Motilal Nehru’s 150th Birth Anniversary

The Government has decided to celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Pandit Motilal Nehru this year. A National Committee has been constituted on under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to celebrate the occasion in a befitting manner.

Life of Motilal Nehru

Motilal Nehru (6 May 1861 – 6 February 1931) was a lawyer, an activist of the Indian National Movement and an important leader of the Indian National Congress, who also served as the Congress President twice.

Motilal passed lawyer examination in 1883 and started practicing as a lawyer at Kanpur. In 1909 he reached the pinnacle of his legal career by gaining the approval to appear in the Privy Council of Great Britain.

He was the first Chairman of the Board of Directors of The Leader, and a leading daily published from Allahabad. On February 5, 1919 he launched a new daily paper, the Independent.

Motilal Nehru twice served as President of the Congress Party, once in Amritsar (1919) and the second time in Calcutta (1928). The Calcutta Congress (December 1928) over which Motilal presided was the scene of a head-on clash between those who were prepared to accept Dominion Status and those who would have nothing short of complete independence. A split was averted by a via media proposed by Gandhiji, according to which if Britain did not concede Dominion Status within a year, the Congress was to demand complete independence and to fight for it, if necessary, by launching civil disobedience.

Although initially close to Gandhi, he openly criticized Gandhi’s suspension of the Non Cooperation movement in 1922 due to the Chauri Chaura incident.

In 1923, he was instrumental in founding the Swaraj party along with Deshbandhu Chittranjan Das. The object of the Swaraj Party was to enter the Legislative Assembly as elected members to oppose the government. He became the Leader of the Opposition in the Central Legislative Assembly and vociferously opposed and exposed the decisions of the government.

Motilal Nehru chaired the famous Nehru Commission in 1928 that was a counter to the all-British Simon Commission. The Nehru Report drawn up by the commission was the first attempt by Indians to draw up a Constitution.

Important features of Nehru Report:

1. Demand for Dominion Status for India.

2. Rejection of separate electorates

3. Linguistic Provinces

4. Nineteen Fundamental Rights including equal rights for women, right to form unions, and universal adult suffrage.

5. Full protection to cultural and religious interests of Muslims

6. Complete dissociation of state from religion

Current Affairs Tidbits

o   Thrust to e-Governance at Gram Panchayats : National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN)

The Government has decided to set up a National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) to provide broadband connectivity to 2,50,000 Gram Panchayats. The total investment on this is about Rs. 20,000 crores.

• The NOFN is being rolled out by Bharat Broadband Network Ltd. (BBNL), which has been specifically created for the implementation of this project and rolling out the network.
• This will involve laying about 5 lakh kilometers of optical fibre.


A Co-ordination Committee has been set up to give a push to this effort. The Committee consists of Secretary, Department of Telecommunications as Chairman and the Secretaries of Information Technology, Health & Family Welfare, School Education & Literacy, Higher Education, Food & Public Distribution, Panchayati Raj, Rural Development and the CMD’s of BBNL, and BSNL as Members. The Administrator, United States Obligation Fund will be the Convenor.

o   Investment Tracking System for Speedy Implementation of Major Private & PPP Investment Projects

The Government of India has decided to establish an Investment Tracking System to ensure speedy implementation of major investment projects in the country. Projects in the private sector are to be monitored and followed up by the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance.

As part of this initiative, a format for monitoring such projects in private sector and under Public Private Partnership (PPP) has been developed. Promoters of projects in the private sector and under Public Private Partnership (PPP), where the proposed investment is Rs. 1000 crore and above, are requested to provide details of their projects along with reasons behind delay.

Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (RIMES)

The Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System for Africa and Asia (RIMES) is an international and intergovernmental institution, owned and managed by its Member States, for the generation and application of early warning information.

RIMES evolved from the efforts of countries in Africa and Asia, in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, to establish a regional early warning system within a multi-hazard framework for the generation and communication of early warning information, and capacity building for preparedness and response to trans-boundary hazards. RIMES was registered with the United Nations under Article 102 on 1 July 2009. RIMES operates from its regional early warning center located at the campus of the Asian Institute of Technology in Pathumthani, Thailand.

Aim: RIMES provides regional early warning services and builds capacity of its Member States in the end-to-end early warning of tsunami and hydro-meteorological hazards.

 

Mission: Building capacity and providing actionable warning information towards forearmed, forewarned and resilient communities.

13 Member States: Bangladesh, Cambodia, Comoros, India, Lao PDR, Maldives, Mongolia, Mozambique, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Seychelles, Sri Lanka and Timor-Leste.

18 Collaborating Countries: Afghanistan, Armenia, Bhutan, China, Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Russian Federation, Somalia, Tanzania, Thailand, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Yemen.

The First Ministerial Conference on the Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (RIMES) for Africa and Asia was held in New Delhi on June 21, 2012.

Reasons for the Rupee Depreciation

The Indian rupee has continued its free fall against the dollar, falling by over 26 per cent in the past year.  Rupee has hit a record closing low of 57.11 to a dollar on 22-June-2012.

                                        The value of a particular currency, as compared to the Dollar, falls when the relative demand for Dollar increases and the demand for this currency relatively falls. Thus, the value of Rupee decreases when the demand for Rupee falls and the demand for Dollar increases. This is known as Rupee Depreciation. The reverse phenomenon is known as Rupee Appreciation, where the relative demand for Rupee increases as compared to the Dollar.

Some of the reasons for the recent fall in the value of Rupee are:

1. Rising dollar demand by oil companies – Oil companies need $400 million a day. Ever-growing demand for gold imports has also severely hurt the rupee.
2. Foreign institutional investors shying away from India – June FII inflows fell to Rs 2,176 crore. The FIIs have been moving away from the emerging economies in the recent times. The recent downgrading of India’s rating by the credit rating agencies such as S&P and Fitch has also hit India’s image as an investment destination.
3. Strengthening of Dollar: The Euro-Zone crisis has weakened the Euro significantly against the US Dollar. In other words dollar is getting stronger in the world markets. Obviously the investors are considering US as safe place to invest in.
4. American money market funds are exiting Europe, hitting continental banks that fund Indian companies.
5. A widening current account deficit due to insufficient export earnings: India currently runs a $180 billion trade deficit.
6. The high rate of inflation erodes the value of rupee and thus calls for continuous downward adjustment against the dollar for maintaining the proper parity value.
7. A persistently high fiscal deficit has also seriously hurt the economy and has eroded investor confidence.

