CURRENT AFFAIRS QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

1. On September 5, 2010, the U.S. Postal Service issued a 44-cent stamp commemorating a Roman Catholic nun who served the sick and destitute of India for nearly 50 years. Name of that nun?

Mother Teresa.
(Image by Thomas Blackshear II; © USPS)
The U.S. Postal Service's Mother Teresa stamp was released on September 5, 2010, the 13th anniversary of Mother Teresa's death, designed by award-winning artist Thomas Blackshear II. Mother Teresa was made an honorary U.S. citizen in 1996. She founded the Missionaries of Charity in 1950 and won Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.

2. Which animal will soon be declared a national heritage animal of India in order to step up measures for its protection?
Elephant.

3. Former Argentine football star and the last surviving player from the first World Cup in 1930, died recently at the age of 100?
Francisco Varallo.

4. Name of the new book written by famous Physicist Stephen Hawking in which he says that God did not create the universe, because gravity means it would have happened on its own?
The Grand Design.

5. French scientists recently revealed the secret behind the "best free kick" ever in international football which resulted in a stunning goal against France in 1997. The free kick was taken by a Brazilian Player. Who is he?

Roberto Carlos.
Carlos' free kick from 115ft in the Tournai de France, which seemingly headed for the corner flag but suddenly curved like a banana to land in the net, has been written off by many as only an incredible lucky chance. Even the French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez made no move thinking it would go safely clear. The physicists computed the trajectory and decided it was all down to a phenomenon known as the 'spinning ball spiral'.

6. The University of Alberta based in Edmonton, Canada will honor an Indian agriculture scientist with an honorary doctorate to recognize his contribution to food security in the world. Name of that Indian Scientist?
M. S. Swaminathan.

7. Who is the first sportsperson who was conferred an Indian Air Force (IAF) Honorary Group Captain?
Sachin Tendulkar.
He is also the first individual to receive the Indian Air Force (IAF) Honorary Group Captain from a non-aviation background. He was taken into the Indian Air Force as the brand ambassador of Indian Air Force by the IAF Air Chief Marshal PV Naik.

8. The 18-year-old fast bowler from Pakistan who is removed from the list of nominees for the ICC's emerging player of the year 2010 award due to spot-fixing allegations against him?
Mohammad Amir.
Another Pakistan bowler Mohammad Asif is also removed from the list of nominees for the ICC's test player of the year due to spot-fixing allegations against him.

9. Which country approved fresh economic sanctions against Iran on September 3, 2010 after the United Nations asked that country to tighten restrictions against Tehran over its controversial nuclear enrichment program?
Japan.

10. Name of the 2-year-old Indonesian boy who smoked up to 40 cigarettes a day, recently quit his habit after a month-long rehabilitation?
Ardi Rizal
The child’s parents allowed the boy to smoke because he throws tantrums and hits his head against the wall when they refuse to give him a cigarette. After a month of rehabilitation, Ardi Rizal is now free from his addicting habit. Kak Seto, the psychologist, used childhood play therapy to bring the boy back to health.

11. Name of the 15 year boy who has been offered a place at Britain's prestigious Cambridge University?

Arran Fernandez.
He was educated at home by his father, Neil. He was offered an undergraduate place at Cambridge's Fitzwilliam College after passing the university's entrance exam. He would be the youngest Cambridge undergraduate since William Pitt the Younger, who became prime minister, attended at the same age in 1773.

12. Name of the three Pakistan Cricket players who have been suspended by International Cricket Council (ICC) due to Lord’s spot-fixing outrage, under the provisions of the Anti-Corruption Code?
Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif.

13. Name of the apex body constituted by Indian Government for the welfare of tribals in the country?
National Council for Tribal Welfare (NCTW).
NCTW headed by Prime Minister, would have 18 members, including the Ministers of Tribal Affairs; Finance; Agriculture; Home Affairs; Health & Family Welfare; Environment & Forests; Human Resource Development (HRD); Rural Development; Woman and Child Development; Culture; Mines; Coal and Power; the Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission; Chief Ministers of Schedule V and Schedule VI States; two experts to be nominated by the Prime Minister for a period of two years and Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, as Member Secretary.

14. Who is appointed as India’s 14th Central Vigilance Commissioner?
P.J.Thomas.
He is the former secretary of telecom.

15. Eggs and shoes were hurled at Tony Blair (former British Prime Minister) by anti-war activists, in Dublin (Ireland) where he was signing copies of his new book. What is the name of that book?
''A Journey''
His autobiography ''A Journey'' details his accounts of life in the Downing Street, including the Iraq war and the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

16. The Basque separatist group which has declared a permanent ceasefire in Spain recently?
Eta
Eta is blamed for killing more than 800 people in its four-decade fight for independence for the Basque region of northern Spain and south-west France.

17. Name of the cruise missile which was successfully test-fired recently as part of trials by the Indian Army from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur off Orissa coast?
BrahMos
The missile can fly at 2.8 times the speed of sound carrying conventional warheads up to 300 kg for a range of 290 km and can effectively engage ground targets from an altitude as low as 10 metres. Developed in a joint venture with Russia, the sophisticated BrahMos cruise missile is capable of being launched from submarines, ships, aircraft and land based Mobile Autonomous Launchers (MAL).

18. Indian athlete who smashed Shiny Wilson’s 15-year-old national record en route to fifth place in the 800 metres at the Continental Cup athletics meet in Split, Croatia?
Tintu Luka.

19. Pakistan batsman Yasir Hameed, who played with the Pakistan team in the Test series against England, allegedly told a British tabloid newspaper that some of his teammates were cheats. Name of that news paper which came out with the sting operation on Pakistan cricketers?
“News of the World”

20. Indian nuclear scientist and a chemical engineer, who remained the head of Atomic Energy Commission of India during India's first nuclear test in Pokhran in 1974 died recently at the age of 86?
Homi N. Sethna
Sethna was the director of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) during 1966-72, when the plan for the construction of India’s largest research reactor, Dhruva was conceived.

21. Name of the planned robotic spacecraft by NASA to probe the outer corona of the sun which will approach to within 8.5 solar radii (5.9 million kilometers) to the surface of the sun?
Solar Probe Plus.
With a proposed launch date of 2018, Solar Probe Plus will carry a variety of scientific instruments to measure the solar wind and the Sun’s magnetic field. The space craft will also sport a new carbon-composite heat shield capable of withstanding over 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit. The new shield will protect the probe from both heat and radiation as it makes the closest-ever approach to our Sun.

22. Which country has decided to extend the life spans of the country’s 17 nuclear plants by an average of 12 years while alternative energy sources are developed?
Germany

23. About 26 persons were killed in the twin-illicit toddy tragedy (Hooch Tragedy) in a district in Kerala on September 2010. Which is that district?
Malappuram.

24. All India trade unions called for general strike on September 7, 2010 against the “anti-people policies of the Indian Government.” On the same day itself, a public sector nationwide general strike took place in a European country to protest the government's efforts to reform the pension system. Which is that country?
France.

25. Who has been officially declared as the shortest living man by Guinness World Records?

Edward Nino Hernandez (Columbia)
This 24-year old man is only 68.6 cm tall and weighs 10 kg.

26. South Indian actor who died at Chennai on 8th September 2010 due to massive heart attack?
Murali.
Murali, son of Kannada film director G.Siddalingiah, started his acting career in Kannada films. His first Tamil film was “Poovilangu.” directed by Amirjan. After the success of the film he did “Pagal Nilavu” which was the first Tamil film of director Mani Rathnam. Some of his hit films are “Puthu Vasantham”, “Porkalam”, “Vetri Kodi Kattu”, “Poomani”, “En Asai Machan”, “Anandam” and “Samuthiram.” He got an award from the State government for his acting in director Bharathiraja's “Kadal Pookkal”.

27. Who is named as the Chairman of Hotel Leela Venture Ltd, an Indian hotel company based in Mumbai?
Vivek Nair.
Dinesh Nair is likely to take over as vice chairman.
The hotel company which has six deluxe hotels, located in Mumbai, Bangalore, Kovalam, Udaipur, Goa and Gurgaon was founded by C. P. Krishnan Nair. Vivek Nair is the eldest son of Captain Nair,

28. Man of the Match winners of 20-20 Cricket series between Pakistan and England held in England.
Man of the match of First 20-20 Cricket International played on 5th September 2010:
Michael Yardy (England). He scored 35 runs (26 balls) and took 1 wicket.
Result: England beat Pakistan by 5 wickets.
Man of the match of Second 20-20 Cricket International played on 7th September 2010:
Tim Bresnan. (England) He took 3 wickets for 10 runs.
Result: England beat Pakistan by 6 wickets.
England won the series 2-0.

29. Which country’s parliament has recently approved constitutional reforms which will enable its President to seek a third term and will give him sweeping powers over formerly independent institutions?
Sri Lanka.

30. The state of U.S.A which has banned foreign outsourcing to countries like India in a wave of protectionism in the economic crisis?
Ohio State.

31. One of the most successful woman weightlifters in India who has tested positive a second time in the doping test during the trials for the Delhi Commonwealth Games?
Sanamacha Chanu
Chanu, who won three gold at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester gets life ban after testing positive during the trials for the Delhi Commonwealth Games. Chanu had earlier tested positive, for a diuretic, at the Athens Olympics in 2004.

32. Legendary veteran film producer from Andhra Pradesh who has been conferred the Dada Saheb Phalke Award for 2009?
Dr. D. Rama Naidu.
The award consists of a Swarna Kamal, a cash prize of Rs. 10 lakhs and a shawl.

33. Malayalam film actor, screenwriter and director who has acted in around 50 films and directed a dozen of Malayalam movies, passed away recently due to kidney-related diseases?

Venu Nagavally.
Venu's first movie as a director was Sukhamo Devi (1986). Later he directed the super hit movies Lal Salam, Aey Auto, Aayirappara etc. Venu has also written scripts for a few movies including the Priyadarshan directed blockbuster movie Kilukkam. His first movie as a script writer was “Ee Ganam Marakkumo”.

34. Bharatiya Janata Party leader who was sworn in as Chief Minister of Jharkhand for the third time at the Raj Bhavan on 11-09-2010?
Arjun Munda.
Hemant Soren and Sudesh Mahto were sworn in as Deputy Chief Ministers.

35. Who won the US Open men's doubles title-2010 beating India's Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan in final(7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-4))?
Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan

36. Man of the Match winners of ODI cricket Series (5 matches) between England and Pakistan held in England.
Man of the match of First ODI Cricket played on Sep 10, 2010:
Steve Davies (England). He scored 87 runs (67 balls)
Result: England beat Pakistan by 24 runs

Man of the match of Second ODI Cricket played at Leeds on Sep 12, 2010:
Andrew Strauss (England). He scored 126 runs (134 balls)
Result: England beat Pakistan by 4 wickets.

