisation Policy. 11. The suggested formula will apply to pricing decisions made in future, and can be reviewed after five years when the possibility of pricing based on direct gas-on-gas competition may be assessed.

Objectives of PYKKA

The Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Youth Affairs & Sports Shri Jitendra Singh has said that the objectives of Panchayat Yuva Krida aur Khel Abhiyan (PYKKA) are as under:-

(i) To create a network of basic sports infrastructure throughout the country; (ii) To provide universal access to sports in rural areas and promote a sports culture; (iii) To harness available and potential sporting talent among rural youth, through a well designed competition structure starting from the block level.

In a written reply in the Lok Sabha today Shri Singh said, out of 2,00,000 Village Panchayats, 56414 Village Panchayats have been covered and out of 6373 Block Panchayats, 1739 Block Panchayats have been covered for development of the playfields under PYKKA Scheme upto 31.01.2013. Under the scheme the financial assistance also provided for holding the annual sports competitions in the States/UTs. Till 31.01.2013 more than 1 crore boys and girls have been participated in the annual sports competitions conducted at the Block, District, State and National level.

The Minister said, under the PYKKA scheme, the financial assistance is provided to the States/UTs to conduct the annual sports competitions at the Block, District, State and National Level. The State-wise position of the number of players benefited during the financial year 2011-12 are as Annexure. The competitions during financial year 2012-13 are under progress. However, information is being collected for compilation from States/UTs.

Shri Singh said, under the PYKKA Scheme the fund is not allocated States/UTs-wise. The Grant-in-Aid provided to the States/UTs after receiving the proposals for infrastructure development of playfields in Village Panchayats/Block Panchayats. The financial pattern to the States/UTs under PYKKA scheme is as under:-

Financial Pattern under PYKKA Scheme

1.1 One-time Seed Capital Grant: Rs. 1 lakh to each village panchayat having minimum 4,600 population (national average) with additional funding on prorata basis for additional population size beyond the national average. This will be contributed on 75:25 basis between the Central Government and State Governments for normal States and on 90:10 basis for Special Category States. In other words, the Central grant will be Rs. 75,000/- per village panchayat for normal States and Rs. 90,000/- per village panchayat for Special Category States. The balance amount of Rs. 25,000/- per village panchayat in respect of normal States and Rs. 10,000/- per village panchayat in respect of Special Category States will have to come as State contribution. 1.2 A uniform grant of Rs. 5 lakh to each block panchayat. The sharing pattern between the Central Government and State Governments will be 75:25 for normal States and 90:10 for Special Category States. In other words, the Central grant will be Rs. 3.75 lakh per block panchayat for normal States and Rs. 4.50 lakh per block panchayat for Special Category States. The balance amount of Rs. 1.25 lakh per block panchayat in respect of normal States and Rs. 50,000/- per block panchayat in respect of Special Category States will have to come as State contribution. STANDARD OPERATIVE PROCEDURE to identify Circumstances (Female Hyperandrogenism) in Which A Particular Sports Person will not be eligible to participate in Competitions in the Female Category

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has released STANDARD OPERATIVE PROCEDURE to identify circumstances (Female Hyperandrogenism) in which a particular Sports person will not be eligible to participate in Competitions in the female category. The Ministry in a letter to the States and Union Territories, Sports Authority of India and recognized National Sports Federations has urged them to appoint Nodal officers and alternate nodal officers as per the said guidelines and display their name, designation, address and telephone numbers on their website. Further the said officers are required to take necessary action as per the Standard Operative Procedure as enclosed.

Celebertion of National Girl Child Day Curtain Raiser The Ministry of Women and Child Development will celebrate the National Girl Child Day on the 24th January, 2013 at A.P. Shinde Symposium Hall, National Agricultural Science Centre (NASC) Complex, ICAR, New Delhi. Smt. Krishna Tirath, Minister of Women and Child Development will preside over the function and Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, former President of India will be the Chief Guest and will deliver the keynote address. The Government of India in 2008 declared January 24 of every year to be celebrated as the National Girl Child Day with the objective of raising consciousness of the society towards the girl child so that she can be valued and respected. Ministry of Women and Child Development has been taking a multi pronged approach to address and reverse the trend of declining child sex ratio in the country. The objective of all these initiatives is to work towards ensuring that girls are born, loved and nurtured and grow up to become empowered citizens of this country with equal rights and opportunities. As part of the activities being undertaken to celebrate the National Girl Child Day in 2013, a nationwide slogan writing competition amongst High School Children in the age group of 14-18 years is being organized by the National Mission for Empowerment of Women under the aegis of the Ministry of Women and Child Development. The objective of organizing this competition is to let students suggest a fresh mnemonic through the slogans for the theme save the girl child. The slogan should reflect the larger concern of gender equity and empowerment of girls in a rights based approach. During the function, prizes would be distributed to the winners of the All India Slogan Writing Competition which was conducted by the National Mission for Empowerment of Women (NMEW). Prizes would also be given to the winners of the slogan writing competition organized through local NGOs of Delhi running the Samajik Suvidha Kendras as part of extended event in the series of Nari ki Choupal organized by NMEW during Vatsalya Mela 2012. Cultural events comprising of song and dance sequence dedicated to the girl child by the children of Amba Foundation, a street play by Asmita Theatre Group and a dance drama on womens empowerment by Sharmistha Mukherjee and her troupe would also form part of the celebration.

Restructured and Strengthened ICDS

In order to address various programmatic, management and institutional gaps and to meet administrative and operational challenges that had crept the ICDS over the years, Government approved the proposal for Strengthening and Restructuring of ICDS Scheme with an over-all budget allocation of Rs. 1,23,580 crore during 12th Five Year Plan. The Administrative Approvals in this regard have since been issued to the States/UTs.

The key features of Strengthened and Restructured ICDS inter-alia include addressing the gaps and challenges with (a) special focus on children under 3 years and pregnant and lactating mothers; (b) strengthening and repackaging of services including , care and nutrition counseling services and care of severely underweight children; (c) a provision for an additional Anganwadi Worker cum Nutrition Counselor for focus on children under 3 years of age and to improve the family contact, care and nutrition counseling for P&L Mothers in the selected 200 high-burden districts across the country, besides having provision of link worker, 5% Anganwadi cum crche centre; (d) focus on Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE); (e) forging strong institutional and programmatic convergence particularly, at the district, block and village levels; (f) introduction of Annual Programme Implementation Plan (APIP); (g) improving Supplementary Nutrition Programme including cost revision; (h) provision for construction and improvement of buildings of Anganwadi centres; (i) allocating adequate financial resources for other components including Monitoring and Management and Information System (MIS) Training and use of Information and communication technology (ICT); (j) to put ICDS in a mission mode etc., and (k) revision of some financial norms etc.

This was stated by Smt. Krishna Tirath, Minister for Women and Child Development, in a written reply to a starred question in the Lok Sabha today. overnment Schemes to Fight Malnutrition

The Government has accorded high priority to the issue of malnutrition especially among children and women including young girls and is implementing several schemes/programmes through State Governments/UT Administrations. The schemes/programmes include the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), Mid-Day Meal Scheme, Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls (RGSEAG) namely SABLA, Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojna (IGMSY) as direct targeted interventions. Besides, indirect multi-sectoral interventions include Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), National Horticulture Mission, National Food Security Mission,

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan, National Rural Drinking Water Programme etc. All these schemes have potential to address one or other aspect of Nutrition.

The main schemes/programmes of Ministry of Women and Child Development which have a bearing on the nutritional status includes the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme which provides a package of six services namely supplementary nutrition, pre-school non-formal education, nutrition & health education, immunization, health check-up and referral services. ICDS Scheme has since been universalised with effect from 2008-09. The total number of sanctioned Projects are 7076 and Anganwadi centres (including Mini AWCs and Anganwadi on demand) are 13.71 lakhs. Against this there are 7025 operational projects and 13.31 lakh operational AWCs as on January 2013. The services are currently availed by 927.65 lakh beneficiaries which include 746.81 lakh children (6 months to 6 years) and 180.84 lakh pregnant and lactating mothers. Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls (RGSEAG), or Sabla provides a package of services including health and nutrition to adolescent girls in the age 11- 18 years (with a focus on out-of-school adolescent girls) in 205 districts on a pilot basis. The scheme has two major components i.e. Nutrition and Non Nutrition Component. The beneficiaries in 2011-12 were 100.77 lakhs and during 2012-13 are 88.49 lakhs so far. Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY), introduced in 2010, is a Conditional Cash Transfer scheme for pregnant and lactating (P&L) women to contribute to better enabling environment by providing cash incentives for improved health and nutrition to pregnant and nursing mothers. The scheme is being implemented initially on pilot basis in 53 selected districts. The beneficiaries in 2011-12 were 3.05 lakhs and during 2012-13 are 3.76 lakhs so far. The Mid day Meal scheme by Department of School Education and Literacy has a provision for providing hot cooked mid day meal to children studying in class I to VIII in Government, Government aided, local body schools as well as children studying in the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) schools, Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS), Alternative and Innovative Education (AIE) centres and Madarsas and Maqtabs supported under SSA etc. It is a worlds largest school feeding programme and covers more than 11 crore children in 12.63 lakh institutions in the country. The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and under its umbrella, the Reproductive and Child Health Programme, seeks to improve the availability of and access to quality health care including Maternal and Child Health services particularly to rural population throughout the country. Some of the key steps undertaken through this programme are Promotion of institutional deliveries through Janani Suraksha Yojana ; Capacity building of health care providers in basic and comprehensive obstetric care; Name Based Tracking of Pregnant Women; Antenatal, Intranatal and Postnatal care including Iron and Folic Acid supplementation to pregnant & lactating women for prevention and treatment of anaemia; 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 ; Village Health and Nutrition Days in rural areas as an

outreach activity, for provision of maternal and child health services; Operationalisation of sub-centers, Primary Health Centers, Community Health Centres and District Hospitals for providing 24x7 basic and comprehensive obstetric care services. So far, 8.8 lakh Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHAs) have been engaged to interface with the community, more than 5 lakh village health Sanitation and Nutrition Committees (VHSNCs) have been established, 2024 mobile medical units have been provided in 459 districts for delivery of health care.

Recently Government has approved the strengthening and restructuring of ICDS with special focus on pregnant and lactating mothers and children under three. The restructured and strengthened ICDS will be rolled out in three phases with focus on the 200 high burden districts for malnutrition during 2012-13 and additional 200 districts in 2013-14 including districts from the special category States and NER and the remaining districts in 2014-15.

Additionally, Government has launched an Information, Education and Communication (IEC) Campaign against malnutrition for generating awareness on key nutrition issues with the pro-bono services of Shri Aamir Khan.

This was stated by Smt. Krishna Tirath, Minister for Women and Child Development, in a written reply to the Lok Sabha today. ****

s. 1,23,580 cr Sanctioned During 12TH FYP for Restructured ICDS The Government has approved the proposal for Strengthening and Restructuring of ICDS Scheme with an over-all budget allocation of Rs. 1,23,580 crore during 12th Five Year Plan, in order to address various programmatic, management and institutional gaps and to meet administrative and operational challenges that had crept the ICDS over the years. The Administrative Approvals in this regard have since been issued to the States/UTs. Restructured and Strengthened ICDS will be rolled out in all the districts in three years as per following schedule: I. In 200 high burden districts in the first year (2012-13); II. In additional 200 districts in second year (2013-14) (i.e. w.e.f. 1.4.2013) including districts from special category States and NER; III. In remaining districts in third year (2014-15) (i.e. w.e.f. 1.4.2014).

The key features of Strengthened and Restructured ICDS inter-alia include addressing the gaps and challenges with (a) special focus on children under 3 years and pregnant and lactating mothers (b) strengthening and repackaging of services including , care and nutrition counselling services and care of severely underweight children (c) a provision for an additional Anganwadi Worker cum Nutrition Counsellor for focus on children under 3 years of age and to improve the family contact, care and nutrition counselling for P&L Mothers in the selected 200 high-burden districts across the country, besides having provision of link worker, 5% crche cum Anganwadi centre (d) focus on Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) (e) forging strong institutional and programmatic convergence particularly, at the district, block and village levels (f) models providing flexibility at local levels for community participation (g) introduction of APIP (h) improving Supplementary Nutrition Programme including cost revision, (i) provision for construction and improvement of buildings of Anganwadi centres (j) allocating adequate financial resources for other components including Monitoring and Management and Information System(MIS), Training and use of Information and communication technology (ICT), (k) to put ICDS in a mission mode etc. and (l) revision of financial norms etc. The goal of ICDS Mission would be to attain three main outcomes namely; i) Prevent and reduce young child under-nutrition (% underweight children 0-3 years) by 10 percentage point; (ii) Enhance early development and learning outcomes in all children 0-6 years of age; and (iii) Improve care and nutrition of girls and women and reduce anaemia prevalence in young children, girls and women by one fifth. This was stated by Smt. Krishna Tirath, Minister for Women and Child Development, in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha today

CDS System Strengthening and Nutrition Improvement Project

The World Bank aided ICDS Systems Strengthening and Nutrition Improvement Project (ISSNIP) has been approved and made effective from 26th November 2012. The programme will cover a total of 162 districts in eight States, viz. Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh (some of the first phase MNREGA districts) along with initiating urban pilots in and around NCR of Delhi and convergent nutrition actions pilots in some additional selected districts in two other States viz., Odisha and Uttarakhand. Except in Andhra Pradesh, selection of most of the districts are based on a composite index comprising two parameters, viz. (i) proportion of children below six years who are underweight (weight-for-age, <-2SD), and (ii) anemia level among pregnant women of age 15-44 years, based on District Level Household Survey (DLHS-2: 2002-04).

The project does not have any specific intervention to address the severe acute malnutrition. However, it intends to strengthen the behavior change communications and community

participation activities amongst others under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme in the selected areas to address child under-nutrition and improve the ICDS systems.

