Cabinet Ministers of India 2014

Cabinet Ministers
● Narendra Modi – Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Space, All important policy issues and all other portfolios not allocated to any Minister 
● Rajnath Singh – Home Affairs 
● Sushma Swaraj – External Affairs, Overseas Indian Affairs 
● Arun Jaitley – Finance, Corporate (Additional charge – Affairs Information and Broadcasting)
● Manohar Parrikar – Defence
● M Venkaiah Naidu – Urban Development, Housing, Urban Poverty Alleviation, Parliamentary Affairs 
● Nitin Gadkari – Road Transport and Highways, Shipping
● Suresh Prabhu – Railways
● Uma Bharati – Water resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation
● Dr Najma Heptulla – Minority Affairs
● Ramvilas Paswan – Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution 
● Kalraj Mishra – Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises 
● Maneka Gandhi – Women and Child Development 
● Ananthkumar – Chemicals and Fertilizers 
● Ravi Shankar Prasad – Communications and Information Technology
● Ashok Gajapathi Raju – Civil Aviation 
● Anant Geete – Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises 
● Harsimrat Kaur Badal – Food Processing Industries 
● Narendra Singh Tomar – Mines, Steel, Labour and Employment 
● Jual Oram – Tribal Affairs 
● Radha Mohan Singh – Agriculture 
● Thaawar Chand Gehlot – Social Justice and Empowerment 
● Smriti Irani – Human Resource Development 
● JP Nadda – Health and Family Welfare
● Birender Singh – Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Drinking Water and Sanitation
● DV Sadananda Gowda – Law and Justice
● Dr Harsh Vardhan – Science and Technology Earth Sciences


Ministers of State (Independent Charge) 
● General VK Singh – Statistics and Programme Implementation (Independent Charge), External Affairs, Overseas Indian Affairs 
● Inderjit Singh Rao – Planning (Independent Charge), Statistics and Programme Implementation (Independent Charge), Defence 
● Santosh Gangwar – Textiles (Independent Charge), Parliamentary Affairs, Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation 
● Shripad Naik – Culture (Independent Charge), Tourism (Independent Charge) 
● Dharmendra Pradhan – Petroleum and Natural Gas (Independent Charge) 
● Sarbananda Sonowal – Skill Development, Entrepreneurship, Youth Affairs and Sports (Independent Charge) 
● Prakash Javadekar – Information and Broadcasting (Independent Charge), Environment, Forest and Climate Change (Independent Charge), Parliamentary Affairs 
● Piyush Goyal – Power (Independent Charge), Coal (Independent Charge), New and Renewable Energy (Independent Charge) 
● Dr Jitendra Singh – Science and Technology (Independent Charge), Earth Sciences (Independent Charge), Prime Minister Office, Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Space 
● Nirmala Sitharaman – Commerce and Industry (Independent Charge), Finance, Corporate Affairs
● Bandaru Dattatreya – Labour and Employment
● Rajiv Pratap Rudy – Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (Independent Charge), Parliamentary Affairs
● Mahesh Sharma – Culture (Independent Charge), Tourism (Independent Charge), Civil Aviation

Ministers of State 
● GM Siddeshwara – Civil Aviation 
● Manoj Sinha – Railways 
● Nihalchand – Chemicals and Fertilizers 
● Upendra Kushwaha – Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Drinking Water and Sanitation 
● Pon Radhakrishnan – Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises 
● Kiren Rijiju – Home Affairs 
● Krishan Pal – Road Transport and Highways, Shipping 
● Dr. Sanjeev Balyan – Agriculture, Food Processing Industries 
● Mansukhbhai Dhanjibhai Vasava – Tribal Affairs 
● Raosaheb Danve – Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution 
● Vishnu Deo Sai – Mines, Steel, Labour and Employment 
● Sudarshan Bhagat – Rural Development
● Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi – Minority Affairs, Parliamentary Affairs
● Ram Kripal Yadav – Drinking Water and Sanitation
● HP Chaudhary – Home Affairs
● Sanwar Lal Jat – Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation
● Mohanbhai Kalyanjibhai Kundariya – Agriculture
● Giriraj Singh – Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
● Hansraj Gangaram Ahir – Chemicals and Fertilizers
● Dr Ramshankar Katheria – Human Resource Development
● Jayant Sinha – Finance
● YS Chowdary – Science and Technology, Earth Science
● Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore – Information and Broadcasting
● Babul Supriyo – Urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation
● Niranjan Jyoti – Food Processing Industries
● Vijay Sampla – Social Justice and Empowerment