Man of the match of Third ODI Cricket played at Kennington Oval, London on Sep 17, 2010:
Umar Gul (Pakistan). He took 6 wickets for 42 runs.
Result: Pakistan beat England by 23 runs

Man of the match of Fourth ODI Cricket played at Lord's, London on Sep 20, 2010:
Abdul Razzaq (Pakistan). He scored 44 runs from 20 balls.
Result: Pakistan beat England by 38 runs.

Man of the match of Fifth ODI Cricket played at Southampton on Sep 22, 2010:
Eoin Morgan (England). He scored 107 runs from 101 balls.
Result: England beat Pakistan by 121 runs.
Series Result: England won the series 3-2.

37. Who won the Player of the Series Award in the ODI cricket series between Pakistan and England held in England?
Andrew Strauss

38. Who became the first Indian wrestler to win a gold medal in the World Wrestling Championship in Moscow by beating Russia's Gogaev Alan in the final match?

Sushil Kumar.

39. The renowned South Indian playback singer who had rendered nearly 7000 songs in many languages including Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam…etc, died recently due to cardiac arrest followed by intestinal lung infection?

Swarnalatha.
She won the National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer for her rendition of the famous song "Porale Ponnuthayi" from the film Karuththamma.

40. The celebrated French film director and a founding father of the Nouvelle Vague (New Wave) movement who died recently at the age of 80?
Claude Chabrol.
Chabrol is best known for 1960s and 70s thrillers such as ‘The Unfaithful Wife’, ‘The Butcher’ and ‘This Man Must Die’.

41. Which country won Women’s Hockey World Cup 2010 defeating Netherlands in final?
Argentina.
Argentina beat Netherlands by 3-1 in the final. Carla Rebecchi scored well in both halves and Noel Barrionuevo converted Argentina’s first penalty corner into goal. England won the third place, defeating Germany by 2-0. India scored ninth position in the women world cup championship.

42. Who won U.S. open 2010 Women singles title defeating Russian Tennis star Vera Zvonareva in straight sets 6-2, 6-1 in final?
Kim Clijsters.
She became the first ever woman to clinch the two consecutive title since Venus Williams.

43. Spanish Ferrari driver and two-time world champion who won the Italian Grand Prix (Formula One title)?
Fernando Alonso.
This is his third Formula One title of the season.

44. Who has been selected as the Best Indian Footballer of the Year-2010 by the Football Players Association of India?

Muhammed Rafi (Kerala).
Odafe Onyeka Okolie of Nigeria was crowned the best foreign footballer.
Jaoquim Abranches was named to the young player's award and his coach Armando Colaco was the best coach. National team goalkeeper Subrata Paul, who plays for Pune FC, won the fans' player award.

45. Which country won their first world championship basketball title since 1994 with a 81-64 victory over Turkey in Istanbul?
U.S.A.
It was America’s fourth world crown and comes two years after they won the Olympic title in Beijing.

46. The second round of direct peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) was held at?
The Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh (Egypt) on 14 September, 2010.

47. Who became the 3rd person to complete a Career Golden Slam and the 16th Person to complete the Career Grand Slam with the U.S .Open Men’s title 2010 win?
Rafael Nadal.
He won the U.S .Open Men’s title 2010 beating Novak Djokovic in final. Nadal now holds 9 Grand Slam titles winning 5 French Opens, 2 Wimbledons, 1 Australian Open and 1 US Open.
Career Golden Slam Winners: Rafael Nadal, Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf.
Key: Winning all four Grand Slam tournaments during a career is termed a Career Grand Slam, while winning all four Grand Slam tournaments and the Olympic Gold in Tennis during a career is termed as a Career Golden Slam.

48. Who won U.S. Open women's doubles title defeating American Liezel Huber and Nadia Petrova of Russia (2-6 6-4 7-6) in the final?
Vania King (U.S.A) and Yaroslava Shvedova (Kazakhstan).

49. Voters of which country recently approved constitutional reforms which will help its candidacy for the European Union?
Turkey.

50. Winners of 57th National Film Awards:
Visit the below link to know the winners of 57th National Film Awards.
http://onlineindya.blogspot.com/2010/09/57th-national-film-awards-declared.html

51. After weeks of widespread protests and national strikes, which country has voted to pass a new bill that will increase the retirement age from 60 to 62, and the pension age from 65 to 67?
France.

52. Name of the book written for children by U.S.President Barack Obama before he took office in January, 2009 which will be released on November 16, 2010?
"Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters"
Obama, who has written two bestselling books, "Dreams from My Father," and "The Audacity of Hope," was inspired to do the book through his experience as the father of two daughters.

53. Who becomes the first woman to receive the Sword of Honour, a rare honour awarded to the best trainee at the Officers’ Training Academy, ever since they started commissioning lady officers in 1992?
Divya Ajithkumar. (Tamil Nadu)

54. England all-rounder who announced his retirement from all forms of cricket recently after years of battling injury?
Andrew Flintoff.
He played 79 Tests and compiled 3845 runs (ave 31.77) and claimed 226 wickets. In 141 one-dayers, Flintoff scored 3394 runs (ave 32.01) and took 169 wickets.
Flintoff is only the seventh player to have batted on all five days of a Test match, achieving this feat at Mohali against India.

55. Pratibha Patil, President of India, recently laid the foundation for the Asian Textiles Museum in a country in Southeast Asia. Which is that country?
Cambodia.
The museum, to be constructed by December 2011, is being funded by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations. The museum will display fabric and textiles from the member countries of the Mekong Ganga Cooperation: India, Thailand, Burma, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, in one place for the first time.

56. Bollywood Super Star who is appointed as Brand Ambassador of Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd, India's leading paint manufacturer?
Shahrukh Khan.

57. A country in North America has celebrated the country's 200th anniversary of independence from Spain on September 16, 2010. Which is that country?
Mexico.

58. Prominent Pakistani politician and Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) leader, who was stabbed to death outside his home in London recently?
Imran Farooq.

59. Name of the three Indian-Americans who are appointed by President Barack Obama to the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders?
Farooq Kathwari, Amardeep Singh and Sunil Puri.

60. Who is the new Foreign minister of Japan?
Seiji Maehara.

61. The International Atomic Energy Agency has given its approval for the first nuclear reactor in a country mainly in North Africa. Which is that country?
Egypt

62. The prime accused in the multi-crore fake stamp paper case, who has been sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment in a 2001 case by a special court on September 18, 2010?
Abdul Karim Telgi.

63. Veteran playback singer and Indian classical musician who has been chosen for the prestigious Sree Chithira Thirunal Award for 2010?
KJ Yesudas.

64. China suspended ministerial-level exchanges with an Asian Country following a number of disagreements that include the detainment of a fisherman two weeks ago by that country. Which is that country?
Japan.

65. Indian woman boxer who won the World Boxing Championship title in Bridgetown beating Steluta Duta of Romania 16-6 in the final?

M C Mary Kom.
Mary Kom is the only boxer to have won a medal in each one of the six World Championships and she is the First women boxer from India to have won Five World Titles consecutively.

66. Who has been convicted of committing perjury in the June 1985 bombing of the Air India Kanishka flight 182 from Montreal to Delhi in which all 329 people on board were killed?
Inderjit Singh Reyat.

67. 16-year-old Indian origin teenager has been crowned “America’s Perfect Teen”?
Anysha Panesar
America's Perfect Teen is a beauty pageant for young women and teens who pursue a career in modeling or acting.

68. The ace Indian shooter who won a Gold medal in the final of Double Trap event at World Cup in Izmir, Turkey?
Ronjan Sodhi.

69. England pace bowler who retired from international cricket on 20-09-10 after a nine-year international career that included 22 Test appearances?
Ryan Sidebottom.

70. Who has been unanimously elected as the chairman of Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) for the year 2010-11?
Vijay Jawaharlal Darda.
He is Rajya Sabha MP and chairman and MD of the Lokmat Group of newspapers.

71. Prime Minister of Somalia who announced his resignation on September 21, 2010 after a weeks-long dispute with President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed?
Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke.

72. Which country is listed as the third most powerful country in the world after USA and China according to "Global Governance 2025" jointly issued by the National Intelligence Council (NIC) of USA and the European Union's Institute for Security Studies (EUISS).?
India.

73. Which country has emerged as the richest country in the world with per capita income of U.S. $ 90,149 in 2010, according to figures posted on the website of the prestigious US business publication, Global Finance?
Qatar.
Luxembourg occupies the second spot. The third spot went to Norway followed by Singapore ($52,840) and Brunei.

74. An American company, which had launched designer shoes carrying pictures of Hindu deities recently apologised to the Hindu community and immediately withdrew shoes from the market. Name of that shoe company?
The Converse shoe company.
The shoes named after guitar legend late Jimi Hendrix carried images of Hindu Gods and Goddesses.

75. The first Indian-origin provincial minister in Canada, who died in Calgary on September 21, 2010 after a prolonged battle with leukemia?
Sindi Hawkins (earlier Satinder Kaur Ahluwalia).

76. Who has been honoured with the 2010 World Statesman Award by the Appeal of Conscience Foundation, an interfaith coalition which promotes mutual understanding, tolerance and peace?
Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India.

77. Name of the strongest tropical storm which hit in China & Taiwan on September, 2010 killing many people?
Typhoon Fanapi.

78. Famous Malayalam poet and lyricist from Kerala who won Jnanpith Award, the highest literary award in India for the year 2007?

O.N.V.Kurup.
He is the fifth Keralite to win this award. Earlier awardees were G Shankara Kurup, SK Pottakkadu, Thakazhi Siva Sankara Pillai and M.T. Vasudevan Nair.

79. Who has been elected President of The Indian Newspaper Society for the year 2010-11 at its 71st Annual General Meeting?
Kundan R. Vyas. (Janmabhoomi Group).
Hashish Bagger (India Today) is the Deputy President, K. N. Talk Kumar (Prajavani) is the Vice President and Rakesh Sharma (Hindustan Times, Patna) is the Honorary Treasurer of the Society for the year 2010-11.V. Shankaran is the Officiating Secretary General of the Society.

80. India's indigenously developed nuclear capable ballistic missile which failed to take off during a user trial on September 24, 2010?
Prithvi-II.
"Manufacturing defect" is being suspected for the aborted launch.

