Detailed Solution Model Test 10 General Study Paper I

1. The monitored ambient air quality data indicates that the levels of Sulphur Dioxide and Oxides of Nitrogen are within the notified ambient air quality norms. However, on certain occasions, the levels of fine particulate matter (PM 10) exceed the prescribed norms in many cities including Delhi. 2. The Eco-cities project focuses on protection of environmental resources like water bodies, forest etc., improving infrastructure and sanitary conditions in the towns and creating aesthetic environs. The programme was initiated to bring in visible environmental improvement in the small and medium towns. Six towns, viz. Vrindavan, Tirupati, Puri, Ujjain, Kottayam and Thanjavoor were taken under first phase of Eco-cities programme. 3. The Union Government recently asked the States to prepare a below poverty line (BPL) list by March 2012, census for which is now on, so that the needy are readied to enjoy the benefits to be rolled out under the 12thFive Year Plan. In this regard, there is a difference of opinion regarding the criteria fixed by the Centre. The Centre is being criticised for allegedly taking artificially low poverty systems while the States are keen to project higher levels of poverty for higher inflow of funds. The Centre has cleared its position that the 13 exclusion and five inclusion criteria are non-negotiable. However, the Centre is willing to consider giving additional weightage to some of the seven deprivation indicators, all of which are on an even level as of now. In a bid to sort out these differences, an advisory committee under Abhijit Sen was set up. It is to decide on the robustness of the exclusion and inclusion criteria. Leading sociologists, economists and civil right activists are its members. 4. According to the recently released Annual Health Survey results of nine states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Orissa and Chhattisgarh - during July 2010-March 2011, sex ratio at birth and in all ages in rural areas is better than in urban areas. These 9 states which account for about 48 per cent of the total population in the country, are the high focus states in view of their relatively higher fertility and mortality indicators and six districts of the eight empowered Action Group States are reported to have attained the UN Millennium Development Goal by reducing the infant mortality rate to 28. This UN target was to be achieved by 2015. 5. The Union Cabinet under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh recently approved a proposal of Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region for introduction of a new Central Sector Plan Scheme titled "Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources" which intends to make funds available for projects which are critical to the development of the north eastern region and are in accordance with national priorities. 6.

7. The fly ash utilization notification was issued in September 1999 to regulate the disposal of fly ash and ensure its proper utilization. Restriction was imposed to the extent that all brick kilns within the radius of 50 kms from coal/lignite based thermal power plants should use 25 per cent fly ash while making the bricks. A second notification making amendments was issued in August 2003 increasing the radius from the thermal power plants to 100 kms 8. Against the backdrop of the controversial Antrix-Devas deal, government recently asked Space Commission to regularly review the functioning of ISRO and its commercial arm Antrix. In order to facilitate co-ordination between the DoS and Antrix, a coordination management committee headed by Secretary, DoS was set up. The Antrix Board was also reconstituted with the appointment of full time Chairman-cum-Managing Director. V S Hegde, scientific secretary at ISRO, has been appointed the CMD Antrix Corporation. 9. Railways has decided to gradually opt for liquefied natural gas on a large scale in a phase-wise manner as part of its effort to reduce diesel consumption, green house gas emissions and ensure major operational savings. The Indian Railways and the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) recently signed a MoU to explore the potential of LNG in a substantial manner in locomotives, factories and workshops. Railways is currently dependent on refined petroleum products such as high speed diesel for locomotives and furnace oil in workshops and factories. At the moment, it uses approximately 250

crore litre of high speed diesel for locomotives annually. 10. The government will soon set up National Automotive Board, NAB to act as a thinktank for the government and promote research and development activities in the sector. It will have a larger role in developing skills for the growing automobile sector, especially for the growth of hybrid and electric vehicles in the country and will have members from the Department of Heavy Industry, Planning Commission and from various ministries, including road transport and highways, science and technology, environment and forests. Besides, there would be scientists and industry representatives on the board. 11. An Autobiography also known as Toward Freedom, (1936) is an autobiographical book written by the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru while he was in prison. It ran nine editions in the first year alone. He wrote the book to explore how and why he had ended up taking the path of civil disobedience that in turn led to his imprisonment. Nehru starts his history with how his ancestors had to flee Kashmir, and then goes on to tell about his own life, with a particular emphasis on the parts of his life that had brought him to this point in time. His entire life history, from even before his father was born, seems to have led him naturally to where he was. As a child he seems quiet, observing, and thoughtful. As a (very tall) grownup he is still thoughtful. One sees his admiration for humble people, and his aversion to any form of violence very early in the book. 12. Dadabhai Naoroji was born into a leading Parsi family in Bombay. After an outstanding career at Elphinstone College, Naoroji served briefly as professor of mathematics at Elphinstone. In 1855 Naoroji became a partner in an important Parsi commercial firm in London, and in 1862 he set up his own commercial house there. In the same year he founded the influential East Indian Association to educate the English public on Indian affairs. In 1873 Naoroji accepted the difficult post of Divan, or chief minister, of the prominent Indian princely state of Baroda but left it fairly soon for an elected seat in the Bombay Municipal Corporation. It was here that his public service career truly began. After several busy years in the public life of the province, Naoroji published his famous indictment of British exploitation of India, Poverty and Un-British Rule in India. This book guaranteed his position in the very front rank of the Indian nationalist movement. In 1885 Lord Reay, the governor of Bombay, appointed him to the Legislative Council, and in the same year Naoroji played a leading role in the creation of the Indian National Congress, the major organization promoting Indian nationalism. A year later he was elected president of the Indian National Congress at its second session. During the same year he was one of a very few prominent Indians chosen to testify before the Royal Commission on the Public Services in India. In 1892 Naoroji was elected to the British Parliament on the Liberal ticket from Central Finsbury. He was the first Indian to win a seat in the House of Commons. A year later he was, for the second time, elected to the presidency of the Indian National Congress. In 1895 Naoroji lost his seat in Parliament, but in 1896 he was appointed to the influential Royal Commission on Indian Expenditures, to whose labors he made a significant contribution. The report of the

commission was important in shaping Indian fiscal practices. In 1906 Naoroji's public service was given special mark when he was elected to a third term as president of the National Congress. Naoroji's probity, care in the use of evidence, painstaking research in Indian economic conditions, and persistent advocacy of the Indian cause were the hallmarks of his active and impressive career. 13. Late Shri Madhavan Nair, the founder of 'Mathrubhumi' was the close associate of Mahatma Gandhi in cleansing the social stain, which was prevalent in the then Kerala province.While Mahatma Gandhi was visiting Kerala in 1934, he fondly remembered the personality and the contribution of Shri Madhavan Nair. While unveiling the portrait in 1934 of Shri Madhavan Nair at Kozhikode he described him as a symbol of Humility and Sacrifice. Not only Gandhiji, but also his wife Kasturba exclaimed that she was struck by the indelible impression of Shri Madhavan nair, his simplicy and firm personality. Mahatma Gandhi had great admiration for Shri Madhavan Nair's writings. He observed the following statement and I quote, 'Madhavan Nair's letters were compact, nice, neat and briefest possible. He explained his ideas and thoughts with precision by using few words'. 'As a co-worker in the cause of Harijan Upliftment his acts were soaked with deep sacrifice, repentance and reparation'. Mahatma Gandhi said, 'If you were to recall Shri Madhavan Nair who had died physically, but lives in the memories of many not only because of his intellectual gift but also because of virtues which everyone of us to cultivate'. 14. Sarojini Naidu, who was a patriot, freedom fighter, poet, orator and a crusader for women’s rights, was born in 1879 and her 132nd birth anniversary was observed recently in India. In fact Sarojini Naidu deserves to be remembered particularly by the younger generation, who perhaps may not have known her song and poetry. It was Mahatma Gandhi who called her ‘Bharat Kokila’. Sarojini Naidu Jawaharlal Nehru paying a tribute in Parliament after her demise stated that she infused artistry and poetry into the national struggle for ‘Swaraj’. Her brother Harindranath Chattopadhyaya observed that she was called the ‘Nightingale of India’ not because of her poetry, ‘but because of her extraordinary oratory which poured through her like music, silver shot with gold cataracting from the summits of sheer inspiration’. In 1925, Naidu became President of the Indian National Congress and was for many years. She was a member of the Working Committee. In 1931, she went to England as one of the delegates to the Round Table conference. In 1932, she was a member of the Indian Government’s delegation to South Africa. In 1947, she presided over the Asian Relations Conference held in Delhi. Further, she was engaged in various public activities and causes. In 1917 she headed a delegation to Whitehall to espouse the cause of women’s educational, social and political rights. This was followed by another visit as a member of the Indian Home Rule League to England where she spoke of the crisis in Punjab and Khilafat Movement in 1924. She visited Kenya and South Africa and spoke against white racism. In 1928, she was a delegate to the Pan Pacific Women’s Conference in Honolulu and toured US and Canada. She accompanied Gandhi in 1931 to the round table conference at Whitehall. She was a founder of the All India Women’s Conference in 1927 and Lady Irwins College in New Delhi in 1933.

