April 2014

Manuel Valls
Courtesy : Wikipedia

Manuel Valls is appointed as the new prime minister of France.

Dhole
Courtesy : Wikipedia

Asiatic wild dog or Indian wild dog or Dhole is spotted for the first time in West Bengal at Jaldapara National Park. It is classified as endangered species in the IUCN Red list.

Scientists created an artificial chromosome for yeast, i.e. for a eukaryotic cell for the first time. The chromosome is named as SYNIII.

Asian Development Outlook 2014, released by Asian Development Bank forecasts India's GDP growth for 2014-15 at 5.5% and for 2015-16 at 6%.

International court of justice (ICJ) ordered Japan to stop it's whaling programme, Jarpa II in Antarctica.

The RBI granted 'in-principle' approval to Bandhan financial services private limited and IDFC limited to set up banks.

PSLV C-24 successfully placed IRNSS-1B into orbit. IRNSS-1B is the second of the seven satellites of Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System.

Marie Louise Coleiro Preca was appointed as President of Malta.

Wisden Cricketers of the Year 2013

Shikar Dhawan (IND)

Chris Rogers (AUS)

Ryan Harris (AUS)

Joe Root (ENG)

Charlotte Edwards (ENG)

The Wisden Cricketers of the Year started in 1889.

R. Chandrasekharan was appointed as chairman of Nasscom for 2014-15.

Through 'South Asia Economic Focus' report, World Bank projected the following GDP growth rates for India:

2013-14 : 4.8%

2014-15 : 5.7%

In 'World Economic Outlook' report, IMF projected the following growth rates for India:

2013-14 : 4.4%

2014-15 : 5.4%

Mangalyaan

Nov 5, 2013: PSLV-C25 placed Mars Orbiter into Earth's orbit.

Dec 1, 2013: Mars Orbiter was placed in Sun-centric orbit.

Dec 4, 2013: Mars Orbiter got out of Earth's sphere of influence (SOI) and is on it's way to Mars.

April 9, 2014: Mars Orbiter covered 34 crore km, half of it's entire journey of 68 crore km.

Shyam Saran Negi
Courtesy : dnaindia

Shyam Saran Negi, voted in all elections since 1951.

Navy Incidents

INS Sindhurakshak sank in August, 2013.

INS Sindhughosh almost ran aground in January, 2014.

Fire on INS Sindhuratna killed 2 naval officers in February, 2014.

All the above submarines are kilo-class submarines.

Due to the recent incidents in Navy, Navy Chief D.K. Joshi resigned in February, 2014.

Indo-China foreign relations

The present common regional challenge is the situation in Afghanistan.

China made territorial claims over Arunachal Pradesh ( calls it South Tibet) and also issued stapled visas to the people belonging to the state to underline it as a disputed territory.

Indian History

The Indus Valley Civilization

Indus Valley Civilisation is also called as Harappan Civilisation, where Harappa is the first excavated city of the civilisation.

Harappan civilisation is divided into 3 stages:

1. Early Harappan Civilisation (circa 3500 - 2600 Before Common Era)
2. Mature Harappan Civilisation (c. 2600 - 2000 BCE)
3. Late Harappan Civilisation (c. 2000 - 1600 BCE)

Important Harappan sites:

1. Manda
2. Rakhigarhi
3. Banawali
4. Mitathal
5. Kalibangan
6. Dholavira
7. Nageshwar
8. Rangpur
9. Lothal
10. Harappa
11. Ganweriwala
12. Kot diji
13. Chanhudaro
14. Balakot
15. Amri
16. Mohenjo-dado
17. Sutkagendor

Mohenjo-daro (Pakistan) is the largest Harappan site.

The top 5 biggest Harappan sites are

1. Mohenjo-daro
2. Harappa
3. Gaweriwala
4. Rakhigarhi
5. Dholavira

Cholistan is a desert area of Pakistan bordering the Thar desert.

Seals are made up of Steatite. Seals display animal motifs and script.

Beads are made from carnelian, jasper, crystal, quartz, steatite, copper, bronze, gold, shell, faience, terracotta and burnt clay.

Weights are made of chert and are in cubical shape. Lower denominations are in binary and higher denominations are in decimal.

Terracotta model of plough was found at Banawali.