81. Pakistani neuroscientist who was sentenced to 86 years of imprisonment by a US federal court in Manhattan after she was convicted of trying to kill U.S. Army soldiers and FBI agents in Afghanistan two years ago?
Aafia Siddiqui.

82. Who is the 12th woman to be executed in the United States since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976?
Teresa Lewis.
She plotted with her young lover to kill her husband and stepson for insurance money, became the first woman executed in Virginia in nearly 100 years.
The last woman to be executed in the Virginia state was Virginia Christian, who died in the electric chair in 1912. Lewis was also the first woman to be executed in the U.S. since Frances Newton in 2005 in the state of Texas.

83. Google’s social networking website Orkut has been attacked by a virus on September 25, 2010. Name that virus?
“Bom Sabado”
“Bom Sabado” is a Portuguese world it means “Good Saturday” in English.

84. Pakistan Federal Minister for Defence Production who has resigned after his controversial anti-army and judiciary remarks?
Abdul Qayyum Jatoi.

85. Name the Nine scientists who were chosen for the prestigious Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize 2010 for their achievement in the field of science and technology?
Biological Sciences:
1. Sanjeev Galande of National Centre for Cell Science, Pune (Presently at Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune)
2. Shubha Tole of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai.
3. Dr.Swapan K Pati: Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bangalore,
4. Dr.Sandeep Verma, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur.

Physical Sciences:
5. Dr Umesh Vasudeo Wagmare: Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore

6. Dr Kalobaran Maiti: Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai.
Engineering Sciences:
7. Dr.G K Ananthasuresh, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore.
8. Dr.Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay of Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata

Medical Sciences:
9. Dr.Mitali Mukerji, Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Delhi
The Prize was instituted in 1957 by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in honour of its founder Director.

86. Which firm won the award for Science &Technology Innovations for Rural Development 2009?
Indian Oil Corporation Ltd’s Research and Development Centre, Faridabad.
The award is given by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

87. Name of the rescue capsule which has been prepared in Chile for the thirty three miners who remain trapped underground?
Phoenix“.
The Fénix (Phoenix) capsules were three metallic containers that were used for the rescue of 33 trapped miners after the 2010 Copiapó mining accident.
The steel capsule is 54 centimeters in diameter and 2.5 meters long. It is equipped with communication system and a supply of oxygen. The capsule is designed to carry 1 person at a time and will take about 15-20 minutes to reach the surface.

The 2010 Copiapo mining accident occurred on 5 August 2010, when part of the San Jose copper-gold mine in the Atacama Desert near Copiapó, Chile, collapsed, leaving 33 men trapped 700 metres (2,300 ft) below ground. The miners survived underground for a record 69 days.

88. Which countries have signed a series of agreements to boost energy co-operation during a ceremony to open an oil pipeline between the countries
On September 27, 2010?
China and Russia.

89. Who has been appointed as Secretary General of the Lok Sabha?
T K Viswanathan.

90. Rajya Sabha MP and a well-known developmental economist who served as Indian ambassador to Belgium and the European Union in the early 1990s, died recently at the age of 73?
Arjun Kumar Sengupta.
He was the executive director and special advisor of the International Monetary Fund from 1985 to 1990, and went on to become the ambassador of India to Belgium and the European Union 1990-1993. He was a member and member-secretary of the Planning Commission 1993-1998.

91. Who has won the Singapore Grand Prix Formula one motor race?
Fernando Alonso
He is currently racing for Ferrari alongside Felipe Massa.

92. Which team won the Airtel Champions League T20 tournament 2010 held at New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa?
Chennai Super Kings. They defeated Warriors by eight wickets in the final.
Ravichandran Ashwin (Chennai Super Kings) won the Man of the series and Golden Ball award. He picked 13 wickets in the tournament. Murali Vijay (Chennai Super Kings) won Golden Bat award. He was the highest run-getter of the Champions League T20 tournament. He scored 294 runs in the tournament.

93. Who has been elected as Chairman of the International Atomic Energy Board of Governors for the term 2010-2011?
Ansar Parvez.
He is currently the Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission. This is for the third time Pakistan is bestowing the chairman’s post of IAEA. It held this office in 1962-63 and 1986-87.

94. Which state’s police women helpline has won the award from the International Association of Women Police?
Kerala.
The round-the-clock helpline introduced by the Kerala police for giving timely assistance and guidance for women and children in distress has won international award. Inspector General of Police B. Sandhya received the award at the Annual IAWP Training Conference held at Minneapolis in the United States.

95. Who has been elected as the chairman of The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI)?
Rajiv Dube.

96. Actress who played an elderly shipwreck survivor in the film Titanic, died recently at the age of 100?
Gloria Stuart.

97. Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s president, recently sacked the Moscow mayor, who had become the target of corruption allegations in state-controlled media after he criticised the president this month. Name of that Mayor?
Yuri Luzhkov.

98. Who has been appointed as the Convener for South Zone by the Board of Control for Cricket in India?
TC Mathew.
He is currently the Secretary of Kerala Cricket Association (KCA). He is the first Malayali who has been appointed as the Convener for South Zone by BCCI.

APPSC EXAM DATES

India at a glance

A blend of the traditional and the modern, India is one of the oldest civilizations and the world's largest democracy. It is home to 1 billion-plus people professing various faiths and speaking in different tongues. But what binds them together is a sense of 'Indianness' which is hard to define, but could be sensed instinctively amid all this mind-boggling diversity. A vibrant multi-lingual, multi-cultural and multi-faith society, India is seen by many as a model pluralistic society based on its twin ethos of tolerance and mutual respect. Comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories, India is home to all major religions of the world. But the state makes no distinction between them, allowing each Indian citizen constitutional guarantees to pursue freedom in the broadest sense - freedom of expression and freedom to pursue the religion of one's choice.

This dazzling diversity has spawned a unique composite culture and created an unmatched reservoir of talent and enterprise in the country. People are India's greatest resource and strength. And it can be seen in all-encompassing socio-economic progress this nation has made during the last 61 years of its independence. The world has taken note and has been generous with its praise of the India Growth Story. Small wonder, India is now seen as an emerging Asian power and an important participant in the ongoing search for global solutions to global problems ranging from terrorism and poverty eradication to climate change and energy security.

India has become self-sufficient in agricultural production and is now the tenth industrialised country in the world. It is the sixth nation to have gone into outer space, not to militarise it, but to create a better life for its people. Anybody coming to India for the first time or wishing to know it better will be struck by its sheer size and diversity. The country is spread over an area of 32,87,2631 square km, extending from the snow-covered Himalayan heights to the tropical rain forests of the south. As the 7th largest country in the world, India stands apart from the rest of Asia, marked off as it is by mountains and the sea, which give the country a distinct geographical entity. Bound by the Great Himalayas in the north, it stretches southwards and at the Tropic of Cancer, tapers off into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal on the east and the Arabian Sea on the west.

GEOGRAPHY:
Location: India, with an area of 3.3 million sq. km, is a subcontinent. The peninsula is separated from mainland Asia by the Himalayas. The country lies between 8° 4' and 37° 6' north of the Equator and is surrounded by the Bay of Bengal in the east, the Arabian Sea in the west and the Indian Ocean to the south.

The mainland comprises four regions, namely the great mountain zone, plains of the Ganga and the Indus, the desert region, and the southern peninsula.

The Himalayas form the highest mountain range in the world, extending 2,500 km over northern India. Bound by the Indus river in the west and the Brahmaputra in the east, the three parallel ranges, the Himadri, Himachal and Shivaliks have deep canyons gorged by the rivers flowing into the Gangetic plain.

Indian Standard Time GMT + 05:30

Area 3.3 Million sq. km

Telephone Country Code +91

Border: Countries Afghanistan and Pakistan to the north-west; China, Bhutan and Nepal to the north; Myanmar to the east; and Bangladesh to the east of West Bengal. Sri Lanka is separated from India by a narrow channel of sea, formed by the Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar.

Coastline: 7,516.6 km encompassing the mainland, Lakshadweep Islands, and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

Climate: The climate of India can broadly be classified as a tropical one. But, in spite of much of the northern part of India lying beyond the tropical zone, the entire country has a tropical climate marked by relatively high temperatures and dry winters. There are four seasons:
Winter (December-February)
Summer (March-June)
South-west monsoon season (June-September)
Post monsoon season (October-November)

River Systems


The rivers may be classified as follows: (a) the Himalayan, (b) the Deccan, (c) the coastal and (d) the rivers of the inland drainage basin. The Himalayan rivers are generally snow-fed and flow throughout the year. During the monsoon months (June to September), the Himalayas receive very heavy rainfall and the rivers carry the maximum amount of water, causing frequent floods. The Deccan rivers are generally rain-fed and, therefore, fluctuate greatly in volume. A very large number of them are non-perennial. The coastal rivers, specially on the west coast, are short and have limited catchment areas. Most of these are non-perennial as well. The rivers on the inland drainage basin are few and ephemeral. They drain towards individual basins or salt lakes like the Sambhar or are lost in the sands, having no outlet to the sea.

Natural Resources: Coal, iron ore, manganese ore, mica, bauxite, petroleum, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, magnesite, limestone, arable land, dolomite, barytes, kaolin, gypsum, apatite, phosphorite, steatite, fluorite, etc.

Natural Hazards: Monsoon floods, flash floods, earthquakes, droughts, and landslides.

PEOPLE:

India is a country with probably the largest and most diverse mixture of races. All five major racial types - Australoid, Mongoloid, Europoid, Caucasian and Negroid - find representation among the people of India, who are mainly a mixed race.

The people of India belong to diverse ethnic groups. At various periods of India's long history, successive waves of settlers and invaders, including the Aryans, Parthians, Greeks and Central Asians, came into the country and merged with the local population. This explains the variety of racial types, cultures and languages in India.

Nationality: Indian

POPULATION
India’s population as on 1 March 2001 stood at 1,028 million (532.1 million males and 496.4 million females). India accounts for a meagre 2.4 per cent of the world surface area of 135.79 million sq km. Yet, it supports and sustains a whopping 16.7 per cent of the world population.

The population of India, which at the turn of the twentieth century was around 238.4 million, increased to 1,028 million at the dawn of the twenty-first century.

The population of India as recorded at each decennial census from 1901 has grown steadily except for a decrease during 1911-21.


POPULATION DENSITY
One of the important indices of population concentration is the density of population. It is defined as the number of persons per sq km. The population density of India in
2001 was 324 per sq km. The density of population increased in all States and Union Territories between 1991 and 2001. Among major states, West Bengal is still the most thickly populated state with a population density of 903 in 2001. Bihar is now the second highest densely populated state pushing Kerala to the third place. Ranking of the
States and Union Territories by density is shown in table 1.3.

