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External Affairs

India-Afghanistan
President Karzai and EAM jointly inaugurated the 218 Km landmark Zaranj - Delaram road project in the south-western Afghanistan connecting the capital of Nimroz Province to the Herat-Kandahar highway. This road, together with 60 kilometres of inner-city roads in Zaranj and Gurguri, was recently completed by India at a cost of US $150 million. The project symbolises India's strong commitment towards the development of Afghanistan.
India will also shortly be completing the Pul-e-Khumri to Kabul transmission line and sub-station at Chimtala.
Both sides reaffirmed their strong commitment to combat terrorism and reiterated that all countries should comply with their multilateral and international obligations and should fully control terrorist activities emanating from the sanctuaries and camps located within their territory.

India-Srilanka
500 MW thermal power project near Trincomalee by NTPC from India.
President Rajapaksa extended a personal invitation to an all-party delegation from Tamil Nadu led by Chief Minister Karunanidhi and Ms. Jayalalitha to see for themselves the situation on the ground and to persuade the LTTE to lay down arms and join the democratic mainstream
President Rajapaksa assured India that it was his intention to move as quickly as possible to implement the 13th Amendment of the Sri Lankan Constitution, which, followed the India-Sri Lanka agreement of 1987.
Sri Lankan Government reassured that they would respect the safe zones and minimize the effects of conflict on Tamil civilians. As you know, India has extended its relief supplies to civilians caught up in the zone of conflict and intends to continue doing so.

India-Bangladesh
EAM will unveil a model of the 2800 cyclone-resistant dwelling units that the Government of India is building in eleven villages in Bangladesh affected by the devastating cyclone in November 2007. He will also be laying the Foundation Stone for Kalabhaban of the Department of Theatre and Music in the University of Dhaka, which is being built with Indian assistance.
India has welcomed the successful conduct of elections and return of multi-party democracy in Bangladesh.
India and Bangladesh share common values, a commitment to democracy and a multi-faceted historical relationship. India looks forward to working closely with the newly elected Government in Bangladesh to further strengthen our cooperation in a range of areas.
After the natural calamities in Bangladesh in recent years, India has readily provided aid and assistance including cash assistance of USD 10 million and food aid consisting of essential items including rice and milk powder, etc., worth nearly USD 40 million. The 5,00,000 MT of rice for which we had granted a waiver on ban of export has also been supplied to Bangladesh.
The question of peaceful management of the Indo-Bangladesh borders, finalization of the demarcation of the land boundaries between two countries and maritime boundaries also featured in foreign ministry discussions. Bangladesh also specially requested Mr. Mukherjee to extend India’s full cooperation to revive, for a positive forward movement on the stagnating discussions between the two countries on the water-related issues.
Ministers also had comprehensive discussions on the security-related matters including common concern on the threat posed by anti-people activities of the fundamentalists and extremists. From the Bangladesh side, idea of a South Asian Task Force that can be useful in promoting cooperation to complement independent national action of all the willing countries joining the Task Force

PM Visit to London G-20 summit
The purpose of this Summit meeting was to take forward the search for solutions to the economic crisis facing the global economy today. This is a global crisis requiring global solutions.
Discussed various ways in which the crisis can be addressed. All countries have used monetary policy. An effective fiscal stimulus is also being resorted to by all major economies. There was agreement that credit flows to developing countries also must be restored. There was also agreement that we must tackle the crisis in a way which does not create other problems for the future. For instance, protectionism or restrictions on the free flow of trade and persons would be counter productive. Nor can development be halted or sacrificed in the search for solutions to the financial crisis. Hence the need for special attention to the needs of developing countries
Need to make good the decline that has taken place in capital flows to developing countries by providing adequate resources to the international financial institutions.
G-20 have agreed to expand the resources of the IMF and the ADB and to also bring forward the quota review in the IMF. The leaders have also agreed to a fresh issue of SDRs. Expanding of IMF resources by $1.1 trillion
broad direction for improvements in regulatory and supervisory structure for the world’s financial system. They will be carried forward by the Financial Stability Forum (FSF) and the Basle Committee on Banking Supervision,


SOCIAL ISSUES

Gender equality (also known as gender equity, gender egalitarianism, or sexual equality) is the goal of the equality of the genders or the sexes, stemming from a belief in the injustice of myriad forms of gender inequality.
World bodies have defined gender equality as related to human rights, especially women's rights, and economic development.UNICEF defines gender equality as "levelling the playing field for girls and women by ensuring that all children have equal opportunity to develop their talents." The United Nations Population Fund declared gender equality "first and foremost, a human right. "Gender equity" is one of the goals of the United Nations Millennium Project, to end world poverty by 2015;

The European Federation of Allergy and Airways Diseases Patients Associations (EFA) is a European network of allergy, asthma and COPD patient organizations that was founded in 1991 in Stockholm, Sweden.

Definition of Urban areas
Census the definition adopted for an urban area which follows the pattern of 1961 was as follows:-
(a) all places with a Municipality, Corporation or Cantonment or Notified Town Area
(b) all other places which satisfied the following criteria:
(i) a minimum population of 5,000.
(ii) at least 75% of the male working population was non-agricultural.
(iii) a density of population of at least 400 sq. Km. (i.e. 1000 per sq. Mile)

A new concept that had been developed for the 1971 Census for the tabulation of certain urban data was the Standard Urban Area. The essential of a Standard Urban Area are :
(i) it should have a core town of a minimum population size of 50,000,
(ii) the contiguous areas made up of other urban as well as rural administrative units should have close utual socio- economic links with the core town and
(iii) the probabilities are that this entire area will get fully urbanised in a period of two to three decades.

A megacity is usually defined as a metropolitan area with a total population in excess of 10 million people.

Launched on 2nd October 1975 in 33 Community Development Blocks, ICDS today represents one of the world’s largest programmes for early childhood development. It is an inter-sectoral programme which seeks to directly reach out to children, below six years, especially from vulnerable and remote areas and give them a head-start by providing an integrated programme of early childhood education, health and nutrition. No programme on Early Childhood Care and Education can succeed unless mothers are also brought within it ambit as it is in the lap of the mother that human beings learn the first lessons in life.
Objectives of ICDS:
Lay the foundation for proper psychological development of the child
Improve nutritional & health status of children 0-6 years
Reduce incidence of mortality, morbidity, malnutrition and school drop-outs
Enhance the capability of the mother and family to look after the health, nutritional and development needs of the child
Achieve effective coordination of policy and implementation among various departments to promote child development

Kishori Shakti Yojana
Kishori Shakti Yojana (KSY) seeks to empower adolescent girls, so as to enable them to take charge of their lives.
Objective: The broad objectives of the Scheme are to improve the nutritional, health and development status of adolescent girls, promote awareness of health, hygiene, nutrition and family care, link them to opportunities for learning life skills, going back to school, help them gain a better understanding of their social environment and take initiatives to become productive members of the society.