In the field of poetry, Naidu achieved abiding fame while she was in England she published the first volume of a verse which was her immediate recognition and the the patronage of Arthur Symonds and Edmund Gosse. She also published in all three volumes of poems: ‘The Golden Threshold’, the ‘Bird of Time’ and ‘The Broken Wing’. Her poems have been translated in all important Indian and many European languages. The musical cadence of her poetry won her the title ‘The Nightingale of India’. 15. and 16. Warren Hastings was appointed the Governor of Bengal in 1772. Bengal was now a state of disorder. Warren Hastings took over the task of reforming the administration of Bengal. A Board of revenue comprising of the Governor and a council was to manage the revenue. The entire responsibility of internal administration was taken over by the company servants. To bring forth a reform in the affairs of revenue Warren Hastings introduced a five year settlement of land revenue in 1772. But owing to several defects this system was scrapped in 1776. Cornwallis resorted to annual settlement under the supervision by a committee of Revenue. He was thus unsuccessful in his attempt to reform the revenue system in Bengal. Warren Hastings built a system of justice in 1772 at the district level by setting up a Diwani Adalat and a Faujdari Adalat. This was based on the Mughal model. In 1773 the Regulating Act was passed which provided for the setting up of a supreme court to try all British subjects. He attempted to codify the Muslim and Hindu laws .It was titled 'Code of Gentoo Laws'. In the field of commerce five custom houses were set up. He brought regulations to prevent misuse of dastaks, check the exploitation of weavers by company agents and developed trade relations with Bhutan and Tibet. Warren Hasting faced an uphill task in dealing with the Indian rulers. He faced stiff resistance from the Marathas in the north and Hyder Ali in the south. In 1773 he concluded the treaty of Banaras with the Nawab of Oudh appeasing the emperor and getting financial gains thus blocking alliances between the Marathas and the Nawab of Oudh. Warren Hastings's diplomacy in participating the Rohilla War 1774 was a strategy of his to include Rohilkhand in the company's jurisdiction. 17. Cornwallis, (Lord) Charles (1738-1805) Governor General of the fort william in Bengal from 12 September 1786 to 10 October 1793. Under the pitt's india act of 1784, Cornwallis was appointed the Governor General of the Fort William in Bengal with a specific instructions that he would eradicate corruption and establish good government there in Bengal. He was particularly directed to stop the ad hoc character of revenue administration and establish a Permanent Settlement. Lord Cornwallis took no time in cleansing the corruption-ridden administration. He separated the company trade from administration and established a highly paid and professionally disciplined civil service to run the administration. He reorganised the administration both at the centre as well as at district level. A Board of Revenue endowed with wide range of powers and with one of the members of the Council as its president, was set up to lead his reform programme. The district officials were placed under the direct supervision and control of the Board of Revenue. A new authority, called Board of Trade, was established to look after the trading activities of the company independent of civil administration. Lord Cornwallis attached highest priority to the administration of justice and police. A four-tiered judiciary was established

beginning with the munsef adalat at the lowest level and the sadr adalat at the top. The two intermediate tiers were zila adalat and the court of circuit. Every court had two wings- diwani adalat or civil court and nizamat adalat or criminal court. The highest court had thus two divisions- Sadr Diwani Adalat and Sadr Nizamat Adalat. A regular police system was developed to help the judiciary in administering justice and to maintain law and order in the country. 18. Nationwide air quality is monitored regularly under National Air Quality Monitoring Programme (NAMP) through a network of air quality monitoring comprising 365 operating stations at 141 cities/towns in 26 States and five Union Territories of the country. Under NAMP, four air pollutants, viz., Sulphur Dioxide (SO2). Oxides of Nitrogen as NO2, Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) and Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM or PM10), have been identified for regular monitoring at all the locations. The monitoring of meteorological parameters such as wind speed and direction, relative humidity and temperature has also been integrated with the monitoring of air quality. 19. The Ganga Action Plan initiated in 1985 is the first river action plan. Since GAP phase I did not cover the pollution load of Ganga fully, GAP phase II was taken up which included Ganga and its four tributaries, i.e. Damodar, Gomti, Manahanda and Yamuna. Works under Ganga Action Plan phase II covers 60 towns along the main stream of river Ganga at a sanctioned cost of _ 635.66 crore. 20. The Scheme of National Natural Resource Management System (NNRMS) involves utilization of remote sensing technology for accurate inventory of resources such as land, water, forests, minerals, oceans, etc. and to utilize this information for monitoring changes in ecological system. 21.

22. The National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), a subordinate organization of the Ministry, was opened to public in 1978 to create public awareness in preservation and conservation of environment and nature. Over the years, the Museum has extended its activities in different regions of the country and set up three Regional Museums—one each at Mysore (Karnataka), Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) and Bhubaneswar (Orissa). These museums have been established to depict flora, fauna, forests, wildlife and other environmental aspects of the respective regions. Rajiv Gandhi Regional Museum of Natural History is being established at Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan. The Ministry has approved the setting up of the 5th Regional Museum of Natural History near Gangtok to extend the Museum's activities to the North-Eastern Region which is a hot spot of biodiversity. 23. The present system of forestry education and training is tailored to produce skilled forest managers so as to manage, protect and conserve the forests in consonance with National Forest Policy, 1988, National Forestry Action Programme, 1999 etc. The activities related to forestry education, training and extension are performed by the different institutes of the Ministry like Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy (IGNFA), Dehradun; Directorate of Forest Education (DFE), Dehradun; Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), Dehradun; Forest Survey of India (FSI), Dehradun; Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM), Bhopal; Indian Plywood Industries Research and Training Institute (IPIRTI), Bengaluru, etc.