Ploughed fields were found at Kalibangan. The fields had perpendicular furrows, where two crops are grown simultaneously.

Canals were found at Shortughai, Afghanistan.

Water reservoirs were found at Dholavira, Gujarat.

Utensils were made of stone, metal and terracotta.

Domestic animals - cattle, sheep, goat, buffaloes, pig and oxen.

Wild animals - Boar, Deer and gharial.

Crops - wheat, barley, lentil, chickpea, sesame, mullets and rice.

Food subsistence - plant and animal products including fish.

Cities are divided into two parts: citadel and lower town. Citadel is in the western direction and lower town is in the eastern direction. However, Lothal and Dholavira are exceptions.

Alexander Cunningham is the first director general of ASI and is known as father of Indian archaeology.

Magan is the old name of Oman.

Meluhha is the old name of Harappan region.

Dilmun is the old name of Bahrain.

Copper is imported from Khetri of Rajasthan and Magan.

Gold is imported from South India.

Harappans worshipped Mother Godesses, Preist Kings, Pasupati and Nature.

The Pasupati seal also contains tiger, elephant, buffalo and rhino.

Indra, the warrior god of Aryans is called as puramdara ( fort destroyer ).

Harappa was excavated by D.R.Sahni.

Mohenjo-daro was excavated by R.D. Banerjee.

Mauryan Empire

Chandragupta Maurya

Founder of Mauryan Empire.

First Emperor of India.

Also known as Sandrokottos or Androcottus.

Son - Bindusara.

Grandson - Ashoka

Adopted Jainism

Became ascetic under Bhadrabahu.

Ended his life in Sallekhana ( Death by fast ) at Sravana Belgola, Karnataka.

Bindusara

Ashoka

Ghadar Party

1. Established by Punjabi immigrants in Canada and the U.S
2. Aim - to gain independence of India from British.
3. Ghadar means revolt.
4. Important persons - Kartar Singh Sarabha, Lala Har Dayal, Rashbehari Bose  and Sohan Singh Bhakna.
5. The Hindustani Workers of the Pacific Coast formed the base for setup of Ghadar Party.
6. Ghadar Party started as the Pacific Coast Hindustan Association in 1913 in the U.S.
7. Sohan Singh Bhakna is it's first President.
8. Started a weekly paper called The Ghadar, first published from Sanfrancisco on November 1, 1913.
9. Officially dissolved in 1948.

Komagata Maru

1. SS Komagata Maru - Japanese ship that carried 376 Indians from Hong Kong to Vancouver, Canada.
2. Canada denied entry to 352 Indians citing 'The Asian Exclusion Act' and sent back the ship.
3. 19 Indians were killed by the British on return of the ship to India at Budge Budge in Calcutta.
4. The incident triggered the growth of Ghadar Party.

Indian Polity

Constitution of India

The Preamble

"We the people of India, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic and to provide to all its citizens
Justice; social, economic and political
Liberty of thought and expression;
Equality of status and opportunity
and promote among them all Fraternity to promote unity and integrity of the nation
On this twenty sixth day of November 1949, we adopt, enact and give ourselves this constitution"

The Union and its territory

Citizenship

Fundamental Rights

Directive Principles of State Policy

Fundamental Duties

The Union

States

Money Bill

It is defined by article 110, provisions related to tax, financial obligations, consolidated fund of India, contingency fund of India and public account of India.

A bill is declared as a money bill or not by the speaker.

Money bill can be introduced only in the loksabha on the recommendation of the President.

Money bill cannot be referred to a joint select committee.

Rajyasabha may accept the bill.

Rajyasabha may propose recommendations to the bill. These amendments may or may not be accepted by the loksabha.

Rajyasabha may not act on the bill for 14 days.

In all the three cases above, the bill is said to be passed by both houses of the parliament.

The President may accept or withhold the bill. However, he cannot return the bill for reconsideration.

The Parliament

Parliament - President + Loksabha (House of the People/First Chamber/House of Elders)+ Rajyasabha (Council of States/Second Chamber/Popular House)

Hindi names were adopted in 1954.

Parliament - Legislative wing of the government

President - Mr. Pranab Mukerjee

Loksabha - 552 (max)

Rajyasabha - 250 (max) 

Rajyasabha origin - Montague-Chelmsford Report (1918)

 Vice-President is the ex-officio Chairman of Rajyasabha.