IWEP:
An integrated scheme for women’s empowerment
Based on the formation of women into Self-Help Groups (SHGs)
Aims at the holistic empowerment of women through awareness generation, economic empowerment and convergence of various schemes
Creation of confidence and awareness among members of SHGs regarding women’s status, health, nutrition, education, sanitation and hygiene, legal rights, economic upliftment and other social, economic and political issues;
Strengthening and institutionalizing the savings habit in rural women and their control over economic resources;
Improving access of women to micro-credit;
Involvement of women in local-level planning;

NATIONAL POLICY FOR THE EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN
(i) Creating an environment through positive economic and social policies for full development of women to enable them to realize their full potential
(ii) The de-jure and de-facto enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedom by women on equal basis with men in all spheres – political, economic, social, cultural and civil
(iii) Equal access to participation and decision making of women in social, political and economic life of the nation
(iv) Equal access to women to health care, quality education at all levels, career and vocational guidance, employment, equal remuneration, occupational health and safety, social security and public office etc.

Gender-related Development Index (GDI) is an indication of the standard of living in a country, developed by the United Nations (UN). It is one of the five indicators used by the United Nations Development Programme in its annual Human Development Report. It aims to show the inequalities between men and women in the following areas: long and healthy life, knowledge, and a decent standard of living.

Social justice is a term, generally applied by the left, to describe a society with a greater degree of economic egalitarianism, which may be achieved through progressive taxation, income redistribution, or even property redistribution, policies aimed toward achieving that which developmental economists refer to as equality of opportunity and equality of outcome.

A self-help group (SHG) is a village-based financial intermediary usually composed of between 10-15 local women. Members make small regular savings contributions over a few months until there is enough capital in the group to begin lending. Funds may then be lent back to the members or to others in the village for any purpose. In India, many SHGs are 'linked' to banks for the delivery of microcredit.
A Self-Help Group (SHG) is a registered or unregistered group of micro entrepreneurs having homogenous social and economic backgrounds, voluntarily coming together to save regular small sums of money, mutually agreeing to contribute to a common fund and to meet their emergency needs on the basis of mutual help. The group members use collective wisdom and peer pressure to ensure proper end-use of credit and timely repayment.

Microfinance refers to the provision of financial services to low-income clients, including consumers and the self-employed. More broadly, it refers to a movement that envisions “a world in which as many poor and near-poor households as possible have permanent access to an appropriate range of high quality financial services, including not just credit but also savings, insurance, and fund transfers.”[1

Amniocentesis (also referred to as amniotic fluid test or AFT), is a medical procedure used in prenatal diagnosis of chromosomal abnormalities and fetal infections [1], in which a small amount of amniotic fluid, which contains fetal tissues, is extracted from the amnion or amniotic sac surrounding a developing fetus, and the fetal DNA is examined for genetic abnormalities.
Although the procedure is routine, possible complications include infection of the amniotic sac from the needle, and failure of the puncture to heal properly, which can result in leakage or infection. Serious complications can result in miscarriage.

Child labor in India is a human right issue for the whole world. It is a serious and extensive problem, with many children under the age of fourteen working in carpet making factories, glass blowing units and making fireworks with bare little hands. According to the statistics given by Indian government there are 20 million child laborers in the country, while other agencies claim that it is 50 million.

What is a Disability?
A disability is a condition or function judged to be significantly impaired relative to the usual standard of an individual or group. The term is used to refer to individual functioning, including physical impairment, sensory impairment, cognitive impairment, intellectual impairment mental illness, and various types of chronic disease.
a) Mobility and Physical Impairment b) Spinal Cord Disability c) Head Injuries - Brain Disability d) Vision Disibility e) Hearing Disability f) Cognitive or Learning Disabilites f) Psychological Disorders

Cognitive Disabilities are kind of impairment present in people who are suffering from dyslexia and various other learning difficulties and includes speech disorders.

ADMINISTRATION AND CONTROL OF SCHEDULED AREAS AND SCHEDULED TRIBES fifth schedule
Tribes Advisory Council : duty of the Tribes Advisory Council to advise on such matters pertaining to the welfare and advancement of the Scheduled Tribes in the State as may be referred to them by the Governor
Governor may make regulations a)prohibit or restrict the transfer of land by or among members of the Scheduled Tribes in such area; (b)regulate the allotment of land to members of the Scheduled Tribes in such area; (c)regulate the carrying on of business as money-lender by persons who lend money to members of the Scheduled Tribes in such area.
All regulations made under this paragraph shall be submitted forthwith to the President and, until assented to by him, shall have no effect.
each State having Scheduled Areas therein shall annually, or whenever so required by the President, make a report to the President regarding the administration of the Scheduled Areas in that State and the executive power of the Union shall extend to the giving of directions to the State as to the administration of the said areas.
Scheduled Areas.-(1) In this Constitution, the expression "Scheduled Areas" means such areas as the President may by order .1 declare to be Scheduled Areas.
(2) The President may at any time by order.2 - (a)direct that the whole or any specified part of a Scheduled Area shall cease to be a Scheduled Area or a part of such an area; [(aa).
3 increase the area of any Scheduled Area in a State after consultation with the Governor of that State;]

The Toda people are a small pastoral community who live on the isolated Nilgiri plateau of Southern India. The Toda traditionally live in settlements consisting of three to seven small thatched houses, constructed in the shape of half-barrels and spread across the slopes of the pasture

Principal languages of Anadaman and Nicobar Hindi, Bengali, Nicobarese, Tamil, Malayalam, and Telugu

Physical or "tangible cultural heritage" includes buildings and historic places, monuments, artifacts, etc., that are considered worthy of preservation for the future. These include objects significant to the archaeology, architecture, science or technology of a specific culture.

"Natural heritage" is also an important part of a culture, encompassing the countryside and natural environment, including flora and fauna, scientifically know as biodiversity. These kind of heritage sites often serve as an important component in a country's tourist industry, attracting many visitors from abroad as well as locally.

The Annapurna Scheme envisages supply of food grains @ 10 Kg. per head per
month free of cost indigent people who are above 65 years of age and are destitute in the sense of having little or no regular means of subsistence from their own source of income or through financial support from family members or any other sources or are also not availing benefits of National Old Age Pension Scheme (NOAPS) or State Pension Scheme.