Current United Nations Peace Keeping Missions

Africa:
1. UNMISS : United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan
The Security Council established the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS) for an initial period of one year, starting from 9 July 2011. UNMISS is on the ground to consolidate peace and security and to help establish conditions for development in South Sudan.
2. UNISFA : United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei The Security Council was deeply concerned by the violence, escalating tensions and population displacement in Sudan’s Abyei region and established the UNISFA on 27 June 2011. The operation will monitor the flashpoint border between north and south, and is authorized to use force in protecting civilians and humanitarian workers in Abyei.
3. MONUSCO: United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo MONUSCO took over from an earlier UN peacekeeping operation – the United Nations Organization Mission in Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) – on 1 July 2010. The new mission has been authorized to use all necessary means to carry out its mandate relating, among other things, to the protection of civilians, humanitarian personnel and human rights defenders under imminent threat of physical violence and to support the Government of the DRC in its stabilization and peace consolidation efforts.
4. UNAMID : African Union/United Nations Hybrid operation in Darfur UNAMID, working in the Darfur region in Sudan, has the protection of civilians as its core mandate, but is also tasked with contributing to security for humanitarian assistance, monitoring and verifying implementation of agreements, assisting an inclusive political process, contributing to the promotion of human rights and the rule of law.
5. UNOCI : United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire UNOCI was set up in February 2004 in order to facilitate the implementation of the 2003 peace agreement by the parties in Ivory Coast.
6. UNMIL : United Nations Mission in Liberia The United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) was established in September 2003 to support the implementation of the ceasefire agreement and the peace process; support humanitarian and human rights activities; as well as assist in national security reform, including national police training and formation of a new, restructured military.
7. MINURSO : United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara MINURSO was established in April 1991 in accordance with settlement proposals accepted on 30 August 1988 by Morocco and the Frente Popular para la Liberación de Saguia el-Hamra y de Río de Oro (Frente POLISARIO).
Americas:
8. MINUSTAH : United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti MINUSTAH was established on 1 June 2004 after President Bertrand Aristide departed Haiti for exile in the aftermath of an armed conflict which spread to several cities across the country. After the devastating 2010 earthquake, overall force levels of MINUSTAH was increased to support the immediate recovery, reconstruction and stability efforts in the country.
9. UNMIT : United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste UNMIT is a multidimensional, integrated UN peacekeeping operation in Timor-Leste set up in 2006 in the wake of a major political, humanitarian and security crisis. The mission works with the government in consolidating stability, enhancing a culture of democratic governance and facilitating political dialogue.
10. UNMOGIP : United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan UNMOGIP was set up in 1949 to supervise the ceasefire between India and Pakistan in the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Following renewed hostilities of 1971, UNMOGIP has remained in the area to observe developments pertaining to the strict observance of the ceasefire of 17 December 1971 and report thereon to the Secretary-General.
11. UNAMA: United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) is a political mission established by the Security Council in 2002 at the request of the Government of Afghanistan to assist it and the people of Afghanistan in laying the foundations for sustainable peace and development in the country.
12. UNFICYP : United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus UNFICYP was originally set up by the Security Council in 1964 to prevent further fighting between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities. After the hostilities of 1974, UNFICYP continues to supervise ceasefire lines and aims at contributing to a political settlement in Cyprus.
13. UNMIK: United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo UNMIK was set up in 1999 in order to provide an interim administration for Kosovo under which the people of Kosovo could enjoy substantial autonomy. Subsequently, following the declaration of independence by the Kosovo authorities in 2008, UNMI focuses primarily on the promotion of security, stability and respect for human rights in Kosovo.
14. UNSMIS : United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria UNSMIS was established in April 2012 to monitor a cessation of armed violence in all its forms by all parties and to monitor and support the full implementation of the Joint Special Envoy’s six-point plan to end the conflict in Syria
15. UNTSO : United Nations Truce Supervision Organization Set up in May 1948, UNTSO was the first ever peacekeeping operation established by the United Nations. Since then, UNTSO military observers have remained in the Middle East to monitor ceasefires, supervise armistice agreements, prevent isolated incidents from escalating and assist other UN peacekeeping operations in the region to fulfil their respective mandates.
16. UNDOF : United Nations Disengagement Observer Force UNDOF was set up in May 1974 following the agreed disengagement of the Israeli and Syrian forces in the Golan Heights. Since then, UNDOF has remained in the area to maintain the ceasefire between the Israeli and Syrian forces and to supervise the implementation of the disengagement agreement.
17. UNIFIL : United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon UNIFIL was established March 1978 to confirm Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, restore international peace and security and assist the Lebanese Government in restoring its effective authority in the area.

UN Peacekeeping Missions

The United Nations peace keeping missions have played a very important role in various conflict theatres around the world. UN Peacekeepers provide security and the political and peace building support to help countries make the difficult, early transition from conflict to peace.

Peacekeeping has unique strengths, including legitimacy, burden sharing, and an ability to deploy and sustain troops and police from around the globe, integrating them with civilian peacekeepers to advance multidimensional mandates. UN Peacekeeping is guided by three basic principles:

1. Consent of the parties
2. Impartiality
3. Non-use of force except in self-defence and defence of the mandate

Today’s multidimensional peacekeeping operations are called upon not only to maintain peace and security, but also to facilitate the political process, protect civilians, assist in the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of former combatants; support the organization of elections, protect and promote human rights and assist in restoring the rule of law. There are 17 UN Peace Keeping missions that are currently active around the globe.

 ‘Green rust’ could scrape toxic metals

IANS

A rare kind of mineral known as “green rust”, which could be used to scrape toxic metals and radioactive species from the environment, also played a similar and crucial role early in Earth’s history.