Parliamentary Committees

Public Accounts Committee (PAC)

1. It is constituted by the Parliament. (As it is a Paliamentary Committee, it is constituted by the Paliament)
2. Role : to examines the expenditure of the Government of India. (Looks after the Public Accounts i.e. Accounts of the Government of India/Public)
3. Composition :  22 MPs, elected through system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote.
4. Distribution : 15 MPs are from Loksabha and 7 MPs from Rajyasabha. (Majority is from Loksabha)
5. Chairperson : Selected by the Speaker of the LS from the MPs of LS in the committee.
6. Term : 1 Year.
7. A minister is not eligible to be elected as a member.
8. Since 1967, the Chairman is selected from the opposition. (Became a Convention) 

Attorney General of India

1. Chief legal advisor of the union government. (SC is the legal advisor of the President under aticle 143. Advocate General is the chief legal advisor of the state government.)
2. Primary attorney of the union government in the SC.
3. Appointed by the President.
4. Holds office during the pleasure of the President. (No security of tenure.)
5. Qualified to be appointed as the judge of the SC.
6. Has right to audience in all courts of India.
7. Has right to participate in the proceedings of the Parliament, without voting right.
8. Assisted by Solicitor General and Additional Solicitor Generals.
9. M.C. Setalvad is the first AG of India.
10. Mukul Rohatgi is the 14th and current AG of India.

Important Non-Constitutional Bodies

Planning Commission

National Development Council

Central Information Commission

State Information Commision

National Human Rights Commission

Indian Economy

Books to read:

1. Economic Survey
2. Budget
3. Indian Economy - Ramesh Singh

GDP Growth projections of India by various agencies

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

5.4 % (2014-15)

4.7 % (2015-16)

World Bank

5.7 % (2014-15)

Asian Development Bank (ADB)

5.5 % (2014-15)

6 % (2015-16)

National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER)

5.1-5.5 % (2014-15)

Sectors of Economy

1. Agriculture sector
2. Industrial sector
3. Service sector

FICCI
Confederation of Indian Industries (CII)
National Association of Software and  Service Companies (Nasscom)
K. Natarajan is the chairman of Nasscom.
R. Chandrasekhar is the president of Nasscom.
U.S. is the largest market for Indian IT exports with a share of 62 per cent.

Classification of Industries

1. Small Scale Industries (SSIs)
2. Medium Scale Industries (MSIs)
3. Large Scale Industries (LSIs)

Def. of SSI: An industry with an investment limit of Rs. 100 lakh

Significance of Small Scale Industries (SSI)

Less capital intensive

More labour absorbing

Rural industrialization

Banking

A bank is a financial intermediary between the depositors and borrowers.

Banks may be classified as scheduled banks and non-scheduled banks.

Scheduled banks are the banks that are included in the second schedule of the RBI Act, 1934.

Scheduled banks may be classified as commercial banks and investment bank.

Commercial banks may be classified as public sector banks, private sector banks and regional rural banks.

There are 27 public sector banks:

1. Allahabad Bank 

2. Andhra Bank 

3. Bank of Baroda 

4. Bank of India 

5. Bank of Maharashtra 

6. Bharatiya Mahila Bank 

7. Canara Bank 

8. Central Bank of India 

9. Corporation Bank 

10. Dena Bank 

11. IDBI Bank Ltd. 

12. Indian Bank 

13. Indian Overseas Bank 

14. Oriental Bank of Commerce 

15. Punjab & Sind Bank 

16. Punjab National Bank 

17. Syndicate Bank 

18. UCO Bank 

19. Union Bank of India 

20. United Bank of India 

21. Vijaya Bank

22. State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur

23. State Bank of Hyderabad

24. State Bank of India

25. State Bank of Mysore

26. State Bank of Patiala

27. State Bank of Travancore

State Bank of India and it's associated banks are called as State Bank Group.

Development Financial Institutions are financial bodies that provide long-term finance to agriculture and industry.

Industrial Finance Corporation Limited is the first DFI in India and is established in 1948.

S.H. Khan committee (1997) recommended transformation of DFI into universal banks.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is the central bank of India.

RBI headquarters is at Mumbai.

RBI was established in 1935 and was nationalized in 1949.

RBI has a governor and 4 deputy governors.