The five point agenda for knowledge society points to the following:
• Education for developing a learning society
• Global networking
• Vibrant Government-Industry-Academia interaction in policy making and implementation
• Leveraging of existing competencies in IT, Telecom, Bio-technology, Drug Design, Financial Services, and Enterprise wide Management
• Economic and Business strategic alliances built on capabilities and opportunities

The National Knowledge Commission is a high-level advisory body to the Prime Minister of India, with the objective of transforming India into a knowledge society.
Recommendations
 Right to Education:The 86th Constitutionalamendment act made the Right to Education a Fundamental Right. However, to enhance universal access to quality education for Indian children, NKC recommends that there is a need for a central legislation affi rming the Right to Education.
 Language: In the current scenario an understanding and command over the English language is a most important determinant of access to higher education,
employment possibilities and social opportunities.
 Translation: In a multilingual country, translation should play a critical role in making knowledge available to different linguistic groups.
Libraries: To revamp the Library and Information Services (LIS) sector NKC has recommended a comprehensive census of libraries, modernizing management of libraries to ensure greater community participation, including models for
public private partnerships
National Knowledge Network: The key to successful research today demands live consultations, data and resource sharing. Towards this end, NKC has recommended the establishment of a high-end National Knowledge Network connecting all our knowledge institutions in various fi elds and at various locations throughout the country, through an electronic digital broadband network with gigabit capacity.

 Portals: NKC has also proposed the creation of national web based portals on certain key sectors such as Water, Energy, Environment, Teachers, Biodiversity, Health, Agriculture, Employment, Citizens Rights etc. The portals would serve as a single window for information on the given sector for all stakeholders

Osmosis is the diffusion of water through a semi-permeable membrane.[1] More specifically, it is the movement of water across a semi-permeable membrane from an area of high water potential (low solute concentration) to an area of low water potential (high solute concentration).

Reverse osmosis is a filtration process that is often used for water. It works by using pressure to force a solution through a membrane, retaining the solute on one side and allowing the pure solvent to pass to the other side.

new Mentally challenged people rehabilitation strategies include community integration and making patients independent and able to deal with their situation. All patients are provided vocational training, occupational therapy that involves teaching them a new skill or creative activity.

Ozone depletion describes two distinct, but related observations: a slow, steady decline of about 4% per decade in the total volume of ozone in Earth's stratosphere (ozone layer) since the late 1970s, and a much larger, but seasonal, decrease in stratospheric ozone over Earth's polar regions during the same period. The latter phenomenon is commonly referred to as the ozone hole.

CFCs and other contributory substances are commonly referred to as ozone-depleting substances (ODS). Since the ozone layer prevents most harmful UVB wavelengths (270–315 nm) of ultraviolet light (UV light) from passing through the Earth's atmosphere, observed and projected decreases in ozone have generated worldwide concern leading to adoption of the Montreal Protocol banning the production of CFCs and halons as well as related ozone depleting chemicals such as carbon tetrachloride and trichloroethane. It is suspected that a variety of biological consequences such as increases in skin cancer, damage to plants, and reduction of plankton populations in the ocean's photic zone may result from the increased UV exposure due to ozone depletion.

The Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer (a protocol to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer) is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of a number of substances believed to be responsible for ozone depletion. The treaty was opened for signature on September 16, 1987 and entered into force on January 1, 1989 followed by a first meeting in Helsinki, May 1989. Since then, it has undergone seven revisions, in 1990 (London), 1991 (Nairobi), 1992 (Copenhagen), 1993 (Bangkok), 1995 (Vienna), 1997 (Montreal), and 1999 (Beijing). It is believed that if the international agreement is adhered to, the ozone layer is expected to recover by 2050

As of February 2009, 183 states have signed and ratified the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, aimed at combating global warming.The Kyoto Protocol is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC or FCCC), an international environmental treaty with the goal of achieving "stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system."[1] The Kyoto Protocol establishes legally binding commitment for the reduction of four greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulphur hexafluoride), and two groups of gases (hydrofluorocarbons and perfluorocarbons) produced by "annex I" (industrialized) nations, as well as general commitments for all member countries. As of January 2009, 183 parties have ratified the protocol,[2] which was initially adopted for use on 11 December 1997 in Kyoto, Japan and which entered into force on 16 February 2005. Under the Kyoto Protocol, industrialized countries agreed to reduce their collective green house gas (GHG) emissions by 5.2% from the level in 1990. National limitations range from the reduction of 8% for the European Union and others to 7% for US.

Emissions trading (or emission trading) is an administrative approach used to control pollution by providing economic incentives for achieving reductions in the emissions of pollutants. It is sometimes called cap and trade. A central authority (usually a government or international body) sets a limit or cap on the amount of a pollutant that can be emitted. Companies or other groups are issued emission permits and are required to hold an equivalent number of allowances (or credits) which represent the right to emit a specific amount. The total amount of allowances and credits cannot exceed the cap, limiting total emissions to that level. Companies that need to increase their emission allowance must buy credits from those who pollute less. The transfer of allowances is referred to as a trade.

The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is an arrangement under the Kyoto Protocol allowing industrialised countries with a greenhouse gas reduction commitment to invest in projects that reduce emissions in developing countries as an alternative to more expensive emission reductions in their own countries. A crucial feature of an approved CDM carbon project is that it has established that the planned reductions would not occur without the additional incentive provided by emission reductions credits, a concept known as "additionality". The CDM allows net global greenhouse gas emissions to be reduced at a much lower global cost by financing emissions reduction projects in developing countries where costs are lower than in industrialized countries. However, in recent years, criticism against the mechanism has increased.

A carbon project refers to a business initiative that receives funding because of the cut the emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) that will result. To prove that the project will result in real, permanent, verifiable reductions in Greenhouse Gases, proof must be provided in the form of a project design document and activity reports validated by an approved third party in the case of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) or Joint Implementation (JI) projects.

Joint implementation (JI) is one of three flexibility mechanisms set forth in the Kyoto Protocol to help countries with binding greenhouse gas emissions targets (so-called Annex I countries) meet their obligations. JI is set forth in Article 6 of the Kyoto Protocol.[1] Under Article 6, any Annex I country can invest in emission reduction projects (referred to as "Joint Implementation Projects") in any other Annex I country as an alternative to reducing emissions domestically. In this way countries can lower the costs of complying with their Kyoto targets by investing in greenhouse gas reductions in an Annex I country where reductions are cheaper, and then applying the credit for those reductions towards their commitment goal.

Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century and its projected continuation. Global surface temperature increased 0.74 ± 0.18 °C (1.33 ± 0.32 °F) during the last century.[1][A] The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes that increasing greenhouse gas concentrations resulting from human activity such as fossil fuel burning and deforestation caused most of the observed temperature increase since the middle of the 20th century

Biodiversity is the variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or for the entire Earth. Biodiversity is often used as a measure of the health of biological systems. The biodiversity found on Earth today consists of many millions of distinct biological species, which is the product of nearly 3.5 billion years of evolution.

Ecotourism (also known as ecological tourism) is travel to fragile, pristine, and usually protected areas that strives to be low impact and (often) small scale. IN other words ecotourism is "Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people." It helps educate the traveler; provides funds for conservation; directly benefits the economic development and political empowerment of local communities; and fosters respect for different cultures and for human rights. Eg Thenmala in Kerala is India’s first planned ecotourism destination

National health policy 2002 The main objective of this policy is to achieve an acceptable standard of good health amongst the general population of the country. The approach would be to increase access to the decentralized public health system by establishing new infrastructure in deficient areas, and by upgrading the infrastructure in the existing institutions. Overriding importance would be given to ensuring a more equitable access to health services across the social and geographical expanse of the country


Plastics are synthetic substances produced by chemical reactions. Almost all plastics are made from petroleum, except a few experimental resins derived from corn and other organic substances. The hazards plastics pose are numerous. The land gets littered by plastic bag garbage presenting an ugly and unhygienic seen. The "Throw away culture" results in these bags finding their way in to the city drainage system, the resulting blockage cases inconvenience, difficult in maintaining the drainage with increased cost, creates unhygienic environment resulting in health hazard and spreading of water borne diseases. This littering also reduces rate of rain water percolating, resulting in lowering of already low water levels in our cities. The soil fertility deteriorates as the plastic bags form part of manure remain in the soil for years. It has been observed that the animals eating the bags sometimes die. Plastic goes into the ocean which is already a plastic infested body of water. Fish and other marine species in the water ways, misunderstanding plastic garbage as food items swallow them and die.

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) entered into force on 29 December 1993. It has 3 main objectives:
1. To conserve biological diversity
2. The use biological diversity in a sustainable fashion
3. To share the benefits of biological diversity fairly and equitably
As the financial mechanism of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Global Environment Facility (GEF) helps developing countries and countries with economies in transition to achieve the objectives of the CBD and generate global environmental benefits in the area of biodiversity. Biodiversity projects constitute the largest percentage of GEF’s portfolio, making up 36 percent of total GEF grants.

Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) is a fossil fuel substitute for gasoline (petrol), diesel, or propane fuel. Although its combustion does produce greenhouse gases, it is a more environmentally clean alternative to those fuels, and it is much safer than other fuels in the event of a spill (natural gas is lighter than air, and disperses quickly when released). CNG is made by compressing natural gas (which is mainly composed of methane [CH4]), to less than 1% of its volume at standard atmospheric pressure

Natural gas is a gas consisting primarily of methane. It is found associated with fossil fuels, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is created by methanogenic organisms in marshes, bogs, and landfills. It is an important fuel source, a major feedstock for fertilizers, and a potent greenhouse gas.
Liquefied petroleum gas (also called LPG, GPL, LP Gas, or autogas) is a mixture of hydrocarbon gases (propane and butane) used as a fuel in heating appliances and vehicles, and increasingly replacing chlorofluorocarbons as an aerosol propellant and a refrigerant to reduce damage to the ozone layer.

Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning organisation that acts to change attitudes and behaviour, to protect and conserve the environment and to promote peace by:

Catalysing an energy revolution to address the number one threat facing our planet: climate change.

Defending our oceans by challenging wasteful and destructive fishing, and creating a global network of marine reserves.

Protecting the world’s ancient forests and the animals, plants and people that depend on them.

An environmental impact assessment (EIA) is an assessment of the possible impact—positive or negative—that a proposed project may have on the environment; considering natural, social and economic aspects. The purpose of the assessment is to ensure that decision makers consider the ensuing environmental impacts to decide whether to proceed with the project

ultrarasound is cyclic sound pressure with a frequency greater than the upper limit of human hearing. Although this limit varies from person to person, it is approximately 20 kilohertz (20,000 hertz) in healthy, young adults

The Bhopal disaster or Bhopal gas tragedy was an industrial disaster that took place at a Union Carbide pesticide plant in the Indian city of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. At midnight on 3 December 1984, the plant released an estimated 42 tonnes of toxic methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas, exposing more than 500,000 people to MIC and other chemicals.

India’s urban population in 2001 was 286.1 million, which was 27.8% of
the total population. Over the previous five decades, annual rates of
growth of urban population ranged between 2.7 to 3.8%. During the last
decade of 1991-2001, urban population of India increased at an annual
growth rate of 2.7%, which was 0.4% lower than that registered during the
preceding decade. The process of urbanization in India is marked by increasing concentrationin comparatively larger cities. In 2001, 68.7% of the total urban population was living in Class I cities (defined as cities having a population of over
100,000). The shares of medium and small towns in the total population
stood at 21.9% and 9.4% respectively. 99% of the housing shortage of 24.7 million at the end of the 10th Plan pertains to the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) and Low Income Groups (LIG) sectors.
the number of million plus cities has increased to 35 in 2001 with 37% share of the total urban population.
In view of the fact that 50% of India’s population is forecasted to be living in
urban areas by 2041, it is necessary to develop new integrated townships.
These green-field townships should generally be located on comparatively
degraded land excluding prime agricultural areas it is also important to develop mass rapid transport corridors between existing medium and large towns and new green-field towns so that the relationship between industry and commerce is developed to an optimum level.
Role of housing Sector
the Housing Sector contributed 4.5% to India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2003-04 at current prices. 16% of the Indian work force is engaged in Construction and Transport Sectors.

According to the Census 2001, 61.82 million persons or 23.1% of the
urban population resides in slums.

The Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojana (VAMBAY) aimed at providing subsidies for construction of housing and sanitation for urban slum dwellers living below poverty line in different towns/cities all over the country.