24. The Government of India has set up a new company called AGRINDIA. It is fully owned by the GoI in the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE). The principal functions of this company are: 1.Protection and management of agriculture related intellectual properties 2.Production, marketing and popularization of ICAR's products, processes and technologies 3.Providing skilled services from ICAR, such as consultancies, contract research etc. 4.Setting up research and development farms 5.Setting up production units outside India, especially in Africa and in the Asia-Pacific region; and perhaps other regions of the world such as Latin America 6.Public-private partnerships in research, education and other capacity building in agriculture and allied sectors. 25 and 26. CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE The Ministry started the scheme in 1983 to strengthen awareness, research and training in priority areas of Environmental science and management. Ten Centres of Excellence set up so far by the Ministry with a view to strengthening awareness, research and training in priority areas of environmental science and management are as under: _ Centre for Environment Education (CEE), Ahmedabad _ CPR Environmental Education Centre (CPREEC), Chennai _ Centre for Ecological Sciences (CES), Bengaluru _ Centre of Mining Environment (CME), Dhanbad _ Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON), Coimbatore _ Centre for Environment Management of Degraded Ecosystem (CEMDE), Delhi _ Centre of Excellence in Environmental Economics at Madras School of Economics, Chennai. _ Foundation for Revitalization of Local Health Traditions (FRLHT), Bengaluru. _ The Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute (TBGRI), Thiruvananthapuram. _ Centre for Animals and Environment CARTMAN, Bengaluru. 27. Tax-free zone status in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand were recently withdrawn following opposition by different states. Instead of tax free zones, the Centre is now considering to create special economic zones in backward districts. However, renewal of tax free zone status of Sikkim, which is expiring in 2017, will be reviewed on the basis of the Socio-Economic conditions of the state at that time. 28. India's economic growth was recently projected to be between 8.5 per cent and 8.7 per cent during the 12th Plan period by the Planning Commission. 29. Pseudomonas is a genus of gamma proteobacteria, belonging to the larger family of pseudomonads. Since the mid 1980s, certain members of the Pseudomonas genus have been applied to cereal seeds or applied directly to soils as a way of preventing the growth or establishment of crop pathogens.

30. India’s Public Distribution System (PDS) with a network of 4.78 Lakh Fair Price Shops (FPS) is perhaps the largest retail system of its type in the world. Since 1951 public distribution of food grains has been retained as deliberate social policy by India with the objectives of: 1.Providing food grains and other essential items to vulnerable sections of the society at reasonable (subsidized) prices 2.To put an indirect check on the open market prices of various items and 3.To attempt socialization in the matter of distribution of essential commodities PDS is an important constituent of the strategy for poverty eradication and is intended to serve as a safety netfor the poor whose number is more than 33 Crores and are nutritionally at risk. PDS is operated under the joint responsibility of the Central and the State Governments. The Central Government has taken the responsibility for procurement, storage, transportation and bulk allocation of food grains, etc. 31.

32. The Nature of Fluid Friction Fluid friction is observed in the flow of liquids and gases. Its causes are similar to those responsible for friction between solid surfaces, for it also depends on the chemical nature of the fluid and the nature of the surface over which the fluid is flowing. The tendency of the liquid to resist flow, i.e., its degree of viscosity, is another important factor. Fluid friction is affected by increased velocities, and the modern streamline design of airplanes and automobiles is the result of engineers' efforts to minimize fluid friction while retaining speed and protecting structure. Fluid friction is the friction between a solid object as it moves through a liquid or a gas. The drag of air on an airplane or of water on a swimmer are two examples of fluid friction. 33. MEDINI PURASKAR YOJANA This award is given to encourage writing of original books in Hindi on the subjects related to the environment. Four writers were honoured for the year 2008. Other awards include : E.K. Janaki Ammal National Award on Taxonomy; Rajiv Gandhi Conservation Award; Amrita Devi Bishnoi Wildlife Protection Award, etc.

34. Total internal reflection is an optical phenomenon happens when a ray of light strikes a medium bound; at an angle larger than a particular critical angle respect to the normal to the surface. If the refractive index is lower on the other side of the boundary, light can pass through and all of the light is reflected. The critical angle is the angle of incidence above which the total internal reflection occurs. Total intern reflection takes place when light travels from optical! denser medium to optically rarer medium. Refractive index of diamond is very high (2.417) whereas refractive index of glass is only in between (1.5 to 1.6), whereas rest all options there is no possibility of total intern reflection because refractive index of water (1.33) an air (1.0008) is less than refractive index of glass. 35. A unit of radioactivity, equal to the amount of a radioactive isotope that decays at the rate of 3.7 × 10 to the power 10 disintegrations per second. 36. Over the past 1500 years, the characterisation of Shashthi gradually shifted toward that of a

benevolent and protective figure. In Banabhatta's 7th century work Harshacharita, Shashthi is called

Jatamatr ("mother of the born one"), while the Kadambari by the same author calls her Bahuputrika,

meaning "having many children". Shashthi's evolution mirrors that of the demoness Jara of the

Mahabharata and a similar Buddhist goddess, Hariti: all of them are characterised in early texts as

malevolent goddesses, but over the course of time these deities transform from devourers of children

into their saviours and protectors.

Initially a devourer of children, Hariti was transformed by the Buddha into their protector. In

contemporary iconography, Hariti, like Shashthi, is pictured surrounded with children and is affiliated

with a cat.

37. Flywheel energy storage (FES) works by accelerating a rotor (flywheel) to a very high speed and maintaining the energy in the system as rotational energy. When energy is extracted from the system, the flywheel's rotational speed is reduced as a consequence of the principle of conservation of energy; adding energy to the system correspondingly results in an increase in the speed of the flywheel. Most FES systems use electricity to accelerate and decelerate the flywheel, but devices that directly use mechanical energy are being developed. Advanced FES systems have rotors made of high strength carbon filaments, suspended by magnetic bearings, and spinning at speeds from 20,000 to over 50,000 rpm in a vacuum enclosure. Such flywheels can come up to speed in a matter of minutes — much quicker than some other forms of energy storage. The importance of energy storage devices has been increased due to the demand of using energy more efficiently as peoples are getting more concerned about the resource or environmental problems. For example, the surplus energy from windmill electricity generation should be stored to somewhere; otherwise, the energy will be just wasted. Flywheel energy storage systems are one of energy storage devices. They are nothing but rechargeable batteries. They store energy mechanically in the flywheel rotor by rotating the rotor while as chemical batteries stores energy electrically. When we want to use the stored energy in the rotor, a generator is used to convert mechanical energy to electrical energy. Since the flywheel system is a very efficient energy storage device,

it can be used for various applications. Hybrid electric vehicles could be one example of flywheel applications. Hybrid vehicles contain an power unit such as internal combustion engines and electric motors and an energy storage unit such as flywheels or chemical batteries. When vehicles are cruising at a constant speed like 60 mph, relying on only internal combustion engines can be sufficiently efficient way. However, when we need to accelerate vehicles, internal combustion engines tend to use more fuel than needed. Therefore, if we use both internal combustion engine power and auxiliary power from flywheels or chemical batteries, we can save considerable amount of energy to get to a certain speed. Currently, chemical batteries are usually used for hybrid vehicles, however, flywheel systems can substitute chemical batteries for the following reasons. Flywheel systems are not sensitive to temperature since they are operating in a vacuum containment. Therefore, the hybrid vehicle with flywheel systems can run without any problem at very cold or hot areas. And, flywheel systems can store more energy per system weight compared to chemical batteries, which enables the hybrid vehicle to have more space and less weight while performing same as the hybrid vehicle with large size of chemical batteries. 38. COALFIELDS OF ORISSA Out of 57 Gondwana and 14 Tertiary coalfields considered for the national inventory of the coal, Orissa state has only two-intact geologically only one and half coalfields. Yet its share in the reserve so far established in the country amounts to 23.6%. The famous coal bearing basins are Ib-River coalfields & Talcher coal fields and as a sequel to which these coal fields have been added advantage of being accorded most favored coal fields status by nature as far as qurriable potentiality is concerned. A substantial qurriable reserve has been located in northern part of Ib-River coalfield (Gopalpur area) and towards its south-eastern extremity in Khinda-Talabira area. Occurrence of coal seems has also been reported from Raniganj Formation of Ib-River coalfield very recently. The importance of Orissa coalfields is further enhanced due to their proximity to the east coast. Gondwana Coals occur in India mainly along the three master Gondwana basins, viz. Damodar Valley , Son-Mahanadi Valley and Gondwana Valley . Coalfields of Orissa constitute the southern part of the Son-Mahanadi Valley basin. Except the Ib-River coalfield and Talcher coalfield, there are Four more Gondwana basins in Orissa: a) ATHAGARH basin b) GAISILAT basin c) ATHAMALIK basin d) KATRANJIA basin. (h) UPPER GONDWANA COALS It includes coalfields of Gujarat . Sub-bituminous type of coal is found in association with Upper Gondwana sediments (Cretaceous) in the district of Kutch, Surendranagar and Mehsana district.

Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited (NLC) is a government-owned lignite mining and power generating company in India. NLC operates the largest open-pit lignite mines in India, presently mining 24 MT of lignite and has an installed capacity of 2,740 MW of electricity. It also supplies a large quantity of sweet water to Chennai from the artesian aquifers in the lignite mines. On 11 April 2011, it joined the elite group of Navratna Companies. In 1956 NLC was formed as a Corporate body. Neyveli Thermal Power Station is a power plant situated near lignite mines of Neyveli. It consists of two units capable of producing 600 MW and 1,470 MW respectively. It is operated by Neyveli Lignite Corporation. Neyveli Thermal Power Station is the South Asian first and only lignite fired thermal plant, and also the first pit-head power station in India. Kalol is a city and a municipality in Panchmahal district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Kalol is located at 22.606°N 73.463°E. It has an average elevation of 100 metres (328 feet). It is famous for its oil field. Gujarat is rich in mineral oil. The mineral oil is found at Ankleswar, Khambat and Kalol areas. The first oil strike was making near village Lunez. Oil is also found at Nawgam, Sanand Kadi, Aliabet, Gandhar and Badswer. Khamba gas field produces about 5 lakhs cubic metric gas per day. The main mineral resources of this district are laterite and bauxite. In addition to this chine clay is also found here. In the North west of Lohardaga the mountain part spread like wall is a vast godown of bauxite. In addition to the petty contractors, two main aluminum companies’ entract bauxite from this area expert says that bauxite is spread in this area for 60-70 years. 39. GAIL (India) has announced the successful commissioning of the Dabhol LNG terminal located at Ratnagiri in Maharashtra, around 340 km south of Mumbai. This 5 million tonnes capacity LNG terminal has been set up with an investment of Rs.4,000 crore and will go a long way in meeting the demand of user industries in Maharashtra. Gas from this terminal would be supplied to southern states through a pipeline that would be commissioned by the end of this month, GAIL (India) Chairman and Managing Director B. C. Tripathi told journalists in Mumbai after commissioning the LNG terminal. “The Dabhol LNG terminal would serve as a gateway for entry of natural gas to the southern and western parts of the country. GAIL is the commercial operator of the terminal and had arranged commissioning cargo for the terminal in December 2012,” Mr. Tripathi said. 40.

41. Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation ( DICGC) is a subsidiary of Reserve Bank of India. It

was established on 1961 under Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation Act, 1961 for the purpose of providing insurance of deposits and guaranteeing of credit facilities. DICGC insures all bank deposits, such as saving, fixed, current, recurring deposits for up to the limit of Rs. 100,000 of each deposits in a bank

Types of Deposits Covered DICGC insures all bank deposits, such as saving, fixed, current, recurring, etc. except the

following types of deposits.

(i) Deposits of foreign Governments; (ii) Deposits of Central/State Governments; (iii) Inter-bank deposits; (iv) Deposits

of the State Land Development Banks with the State co-operative banks; (v) Any amount due on account of and

deposit received outside India; (vi) Any amount which has been specifically exempted by the corporation with the

previous approval of the RBI.

42. India recently said that the special exemption which India received from the Nuclear Suppliers Group's export rules in September 2008 involved reciprocal commitments and actions by both sides and that the country's nuclear partners must fully honour their commitments in this regard. It is noteworthy that at its plenary in June 2011, the NSG adopted restrictive new rules for ENR exports, including the NPT criterion for such exports. India, Israel and Pakistan have not signed the treaty. 43.To increase consumer awareness, the Government of India launched the ecolabelling scheme known as `Ecomark' in 1991 for easy identification of environmentfriendly products. Any product which is made, used or disposed of in a way that significantly reduces the harm it would otherwise cause the environment could be considered as Environment-Friendly Product. An earthern pot has been chosen as the logo for the Ecomark scheme in India. The familiar earthern pot uses a renewable resource like earth, does not produce hazardous waste and consumes little energy in making. Its solid and graceful form represents both strength and fragility, which also characterizes the eco-system. As a symbol, it puts across its environmental message. Its image has the ability to reach people and can help to promote a greater awareness of the need to be kind to the environment. The logo for the Ecomark Scheme, signifies that the product which carries it does the least damage to the environment. 44. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (26 September 1820 – 29 July 1891), born Ishwar Chandra Bandopadhyay, was an Indian Bengali polymath and a key figure of the Bengal Renaissance. Vidyasagar was a philosopher, academic, educator, writer, translator, printer, publisher, entrepreneur, reformer, and philanthropist. His efforts to simplify and modernize Bengali prose were significant. He also rationalized and simplified the Bengali alphabet and type, which had remained unchanged since Charles Wilkins and Panchanan Karmakar had cut the first (wooden) Bengali type in 1780. He received the title "Vidyasagar" ("Ocean of learning" or "Ocean of knowledge") from the Calcutta Sanskrit College (where he graduated), due to his excellent performance in Sanskrit studies and philosophy. In Sanskrit, Vidya means knowledge or learning and Sagar means ocean or sea. This title was mainly given for his vast knowledge in all subjects which was compared to the vastness of the ocean. Vidyasagar took the initiative in proposing and pushing through the Widow Remarriage Act XV of 1856 (26 July) in India. He also demonstrated that the system of polygamy without restriction was not sanctioned by the ancient Hindu Shastras Vidyasagar reconstructed the Bengali alphabet and reformed Bengali typography into an alphabet (actually abugida) of twelve vowels and forty consonants. Vidyasagar contributed significantly to Bengali and Sanskrit literature.Vidyasagar's "Barna Porichoy" is still considered a classic.

45. Decomposition and disintegration of rock due to chemical reaction is called chemical weathering wherein the mineral of the rock weather away. Water vapour and water activate several types of weathering.<br>Hydrolysis of potassium feldspar with carbonic acid in water produce kaolinite, a clay. 46. State/UT Canals Tanks Tube

wells Other wells

Other sources

Total

Andhra Pradesh

1 727 729 384 1 027 162 4 029

Gujarat 557 26 552 1 504 3 2 642

Maharashtra 530 385 - 1 348 175 2 470 Tamil Nadu 851 231 174 1 027 17 2 698 47. Nokrek Biosphere reserve located in Meghalaya lies in the region of tropical wet evergreen forest. Nandadevi Biosphere reserve is located in Uttarakhand and the river Pindar flows through this Biosphere. 48. India has met the following compliance dates as per the control schedule of the Montreal Protocol:- Freeze of CFC production and consumption in July 1999 at 22588 ODP tons and 6681 ODP tons respectively. Freeze of halon production and consumption on 1 January 2002. Total phase-out of halon production and consumption in 2003. 50 per cent reduction of CFC production and consumption in 2005 (production from 22588 MT to 11240 MT and consumption from 6681 MT to 1640 MT). 85 per cent reduction of CTC production and consumption in 2005 (production from 11525 MT to 1508 MT and consumption from 11537 MT to 1493 MT). Accelerated phase-out of productions of CFCS from 1 August 2008, 17 months earlier than the phase out schedule of the Montreal Protocol. Phase out of consumption of CFCs in all applications as on 1 January 2010 except in manufacturing of Metered Dose Inhalers for Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients. 49. SNAILS MENACE IN KERALA Giant African Snails (Achatina fulica Bowtich) are infesting wide areas in Kerala. The snails have caused awidespread impact on agriculture and health of the people in countries where they have reached. Among the 33 member countries in the Asia-Pacific Forest Invasive Species Network, it was in India that the infestation was reported this year. People have been advised not to consume the meat of the snails as they are carriers of eosinophilic meningitis, a lethal disease. Experts have suggested the complete eradication of the snails on Wellingdon Island, Kochi, which is the major pathway of spread of the snail through imported timber. The timber depot on the Island functions as a hub for the spread of the snails