The state-wise allocations are as follows:

Name of the State 1) Bihar 2) Chhattisgarh 3) Jharkhand 4) Madhya Pradesh 5) Maharashtra 6) Rajasthan 7) Uttar Pradesh 8) Andhra Pradesh TOTAL(States) Centre Grand Total

Allocation (Rs. Lakh) Phase 1 (3 years) Phase 2 (4 years) 81,84.2 268,37.5 45,02.7 147,65.1 40,94.9 134,28.0 90,71.7 297,48.1 96,03.0 314,90.3 67,60.4 221,68.8 147,43.9 483,48.1 56,63.9 185,73.0 62,624.7 205,358.9 55,46.6 157,69.8 681,71.3 2211,28.7

Total 350,21.7 192,67.8 175,22.9 388,19.8 410,93.3 289,29.2 630,92.0 242,36.9 267,983.6 213,16.4 2893,00.00

No funds have been released to the States till date. This was stated by Smt. Krishna Tirath, Minister for Women and Child Development, in a written reply to the Lok Sabha today. **** MV
Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana, a Conditional Maternity Benefit is a centrally sponsored scheme for pregnant and lactating women to contribute to better enabling environment by providing cash incentives for improved health and nutrition to pregnant and nursing mothers. It is being implemented using the platform of ICDS. The scheme was introduced in October, 2010 on pilot basis now operational in 53 selected districts. The scheme attempts to partly compensate for wage loss to Pregnant & Lactating women both prior to and after delivery of the child. The scheme envisages providing cash directly to the beneficiary through Bank Accounts/Post Office Accounts, during pregnancy and lactation in response to individual fulfilling specific conditions. The scheme covers all pregnant and lactating women above 19 years of age and above for first two live births are entitled for benefits under the scheme except all Government/PSUs (Central & State).

In the year 2011-12, grants-in-aid of Rs. 293.83 crore have been released to the States/UTs and beneficiaries covered are 3.06 lakh. In the year 2012-13, grants-in-aid of Rs. 75.21 crore have been released to the States/UTs and beneficiaries covered are 3.77 lakh. The Scheme was initially introduced in 52 districts selected across the country. The districts have been selected using a composite index based on six indicators related to health and education. A mix of good, weak and medium performing districts have been selected to test check the success of implementation viz-a-viz. demand and supply, processes and conditionalities. Out of 52 districts 26 are medium performing to test check better replicability, 11 each are good and weak performing districts and 4 districts are in different UTs. The Government is conducting an independent evaluation of the scheme in the current financial year 2012-13 to assess the performance of the scheme in the States/UTs. The steps to revise the scheme will be undertaken on the basis of the results of the evaluation. This was stated by Smt. Krishna Tirath, Minister for Women and Child Development, in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha today.

Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Adolescent Girls- Sabla

The Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls (RGSEAG) Sabla, a Centrally-sponsored scheme introduced in the year 2010-11 on a pilot basis is being implemented in selected 205 districts from all the States/UTs. The districts have been selected using four indicators which are dropout rate of females, female literacy rate, girls married before the age of 18 and female work participation. The districts are a combination of good performing, moderate and not so well performing districts in all the States/UTs.

Sabla is being continued on existing norms in 205 districts across the country in 2012-13 also. An independent evaluation of Sabla about its performance in the eleventh Plan (2010-11 & 2011-12) has been entrusted to Administrative Staff College of India, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. Further extension and expansion of the scheme will depend on the findings of evaluation.

he National Policy for Children, 2012 The Union Cabinet today gave its approval to the National Policy for Children, 2012. The Policy reaffirms the government`s commitment to the realisation of the rights of all children in the country. It recognizes every person below the age of eighteen years as a child and that childhood is an integral part of life with a value of its own, and a long term, sustainable, multi-sectoral, integrated and inclusive approach is necessary for the harmonious development and protection of children. The policy lays down the guiding principles that must be respected by national, state and local governments in their actions and initiatives affecting children. Some of the key guiding principles are: the right of every child to life, survival, development, education, protection and participation; equal rights for all children without discrimination; the best interest of the child as a primary concern in all actions and decisions affecting children; and family environment as the most conducive for all-round development of children. The policy has identified survival, health, nutrition, education, development, protection and participation as the undeniable rights of every child, and has also declared these as key priority areas. As children`s needs are multi-sectoral, interconnected and require collective action, the policy aims at purposeful convergence and strong coordination across different sectors and levels of governance; active engagement and partnerships with all stakeholders; setting up of a comprehensive and reliable knowledge base; provision of adequate resources; and sensitization and capacity development of all those who work for and with children. A National Plan of Action will be developed to give effect to the policy and a National Coordination and Action Group (NCAG) will be constituted to monitor the progress of implementation. Similar plans and coordination and action groups will be constituted at the state and district levels. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights and State Commissions for Protection of Child Rights are to ensure that the principles of the policy are respected in all sectors at all levels. There is a provision for review of

the policy every five years. The Ministry of Women and Child Development will be the nodal ministry for overseeing and coordinating the implementation of the policy and will lead the review process.
Section - Defence

1.Consider the following statements:


1. Ichapore Ordinance factory is situated in West Bengal. 2. In India the first Ordinance factory was setup by the British. Which of the above statement is/are correct? a. only 1 b. Both 1 & 2 c. Neither 1 nor 2 d. only 2 Response: a b c d Score 1 of 1 Question:

Section - National

2.A High Level Working Group headed by space-scientist K.Kasturirangan had been set for :
a. Western Ghats ecology b. Eastern Ghats ecology c. Nilgiri's ecological status d. None of these Response:

a b

c d

Question Results
Score 0 of 1 Question:

1. The essential conditions for the protection from double jeopardy are 1. the person must be an accused of an offence. 2. the proceedings or the prosecution must have taken place before a court or judicial tribunal and have been of Judicial nature. 3. the prosecution must be in context of a penal offence duly declared by law. 4. the offence must be the same for which the accused person was prosecuted and punished in the previous proceedings.

Code:
(a) 1 and 2 (b) 1, 2 and 3 (c) 2, 3 and 4 (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4 Response: a b c

d Score 0 of 1 Question:

2. The qualifications for getting Indian citizenship through naturalization are the following
1. He must not be a citizen of a country where Indian citizens are prevented from becoming citizen by naturalization. 2. He intends to reside in India or to serve under the government of India after getting the certificate of naturalization. 3. It is not necessary that he has an adequate knowledge of a language recognized by the Indian constitution, but he must take an oath of allegiance towards the state.

4. He is a person of good character. 5. He must have either resided in India or has been in government service for 10 months before the date of making the application for naturalization.

Code:
(a) 1, 2 and 4 (b) 1, 2 and 5 (c) 2, 3 and 4 (d) 3., 4. and 5 Response:

b c d Score 1 of 1 Question:

3. Consider the following statements


1. Clause (c) of article 20 provides that no person accused of any offence shall be compelled to be a witness against himself. 2. Article 20 (c) embodies the general principle of English and American criminal law that no one shall be considered a criminal unless his crime has been proved.

Which of the above statement(s) is/are correct?


(a) Only 1 (b) Only 2 (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2 Response: a b c

d Score 0 of 1 Question:

4. Consider the following statements.


1. The parliament had approved the committee system which was based on the recommendation given by the ministry of law in its report. 2. The law ministry had recommended of setting up 17 committees each comprising 10 members from Rajya Sabha and 15 from Lok Sabha.

Which of the above statement(s) is/are correct?


(a) Only 1 (b) Only 2 (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2 Response: a b c

d Score 1 of 1 Question:

5. Which of the following statements is not correct?


(a) The Mandal commission was established in India in 1979 under a mandate of supreme court in order to identify the socially or educationally backward people. (b) The commission used eleven social; economic and educational indicators to determine backwardness. (c) In 1980, the commissions report confirmed the need of the affirmative action in India. (d) The commission recommended for 27 percent reservation for OBCs in government jobs. Response:

b c d Score 0 of 1 (skipped) Question:

6. Consider the following statements.


1. The rule of law was declared a basic structure of Indian Constitution by the supreme court of India inIndra Sawhney V/s union of India case (1993). 2. Secularism and federalalism both were declared basic structure of Indian constitution by the supreme court in S.R. Bommai Vs. Union of India case (1994).

Which of the above statement(s) is/are correct?


(a) Only 1 (b) Only 2 (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2 Response: a b c d Score 0 of 1 (skipped) Question:

7. Consider the following statements.


1. In Aruna Roy Vs. Union of India case (2003), the validity of the National curriculam framework for school education which provided for value based education to school children based on all religions was not challenged. 2. The court held that the study of religions in school education is against the secular philosophy of the constitution.

Which of the above statement(s) is/are correct?


(a) Only 1 (b) Only 2

(c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2 Response: a b c d Score 0 of 1 Question:

8. Consider the following statements.


1. Although the election commission of India is an autonomous body under article 324 of the Indian Constitution, but it is not a quasi judicial constitutional body of India. 2. Parliamentary democracy was declared as the Basic Structure of Indian Constitution inIndira Gandhi Vs. Raj Narain case (1975).

Which of the above statement(s) is/are correct?


(a) Only 1 (b) Only 2 (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2 Response: a b

c d Score 1 of 1 Question:

9. The words any person in article-14 (Right to equality) of the constitution denotes the guarantee of the equal protection of laws for which of the following
1. Any company or association 2. Body of individuals 3. Citizens and Non-citizens 4. Natural persons and legal persons

Code (a) 1 and 3 (b) 1 and 4 (c) 1, 2 and 3 (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4 Response: a b c d Score 0 of 1 Question:

10. Consider the following statements.


1. Article 302 authorizes parliament to impose such restrictions on the freedom of trade, commerce or intercourse between one state and another or within any part of the territory of India as may be required in the public interest. 2. This power of parliament falls within the periphery of judicial review.

Which of the above statement(s) is/are correct?


(a) Only 1 (b) Only 2 (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2 Response:

b c d Score 0 of 1 Question:

11. Article-26 of the constitution says that, subject to public order, morality and health every religious denomination or any section of it shall have the following rights
1. To establish and maintain institutions for religious and charitable purposes. 2. To manage its own affairs in matters of religion. 3. To own and acquire movable and immovable property. 4. To administer such property in accordance with law.

Code:
(a) 1 and 2 (b) 2 and 3 (c) 3 and 4 (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4 Response:

a b c d Score 0 of 1 (skipped) Question:

12. Consider the following statements


1. The 39th amendment of the constitution of India, enacted in 1975, placed the election of the president, the vice president, the prime minister, and the speaker of Lok Sabha beyond the review of the suprMir COW. 2. Free and fair election was declared as the basic structure of Indian constitution in Indra Gandhi VS

Raj Narain case (1975) and the same . decision was repeated in Kihoto Hollohon VS Zachilhu and others case in 1992.

Which of the above statement(s) is/are correct?


(a) Only 1 (b) Only 2 (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2 Response: a b c d Score 1 of 1 Question:

13. Consider the following statements.


1. The chief election commissioner can be removed from his office with two-third majority in both the houses of parliament on the grounds of proved misbehaviour or incapacity. 2. The budget of the secretariat of the election commission is allocated and determined by the parliament of India.

Which of the above statement(s) is/are correct?


(a) Only 1 (b) Only 2 (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2 Response:

a b c d Score 1 of 1

Question:

14. The 52nd amendment of the constitution has added a new clause to articles 102 and 191 which provides that a member shall be disqualified for being a member of either house of parliament or of state legislature on the basis of disqualification specified in the tenth schedule if
1. he voluntarily gives up the membership of the political party on whose ticket he is elected to the house. 2. he votes or abstains from voting in the house without the prior approval of his party or person authorized by the party. 3. any nominated member joins any political party after the expiry of six months from the date on which he took his seat in the office.

Which of the above statement(s) is/are correct?


(a) Only 1 (b) 1 and 2 (c) 1 and 3 (d) 1, 2 and 3 Response: a b c d Score 0 of 1 (skipped) Question:

15. Which of the following form a part of privileges of Rajya Sabha?


1. Initiating the procedure related with removal of the president from office. 2. Initiating the procedure of legislation in the interest of nation on any subject of state list. 3. Formation of All India services. 4. Election of members of Rajya Sabha.

The right option of the following is(a) 1 and 2 (b) 2 and 3 (c) 1, 2 and 3 (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

Response: a b c d Score 0 of 1 (skipped) Question:

16. Which of the following statement is not correct?


(a) The representatives from the union territories in the Rajya Sabha are chosen in a manner determined by the president of India. (b) The nominated members do not participate in the election of the president of India. (c) Indian Parliament is not a sovereign body. (d) A deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha shall vacate his office if he ceases to be a member of the council. Response:

a b c d Score 0 of 1 (skipped) Question:

17. Consider the following statements.


1. Under article 136, the supreme court is authorized to grant in its discretion a special permission to appeal against any judgement, decree, determination, sentence or order in any case or matter passed or made by any court or tribunal in the territory of India. 2. Special permission to appeal against any judgement etc. of any court or tribunal constituted by or under any law relating to the armed forces is not an exception of article 136.

Which of the above statement(s) is/are correct?


(a) Only 1 (b) Only 2 (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2 Response:

a b c d Score 0 of 1 Question: 18. Which of the following statements is not correct? (a) Article 74 of the constitution was amended through 44th constitutional amendment act so that the president can be bound by the advice of the council of ministers. (b) In U.N. Rao V/s Indira Gandhi case (1971), Supreme Court held that even after the dissolution of the Lok Sabha the council of ministers does not cease to hold office_ (c) Right to privacy is enshrined in right to life under article 21 of the Indian constitution. (d) Provisions of article 361 are the exceptions to the right to equality. Response:

a b c d Score 0 of 1 (skipped) Question:

19. Consider the following statements.


1. No discussion in legislature on the conduct of the judges (art. 121) and Judiciarys power to punish for its contempt (art. 129 and 215) are indispensable for the independence of judiciary. 2. The notion of independence of judiciary was declared as the basic structure of Indian Constitution inBalmukund Vs. state of Bihar case (2000).

Which of the above statement(s) is/are correct?


(a) Only 1 (b) Only 2 (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2 Response: a b c d Score 0 of 1 (skipped) Question:

20. Direction: The following question consists of two statements; one labelled as the Assertion (A) and the other as Reason (R) You are to examine these statements carefully and select the answers to these items using the codes given below:
Assertion (A); In Menka Gandhis case, the Supreme Court had held that the procedure depriving a person of right to his life or personal liberty must be just, fair and reasonable. Reason (R): In India, to prefer procedure established by law over the due process of law has been the intention of makers of the constitution.

Code:
(a) Both A and R are individually true and R is the correct explanation of A. (b) Both A and R are individually true but R is not the correct explanation of A. (c) A is true but R is false. (d) A is false but R is true. Response:

a b c d Score 1 of 1 Question:

21. Which of the following statements is not correct?


(a) The right to information act, 2005 repealed the freedom of information act, 2002 passed by the previous government. (b) Right to food was declared a fundamental right by the Supreme Court of India in Peoples Union for Civil Liberties case in 2001. (c) In Prabhu Dutt V/s Union of India case (1982), the Supreme Court has held that the right to know news and information regarding administration of the government is included in the freedom of press. (d) Commercial Advertisement is not a part of freedom of speech and expression. Response: a b c d Score 0 of 1 Question:

22. Consider the followinging statements:


1. The Preamble to the Indian Constitution is based on the Objectives Resolution, drafted and Moved by Pandit Nehru. . 2. It has been amended by the 44th Amendment Act (1978), which added three new words socialist, secular and integrity.