LITERACY
For the purpose of the Census 2001, a person aged seven and above, who can both read and write in any language, is treated as literate. A person, who can only read but cannot write, is not literate. In the censuses prior to 1991, children below five years of age were necessarily treated as illiterates.

The results of 2001 census reveal that there has been an increase in literacy in the country. The literacy rate in the country is 64.84 per cent, 75.26 for males and
53.67 for females.

Population Growth Rate: The average annual exponential growth rate stands at 1.93 per cent during 1991-2001.

Birth Rate: The Crude Birth Rate according to the 2001 census is 24.8

Death Rate: The Crude Death Rate according to the 2001 census is 8.9

Life Expectancy Rate: 63.9 years (Males); 66.9 years (Females) (As of Sep 2005)

Languages
India has about 15 major languages and 844 different dialects. Hindi, spoken by about 45 per cent of the population, is the national language. English has also been retained as a language for official communication.


GOVERNMENT


Country Name: Republic of India; Bharat Ganrajya

Government Type: Sovereign Socialist Democratic Republic with a parliamentary system of Government.

Capital: New Delhi

Administrative Divisions: 28 States and 7 Union Territories.

Independence: August 15, 1947 (From British Colonial Rule)

Constitution: The Constitution of India came into force on 26th January 1950.

Legal System: The Constitution of India is the source of the legal system in the Country.

Executive Branch: The President of India is the head of the state, while the Prime Minister is the head of the government, and runs it with the support of the council of ministers, who form the cabinet.

Legislative Branch: The Indian legislature is a bi-cameral one, comprising the Lok Sabha (House of the People) and the Rajya Sabha (Council of States).

Judicial Branch: The Supreme Court of India is the apex body of the Indian legal system, followed by other High Courts and subordinate courts.

National Flag : The National Flag is a horizontal tricolour of deep saffron at the top, white in the middle, and dark green at the bottom in equal proportion. At the centre of the white band is a navy blue wheel, which is a representation of the Ashoka Chakra at Sarnath.

National Days: 26th January (Republic Day)
15th August (Independence Day)
2nd October (Gandhi Jayanti; Mahatma Gandhi's Birthday)

Religions: According to the 2001 census, out of the total population of 1.028 million in the country, Hindus constituted the majority with 80.5%, Muslims came second at 13.4%, followed by Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, and others.

Hinduism: The Hindu religion had its origin in the concepts of the early Aryans who came to India more than 4,000 years ago. It is not merely a religion but also a philosophy and a way of life. It does not originate in the teachings of any one prophet or holy book. It respects other religions, and does not attempt to seek converts. It teaches the immortality of the human soul, and three principal paths to ultimate union of the individual soul with the all pervasive spirit.

The essence of the Hindu faith is embodied in the Bhagavad Gita, a philosophical poem that never ceases to surprise readers with new insights into life and man's fate in the world. "He who considers this(self) as a slayer or he who thinks that this(self) is slain, neither knows the Truth. For it does not slay, nor is it slain. This (self) is unborn, eternal, changeless, ancient, it is never destroyed even when the body is destroyed," says a verse in the Gita.

Jainism and Buddhism: In the sixth century before Christ, Mahavira propagated Jainism. His message was asceticism, austerity and non-violence.

At about the same time, Buddhism came into being. Gautama Buddha, a prince, renounced the world and gained enlightenment. He preached that "nirvana" was to be attained through the conquest of self. Buddha's teachings in time spread to China and some other countries of South-East Asia.

Islam: Arab traders brought Islam to South India in the seventh century. After them came the Afghans and the Mughals. Akbar, seen as the most enlightened Mughal emperor, almost succeeded in founding a new religion Din-e-Elahi, based on a blend of different religions including Hinduism and Islam, but it failed to find many adherents.

Islam has flourished in India through the centuries. Muslim citizens have occupied some of the highest positions in the country since independence in 1947. India today is the second largest Muslim country in the world, next only to Indonesia.

Sikhism: Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism in the 15th century, stressed the unity of God and the brotherhood of man. Sikhism, with its affirmation of God as the one supreme truth and its ideals of discipline and spiritual striving, soon won many followers. It was perhaps possible only in this hospitable land that two religions as diverse as Hinduism and Islam could come together in a third, namely Sikhism.

Christianity: Christianity reached India not long after Christ's own lifetime, with the arrival of St. Thomas, the Apostle. The Syrian Christian Church in southern India traces its roots to the visit of St. Thomas. With the arrival of St. Francis Xavier in 1542, the Roman Catholic faith was established in India. Today, Christians of several denominations practice their faith freely.

Zoroastrianism: In the days of the old Persian empire, Zoroastrianism was the dominant religion in West Asia. In the form of Mithraism, it spread over vast areas of the Roman Empire, as far as Britain.

After the Islamic conquest of Iran, a few intrepid Zoroastrians left their homeland and sought refuge in India. The first group is said to have reached Diu in about 766 A.D.

Their total world population probably does not exceed 130,000. With the exception of some 10,000 in Iran, almost all of them live in India. The vast majority of Parsis are concentrated in Mumbai. The Parsis excel in industry and commerce, and contribute richly to the intellectual and artistic life of the nation.

Judaism: The Jewish contact with the Malabar coast in Kerala, dates back to 973 BC when King Solomon's merchant fleet began trading for spices and other fabled treasures. Scholars say that the Jews first settled in Cranganore, soon after the Babylonian conquest of Judea in 586 BC. The immigrants were well received and a Hindu king granted to Joseph Rabban, a Jewish leader, a title and a principality.


National Symbols


STATE EMBLEM
The state emblem is an adaptation from the Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka. In the original, 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. Carved out of a single block of polished sandstone, the Capital is crowned by the Wheel of the Law (Dharma Chakra).
In the state emblem, adopted by the Government of India on 26 January 1950, only three lions are visible, the fourth being hidden from view. The wheel appears in relief in the centre of the abacus with a bull on right and a horse on left and the outlines of other wheels on extreme right and left. The bell-shaped lotus has been omitted. The words Satyameva Jayate from Mundaka Upanishad, meaning 'Truth Alone Triumphs', are inscribed below the abacus in Devanagari script.


NATIONAL ANTHEM
The song Jana-gana-mana, composed originally in Bengali by Rabindranath Tagore, was adopted in its Hindi version by the Constituent Assembly as the National Anthem of India on 24 January 1950. It was first sung on 27 December 1911 at the Kolkata Session of the Indian National Congress. The complete song consists of five stanzas.

(As published in Volume Eight of Sri Aurobindo Birth Centenary Library, Popular Edition 1972)
Jana-gana-mana-adhinayaka, jaya he
Bharata-bhagya-vidhata.
Punjab-Sindh-Gujarat-Maratha
Dravida-Utkala-Banga
Vindhya-Himachala-Yamuna-Ganga
Uchchala-Jaladhi-taranga.
Tava shubha name jage,
Tava shubha asisa mange,
Gahe tava jaya gatha,
Jana-gana-mangala-dayaka jaya he
Bharata-bhagya-vidhata.
Jaya he, jaya he, jaya he,
Jaya jaya jaya, jaya he!

Playing time of the full version of the national anthem is approximately 52
seconds.
A short version consisting of the first and last lines of the stanza (playing time approximately 20 seconds) is also played on certain occasions.

The following is Rabindranath Tagore’s English rendering of the anthem :
Thou art the ruler of the minds of all people,
Dispenser of India’s destiny.
Thy name rouses the hearts of Punjab, Sind,
Gujarat and Maratha,
Of the Dravida and Orissa and Bengal;
It echoes in the hills of the Vindhyas and Himalayas,
mingles in the music of Jamuna and Ganges and is
chanted by the waves of the Indian Sea.
They pray for thy blessings and sing thy praise.
The saving of all people waits in thy hand,
Thou dispenser of India’s destiny.
Victory, victory, victory to thee.

NATIONAL SONG
The song Vande Mataram, composed in Sanskrit by Bankimchandra Chatterji, was a source of inspiration to the people in their struggle for freedom. It has an equal status with Jana-gana-mana. The first political occasion when it was sung was the 1896 session of the Indian National Congress.

The following is the text of its first stanza :Vande Mataram!
Sujalam, suphalam, malayaja shitalam,
Shasyashyamalam, Mataram!
Shubhrajyotsna pulakitayaminim,
Phullakusumita drumadala shobhinim,
Suhasinim sumadhura bhashinim,
Sukhadam varadam, Mataram!

The English translation of the stanza rendered by Sri Aurobindo in prose is :
I bow to thee, Mother,
richly-watered, richly-fruited,
cool with the winds of the south,
dark with the crops of the harvests,
The Mother!
Her nights rejoicing in the glory of the moonlight,
her lands clothed beautifully with her trees in flowering bloom,
sweet of laughter, sweet of speech,
The Mother, giver of boons, giver of bliss.

NATIONAL CALENDAR

The national calendar based on the Saka Era, with Chaitra as its first month and a normal year of 365 days, was adopted from 22 March 1957 along with the Gregorian calendar for the following official purposes: (i) Gazette of India, (ii) news broadcast by All India Radio, (iii) calendars issued by the Government of India and (iv) Government communications addressed to members of the public.
Dates of the national calendar have a permanent correspondence with dates of the Gregorian calendar, 1 Chaitra falling on 22 March normally and on 21 March in
leap year.

NATIONAL ANIMAL
The magnificent tiger, Panthera tigris, a striped animal is the national animal of India. It has a thick yellow coat of fur with dark stripes. The combination of grace, strength,
ability and enormous power has earned the tiger its pride of place as the national animal of India. Out of eight races of the species known, the Indian race, the Royal Bengal Tiger, is found throughout the country except in the north-western region, and also in neighbouring countries, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.


NATIONAL BIRD
The Indian peacock, Pavo cristatus, the national bird of India, is a colourful, swansized bird, with a fan-shaped crest of feathers, a white patch under the eye and a long, slender neck. The male of the species is more colourful than the female, with a glistening blue breast and neck and a spectacular bronze-green tail of around 200 elongated feathers. The female is brownish, slightly smaller than the male and lacks the tail.


NATIONAL FLOWER
Lotus (Nelumbo Nucipera Gaertn) is the National Flower of India. It is a sacred flower and occupies a unique position in the art and mythology of ancient India, and has been an auspicious symbol of Indian culture since time immemorial.


NATIONAL TREE
The Banyan Tree (Ficus benghalensis) is the National Tree of India. This huge tree towers over its neighbours and has the widest reaching roots of all known trees, easily covering several acres.