through the timber mills of Kerala. 50. Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports recently announced the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award for the year 2010 to following four people: · 1. Reena Kaushal Dharmshaktu and Mamta Sodha- land adventure 2. Dilip Donde- water adventure 3. Col Balwant Singh Sandhu- life time achievement award (posthumously) 4. Ms Dharmshaktu- first Indian women to ski 900 Km from coast of Antarctica to the South Pole. 51. The Contingency Fund of India established under Article 267 (1) of the Constitution is in the nature of an imprest (money maintained for a specific purpose) which is placed at the disposal of the President to enable him/her to make advances to meet urgent unforeseen expenditure, pending authorization by the Parliament. Approval of the legislature for such expenditure and for withdrawal of an equivalent amount from the Consolidated Fund is subsequently obtained to ensure that the corpus of the Contingency Fund remains intact. The corpus for Union Government at present is Rs 500 crore (Rs 5 billion) and is enhanced from time to time by the Union Legislature. The Ministry of Finance operates this Fund on behalf of the President of India. Similarly, Contingency Fund of each State Government is established under Article 267(2) of the Constitution – this is in the nature of an imprest placed at the disposal of the Governor to enable him/her to make advances to meet urgent unforeseen expenditure, pending authorization by the State Legislature. Approval of the Legislature for such expenditure and for withdrawal of an equivalent amount from the Consolidated Fund is subsequently obtained, whereupon the advances from the Contingency Fund are recouped to the Fund. The corpus varies across states and the quantum is decided by the State legislatures. 52. A method by which the market capitalization of an index's underlying companies is calculated. Free-float methodology market capitalization is calculated by taking the equity's price and multiplying it by the number of shares readily available in the market. Instead of using all of the shares outstanding like the full-market capitalization method, the free-float method excludes locked-in shares such as those held by promoters and governments. Calculated as: The free-float method is seen as a better way of calculating market capitalization because it provides a more accurate reflection of market movements. When using a free-float methodology, the resulting market capitalization is smaller than what would result from a full-market capitalization method. Free-float methodology has been adopted by most of the world's major indexes, including the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500. 53. Mumbai is located on the western coast of India. It receives rainfall more than 200 cm whereas Pune is located in the rain shadow area of the Western Ghats so it receives only 60 cm of rainfall.

54. In India Natural rubber is produced in Southern India and Andaman and Nicobar islands and also produced in north eastern region especially in Tripura. Coffee growing states of India: States: Production quintals/hectare Karnataka 10.3 Kerala 7.9 Tamil Nadu 7.1 Andhara Pradesh 1.7 55. Hydro Power India is blessed with a rich hydropower potential. In the exploitable potential terms, India ranks fifth in the world. Less than 25% of the potential has been developed as of now. A large hydro has four main advantages. It is a source of green energy. It has low variable cost. It is grid friendly. It can also can sub serve other purposes by irrigation, flood control, etc. India has 3 major rivers: the Indus, the Brahmaputra, and the Ganga. It also has three major river systems?central Indian, west flowing rivers of south India, and east flowing rivers of south India having a total of 48 river basins. The total potential from these river basins is 600TWh (TerraWatt Hours) of electricity. 56. India's electric power sector has grown substantially since independence from 1 362 MW (megawatt) in 1947 to 1 23 668 MW as on 31st January 2006, representing a CAGR (cumulative annual growth rate) of 7.9%. Despite growth in the installed capacity, the per capita consumption of electricity in India is 606 kWh ( kilowatt per hour ), as compared to the world average of 2 429 kWh per capita. As of January 2006, the government (central and state) together accounted for about 89% of the total installed generation capacity with private sector accounting for the remaining 11%. 57. The Archean system form together with the Dharwar's oldest rock system of India. The crystalline metamorphised sediments and gneisses of the Archean system form about two-third of the Penisnular surface and also occur in several localities in the Hemalayas Bengal gniess along with the Khondalites of orissa. They occure in gneisses of Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. In the Peninsula at several localities it is recognised under various names - Bellary gneiss, Hosur gneiss, Arcot gneiss, Cuddapah gneiss etc. 58. Chaimal: Tripura Dafla: Arunachal Pradesh Dharua: Orissa Garasia: Rajasthan 59. Oil intensity - the ratio of oil consumed per unit of GDP- in India is almost three times higher than that of the OECD countries while that of China is a little higher than twice the oil intensity of OECD countries(Integrated Energy Policy, Planning

Commisssion, 2005). However, according to the FICCI estimates of oil intensity based on GDP (on purchasing power parity basis), India and China had the lowest oil intensity across most major developing and developed countries. The oil intensity of the Indian economy has slowed down from 0.05 in 1999 to 0.04 in 2004. 60. Xerophytic vegetation is found in a desert or steppe climate system. This type of vegetation has adapted to extreme droughts and have an extensive root system which allows plants such as succulents, plants that store water to stay alive in a dry season, to stay alive and retain water for months. 61. 1• Every child between the ages of 6 to 14 years has the right to free and compulsory education. This is stated as per the 86th Constitution Amendment Act added Article 21A. The right to education act seeks to give effect to this amendment 2• The government schools shall provide free education to all the children and the schools will be managed by school management committees (SMC). Private schools shall admit at least 25% of the children in their schools without any fee. 3• The National Commission for Elementary Education shall be constituted to monitor all aspects of elementary education including quality. 62. India is both- a Republic and a democratic country. India is democratic as we have elected rulers who work for the people and the people have full right to oppose or change any decision made by the rulers. The government works for the people and not people for the government. India is a republic as the rulers are not hereditary. India has elections every alternate year for various posts and no ruler is chosen if he/she is an heir of the current ruler. 63. Biomass has been one of the main energy sources for the mankind ever since the dawn of civilisation, although its importance dwindled after the expansion in use of oil and coal in the late 19th century. There has been a resurgence of interest in the recent years in biomass energy in many countries considering the benefits it offers. It is renewable, widely available, and carbon-neutral and has the potential to provide significant productive employment in the rural areas. Biomass is also capable of providing firm energy. Estimates have indicated that 15% - 50% of the world?s primary energy use could come from biomass by the year 2050. Currently, about 11% of the world’s primary energy is estimated to be met with biomass. 64.

65. In India, exploration and study of geothermal fields started in 1970. The GSI (Geological Survey of India) has identified 350 geothermal energy locations in the country. The most promising of these is in Puga valley of Ladakh. The estimated potential for geothermal energy in India is about 10000 MW. There are seven geothermal provinces in India : the Himalayas, Sohana, West coast, Cambay, Son-Narmada-Tapi (SONATA), Godavari, and Mahanadi. 66. "Satyameva Jayate" (satyam-eva jayate ) (Literally: "Truth Alone Triumphs") is a Hindu mantra from the ancient scripture Mundaka Upanishad. Upon independence of India, it was adopted as the national motto of India. It is inscribed in Devanagari script at the base of the national emblem. The emblem and words 'Satyameva Jayate' are inscribed on one side of all Indian currency. The emblem is an adaptation of the Lion Capital of Asoka which was erected around 250 BC at Sarnath, near Varanasi in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, but does not contain the motto. The origin of the motto is a well known mantra 3.1.6 from the Mundaka Upanishad. The full mantra as follows: satyameva jayate nanta satyena pantha vitato devayana | yenakramantyayo hyaptakama yatra tat satyasya parama nidhanam Meaning: Truth alone triumphs; not falsehood. Through truth the divine path is spread out by which the sages whose desires have been completely fulfilled, reach where that supreme treasure of Truth resides. 67. Pyrolusite is a mineral consisting essentially of manganese dioxide (MnO2) and is important as an ore of manganese. It is a black, amorphous appearing mineral, often with a granular, fibrous or columnar structure, sometimes forming reniform crusts. It has a metallic luster, a black or bluish-black streak, and readily soils the fingers. The specific gravity is about 4.8. Its name is from the Greek for fire and to wash, in reference to its use as a way to remove tints from glass. 68. Coal State Wise Production In million tonne States 2011-12 2010-11

