GEOG
Parambikulam Tiger Reserve, the 39th in the country, at Anappadi (Parambikulam),was inaugurated
The Malabar Wildlife Sanctuary would be inaugurated on April 11 and the Indira Gandhi Bio-diversity Institute at
How does a depression bring heavy rains?
(def) A circular low pressure area roughly 300 Km wide with a surface wind of 25 Knots (45 Kmph) is defined as a “depression.”
CDO
- The circulation of air, anticlockwise in Northern hemisphere, provides sufficient updraft to generate all types of clouds and the depression could be seen like a full moon in a satellite photograph.
- The circular mass of clouds called “Central Dense Overcast” or CDO in meteorological parlance is a confirmation of the formation of a depression.
- With a base 5,000 feet or less, the CDO vertically extends up to 18,000 feet or so. The rains that occur release the latent heat of condensation.
How it ends
Unless the sea is cold (sea surface temperature less than 28 Deg C) or the depression crosses a coast, this intensification keeps on going in this fashion as if there is no end to it.
How it feels like
- Around 8,000 to 10,000 feet the circulation generates a white sheet of cloud, known as altostratus (As) with a thickness that could be 5 to 8 thousand feet. This can extend to hundreds of kilometres from the centre of the depression.
- This is what is seen by a common man when continuous rain of moderate intensity starts occurring over very large areas and he calls it as “depression rain” by his experience.
- (Storm)A small part of it, say 10 to 20 per cent is enough to increase the circulation in the form of increased wind speeds at lower levels of the atmosphere. The depression intensifies into a deep depression.
- The As will not easily dissolve for one to see the sky as the moist air incursion due to the depression will be sufficient to replenish the water vapour that is lost in the form of rains.
- The low clouds that surge towards the depression will partially rise up to merge with As as they approach the depression and the rest will reach the depression area.
Indian Experience
The area covered by the rains will depend on the season.
(south west monsoon) In July, when monsoon conditions are very favourable, a depression in head Bay, south of
On the other hand, during the northeast monsoon period, a depression 100 Km off Karaikal will give heavy rains over the east coast from
PERSONALITY
Yukiya Amano is the current Director General(5th) of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), having been elected to the position in July 2009. Amano previously served as a Japanese diplomat and international civil servant for the United Nations and its subdivisions.
PMEAC ..Prime minister economic advisory council chairman C. Rangarajan.
Srikumar Banerjee took over as Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), on Monday from Anil Kakodkar. An expert in materials science and technology(zirconium alloys ), he has made outstanding contributions in materials-related areas, both basic and application-oriented.
SHYAM LAL YADAV
A journalist of India Today has been selected for the first PCRF-NDTV National RTI Award for his new reports based on information he gathered under the Right to Information Act. Based on the information he gathered under the Act, Mr. Yadav wrote stories on the foreign jaunts by Ministers of the UPA government, bureaucrats junketing, corruption cases and the delay in hanging Afzal Guru.
MOTHER TERESA
- Who was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in
- She went to
- She received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.
- After her death in 1997,
- she was buried in
ECONOMY
NBS SCHEME
The Centre has announced nutrient based subsidy (NBS) scheme, which will come into effect from April 1. It has decided to raise the retail price of urea by 10 per cent and allow manufacturers to fix the rates of DAP and MOP fertilizers. At present, the maximum retail price (MRP) of urea is Rs. 483 a quintal, while DAP costs Rs. 935 a quintal and MOP Rs. 445.50 a quintal.
WORLD TRADE
In 1999, the top five exporting countries were the traditional industrial powers — the
In 2009
- the
- During the decade, American exports rose at a compound rate of a little more than 4 per cent. That was far behind
FDI
- According to the World Investment Report 2009, he said the top-five most attractive locations for FDI for 2009-11 are:
REPORT (published by )
The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), (Since 2009, the ALRC and its sister organization, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)) , a human rights organization with a General Consultative status with the United Nations’ Economic and Social Council, published its country report on India to the UN Human Rights Council.
According to the report,
- Madhya Pradesh is the one of the biggest contributors to neo-natal and child mortality in the world.
- Laying special emphasis on tribal communities, the report states that the mortality rate among children under the age of five in the State’s tribal community is far higher than the State and national average.
TAKE OVERS
Shree Renuka Sugars picks up majority stake in Brazilian firm
In the largest cross-border acquisition by an Indian company in the sugar industry,
Shree Renuka Sugars has entered into definitive agreements with Grupo Equipav S.A. of Brazil to acquire a 50.8 per cent stake in it for $329 million (Rs.1,530 crore) or Reais 600 million.
While
COMMITTIES
D Swarup Committee
The recent report of the Committee on Investor Awareness and Protection, headed by D. Swarup, Chairman, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority, has rattled life insurance agents throughout the country.