Code:
(a) Only 1 (b) Only 2

(c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither I nor 2 Response:

a b c d Score 0 of 1 (skipped) Question:

23. Match the following List-I with List-II and answer as per the code given below:
List-I List-II 1 . It is issued on the grounds of excess of jurisdiction or lack of jurisdiction or error of law

A. Mandamus

B. Prohibition

2. It is issued by a higher court to lower court or tribunal to prevent the latter from exceeding its Jurisdiction.

C. Certiorari

3. It is issued try the court to a public official asking him to perform his official duties.

D. QuoWarranto

4. It is issued by the court to enquire into the legality of claim of a person to a public office.

Codes:
ABCD (a) 3 1 2 4 (b) 1 2 4 3 (c) 4 1 2 3 (d) 3 2 1 4 Response:

a b c d Score 0 of 1 Question:

24. Which of the following statement is incorrect? .


(a) The proclamation of a national emergency can not be challenged in a court. (b) Every resolution approving the proclamation of a national emergency must be passed by either house of Parliament by a special majority (c) During a national emergency, the Parliament becomes empowered to make laws on- any subject mentioned in the State List. (d) While a proclamation of national emergency is in operation; the President can issue ordinances. Response:

b c d Score 1 of 1 Question:

25. Which of the following statements is/are correct?


1. A proclamation imposing Presidents rule must be approved by both the Houses of - Parliament within two months from the date of its issue. 2. If approved by both the Houses of Parliament, the Presidents rule continues for six months.. 3. It can be extended for a maximum period of five years with the approval of the Parliament, every six months. 4. Every resolution approving the proclamation of Presidents rule or its

continuation can be passed by either House of Parliament only by a simple majority.

Code:
(a) 1, 2 and 3 (b) 2, 3 and 4 (c) 1, 2 and 4 (d) All the above Response: a b c d Score 0 of 1 Question:

26. Consider the following statements:


1. The President can promulgate ordinances when the Parliament is not in session. These ordinances must be approved by the Parliament within six months from its reassembly. 2. He nominates 12 members of the Lok Sabha from amongst persons having special knowledge or practical experience in literature science, art and social service.

Code:
(a) Only 1 (b) Only 2 (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2 Response: a b

d Score 0 of 1 Question:

27. Which of the following is incorrect regarding the difference between Council of Ministers and Cabinet?
(a) Council of Ministers is a wider body consisting of 60 to 70 ministers while cabinet is a smaller body. (b) Council of Ministers does not meet, as a body, to transact government business. Cabinet meets as a body, frequently and usually once in a week to deliberate and take decisions. (c) Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the lower house of the Parliament while Cabinet enforces the collective responsibility of the Council of Ministers to the lower House of Parliament. (d) Both the bodies are mentioned in the original constitution. Response: a b c

d Score 1 of 1 Question:

28. Which one of the following statements regarding the office of the Speaker is correct?
(a) He holds office during the pleasure of the President. (b) He need not be a member of the House at the time of his election but has to become a member of the House within six months from the date of his election. (c) He loses his office if the House is dissolved before the end of its normal tenure. (d) If he intends to resign the letter of his resignation is to be addressed to the Deputy Speaker. Response: a

b c d Score 1 of 1 Question:

29. Consider the following votes:


1. During any period when, the vice-president acts as president or discharges -the functions of the president, he does not perform the duties of the office of the chairman of Rajya Sabha 2. Although the chairman is not a member of the House, he can cast a vote in the case of an equality of votes.

Code:
(a) Only 1 (b) Only 2 is correct (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2 Response: a b c d Score 0 of 1 Question:

30. Which of the following is not correct?


1 . Adjournment only terminates a sitting and not a session of the House while prorogation not only terminates a sitting but also a session of the House. 2. Adjournment is done by. presiding officer of the House. Prorogation is done by the President of India. 3. Only the Lok Sabha is subject to dissolution. 4. Quorum is the minimum number of members required to be present in the House before it can transact any business.

Code:

(a) 1 and 2 only (b) 3 and 4 only (c) All the above (d) None of the above Response: a b c

d Score 0 of 1 Question:

31. The National Development Council consists of:


(a) The Prime Minister, the Chief Ministers-of all the states and the members of the Planning Commission. (b) The Prime Minister, the Chief Minister of all the states, the Central Cabinet Ministers and the Members of the Planning Commission. (c) The Prime Minister, the Chief Ministers of all the states., Selected Central Cabinet Minister, Administrators of union territories and the members of the Planning Commission. (d) The Prime Minister, all the Union Cabinet Ministers,. Chief Ministers of all the states, Administrators of union territories and the members of the Planning Commission. Response: a b c

d Score 1 of 1 Question:

32. Which one of the following statements is correct?


(a) The fundamental Rights of the Indian citizens cannot be suspended under any circumstance (b) The Fundamental Rights of the Indian citizens cannot be suspended by the Parliament by a two thirds majority (c) The Fundamental Rights of the Indian citizens can be suspended by the President during the national emergency (d) The Fundamental Rights of the Indian citizens cannot be suspended by the President during the national emergency as well as emergency arising due to breakdown of constitutional machinery in a state Response: a b c d Score 1 of 1 Question:

33. Which of the following is correct under the Indian Constitution?


(a) No territorial changes can be made in the boundaries of states (b) Territorial changes in the boundaries of states can be made with the consent of the majority of thestates (c) Territorial changes can be made by the Parliament after the approval of the majority of the State Legislatures had been obtained (d) The territorial changes in the boundaries of states can be made by the Parliament Response: a b c d
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Question Results
Score 0 of 1 Question:

Which of the following statements regarding Feudalism are correct? 1. This new system of govt. rose in Western Europe following the breakup of Roman Empire. 2. It is derived from the Greek word Feudumwhich is translated into English as `Fief. 3. In this society the most important elements were the chiefs who with their military following, dominated large tracts of land & also played an important part in government. 4. King was just like one of the other powerful feudal chiefs in this system. Code (a) 1, 2 and 3 (b) 2, 3 and 4 (c) 1, 3 and 4 (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Response: a b c

d Score 0 of 1 Question:

According to a 9th century Arab writer, The empire was so large that even the fastest vessel could not complete a round trip of it in two years. Which empire was referred to in this statement? (a) Sailendra Empire (b) Vijaya Empire (c) Kambuja Empire (d) Pallava Empire
Response:

a b c d Score 0 of 1 Question:

Match the following: List-1. Field of Study A. Study of Coins List-2. Nomenclature 1. Epigraphy

B. Study of Inscriptions 2. Numismatics C. Study of old writing 3. Paleography used in Inscriptions. Code (a) A-2, B-1, C-3 (b) A-2, B-3, C-1

(c) A-1, B-2, C-3 (d) A-1, B-3, C-2


Response:

a b c d Score 1 of 1 Question:

Direction: The following question consists of two statements; one labelled as the Assertion (A) and the other as Reason (R). You are toexamine these statements carefully and select the answers to these items using the codes given below: Assertion (A): Ramayana seems to have been composed later than the Mahabharata. Reason (R) : The composition of Ramayana started in the fifth-century B.C. Since then it passed through as many as five stages & fifth.stage is considered as late as 12th century A.D. Code: (a) Both A and R are individually true and R is the correct explanation of A. (b) Both A and R are individually true but R is not the correct explanation. (c) A is true but R is false. (d) A is false but R is true.
Response:

a b c d Score 0 of 1 (skipped) Question:

Direction: The following question consists of two statements; one labelled as the Assertion (A) and the other as Reason (R). You are to examine these statements carefully and select the answers to these items using the codes given below: Assertion (A): Northern India had to suffer setbacks in trade and commerce between the seventh & the tenth century. Reason (R): The collapse of Roman Empire and rise of Islam had already taken place in the west leading to the collapse of old empires such as Iranian empire, which also affected Indias Foreign Trade adversely. Code: (a) Both A and R are individually true and R is the correct explanation of A. (b) Both A and R are individually true but R is not the correct explanation. (c) A is true but R is false. (d) A is false but R is true.
Response:

a b c d

Score 0 of 1 Question:

Which of the following statements are true regarding Bhakti Movement? 1. This movement was led by a number of popular saints called Nayanars and Alvars of Southern India. 2. These Saints looked upon religion not as a matter of cold, formal worship only but as a livingbond based on love, between the god and the worshipper. 3. The chief subjects of their worship were Krishna and Rama. 4. They used to speak and write in Tamil and Telugu. Code: (a) 1, 2 and 3 (b) 1, 2 and 4 (c) 2, 3 and 4 (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Response: a b c d Score 0 of 1 Question:

Direction: The following question consists of two statements; one labelled as the Assertion (A) and the other as Reason (R). You are to examine

these statements carefully and select the answers to these items using the codes given below: Assertion (A): The leading states of Northern India were defeated by Turkish army in a short span of about 15 years. Reason (R): Turks had much superior weapons at their disposal as compared to Indians. Code: (a) Both A and R are individually true and R is the correct explanation of A. (b) Both A and R are individually true but R is not the correct explanation. (c) A is true but R is false. (d) A is false but R is true.
Response:

a b c d Score 0 of 1 Question:

In Delhi Sultanat, the struggle between the monarchy and the Turkish Chiefs continued till one of the Turkish Chiefs gradually arrogated all powers to himself & ascended the throne in 1265. Name this Turkish Chief. (a) Nizam ul Mulk Juneidi (b) Nasiruddin Mahmud (c) Ulugh khan (d) Iltutmish

Response: a b c

d Score 1 of 1 Question:

Direction: The following question consists of two statements; one labelled as the Assertion (A) and the other as Reason (R). You are to examine these statements carefully and select the answers to these items using the codes given below: Assertion (A): For contemporaries Alauddins measures to control the market were considered to be one of the great wonders of the world. Reason (R): Alauddin sought to fix the cost of all commodities from foodgrains, sugar and cooking oil to a needle, & from costly imported clothes to horses, cattle and slave boys & girls. Code: (a) Both A and R are individually true and R is the correct explanation of A. (b) Both A and R are individually true but R is not the correct explanation. (c) A is true but R is false. (d) A is false but R is true.
Response:

a b

c d Score 1 of 1 Question:

Which sultan in Lodi dynasty abolished the octroi duty on grains and introduced a new unit of measurement called the Gazz-i-Sikandari, which continued to prevail till the Mughal times (a) Sikandar Lodi (b) Bahlol Lodi (c) Ibrahim Lodi (d) None of these
Response:

a b c d Score 0 of 1 (skipped) Question:

Which of the following statements are correct regarding Sufism? 1. Sufis were organized in 12 orders of silsilahs. 2. Silsilahs were generally led by a prominent mystic who used to live were in a khangah along with his disciples. 3. The ideas of Sufism and the Hindu Yogis were mysterious about the nature & relationship of God and soul & both of them had many similarities.

4. Sufi orders are broadly divided into Ba-Shara (those which were not bound by Islamic law) and Be-Shara (those which were bound by Islamic law). Code (a) 1, 2 and 3 (b) 1, 2 and 4 (c) 2, 3 and 4 (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Response:

a b c d Score 1 of 1 Question:

Which Deccan ruler constructed the most famous Char Minar building in Hyderabad in 1591-92? (a) IbrahimAdil Shah-II (b) Ali Adil Shah (c) Muhammad Quli Qutub Shah (d) Nizam Shah
Response: a b

c d Score 0 of 1 Question:

Match List-(a) with List (b) and select the correct answer List-1 (A) Jalaluddin Khilji (B) Ghazi Malik (C) Khizr Khan (D) Bahlol Lodi Code: ABCD (a) 4. 3. 1. 2. (b) 4. 3. 2. 1. (c) 4. 2. 3. 1. (d) 4. 2. 1. 3.
Response:

List-2 1. Founder of Ist Afghan Empire 2. Founder of Saiyyid Dynasty 3. Founder of Tughlaq Dynasty 4. Founder of Khilji Dynasty

b c d Score 0 of 1 (skipped)

Question:

Match List-(a) with List-(b) and select the correct answer List- (a) A. 1192 B. 1556 C. 1565 D. 1576 List-(b) 1. Battle of Tallikota 2. Second battle of Panipat 3. The Battle of Haldighati 4. Second battle of Tarain

Code: ABCD (a) 4. 2. 1. 3. (b) 4. 2. 3. 1. (c) 2. 4. 1. 3. (d) 2. 4. 3. 1.


Response:

a b c d Score 0 of 1 (skipped) Question:

Uttaramerur Inscription gives us information about: (a) Diplomatic relations between the Cholas and the Sailendras.

(b) Autonomous village administration of the Cholas (c) Origin of the Cholas (d) Military achievements of Rajaraja I.
Response: a b c d Score 0 of 1 Question:

Consider the following statements: 1. Nicknamed -Irans Napoleon, Nadir Shah invaded India during the reign of Ahmad Shah, a later Mughal emperor. 2. In order to take on Nadir Shah in the battle field. Mughal emperor sent an army under. Nizam-ul-Mulk and Qamiruddin Code: (a) Only 1 (b) Only 2 (c) Both are correct (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Response:

a b

c d Score 1 of 1 Question:

Which of the following statement (s) about Maratha state is/are correct? 1. The Maratha state was governed by the king and was assisted by a council of eight ministers the Ashtaghoshas. 2. Maratha government levied two taxes. One was Chauth and other was Sardeshmukhi. 3. The revenue of the state came mainly from the land and state was entitled to two fifths of the produce. Code: (a) Only 2 and 3 (b) Only 1 and 2 (c) All the above (d) Only 3
Response:

a b c d Score 1 of 1 Question:

Consider the following statements with respect to the 18th century of India:

1. The, political condition of India in the 18th century was one of extreme disunity. 2. Indian languages like Telugu, Bengali, Marathi did not make progress dtiridgthis period. 3. Tlie villages were almost an independent economic unit. 4. he rulers of most of the states were aware of the developrrtents taking place outside India. Which of the above statements is/are NOT correct? (a) Only 2 and 3 (b) Only 1 and 3 (c) Only 2 and 4 (d) None of the above
Response: a b c d Score 1 of 1 Question:

Why did the trade and industries of Bengal suffer heavily after the battle of Plessey? (a) Indian merchants faced stiff competition from the English. (b) Indian merchants were at a disadvantageous situation on account of payment of duties by them while the English trade was dutyfree.