Chhattisgarh 113.958 113.825 Jharkhand 109.560 108.949 Orissa 105.475 102.565 Madhya Pradesh 71.123 71.104 69. River Catchment Area

Cauvery 87,900 Krishna 2,58,948 Mahanadi 1,41,600 Narmada 98,796

70. The six fundamental rights recognised by the constitution are: 1) Right to equality, including equality before law, prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth, and equality of opportunity in matters of employment, abolition of untouchability and abolition of titles. 2) Right to freedom which includes speech and expression, assembly, association or union, movement, residence, and right to practice any profession or occupation (some of these rights are subject to security of the State, friendly relations with foreign countries, public order, decency or morality, right to life and liberty, right to education, protection in respect to conviction in offences and protection against arrest and detention in certain cases. 3) Right against exploitation, prohibiting all forms of forced labour, child labour and traffic in human beings; 4) Right to freedom of religion, including freedom of conscience and free profession, practice, and propagation of religion, freedom to manage religious affairs, freedom from certain taxes and freedom from religious instructions in certain educational institutes. 5) Cultural and Educational rights preserving Right of any section of citizens to conserve their culture, language or script, and right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice; and 6) Right to constitutional remedies for enforcement of Fundamental Rights. The right to education at elementary level has been made one of the fundamental rights under the Eighty-Sixth Amendment of 2002. 71. Cherrapunji (Sohra) is located on the south side of the Eastern Khasi hills. It has altitude about 1300 m above the mean sea level. 72. Nehru presided over the introduction of a modified, Indian version of state planning and control over the economy. Creating the Planning commission of India, Nehru drew up the first Five-Year Plan in 1951, which charted the government's investments in industries and agriculture. Increasing business and income taxes, Nehru envisaged a mixed economy in which the government would manage strategic industries such as mining, electricity and heavy industries, serving public interest and a check to private enterprise. Nehru pursued land redistribution and launched programmes to build irrigation canals, dams and spread the use of fertilizers to increase agricultural production. He also pioneered a series of community development programs aimed at spreading diverse cottage industries and increasing efficiency into rural India. While encouraging the construction of large dams (which Nehru called the "new temples of

India"), irrigation works and the generation of hydroelectricity, Nehru also launched India's programme to harness nuclear energy. For most of Nehru's term as prime minister, India would continue to face serious food shortages despite progress and increases in agricultural production. Nehru's industrial policies, summarised in the Industrial Policy Resolution of 1956, encouraged the growth of diverse manufacturing and heavy industries, yet state planning, controls and regulations began to impair productivity, quality and profitability. Although the Indian economy enjoyed a steady rate of growth at 2.5% per annum (mocked by leftist economist Raj Krishna as a "Hindu rate of growth"), chronic unemployment amidst widespread poverty continued to plague the population. 73. Land development banks The Land development banks are organized in 3 tiers namely; state, central, and primary level and they meet the long term credit requirements of the farmers for developmental purposes. The state land development banks oversee, the primary land development banks situated in the districts and tehsil areas in the state. They are governed both by the state government and Reserve Bank of India. Recently, the supervision of landdevelopment banks has been assumed by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural development (NABARD). “State land development bank” means the co-operative society which is the principal land development bank (by whatever name called) in a State and which has as its primary object the providing of long-term finance for agricultural development : 74. Article 269. Taxes levied and collected by the Union but assigned to the States.- Article 226A (1) Taxes on the sale or purchase of goods and taxes on the consignment of goods shall be levied and collected by the Government of India but shall be assigned and shall be deemed to have been assigned to the States on or after the 1st day of April, 1996 in the manner provided in clause (2). Explanation-For the purposes of this clause, - (a) the expression “taxes on the sale or purchase of goods” shall mean taxes on sale or purchase of goods other than newspapers, where such sale or purchase takes place in the course of inter-State trade or commerce; (b) the expression “taxes on the consignment of goods” shall mean taxes on the consignment of goods (whether the consignment is to the person making it or to any other person), where such consignment takes place in the course of inter-State trade or commerce; (2) The net proceeds in any financial year of any such tax, except in so far as those proceeds represent proceeds attributable to Union territories, shall not form part of the Consolidated Fund of India, but shall be assigned to the State within which that tax is leviable in that year, and shall be distributed among those States in accordance with such principles of distribution as may be formulated by Parliament by law. Article 227 (3) Parliament may by law formulate principles for determining when a _230[sale or purchase of, or consignment of, goods] takes place in the course of inter-State trade or commerce. 75 and 76.Banking in India originated in the last decades of the 18th century. The first

banks were The General Bank of India, which started in 1786, and Bank of Hindustan, which started in 1790; both are now defunct. The oldest bank in existence in India is the State Bank of India, which originated in the Bank of Calcutta in June 1806, which almost immediately became the Bank of Bengal. This was one of the three presidency banks, the other two being the Bank of Bombay and the Bank of Madras, all three of which were established under charters from the British East India Company. For many years the Presidency banks acted as quasi-central banks, as did their successors. The three banks merged in 1921 to form the Imperial Bank of India, which, upon India's independence, became the State Bank of India in 1955. 77. Pochampad project is located in Nizamabad and Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh. 78. Tikarpara and Naraj dams are constructed under a Hirakud multi purpose project situated on the river Mahanadi in Orissa. 79. Tropical wet and moist evergreen forest occur in areas of heavy rainfall exceeding 254 cm. A strip along the Sahyadri's up to a height of 1370 m and large areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Manipur Nagaland and Andaman and Nicobar islands up to a height of 100 m are covered with these forests. 80. As a group, it is estimated that micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) employ 81 million people in 36 million units across the country. Yet, many of these firms are unable to grow and/or even shut down. Hsieh and Klenow (2011) indicate that as compared to surviving small firms in the United States, which grow spectacularly, surviving small firms in Mexico grow moderately, while surviving small firms in India shrink. Productivity is commensurately lower in India. Indeed, within the MSME group, there is a strong concentration of small enterprises and near non-existence of medium enterprises and that is the real challenge of the MSME sector--to be able to not just start up, but also continue to grow, thereby becoming a source of sustainable jobs and value creation. 81. Reverse faults are exactly the opposite of normal faults. If the hanging wall rises relative to the footwall, you have a reverse fault. Reverse faults occur in areas undergoing compression (squishing). If you imagine undoing the motion of a reverse fault, you will undo the compression and thus lengthen the horizontal distance between two points on either side of the fault. Reverse faults Thrust faults typically have low dip angles. A high-angle thrust fault is called a reverse fault. The difference between a thrust fault and a reverse fault is in their influence. A reverse fault occurs primarily across lithological units where as a thrust usually occurs within or at a low angle to lithological units. It is often hard to recognize thrusts because their deformation and dislocation can be difficult to detect when they occur within the same rocks without appreciable offset of lithological contacts. If the angle of the fault plane is low (generally less than 20 degrees from the horizontal) and the displacement of the overlying block is large (often in the kilometer range) the fault is called an overthrust. Erosion can remove part of the overlying block, creating a