Indian Banks and their Headquarter, Heads and Slogans

Name of Bank	Headquarter	Formation	Chairman/Managing Directors	Slogan
Allahabad Bank	Kolkata	1865	Rakesh Sethi	A Tradition of Trust
Andhra Bank	Hyderabad	1923	C. V. R. Rajendran	For all your needs
Bank of Baroda	Baroda	1908	S. S. Mundra	India's International Bank
Bank of India	Mumbai	1906	Vijayalakshmi R. Iyer	Relationship beyondbanking
Bank of Maharashtra	Pune	1935	Sushil Muhnot	One Family, One Bank
Canara Bank	Banglore	1906	R. K. Dubey	Together we can
Central Bank of India	Mumbai	1911	Rajeev Rishi	Central to you since 1911
Corporation Bank	Mangalore	1906	Sadhu Ram Bansal	Prosperity to all
Dena Bank	Mumbai	1938	Ashwani Kumar	Your Trusted Family Bank Taking Banking
Indian Bank	Chennai	1907	T. M. Bhasin	Technology to the Common Man
Indian Overseas Bank	Chennai	1937	M. Narendra	Good people to grow with
Oriental Bank of Commerce	New Delhi	1943	S. Lal Bansal	Where Every Individual is Committed
Punjab National Bank	New Delhi	1895	K. R. Kamath	The name you can bank upon
Punjab and Sind Bank	New Delhi	1908	Jatindraver Singh	Where service is a way of life
Syndicate Bank	Manipal	1925	Sudhir Kumar Jain	Faithful, Friendly
UCO Bank	Kolkata	1943	Arun Kaul	Honours yours trust
Union Bank of India	Mumbai	1919	Arun Tiwari	Good people to bank with
United Bank of India	Kolkata	1950	Deepak Narang, Shri Sanjay Aryan	The Bank that begins with U
Vijaya Bank	Banglore	1931	V. Kannan	A Friend you can bank upon

Important Institutions and Its Headquarters in India

Education 
● Commission of Scientific and Technical Words Terminology—New Delhi
● Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages—Hyderabad
● Institute of National Sanskrit—New Delhi
● National Sanskrit Vidyapeeth—Tirupati
● Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri National Sanskrit Vidyapeeth—New Delhi
● Rashtriya Bal Bhavan—New Delhi
● Institute of Central Indian Language—Mysore
● Indian Council of Higher Research—Shimla
● Indian Institute of Social Sciences and Research—New Delhi
● Council of Indian Philosophy Research—New Delhi and Lucknow
● Indian Institute of Science—Bengaluru
● Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management—Gwalior
● Central Hindi Institute—Agra

Environmental Institutes
● Arid Zone Research Institute—Jodhpur
● Central Pollution Control Board—Delhi
● Central Museum Authority—New Delhi
● Rehabilitation Institute of Social Forestry and Ecology—Allahabad
● G. B. Pant Himdoya Environment and Development Institute—Almora
● Himalayan Forest Research Centre—Shimla
● Indian Forest Research and Education Council—Dehradun
● Institute of Indian Forest Management—Bhopal
● Institute of Indian Plywood Industry and Research—Bengaluru
● Institute of Forest Genetic Tree Breeding—Coimbatore
● Forest Productive Centre—Ranchi
● Institute of Forest Research and Human Resource Development—Chindwara
● Institute of Rainforest—Jorhat
● Institute of Lumbering Science and Technology—Bengaluru
● Institute of National Science & Technology—Faridabad
● Indian Botanical Survey—Kolkata
● Indian Anthropology Survey—Kolkata
● Indian Forest Survey—Jorhat
● Tropical Institute—Jabalpur

Defence Institutes
● Air Force Academy—Hyderabad
● Air Force Technical College—Bengaluru
● College of Military Engineering—Pune
● Defence Management Institute—Sikandrabad
● Defence Services Staff College—Wellington
● Directorate General N.C.C.—New Delhi
● Electrical and Mechanical Engineering School—Baroda
● Hindustan Aeronatic Limited—Bengaluru
● Indian Air Force Training Centre—Chennai
● Indian Military Academy—Dehradun
● Institute of Armament Technology—Pune
● Military College of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering—Sikandrabad
● Directorate of National Cadet Core—New Delhi
● National Defence Academy—Kharagwasala
● Naval College of Engineering—Lonavala
● Officers Training Academy—Chennai