Recommendation The committee has recommended that instead of paying commission, insurance companies should ask their agents to charge their clients a fee for the advice given.
DAYS
International Mother Language Day
21 February was proclaimed the International Mother Language Day by UNESCO on 17 November 1999.
International Mother Language Day originated as the international recognition of Language Movement Day (urdu v/s bangla ) which has been commemorated in Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan) since 1952, when a number of Dhaka University students were killed by the Pakistani police and army in Dhaka during the Bengali Language Movement.
International Mother Language Day is observed yearly by UNESCO member states and at its headquarters to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism
AWARDS
DRDO’s Technology Leadership Award for 2008
W. Selvamurthy, Chief Controller (Life Sciences and Human Resource), Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), has been chosen for the DRDO’s Technology Leadership Award for 2008 instituted by the DRDO.
CONTRIBUTION
- The award citation says Dr. Selvamurthy’s recent path-breaking research — application of nitric oxide and oxygen for treating high altitude pulmonary oedema, has saved more than 500 soldiers’ lives.
- He developed a new prophylactic method of using carbozen gas for protection against noise-induced loss of hearing among the crew of battleships and battle tanks.
The award carries a cash prize of Rs. 2 lakh and the citation.
MILLITARY OPERATIONS
Operation Moshtarak
NATO and Afghan forces’s anti-Taliban air/drone offensive
INTERNATIONAL
Nation recently permitting complete freedom to press a journalist haven—
The Supreme Court was established by Part 3 of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 and started work on 1 October 2009.[1][2]
· It assumed the judicial functions of the House of Lords, which were exercised by the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary (commonly called "Law Lords"),
· the 12 professional judges appointed as members of the House of Lords to carry its judicial business out.
· The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom is the supreme court (court of last resort, highest appellate court) in all matters under English law, Welsh law, Northern Irish law and Scottish civil law (the court has no authority over criminal cases in Scotland, where the High Court of Justiciary remains the supreme criminal court).
· The Supreme Court also has jurisdiction to determine devolution disputes — cases in which the legal powers of the three devolved governments or laws made by the devolved legislatures are questioned.
· The Supreme Court sits in the Middlesex Guildhall in Westminster,
· The President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom is the head of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom..The office is currently held by Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers,
· the President of the Supreme Court ranks after the Lord Speaker of the House of Lords.
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POLICY
NATIONAL BIO FUEL POLICY
The new policy endeavours to facilitate and bring about optimal development and utilisation of indigenous biomass feed stocks for production of bio-fuels.
Salient features
- bio-diesel production will be taken up from non-edible oil seeds in waste/degraded /marginal lands;
- an indicative target of 20 per cent blending of bio-fuels, both for bio-diesel and bio-ethanol, by 2017 has been proposed;
- minimum support price (MSP) for non-edible oil seeds would be announced with periodic revision to provide fair price to the growers;
- minimum purchase price (MPP) for purchase of bio-ethanol and bio-diesel would be announced with periodic revision;
- major thrust will be given to research, development and demonstration with focus on plantations, processing and production of bio-fuels, including second generation bio-fuels and financial incentives, including subsidies and grants.
- If it becomes necessary, a National Bio-fuel Fund could be considered.
ORGANISATIONAL SET UP
- A National Bio-fuel Coordination Committee, headed by the Prime Minister, will be set up to provide policy guidance and coordination.
- A Bio-fuel Steering Committee, chaired by Cabinet Secretary, will be set up to oversee implementation of the policy.
- The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has been designated as the co-ordinating Ministry for bio-fuel development and utilisation while specific roles have been assigned to other ministries concerned.
An Indo-U.S. MoU has been signed on bio-fuels with focus on joint R&D, particularly on second generation bio-fuels such as, cellulosic ethanol and algal biodiesel.
BIO DISEL
· Biodiesel refers to a vegetable oil- or animal fat-based diesel fuel consisting of long-chain alkyl (methyl, propyl or ethyl) esters.
· Biodiesel is typically made by chemically reacting lipids (e.g., vegetable oil, animal fat (tallow)) with an alcohol.
· Biodiesel is meant to be used in standard diesel engines and is thus distinct from the vegetable and waste oils used to fuel converted diesel engines. Biodiesel can be used alone, or blended with petrodiesel.