Two Million Housing Programme (TMHP) was launched with the objective of ‘housing for all’ with particular emphasis on the needs of economically weaker sections and low income group categories

The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) bans all nuclear explosions in all environments, for military or civilian purposes. It was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 September 1996 but it has not yet entered into force.
The US has signed the CTBT, but not ratified it.
Partial Test Ban Treaty, 1963
Limited success was achieved with the signing of the Partial Test Ban Treaty in 1963, which banned nuclear tests in the atmosphere, underwater and in space. Neither France nor China signed the PTBT.
Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, 1968
A major step towards non-proliferation of nuclear weapons came with the signing of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1968. Under the NPT, non-nuclear weapon states were prohibited from, inter alia, possessing, manufacturing or acquiring nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices. All signatories, including nuclear weapon states, were committed to the goal of total nuclear disarmament. There are currently 189 countries party to the treaty, five of which have nuclear weapons: the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, China and France (also permanent members of the UN Security Council).
Only four recognized sovereign states are not parties to the treaty: India, Israel, Pakistan and North Korea
A neutron bomb, technically referred to as an enhanced radiation weapon (ERW), is a type of tactical nuclear weapon formerly built mainly by the United States specifically to release a large portion of its energy as energetic neutron radiation. This contrasts with standard thermonuclear weapons, which are designed to capture this intense neutron radiation to increase its overall explosive yield.
A breeder reactor is a nuclear reactor that generates new fissile or fissionable material at a greater rate than it consumes such material.
The fast breeder or fast breeder reactor (FBR) is a fast neutron reactor designed to breed fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes. The FBR is one possible type of breeder reactor. The reactors are used in nuclear power plants to produce nuclear power and nuclear fuel.
PUREX is the de facto standard aqueous nuclear reprocessing method for the recovery of uranium and plutonium from used nuclear fuel. It is based on liquid-liquid extraction ion-exchange
IGCAR was established in the year 1971, under the Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India.
The centre is engaged in broad based multidisciplinary programme of scientific research and advanced engineering directed towards the development of Fast Breeder Reactor technology.
Fast Breeder Test Reactor based on unique mixed Plutonium Uranium Carbide fuel, First of its kind in the world and KAMINI Reactor, the only operating Reactor in the World using U233 fuel are successfully operated.
KAMINI (Kalpakkam Mini reactor) is a Uranium-233 fueled, low power (30 kW) research reactor designed and built jointly by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), Kalpakkam. This reactor functions as a neutron source with a flux of 1012 neutrons/sqcm/second at core centre and facilitates carrying out neutron radiography of radioactive and non-radioactive objects and neutron activation analysis.
Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited is a Public Sector Enterprise under the administrative control of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Government of India. (1987) Objective of operating the atomic power stations and implementing the atomic power projects for generation of electricity in pursuance of the schemes and programmes of the Government of India under the Atomic Energy Act, 1962.
TARAPUR ATOMIC POWER STATION (TAPS) , Maharashtra
RAJASTHAN ATOMIC POWER STATION (RAPS), Rajasthan
MADRAS ATOMIC POWER STATION (MAPS), Tamil Nadu
KAIGA GENERATING STATION, Karnataka
NARORA ATOMIC POWER STATION (NAPS) , Uttar Pradesh
KAKRAPAR ATOMIC POWER STATION (KAPS), Gujarat
The Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) is a type of nuclear reactor used for the generation of electrical power. BWR uses demineralized water (light water) as a coolant and neutron moderator. Heat is produced by nuclear fission in the reactor core,
A pressurised heavy water reactor (PHWR) is a nuclear power reactor, commonly using unenriched natural uranium as its fuel, that uses heavy water (deuterium oxide D2O) as its coolant and moderator. The heavy water coolant is kept under pressure in order to raise its boiling point, allowing it to be heated to higher temperatures without boiling, much as in a PWR. While heavy water is significantly more expensive than ordinary light water, it yields greatly enhanced neutron economy, allowing the reactor to operate without fuel enrichment facilities.
The use of heavy water moderator is the key to the PHWR system, enabling the use of natural uranium as fuel (in the form of ceramic UO2), which means that it can be operated without expensive uranium enrichment facilities. Additionally, the mechanical arrangement of the PHWR, which places most of the moderator at lower temperatures, is particularly efficient because the resulting thermal neutrons are "more thermal" than in traditional designs, where the moderator normally runs hot. This means that a PHWR is not only able to "burn" natural uranium and other fuels, but tends to do so more efficiently as well.
The National Security Guard (NSG) was set up in 1984 as a Federal Contingency Deployment Force to tackle all facets of terrorism in the country. Thus the primary role of this Force is to combat terrorism in whatever form it may assume in areas where activity of terrorists assumes serious proportions, and the State Police and other Central Police Forces cannot cope up with the situation.NSG ‘Operation Black Tornado’ against terrorists in Mumbai.

The Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) is a group of nuclear supplier countries which seeks to contribute to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons through the implementation of Guidelines for nuclear exports and nuclear related exports.

Stealth aircraft are aircraft that use stealth technology to interfere with radar detection as well as means other than conventional aircraft by employing a combination of features to reduce visibility in the visual, audio, infrared and radio frequency (RF) spectrum

Stealth technology also known as LO technology (low observable technology) is a sub-discipline of military tactics and passive electronic countermeasures, which cover a range of techniques used with personnel, aircraft, ships, submarines, and missiles, in order to make them less visible (ideally invisible) to radar, infrared, sonar and other detection methods.

Project Antariksha, a pioneering effort at networking Kerala through an array of satellite-based automatic weather stations, intends to bring out a weather and climate atlas of the State in the near future.
It is a collaborative project among the Indian Space Research Organisation, the Kerala State Planning Board and the Centre for Monsoon Studies of the Cochin University for Science and Technology (Cusat).
Cryogenic Engines are rocket motors designed for liquid fuels that have to be held at very low "cryogenic" temperatures to be liquid - they would otherwise be gas at normal temperatures. Typically Hydrogen and Oxygen are used which need to be held below 20°K (-423°F) and 90°K (-297°F) to remain liquid. The thrust comes from the rapid expansion from liquid to gas with the gas emerging from the motor at very high speed. The energy needed to heat the fuels comes from burning them, once they are gasses.