RBI governor - Dr. Raghuram Rajan

RBI deputy governors - Dr. K.C. Chakrabarthy, H.R. Khan, Dr. Urjit R. Patel, Anand Sinha.

RBI frames the monetary policy.

Infrastructure

1.Electricity

Total installed electricity capacity 254 GW.

Total installed renewable energy capacity 32.8 GW.

2.Ports

3.Roads

4.Airports

Current Affairs of February 2014

1. The 28th Surajkund International Crafts Mela started in Haryana. Goa is the theme state for this year. Sri Lanka is the partner country this year. About 20 countries are participating in the Mela.


2. The Central Statistical Office (CSO) estimated the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for 2013-14 at 4.9 per cent. The GDP growth for 2012-13 is 4.5 per cent.
   
   According to National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) the exports of Information Technology (IT) to grow at 13-15 per cent in 2014-15.
   
   Lakshmi Swaminathan is elected as the president of administrative tribunal of Asian Development Bank (ADB). She became the first Indian to head the tribunal.
   
   Ashok Vardhan is appointed as co-head of Goldman Sachs' securities division.
   
   International Olympic Commitee (IOC) revoked the suspension of Indian Olympic Association (IOA).
   
   

   

   Courtesy : Wikipedia

   Film director and cinematographer Balu Mahendra passed away.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Autoimmune diseases are the diseases that are caused by antibodies. Antibodies are proteins synthesized by the immune system to fight foreign bacteria and viruses. In autoimmune diseases the antibodies attack the human cells.
   
   Recent Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As)
   
   
   1. Balmer Lawrie acquired Vacation Exotica.
   2. MakeMyTrip acquired EasytoBook
   3. Thomas Cook India merged Sterling Holiday Resorts.
   
   Google is working on a project called 'next generation' of internet with a target of offering data transfer speeds of 10 Gbps. At present, Google Fiber service offers data transfer speeds of 1 Gbps.
   
   Interim Budget
   The phones that cost less than Rs. 2000 were levied an excise duty of 1 per cent. Now, they are levied an excise duty of 6 per cent^[4].
   Interest subsidy on education loans taken upto March 31, 2009. Which means the union government will pay outstanding interest liability till December 31, 2013. However, the students have to pay interest from January 1, 2014^[5].
   
   The Union Government accepted "One Rank, One Pension" for ex-servicemen from 2014-15. This means the ex-servicemen of same rank and the same length of service receive same pension, irrespective of their retirement date.
   
   Abdul Basit is appointed as Pakistan high commissioner to India. He replaces Salman Bashir^[6].
   
   
   
   References:
   
   
   1. http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/gdp-estimates-show-worst-may-be-over/article5666488.ece
   2. http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-business/ashok-varadhan-to-cohead-goldman-sachs-securities-division/article5679082.ece
   3. http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/balu-mahendra-passes-away/article5687355.ece
   4. http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/cars-are-cheaper-cellphones-dearer/article5700893.ece
   5. http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/student-loan-burden-eases/article5700891.ece
   6. http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/abdul-basit-pakistan-envoy-to-india/article5700817.ece
   
   

Current Affairs of January, 2014

1. According to Gallup Poll, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are the most admired man and woman in the U.S.A.
2. Retail inflation for industrial workers for November stood at 11.47 %.

సమనార్థక పదాలు (Synonyms)

1. వెన్నెల - జ్యోత్స్న (Moon Light)
2. సూర్యుడు - భానుడు, భాస్కరుడు (Sun)
3. ఆకాశము - నింగి (Sky)
4. పుండరీకాక్షుడు - విష్ణువు (Lord Vishnu)
5. యతి - ఋషి (Ascetic)
6. దీవెన - ఆశీర్వాదం (Blessing)
7. తల్లి ప్రేమ - మాతృ వాత్సల్యం (Mother's Love)
8. పద్మొద్భవుడు - బ్రహ్మ (Lord Brahma)
9. ఇల్లాలు - భార్య (Wife)
10. కెరటము - అల (Wave)
11. కూర్మము - తాబేలు (Tortoise)
12. వరాహం - పంది (Pig)
13. చంద్రుడు - (Moon)
14. బంగారం - కనకం (Gold)
15. సముద్రం - కడలి (Sea)
16. మశకం - దోమ (Mosquito)
17.