NATIONAL FRUIT
Mango (Manigifera indica) is the National fruit of India. Mango is one of the most widely grown fruits of the tropical countries. In India, mango is cultivated almost in
all parts, with the exception of hilly areas. Mango is a rich source of Vitamins A, C and D. In India, we have hundreds of varieties of mangoes. They are of different
sizes, shapes and colours.


FLORA
With a wide range of climatic conditions from the torrid to the arctic, India has a rich and varied vegetation, which only a few countries of comparable size possess. India can be divided into eight distinct-floristic-regions, namely, the western Himalayas, the eastern Himalayas, Assam, the Indus plain, the Ganga plain, the Deccan, Malabar and the Andamans.
The Western Himalayan region extends from Kashmir to Kumaon. Its temperate zone is rich in forests of chir, pine, other conifers and broad-leaved temperate trees.
Higher up, forests of deodar, blue pine, spruce and silver fir occur. The alpine zone extends from the upper limit of the temperate zone of about 4,750 metres or even higher. The characteristic trees of this zone are high-level silver fir, silver birch and junipers. The eastern Himalayan region extends from Sikkim eastwards and embraces Darjeeling, Kurseong and the adjacent tract. The temperate zone has forests of oaks, laurels, maples, rhododendrons, alder and birch. Many conifers, junipers and dwarf willows also occur here. The Assam region comprises the Brahamaputra and the Surma valleys with evergreen forests, occasional thick clumps of bamboos and tall grasses. The Indus plain region comprises the plains of Punjab, western Rajasthan and northern Gujarat. It is dry and hot and supports natural vegetation. The Ganga plain region covers the area which is alluvial plain and is under cultivation for wheat, sugarcane and rice. Only small areas support forests of widely differing types.

The Deccan region comprises the entire table land of the Indian Peninsula and supports vegetation of various kinds from scrub jungles to mixed deciduous forests.

The Malabar region covers the excessively humid belt of mountain country parallel to the west coast of the Peninsula. Besides being rich in forest vegetation, this region produces important commercial corps, such as coconut, betelnut, pepper, coffee and tea, rubber and cashewnut. The Andaman region abounds in evergreen, mangrove, beach and diluvial forests. The Himalayan region extending from Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh through Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, Meghalaya and Nagaland and the Deccan Peninsula is rich in endemic flora, with a large number of plants which are not found elsewhere.

India is rich in flora. Available data place India in the tenth position in the world and fourth in Asia in plant diversity. From about 70 per cent geographical area surveyed so far, over 46,000 species of plants have been described by the Botanical Survey of India (BSI), Kolkata. The vascular flora, which forms the conspicuous vegetation cover, comprises 15,000 species. The flora of the country is being studied by BSI and its nine circle/field offices located throughout the country along with certain universities and research institutions.

Ethno-botanical study deals with the utilisation of plants and plant products by ethnic races. A scientific study of such plants has been made by BSI. A number of detailed ethno-botanical explorations have been conducted in different tribal areas of the country. More than 800 plant species of ethno-botanical interest have been collected and identified at different centres.

Owing to destruction of forests for agricultural, industrial and urban development, several Indian plants are facing extinction. About 1,336 plant species are considered vulnerable and endangered. About 20 species of higher plants are categorised as possibly extinct as these have not been sighted during the last 6-10 decades. BSI brings out an inventory of endangered plants in the form of a publication titled Red Data Book.

FAUNA
The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), with its headquarters in Kolkata and 16 regional stations, is responsible for surveying the faunal resources of India. Possessing a tremendous diversity of climate and physical conditions, India has great variety of fauna numbering over 89,000 species. Of these, protista number 2,577, mollusca 5,070, anthropoda 68,389, amphibia 209, mammalia 390, reptilia 456, members of protochordata 119, pisces 2,546, aves 1,232 and other invertebrates 8,329.

The mammals include the majestic elephant, the gaur or Indian bison–the largest of existing bovines, the great Indian rhinoceros, the gigantic wild sheep of the Himalayas, the swamp deer, the thamin spotted deer, nilgai, the four-horned antelope, the Indian antelope or black-buck – the only representatives of these genera. Among the cats, the tiger and lion are the most magnificent of all; other splendid creatures such as the clouded leopard, the snow leopard, the marbled cat, etc., are also found.

Many other species of mammals are remarkable for their beauty, colouring, grace and uniqueness. Several birds, like pheasants, geese, ducks, mynahs, parakeets, pigeons, cranes, hornbills and sunbirds inhabit forests and wetlands.

Rivers and lakes harbour crocodiles and gharials, the latter being the only representative of crocodilian order in the world. The salt water crocodile is found along the eastern coast and in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. A project for breeding crocodiles which started in 1974, has been instrumental in saving the crocodile from extinction.

The great Himalayan range has a very interesting variety of fauna that includes the wild sheep and goats, markhor, ibex, shrew and tapir. The panda and the snow leopard are found in the upper reaches of the mountains.

The depletion of vegetative cover due to expansion of agriculture, habitat destruction, over-exploitation, pollution, introduction of toxic imbalance in community structure, epidemics, floods, droughts and cyclones, contribute to the loss of flora and fauna. More than 39 species of mammals, 72 species of birds, 17 species of reptiles, three species of amphibians, two species of fish and a large number of butterflies, moth and beetles are considered vulnerable and endangered.

(Source: India 2009, Ministry of Environment, Planning Commission, Ministry of Health, Press Information Bureau, Census of India, Ministry of External Affairs, Union Budget, Reserve Bank of India, India 2005 - A Reference Annual, www.indiainbusiness.nic.in)

Biodiversity hotspots of INDIA

A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with a significant reservoir of biodiversity that is under threat from humans.

The concept of biodiversity hotspots was originated by Norman Myers in two articles in “The Environmentalist” (1988 & 1990), revised after thorough analysis by Myers and others in “Hotspots: Earth’s Biologically Richest and Most Endangered Terrestrial Ecoregions”.

To qualify as a biodiversity hotspot on Myers 2000 edition of the hotspot-map, a region must meet two strict criteria: it must contain at least 0.5% or 1,500 species of vascular plants as endemics, and it has to have lost at least 70% of its primary vegetation.Around the world, at least 25 areas qualify under this definition, with nine others possible candidates. These sites support nearly 60% of the world's plant, bird, mammal, reptile, and amphibian species, with a very high share of endemic species.

The Western Ghats of southwestern India and the highlands of southwestern Sri Lanka, separated by 400 kilometers, are strikingly similar in their geology, climate and evolutionary history. The Western Ghats, known locally as the Sahyadri Hills, are formed by the Malabar Plains and the chain of mountains running parallel to India's western coast, about 30 to 50 kilometers inland. They cover an area of about 160,000 km² and stretch for 1,600 kilometers from the country's southern tip to Gujarat in the north, interrupted only by the 30 kilometers Palghat Gap.

Sri Lanka is a continental island separated from southern India by the 20-meter-deep Palk Strait. The island, some 67,654 km² in size, has been repeatedly connected with India between successive interglacials, most recently until about 7,000 years ago by a land bridge up to about 140 kilometers wide.

The Western Ghats mediates the rainfall regime of peninsular India by intercepting the southwestern monsoon winds. The western slopes of the mountains experience heavy annual rainfall (with 80 percent of it falling during the southwest monsoon from June to September), while the eastern slopes are drier; rainfall also decreases from south to north. Dozens of rivers originate in these mountains, including the peninsula’s three major eastward-flowing rivers. Thus, they are important sources of drinking water, irrigation, and power. The wide variation of rainfall patterns in the Western Ghats, coupled with the region’s complex geography, produces a great variety of vegetation types. These include scrub forests in the low-lying rainshadow areas and the plains, deciduous and tropical rainforests up to about 1,500 meters, and a unique mosaic of montane forests and rolling grasslands above 1,500 meters.

Precipitation across Sri Lanka is dependent on monsoonal winds, resulting in much of the island experiencing relatively low rainfall (less than 2,000 millimeters per year), except for the south-western “wet zone” quarter, where precipitation ranges to as much as 5,000 millimeters per year. While dry evergreen forests occupy almost the entirety of the “dry zone,” dipterocarp-dominated rainforests dominate the lowlands of the wet zone, and some 220 km² of tropical montane cloud forest still persist in the central hills, which rise to a maximum altitude of 2,524 meters.

Stretching in an arc over 3,000 kilometers of northern Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan and the northwestern and northeastern states of India, the Himalaya hotspot includes all of the world’s mountain peaks higher than 8,000 meters. This includes the world’s highest mountain, Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) as well as several of the world’s deepest river gorges.

This immense mountain range, which covers nearly 750,000 km², has been divided into two regions: the Eastern Himalaya, which covers parts of Nepal, Bhutan, the northeast Indian states of West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, and Arunachal Pradesh, southeast Tibet (China), and northern Myanmar; and the Western Himalaya, covering the Kumaon-Garhwal, northwest Kashmir, and northern Pakistan. While these divisions are largely artificial, the deep defile carved by the antecedent Kali Gandaki River between the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri mountains has been an effective dispersal barrier to many species.
The abrupt rise of the Himalayan Mountains from less than 500 meters to more than 8,000 meters results in a diversity of ecosystems that range, in only a couple of hundred kilometers, from alluvial grasslands (among the tallest in the world) and subtropical broadleaf forests along the foothills to temperate broadleaf forests in the mid hills, mixed conifer and conifer forests in the higher hills, and alpine meadows above the treeline

REVISED NATIONAL HIGHWAYS NUMBERS

INDIAN ECONOMY BASICS

NATIONAL INCOME ACCOUNTING

GDP: It in the money value of all the final goods and services produced within the geographical boundaries of the country during a given period of time.

GNP: It refers to the money value of total output or production of find goods and service produced by the nationals of a country during a given period of time.

GDP Deflator: The ratio of nominal to real GDP.
GDP Deflator = Nominal GDP/Real GDP.

Producers Price Index: it is the cost incurred by the producer in producing single unit in terms of GDP. It does not include any indirect taxes. It is used as early warming. It is having effect on the consumer price.

Blue Book: An annual digest published by the UK office of National Statistics containing the national income and expenditure statistics of the UK.

PLANNING IN INDIA

Open economy: Capitalist or mixed/progressive capitalist economy.

Plan Holidays: It refers to a period which is not covered in any five year plan (period between 1966 to 69 i.e. between 3^rd and 4^th Five Year Plan).

Inclusive Grown: Faster economic growth is also transferring into more inclusive growth, both in terms of employment generations and poverty reduction.