(c) Producers were forced through the use of . violent methods to sell their, commodities at lower prices. (d) All of the above
Response: a b c d Score 0 of 1 (skipped) Question:

Which of the following statement is wrong? (a) The Hindu College of Calcutta founded in 1817, played an important role in modernising the ongoing movements in Bengal. (b) David Hare, an associate of Rammohan Roy,took keen interest. in starting the Hindu College. (c) Henry Vivian Derozios students, collectively called the Young Bengal ridiculed all old social traditions and customs. (d) The young Bengal movement came to an end after Derozios dismissal from the Hindu College and his sudden death in 1831.
Response: a b c d Score 0 of 1

Question:

Consider the following statements, regarding the Act of 1858: 1. Under the Act, government was to be carried by the Governor General who was given the title of viceroy or Crowns personal representative: 2. The power-of the Court of Directors and the Board of Control was now to be exercised by a Secretary of state for India aided -by a Council of 20 members. 3. The Secretary of state was a member of the British cabinet and as such was responsible to Parliament: Which .of. the statements given above is/are correct: (a) Only 1 (b) Only 1 and 3 (c) Only l and 2 (d) All of the above
Response: a b c d Score 0 of 1 Question:

Consider the following statements: 1. One significant development in the second half of the 19th century was establishment of large scale machine based industries in India.

2. The first textile mill was started in Bombay by Cowasjee Nanabhoy in 1863 and the first jute mill in Rishra (Bengal) in 1865. Code: (a) Only 1 is correct (b) Only 2 is correct (c) Both are correct (d) Neither 1 nor 2 is correct
Response:

a b c d Score 1 of 1 Question:

Which of the following statements is/are correct? 1. The first formal mention of dance is found in the renowned ancient text Bharatas Natya Shastra. 2. Indian dance is divided into three distinct elements. 3. Indian dance has traditionally been associated with religious or devotional aspect of life. Code: (a) 1 and 2 only (b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 3 only (d) All the above


Response: a b c d Score 1 of 1 Question:

Consider the following statements: 1. Indian Cinema, particularly the Hindi Cinema or the Bollywood, is no longer confined to geographical boundaries of our country, but has become a global enterprise. 2. The provision of 100% foreign direct investment in the Indian films has attracted several leading foreign enterprises. Code: (a) Only 1 (b) Only 2 (c) Both are correct (d) Neither I nor 2
Response: a b c

d Score 1 of 1 Question:

Which of the following is correct with respect to Harappan Civilization? 1. The remarkable thing about the arrangement of the houses in the cities is that they followed the grid system. 2. The Indus people were not the earliest people to produce cotton. 3. The inhabitants of the Indus region worshipped gods in the form of trees, animals a d human beings and the gods were placed it temples. 4. The Harappans were great experts in then use of the potters wheel. Code: (a) 1, 2 and 3 (b) 2 and 4 (c) 1 and 3 (d) 1 and 4
Response: a b c d Score 0 of 1 Question:

Consider the following statement and choose the correct statement.

1. Marginal land -area less than two hectare. Small land holding area is between two hectare to five hectare and more than five hectare area of land is a large scale land holding. 2. The beginning of green revolution is considered to be started from third five year plan. (a) only 1 (b) only 2 (c) both 1 and 2 (d) neither of the two
Response: a b

c d Score 0 of 1 (skipped) Question:

Consider the following statements for Maharatna companies choose the correct option. 1 . This status is given to those companies whose average net profit is five thousand crore in the last three years. 2. In the last three years the average turnovers of these companies have 25 thousand crore rupees. 3. In the last three year these companies average net worth would have also 20 thousand crore.

4. These companies have the status of navratana and it also operate transact their operation in foreign countries. (a) only 1 (b) only 2 and 3 (c) 1, 2 and 3 (d) 1, 2 and 4
Response:

a b c d Question:

Consider the following comparisons of CFLs and LEDs: 1. The CFLs emit more light per watt than LEDs. 2. The CFLs contain mercury while LED is free of mercury. 3. The CFLs are not temperature dependent, while LEDs performance largely depend on the ambient temperature of the operating environment. Which of the above comparisons hold true? (a) Only 2 (b) Only 1 and 2 (c) Only 2 and 3 (d) All 1, 2 and 3
Response: a

Graphene?
Graphene is a one-atom- thick flat sheet of carbon that is the worlds thinnest, strongest and stiffest material and an excellent conductor of heat and electricity, one of the greatest magic materials ever discovered by man, is attracting a lot of industry attention.

Q. What are the challenges in using graphene in microchip?


Scientists have to overcome some great challenges for that replacement to happen. For instance, its great ability to conduct electricity proves to be a bane when it comes to making chips. Scientists are yet to find a superior way to cut the flow of current like on-off switches as and when required and put them together to produce chips using commercially available technologies. Another area where graphene will score over others is flexible electronics that can be used as sensors and displays and which can be stuck to walls. It has a potential to replace currently used material as other materials, except organic conducting polymers, cannot be printed on plastic. Super-capacitors of tomorrow may have graphene. Crumpled sheets of graphene can end up storing more electrical charge per gram than any other material. This is because the crumpled sheets of graphene will have more surface area, and more the surface area the more the potential to store electrical charge.

Carbon Nanotubes Q. Carbon Nanotube?


Carbon Nanotube can potentially replace 60 miles of copper wires used in aeroplanes. Such replacement can result in enormous savings in terms of fuel and weight. But their actual use commercially is far away. If everything works fine, Samsung products may sport touch screens made from nanotube based conducting films in two or three years time. And that would mean that the magic material has successfully replaced or at least is a threat to currently used materials like plasma and LCDs.

Reviving Traditional Methods To Protect Farm Livestock Q. What is ethno-veterinary medicine system and what is its importance?
There are still many farmers maintaining a few goats, sheep, one or two cattle or some chickens. If an animal falls sick, these people rely first on their conventional knowledge to treat them. If the problem persists they seek the help of qualified veterinarians. The traditional medicinal system does not belong to any single person and is a property of the entire community. There are so many medicinal plants in a village to make the farmer self-reliant and not wait for the veterinarian. Once ethno-veterinary medicines become popular it leads to conservation of traditional medical knowledge and to conservation of medicinal plants. When the farmer starts realizing that a particular herb finds frequent mention in ethno- veterinary

medicine literature, he will start cultivating it. Such remedies are important also because the medicines therein do not have toxicity and are easily available.

Indian Scientists Traverse Shortest Path To South Pole Q. What is special about first Indian South Pole mission?
Indias first scientific expedition team to the South Pole took a different but short route to reach the earths southernmost point in just eight days. The path has never been tried before by any other country. The team led by Rasik Ravindra, director of the National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR), had left Maitri, Indias second permanent research station on the Antarctica, on Nov 13, 2010 and planted the Indian flag at South Pole on Nov 22. The eight-member team travelled 2,350 km distance (one side) between Maitri, and South Pole in arctic trucks braving the difficult weather conditions and traversing the tough terrain with snow-capped sharp razor-edged hills of 1-2 metre height.

PUBLIC AWARENESS
Environmental education is the sensitization of society about the significance of conserving living and non-living components of nature so that various life forms, including humans, could coexist and thrive by maintaining the environmental balance. Environmental education is being given serious attention by the global community for more than three decades. The UNESCO Conference on the Human Environment recommended environmental education fur all in 1972. The Conference on Environmental Education organised by UNESCO in co-operation with United Nations Environment Programme UNEP in October 1977 made a very strong recommendation urging all member nations to have a holistic programme of environmental education to suit different levels. Further, the General Assembly of the United Nations Organisation while adopting the World Charter for Nature on 28 October 1982 also resolved that Knowledge of nature should be broadly disseminated by all possible means, particularly by ecological education as an integral part of general education. The GOI considers environmental education a subject of utmost importance. The National Education Policy (1986) gives due emphasis to environmental education, The MoEF and the various state governments have initiated a number of long-term and short-term measures fur creating all round public awareness about environment and nature. Environmental education and awareness holds special significance today when the pace of economic development is increasing rapidly and at the same time, to the detriment of all of us, the society is blissfully overlooking the environmental degradation. It is essential, therefore, that special programmes for environmental education are taken up keeping in mind the various sections of the society as target groups. A number of special programmes and measures have been initiated by the MoEF, GOI and many states. The important initiatives are mentioned below:

National Green Corps Programme


For education on nature, the most important social group comprises the school children whose sensitization will ensure that future citizens are environmentally sensitive and responsible. In addition, the teachers and the teaching system provide an excellent opportunity fur sensitizing school children. In June 2001, the MoEF launched a unique national programme called National Green Corps to slowly but steadily transform the school children into an environmentally aware and responsive

society. Under this programme, eco-clubs of students have been formed at the scale of 250 schools per district. Each eco-club, comprising about 50 students under a teacher In-charge, gets annual financial support in addition to education material in various forms. These clubs are expected to organise various programmes related to environmental awareness such as debates, quizzes, seminars, rallies, street-plays, etc., in addition to environmental actions such as tree planting, plastic disposal, water conservation, public hygiene and energy saving, etc. The programme covers about 75,000 eco-clubs in 600 districts of the country which is likely to increase in coming years. With one lakh eco-clubs in the country, about 50 lakh students along with one lakh teachers would be spreading the message of environmental protection. By directly involving students and teachers in such a massive way, the programme envisages to lead the entire society to a green movement.

Nature Education Camps and Tours for School Children


Nature education camps are being organised fur school children all over the country. Under this programme, each group of students and teachers is taken to a representative wilderness area where the group stays for a couple of days, and directly observe and feel nature in its pristine best. Some states, such as Gujarat, have done pioneering work in this field for the last 30 years where government sponsored nature education camps are held for students every year. In addition, nature education tours are also organized by many SFDs.

Environment Awareness for Youth


Youth (aged 13 to 35 years) constitute about 37 to 40 percent of our countrys population. The National Youth Policy 2003 also gives due weightage to groom our youth to be environmentally sensitive and responsible. A number of programmes such as youth camps, seminars, workshops, environment related action programmes, involvement of youth in wildlife related activities such as population estimation, bird watching. etc., have been initiated by a number of states

Q. What are the recommendations/ concerns of Standing Committee on Finance for Aadhaar?
There are broadly five important arguments in the SCOF report. First, it contains scathing criticism of the government for beginning Aadhaar enrolment without Parliaments approval for the Bill. Currently, UIDAI enjoys only executive authority, and no statutory authority. Secondly, the SCOF raises serious questions about the enrolment process followed for Aadhaar numbers. The issue of Aadhaar numbers is riddled with serious lacunae, and this problem can be traced to conceptualisation with no clarity of purpose and implementation in a directionless way with a lot of confusion. For instance, the Ministry of Finance felt that there was lack of coordination across the six agencies collecting personal information, leading to duplication of efforts and expenditure. The Ministry of Home raised serious security concerns over the introducer model used to enroll persons without any proof of residence. The report concludes that the enrolment process compromises the security and confidentiality of information of Aadhaar number holders, and has far reaching consequences for national security. The reason: the possibility of possession of Aadhaar numbers by illegal residents through false affidavits/introducer system. Thirdly, the SCOF comes down heavily on the government for proceeding with the project without enactment of a national data protection law, which is a pre -requisite for any law that deals with large-scale collection of information from individuals and its linkages across

separate databases. Fourthly, the report strongly disapproves of the hasty manner in which the project was cleared. It concludes that a comprehensive feasibility studyought to have been done before approving such an expensive scheme.

Fifthly, the report tears apart the faith placed on biometrics to prove the unique identity of individuals. It notes that the scheme is full of uncertainty in technology and is built upon untested, unreliable technology. It criticises the UIDAI for disregarding (a) th e warnings of its Biometrics Standards Committee about high error rates in fingerprint collection; (b) the inability of Proof of Concept studies to promise low error rates when 1.2 billion persons are enrolled; and (c) the reservations within the government on the necessity of collection of IRIS image.

Q. How many agencies are involved in collecting the information for AADHAR?
There are six agencies collecting personal information for AADHAR.

Just Cool It Q. Briefly discuss the Supreme Courts Guidelines for Mulla periyar dam.
The Mullaperiyar Dam is a masonry gravity dam on the Periyar River in the Kerala state of India
The five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court asked the two States not to arouse peoples feelings and create a fear psychosis on this issue. Dam is 116-year-old. On the directions of the Supreme Court, the Empowered Committee, headed by the former Chief Justice of India A.S. Anand, is looking into all aspects of safety of the dam, and will soon submit its findings on the basis of expert assessments. Over the last few days, Theni in Tamil Nadu and Kumily in Kerala have witnessed violent protests and road blockades.

Gene Therapy

Q. What is the recent research to prevent HIV through Gene Therapy?


A team of researchers led by Nobel Laureat David Baltimore has obtained promising results in prevention of HIV infection in mice by adopting a radically different approach. As a first step, genes from five broadly neutralising antibodies capable of preventing HIV infection were chosen. DNA, which code for the antibodies, were then inserted into the adenovirus-based vectors and injected into the leg muscles of the mice. The muscle cells containing the DNA eventually started producing the broadly neutralising antibodies. Surprisingly, two antibodies were able to prevent HIV infection even when the viral dose was a 100-fold higher than necessary to infect animals, and significantly more than what humans are likely to be exposed to. As the level of protection in mice remained high even at the end of one year, it is presumed that a single injection might be sufficient to produce long-lasting protection against HIV.

Clinical trials on humans may follow soon. The new approach completely bypasses the immune system and presents the body with DNA capable of producing potent antibodies. But the real differentiator is the speed in designing and developing an effective immunisation product.

Durban deal now comes the far, far Harder Part Q. COP-17/ Durban Platform?
The Durban conference ended with a last-ditch deal whereby developed and developing countries will, for the first time, work on an agreement that should be legally binding on all parties, to be written by 2015 and to come into force after 2020. The Durban platform provides an anodyne set of words, with much of the detail yet to be agreed and the teeth not really coming for eight years. The real challenge will be in agreeing the fine print. Jonathan Grant of consultancy PWC said the scale of the task was daunting. As G20 countries would need to cut their carbon intensity (the amount of CO2 released as a proportion of energy produced) by 5 per cent a year to 2050.