Art and Culture
● Institute of National Museum History for Art Conservation and Science Museum—New Delhi
● Allahabad Museum—Allahabad
● Asiatic Society—Kolkata
● Indian Anthropology Survey—Kolkata
● Indian National Archives—New Delhi
● Central Buddh Education Institute—Leh
● Central High Tibetean Educational Institute—Varanasi
● Central Secretariat Library (1981)—New Delhi
● Cultural Institute and Training Centre (1979)—New Delhi
● Delhi Public Library—New Delhi
● Gandhian Recollection and Philosophy Recollection—New Delhi
● Institute of Indian Diamond—Surat
● Indian Museum—Kolkata
● Indira Gandhi National Art Centre—New Delhi
● Indira Gandhi National Human Museum—Bhopal
● Jawahar Lal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy (1954)—Imphal
● Kala Chitra Foundation—Chennai
● Khudabaksh Oriental Public Library—Patna
● Lalit Kala Academy (1954)—New Delhi
● Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad Asian Studies Institute—Kolkata
● National Drama Vidyalaya (1959)—New Delhi
● National Science Museum Parishad—Kolkata
● National Modern Art Technique (1954)—Kolkata
● National Library (1948)—Kolkata
● National Museum—New Delhi
● National Research Laboratory for Conservation of Cultural Heritage—Lucknow
● National School of Drama—New Delhi
● Nav-Nalanda Mahabihar—Bihar
● Nehru Memorial Museum and Library—New Delhi
● Raja Rammohan Rai Library Foundation—Kolkata
● Ram Krishan Mission Sanskrit Institute (1938)—Kolkata
● Rampur Raja Library—Rampur
● Sahitya Academy (1954)—New Delhi
● Salarjanj Museum—Hyderabad
● Sangeet Natak Academy—New Delhi
● Victoria Memorial Hall—Kolkata

Food and Civil Supply
● Indian Standard Bureau—Delhi
● Indian Examination House—Kolkata

Health and Family Welfare
● Central Health Education Bureau—New Delhi
● National Medical Science Academy—New Delhi
● National Ayurvedic Institute—Jaipur
● National Siddh Institute—Chennai
● National Yunani Institute—Bengaluru
● Morarji Desai National Yog Institute—New Delhi
● National Natural Medical Institute—Pune
● National Homeopathic Institute—Kolkata
● National Ayurvedic Vidyapeeth—New Delhi
● Hindustan Organic Chemicals Ltd.—Rasoyni (Maharashtra)

Industries
● South India Textile Research Association—Coimbatore
● North India Cloth Research Institute—Ghaziabad
● Silk and Art Silk Mills Research Association—Mumbai
● Indian Jute Industry Research Association—Kolkata
● Wool Research Institute—Thane
● National Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd.—Trombay
● Pesticide Technology Institute—Gurgaon
● Hindustan Antibiotic Ltd.—Pimpri, Pune
● Plastic Engineering and Technology Institute—(Sepate) Chennai
● Indian Bureau of Mines—Nagpur
● National Aluminium Co. Ltd.—Orissa
● Hindustan Zinc Ltd.—Udaipur

Law and Justice
● National Justice Academy—Bhopal
● Sardar Ballabh Bhai Patel National Police Academy—Hyderabad
● Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narain National Crime and Justice Institute—New Delhi

Labour
● Labour Bureau Institute—Chandigarh and Shimla
● V. V. Giri National Labour Institute—Noida (U. P.)
● Central Labour Board—Nagpur
● Director General of Mines Security—Dhanbad
● Central Education Media Institute—Chennai
● Institute of Central government Training and Research—Kolkata

Mass Communication
● Publication Deptt.—New Delhi
● Film Department—Mumbai
● National Film Archieves—Pune
● Indian Committee of Children Film—Mumbai
● Directorate of Publications and Visual Publicity—Delhi
● Directorate of Regional Publicity—New Delhi
● Testimony Board of Central Movie—Mumbai
● Institute of Indian Film and Television—Pune
● Satyajeet Ray Film and Television Institute— Kolkata