Export Pessimism: It happens when the government in not confident of getting sufficient amount of exports to finance its imports. India followed during the earlier days of planning era.

Investment Led Growth: It is growth of which a major portion of demand comes from investment. India is facing balanced growth.

Export Led Growth: When exports are a major reason of growth. China and ASEAN tigers are facing export- led growth.

ICOR: Incremental Capital Output Ratio: It refers to the units of capital that have to be employed for raising one unit of output.

Merit Goods: A commodity, the consumption of which is regarded as socially desirable irrespective of consumer's preferences. Governments are readily prepared to suspend consumer's sovereignty by subsidizing the provision of certain goods and services.

White Goods: White goods are luxury goods. After the economic reforms consumption of white goods increased in India, it gives more tax benefit to government.

Wage Goods Strategy: It is a strategy in which the society gives more importance the production of basic necessity like food, shelter and health care. It is contrast with heavy industry.

Competition Act: In 1980, the aforesaid act was passed to withdraw all such restrictions to that retarded competition, so as to encourage a better and effective utilization of the sources and to lower the cost of production and to raise the quality of the produce.

Washington Consensus: It is given by John Williamson in 1989. It gives a prescription on various measures on which developing countries have to take in order to grow in a faster way. The measure includes fiscal policy reform, monitory policy reforms.

MONEY & BANKING

Credit Control: By credit control we mean to regulate the volume of credit created by banks in India. It is the principal function of Reserve Bank of India. The basic objective of credit control mechanism is to realize both price stability and exchange stability in the economy. RBI uses two types of methods to control credit: (i) Quantitative Methods, and (ii) Qualitative Methods.

Quantitative Measures are used to control the volume of credit or indirectly to control inflationary and deflationary pressures caused by expansion and contraction of credit. These are also known as general credit measures. These consist of Bank Rate, Cash Reserve Ratio, Statutory Liquidity Ratio and Open Market Operations.

Qualitative Measures are used to control the quantum as well as purpose for which credits are given by banks. RBI uses measures like Publicity, Rationing of Credit, Regulation of consumer credit, Moral suasion and Variation in margin requirement for qualitative credit control.

Bank Rate: Bank rate is the rate at which the RBI is prepared to buy or rediscount eligible bills of exchange or other commercial papers. In simple words, bank rate is the rate at which RBI extends advices (Credit) to commercial banks. A change in the bank rate will result in a change in the prime lending rate of banks and thus act as an independent instrument of monetary control. At present it is 6.0%.

Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR): Cash reserve ratio is the cash parked by the banks in their specified current account maintained with RBI. In other words, it is the percentage of deposit (both demand and time deposit) which a bank has to keep with the RBI. RBI is empowered to vary the CRR between 3% to 15%. The purpose of reducing CRR is to leave large cash reserve with banks so as to enable them to expand bank credit. Similarly increasing of CRR means squeezing the cash reserve of the banks and limits their credit providing capacity. At present CRR is 6.0%.

Statutory liquidity Ratio (SLR): Statutory liquidity ratio is the liquid assets commercial banks maintain with the RBI in the form of cash (book value), gold (current market value) and balances in unencumbered approved securities. At present SLR is 25% of the total demand and time deposit liabilities of the bank. However, RBI can change SLR from time to time. Both CRR and SLR reduce or increase the capacity to expand credit to business and industry. Thus both of these are anti-inflationary.

Open Market Operations (OMO): The buying and selling of eligible securities in the money market by RBI for the purpose of curtailing or expanding the volume of credit. By selling securities the RBI can absorb funds, and buying the securities can release funds also into the market. The purpose of OMO is to influence the volume of cash reserves with the commercial banks and thus influence the volume of loans and advances they can make to the industrial and commercial sector.

Selective Credit Controls: Under the Banking Regulation Act 1949, section 21 empowers RBI to issue directives to the banking companies regarding their advance in order to check speculation and rising prices. The controls are selective as they are used to control and check the rising tendency of price and hording of certain individual commodities of common use. However, while imposing selective control, RBI takes care that bank credit for production and transportation of commodities and exports is not affected. These are mainly focused on credit to traders who use such credit for financing hoarding and speculation. Since 1956-57 RBI is employing this method.

Prime Lending Rate (PLR): It is rate of interest of which commercial banks lend to their prime high profile blue chip corporate borrowers. (From 1990’s banks are free to determine PLR).

Repo Rate: Repurchasing option is traded in this market for a short time periods. Repo is Repurchasing by RBI.

Priority Sector Lending: It is lending to some particular sector at lower interest rate. RBI orders all public sector banks to give 18% of credit to priority sector.

Market Stabilization Scheme: It is a scheme under which RBI buys and sells Government of India securities in order to control liquidity.

Money in Circulation: Money in use to finance current transactions as distinct from idle money.

Investment Bank: A Bank that provides long term fixed capital for industry, generally by taking up shares in limited companies.

Regional Rural Bank: It was established in 1975 under the provision of RRB Act 1976, with a view to develop rural economy.

Lead Banking Scheme: Under this scheme all the nationalized banks and few private sector banks were allowed specially and were asked to play the “Lead Role”. The lead banks act as a leader to bring about co-ordination of cooperative banks, commercial banks and other financial institutions in their respective demises to bring about rapid economic development.

Call Money: It is a loan that is made for a very short period i.e. for a few days only or for duration of a week. It carries a low rate of interest. In case of a stock exchange market, the duration of call money may be for a fortnight.

LIBOR: London Inter- Bank Offered Rate. An interest rate at which banks can bestow funds, in marketable size, from other banks in London inter- bank market.

MIBOR: Mumbai Inter Banking Operative Rate.

Capital Deepening: It occurs when capital to LIBOR ratio increase in a country, it helps in economic development of the country.

BASEL II: This norms assess the need for risk capital and replaces the minimum 9% capital adequacy norm under BASEL-I. BASEL II enables greater transparency and banks will evaluate themselves.

CAMELS: Capital Adequacy, Asset Quality, Management, Earnings Liquidity and Systems.

Capital Adequacy Ratio: It is the ratio of total capital fund of a bank to its risk weighted assets. It is an indicator of banks financial health.

Asset Reconstruction Company: Takes over the NPA of banks or financial institutions at cheaper rate, reconstruct it and sells it and makes profit out of it. This helps in clearing the balance sheet of banks.

Universal Banking: It is a banking scheme given by Khan Committee according to which conduction of all financial activities under one roof by a bank or financial institution. In other words, this means integration of roles of bank and other development banks.

Service Area Approach: Under this scheme, branches of commercial banks were allotted certain specific semi-urban and rural areas. These branches were made more responsible for overall development of prescribed areas. It was implemented in 1989.

Merchant Banking: It is an activity under which a bank take up portfolio management (Banks advising their clients about management of fund) as well as banker to the issue of the company.

Greshem’s Law: Bed money (Black Money) pushes good money (White Money) out of circulation.

Bank of International Settlement: Based in Switzerland, gives the statement of international monetary transactions. It is the one which gives CAMELS, BASEL

Demonetization: It takes place, when the society starts using less of currency for transaction with deepening of the financial system.

Tied Loan: A loans made on condition that certain purchases are made from the Lender.

INFLATION

Over Heating of Economy: When the supply is not able to keep phase with demand, it is as called over heating of economy. It leads to inflation and shortage goods.

Cost-push Inflation: General prices of goods and services in the economy rises due to an increase in production cost. Such types of Inflation are caused by three factors (i) an increase in wages, (ii) an increase in profit and (iii) imposition of heavy tax.

Demand- pull inflation: The most common cause of inflation is the pressure of ever-rising demand on a less rapidly increasing supply of goods and services. The expansion in aggregate demand may be the result of rapidly increasing private investment and/or spending government money for war or for economic development.

Stagflation: Stagflation occurs when inflation rises while output is either falling or at least not rising.

Structural Inflation: When there is a short supply the commodity, prices rise rapidly. It is temporary structure shortage in economy. It is also called bottleneck inflation.

Headline Inflation: It is an inflation which appears in headlines. It does not reflect the core inflation.

Under Lying Inflation: Measure of headline inflation after the removal of volatile items.

Core inflation: This nomenclature is based on the inclusion or exclusion of the goods and services while calculating inflation.

Hyperinflation (or) Galloping Inflation: The main feature of Hyper-Inflation is that money looses almost all of its value. Prices rise to fantastic levels, and the velocity of circulation becomes enormous. Money looses value so rapidly that people are unwilling to hold it for more a few moments.

Fiscal Drag: The effect of inflation upon effective tax rate. In other words, fiscal drag is directly related to inflation and tax rates.

Inflation Targeting: It is the goal of RBI, where RBI focuses as its main goal a particular band of inflation. This helps in expectation building by economic agents.

Administered Price Mechanism: In which the government decides the price of scarce goods and sell them at price less then the cost of its purchase and bears the burden.

Phillips Curve: The relationship between the percentage change of money wage and the level of unemployed is called as Phillips curve. The lower the unemployment, the higher will be the rate of change of wages.

Taylor Rule: A simple rule for setting interest rates with a view to keeping inflation stable.

CAPITAL MARKETS

Zero Coupon Bonds: Zero Coupon Bonds (also called as pure discount bonds) are bonds that pay no periodic interest payments or so called ‘Coupens’. Zero coupon bonds are purchased at a discount from their value at maturity. The holder of a Zero Coupon bond is entitled to receive a single payment, usually of a specified sum of money at a specified time in future. Investors earn interest via difference between the discounted price of the bond and its par (or redemption) value.

Undated Securities: Securities not bearing a redemption date or option.

Tap Issue: An issue of treasury bills to government departments and others at a fixed price stand, without going through the market, as distinct from a tender issue.

Buy Back of Shares: Various individuals, financial institutions, directors of the company, hold company shares. This indicates the ownership of the company, when a company is allowed to buy-back its shares. It means it is increasing its ownership.

Penny Stocks: Penny stocks are securities or stocks which are sold by smaller new companies. They are generally sold because companies are seeking money for expansion, basic operations, and even for the commencement of business.

Participatory notes: These are notes issued by FIIs and some of the Indian based foreign banks.

GDR/ADR: Global Deposit Receipts (GDR) are popularly known as Euro issues i.e. shares of Indian companies sold in the European market. When these shares of Indian companies are sold in the US capital market they are called as American Deposit Receipts (ADR).

Black-Sholes Formula: A formula used to establish a fair price for options in financial markets.

Swap: A transaction in which securities of a certain value are sold to a buyer in exchange for the purchase from the buyer of securities having the same value. The purpose being to obtain an improvement, in the eyes of either of the parties, in the quality of the security or to anticipate a change in yield. Currency as well as securities are swapped in this way.