Research suggests for the first time that ‘green rust’ was likely widespread in ancient oceans and may have played a vital role in the creation of our early atmosphere.

Led by Newcastle University, the study shows that during the Precambrian period, green rust ‘scavenged’ heavy metals such as nickel out of the water, the journal Geology reports.

Highly reactive

Only discovered last decade, green rust is a highly reactive iron mineral which experts hope could be used to clean up metal pollution and even radioactive waste, according to a Newcastle statement.

Newcastle University’s Simon Poulton, professor, said this latest discovery proved the effectiveness of green rust as an environmental cleaner.

“Because it is so reactive, green rust has hardly ever been found before in nature and never in a water system like this,” explains Poulton, who led the research team involving experts from the Universities of Newcastle, Nancy, Southern Denmark, Leeds, Brussels and Kansas, and the Canadian Light Source and Indonesian Institute of Sciences.

“The discovery of green rust in Lake Matano, Indonesia, where we carried out our experiments shows for the first time what a key role it played in our ancient oceans — scavenging dissolved nickel, a key micronutrient for methanogenesis.”

Keywords: green rust, toxic metals, radioactive materials

Myristica swamps, a vanishing ecosystem in Western Ghats

T. Nandakumar

The Hindu DWINDLING WETLAND: The Myristica Swamps in Western Ghats in Kerala.

ü  Scientists from the Centre for Earth Science Studies here and the Agharkar Research Institute (ARI) in Pune are studying the Myristica swamps, a vanishing ecosystem, now largely confined to 53 patches in the Kulathupuzha and Anchal forest ranges and the Shendurney wildlife sanctuary in Kerala.

ü  A study by the ARI scientists, published recently in the journal, Quaternary International, describes the discovery of plant fossils of the ancient Myristica swamps from the Konkan coast.

ü  The fossils, estimated to be 44,000 years old, throw light on the evergreen vegetation along the Konkan coast. The study infers that Konkan lost its wet evergreen forest cover due to the changes in the monsoon pattern.

ü  The Myristica swamps are tropical fresh water swamp forests with an abundance of Myristica trees, the most primitive of the flowering plants on earth.

ü  The evergreen, water-tolerant trees have dense stilt roots helping them stay erect in the thick, black, wet alluvial soil.

ü  The swamps are typically found in valleys, making them prone to inundation during monsoon rains. The trees form a fairly dense forest with a closed canopy.

ü  Studies have shown that the swamps, which would have occupied large swathes of the thickly- wooded Western Ghats in the past, are now restricted to less than 200 hectares in the country.

ü  “As of now, the Myristica swamps of the Western Ghats are fragmented, with Kerala holding a major share of this habitat. Leaving aside a few more patches in Karnataka and Goa, this exceptional wetland has almost disappeared from the Indian subcontinent due to the climatic vicissitudes over the last 18,000 to 50,000 years, a period referred to as the Late Pleistocene period,” said K.P.N. Kumaran, CSIR Emeritus Scientist, ARI.

ü  According to C.N. Mohanan, Head, Department of Environmental Sciences, CESS, the swamps could promote better understanding of the influence of climate change on the evolution of plants. “They are living museums of ancient life.”

ü  Dr. Mohanan said human activities posed a major threat to the unique habitat. “Over time, many of the patches of swamps in Kerala have been converted to paddy fields, arecanut plantations or settlements while others were submerged for irrigation projects. There is an urgent need to conserve the remaining swamps.”

ü  Mr. Kumaran said: “These swamps have high watershed value. When they are drained, filled or otherwise disturbed, their water holding capacity is lost, resulting in floods and erosion during the rainy season and dry streambeds the rest of the year.”

ü  The swamps in Kerala provide habitat for a rich diversity of invertebrate and vertebrate species, including amphibians, reptiles and mammals.

ü  A total of 65 tree species and 72 species of shrub- herb combine have been recorded from the swamps. It is estimated that the wetlands contain 23 per cent of butterflies, 11 per cent of spiders, 8.4 per cent of fishes, more than 50 per cent of amphibians, more than 20 per cent of reptiles, 26.6 per cent of birds and 6.6 per cent of mammals in the whole of Kerala.

ü  Of the animals recorded from the swamps, 16.3 per cent are endemic to the Western Ghats and 24.2 per cent of the vertebrates are Red Listed.

ü  Species diversity and species abundance inside the swamps are significantly higher than that recorded from outside, for both reptiles and amphibians.

ü  Clarification

The last four paragraphs of this report were based on research work done by Dr. Joyce Jose, Assistant Professor, Mar Thoma College, Thiruvalla, and her husband Dr. T. J. Roby, under the guidance of Dr. P. Vijayakumaran Nair, Dr. K. K. Ramachandran, Dr. R. Swarupanandan and Dr. Thomas P. Thomas from the Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi, Thrissur. The attribution was inadvertently left out. The omission is regretted.

OGPL

      OGPL (The Open Government Platform) is a joint product from India and the United States to promote government transparency and greater citizen engagement by making more government data, documents, tools and processes publicly available.

      OGPL will be available, as an open source platform.

      The OGPL combines and expands the best features of the India’s “India.gov.in” and the U.S. “Data.gov” sites.

      By making this available in useful machine-readable formats it allows developers, analysts, media & academia to develop new applications and insights that will help give citizens more information for better decisions.

Chair

      This initiative has been chaired on the Indian side by Sam Pitroda, Adviser to Prime Minister on Public Information Infrastructure and Innovations and on the US side by Aneesh Chopra, former Chief Technology Officer to President Obama.

Purpose

      The purpose of the platform is to enhance access and use of government data to foster innovation.

      In using an open source method of development, the OGPL community will provide future technology enhancements, open government solutions, and community-based technical support.

      OGPL has become an example of a new era of diplomatic collaborations that benefit the global community that promote government transparency, citizen-focused applications, and enrich humanity.

Features of OGPL

Initially, OGPL will provide governments the ability to

       Publish government data, documents, apps, tools, and services from multiple departments within a government

       Utilize web 2.0 open-source technologies to develop low-cost, cloud-based infrastructure

       Engage citizens with open data based applications and services to improve their lives

       Create data-rich community spaces around topics of national priorities and international interest

       Empower end-users to share data via social media platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter

       In the future, provide publicly available application programming interfaces (APIs) and other tools to add external software modules for data visualization, wizards, and other purposes.