Institute of Science and Technology
● Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science—Kolkata
● Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology—Pune
● Indian Astro-physics Institute—Bengaluru
● Jawahar Lal Nehru Developed Scientific Research Centre—Bengaluru
● Indian Institute of Geomagnetism—Mumbai
● Indian Science Academy—Bengaluru
● Indian National Science Academy—New Delhi
● Indian Science Congress Association—Kolkata
● Indian National Engineering Academy—New Delhi
● Indian National Oceanic Information Service Centre—Hyderabad
● Indian Oceanic Technical Institute—Chennai
● National Antarctic and Ocean Research Centre—Goa
● National Biological Science Centre—Bengaluru
● National Institute of Reservation—New Delhi
● Centre of National Cell Science—Pune
● Centre of National Mental Research—Manesar
● National Plant-Genome Research Centre—New Delhi
● National Earthquake Science Data Centre—New Delhi
● Indian Science Academy—Allahabad
● Survey Training Institute—Hyderabad (with the help of U.N.D.P.)
● Bose Institute—Kolkata
● Agarkar Research Institute—Pune
● Sri Chitra Triunal Medical Science and Technical Institute—Tiruvananthapuram
● Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology—Dehradun
● N. N. Bose National Fundamental Science Centre—Kolkata
● Birbal Sahani Institute of Paleo-botany—Lucknow
● Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council—New Delhi
● Science Expansion (Vigyan Prasar)—New Delhi
● Liquid Crystal Research Institute—Bengaluru
● Aryabhatta Research Observatory—Nainital
● Director of Atomic Mineral Investigation and Research—Hyderabad
● Indian Uranium Corporation Ltd.—Jaduguda
● Heavy Water Board—Mumbai
● Nuclear Fuel Campus—Hyderabad
● Bhabha Atomic Research Centre—Mumbai
● Shri Ram Institute of Chemical Research—New Delhi
● Institute for Plasma Research (I. P. R.)—Ahmedabad
● Harish Chand Research Institute—Chennai
● Physics Institute—Bhubaneshwar
● Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre—Kolkata
● Deptt. of Atomic Energy—Mumbai
● Project Directorate, Integrated Coastal and Sea Coast Management—Chennai
● Sea-biotic Resources and Ecology Centre—Cochin
● Hindustan Zinc Limited—Udaipur
● D. N. A. Finger Print and Centre—Hyderabad
● Biotic Resources and Continuous Development Centre—Imphal
● Life Science Institute—Bhubaneshwar
● Physical Research Laboratory—Ahmedabad (Gujarat)
● S. V. National Technical Institute—Surat
● Saha Nuclear Physics Institute—Kolkata (W. Bengal)
● Cosmic Rays Research Institute—Gauribidanow
● Shri Ram Chennai Research Institute—New Delhi
● Tata Institute of Fundamental Research—Mumbai
● Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology—Kocchi
● Institute of Mathematical Science—Chennai
● Institute of Physics—Bhubaneshwar
● National Biology Centre—Bengaluru
● Uranium Corporation of India Ltd.—Jaduguda (Jharkhand)
● Vishveshraiya National Technical Institute—Nagpur

Transport
● Diesel Locomotive Works—Varanasi
● Chitranjan Locomotive Works—Chitranjan
● Rail Coach Factory—Kapurthala
● Integral Coach Factory—Perambur, Kapurthala
● Rail Wheel Factory—Bengaluru
● Marine Engineering and Research Institute—Kolkata
● Marine Engineering and Research Institute—Mumbai
● Lal Bahadur Shastri Coastal Research and Higher Study Institute—Mumbai
● Indian Inland Waterways Authority—Noida
● Maritime Training Institute Powai—Mumbai
● Hindustan Shipyard Limited—Visakhapatnam
● Central Inland Water Transport Corporation—Kolkata
● Civil Aviation Security Bureau—Delhi
● National Aviation Management and Research Institute—Delhi
● Fire Training Centre—New Delhi
● Fire Service Training School—Narainpur (Kolkata)
● Indira Gandhi National Flying Academy—Furshatganj (U. P.)
● Indian Tourism and Travel Management Institute—Gwalior
● National Water Sporting Institute—Goa