Screen Based Book- where securities are auctioned through an anonymous screen based system, and the price of which securities are sold is discovered in screen. This eliminates the delays, risks and implementation difficulties associated with traditional procedures.

ESOP: Employee Stock Option.

Market Capitalisation: Total value of the equity in the present market price is called market capitalization.

Hedge Funds: They are basically private investment pools for wealthy, financially sophisticated investors. Traditionally they have been organized as partnership, with the general partner managing the fund’s portfolio.

Mutual Funds: Funds set up on the principal of pooled risk and pooled resources with the purpose of giving them the benefits of share market without exposing individually to the volatility of share market.

Venture Capital: Risk capital is called venture capital.

Sovereign Wealth Fund: It is state owned fund composed of financial assets such as stocks, bonds, property or other financial investment.

Futures: Contracts made in a future market for the purchased or sale of commodities on a specified future data. Futures provide a convenient mechanism for holding market risk. Future market forms an important part of many organized commodity exchange or market.

NCDEX: National Commodity Derivatives Exchange. It is the largest commodity futures exchange.

Forward Market Commission: It is a regulatory body for commodity futures, and forward trade in India. It was set up under Forward Contract (Regulation) Act 1952. It’s headquarter is in Mumbai.

CARE: Credit Analysis and Research Ltd. It was started in November 1993. It was set up by IDBI.

ICRA: Investment Information and Credit Rating Agents of India Limited. It was established in 1991. It primarily rates short, medium and long debt instruments. But, since 1995 it has been doing equity rating also.

Voting Shares: Equity shares entitling holders to vote in the election of directors of a company. Normally all ordinary shares are voting shares, but sometimes a company may create a class of non-voting ordinary shares.

Tobin Tax: The tax foresighted by James Tobin. It is a tax that should be imposed on portfolio capitals, so that when a foreign investor wants to take out this investment he has to pay tax, which is expected to discourage the tendency to move from one country to another in search of quick gains.

Factoring: The business in which, a firm takes over the collection of trade debts on behalf of others, thereby enabling them to obtain insurance against bad debts. It is a service primarily intended to meet the needs of small and medium-size firms. The procedure is for the factoring company to buy up its client’s invoices and then itself claim payment of them.

Underwriting: Underwriting is the business of insuring against risk.

Counter Guarantee: It is given by an economic agent, another agent will oblige the contract signed with the 3^rd party.

NSDL: It is the first registered depository in India set up in November 1996 and has been promoted by IDBI, UTI and NSE.

CDSL: Central Depository Services Limited.

Sub- Prime Loans: It is also called as ‘B’ loans or second chance loans. These are loans originated to borrowers who do not qualify for market interest rates because of problems in their credit history.

Derivative Trading: It is trading on claims, on claims on real producers.

Currency Future: Where in a contract in made between two parties, in which a party agrees to buy or sell a fixed amount of currency at fixed foreign exchange at a later date. It reduces currency volatility rise for both the parties.

Insider Trading: When insider (managers, directors, others) have more information of the companies performance than the external share holders. And they use it to make a profit is called insider trading. It is banned in India by SEBI.

Multi Commodity Exchange (MCE): The trading happening in papers instead of commodities in physical. The largest MCX is in Ahmedabad.

Arbitrage: The act of buying a currency or a commodity in one market and simultaneously selling it for a profit in another market.

Badla: A carrying forward mechanism wherein only some margin is paid for shared, by the delivery of share and settlement could be carried forward for up to two weeks.

PUBLIC FINANCE

Non Tax Receipts: It is revenue receipts of government of India from social services and taxes like dividend from PSU’s, interest on loan given to states and other agencies, fees provided for services etc.

Capital Receipts: Receipts on which the government has repayment obligations: e.g. government borrowing, disinvestment proceeds etc.

Non Debt Capital Receipts: The capital receipts of Government of India agencies which are non debt in nature like selling of PSU’s and foreign aids.

Social Overhead Capital: The capital where the emphasis is on the capital assets that provide the services: house, bridges, roads, railways, school etc.

Primary Deficit: Primary deficit = Fiscal deficit – interest payment. Fiscal deficit is budgetary deficit + market borrowings and other liabilities of the government of India.

Monetized Deficit: The budget deficit can be financed in two ways either borrowing from the public or by borrowing from the RBI. When it is financed through borrowing from the RBI, it is called monetized deficit. In other word, it is increase in the net RBI credit to the Government.

Zero Base Budget: A technique where the budget of each ministry is prepared assuming that there was no budget in the previous years.

Outcome Budget: As par the promise of the annual budget 2005-06 Finance Ministry has come out with an outcome Budget. This will ensure good governance. In simple words, it provides outcome for expenditure provides for in the Budges for a fiscal.

Performance Budget: It emphasizes on the purpose at expenditure rather than the expenditure itself. It presents budget in terms of functions, programmes, activities and projects.

Dalit Budgeting: It is like that of gender budgeting wherein an analysis made on how much resources are allocated for the deprived section in planning, implementation and post-implementation analysis.

Tax Base: The quantity or coverage of what is taxed.

Tax Avoidance: Arranging one's financial affairs within the law so as to minimize taxation liabilities as opposed to tax evasion, which is failing to meet actual tax liabilities through, for example not declaring income or profit.

Specific Tax: It is a tax imposed on the basis of quantity i.e. volume or weight etc. of a commodity.

Advalorem: In this case the duty is imposed on the basis of value of the product.

VAT: Value Added Tax is a multi-point destination based system of taxation, with tax being levied on value addition in each stage of transaction in the production chain.

Turnover Tax: A tax levied as a proportion of the price of a commodity on each sale in the production and distribution chain all so called as cascade tax. Such a tax encourages vertical integration.

Fringe Benefit: Fringe benefits are the low or no tax benefits that companies offer to attract employees in addition to the normally taxed salaries, such as free transportation, health cover etc.

Goods and Services Tax: Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a part of the proposed tax reforms that center round evolving an efficient and harmonized consumption tax system in the country. Presently there are parallel systems of indirect taxation at central and state levels. Each of the systems needs to be reformed to eventually harmonize team.

CENVAT: In Union Budget 200-01 major overhaul at the central excise system was undertaken with innovation of a uniform 16% basic Central Value Added Tax (CENVAT) at production stage.

MODVAT: Tax is levied on final goods and tax on inputs and intermediate goods was abolished. This amended system excluded the possibilities of Double Taxation. It was introduced on the recommendation of L.J. Jha Committee in 1976.

MAT (Minimum Alternative Tax): Normally a company is liable to pay tax on income computed in accordance with the provisions of the IT Act but the profit and loss account of the company is prepared as per provisions of the Company Act. It is called MAT.

Exempt-Exempt Tax: The contributors will be excluded from income for tax purpose; the accruals will also be exempted from tax; and only the terminal benefits will be at the applicable rare in year or receipt.

Presumptive Tax: It refers to the use of appropriate indicators of income, wealth, etc. Instead of actual records of the tax bases. In case of income tax, a presumptive tax is imposed on the basis of an estimated taxable income.

Wind Fall Tax/ Super Profit Tax: Tax on sudden profit or high profit i.e. petroleum industry etc.

Laffer Curve: This curve is given by American economist Prof. Arthur Laffer. It represents relationship between total tax revenue and corresponding tax rate.

External Commercial Borrowings (ECB): It is an additional source of funds to Indian corporate and PSU’s for financing expansion of existing capacity as well as for fresh investment, augmenting the resources available domestically.

Cross Subsidy: The government purchases at a lesser cost and sells at a higher cost, like petrol. In this system government is the sole purchaser of the goods.

Oil Bonds: The bonds issued by Government of India to oil marketing companies to overcome their losses. It is a way of transferring burden of subsidy on the future generations.

Oil Pool Account: It is account through which Government of India issue bonds to oil making companies to cover for the losses because of Administer Price system. It was abolished few years back. Now it has been charged on Consolidated Fund of India.

Financial Inclusion: Delivering financial services (savings, insurance, credit) to the deprived section at an affordable cost. Microfinance, SHG and post office schemes are all examples for financial inclusion.

Industrial Finance Corporation of India: It was set up by Government of India in 1948 July under a special act. The scheduled banks, insurance companies, investment and cooperative banks are share holder of IFCI, to provide medium and long term credit to industry.

FOREIGN TRADE & WTO

Free on Board: A term given to the system of paying for goods shipped from or to another country when the amount is sufficient only to cover the value of the good and excludes insurance and frights.

Quantitative Restrictions: The quantitative limits placed on the importation of specified commodities. For protection, the quota is more certain then a tariff in its effects on the quantity of imports.

Counter Trade: It is exchange in goods and services that are paid for other goods and service. i.e. Barter System, Switch Trading, Buy Bank, Off set.

Social Dumping: It is a practice of exporting goods form a country where the labours are suppressed and labour court is low in order to compete international market.

Appreciation: When the value of currency rises with respect to another currency is said to have appreciated. It also indicates the increase in value of an asset.

Countervailing Tax: It is the duty imposed to raise the price of imported c commodity so that it becomes higher than the price of domestic goods. It is also known as outervailing measure.

Debt Service Ratio: The Ratio of interest and principal payments on debt as a proportion of the country’s total export for a particular year in called debt service ratio. DSR = Interest + Principal/Export.

Visible Balance: The balance of payments in visible trade (imports and exports).

Current Account Deficit: It is the difference between exports and imports of goods and services as well as the transfer on invisibles. It signifies saving investment gap.

FEMA: Foreign Exchange Management Act was introduced in July 1998 in the Parliament to repeal FERA 1973. Under FEMA, 1999 provisions related to foreign exchange have been modified and liberalized so as to simplify foreign trend and payments.

Crawling Peg: When small exchange adjustments in external value of currency of a country is made to rectify and under or over valuation of the home currency in terms of a given foreign currency, it may be called crawling peg.

Currency Board: The exchange rate is fixed, with institutional constraints on monetary policy. The monetary authority can only issue domestic money when it is fully backed by inflows on foreign exchange.

Devaluation: In a fixed exchange rate system, when the country has decided to reduce the value of its currency in comparison with foreign currency. India devalued its currency in the past. It increase exports and reduces imports.

Hard Currency: It refers to the currency of an industrialized country which has general convertibility.

Soft Currency: A currency with limited convertibility into gold and other currencies either because it is of depreciating due to balance of payment, deficit or because cannot have been placed on it.

Exim Bank: It is established for financing, facilitating and promoting foreign trade in India.