Q. What was the Indias stand at Durban?


In any reasonable reckoning, the outcome of the 17th meeting of the Committee of Parties (COP) of the United Framework Convention on Climate Change at Durban was a triumph for European climate diplomacy, placing it firmly once again in the position of a global climate leader. After opposing for two weeks the very idea of an agreement to have an agreement, India finally assented to the Durban Platform without even the token inclusion of any of its core concerns such as equity. Repeated references to the principle without any attempt to put more flesh and bones on it made India appear more of a querulous holdout than a champion of developing country concerns. New Delhi has its work cut out in preparing for the tough negotiations due to commence next year. It needs to make up the ground ceded at COP 17

Chapter -2 POPULATION Introduction


India, like many other countries, has come a long way from the initial days of evolution under conditions of high mortality due to famines, accidents, illness, infections and war, when relatively high levels of fertility was essential for species survival. Over the years, better equipped in dealing with diseases and vagaries of nature, it has witnessed significant increase in life expectancy alongwith steep fall in mortality. Confronted with malthusian growth, changing social mores and spurred by government interventions, the population responded by taking steps to reduce fertility, but the continued increase in number of women in reproductive age has ensured high number of births each year. Consequently, in the world of seven billion people, India alongwith China already occupies a place in the Billionaire club and is likely to overtake China by 2025.

Size, Growth and Structure

The second most populous country on earth, India accounts for more than 17 per cent of world population mith meagre 2.4 per cent of the world surface area. In contrast, the USA accounts for 7.2 percent of the surface area with only 4.5 percent of the world population.

Indian in World Population


The population of India, at 1210.2 million, is almost equal to the combined population of U.S.A., Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Japan put together the population of these six countries totals 1214.3 million! The population of India has increased by more than 181 million during the decade 2001-2011. The absolute addition is slightly lower than the population of Brazil, the fifth most populations country in the world! The statewise population distribution during the two recent census indicates that UP continues to be the most populous state with about 200(16 per cent of total population) million people. States of Maharashtra and Bihar (9 per cent of the total population each) have made the transition to more than 100 million population category. Twenty States and Union Territories now have a population of over ten million. On the other extreme, there are five States and Union Territories in the country that are yet to reach the one million mark.

Population Growth
As per UN estimate World population grew at annual rate of 1.23 per cent during 2000-2010 with developing countries like India registering a higher growth rate. The population of developed countries like Japan & USA grew at a slower pace with Russia even witnessing a decline in population. China registered a much lower growth rate (third lowest in top ten most populous countries behind Russia & Japan, in fact much lower than USA). It is now estimated that will overtake china as the most populous country by 2025-30 despite the fact that growth rate has slowed down even in case of India.

Demographic Transition
India, at present, is at stage three of the four stage model* of demographic transition from stable population with high mortality and fertility to stable population with low mortality and fertility, with some of the states/UT's already into stage four. Percentage decadal growth rate of population in has been declining since 1971-81 at all India level. However, significant fall in case of EAG States(Empowered action group states) UP, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, MP Chhatisgarh, Rajasthan & Orissa) has been noticed for the first time during 2011 census.

* Stage 1 : less developed countries, high birth rate, high no. of deaths due to preventable causes, stable population Stage 2 : Death rates fall due to improved public health but high fertility due to limited access to health and contraceptive services, spurt in population. Stage 3 : Birth rate also falls, population continues to grow due to large no. of people in reproductive age group Stage 4 : Stable population but at a level higher than the initial, low birth & death rates, high social & economic development. Since both fertility & mortality have fallen significantly (graph below) the population still continues to grow, though at a slower pace
India, presently reflects characteristics of stage three countries in the parlance of demographic transition.

Population Growth- Inter State Comparison


The EAG group(UP, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, MP, Chhatisgarh, Rajasthan & Orissa indicative of general trend)accounting for about forty three to forty six percent of Indias population since 1951 for the first time, during 2011, saw decline in the growth rate(GraphIndia- Population & Percentage Decadal Growth). Amongst EAG states, best performance was seen in case of Orissa followed by Uttarakhand with growth rate in Orissa falling below national level during 2001-11, even though steepest decline was observed in case of Rajsthan followed by UP. Bihar continues to have the highest growth rate. Compared to 1991-2001, only Chhatisgarh has shown an increase in growth rate in case of EAG states. Amongst non EAG states Tamil Nadu & Puducherry have shown increase in growth rate during 200-1-11 as compared to previous decade. Amongst non EAG states & even otherwise steepest fall (6.7 percent points) during 2001-11, compared to previous decade has been observed in case of Maharashtra. Among the more populous Non EAG states, growth rates of Gujarat, Haryana, Delhi& Jammu Kashmir are higher than the current national average.

Population Structure
Population Pyramids represent complex changes in age structure of the population. In developed countries the shape is almost cylindrical instead of a pyramid because of the high life expectancy, low fertility and relatively low population in reproductive age group. In these countries, advantages of stable population are challenged by higher dependency ratio since the working age population is less.

In contrast to the above, population of most of the developing countries including(India) consists of large proportions of children and persons in reproductive age group. For now and the near future, population projections for India augur well since it will have a large segment of population in the working age group, with considerably decreased dependency ration putting it in a position to reap demographic dividend.

Sex wise composition


After an all time low sex ratio (No. of females per thousand males) of 927 in 1991, the sex ratio of India has shown improvement during last two decades. Sex ratio, as per the recent census is 940 which is largely comparable to the best performance (941 in 1961) in last fifty years. Several steps, including gender equality awareness campaigns were taken by the government to arrest the trend of declining sex ratio. Stateswise comparison with all India Averages: The lowest sex ratio among the States has been recorded in Haryana(877), Jammu & Kashmir(883) and Sikkim (889). Among the UTs the lowest sex ratio has been returned in Daman & Diu(618), Dadra & Nagar Haveli (775) and Chandigarh (818). Increase/ decrease in sex ratio at state level : Among the major States, Bihar, Jammu Kashmir and Gujarat have experienced a fall in the sex ratio. The decline ranged from 2 points in Gujarat to 9 points in Jammu & Kashmir. Other smaller Union Territories showing steep decline are Dadra & Nagar Haveli (37 points) and Daman and Diu (92 points). Perceptible increase has been observed in the major States such as Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Orissa, Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Punjab and all the States located in the North East. It is interesting to note that States having historically low sex ratio such as Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Chandigarh have shown appreciable increase in the sex ratio in Census 2011 with Chandigarh & Delhi showing an improvement of more than 40 points compared to 2001. Majority of the States identified as gender critical for special attention and intervention as part of the Census 2011 have shown increasing trend in the sex ratio as per the provisional results.

Population & Issues


Population is interchangeably viewed as resource or a problem depending on the context. Increasing population is concern for developing& underdeveloped nations whereas some advanced nations are battling issues of aging population and population decline. India currently at stage three of demographic transition(low

mortality & fertility but high births because of large number of people in reproductive age group due to high fertility of previous
generations, with huge population size is being increasingly reckoned as an emerging power in the world on the count of its population size, its favourable structure & robust economy. However, it also requires tackling issues stemming from a burgeoning population. Experience around the world indicates that towards the end of demographic transition (i.e. stage four) countries achieve stable population with high social & economic development. However during the phase of expansion, in a country with high population density like India, malthusian concerns of increasing the means of subsistence with an adequate pace to match the geometric population increase remains valid. Figure produced below attempts to compare the decadal growth of population, GDP at factor cost at constant prices and food grain production since 1950-51.

On the economic front, GDP(FC) has grown annual by more than 10.2 per cent during 2001-10, increasing the per capita NNP twofold. During the same period annual exponential growth rate of food production comes out to be 1.15 per cent, still a shade lower than the population growth rate during 2001-11.However, if the targeted improvement in foodgrain production of 8.5% as envisaged in the Union Budget document 2011-12, is actually achieved for the two successive years of 2010-11 and 2011-12, the average annual growth rate in foodgrain production for 2001-12 would touch about 1.5 per cent, making it somewhat similar to growth in population during this period. However, a comparison among the ten most populous countries in the world, in terms of both Human Development Index and per capita GDP in PPP$ shows India has a long way to go. Population growth since 1950-51, as captured by the Census shows an increasing trend of urbanization whereby the pressure on larger cities has increased considerably resulting in emergence of slums & other civic infrastructure related issues. The graph below summarizes the changing pattern of population distribution wherein share of urban areas has doubled & that of medium sized villages or below, has decreased from about 80 percent to about 50 per cent. For the first time since independence, absolute increase in population is more in urban areas. Definition of Urban(Census 2011): All statutory places with a municipality, corporation, cantonment board or notified town area committee. A place satisfying the following the three criteria simultaneously : a minimum population of 5,000; at least 75 per cent of male working population engaged in non-agricultural pursuits; and a density of population of atleast 400 per sq. km. source Census, 2011

Sources of Demographic Data & their limitations


The Indian Population Census is the most credible source of information on Demography (Population characterstics), Economic Activity, Literacy and Education, Housing & Household Amenities, Urbanisation, Fertility and Mortality, Scheduled

Castes and Scheduled Tribes, Language, Religion, Migration, Disability and many other socio cultural and demographic data since 1872. The decennial exercise is carried out by Office of Registrar General of India, Ministry of Home Affairs and fifteenth Census was conducted by it in 2011.Indian census is the principal source of the data on population size and structure and also provides some estimates of fertility and mortality indirectly. The census data also have the advantage of disaggregation to the level of small regional units. However, since the census data refer to time points spaced by ten years, the period is too long for fast growing economy like India undergoing rapid urbanization and migration. The Census enumeration suffers from both coverage and content errors and post enumeration surveys provide estimates of these. However, Coverage error has been quite small and is generally below 2 percent. Ideally, civil registration should yield estimates of birth and death rates(System of Civil Registration, CRS and the registration of vital events -births and deaths is compulsory by law) but as the system has not been functioning satisfactorily in India, the Sample Registration System, SRS(a system of dual recording involving continuous registration by a local registrar and half yearly survey by a supervisor, in a sample of locations since 1969-70) has served the purpose so far. The estimates of SRS are published in a reasonably short time, normally in about a year after the end of the reference year. But it produces estimates only at the state level and disaggregation to lower levels is not possible. Both Civil Registration System and Sample Registration System are being monitored by O/o Registrar General of India. Various surveys, especially the National Family Health Survey, NFHS (Ministry of Health & Family Welfare gets this survey conducted through the nodal agency International Institute of Population Sciences, Mumbai) also give valuable data on fertility and child mortality but again face the same constraint since the design and the sample size of these surveys, like the SRS, do not permit estimation of indicators at the district level. Many states in India are larger than most countries of the world, with populations exceeding ten million, and are known to exhibit heterogeneity in physical, economic, and social dimensions. Failure to have indicators for diverse regions within states is a major handicap in carrying out demographic analysis and making forecasts and there seems to be no alternative to strengthening the civil registration system to ensure that all vital events, the registration of which is mandatory by law, are captured. In fact, the SRS was initially designed as a shortterm measure, until the coverage of the civil registration system becomes universal, but this interim scheme has continued for over forty years. Newly introduced Annual Health Survey (Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has entrusted the responsibility of this survey to the O/o the Registrar General of India in view of their expertise in

handling SRS) has a large enough sample size to obtain district level estimates, but this survey covers barely half the country. The National Population Register which could ultimately provide the information on population closest to treat time basis is also being worked upon by O/o Registrar General of India and may soon be completed. Some special surveys focus on migration and the 64th round of the National Sample Survey Office, NSSO carried out during 2007-08 also covered migration (India, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, 2010). These are quite useful to capture factors underlying migration, to assessing the impact of migration on migrants, on place of origin, to study aspects of remittances, but are not suited for estimating the volume of migration. The new National Population Register would, if the updating of the register can be ensured, be able to give data on migration on a continuous basis. The other potential sources, sample surveys and administrative statistics besides population Census are not commonly used to estimate population size. Surveys also give age-sex structures; however, as the changes in the structure over a short time interval are small, sample surveys are not suited to detect these. Administrative statistics such as numbers of houses, ration cards (cards issued to households to enable purchase of essential items from specified outlets), and lists of voters, are available. However, in the absence of any idea on the completeness, these are not safe to be used 2.23 At the moment, therefore, the census, the Sample Registration System, and the periodic demographic surveys remain the principal sources, with their known limitations, to study demographic transition in India.

Chapter -1 All About Environmental Science (Part- II) Institutions in Environment


Managing natural resources require efficient institutions at all levels i.e. local, national, regional and global. Institutions, as defined by Young (1999), are systems of rules, decision - making procedures, and programs that give rise to social practices, assign roles to participants in these practices, and guide interactions among the occupants of the relevant roles. Institutions often figure prominently in efforts to solve or manage environmental problems. Several Government and Non - Government Organizations (NGOS) are working towards environmental protection in our country. They play a role both in causing and in addressing problems arising from human-environment interactions. They have led to a growing interest in environmental protection and conservation of nature and natural resources. Among the large number of institutions that deal with environmental protection and conservation, a few well - known organization include government organizations like the BSI and ZSI, and NGOs like the BNHS, WWF- 1, etc.

The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), Mumbai: It was founded on 15 September 1883, is one of the largest non - governmental organizations in India engaged in conservation and biodiversity research. It supports many research efforts through grants, and publishes a popular magazine called the Hornbill and also an internationally well -known the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. Its other publications include salim Alis Handbook on Birds, JC Daniel Book of Indian reptiles. SH Praters book of Indian mammals and PV Boles book of Indian trees. Many prominent naturalists, including the ornithologists Salim Ali and S. Dillon Ripley have been associated with it. The BNHS has over the years helped the government to frame wildlife- related laws and has taken up battles such as the save the silent valley campaign.

World Wide fund for nature - India (WWF -1), New Delhi: The WWF-1 was initiated in 1969 in Mumbai, after which the headquarters were shifted to Delhi with several State, Divisional and Project offices spread across India. In the early years it focused attention on wildlife education and awareness. It runs several programs, including the nature clubs of India program for school children and works as a think tank and lobby force for environmental and development issues.

Centre or science and environment (CSE), New Delhi: is a public interest research and advocacy organisation based in New Delhi. CSE researches into, lobbies for and communicates the urgency of development that is both sustainable and equitable. It has published a major document on the State of Indias Environment, the first of its kind to be produced as a citizens Report on the environment. It also publishes a popular magazine, Down to Earth which is a science and environment fortnightly. It is involved in the publication of material in the form of books posters, video films and also conducts workshops and seminars on biodiversity - related issues. The Centres efforts are built around five broad programmes: Communication for Awareness, Research and Advocacy, Education and Training, Knowledge Portal and Pollution Monitoring.

C.P.R Environmental Education Centre, Madras: the CPR-EEC was set up in 1988 CPREEC) is a Centre of Excellence of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), Government of India, established jointly by the Ministry and the C.P. Ramaswami Aiyar Foundation. It conducts a variety of programs to increase awareness and knowledge of public i.e., school children, local communities, woman as main key target groups about the various aspects of environment its programs include components on wildlife and biodiversity issues. CPR - EEC also publishes large number of text books for school children and video- on wheels for rural public. The C. P. R. Environmental Education Centre received the Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar for the year 1996.