Water Resources
● Central Soil and Material Research Centre—New Delhi
● Central Water and Electric Research Centre—Kharagwasala (Pune)
● National Project Construction Corporation Ltd.—New Delhi
● National Hydrology Institute—Roorkee (Uttarakhand)

Welfare
● National Blind Institute—Dehradun
● National Orthopedic Disabled Institute—Kolkata
● Aliyawarjung National Hard of Hearing Institute—Mumbai
● National Mental Disabled Institute—Sikandrabad
● National Rehabilitation Training and Research Institute—Cuttack
● Physically Disabled Institute—New Delhi
● Multi-disabled Strengthen Institute—Chennai
● National Public Cooperation and Child Development Institute—New Delhi

Youth Work and Play
● Rajeev Gandhi National Youth Development Institute—Perambur
● Laxmibai National Physical Education Institute (1957)—Gwalior

Energy
● National Thermal Power Corporation—New Delhi
● Electric Finance Corporation Ltd.—New Delhi

Communication
● Telecommunication Engineering Centre—New Delhi
● National Telecommunication Finance and Management Academy—Hyderabad
● High Level Telecommunication Training Centre—Ghaziabad
● Advance Level Telecommunication Training Centre—Ghaziabad
● Bharat Ratna Bhim Rao Ambedkar Telecommunication Training Institute—Jabalpur

Amazing Facts About Our World

● World population in 2011 – 6,988 million (3,523 million males and 3,465 million females)
● World population under 30 in 2011 – 3,649 million
● World population over 60 in 2011 – 785 million
● World population over 100 in 2011 – 532,000
● Number of births worldwide every day – 378,000
● Number of deaths worldwide everyday – 162,000
● World economic growth rate in 2010 – 5.0% (-0.6% in 2009)
● Number of illiterate adults – 796 million
● Number of unemployed people – 205 million
● Average world life expectancy – 70.8 years for females; 66.4 years for males
● Annual world population increase – 79.33 million people
● Number of people living outside country of birth – 214 million, or more than 3% of the world’s population
● Fertility rate – 2.5 births per woman
● Urban population – 50.5% of total population
● World trade in 2009 – US $ 25.2 billion
● Annual world defence expenditure – US $ 1,630 billion
● Number of TV sets – 1.4 billion
● Number of radio receivers – 2.2 billion
● Number of cigarettes smoked – 5,600 billion a year
● Number of internet users – 2.0 billion
● Number of mobile phone users – 4.7 billion
● Number of motor vehicles on the road – 790 million
● Number of people who cross international borders every day – 2 million
● Number of people living in extreme poverty – 1.4 billion
● Number of people living in urban slums – 828 million
● Number of undernourished people – 925 million
● Number of overweight adults – 1.6 billion
● Number of obese adults – 502 million
● Number of people dying of starvation – 24,000 every day
● Number of people lacking clean water – 1.1 billion
● Number of people lacking basic sanitation – 2.6 billion
● Number of recorded executions in 2008 – 2,390
● Number of people worldwide exposed to indoor 
air pollution that exceeds WHO guidelines – 1 billion
● Annual carbon dioxide emissions – 7.7 billion tonnes of carbon equivalent

Indian Railway at a Glance

1831-33 : A thought to create railway development for the transportation between Madras and Bangalore cropped up.

1844 : R. S. Stephenson thought of creating East India Railway.

1845-46  : Survey work for new rail line for Calcutta–Delhi.

1848-49  : Construction of Howrah and Raniganj rail line.

1850 : Construction of Indian Peninsular Railway company for rail line between Bombay thane and Calcutta–Mirzapur rail line began.

1853 : Inauguration of Indian Railway on 16 April, 1853 by running train between Boribundar (Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus) and Thane.

1854 : 24 miles railway line EIR, between Howrah Hoogely opened on 15 August.

1856 : Madras Railway company opened Madras Arkonam for passenger transportation.

1857 : Northern Railway began its first train between Allahabad and Kanpur on March.

1860 : Morse Telegraph Telecommunication started by Indian Railway.

1860-68 : Immediate Guarantee System began  East Indian Railway Great India Peninsula Bombay Baroda and Central India Railway and Madras states Railway participated in it.

1869-81 : Under new system state government were authorised to lay rail lines.

1890 : Indian Railway Act passed.

1905 : Formation of Railway Board.

1922 : Re organisation of Railway and more right were given.

1924 : Rail Budget was separated from General Budget.