Some other imp topics in space
ISS, GSLV, PSLV, Geostationary orbit, GPS, ISRO

Completed in 2003, the Human Genome Project (HGP) was a 13-year project coordinated by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health
Project goals were to
• identify all the approximately 20,000-25,000 genes in human DNA,
• determine the sequences of the 3 billion chemical base pairs that make up human DNA,
• store this information in databases,
• improve tools for data analysis,
• transfer related technologies to the private sector, and
• address the ethical, legal, and social issues (ELSI) that may arise from the project.
What are some practical benefits to learning about DNA?
Knowledge about the effects of DNA variations among individuals can lead to revolutionary new ways to diagnose, treat, and someday prevent the thousands of disorders that affect us. Besides providing clues to understanding human biology, learning about nonhuman organisms' DNA sequences can lead to an understanding of their natural capabilities that can be applied toward solving challenges in health care, agriculture, energy production, environmental remediation, and carbon sequestration.
Genome of an organism also can refer to all of its hereditary information encoded in DNA The genome includes both the genes and the non-coding sequences of the DNA.[1] The term was adapted in 1920 by Hans Winkler,

Biorefining is the co-production of a spectrum of bio-based products (food, feed, materials, chemicals) and energy (fuels, power, heat) from biomass [definition IEA Bioenergy Task 42].
A biorefinery is a facility that integrates biomass conversion processes and equipment to produce fuels, power, and value-added chemicals from biomass.
Biomass, a renewable energy source, is biological material derived from living, or recently living organisms,[1] such as wood, waste, and alcohol fuels. Biomass is commonly plant matter grown to generate electricity or produce heat.

Fossil fuels or mineral fuels are fuels formed by natural resources such as anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms. The age of the organisms and their resulting fossil fuels is typically millions of years, and sometimes exceeds 650 million years.[1] These fuels contain high percentage of carbon and hydrocarbons.
Disadvantages: Probable contributor to global warming, Questionable availibility of some fuels
Genetically modified (GM) foods are foods derived from genetically modified organisms. Genetically modified organisms have had specific changes introduced into their DNA by genetic engineering, unlike similar food organisms which have been modified from their wild ancestors through selective breeding (plant breeding and animal breeding) or mutation breeding.
Some scientists[27] argue that there is more than enough food in the world and that the hunger crisis is caused by problems in food distribution and politics, not production, so people should not be offered food that may carry any degree of risk.

Swine influenza (also called swine flu, hog flu, pig flu and sometimes, the swine) is an infection by any one of several types of swine influenza virus. Swine influenza virus (SIV) is any strain of the influenza family of viruses that is endemic in pigs.[2] As of 2009, the known SIV strains include influenza C and the subtypes of influenza A known as H1N1, H1N2, H3N1, H3N2, and H2N3. Swine influenza virus is common throughout pig populations worldwide. Transmission of the virus from pigs to humans is not common and does not always lead to human influenza, often resulting only in the production of antibodies in the blood. If transmission does cause human influenza, it is called zoonotic swine flu. People with regular exposure to pigs are at increased risk of swine flu infection.

Biotechnology is technology based on biology, agriculture, food science, and medicine. Modern use of the term usually refers to genetic engineering as well as cell- and tissue culture technologies. However, the concept encompasses a wider range and history of procedures for modifying living things according to human purposes.
“Any technological application that uses biological systems, dead organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use."

Biotechnology has applications in four major industrial areas, including health care (medical), crop production and agriculture, non food (industrial) uses of crops and other products (e.g. biodegradable plastics, vegetable oil, biofuels), and environmental uses.
For example, one application of biotechnology is the directed use of organisms for the manufacture of organic products (examples include beer and milk products). Another example is using naturally present bacteria by the mining industry in bioleaching. Biotechnology is also used to recycle, treat waste, clean up sites contaminated by industrial activities (bioremediation), and also to produce biological weapons.
In physics, radiation describes any process in which energy emitted by one body travels through a medium or through space, ultimately to be absorbed by another body.

Some useful information for Mains paper 2

Hi All,
I hope you might find the below information useful for you mains preparation. Sorry I din get much time to format it properly so plz dont mind poor formating.. Thanks.

The Pravasi Bhartiya Bima Yojna, 2006 provides for an insurance cover of a minimum sum of Rs. 5.00 lakhs payable to the nominee/legal heir in the event of death or permanent disability of any Indian emigrant who goes abroad for employment purpose after obtaining emigration clearance from the concerned Protector of Emigrants (POE).
The insurance scheme began on 1st of February, 2006. This Scheme applies to all citizens of India who apply for and obtain an emigration clearance as required under the Emigration Act, 1983 (31 of 1983). This scheme does not apply in case of war or internal conflict in the country to which the citizens of India holding the said policy has gone for work. The Insurance Policy shall be valid for a minimum period of two years or the actual period of contract, whichever is longer.

An Indian all-female United Nations peacekeeping unit has arrived in Liberia, the first such team to be sent on a foreign mission.
More than a hundred female officers and about 20 men engaged in logistics work flew into Liberia on January 30, where they will receive additional training before starting their mission to strengthen the rule of law and maintain peace in the country. U.N. officials hope an all-female unit can inspire and help Liberian women.

The Madhesi are the native people of Nepal who reside in the southern, plains region the Terai which they refer to as Madhesh. Its cultural diversity can be seen in the fact that three distinct religious groups — Hindu, Muslim and Jain—live there.

Earlier known as Internship Programme for Diaspora Youth (IPDY), it is a three-week internship programme for diaspora youth conducted by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs with a view to promote awareness on India, its socio-cultural diversity, its all round development, its emergence as an economic powerhouse, it being a centre of higher education and the ongoing developments in various fields including infrastructure, Information technology etc. The participants from countries having larger population of People of Indian Origin are selected based on recommendations made by Indian Missions/ Posts abroad. They are provided with full hospitality and are reimbursed one-way economy class airfare from their respective country to India.

The Programme is organized in partnership with one of the State Governments. The Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) are the organizational partners.

The next mini Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention titled ‘PBD Europe’ will be organized at the historic World Forum in The Hague on Saturday, the 19th September, 2009.
This Convention is expected to bring together members of the Indian Diaspora in Europe at a common platform to discuss the role of the Indian Diaspora in enhancing Indo-European Cooperation, opportunities and challenges faced by them in the fields of culture, heritage & tradition, as also Trade and Investment opportunities available for them in the land of their ancestors. Besides some high dignitaries from Netherlands and India, prominent members of the Indian Diaspora in Europe are expected to take part in this one-day event.

Ministry of overseas indian affairs : The Ministry was headed by a Minister of State (Independent Charge) till recently. Shri Ravi Vayalar is new Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs. On the administrative side, a Secretary to the Government of India heads the Ministry. Presently, the Ministry is organized into three functional Divisions and three functional Units.

Gulf Cooperation Council - GCC
Saudi Arabia was a prime mover in setting up the Gulf Cooperation Council in 1981. Other members are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The Gulf Cooperation Council aims to coordinate resistance to outside intervention in the Gulf. Progress towards economic integration has been slow during the 1980s economic downturn in the region.