· The term "biodiesel" is standardized as mono-alkyl ester in the
Bio Ethanol
- Ethanol fuel is ethanol (ethyl alcohol), the same type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages. It can be used as a transport fuel, mainly as a biofuel additive for gasoline
- Bioethanol, unlike petroleum, is a form of renewable energy that can be produced from agricultural feedstocks. It can be made from very common crops such as sugar cane, potato, manioc and maize
- Celluosic ethanol offers promise as cellulose fibers, a major and universal component in plant cells walls, can be used to produce ethanol.[9][10] According to the International Energy Agency, cellulosic ethanol could allow ethanol fuels to play a much bigger role in the future than previously thought.[11]
- Ethanol is widely used in Brazil(mandatory) and in the United States, and together both countries were responsible for 89 percent of the world's ethanol fuel production in 2008
SOLAR
On November 14, Centre would be launching a solar mission on the birth anniversary former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru,
- Subsequent plans to send two Indian astronauts to space on a
In terms of economic and trade cooperation, in 2008
ENVIORMENT
SOOT & GLOBAL WARMING
Fine particles of soot result from the incomplete burning of fossil fuels and biomass. Soot is produced by diesel engines, the burning of coal, forest fires, burning of crop residues and when firewood and dung is used as household fuel.
EFFECTS
- Soot particles absorb 80 per cent of the solar radiation they receive and directly warm the atmosphere,
- The rising hot air produced by enhanced heating drew in warm and moist air over the Indian subcontinent. Consequently, there could be an “advance of the rainy periods and subsequently an intensification of the Indian summer monsoon
- More recently, there has been concern over soot hastening the melting of the Himalayan glaciers.
- While carbon dioxide could remain in the atmosphere for centuries, soot stayed aloft only for days to weeks while ozone persisted for just weeks to months.
- Cutting soot levels in the atmosphere might produce the opposite effect – an increase in warming rather than a reduction
S.K. Satheesh(WINNER OF THIS YEAR BHATNAGAR AWARD) of the Centre for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science in
NEW INITIATIVES
- The “National Institute for Research on Climate and Environment”
- The institute would be a joint initiative of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Union Ministry for Environment and Forests (MoEF).
- Two satellites would be launched between 2010 and 2011 to measure and monitor greenhouse gases. While a micro-satellite would be launched in 2010 to study aerosols, another dedicated satellite in 2011 would monitor greenhouse gases such as methane and trace gases.
- Green Bonus A new mechanism was being proposed to provide incentives to States to retain and expand green cover Towards this end, a “green bonus” would be given to States along with funds from the Planning Commission or Finance Commission.
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NUCLEAR ISSUES
SITES FOR NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
- U.S.-led consortia at Chhayamithi Virdi in
- French company Areva will start work at Jaitapur in
M.P. to get its first nuclear power project
The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) has decided to set up an atomic station(first) to generate 1400 MW power in at Chutka Mandla district in Madhya Pradesh,
ORGANISATION
South Asian Foundation (SAF)
SAF is a secular, non-profit and non political organisation, comprising eight autonomous chapters in the eight countries of
Mr. Madanjeet Singh founded the South Asian Foundation (SAF) in 2000 as a regional youth movement and it has now grown to have chapters in eight countries. An artist, writer, former diplomat, philanthropist, founder of South Asian Foundation (SAF) and UNESCO’s Goodwill Ambassador since 2000,
ACTIVITES
- South Asia Foundation has worked to enlarge the scope of its activities in search of common cultural, educational and economic denominators to strengthen cooperative initiatives throughout the South Asian region.
- The ‘South Asia Foundation Peace Festival 2009,’ which began
- Scholarship scheme for students
SUMMITS
The East Asia
- The fourth annual meeting of the EAS leaders, which
- 16-state EAS forum.
- the EAS is a leaders-driven forum that can discuss any issue of cooperation or conflict among the 16 participant-countries.
- The ASEAN+3 countries share the EAS seats with
- So far, the EAS forum, too, has by and large limited itself to economic and social issues and not the pan-regional or global political challenges
(1) Asia Pacific Community Political initiative of Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who assumed office after the EAS met in Singapore in 2007, has proposed an Asia Pacific Community. More recently,
(2)
(3) The ASEAN+3 entity has in its fold all the 10 Southeast Asian countries plus
(4) Summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in
SPORTS
Played at
MISCELLANEOUS
Roma people may refer to
- Romani people, an ethnic group with origins in South Asia who are widely dispersed with their largest concentrated populations in Europe, especially Central and Eastern Europe, with more recent diaspora populations in the Americas and, to a lesser extent, in North Africa and the Middle East.
- Roma (Romani subgroup), a subgroup of the Romani people who live primarily in Central and
NEIGHBOURS
NRO National Reconciliation Ordinance
· The NRO that was promulgated on October 2007 by former President Pervez Musharraf, a day before the presidential election, had been widely perceived as a “deal” struck by him with the former Pakistan People’s Party leader, Benazir Bhutto, to provide her relief from the corruption charges she faced.
· The “deal” was that the NRO would enable Bhutto to get back to
· The
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