Books & Authors related Quiz for All Exams

Books & Authors related Quiz for All Exams

1. Who is the author of “The Kalam effect: My years with the president”?(a) P.M.Nayar (b) Sonia Gandhi
(c) L.K.Adwani (d) Arun Shaurie
ANS (a)

2. Who is the author of the book “Superstar India : From Incredible to Unstopable”?(a) L.K.Adwani (b) Arundhati Roy
(c) Shobha De (d) Vikram Seth
ANS (c)

3. The Sanskrit poet called as the Indian Shakespeare?(a) Kalidasa (b) Thulasidas (c) Sudraka (d) Kautilya
ANS (a)

4. Mulk Raj Anand is the author of(a) The Post Office (b) Gora
(c) India Wins Freedom (d) Coolie
ANS (Try Yourself)

5. Who is the author of the book ’My other two daughters’?(a) Lalu Prasad Yadav (b) Surjit Singh Barnala
(c) E.M. Forster (d) Paul Kennedy
ANS (b)

6. Who is known as the Father of Detective Story(a) Arthur Conan Doyle (b) Bram Stoker
(c) Edgar Allen Poe (d) None of the above
ANS (c)

7. Man-The Maker of His Own Destiny’ “ book was written by(a) V.S. Naipaul (b) Mahatma Gandhi
(c) Guenter Grass (d) Swami Vivekananda
ANS (d)

8. Find out the odd one(a) Louis Fischer (b) Ibsen(c) William Shakespeare (d) Sherlock HolmesANS (d) Others are writers. Sherlock Holmes is a character 9.One among the following is not written by Kalidasa
(a) Saakunthalam (b) Raghu Vamsam
(c) Rith Samharam (d) Kaavyadooth
ANS (d)

10. ’Sonia, a Biography’ was written by(a) Sonia Gandhi (b) Arundhathi Roy
(c) Rasheed Kidvai (d) V.K. Madhavan Kutty
ANS (c)

11. One among the following is not a Harry Potter story(a) Chamber of secrets
(b) The philosopher’s stone
(c) Half blood prince (d) Naked Truth
ANS (d)

12. Jules Verne, a French science fiction writer wrote a book, which carried a more or less accurate prediction of the launching of Apollo-8. Which is the book(a) From the Earth to the moon
(b) All under Heaven
(c) A Midsummer Night’s Dream
(d) Past and Present
ANS (a)

13. Who is the author of “A Passage to England”?(a) E.M. Forster (b) Nirad C. Chaudhari
(c) G.B. Shaw (d) Winston Churchill
ANS (b)

14. “Does IT matter” is a book written by(a) Bill Gates (b) N. R. Narayanan (c) Nicholas Carr
(d) Thomas D. Harris (e) None of these
ANS (c)

15. ’Beyond time’ is the book written by(a) Namita Gokhale (b) Ruskin Bond
(c) William Balrymple (d) Josef Korbel
(e) None of these
ANS (e)

16. The famous book ’Anandmath’ has been authorised by(a) Rabindranath Tagore
(b) Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya
(c) Sarojini Naidu
(d) Sri Aurobindo
ANS (b)

17.Who wrote a book describing the theory of economic drain of India during British rule?(a) Dadabhai Naoroji (b) Lala Lajpat Rai
(c) Mahatma Gandhi (d) Jawaharlal Nehru
ANS (a)

18. The author of the book ’Waiting for Godot’ is:(a) Ruth Harring (b) Susan Sontag
(c) Samuel Beckett (d) Ben Jonson
ANS (c) Waiting for the Mahatma – R. K. Narayanan
Waiting to Exhale – Terry Mc Millan

19. “The Vedas contain all the truth”, was interpreted by:(a) Swami Vivekananda (b) Swami Dayanand
(c) Swami Shraddhanand (d) S. Radhakrishnan
ANS (b)

20. Sirr-i-Akbar was the Persian translation of fifty-two Upanishads by which son of shah Jahan?ANS – Dara Shikoh

21.In “The Travels of Gulliver”, what is the first things two Lilliputians discuss when they meet in the morning?ANS – The health of the sun

22.”The man who knew infinity” is the biography of(a) Rene Descartes (b) Stephen Hawking
(c) Albert Einstein (d) S. Ramanujan
ANS (d)

23.What was the original name of ’Alice in Wonderland’ when Lewis Carroll first showed it to novelist Henry Kingsley in 1863?ANS – Alice’s Adventures Underground

24. The author of the book “Waiting for the Mahatma” is(a) R.K Narayan (b) N.A Palkhiwala
(c) Amrita Pritam (d) M. Malgonkar
ANS (a)

25. Under the patronage of which ruler of the Javanese house of Mataram, was the epic poem ’Arjuna vivaha’ written?ANS – King Airlangga

26. To whom, in his own words, did Rudyard Kipling dedicate his collection, ’Plain Tales From the Hills’?ANS – To the wittiest woman in India

27. ’Beyond the Last Blue Mountain’ is R.M Lala’s biography of which Indian?ANS – J. R. D. Tata

28. Which of Agatha Christie’s books was the first to be serialised in the Evening News under the title ’Anna the Adventure’?ANS – The Man In The Brown Suit

29. Who has authored the book A Brief History of Time?(a) Carl Sagan (b) Issac Asimov
(c) John Gribbin (d) Stephen Hawking
ANS (d)

30. The book ’Living with Honour’ is written by(a) Arundhati Roy (b) Shiv Khera
(c) Pramod Batra (d) Vikram Seth
ANS (b)

31. The book ’Cricket My Style’ is written by(a) Sunil Gavaskar (b) Sachin Tendulkar
(c) Kapil Dev (d) Mohinder Amarnath
ANS (c)