1925 : E.I.R and GIPR were given separate place and right in railway management.

1925 : First rail electrification of Harbour branch of Bombay with 1500 volt DC.

1928 : Electrification of Bombay Suburban Section of  B.B. & C.I.R.

1931 : Electrification of Madras suburban section.

1937 : India got 3200 km long rail line on separation of Burma from India.

1939-42 : Security material for world war produced in railway workshops.

1942 : War transport established.

1947 : 11,200 km long rail line to Pakistan.

1950 : First steam engine manufactured by Chitranjan  locomotive.

1950 : Nationalization of Indian  Railway.

1953 : Railway centenary celebrated throughout the country.

1955 : First diesel locomotive plied on metre gauge in Neville and Gandhidham section.

1955 : Coach factory established in Perambur.

1957 : Bombay Madras rail line from 25 KVAC inaugurated, Railway security Force Act passed.

1958 : Electrification of Howrah–Vardhman section.

1961 : First electric engine Lokmanya was manufactured by Chitranjan Locomotive.

1962 : First electric train ran between Bombay and Pune.

1964 : Kunjaru Committee organised to bring reforms in Rail administration.

1964 : Production started in Diesel Locomotive works Varanasi.

1970 : First combined planning of Railway (1970-85) started.

1972 : Manufacturing of steam engines stopped in Chitranjan Rail Engine Factory from 5 February, Jammu appeared on Indian railway map.

1974 : Third class in railway banished.

1976 : IRCON established in April.

1977 : Railway Time Table ‘Train At a Glance’ launched.

1979 : Central organisation for modernisation of workshop established.

1978 : Double Decker train service ‘Panchvati Express’ began between Bombay–Pune on 12 April.

1982 : Palace on Wheel started.

1984 : Metro train inaugurated in Calcutta.

1985 : Nation's first computerised reservation center began in New Delhi on 15 November, 1985, second combined planning (1985–2000) began.

1986 : Indian Railway Finance Corporation established.

1987 : Center for Railway Information Service established in New Delhi.

1988 : Indian Rail Electricity Institute established in Nasik optical fiber Communication Service started between Churchgate–Virat in 1988. India’s first Shatabdi Express New Delhi–Jhansi) launched.

1989 : Formation of Railway Time Committee and Railway Dhaba Authority.

1990 : Goods passengers train service began between India and Bangladesh.

1991 : First train service in Mizoram from Bhai Rabi station began on 6 March ‘Palace on Wheels’ started with new decore.

1992 : RFFC established. ‘Apna Wagon’ scheme began. For the first time in the world first women special Train between Churchgate–Borivallie on 5 May started.

1993 : Sleeper class began on 1st April. Formation of Ojha Committee to solve the problems of Konkan railway

1994 : Rail passengers Insurance Scheme launched. First Rail Bus service began between Medata road and Medata city of Northern Railway.

1995 : Metro rail began between Tollyganj and Damdam on 27 September. 1995 was celebrated as ‘Rail Consumer year’.

1996 : 6 new regional rails formed in Hubali, Hajipur, Jaipur, Bhuvneshwar, Allahabad and Jabalpur. Formation of Delhi Metro Rail corporation Ltd. On 4 March, the name Mumbai VT changed to Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus.

1997 : Telephone service based on satellite started in August Kranti Express on 15 April.

1998 : Konkan railway fully in operation from 26 January. On 1 May Prime Minister dedicated to the nation. Walky–Talky communication between guards and drivers began. 3 phase Electric engines of 6000 HP began to be manufactured indigenously. ‘Fairy Queen’ got place in Guinness Book for having the oldest Steam engine in working condition.

1999 : At  Delhi railway station, worlds, biggest route relay interlinking began. Darjeeling Himalayan Railway declared world heritage by UNESCO. Nilgiri Mountain Railway celebrated its centenary.

2000 : Online rail information system started first time at the Church gate head office on 29 April. On 17 December at Kota station of western railway first time automatic charting system inaugurated.

2001 : 22-28 January. BNR Hotel, Puri celebrated its platinum jubilee. On 24 February, at Chennai station first time Internet Trade Center was opened. On 5 November, Western railway celebrated its golden jubilee

2002 : On the beginning of 150th year of Indian Railway on 15 April, in a special programme. Mascot Bholuguard and special monogram launched.