The Centre for Environment Education (CEE) in India was established in August 1984 as a Centre of Excellence supported by the Ministry of Environment and Forests. The organisation works towards developing programmes and materials to increase awareness about the environment and sustainable development. The head office is located in Ahmedabad. The Centre has 41 offices including regional cells and several field offices, across India.. It has international offices in Australia, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. CEE's primary objective is to

improve public awareness and understanding of the environment with a view to promoting the conservation and sustainable use of nature and natural resources, leading to a better environment and a better quality of life. To this end, It undertakes demonstration projects in education, communication and development that endorse attitudes, strategies and technologies which are environmentally sustainable. CEE is committed to ensuring that due recognition is given to the role of education in the promotion of sustainable development. Bharati Vidyapeeth University, Institute of Environment Education & Research, Pune was established in 1993.This is part of the Bharati Vidyapeeth deemed University. Its major focus is to spread the message of the need for pro- environmental action in society at large through a dual strategy of formal and non formal integrated activities. BVIEER is a one of a kind institution that caters to the need of Environment Education at all levels - PhD, M.Sc and Diploma. The distinctive characteristics of BVIEER are its wide mandate of teaching, research and extension. It implements a large outreach program that has covered over 435 schools in which it trains teachers and conduct fortnightly environment education programs. Biodiversity conservation in a major focus of its research initiatives. It develops low - cost interpretation centers for natural and architectural sites that are highly locale- specific as well as a large amount of innovative environment educational material for a variety of target groups. It has developed a teachers handbook linked to school curriculum and a textbook for UGC for the compulsory undergraduate course on environment. Its director has developed a CD-ROM on Indias biodiversity. The Salim Ali Center for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON) : - It is an autonomous organization with headquarters at Coimbattore. It is a national centre for information, education and research in ornithology and natural history in India. This institution was Dr. Salim ali s dream, which became a reality only after his demise and was named in honor of Salim Ali, the leading pioneer of ornithology in India. Its mission is "To help conserve Indias biodiversity and its sustainable use through research, education and peoples participation, with birds at the centre stage". Wild life Institute of India (WII), Dehradhun: Is an autonomous institution of MoEF, GOI, established in 1982. It is an internationally acclaimed Institution, which offers training program, academic courses and advisory in wildlife research and management. The Institute is actively engaged in research across the breadth of the country on biodiversity related issues. Its most significant publication has been Planning wild life and protected area network for India (Rodgers and Panwar, 1988). It has environment impact assessment cell. It trains personnel in ecodevelopment, wildlife biology, habitat management and nature interpretation. Zoological survey of India (ZSI): is a premier organisation in zoological research and studies. The activities of the ZSI are coordinated by the Conservation and Survey Division in the MoEF, GOI. This is the only taxonomic organization in the country involved in the study of all kinds of animals from Protozoa to Mammalia, occurring in all possible habitats from deepest depth of the ocean to the peaks of Himalaya, was established on 1st July, 1916 to promote survey, exploration and research leading to the advancement in our knowledge of

the various aspects of the exceptionally rich animal life. It has over the years collected type specimens on the basis of which our animals life has been studied over the years. Its origins were collections based at the Indian museum at Calcutta, which was established in 1875. The older collections of the Asiatic society of Bengal and of the Indian museum were also transferred to the ZSI. Today, it has over a million specimens. This makes it one of the largest collections in Asia. It currently operated from 16 regional centers. The madras Crocodile Bank Trust (MCBT): MCBT, the first crocodile conservation breeding in Asia, was founded in 1976 to conserve Indian crocodilians and establish program for the conservation and propagation of other species of endangered reptiles Head quarters are at Madras. Over years, over 1500 crocodiles and several hundred eggs have been supplied to various state forest departments for restocking programmes in the wild, and for setting u p breeding facilities in other state in India and neighboring countries. It is the one which started the first sea turtle surveys and conservation program in India, including a sea turtle hatchery. It is involved in environmental education programs for the villages and schools that include nature camps, training workshop for teachers and youth from fishing villages. The Andaman and nicobar islands Environmental team (ANET) a division of the MCBT was constituted in 1992. A base was set up by Harry Andrew s in south Andaman for herpetological and other ecological studies in these islands. The Crocodile bank is the site of the irula Snake catchers cooperative society, which is an adivasi s elfhelp project and supplies all of India s snake and scorpion venom needed for the production of anti venom and for medical use. MCBT personal also initiated the Irula Tribual Womens welfare society, which is primarily a society for reforestation of wastelands and income- generation projects for irula women. Uttarkhand seva nidhi (USKN), Almora : It is a public charitable trust founded in 1967. This organization was appointed as a nodal agency in 1987 by the Department of Education, Ministry of Human Resources Development, Government of India to undertake locale -specific environmental education programmes both in rural schools and villages in the hill districts of Uttar Pradesh, now Uttaranchal. Subsequently, a research and resource centre, the Uttarakhand Environmental Education Centre (UEEC), was set up in 1993, also with support from the Department of Education. As activities continued to increase, a separate organisation, the Uttarakhand Seva Nidhi Paryavaran Shiksha Sansthan (USNPSS), a registered society, was set up in 1999 to handle all the environmental activities of the Nidhi. As Uttaranchal is a fragile ecological zone where human activities can cause extensive land degradation (deforestation and soil erosion) if not carried out in an environmentally- sound manner. The organization conducts education, training and on the spot problem solving programmes with the aim of helping people to understand their surroundings from a broad ecological point of view and encourage them to organise themselves to deal with environmental problems that affect their daily lives, and t o provide training in technical know - how and practical skills. Its main target is sustainable resource use at the village level through training school children. Its environment education program covers about 500 schools. Kalpavriksh : This NGO, initially Delhibased, is now working from pune and is active in several other parts of India.

Kalpavriksh worked on a variety of fronts: education and awareness; investigation and research; direct action and lobbying, and litigation with regard to environment and development issues. Its activities include talks and audio- visuals in schools and colleges, nature walks and outstation camp, organizing student participation in ongoing campaigns including street demonstrations, pushing form consumer awareness regarding org anic food, press statements, handling green alerts, and meeting with city administrators. Kalpavriksh was among those responsible for developing Indias National Biodiversity Strategy and action plan in 2003. The Botanical Survey of India (BSI) is an institution set up by the Government of India in 1887 to survey the plant resources of the Indian empire. The Botanical Survey was formally instituted on 13 February 1890 under the direction of Sir George King, who had been superintendent of Royal Botanic Garden, Calcutta since 1871. King became the first ex- officio Director of BSI. Presently, it has nine regional centres. It carries out surveys of plant resources in different regions. It monitors botanical resources by analyzing their occurrence, distribution, ecology, economic utility, conservation, environment impact, etc.

People in environment
There are several internationally known environmental thinkers. Among those who have made landmark contributions include Charles Darwin, Ralph Emerson, Henry Thoreau, John Muir, Aldo Leopold, Rachel Carson and EO Wilson. Each of these thinkers looked at the environment from a completely different perspective. Charles Darwin: wrote the origin of species, which brought to light the close relationship between habitats and species. It brought about a new way of thinking about mans relationship with other species that was based on evolution.

Ralph Emerson: spoke of the dangers of commerce to our environment way back in the 1840s.

Henry Thoreau: in the 1860s wrote that the wilderness should be preserved after he had lived in the wilderness for a year. Thoreau had many theories and beliefs, which he poured out in his journals and books. Among these was the concept of human ecology: of the relationship between humans and nature. He saw unity and community as important aspects of nature, and he saw all disturbances in these links as caused by human beings. Thank God men cannot fly, and lay waste the sky as well as the earth is his famous quotation.

John Muir : He was a Scottish -born American naturalist, author, and early advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United States. His letters, essays, and books telling of his adventures in nature, especially in the

Sierra Nevada mountains of California, have been read by millions. His activism helped to save the Yosemite Valley, Sequoia National Park and other wilderness areas. He is remembered as having saved the great ancient sequoia trees in Californias forests. In the 1890s he formed the Sierra club, which is major conservation NGO in the USA.

Aldo Leopold: was a forest official in the US in the 1920s. He designed the early policies on wilderness conservation and wildlife management. He was considered the father of wildlife ecology and a true Wisconsin hero. His book, A Sand County Almanac is acclaimed as the century's literary landmark in conservation, which guided many to live in harmony with the land and with o ne another'. Rachel Carson : was an American marine biologist and conservationist whose writings are credited with advancing the global environmental movement. She was nature writer, and some of the books like The Sea Around Us and The Edge of the Sea are to her credit. In the late 1950s, Carson turned her attention to conservation and the environmental problems caused by synthetic pesticides. Then in 1962, she wrote Silent Spring , which was met with fierce denial from chemical companies, spurred a reversal in national pesticide policy leading to a nationwide ban on DDT and other pesticides and the grassroots environmental movement the book inspired led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency. Carson was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Jimmy Carter. EO Wilson : is an entomologist who envisioned that biological diversity was a key to human survival on Earth. He wrote Diversity of life in 1993, which was awarded a prize for the best book published on environmental issues. He emphasised the risks to mankind due to man made disturbances in natural ecosystems that are leading to the rapid extinction of species at the global level. There are several individuals who have been instrumental in shaping the environmental history of our country. To name a few with their significant contributions goes as follows: Salim Ali: was an Indian ornithologist and naturalist, Known as the "birdman of India", Salim Ali was among the first Indians to conduct systematic bird surveys across India. He was instrumental in creating the Bharatpur bird sanctuary (Keoladeo National Park) and prevent the destruction of what is now the Silent Valley National Park. He was awarded India's second highest civilian honour, the Padma Vibhushan in 1976. His autobiography, fall of a sparrow, should be read by every nature enthusiast. He was our countrys lea ding conservation scientist and influenced environmental policies in our country for over 50 years. Smt. Indira Gandhi: as PM played a very significant role in the preservation of Indias wildlife. It was during her period as PM, that the network of protected areas (PAs) grew from 65 to 298 and the wildlife protection act was formulated. The Indian Board of wildlife was extremely active as she personally chaired all its meetings. S P Godrej was one of Indias greatest supports of wildlife conservation and n ature awareness programs. Between 1975 and 1999 SP Godrej received 10 awards for his conservation led to his playing a major advocacy role for wildlife in India.

M. S. Swaminathan : He has founded the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation in Chennai, which does work on the conservation of biological diversity.

Madhav Gadgil is a well - known ecologist in India. His interests range from board ecological issues such as developing community Biodiversity Registers and conserving sacred groves to studies on the behavior of mammals, birds and insects. His research interests include

population biology, conservation biology, human ecology and ecological history and he has published over 215 research papers and 6 books and the editor for the series lifescapes of peninsular India.

M. C. Mehta : Environmental lawyer. Initiated the Government to implement Environmental education in schools and colleges, struggles for protection of Taj Mahal and cleaning of Ganga water.

Anil Agarwal : a journalist who wrote the first report on the state of India s Environment in 1982. He was the founder of CES, an active NGO that supports various environmental issues.

Medha Patkar : known as one of rural Indias champions, has supported the cause of the downtrodden tribal people whose environment is being affected by the dams on the Narmada river.

Sunderlal Bahugunas chipko movement has become an internationally well- known example of a highly successful conservation action program through the efforts of local people for guarding their forest resources. His fight to prevent the construction of the Tehri Dam in a fragile earthquake- prone setting is a battle that he continues to wage. The Garhwal hills will always remember his dedication to the cause for which he has walked over 20 thousand kilometers

PSLV-C17?
Ans. PSLV-C 17 was the eighteenth successive successful flight of PSLV which has once again proved its versatility and reliability GSAT-12 Communication satellite with a mass of 1410 kg at lift-off, has 12 Extended C-band transponders and has been successfully placed in Geosynchronous Orbit.

Q. GSAT-12 and its importance?


Ans. GSAT-12 is a communication satellite with a mass of 1410 kg at lift-off, has 12 Extended C-band transponders and has been successfully placed in Geosynchronous Orbit by PSLVC17. It will enhance space based applications in the area of tele-medicine, tele-education and disaster management support.

Q. What is GSAT-8 and what is its role in GAGAN?


Ans. Indias advanced communication satellite, GSAT-8 - weighing about 3100 kg at lift-off, was successfully launched into the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) on May 21, 2011 by the Ariane-V launch vehicle from Kourou, French INSAT system and carries 24 high power transponders in Ku-band and a two-channel GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) payload operating in L1 and L5 bands. The transponders will augment the capacity in the INSAT system while the GAGAN payload provides the Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS), through which the accuracy of the positioning information obtained from the GPS Satellite is improved by a network of ground based receivers and made available to the users in the country through the geostationary satellites.

Q. How many satellites were launched by PSLV-C16 and what are the details of these?
Ans. In its 17th consecutive successful flight, Indias Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV C16) injected three Satellites viz. RESOURCESAT-2, YOUTHSAT and X-SAT into the Polar Sun synchronous orbits on April 20, 2011 RESOURCESAT-2 built by ISRO - the primary satellite is an advanced remote sensing satellite facilitating a host of applications and services

in the area of agricultural monitoring, natural resources management, disaster management support as well as infrastructure planning and will ensure continuity of remote sensing data currently being provided by RESOURCESAT-1 launched in 2003. YOUTHSAT is a joint Indo-Russian satellite for stellar and atmospheric studies. X-SAT is a micro-satellite for imaging applications built by Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. C-BAND POLARIMETRIC DOPPLER RADAR Q. What is C-Band Polarimetric Doppler radar? Ans. Polarimetric radars transmit radio wave pulses that have both horizontal and vertical orientation. The horizontal pulses essentially give a measure of the horizontal dimension of cloud (cloud water and cloud ice) and precipitation (snow, ice pellets, hail and rain) particles while the vertical pulses essentially give a measure of the vertical dimension. Since the power returned to the radar is a complicated function of each particle size, shape and ice density, this additional information results in improved estimates of rain, snow rate, better detection of large hail location in storms, and improved identification of

Q. What is HYLAS (Highly Adaptable Satellite)?


Ans. The HYLAS jointly built by ISRO/Antrix and EADS/Astrium of Europe for Avanti communications of U.K. was launched successfully on November 27, 2010 by the European Ariane-5 V198 launch vehicle, and was placed in the geostationary orbit.

Q. What is the recent achievement of ISRO in Building of Super Computer


Ans. ISRO has built a supercomputer, which is to be Indias fastest supercomputer in terms of theoretical peak performance of 220 Teraflops (220 Trillion Floating Point Operations per second).