32. Who wrote the book ’The Book of Indian Birds’ANS – Dr. Salim Ali

33. ’Economic History of India’ was written byANS – R. C. Dutt

34.The oldest of the vedic literature is(a) Sama Veda (b) Yajur Veda
(c) Rig Veda (d) Atharva Veda
ANS (c)

35. ’Leelavathi’ the famous sanskrit grantha is a book onANS – Mathematics

36. Who is the author of ˜An Equal Musicâ (1999)ANS – Vikram Seth

37. Who wrote the poem ˜Passage to India in 1871ANS – Walt Whitman (American Poet)

38. Who is the author of the book ˜The Canterbury TalesANS – Geoffrey Chaucer

39. Who is the author of the book ˜Anna KareninANS – Leo Tolstoy

40.Who is the author of the book ˜The Adventures of Tom SawyerANS – Mark Twain

41. Who is the author of the book ˜The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes?ANS – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

42.Who is the author of the book ˜The Comedy of Errors?ANS – William Shakespeare

43. Who is the author of the book ˜Animal FarmANS – George Orwell

44. Who is the author of the book ˜The Rime of the Ancient Mariner?ANS – Samuel Taylor Coleridge

45. Who is the author of the book, ˜Through the Looking-Glass?ANS – Lewis Carroll

46. Who is the author of the book, ˜Allâs Well That Ends Wellâ?ANS – William Shakespeare

47. Who is the author of the book ˜Akbar-namaANS – Abul Fazl

48. Who is the author of the book ˜The Adventures of Huckleberry Finnâ?ANS – Mark Twain

49. Who is the author of the book ˜Antony and Cleopatraâ?ANS – William Shakespeare

50. Who is the author of the book , Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, 1687)ANS – Sir Isaac

51. Who is the author of the book “Jyoti Punj”?(a) L.K.Adwani (b) Atal Bihari Vajpeyi
(c) Narendra Modi (d) Vikram Seth
ANS (c)