fenster (or window) when the underlying block is only exposed in a relatively small area. When erosion removes most of the overlying block, leaving only island-like remnants resting on the lower block, the remnants are called klippen 82. Classifying industries according to their intensity of use of infrastructure, or dependence on external finance, Gupta et al. (2008) find that post delicensing, industries more dependent on infrastructure grew less as compared to industries which are not as dependent on infrastructure; and the gain in manufacturing-sector output in these industries has been especially small in states with inferior infrastructure. They further show that industries more dependent on external finance have witnessed slower growth as opposed to those less dependent on external finance, and have fared much worse in terms of new factories, employment generation, as well as new investment. There is therefore need to take steps for improving infrastructure, access to finance, as well as the overall business environment. 83. At the end of 2005, India had 0.5 % of the Oil and Gas resources of the world and 15 % of the world?s population whereas the reserve to production ratio is 20.7 (BP statistics 2006). At the end of 1995 India had the 5.5 thousand million barrels of reserves, grown only 1% till the end of 2005 whereas crude oil consumption has grown more than 10% over the last 5 years. Onshore and offshore oil and gas fields in India In India crude oil is produced in Onshore and Offshore. Onshore fields are in Assam/Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu/ Andhra Pradesh. Oil India Limited (OIL) and Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) have the onshore field for crude oil production. Offshore production occurs at Bombay High run by ONGC and Private/Joint Venture companies. For the natural gas onshore fields are the same for Crude oil in addition with Rajasthan as an onshore field. For the offshore Bombay high is the one for the production. 84. Janani Suraksha Yojana Scheme and Sukhibhava Scheme: Sukhibhava & Janani Suraksha Yojana Incentive Schemes should be implemented in a combined manner (Rs.1000/- cash incentive for Institutional Delivery) from 1st November 2005. Under the Janani Suraksha Yojana and Sukhibhava schemes put together, a total cash incentive amount of Rs.1000/- (i.e. Rs.700/- from Janani Suraksha Yojana and Rs.300/- from Sukhibhava) will be paid to rural below poverty line pregnant women who fulfill the revised and combined eligibility guidelines under the two schemes. This cash incentive should be paid only to those rural, below poverty line women who undergo delivery in a Government healthcare institution i.e., Teaching Hospitals, District Head quarter Hospitals, Area Hospitals, Community Health Centers, 30 bedded and other Government Hospitals, and Primary Health Care Centres. 85. Oil refining is a continuous process and the cost of refining of individual petroleum products is not worked out separately because all products are produced together. The cost of refining crude oil depends upon a number of factors including the type of crude oil, size of refinery, refinery configuration, age of equipment, technology used, etc. The technology for producing the petroleum products from the crude oil differs from one

refinery to another. The hydro cracker and catalytic hydro cracker technology are the two major technologies through which petroleum products are yielded. There are 18 refineries operating in the country, 17 in the Public Sector and one in the Private Sector, with a total installed capacity of 127.37 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA).

86. A meteoroid is a sand- to boulder-sized particle of debris in the Solar System. The visible path of a meteoroid that enters Earth's (or another body's) atmosphere is called a meteor, or colloquially a shooting star or falling star. If a meteoroid reaches the ground and survives impact, then it is called a meteorite. Many meteors appearing seconds or minutes apart are called a meteor shower. The root word meteor comes from the Greek meteo¯ ros, meaning "high in the air". The Minor Planet Center does not use the term "meteoroid". A meteor is the visible path of a meteoroid that has entered the Earth's atmosphere. Meteors typically occur in the mesosphere, and most range in altitude from 75 km to

100 km. Millions of meteors occur in the Earth's atmosphere every day. Most meteoroids that cause meteors are about the size of a pebble. The velocities of meteors result from the movement of the Earth around the Sun with about 30 km/s, the orbital speeds of meteoroids, and the gravitational attraction of the Earth. Visibility: Meteors become visible between about 40 and 75 miles (65 and 120 kilometers) above the Earth. They disintegrate at altitudes of 30 to 60 miles (50 to 95 kilometers). Meteors have roughly a fifty percent chance of a daylight (or near daylight) collision with the Earth. Most meteors are, however, observed at night, when darkness allows fainter objects to be recognized. For bodies with a size scale larger than the atmospheric mean free path (10 cm to several metres) the visibility is due to the atmospheric ram pressure (not friction) that heats the meteoroid so that it glows and creates a shining trail of gases and melted meteoroid particles. The gases include vaporized meteoroid material and atmospheric gases that heat up when the meteoroid passes through the atmosphere. Most meteors glow for about a second. A relatively small percentage of meteoroids hit the Earth's atmosphere and then pass out again: these are termed Earth-grazing fireballs (for example The Great Daylight 1972 Fireball). Meteors may occur in showers, which arise when the Earth passes through a trail of debris left by a comet, or as "random" or "sporadic" meteors, not associated with a specific single cause. A number of specific meteors have been observed, largely by members of the public and largely by accident, but with enough detail that orbits of the meteoroids producing the meteors have been calculated. All of the orbits passed through the asteroid belt. 87. Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) is the largest shipbuilding and maintenance facility in India. It is part of a line of maritime-related facilities in the port-city of Kochi, in the state of Kerala, India. Of the services provided by the shipyard are building platform supply vessels and double-hulled oil tankers. Presently it is building the first indigenous aircraft carrier for the Indian Navy. Cochin Shipyard was incorporated in 1972 as a Government of India company, with the first phase of facilities coming online in 1982. The yard has facilities to build vessels up to 1.1 million tons and repair vessels up to 1.25 million tons, the largest such facilities in India. In August 2012, the Government of India announced plans of divestment to raise capital of 15,000 million rupees for further expansion through an IPO towards the end of the fiscal year. The shipyard also trains graduate engineers in marine engineering. 88. Swayamsidha is an integrated project for the development and empowerment of women. It was introduced during 2001 to 2002 replacing the erstwhile Indira Mahila Yojana. The long term objective of the scheme is to achieve an all round empowerment of women, especially socially and economically by ensuring their direct access to, and control over, resources through a sustained process of mobilization and convergence of all ongoing sectoral programmes. The most important component of the programme is the formulation, implementation and monitoring of block specific composite projects for

4 to 5 years incorporating the following four elements Group formation or mobilization activities, Community oriented innovative interventions, Other schemes of W and CD Deptt.,namely Swawlamban, STEP, AGP, etc. if there is a felt need, Convergence of schemes of other departments, whether under GOI or State Government initiative. 89. Lignite Indian lignite deposits occur in the Tertiary sediments in the southern and western parts of peninsular shield particularly in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Kerala and Jammu & Kashmir. The total known geological reserves of lignite as on 1.4.2010 were about 39.90 billion tonnes. About 80% reserves are located in Tamil Nadu with about 31.98 billion tonnes. Other states where lignite deposits have been located are Rajasthan, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala, West Bengal and the Union Territory of Puducherry. 90. The processes by which loose sediment is hardened to rock are collectively called LITHIFICATION. Once this happens, continued erosion and re-transport of the sediment become much more difficult. There are three basic ways that lithification is accomplished. One way to harden sediment is simple COMPACTION, but this only works for some types of very fine sediment. Coarser sediment particles usually do not lithify in this way because getting them closer does nothing to cause them to "stick". Clay minerals are different, however. These tiny particles are very much like miniscule, plate-shaped mica grains, and like micas they have slight electrical charges on their surfaces. Pressing them together, particularly if it involves rotating them such that their flat surfaces come into contact, allows them to establish attractions for each other very much like Van der Waals bonds. The electrical charges tend to make them adhere to each other. As with Van der Waals bonds, however, the attraction is not terribly strong, and sediments lithified in this way are generally not particularly resistant to subsequent erosion. A second natural method of lithifying sediment is by RECRYSTALLIZATION of some or all of the constituent minerals. Limestones and other chemical sedimentary rocks are most susceptible to this process because their minerals are fairly easy to modify in surface environments. Much natural CaCO3 in the Earth's ocean is not calcite but a different mineral called "aragonite". Aragonite takes up less volume per molecule than calcite. It is not really stable in fresh water, so once rainwater comes into contact with it, it changes into calcite. The crystals grow larger because of this transformation and tend to mesh themselves together as they do so. This locks the particles together, making the entire structure stronger and harder. The most common method of lithifying coarse grained sediments is by CEMENTATION. Sedimentary particles are deposited in contact with each other, but there is also a certain amount of empty space in a pile of sediment. As water carrying dissolved ions fills in that empty space, the ions may crystallize new minerals between the grains. In the process of growth these newly forming crystals become enmeshed with each other, as we saw in recrystallization, and the result is once again a more cohesive, harder