Q. What is the name of the fastest supercomputer of India which was recently built by ISRO?
Ans. The new Graphic Processing Unit (GPU) based supercomputer named SAGA -220 (Supercomputer for Aerospace with GPU Architecture-220 Teraflops) is being used by space scientists for solving complex aerospace problems.

rain/snow transition regions in winter storms.

Q. The first C-Band Polarimetric Doppler radar of India where has been
Ans. The First C-Band Polarimetric Doppler Radar of the country started working in Delhi on January 15th, 2012 i.e. from the 137th Foundation Day of India Meteorological Department. Most weather radars transmit radio wave pulses that have a horizontal orientation.

Q. Why C-Band Polarimetric Doppler Radar is important for India?


Ans. The C-Band Polarimetric Doppler Radar at Delhi has the latest state of the art technology used for weather surveillance. It uses advanced algorithms to generate information which is vital for detecting severe weather phenomena such as rain, hail storm etc., with greater accuracy. Due to this additional information it is very useful to issue weather forecasts and warnings for events which are likely to occur within short period of time also known as now casting.

Q. How C-Band Polarimetric Doppler radar is different with other radars?


Ans. C-Band Polarimetric Doppler Radar adds capability of being able to measure a frequency shift that is introduced into the reflected signal by the motion of the cloud and precipitation particles. This frequency shift is then used to determine wind speed.

Q. How many variables can be measured mainly by C-band Polarimetric radar and whats its importance?

Ans. The C-band Polarimetric radar has capability to measure mainly four variables such as Differential Reflectivity, Correlation Coefficient, Linear Depolarization ratio and Specific Differential Phase. Besides this, total and horizontal Reflectivity, Radial velocity, Spectral width and Hydromet classification will be measured. The Differential Reflectivity (ZDR) indicates ratio of the reflected horizontal and vertical power returns. Among other things, it is a good indicator of drop shape. In turn the shape is a good estimate of average drop size. Cross Correlation Coefficient (Rho-HV) is a statistical correlation between reflected horizontal and vertical power returns. It is an indicator of regions of precipitation types, such as rain and snow. It is prominently used for hydrometeor classification. Differential Phase (Phi-DP) and Specific Differential Phase is a comparisons of the returned phase difference between horizontal and vertical pulses, caused by the difference in number of wave cycles (wavelengths) along the propagation path for horizontal and vertically polarized waves. It is a good estimator of rain rate as it is independent of calibration, and other radar related parameters.

Q. What are the main benefits of C-Band Polarimetric Doppler radar?


Ans. The improvements associated with Polarimetric Doppler radars come with their ability to provide previously unavailable information on cloud and precipitation particle size, shape, and ice density. Polarimetric radar will significantly improve the accuracy of estimates of amount of precipitation (snow, ice pellets, hail and rain). It will now tell difference between very heavy rain and hail, which will improve flash floods watches and warnings and disaster management. The C-band Polarimetric radar will be a boon to give indication of kal-baisakhi. It will also contribute to increased lead time in flash floods and winter weather hazard warnings and severe hazards like thunder storms, kal-baisakhi and cyclonic circulations. It has better ability to correct signal attenuation due to atmosphere including attenuation due to rain in cyclonic wall clouds. It will generate better estimates of rainfall. Rainfall in catchment areas of dams can be monitored. It will provide critical rainfall estimation information for stream flow hence is very useful for hydrological studies. It will be useful in water management. It will detect aviation hazards such as birds (ornithological echoes), insects etc. It is able to identify no-meteorological echoes with better accuracy than conventional radars.

National Optical Fiber Network

Q. What is National Optical Fiber Network?


Ans. Government has approved a project for National Optical Fiber Network in October, 2011 for providing Broadband connectivity to all 2.5 lakh Gram Panchayats at a cost of Rs. 20,000 crore. The

plan is to extend the existing optical fiber network up to Panchayats. The Network will be available to telecom service providers for providing various services to the citizens in non-discriminatory manner.

Q. What are the main benefits of National Optical Fiber Network?


Ans. The Network will provide a highway for transmission of voice, data and video in rural areas. It will enable the broadband connectivity upto 2 Mbps, capable of providing various services like e-education, e-health, e-entertainment, e-commerce e- governance etc. to people and businesses. The people in rural areas, students, entrepreneurs, various Government Departments providing services under e-governance projects will be benefitted. It will also provide connectivity to various public institutions like Gram Panchayats, Primary Health Centres (PHCs), schools etc. in rural areas. It will also result in investment from the private sector both for providing different services and for manufacturing of broadband related telecom equipment.

Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF)

Q. What is Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF)?


Ans. The Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) was established with the fundamental objective of providing access to Basic telegraph services to people in the rural and remote areas at affordable and reasonable prices. Subsequently the scope was widened to provide subsidy support for enabling access to all types of telegraph services including mobile services, broadband connectivity and creation of infrastructure like OFC in rural and remote areas.

Q. How many schemes are being implemented under USOF?


Ans. Various schemes for taking communication facilities to the rural and remote areas with the support of USO fund under implementation are 5,79,814 villages i.e. about 97.68% of the Census 2001 inhabited revenue villages have been covered with Village Public Telephone (VPT) facility as on November 30, 2011. VPT facility is likely to be provided in remaining inhabited revenue villages by May, 2012. Setting up and managing 7353 number of infrastructure towers in 500 districts spread over 27 states for provision of mobile services in specified rural and remote areas. 7295 towers i.e. 99.21% towers have been set up till November, 2011. In order to provide broadband connectivity to the rural areas, USOF signed an agreement with BSNL on January 20, 2009 to provide 8,88,832 wireline Broadband connections to individual users and Government Institutions and setting up of 28,672 Kiosks over a period of 5years. As on 30th November, 2011, 3, 35,290 broadband Connections and 6426 kiosk have been provided under this scheme in rural and remote areas. Recognizing the vital role that Information Communication Technology (ICT) can play in the empowerment of rural women, a scheme called Sanchar Shakti has been launched in March, 2011 for pilot projects aimed at facilitating access of Self Help Groups (SHGs) to ICT enabled services. Financial support from USO Fund is to be provided towards VAS subscription for SHGs in accordance with the provisions of underlying

Originally, in India there was only one system of music, but during the medieval period the North India came under the impact of the diverse musical influences of the Islamic world-particularly Persian, which led to the division of the Indian Music into two distinct schools the Hindustani (North Indian) and Karnataka (South Indian).

But the basic features in both schools of music were common.

The Indian music is of two types Marga-Sangit (mystical) and Desi Sangit (secular). The cause of music is pleasant sound termed in India Nada.

Indian music is divided into Ragas or

melody-types.

There are ten major Ragas or parent scales of which the most important are Yaman, Bilawata Khamaj, Bhairava, Purvi, Marwa, Kafi, Asawari, Bhairavi and Todi. The major Ragas or parent scales are further sub-divided into Ragas and Raginis so that we have about 200 types of melodies. Each Raga must have five notes, one principal one (called Vadi), one second important note (called Samvadi) and the rest assistant notes (called Anuvadi). Ragas are sung in various speeds and some move in a certain pitch.

Music has also its rhythmic beats which are divided into tala, laya and matra.

Tala is a complete cycle of a metrical phrase composed of a fixed number of beats. Laya is tempo-slow, medium, fast. Matra is the smallest unit of the Tala.

Thus the gamut of several notes woven into a composition may be called a Raga. The Ragas can be sung without any instrumental accompaniment but generally take Tabla (drim) for the purpose besides any stringed instrument. They are sung at particular seasons and time of the day or night.

Principal Indian Ragas


Indian classical music consists of six principal Ragas and thirty Raginis. Music is adapted to the season of the year, hours of the day and mood of the performer. The Indian year is divided into six seasons and each season has its own Raga. The principal Ragas are Bhairavi, Hindol, Megha, Sriraga, Deepak and Malkaus. According to Indian concept of Music, each Raga is a demigod, wedded to five Raginis. Thus there are six Ragas and thirty Raginis.

The day is divided into six parts, and each is allotted to a particular Raga.

Bhairav Raga is usually sung from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. Hindol from 8 a.m. to 12 noon. Megha from 12 noon to 4 p.m. Sriraga from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Deepak from 8 p.m. to 12 midnight Malkaus from 12 midnight to 4 a.m.

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Beginning in the 13th century, with the establishment of Delhi Sultanate Islamic hegemony in the north is commonly believed to be associated with evolution of two distinct styles of musical practice in India. The Hindustani of north and the Karnataka of the south. Although the Hindustani system considered different from the Karnataka by virtue of presence of Persian and Turkish features in the former- musicians from Persia and central Asia were associated with courts in the North at least until the late seventeenth century.

Today the two main classical styles in India correspond geographically the linguistic areas of Indo-Aryan based languages in the north and Dravidian based languages in the south.

Although analytically both can be considered two variants of one underlying system, the two systems are considered in India to distinct constituting separate theory systems, histories, composition and performers. Common to both systems are the fundamental concepts of pitch (svara) melody type (raga known as rag in the north and ragam in the south) and meter (tala, tal in the north and talam in the south). Both also use similar, types of performance ensembles with a vocalist or instrumentalist as soloist, a drummer as rhythmic accompanist and a drone provided by a tanpura.

In the case of vocal soloist, a melodic accompanist on an instrument is also present.

Hindustani Music

Karnataka Music

Hindustani music is usually traced back by its practitioners to the Delhi Sultanate period with Amir Khusrau (1253-1325 A.D.) as one of the earliest historical personalities. Although traditionally considered the inventor of the sitar and tabla, and as well as several ragas and other musical genres, the actual evidence for these assumptions is not clear.

What is performed today as Karnatak music is derived most immediately from three outstanding composers of the eighteenth century, known collectively as the Trinity: Thyagaraja (1759-1847); Swami Shastri (1763-1827) and Dikshitar (1775-1835).

The Trinity, although not themselves patronized by the courts, spent most of their lives within a few miles radius of Tanjore, which became the focal point of musical patronage in the south after the fall of Vijayanagar (1585).

Thyagaraja is revered both as the supreme artist and a

saint, and epitonizes the ideal of musicianship in the south. Most of his immediate disciples were not professional musicians but devotees and is only after the succedding generation that professional musicians received Thyagarajas compositions.

The Zenith of Hindustani music is associated with the great Tansen, one of the jewels of the court of the Mughal emperor, Akbar, (1556-1605). A vocalist and an instrumentalist, most Hindustani today trace their muscial descent from Tansen.

Karnataka performance practice tends to give greater emphasis to the actual composition than is the case for Hindustani music. The fixed and memorized composition along with its memorized variations are longer and constitute proportionately much more a given performance than in the north.

Karnataka music include three major performance genres as well as some minor ones: the varnam as advanced etude-like composition of ten performed as the first item of a performance.

Hindustani

musical

The kriti, which is the classical compositional form most often associated with the eighteenth century

performance is based on a composition which is set to a meter and from which extemporised variations are generated. The composition is usually a relatively short tune which is said to embody the essence of the rag (mode or melody type) in which it is composed.

Trinity, is devotional in its textual material and the ragam-tangam-pallavi a somewhat more abstract musical form embodying extensive unmetered sections along with a new or borrowed compositional line characterized by rhythmic variation in the pallavi section.

A performance begins with an alap. For dhrupad (four part composition) and in instrumental genres, the alap is elaborate and characterised by the absence of any metered accompaniment.

The ragam-tangam-pallavi is in principle the centerpiece of a Karnatak performance, although a kriti will often assume this role in actual practice.

Following the alap, pulsed sections, which are considered subsectors of the alap, are performed in dhrupad and instrumental genres and are called for (instrumental) or nom-tom (dhrupad).

Despite the series of contacts one can make between the two systems they share analogous structural units. For example, the Karnatak alspana is in many respects equivalent to the Hindustani alap; both function as the expositional structure of a raga.

Sitar and Sarod performance practice also includes a jhala, which is an alternating pulsed and melodic section often

repeated within the composition itself later in the performance.

In the vocal khayal the alap is typically non-existent or short and sometimes extended into the metered section.

Once the alap is ended the composition proper is performed. The composition is set to a recurring rhythmic cycle (tala).

Hindustani vocal music is performed in three major and several minor styles. The oldest and most austere is a four part composition known as dhrupad. The main classical vocal form today is the two part composition known as khayal (pers, imagination), usually followed at the end of a concert by a light classical form known as thumri.

Texts of most compositions are devotional, although these can take on a remarkably wide range of manifestations ranging from abstractly spiritual to the highly erotic.

Most instrumental compositions in the north (referred to as gat), although sometimes based on vocal models are a largely separate repertoire in the north and are performed mainly on either the sitar or the sarod.

They include compositions which are inherited through family lineages along with more recent compositions. In this century several other instruments including the flute, sarangi and shahnai have also developed solo performance traditions.

Indian Musical Instruments

The principal Indian musical instrument as may be divided into four classes :

(i) stringed instruments, which have strings made of steel, copper or brass wires or silken cords. Such instruments are veena, sarod, sitar, tanpura, rabbad:

(ii) instruments played with bow, such as sarangi, dilruba, mayuri etc.,

(iii) drum instruments, which are played with bands on sticks, such as pakhawaj, tabla, naggara, dholak etc.,

(iv) wind or mouth instruments, which are played by blowing full or half breaths, such as, flute, bin, surna etc.

India to ratify 1974 Indira-Mujib pact ---->> Need to address Pending issues b4 moving fwd !!!

The Government of India informed the Bangladesh regarding the ratification of 1974 Indira-Mujib pact, during the home secretary-level talks on 19 July 2013.

Indian Government informed that it wanted to ratify the 1974 Indira-Mujib pact for demarcation of boundaries and for exchange of 161 adversely held enclaves with a population of about 50000 people. For implementation of Indira-Mujib pact, Indian Government will have to introduce a Constitutional Amendment Bill in parliament according to Indian Constitution. The Government of India is planning to bring a constitutional amendment Bill during the forthcoming monsoon session, beginning August 5 2013, for implementation of the Indo-Bangla land boundary agreement.

Bangladesh Parliament has already approved the land boundary deal, India needs to introduce a constitutional amendment bill because its implementation involves territory swap.

Indira-Mujib Pact 1974

In 1974, India and Bangladesh entered into an agreement on borders. Popularly known as Indira-Mujib Pact, the two signatories of the pact were the Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and the Bangladesh Prime Minister Mujib-ur-Rehman.