Facts About India

Facts About India

1. India is the seventh largest country in the world in terms of area.
2. Indian mainland extends between latitudes 8 degree 4′ and 37 degree 6′ north, longitudes 68 degree 7′ and 97 degree 25′ east and measures about 3,214 km from north to south between the extreme latitudes and about 2,933 km from east to west between the extreme longitudes.
3. India has land frontier of about 15,200 km. The total length of the coastline of the mainland, Lakshadweep Islands and Andaman and Nicobar Islands is 7,516.6 km.
4. Countries having common border with India are: Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar and Bangladesh. Sri Lanka is separated from India by a narrow channel of sea formed by the Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar.
5. Aravalli, Vindhya, Satpura, Maikala and Ajanta are prominent hill ranges that lie between the Peninsular India and the plains of Ganga.
6. The Eastern and Western Ghats meet at the southern part of the Indian Peninsula which is formed by the Nilgiri Hills. .
7. Ghagra, Gomti, Gandak, Kosi and Yamuna are the major Himalayan rivers that join the Ganga. Chambal, Betwa and Sone are major rivers flowing north from central India that join Yamuna/Ganga.
8. After Ganga, Godavari has the second largest basin covering 10 per cent of the area of India. Next to it is Krishna, followed by the Mahanadi basin.
9. The climate of India can be described as Tropical monsoon type.
10. India is in tenth position in the world and fourth in Asia in plant diversity.
11. Botanical Survey of India, (BSI), Kolkata is the nodal agency that is studying the flora of the country. BSI brings out an inventory of the endangered plants in the form of a publication titled “Red Data Book”.
12. The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Kolkata and its 16 regional stations are responsible for surveying the faunal resources of India.
13. India has a great variety of fauna, numbering 89,451 species.
14. The design of the National Flag was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India on July 22,1947.
15. The State emblem of India is an adaptation from the Sarnath Lion Capitol of Ashoka. Carved out of a single block of polished sandstone, the Capitol is crowned by the Wheel of the Law (Dizaram Chakra). There are four lions, standing back to back, mounted on an abacus with a frieze carrying sculptures in high relief of an elephant, a galloping horse, a bull and a lion, separated by intervening wheels over a bell-shaped lotus.
16. In the State emblem, adopted on January 26,1950, only three lions are visible. The bell-shaped lotus has been omitted. The words, Satyameva Jayate, from Mundaka Upanishad, meaning ‘truth alone triumphs’, are inscribed below the abacus in Devanagiri script.
17. The song Jana-gana-mana, composed by Rabindranath Tagore, was adopted in its Hindi version by the Constituent Assembly, as the National Anthem of India, on January 24, 1950. It was first sung on December 27, 1911, at the Calcutta session of Indian National Congress. The complete song consists of five stanzas. The first stanza contains the full version of the National Anthem.
18. The national calendar of India is based on the Saka Era, with Chaitra as its first month. A normal year of 365 days was adopted from March 22, 1957, along with the Gregorian Calendar for the following purposes: (1) Gazette of India; (2) news broadcast by All India Radio; (3) calendars issued by Government of India; and (4) Government communications addressed to the members of the public.
19. Agriculture sector of India contributes 25 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and about 70 per cent of the population is dependent on it.
20. There are three main crop seasons in India, namely, kharif, rabi and summer.’
21. Major kharif crops are: rice, jowar, bajra, maize, cotton, sugarcane, soyabean, and groundnut.
22. Major rabi crops are: wheat, barley, gram, linseed, rapeseed, and mustard. Rice, maize and groundnut are grown in summer season also.
23. In Indian agriculture, oilseeds are next to food grains in area coverage, production and value. India is,one of the largest oilseeds growing countries, contributing about 15 per cent to the acreage under oilseeds in the world.
24. The Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, set up a Technology Mission on Oilseeds in May 1986 with the objective to increase the production of oilseeds, reduce the import of edible oils and to achieve self-sufficiency in edible oils.
25. India is the third largest producer and consumer of fertilizers in the world, after China and USA. It contributes to 9.5 per cent of world production and 10.6 per cent of world consumption of NPK nutrients, but sustains one-sixth of the world population.
26. The National Biofertiliser Development Centre is located at Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. Its six regional centres are located at .labalpur, Nagpur, Bangalore, Bhubaneshwar, Hissar and Imphal.
27. The Central Fertiliser Quality Control and Training Institute is located in Faridabad, Haryana. Its three regional centres are located at Mumbai, Chennai and Kalyani.
28. India accounts for about 10 per cent of the production of fruits in the world.
29. Mango is the most important fruit produced in India, covering about 39 per cent of the total area used for fruit production and accounting for 23 per cent of total fruit production of India.
30. India occupies first position in the total production of banana in the world.
31. India is next only to China in the area and production of vegetables. India contributes about 13 per cent of the world vegetable production and occupies first position in production of cauliflowers, second in onion and third in cabbage in the world.
32. India is the largest producer, processor, consumer and exporter of cashew nut in the world. India produces 45 per cent of the global production of cashew.
33. The Centrally-sponsored scheme of soil conservation in the catchments of River Valley Project (RVP) was started in the third Five-year Plan. Another scheme of FloodProne Rivers (FPR) was started in the sixth Plan. Both the schemes were clubbed during the ninth Plan and further subsumed under Macro Management Mode in November 2000.
34. The Locust Warning Organisation (LWO) is located in Jodhpur.
35. Seed sector in India consists of two national level corporations: National Seed Corporation (NSC) and State Farm Corporation of India (SFCI). The Seeds Act, 1966 provides for the legislative framework for regulation of quality of seeds sold in India.
36. The Department of Agriculture and Cooperation (DAC) launched a Central Sector Scheme during the ninth Plan to make available seeds for any contingent situation arising out of natural calamity.
37. Directorate of Marketing and Inspection (DMI) advises the Central and State governments on agricultural marketing policies and programmes. It is located in Faridabad, Haryana.
38. The National Institute of Agricultural Marketing (NIAM) is located in Jaipur.
39. Farm Machinery Training and Testing Institutes are located at Budni (Madhya Pradesh), Hissar (Haryana), Garladinne (Andhra Pradesh) and Biswanath Chariali (Assam).
40. India accounts for 57 per cent of the world’s buffalo population and 15 per cent of the cattle population. India possesses 27 acknowledged indigenous breeds of cattle and 7 breeds of buffaloes.
41. The present availability of animal protein in an Indian diet is 10 gm per person per day, as against a world average of 25 gm.
42. India is the largest producer of milk in the world and ranks fifth in egg production.
43. Central Sheep Breeding Farm is located in Hissar.
44. Reishi or Ling Zhi is a medicinal mushroom which has been successfully grown in India.
45. For rehabilitation of calcareous soils Tamarix articulate, Acadia nilotica, Prosopis Juliflora, Eucalyptus tereticornis, Acacia tortills, Cassia siamea and Feronia limonia have been found promising for plantation with furrow planting methods in arid and semi-arid regions. Salvadora persica proved the ideal species for soil and water management in saline black soils.
46. Karzat 4, Indryani, Panvel 2, Palgarh 1 and 2 are names of various rice varieties sown in India.
47. Kankrej, Ponwar, Gangatiri and Kherigah are names of various cattle breeds in India.
48. Jalauni, Kheri, Mandya, Hassan and Mecheri are names of various sheep breeds of India.
49. C-ELISA is an indigenously developed kit for rinderpest which has been validated by the International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna.
50. Feedbase-2001 is a data base that provides information on feed resources and feed balance sheet.
51. Okara is a by-product of soymilk.
52. Vivekananda Parvatiya Krishi Anusandhan Sansthan is located in Almora, Uttaranchal.