mass that the original loose sediment. Quartz cement is quite common in nature, and tends to make the hardest rocks. Calcite and hematite are also rather common, but tend not to lithify the rock as tightly. Halite and gypsum cements occur in some special environments, but they are poor cementing agents. Many other minerals are known to act as cements; all but the few mentioned above are quite rare. 91. The Rushikulya beach on Chilika in the Ganjam district of Orissa is not a very famous tourist destination. You might not find its mention in too many guide books. Unless you are seriously clued into the conservation scene, chances are that you have never heard its name. The beach becomes famous for less than a week every year when olive ridley turtles - one of the smallest marine turtles - come to lay eggs here in millions. And obviously once again (within a space of 40-45 days) when millions of small hatchlings come out of their shells and walk some 50 meters or so to the waters. This unique natural phenomena happens in the wee hours of the morning. I was fortunate enough to witness this unearthly sight this year. Here I will try to narrate the experience so that fellow IM-ers can try and go there in future. This is not my thread or your thread. This is a thread on olive ridleys. If you have information to share on the subject please feel free to share them here so that we have a good resource base for this lesser known destination. 92. Plants must obtain the following mineral nutrients from the growing media: the primary macronutrients: nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K) the three secondary macronutrients: calcium (Ca), sulphur (S), magnesium (Mg) the micronutrients/trace minerals: boron (B), chlorine (Cl), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), molybdenum (Mo), nickel (Ni) The macronutrients are consumed in larger quantities and are present in plant tissue in quantities from 0.2% to 4.0% (on a dry matter weight basis). Micro nutrients are present in plant tissue in quantities measured in parts per million, ranging from 5 to 200 ppm, or less than 0.02% dry weight. Though nitrogen is plentiful in the Earth's atmosphere, relatively few plants engage in nitrogen fixation (conversion of atmospheric nitrogen to a biologically useful form). Most plants therefore require nitrogen compounds to be present in the soil in which they grow. These can either be supplied by decaying matter, nitrogen fixing bacteria, animal waste, or through the agricultural application of purpose made fertilizers. 93. The Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Ltd. (BHAVINI) is a government-owned corporation of India established in 2004 in Chennai. One of the public sector undertakings, it is wholly owned by the Union Government and is responsible for the construction, commissioning and operation of all Stage II fast breeder reactors envisaged as part of the country’s three stage nuclear power programme. BHAVINI is administered by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE). Once the first fast breeder reactor, called Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) goes into commercial

power production, BHAVINI will be the second power utility in India after Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL), to use nuclear fuel sources to generate power. 94. Salafism is a rigid version of Islam modelled solely on the lives led by the first three generations of Muslims. It isfast metamorphosing into a potent form of political fundamentalism in Egypt. In the recent months, the salafists have been held responsible for many episodes of violence along the religious lines. The Christians, who constitute 10 per cent of Egypt's 85 million population, are the main targets of salafist violence. 95. The Prime Minister recently announced in his on Independence Day speech about setting up a Commission to make suggestions for improvements at all levels of education. The recommendations of the proposed Commission will add up to a new National Policy on Education. The Commission is expected to be headed by an eminent educationist, assisted by experts from the fields of higher, technical, medical, secondary, elementary, vocational and other sectors of education. It will also have inputs from the reports of the National Knowledge Commission, the Yashpal Committee and the Valiathan Committee. The existing National Policy on Education, 1986 (NPE) itself has suggested not only periodic reviews of the policy but also a revision in the long-term. The NPE, 1986 came into force in 1991 and gave shape to the Action Plan of 1992 for the NPE. The NPE of 1986 was a major departure from the national policy adopted on the recommendations of the Education Commission under Professor D.S Kothari, which in 1966 had called for a common school system as well as for a Plus-Two stage of schooling beyond Class X. Strengthening of research in the university system was another major recommendation. The 1986 policy led to encouragement to emerging sectors like Information Technology, which witnessed an upsurge following the opening up of the technical education sector, particularly in capacity expansion in the private sector. 96. Following Hyder Ali's opening of the Second Anglo-Mysore War in southern India Coote returned to

active service. It was not until 1 June 1781 that Coote struck the first heavy blow against Hyder in the

decisive Battle of Porto Novo. The battle was won by Coote against odds of five to one, and is regarded

as one of the greatest feats of the British in India. It was followed up by another hard-fought battle at

Pollilur (the scene of an earlier triumph of Hyder over a British force) on 27 August, in which the British

won another success, and by the rout of the Mysore troops at Sholinghur a month later. His last service

was the arduous campaign of 1782, which finally shattered a constitution already gravely impaired by

hardship and exertions. Coote died at Madras on 28 April 1783. The war with Mysore was brought to an

inconclusive end by the Treaty of Mangalore in 1784. Subsequent conflicts fought, the Mysorean capital

twice captured, and Hyder's dynasty eventually overthrown in 1799.

97. The Constitution of India provides checks against misbehaviour by judges. It states that a judge may be removed only through a motion in Parliament with a two thirds support in each House. The process is laid down in the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968. The motion seeking the removal of the judge can be introduced in any House. It must be by

100 Lok Sabha MPs or by 50 Rajya Sabha MPs is to be given to the Speaker or Chairman (as the case may be) who may admit the motion or refuse it. If accepted, the charge (it can only be related to proven misbehaviour or incapacity) is to be investigated by a committee made up of: i)The Chief Justice of India or any other Judge of the Supreme Court; ii)The Chief Justice of any of the High Courts; and, iii)A distinguished jurist. The Committee is set up by the Speaker or by the Chairman, as applicable. If the Committee finds the judge guilty of misbehaviour, or suffering from incapacity, then the motion for removal of the Judge is taken up for consideration in the House where it was admitted. If that House passes the motion by a majority if its total membership and by a two-thirds majority of the members present and voting, it is sent to the other House. If the motion is passed by a similar majority in that House also, an address of Parliament, requesting the removal of the Judge is presented to the President who is bound to comply. The Judge then stands removed from Office as the President signs the address of the Parliament and it is notified. 98. Noctilucent clouds (NLC) are clouds that literally shine at night. We who live in Alaska are lucky to have the chance to see them, because they only occur in high latitudes where the summer upper atmosphere gets unusually cold. They form at incredible heights, at about 80 km (50 miles) above the Earths surface, which is ten times higher than the usual wispy cirrus clouds we regularly see. The place they form is called the mesopause, a very frigid layer where what little water vapor that is up there can freeze, maybe on meteoritic dust, to form tiny ice crystals. These pictures of NLC were taken at 230 in the morning on 5 August 2004, from near Cleary Summit to get a good view of the northern horizon. If you want to see a rare noctilucent cloud, you need to keep in mind that in Fairbanks there is only a brief period when you can see them, and that is mainly in August when the mesopause is cold enough! You can only see NLC when the sun is below the horizon and the sky is turning dark. Only then can you see the dim sunlight that is reflected off the tiny ice crystals. If you look carefully at the pictures, you can see some stars shining! So, look to the northern horizon a few hours after sunset and you may be lucky enough to see the elusive NLC. 99. A Parliamentary committee has asked the Rural Development Ministry not to debar those having telephone connections from inclusion in the Below Poverty Line (BPL) list as it could have negative impact on the growth of rural tele-density. Rightnow, the BPL 2011 Census is underway. In the BPL Census 2002 that was conducted in 2004, Karnataka had debarred persons having telephone connection from the BPL list. 100. What have been the sources of growth in India, and how does it compare with other fast growing Asian economies? Growth in per capita income is driven by growth in labour productivity (what the average worker produces), growth in working age population (fewer the people who are in the dependent age group in the population, greater the output), growth in the fraction of those who can work that actually look for work ( labour force participation rate), and growth in those looking for work who actually find it (employment rate).