This agreement sought to cover the demarcation of the land boundary between the two countries and other related issues. Article 5 of the Agreement stipulated that: This agreement shall be subject to ratification by the Governments of India and Bangladesh and Instruments of Ratification shall be exchanged as early as possible. The Agreement shall take effect from the date of the exchange of the Instruments of Ratification. On 28 November 1974 Bangladesh Parliament had passed the Constitution (Third Amendment) Act, 1974 ratifying the Indira Mujib Accord.

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This Agreement was signed in two originals by both the Prime Ministers on May 16, 1974. On November 28, 1974 Bangladesh Parliament had passed the Constitution (Third Amendment) Act, 1974 ratifying the Indira Mujib Accord. Since passing this Amendment and ratifying this Agreement as per Art 5 of it the Bangladesh Government has repeatedly taunted India for not doing their bit by getting the same in Indian Parliament.

It is true that Government of India has not been able to get the Parliaments nod for the Agreement in all these four decades.

One of the reasons could be the flawed nature of the Agreement. In the form it was agreed upon by both the former PMs that it would have certainly created a huge backlash in India, at least over some sections of the Agreement.

Almost after 40 years the Government of India suddenly woke up and decided to ratify the Agreement in our Parliament. Thankfully, since this flawed agreement involves Indian Territory being transferred to Bangladesh without any compensation from the other side, it required an amendment to our Constitution as well. In an earlier case of Berubari transfer the Supreme Court of India had mandated that the Government can only play with the territory of India through a Constitutional Amendment that will have the support of the majority members of the Parliament and two thirds of the members present.

The current session of the Parliament is likely to witness the introduction of the Constitution Amendment Bill for the purpose of ratifying the four-decades-old India Mujib Accord.

Pending Issues

There are three major issues that are still pending calling for implementation to make this agreement fully operational.

1.

Border

There is a 6.1 kilometre long stretch on the border between the two countries which is still not demarcated. It is spread in three sectors;

Daikhata 56 in West Bengal, Muhuri river Belonia in Tripura and Lathitila-Dumabari in Assam.

2.

Enclaves:
The partition of India in 1947 had created a peculiar situation in Bengal, which was divided into two. A total of 152 enclaves on both sides became a contentious issue. Enclaves are land-locked areas in each country that dont belong to that country.

There were historical reasons for this situation, For instance, if the Nawab of Bengal had gifted land to a Sardar, perhaps post Partition, the gifted part of the land remained in Pakistan, with the rest of the Sardars territory becoming a part of Independent India. There are about 111 such enclaves that belong to India but remain to this day in Bangladesh territory. They measure an area of approx. 17,161 acres. Similarly there are 51 enclaves in India measuring approximately 7,110 acres that belong to Bangladesh. All the enclaves belonging to Bangladesh are located in the Coochbehar district of West Bengal whereas all the Indian enclaves in Bangladesh fall in four districts Panchagarh, Lalmonirhat, Kurigram and Nilphamari.

3.

Adverse possession:
The third major issue is adverse possession. Adverse possession means areas occupied by people of each country across its boundary in the other country. These are human encroachments leading to settlement of people for decades in areas along undemarcated borders inside the territory of the other country. Although it is very difficult to identify each and every adverse possession area the two governments have so far identified 14 places where border realignment is needed. Six of them are in West Bengal; two are in Assam, five in Meghalaya and one in Tripura.

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What INDIA can do to earn positively towards this pact ?

India should delete the clause of not demanding compensation for the excess land being transferred to Bangladesh through exchange of enclaves. Bangladesh should be asked to compensate for the excess land that it is getting. Just as India leased land in perpetuity, Bangladesh too can lease land to India, which is equivalent of the excess land that it is getting along the narrow Chickens Neck area (Siliguri corridor) . That would be of great strategic help for India.

Alternately, India can demand commitment for compensation in the form of certain land masses that keep surfacing in the sea from time to time.

Most importantly the sentiments of the people of Tripura, Meghalaya, Assam and West Bengal should be taken into account while determining the realignment of the adverse possession along the boundary.

Difference between greenhouse effect and runaway greenhouse effect?


The basic greenhouse effect works like this:-

Short wavelength radiation from the sun, like visible light, passes easily through the atmosphere and is absorbed by the land and sea. There it gets re-radiated back as longer wavelength infra-red (heat) radiation. This longer wavelength is blocked by certain gasses in the atmosphere, like carbon dioxide, and stays, which raises the worlds temperature. If we didnt have a greenhouse effect the world would be much, much colder, probably so cold the oceans would freeze over. So we need some level of greenhouse effect to keep the planet habitable.

Now, the "runaway" greenhouse effect is when the effect starts to be self-feeding, and the rising temperatures add more gasses to the atmosphere, trapping more heat, raising the temperature and so on. If this happened it might not end with all the oceans evaporating, since the increased clouds could reflect a lot of solar energy back into space. But it would likely mean very much higher temperatures than we have now.

Runaway Greenhouse effect faced by VENUS


Venus was originally cooler than what it is now and it had a greater abundance of water several billion years ago. Also, most of its carbon dioxide was locked up in the rocks. Through a process called as runaway greenhouse, Venus heated up to its present blistering hot level. Because Venus was slightly closer to the Sun than the Earth, its water never liquified and remained in the atmosphere to start the greenhouse heating. As Venus heated up, some of the carbon dioxide in the rocks was "baked out." The increase of atmospheric carbon dioxide enhanced the greenhouse heating.

That baked more carbon dioxide out of the rocks (as well as any water) and a runaway positive feedback loop process occurred. This positive feedback loop occurred several hundred million to a few billion years ago so Venus has been very hot for that length of time.

The loss of water from the rocks means that Venus' rocks are harder than the rocks of Earth and its lithosphere is now probably too thick and hard and its aesthenosphere is too poorly lubricated for plate tectonics to occur. The water Venus originally had is now gone because of a process called dissociation.

THE Air India flight from Kabul to New Delhi on September 5, in which I had travelled, had just landed when I was told at the arrival hall that Sushmita Banerjee had been brutally murdered by the Taliban in retribution for her expose of Taliban atrocities against women. The brutal murder again exposed the medieval and murderous characteristics of the Taliban with whom the US is almost desperately seeking reconciliation. This, after the Taliban, operating largely from bases in Pakistan, has killed 2,161 American combat personnel and wounded 19,080. What I found in a five-day visit to Afghanistan is that it is a country with unlimited opportunities for development and democracy, even while facing a brutal insurgency fuelled and funnelled from across its borders with Pakistan.

Pakistan is an object of hate and derision across the country. Visitors from Pakistan in Kabul often prefer to describe themselves as Hindustani in Kabuls bazaars.

In just over a decade after the medieval Taliban was ousted, Afghanistan has seen a remarkable political and social transformation. The country has since developed a robust political system. President Karzai and his ministers are freely criticised. The media is free and lively. Shahrukh Khan and his Chennai Express receive rave reviews.

While schools were virtually defunct and women denied the right to education and work in the Taliban years, there are now 10.5 million students in educational institutions, with universities now flourishing in Kabul, Nangarhar, Khost, Herat and Balkh. Forty-eight per cent of all doctors and 60 per cent of teachers are women, who now are also well represented in the legislature and even in the army and the police.

Afghanistan is now preparing for the Presidential elections scheduled for around April, 2014. With President Karzai constitutionally ineligible for a third consecutive term, jockeying has commenced for who should succeed him.

Afghanistan has traditionally been ruled by the dominant Pashtuns, with the Tajiks, Hazaras (predominantly Shia), Uzbeks and Turkmens who constitute over 50 per cent of the population, forming alliances to protect their interests. Powerful regional leaders with significant armed cadres like Mohammed Atta in Mazar-e-Sharif and Ismail Khan in Herat will have a significant say in any outcome. This jockeying for viable coalitions will continue till the Presidential elections are held.

President Hamid Karzai

President Hamid Karzai, derided by the Americans and their British camp followers, deserves high praise for the way in which Afghan democratic institutions have been nurtured, ethnic, sectarian and religious pluralism respected and the state and educational institutions developed, in his 11 years as President. Even the miniscule Sikh and Hindu communities are now represented in Parliament.

Role of US - post 2014


There are understandable suspicions in Afghanistan about the future American role after they end their combat operations in December 2014. Recognising their economic and military vulnerabilities, Afghans realise that they will have to conclude a security pact with the Americans, giving the Americans more than half a dozen air bases, if they are to secure American and western economic and military assistance. It will require at least 10 years of relative peace for the Afghans to become economically self-reliant, by developing their agricultural and mineral potential. What is most worrying for the Afghans is the American policy of supplying their armed forces only weapons with limited firepower, while denying them artillery, tanks and other heavy weaponry, which they possessed earlier, but were destroyed by the Americans shortly after they arrived. This is a source of deep anger and anguish as Afghanistan's ill-equipped armed forces are taking huge casualties as they confront the Pakistanbacked Taliban. American policies are widely seen as a deliberate ploy to force the Afghans to reconcile with the Pakistan-backed Taliban and Haqqani network with Pakistani "facilitation".

Feeling of a Afghan for Pakistan and India

While the Afghans are seeking good neighbourly relations with Pakistan, the overwhelming view is that there will be no change in Pakistan's malevolence in the near future. In contrast there is huge admiration and affection for India with public opinion polls indicating that India is the most highly regarded country, by 74 per cent of Afghans polled. Ninety-one per cent of Afghans polled have an unfavourable view of Pakistan, with 58 per cent regarding the Taliban as the biggest danger to their country even when including local warlords, drug smugglers and the US. India's economic assistance and political non-interference have played a crucial role in this. But this favourable perception is slowly changing, primarily because of India's refusal to provide any military equipment to the Afghan army, which has deliberately been kept inadequately equipped.

Role of Russia and Iran from Indian point of view !

With Russia now poised for a larger economic role and ready to supply military equipment on commercial terms (something the Afghans cannot afford), it is time to review our approach of dovetailing our policies almost totally with those of the US and worrying needlessly about Pakistani reactions to our policies, which are, in any case malevolent, and will remain so. New Delhi must shed its pusillanimity on relations with Afghanistan. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should personally get President Putins concurrence for transferring military equipment of Soviet origin like Indias older T 62/T 55 tanks and MiG 21/23 fighters to Afghanistan. It is also shocking that while we have supplied 105 mm Field Guns and Howitzers to Myanmar, we are seeking every conceivable excuse to refrain from doing so to Afghanistan. Arms transfers have to be complemented by an institutionalised tripartite India-Russian-Afghanistan dialogue on security issues so that proposals for promoting security cooperation are expeditiously implemented.

There is also need to reach out to Iran, activating the India-IranAfghanistan tripartite dialogue on the development of Chahbahar port and road communications between Iran and Afghanistan.

Any Indian visiting Afghanistan cannot but be proud of the sterling role of our diplomats who live barricaded, under a heavy security cover. Particular tributes need to be paid to successive Ambassadors Vivek Katju, Rakesh Sood, Jayant Prasad, Gautam Mukhopadhyay, Amar Sinha and their diplomatic colleagues, military staff and the ITBP security personnel. Likewise, the role of our diplomats living in a challenging environment in Kandahar, Jalalabad, Herat and Mazar-e-Sharif deserves high praise. These are all individuals who have soldiered on bravely, leading spartan lives, away from their families, in the face terrorist threats. Similar tributes have to be paid to all those engineers, doctors and construction workers who have done India proud in Afghanistan. Those who have sacrificed their lives in this effort should have their

names engraved on the premises of Indias new Chancery building. Their selflessness should spur others to join the effort to make Afghanistan and our neighbourhood free from the scourge of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.

Decoding the Lehman Brothers Crisis -->> Leverages !!

On 15 September 2013, the world will mark the fifth anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc, one of the largest investment banks in the US. In 2008, the collapse triggered a global financial crisis. One of the biggest reasons behind the financial meltdown in general and the collapse of Lehman in particular was high leverage.

What is leverage?

Businesses and individuals do not always invest their own money. They use various types of debt instruments to fund their business or investment. In the financial world, this is known as leverage. Lets say, a company has Rs.100 worth of shareholders capital and it wants to expand its business, which needs another Rs.100 worth of investment. There are two ways of raising this capitalthrough equity or debt. If the company raises equity capital, the shareholder base will increase and the earnings per share (EPS) will go down. But if it raises money through debt, the EPS will remain intact. In fact, the EPS will go up as soon as the new investment starts generating returns. However, at the same time, the company will have to service the debt taken and the overall risk will go up.

Reasons and consequences


Businesses generally use leverage to enhance profitability, but too much debt can also become an existential threat for many. This is exactly what happened in the run up to the 2008 financial crisis. Both the household sector and the financial world leveraged themselves excessively in the developed world. While individuals were buying housing properties with borrowed money and had no ability to repay, the banks and financial institutions were leveraging themselves to accumulate junk bonds and derivative instruments based on the housing loans, among other things.

As the property prices started falling, homeowners started defaulting and, suddenly, there were no takers for those junk bonds. As a result, inter-bank lending froze and the entire financial world came to a virtual standstill.

It was reported that at the time of bankruptcy, Lehman Brothers had leveraged itself 44 times. Simply put, for every $1 of capital, it had a debt of $44. At such high level of leverage, just about 2% change in asset prices can wipe out the entire capital. Interestingly, Lehman Brothers was not the first entity to operate at such a high leverage ratio. Long-Term Capital Management, a hedge fund with two Nobel laureates on board, had to be rescued in 1998 because of highly leveraged positions.

The bottom line Firms take debt to enhance shareholders returns and it is not always a bad thing. However, it is important to know the optimal level of leverage a company can withstand. Too much debt can also destroy shareholders wealth.
Kaesng Industrial Region (KIR) --->> Current World Geography !!!

Kaesng Industrial Region (KIR) is a special administrative industrial region of North Korea (DPRK). It was formed in 2002. Its most notable feature is the Kaesng Industrial Park, operated as a collaborative economic development with South Korea (ROK).

The park is located ten kilometres (six miles) north of the Korean Demilitarized Zone, an hour's drive from Seoul, with direct road and rail access to South Korea. The park allows South Korean companies to employ cheap labour that is educated, skilled, and fluent in Korean, whilst providing North Korea with an important source of foreign currency.

As of April 2013, 123 South Korean companies were employing approximately 53,000 DPRK workers and 800 ROK staff. Their wages, totalling some $90 million each year, had been paid directly to the North Korean government.

At times of tension between North and South Korea, southern access to the Industrial Park has been restricted. On 3 April 2013, during the 2013 Korean crisis, North Korea blocked access to the region to all South Korean citizens. On 8 April 2013, the North Korean government removed all 53,000 North Korean workers from the Kaesong industrial park, which effectively shut down all activities. On 15 August 2013, both countries agreed that the industrial park should be reopened.

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