53. The Lalit Kala Academy (National Academy of Fine Arts) is located in New Delhi. It has regional centres, called Rashtriya Lalit Kala Kendras, located at Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Garhi(New Delhi) and Bhubaneswar.
54. Bharata Natyam is a dance form of Tamil Nadu. Kathakali is a dance form of Kerala. Kathak is a classical dance form revitalised as a result of Mughal influence on Indian culture. Manipuri is a dance form of Manipur, while Kuchipudi owes its origin to Andhra Pradesh. Odissi, once practised as temple dance, has its origins in Orissa.
55. Kathak Kendra, Delhi, and Jawaharlal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy, Imphal, are training institutes run by Sangeet Natak Academy, the National Academy of. Music, Dance and Drama. The Academy also supports training programmes in Chhau dance of Mayurbhanj and Seraikella, as also Koodiyattam of Kerala.
56. The National School of Drama (NSD) is one of the foremost theatre institutions in the world and the only one of its kind in India. It was set up by Sangeet Natak Academy in 1959 and in 1975 it became an autonomous organization.
57. The Theatre-in education Company (renamed as Sanskar Rang Toli was founded by NSD in 1989. Since 1998, NSD has organized National Theatre Festival for Children, christened Jashne Bachpan, every year.
58. The first-ever National Theatre Festival, christened Bharat Rang Mahotsav, was held in March-April, 1999 to commemorate the 50th year of India’s Independence.
59. Sahitya Academy has its Head Office in New Delhi. Besides, it has four offices in Kolkata, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai. It also has four translation centres at Bangalore, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Kolkata, besides a project office at Vadodra for promotion of oral and tribal literature and an Archives of Indian literature. It also maintains a multilingual library at New Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata, stocking books in over 25 languages.
60. The highest honour conferred by Sahitya Academy on a writer is by electing him/her its Fellow. The honour is limited to 21 at any given moment.
61. The Sahitya Academy holds a ‘Festival of Letters’ every year, usually in February.
62. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) functions as an attached office of the Department of Culture, Ministry of Tourism and Culture.
63. The National Museum was established on August 15, 1949 in the Durbar Hall of the Rashtrapati Bhawan.It was formally inaugurated on December 18, 1960 on its present premises.
64. The National Council of Science Museums is located in Kolkata.
65. The Allahabad Museum is famous for its collection of Bharhut, Bhumara and Jamsot sculptors and for the terracotta from Kausumbi, Bhita, Jhusi, Patliputra, Sarnath, Rajghat and Ahichhatra. The Museum also has paraphernalia and family heirlooms of Nehrus, including manuscripts of’ An Autobiography’ by J.L. Nehru.
66. The National Research Laboratory for Conservation of Cultural Property (NRLC) is located in Lucknow.
67. The National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) was founded in 1954 to promote and develop contemporary Indian Art.
68. The National Archives of India (NAI), New Delhi, known until independence as Imperial Record Department, was originally established in Kolkata in March 1891. It is the official custodian of all non-current records of permanent / value to the government of India and its predecessor bodies. It has a regional office at Bhopal and three record centres at Bhubaneswar, ]aipur and Pondicherry.
69. Marine Archeology Centre has been established in the National Institute of Oceanography, Goa. Major exploration are being undertaken in the waters of ancient Dwarka, Poompuhar waters (Tamil Nadu) and around Lakshadweep.
70. National Library, Kolkata serves as a permanent repository of all reading and information material produced in India, as well.as printed material written by Indians and concerning India written by foreigners, wherever published and in whatever language.
71. Under the Delivery of Books and Newspapers (Public Libraries) Act, 1954, four libraries-National Library, Kolkata, Central Library, Mumbai, Connemara Public Library, Chennai, and Delhi Public Library, Delhi-are entitled to receive a copy of new books and magazines published in the counuy.
72. Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library, Patna has a rich collection of over 20,000 ‘Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Turkish, Pali and Sanskrit manuscripts.
73. The Thanjavur Maharaja Serfoji’s Saraswati Mahal (TMSSM) Library, Thanjavur is one of the few medieval libraries that exist in the world.
74. The Rampur Raza Library, housed in Hamid Manzil in the fort of Rampur, is a treasure house of Indo Islamic learning and art.
75. Asiatic Society in Kolkata was founded by Sir William Jones in 1784, with the objective of inquiring into the history, science, arts and literature of Asia.
76. The Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies is located in Varanasi. It was established with the objective of preservation of Tibetan culture and tradition, restoration of ancient Indian literature preserved in Tibetan language and to provide higher education in Buddhist studies.
77. The Central Institute of Buddhist Studies is located, in Leh.
78. The Sikkim Research Institute of Tibetology is located in Sikkim. It has done significant work in promoting research in CHHO (Tibetan for Dharma).
79. Anthropological Survey of India is located in Kolkata.
80. Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sanghrahalaya (National Museum of Mankind) is located in Bhopal. It is dedicated to the depiction of an integrated story of humankind in global perspective, with special focus on India.
81. The Centre for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT) has its headquarters in New Delhi and two regional Centres at Udaipur and Hyderabad.
82. With the aim of projecting in India cultural kinships transcending territorial boundaries, seven zonal cultural centres have been established at Patiala, Kolkata, Thanjavur, Udaipur, Allahabad, Dimapur and Nagpur.
83. Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) is a premier national institute engaged in the pursuit of knowledge on arts and culture. It is also the nodal agency for the setting up of a national data bank on arts, humanities and cultural heritage.
84. Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti has been set up primarily to maintain and look after the national memorial where Gandhiji was assassinated, now called Gandhi Smriti, and a permanent photo exhibition at Rajghat, called Gandhi Darshan.
85. The Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) is responsible for formulation and maintenance of statistical standards, work pertaining to national accounts, industrial statistics, consumer price indices, conduct of economic census and surveys and liaising with international agencies in statistical matters. It is located in New Delhi.
86. National income is defined as the sum of incomes accruing to factors of production, supplied by normal residents of the country before deduction of direct taxes. It is equal to net national product at factor-cost.
87. The National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) has been set up to conduct large scale surveys to meet the data needs of India as also for the estimation of national income and other aggregates. It has four divisions: (i) Survey Design and Research Division (SDRD), with headquarters in Kolkata; (ii) Field Operations Division (FOD) having its headquarters in Delhi; (iii) Data Processing Division (DPD) with headquarters in Kolkata; and (iv) Coordination and Publication Division (CPD), located in Delhi.
88. Summary results of NSSO surveys are published in the biannual technical journal Sarvekshana.
89. India has an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of 2.02 million sq km. The EEZ provides India with more than 60 per cent of its oil and gas production and fishing valued at $ 1.15 billion.
90. The Army War College, earlier known as College of Combat, is located in Mhow.
91. The Infantry School, Mhow is the largest and oldest military training centre of Indian Army. This institute also trains the National Shooting team, under the aegis of Army Marksmanship Unit (AMU).
92. The Institute of Defence Management is located in Secunderabad.
93. The Defence Services Staff College is located in Wellington. It imparts training to middle level officers (Major and equivalent) of Army, Air Force and Navy.
94. The High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS) is located in Gulmarg.
95. The National Defence College is located in Delhi. It is the only institute of India that imparts knowledge on all aspects of national security and strategy.
96. Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited, located in Hyderabad, was incorporated with the primary objective of ushering in self-reliance in special metals and alloys for strategic sectors like Defence, Space and Atomic energy.
97. The 86th Constitution Amendment Act, 2002, makes elementary education a Fundamental Right for children in the age-group of 6-14 years.
98. The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) scheme evolved I from the recommendations of the State Education Ministers’ Conference held in October 1998. The main goals of SSA are: (a) All 6-14 age children complete five-year primary education by 2007; (b) Bridge all gender and social category gaps at primary stage by 2007 and at elementary education level by 2010; (c) Focus on elementary education of satisfactory quality with emphasis on education for life; and (d) Universal retention by 2010.
99. The National programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education is commonly known as Mid Day Meal Scheme. It was launched in August 1995.
100. Operation Blackboard was launched in 1987 with the aim of improving human and physical resources available in primary schools of India.
101. Janshala Programme is a collaborative effort of the government of India, and five UN agencies-UNDP, UNESCO, ILO, UNICEF and UNFPA-to provide programme support to the ongoing efforts towards achieving Universal Elementary Education (UEE).
102. The National Council for Teacher Education was established by an Act of the Parliament in August 1995.
103. The University Grants Commission (UGC) serves as a coordinating body between the Union and State governments and the institutions of higher learning.
104. The National Literacy Mission (NLM) aims to attain a sustainable threshold level of 75 per cent literacy by 2007, by imparting functional literacy to non-literates in the age-group of 15-35 years.
105. The Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages is located in Hyderabad.
106. The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) system was introduced in India in 1985 by the Raja Ram Mohan Roy National Agency for ISBN. ISBN is a unique international publisher’s identifier number.
107. Administering the Copyright Act, 1957 is the responsibility of the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of Secondary and Higher Education.
108. The Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) was the first multipurpose river valley project to be undertaken after Independence. It was set up in July 1948.
109. The National Power Training Institute (NPTI) is located at Faridabad.
110. The Central Power Research Institute (CPRI) has its headquarters located at Bangalore. Other units are located at Bhopal, Hyderabad, Nagpur, Ghaziabad, Thiruvanthapuram and Raichur.
111. The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) is the nodal agency to promote efficient use of energy and its conservation in all sectors of economy of India.
112. Coal is the main source of energy in India and account for about 67 per cent of India’s commercial requirement.
113. The coal reserves of India, as on January 1, 2003 were 2,40,748 million tonnes.
114. The Botanical Survey of India and the Zoological Survey of India both have their headquarters in Kolkata.
115. The Forest Survey of India has its headquarters in Dehradun and has four regional offices at Bangalore, Kolkata, Nagpur and Shimla.
116. Biosphere reserves are multi-purpose protected areas to preserve the genetic diversity in representative ecosystem. 13 Biosphere reserves have been set up in India. These are: Nilgiri, Nanda Devi, Nokrek, Great Nicobar, Gulf of Mannar, Manas, Sundebans, Similipal, Dibru, Daikhowa, Dehong Deband, Pachmarhi, Kanchunjunga and Agasthyamalai. Out of these, Nilgiri, Sunderbans and Gulf of Mannar have been recognized on World Network of Biosphere Reserves by UNESCO.
117. India is one of the 12 mega-biodiversity countries of the world.
118. The forest cover of India constitutes 20.55 per cent of its geographical area. Of this, dense forest constitutes 12.68 per cent and open forest 7.87 per cent. The mangrove cover occupies 0.14 per cent of geographical area. The total tree/forest cover is estimated as 81,472 sq km or about 2.48 per cent of the country.
119. G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development is located at Kosi-Katarmal, Almora, Uttaranchal.
120. The Environmental Information System (ENVIS) network brings out a quarterly journal, Paryavaran Abstracts, which contains information about environmental research in the Indian context.
121. The ENVIS has been designated as National Focal Point (NFP) and Regional Service Centre (RSC) for South Asia sub-regional countries by INFOTERRA (a global information system on environment) of UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
122. The Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) consists of nine main divisions, namely, (i) Economic; (ii) Banking; (iii) Insurance; (iv) Budget; (v) Foreign Trade and Investment; (vi) External Finance; (vii) Capital market; (viii) Fund Bank; and (ix) Currency and Coinage.
123. All revenues received, loans raised and money received in repayment of loans by the Union government form the Consolidated Fund of India. No money can be withdrawn from this Fund except under the authority of an Act of Parliament.
124. The Indian Constitution provides for the establishment of a Consolidated Fund, a Public Account and a Contingency Fund for each State.
125. The first bank of limited liability, managed by Indians, was Oudh Commercial Bank. It was founded in 1881. Punjab National Bank was established in 1894.
126. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was established under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 on April 1, 1935 and nationalized on January 1,1949.
127. RBI is the sole authority for issue of currency notes in India, other than one-rupee coins and subsidiary coins and notes.
128. India ranks third in the world, after China and USA, in terms of production of coal.
129. The three important gold fields of India are: Kolar (Karnataka), Hutti in Raichur district (Karnataka) and Ramgiri in Anantapur district (Andhra Pradesh).
130. Mains reserves of Tungsten are located at Degana, Rajasthan.
131. The Mangampet deposits, occurring in Cuddapah district of Andhra Pradesh is the single largest deposit of Barytes in the world.
132. The main diamond-bearing areas in India are Panna belt in Madhya Pradesh, Munimadugu-Banganapalle conglomerate in Kurnool district, Wajrakarur Kimberlite pipe in Anantapur district and Krishna river basin in Andhra Pradesh.
133. Orissa is a major producer of Graphite in India.
134. Judges of the Supreme Court of India hold office until they attain the age of 65 years. Judges of the High Court hold office until they attain the age of 62 years.
135. The National Judicial Academy is located in Bhopal with its registered office in New Delhi.
136. V.V. Giri National Labour Institute, Noida, is an autonomous body under the Union Ministry of Labour. It is engaged in research pertaining to labour and training of labour administrators, trade unions, public sector managers and other government functionaries concerned with labour.
137. The first radio programme was broadcast in India in 1923 by the Radio Club of Bombay.
138. All India Radio (AIR) operates on motto Bahujana Hitaya; Bahujana Sukhya (to promote the happiness and welfare of the masses through information, education and entertainment.
139. Cyan Darshan is the educational channel run by Doordarshan.
140. Press Trust of India (PTI) is India’s largest news agency.
141. United News of India (UNI) became the first agency in India to launch a full-fledged Hindi wire service Univarta in 1982. In early 1990s, it launched the first-ever wire service in Urdu.
142. The Press Council of India has been established under the Act of Parliament for the purpose of preserving the freedom of the press, and of maintaining and improving the standards of newspapers and news agencies in India.
143. India has one of the largest road networks in the world, aggregating to about 3.3 million kilometres.
144. Golden Quadrilateral comprises of National Highways connecting the four metro cities.
145. Shipping Corporation of India Limited (SCI) is the biggest shipping line of India.
146. Indian Institute of Maritime Studies (IIMS) is located in Mumbai.
147. India has 12 major ports and about 184 other ports.
148. Mumbai, Nhava Sheva, Kandla, Mormugao, New Mangalore and Cochin are the major ports on west coast.
149. Kolkata/Haldia, Para dip, Visakhapatnam, Chennai, Ennore and Tuticorin are major ports on the east coast.
150. Command Area Development (CAD) Programme was launched in 1974-75 with main objective of improving the utilization of created irrigation potential and optimizing agriculture production and productivity from irrigated lands on sustainable bases.