The Gulf Cooperation Council seeks to strengthen cooperation (in areas such as agriculture, industry, investment, security, and trade) among its six members: Bahrain, Kuwait, Quatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

The Gulf Cooperation Council, created in response to the outbreach of the Iran-Iraq war, established the Gulf Standards Organization in November 1982 and the Gulf Investment Corporation in 1984.

The presidency of the Gulf Cooperation Council rotates yearly among members. Council headquarters are in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.


Diljit Rana and Sir Kumar Bhattacharyya - have been appointed to the House of Lords

Swraj Paul, Baron Paul, (born 1931) is an Indian-born, British-based business magnate and philanthropist. In 1996, he became a life peer, taking the title Baron Paul, of Marylebone in the City of Westminster, sitting in the House of Lords as a Labour peer. In December 2008, he was appointed deputy speaker of the Lords, the first person of Indian origin to hold the post.[1]
Swraj Paul was born in Jalandhar, Punjab in 1931. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan by Indira Gandhi in 1983


1. Who is the co-founder of Sun Microsystems? Vinod Khosla. The Sun founder also had an Indian Professor in Computer Technologies at Louisiana State University.
2. Who is the creator of the Pentium chip (needs no introduction as 90% of the today's computers run on it)? Vinod Dham.
5. Who is the president of AT & T-Bell Labs (AT &T-Bell Labs is the creator of program languages such as C, C++, and Unix to name a few)? Arun Netravalli.

BANANA is an acronym for Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near
Anything (or Anyone). The term is most often used to criticize the ongoing
opposition of certain interest groups to land development. T

Reverse migration is a phenomenon in bird migration. Although some large birds such as swans learn migration routes from their parents, in most small species, such as passerines, the route is genetically programmed, and young birds can innately navigate to their wintering area. Sometimes this programming goes wrong, and the young bird, in its first autumn, migrates on a route 180o from the correct route.

Brain drain or human capital flight is a large emigration of individuals with technical skills or knowledge, normally due to conflict, lack of opportunity, political instability, or health risks. Brain drain is usually regarded as an economic cost, since emigrants usually take with them the fraction of value of their training sponsored by the government.

he Indian Diaspora is a generic term to describe the people who migrated from territories that are currently within the borders of the Republic of India. It also refers to their descendants. The Diaspora is currently estimated to number over twenty million. composed of "NRIs" (Indian citizens not residing in India) and "PIOs" (Persons of Indian Origin who have acquired the citizenship of some other country).

The green gross domestic product (green GDP) is an index of economic growth with the environmental consequences of that growth factored in. In 2004, Wen Jiabao, the Chinese premier, announced that the green GDP index would replace the Chinese GDP index itself as a performance measure for government and party officials at the highest levels. The first green GDP accounting report, for 2004, was published in September 2006. It showed that the financial loss caused by pollution was 511.8 billion yuan ($66.3 billion), or 3.05 percent of the nation's economy.[1]
As an experiment in national accounting, the Green GDP effort collapsed in failure in 2007, when it became clear that the adjustment for environmental damage had reduced the growth rate to politically unacceptable levels, nearly zero in some provinces. In the face of mounting evidence that environmental damage and resource depletion was far more costly than anticipated, the government withdrew its support for the Green GDP methodology and suppressed the 2005 report, which had been due out in March, 2007.[2]

The Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) is a measure of inequalities between men's and women's opportunities in a country. It combines inequalities in three areas: political participation and decision making, economic participation and decision making, and power over economic resources. It is one of the five indicators used by the United Nations Development Programme in its annual Human Development Report.

The Human Development Index (HDI) is an index used to rank countries by level of "human development", which usually also implies whether a country is a developed, developing, or underdeveloped country. The HDI combines normalized measures of life expectancy, literacy, educational attainment, and GDP per capita for countries worldwide. It is claimed as a standard means of measuring human development—a concept that, according to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), refers to the process of widening the options of persons, giving them greater opportunities for education, health care, income, employment, etc. The HDI measures a country's development.
Life expectancy is the average number of years of life remaining at a given age.[1] The term is most often used in the human context, but used also in plant or animal ecology[2] and the calculation is based on the analysis of life tables (also known as actuarial tables).
life table (also called a mortality table or actuarial table) is a table which shows, for a person at each age, what the probability is that they die before their next birthday.

its a tax that has to be paid by the companies that are enjoying tax benefits or tax exemption under various schemes.
its mostly targetted to the R&D companies and Export oriented units which enjoy tax emptions.

under this they have to pay a particular amount of MAT, so they come under the tax net.

Value added tax (VAT), or goods and services tax (GST) is a consumption tax levied on any value that is added to a product. In contrast to sales tax, VAT is neutral with respect to the number of passages that there are between the producer and the final consumer; where sales tax is levied on total value at each stage

CENVAT This is a replacement for the earlier MODVAT scheme and is meant for reducing the cascade effect of indirect taxes on finished products. The scheme is a more extensive one with most goods brought under its preview.

MODVAT It stands for Modified Value Added Tax and is a way of giving some relief to the final manufacturers of goods on Excise Duties borne by their suppliers.

Laffer curve is an economic concept used to illustrate the theory that increases in the rate of taxation do not necessarily increase tax revenue. The Laffer curve is central to supply side economics, as it provides an argument for why lowering taxation may actually increase tax revenues.

The twin deficits hypothesis is a concept from macroeconomics that contends that there is a strong link between a national economy's current account balance and its government budget balance.

An economy is deemed to have a double deficit (also known as a twin deficit) if it has a current account deficit and a fiscal deficit. In effect, the economy is borrowing from foreigners in exchange for foreign-made goods. Traditional macroeconomics predicts that persistent double deficits will lead to currency devaluation/depreciation that can be severe and sudden.

The balance of trade is the difference between a nation's exports of goods and services and its imports of goods and services, if all financial transfers and investments and the like are ignored. A nation is said to have a trade deficit if it is importing more than it exports.
In economics, the current account is one of the two primary components of the balance of payments, the other being the capital account. It is the sum of the balance of trade (exports minus imports of goods and services), net factor income (such as interest and dividends) and net transfer payments (such as foreign aid).

A current account surplus increases a country's net foreign assets by the corresponding amount, and a current account deficit does the reverse.

The FRBM Act was enacted by Parliament in 2003 to bring in fiscal discipline. As per the target, revenue deficit, which is revenue expenditure minus revenue receipts, have to be reduced to nil in five years beginning 2004-05. Each year, the government is required to reduce the revenue deficit by 0.5% of the GDP.
The fiscal deficit is required to be reduced to 3% of the GDP by 2008-09.It would mean reduction of fiscal deficit by 0.3 % of GDP every year.
An appropriation bill or running bill is a legislative motion (bill) which authorizes the government to spend money. It is a bill that sets money aside for specific spending.[1] In most democracies, approval of the legislature is necessary for the government to spend money.