Duty Drawback Scheme: It is a scheme in which exporter are allowed to drawback the duties (customs duty, service tax. etc) as a part of an incentive to increase exports.

EPCG Scheme: It is Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) scheme, where in capital goods is imposed 5% rate for export purpose. If the capital is imported for agriculture exports then it is zero percent (0%).

Agri Export Zone: It was setup in EXIM policy 2001-02 for encouraging exports of specific agriculture products from geographically identified areas.

Custom Union: More advanced level of economic integration than the free trade area. It not only eliminates all restrictions on trade among members but also adopts a uniform commercial policy against the non-members.

Mercosur: A customs union of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. In 1996, Bolivia and Chile became associate members.

de minimis support under WTO: It is a support given by government, which does not fall under green, blue, amber box subsidies. They are subject to reduction under WTO.

Amber Box: It comprises all forms of domestic support deemed to be trade distorting, primarily by encouraging excessive production. A market price support mechanism that set no product limit.

GATS: General Agreement of Trade in Services

TRIPS: Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights

TRIMS: Trade Related Investment Measures

MIGA: It is set up in 1988 as an agency of the World Bank whose purpose/ objective is to protect the interest of the foreign investors operating in a country against non – commercial risks (communal riots, natural calamities, etc) due to which property of foreign investors may be destroyed.

Tariff Binding and WTO: The maximum Tariff, which country can impose on imports. Indian tariff rates are much below then the binding rates which are prescribed for developing countries.

Special Safeguard Measure under WTO: It is a mechanism which allows developing countries to impose tariff, when the price of agricultural commodities falls by a certain percentage. The amount of percentage is bone of contention in WTO, between India and western countries. India says 10% fall and West says 40% fall.

Multi fiber Agreement: Agreement between developed and developing countries. Where by developed countries imposed a fixed quota on textile exports from developing countries. It has been dismantled.

Asian Development Bank: Set up in 1966 under the recommendation of United Nation Economic Commission for Asia and Pacific. The bank was formed with two fold objectives:

· To inculcate cooperation in the Asia Pacific.

· To accelerate the pace of economic development of the region’s developing countries.

Special Drawing Rights (SDR): The Special Drawing Rights is an international financial assets created by IMF and serves as an international unit of account. A means of payment amount certain eligible official entities.

Double Taxation Avoiding Agreement: When two countries have an agreement to avoid the tax on same goods is called Double Taxation Avoiding Agreement. At present India having this agreement with Mauritius.

Soft Loan: It is given by IDA to under developed country for long duration and zero interest.

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Physical Quality of Life Index: Given by Morris, which means 1/3 of life expectancy index + infant mortality index + Basic literary index.

PQLI = 1/3 (LQI + IMI + BLI)

Human Poverty Index: Human Development Report 1997 introduced the concept of Human Poverty Index, which concentrates on deprivation in three essential elements of human life already reflected in HDI. (i) Longivity, (ii) Knowledge, (iii) Living Standard. It is released by UNDP.

GDI: Gender Related Development Index: It is a composite index measuring average achievement in the three dimensions captured in the Human Development Index.

· A long and healthy life.

· Knowledge and decent standard of living.

· Adjusted to account for inequalities between men and women.

GEM (Gender Empowerment Measure): Composite index measuring gender inequalities in three basic dimensions of empowerment – economic participation and decision making, political participation and decision making and power over economic resources.

Technology Index: Based on observed data and survey results, the index measures the value of technology in a country. It takes into account country’s involvement in innovation and import of technology from abroad.

Green Index: A measure of nation’s wealth by using produced assets, natural resources and human resources each being allocated specific value to see whether the development is sustainable or not.

Millennium Development Goods: Adopted by U.N. General Assembly in 2000; it prescribes the goals to achieve by year 2015. It has 8 goods to be achieved.

POVERTY & UNEMPLOYMENT

Poverty Line: The per capital expenditure on certain minimum needs of a person including food intake of a daily average of 2400 calories in rural areas and 2100 calories in urban areas.

Poverty Gap: It is calculated as the total shortfall of consumption below the poverty line, divided by the total population. This per capital shortfall in consumption below the poverty line is then expressed on a percentage of the poverty line.

Poverty Gap Index: Poverty ratio × (Poverty line = per capita conception of the poor) / poverty link × 100.

Relative Poverty: It indicates inequality in the income of the people. May not be absolutely poor in terms of calories but income wise.

Lorenz Curve: Cumulative frequency curve showing the distribution of a variable such as population against an independent variable such as income. In cumulative % of income less than a given value are plotted against the cumulative % of persons.

Gini-coefficient: It represents the measurement of inequality derived from the “Lorenz curve”. With every increase in the degree of inequality, the curvature of the Lorenz curve also increase and the area between the curve and 45⁰ line becomes larger. The Gini – coefficient is measured as:

G = Area between Lorenz-curve & 45⁰ line / Area above the 45⁰ line.

Frictional Employment: Temporary unemployment caused by incessant changes in the economy. It takes time, for example for new workers to search among different job possibilities, even experienced workers often spend a minimum period of unemployment time moving from one job to another.

Unemployment trap: The existence of social security benefits for the out of work that erode an incentive for the unemployed to take a job.

Current Daily Status of Unemployment: It considers the activity status of a person for each day of the preceding seven days. A person who works for one hour but less than 4 hours is considered having worked for half a day. If he works for 4 hours or more during a day, it is considered whole day.

Demographic Divided: It is being enjoyed by India and if it is not managed properly it become demographic nightmare. It occurs when the countries working population (16-64year of age) is very large when compared to rest of the population.

Misery Index: Index combining unemployment rate and inflation rate: It is measured for practical significance of condition of economy, as well as consumer confidence.

CAPART: The Council for Advancement of People’s Action and Rural Technology. It is autonomous organization under the Ministry of Rural Development set up in 1986 as a supporting and funding agency to the voluntary organization.

TRYSEM: Training to Rural Youth for Self Employment is an integral part of Integrated Rural Development Programme. Since April 1, 1999, TRYSEM has been merged with newly introduced programme namely, Swarna Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana. Since the launching of MGNREGA, it has become a part of it.

AGRICULTURE & INDUSTRY

Second Green Revolution: It aims at efficient use of resources and conservation of soil, water and ecology on sustainable basis and in a holistic framework.

Rainbow Revolution

· Over 4% annual growth rate in agriculture.

· Greater private sector participation through farming

· Price protection for farmers

· National Agriculture Insurance Scheme to be lowered for all farmers and all crops.

· Dismantling movement and agriculture commodity throughout the country.

Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme: It is started in 1995 by government of India to complete incomplete projects of states in which central funds flow on.

Debt Swap Scheme: It is a scheme through which farmers get loan from bank with minimum rate of interest to pay back loan from local money center, PNB launched it first.

Social Forestry: Involving the local community in preservation and rejuvenation of forest resources including wild life and etc.

Contract Forming: It is a new way of farming in which big corporates sign contract with farmers making provision for the production of farm goods and delivery at a later date at a price signed in the contract. This helps farmers get a fixed amount for the goods. It stabilizes the farmer’s income.

Footloose Industry: These industries are mobile industry which are not based in a particular area and can be seen anywhere for performing their activities.

Sunrise Industries: Industries in the forefront of development which have immense future potential. e.g. IT, Biotechnology, Pharma.

Index of Industrial Production: It is used to measure the growth rate of industry in India. It is the weighted average of mining, manufacturing and electricity. The base year of IIP is 1993-94.

Green Field Investment: In software engineering jargon Greenfield is a project which lacks any constraints imposed by prior work. The image is that of construction on Greenfield land. Where there is no need to remodel or demolish an existing structure.

Brown Field Investment: Those facilities which are modified/ upgraded are called Brown Field Projects.

Cortel: An association of producers in a given industry whose purpose is to restrict or bar competition in the industry.

Special Economic Zone (SEZ): Introduced in the EXIM policy of 2000-01 with a view to provide internationally competitive and haste free environment for export. They are free from taxes and duties. Such area is considered as foreign territory for the purpose of trade operations and tariffs.

Special Purpose Vehicle: It is introduced outside control and obligation of the government involved in setting up of new firms like DMRC. SPV is used by government in order to enhance public private partnership (PPP).

Golden Hand Shake: Voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) in Industrial Policy Resolution 1991 for reducing the pressure of employees on public sector enterprises.

Exit Policy: it is a part of liberation policy adopted by the government. It was adopted in 1991 which aimed at closing down the sick and inefficient industries and making handshakes with excess employees so as to reduce the financial burden on the economy.

Capital Widening: It is a phenomenon of growth in which capital to labour ratio is constant. When capital ratio is constant then wage rate is also constant.

MISCELLANEOUS

Tournament theory: The piece of economic thinking that suggests rewards can usefully be based upon the relative performance of economic agents, rather than on their absolute performance.

Yield Curve: A graphical representation of the relationship between the annual return on an asset and the number of years the asset has to run before expiring. Long term assets usually offer some premium over short-term ones and yield curves, thus typically slop upwards.

Zero sum game: A game in which one players gain is equal to other player's losses.

Window Dressing: Financial adjustments made solely for the purpose of accounting presentation normally at the time of auditing of company accounts.

Essential Commodities Act (1955): This act was introduced for ensuring supply of essential commodities to the consumers at fair prices and to save them from seller’s exploitation.

Book Building: This is the first draft or preliminary prospects, which carries the information of company and the project.

Micro Finance: Financial services offered to rural and urban poor. Its include insurance, credits and savings.

Swayam Sidha: it is centrally sponsored scheme for holistic empowerment of women, through mobilization and formation of women, into- Self Help Group (SHG).

Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF): It was set up under NABARD in 1995-96. Its main function is to improve rural roads and bridges, to remove inter regional, rural - urban or inter-state disparities to help the new agriculture policy to release more than 4% growth rate.

Carbon tax: it is tax on emission. New Zeland introduced it first.

Reverse Mortgage: Scheme started in 2007 wherein the older people are paid a pension by the bank till their death. And after their death the banks takes hold of house and ask legal heir to pay the amount or forbid the house. This is the way of ensuring constant support to elders.

Procurement Price: It is final price a company pays for procuring goods. It includes insurance transportation in addition to the production cost.

Bandwagen Effect: It is an observation of people to do and believe, what other people do.

Back Wash Effect: Where in people move from poorer region to richer (Industrial) region, which will undercut the industry and development of poorer region.

Pump Priming: The infection of small amounts of government spending into a depressed economy with the aim of boosting business confidence and encouraging large scale private sector investment.

Amovtization: It refers to repayment of loan principle.