2003 : On 5 January Western Railway celebrated golden jubilee of its Electric Rail Service. On 15 February the name of ‘Wheel and Axil factory’ changed as Rail wheel factory. On 1 May for the first time RailTel began broadband in the moving train in the world.

2004 : UNESCO declared Chattrapati Shivaji Terminus as world heritage.

2005 : Nilgiri Mountain Rail was declared world heritage by UNESCO. E-ticketing began in all the trains.

2006 : ‘Anumati Yojna’ began to run passenger train from 26 January. A.C. facility for general public at lower prices began.

2007 : Throughout the country with 139 Telephones Extensive Railway Enquiry began.

2008 : First train service started in Kashmir Valley on 11, October.

Government Social Welfare Programmes 2014-15

The Central Government under the leadership of Narendra Modi has launched various social welfare programmes with ambitious targets to address critical issues of the country.

Some of the programmes announced by the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley while submitting his maiden budget for the financial year 2014-15 are yet to be launched. Here we are providing the highlights of such social programmes for the current year, as Government welfare initiatives are areas where the examiner prefers to ask as part of general studies in all kind of competitive exams. Swatchh Bharat Abhiyan Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the ' Swatchh Bharat Mission' or 'Clean India Campaign' from the Valmiki Basti in New Delhi on 2 October, 2014. The basic objective behind Swachh Bharat Mission is to create sanitation facilities for all and eliminate completely the unhealthy practice leading to unhygienic surrounding. This campaign aims to accomplish the vision of 'clean India' by 2 October 2019, 150th birthday of Mahatma Gandhi. The urban component of the Mission is proposed to be implemented over 5 years starting from October 2, 2014 in all 4041 statutory towns. The urban component includes elimination of open defecation, conversion of insanitary toilets to pour flush toilets, eradication of manual scavenging, municipal solid waste management and bringing about a behavioural change in people regarding healthy sanitation practices. The total expected cost of the programme is Rs 62,009 crore, out of which the proposed central assistance will be of Rs 14,623 crore. The "Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan" (NBA) is restructured into "Swachh Bharat" Mission (rural). Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan YojanaIn his first Independence Day speech on 15th August’2014, Prime Minister of India had announced the National Mission on Financial Inclusion titled, ‘Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana’(PMJDY). The Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana is launched on 28 August, 2014, across the nation simultaneously. The programme core development philosophy is "Sab Ka Sath Sab Ka Vikas". Important features of the Jan Dhan Yojna Under the scheme, account holders will be provided zero-balance bank account with RuPay debit card, in addition to accidental insurance cover of Rs 1 lakh. Those who open accounts by January 26, 2015 over and above the Rs 1 lakh accident, they will be given life insurance cover of Rs 30,000. Six months of opening of the bank account, holders can avail Rs 5,000 loan from the bank. Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) The scheme was launched on 11th October, 2014 on the occasion of birth anniversary of Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan. The goal of the programme is to develop three Adarsh Grams by March 2019 of which one would be achieved by 2016. Thereafter, five such would Adarsh Grams (one per year) will be selected and developed by 2024. Under the scheme, each MP will take the responsibility of developing physical and institutional infrastructure in three villages by 2019. The MP would be free to identify a suitable Gram Panchayat for being developed as Adarsh Gram, other than his/her own village or that of his/her spouse. A Gram Panchayat would be the basic unit. It will have a population of 3,000-5,000 in plain areas and 1,000-3,000 in hilly, tribal and difficult areas. Labour Reforms introduced by the Government: The Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Shramev Jayate program was launched to emphasise the dignity of labour, especially that performed by blue-collared workers referring to them as “shram yogi”. The Universal Account Number scheme (UAN) or 'Shram Suvidha' for all Provident Fund (PF) contributors will allow portability of PF benefits and online tracking of PF benefits. The UAN is provided for all 4.17 crore PF users. To support the graduates from Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) across the country, who undergo vocational training after completing class X, the government will reimburse 50 percent of the stipend paid to apprentices during first two years of their training. There are 2.82 lakh apprentices undergoing training against 4.9 lakh seats. The program will aim to increase this to 24 lakhs apprentices. The Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), which insures families of unorganised sector workers for up to Rs. 30,000 of medical care, is to be transferred from the Ministry of Labour and Employment to the Union Health Ministry. Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana Government has introduced a new scheme called Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao, which will help in generating awareness and improving the efficiency of delivery of welfare services meant for women with an initial corpus of Rs 100 crore. Under the scheme, government would focus on campaigns to sensitize people of this country towards the concerns of the girl child and women. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways will spend Rs. 50 crore on pilot testing a scheme for Safety of Women on Public Road Transport. The Ministry of Home Affairs will spend Rs. 150 crore on a scheme to increase the safety of women in large cities. The Government under the scheme will set up Crisis Management Centres in all the districts of NCT of Delhi this year in all government and private hospitals. The funding will be provided from the Nirbhaya Fund, the Minister added. Housing for All by 2022 With an aim to provide housing for all by 2022, the government will soon launch an urban housing mission named after Sardar Patel by merging and improving existing housing schemes. The focus of the mission is Low Cost Affordable Housing to be anchored in the National Housing Bank with a view to increase the flow of cheaper credit for affordable housing to the urban poor. Currently, there are several schemes including Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, Rajiv Awas Yojana, Indira Awas Yojana, Rajiv Rinn Yojana meant for providing housing facilities to economically weaker sections. Thirty million houses would be built by 2022, mostly for the economically-weaker sections and low income groups, through public-private-partnership, interest subsidy and increased flow of resources to housing sector An investment of about Rs 22.50 lakh crore would be required for the project. Soil Health Card Scheme for Every farmer Government has launched Soil Health Card Scheme to provide every farmer a Soil Health Card in a Mission mode. The card will carry crop wise recommendations of nutrients/fertilizers required for farms, making it possible for farmers to improve productivity by using appropriate inputs. The Soil Health Card is used to assess the current status of soil health and, when used over time, to determine changes in soil health that are affected by land management. A sum of Rs. 100 crore is allotted. An additional Rs. 56 crores has been allocated to set up 100 mobile soil testing laboratories across the country. Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana “Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana” for feeder separation will be launched to augment power supply to the rural areas and for strengthening sub-transmission and distribution systems. Its long-term aim is to provide 24×7 uninterrupted power supply to all homes. The Govt has earmarked Rs.43, 000 crore for the Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana for feeder separation to supply electricity through separate feeders for agricultural and rural domestic consumption, aimed at providing round-the-clock power to village households. According to the World Bank, India’s per capita power sector consumption of around 800 kilowatt hours is among the lowest in the world. Around 600 million Indians do not have access to electricity and about 700 million Indians use biomass as their primary energy resource for cooking, according to the Planning Commission. Van Bandhu Kalyan Yojana The Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs on 28 October, 2014 launched Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana (VKY) for welfare of Tribal people and particularly to lift human development indices of tribal people. The scheme was launched on pilot basis in one block each of the States of Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Telangana, Orissa, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Gujarat. Under the scheme, Union Government will provide 10 crore rupees for each block for the development of various facilities for the Tribal people. These blocks have been selected on the recommendations of the concerned States and have very low literacy rate. Initially the blocks having at least 33 percent of tribal population in comparison to total population of the block will be targeted under the scheme and later expanding it to the entire community. National Heritage City Development and Augmentation YojanaThe programme called Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) is to be launched for conserving and preserving the heritage characters of the cities. The beginning programme is launched in the cities such as Mathura, Amritsar, Gaya, Kanchipuram, Vellankani and Ajmer. A sum of Rs. 200 crores is set aside for this purpose. The Project will work through a partnership of Government, academic institutions and local community combining affordable technologies. Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban MissionShyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission will be launched to deliver integrated project based infrastructure in the rural areas. The scheme will also include development of economic activities and skill development. The preferred mode of delivery would be through PPPs while using various scheme funds. It is based on the example of Gujarat that has demonstrated successfully the Rurban development model of urbanization of the rural areas, through which people living in the rural areas can get efficient civic infrastructure and associate services. The Govt has set up an 11-member committee, chaired by the additional secretary in the ministry of rural development, to study in detail the reasons for failure of similar initiatives in the past and recommend ways to ensure that this mission succeeds. Neeranchal SchemeTo give an added impetus to watershed development in the country, a new programme called “Neeranchal” with an initial outlay of ` 2,142 crores in the current financial year. Pashmina Promotion Programme (P-3) and a programme for the development of other crafts of Jammu and Kashmir is also to be started. For this a sum of Rs. 50 crores is set aside.