Stagflation is an economic situation in which inflation and economic stagnation occur simultaneously and remain unchecked for a period of time

Engel's law is an observation in economics stating that, with a given set of tastes and preferences, as income rises, the proportion of income spent on food falls, even if actual expenditure on food rises. In other words, the income elasticity of demand of food is less than 1.

Galloping Inflation

When the movement of price accelerates rapidly, running
inflation emerges. Running inflation may record more than 100
per cent rise in prices over a decade. Thus, when prices rise by
more than 10 per cent a year, running inflation occurs.
Economists have not described the range of running inflation.
But, we may saythat a double digit inflation of 10-20 per cent
per annum is a running inflation. If it exceeds that figure, it
may be called 'galloping' inflation.
According to Samuelson, when prices are rising at double or
triple digit rates of 20, 100 or 200 per cent a year, the situation is
described as 'galloping' inflation.

cheap money
Credit available at low interest rates (but not lower borrower qualifications). When governments want to encourage business activity to generate employment, they lower the reserve requirements for banks who are able to increase their lending at lower rates and without loss of profit. Also called easy money, it is the opposite of tight money
In economics, hot money refers to funds which flow into a country to take advantage of a favourable interest rate, and therefore obtain higher returns.
What Does Rolling Settlement Mean?
The process of settling security trades on successive dates so that trades executed today will have a settlement date one business day later than trades executed yesterday. This contrasts with account settlement, in which all trades are settled once in a set period of days, regardless of when the trade took place.
Reverse Repo rate is the rate at which Reserve Bank of India (RBI) borrows money from banks. Banks are always happy to lend money to RBI since their money are in safe hands with a good interest. An increase in Reverse repo rate can cause the banks to transfer more funds to RBI due to this attractive interest rates. It can cause the money to be drawn out of the banking system.
Whenever the banks have any shortage of funds they can borrow it from RBI. Repo rate is the rate at which our banks borrow rupees from RBI. A reduction in the repo rate will help banks to get money at a cheaper rate. When the repo rate increases borrowing from RBI becomes more expensive.
Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion
The role and functions of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion primarily include:
 Formulation and implementation of industrial policy and strategies for industrial development in conformity with the development needs and national objectives;
 Monitoring the industrial growth, in general, and performance of industries specifically assigned to it, in particular, including advice on all industrial and technical matters;
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are an agreed set of goals (objectives) that can be achieved if all actors work together and do their part. Poor countries have pledged to govern better, and invest in their people through health care and education. Rich countries have pledged to support them, through aid, debt relief, and fairer trade. The Goals that were formulated in 2000 at the UN Millennium Summit are set to be achieved by 2015. These are not mere development objectives; they encompass universally accepted human values and rights such as freedom from hunger, the right to basic education, the right to health and a responsibility to future generations.

FDI in sectors/activities to the extent permitted under automatic route does not require any prior approval either by the Government or RBI. The investors are only required to notify the Regional Office concerned of RBI within 30 days of receipt of inward remittances and file the required documents with that office within 30 days of issue of shares of foreign investors.

FDI in activities not covered under the automatic route require prior government approval. Approvals of all such proposals including composite proposals involving foreign investment/foreign technical collaboration is granted on the recommendations of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).

Capital Account Convertibility or CAC is a monetary policy that centers around the ability to conduct transactions of local financial assets into foreign financial assets freely and at market determined exchange rates.[1] It is sometimes referred to as Capital Asset Liberation.
In layman's terms, it is basically a policy that allows the easy exchange of local currency (cash) for foreign currency at low rates.
There is no formal definition of capital account convertibility (CAC). The Tarapore committee set up by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in 1997 to go into the issue of CAC defined it as the freedom to convert local financial assets into foreign financial assets and vice versa at market determined rates of exchange.
The Reserve Bank of India was set up on the recommendations of the Hilton Young Commission. The commission submitted its report in the year 1926, though the bank was not set up for nine years.

he Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) was a proposal by U.S. President Ronald Reagan on March 23, 1983[1] to use ground and space-based systems to protect the United States from attack by strategic nuclear ballistic missiles. The initiative focused on strategic defense rather than the prior strategic offense doctrine of mutual assured destruction (MAD).

Current account convertibility allows free inflows and outflows for all purposes other than for capital purposes such as investments and loans. In other words, it allows residents to make and receive trade-related payments — receive dollars (or any other foreign currency) for export of goods and services and pay dollars for import of goods and services, make sundry remittances, access foreign currency for travel, studies abroad, medical treatment and gifts etc.

What is Bank rate? Bank Rate is the rate at which central bank of the country (in India it is RBI) allows finance to commercial banks
What is SLR? Every bank is required to maintain at the close of business every day, a minimum proportion of their Net Demand and Time Liabilities as liquid assets in the form of cash, gold and un-encumbered approved securities. The ratio of liquid assets to demand and time liabilities is known as Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR).

Venture capital (also known as VC or Venture) is a type of private equity capital typically provided to early-stage, high-potential, growth companies in the interest of generating a return through an eventual realization event such as an IPO or trade sale of the company

Hundis refer to financial instruments evolved on the Indian sub-continent used in trade and credit transactions. They were used
• as remittance instruments (to transfer funds from one place to another),
• as credit instruments (to borrow money [IOUs]),
• for trade transactions (as bills of exchange).
NABARD is set up as an apex Development Bank with a mandate for facilitating credit flow for promotion and development of agriculture, small-scale industries, cottage and village industries, handicrafts and other rural crafts. 1. Providing refinance to lending institutions in rural areas 2. Bringing about or promoting institutional development and 3. Evaluating, monitoring and inspecting the client banks
A forward contract in the forex market that locks in the price at which an entity can buy or sell a currency on a future date. Also known as "outright forward currency transaction", "forward outright" or "FX forward".

The National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations, known as NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. It is the largest electronic screen-based equity securities trading market in the United States. With approximately 3,800 companies and corporations, it has more trading volume per hour than any other stock exchange in the world

The Securities and Exchange Board of India was established on April 12, 1992 in accordance with the provisions of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992. Functions of Board.
11. (1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, it shall be the duty of the Board to protect the interests of investors in securities and to promote the development of, and to regulate the securities market, by such measures as it thinks fit
The Incremental Capital-Output Ratio (ICOR), is the ratio of investment to growth which equals to 1 divided by the marginal product of capital. The higher the ICOR, the lower the productivity of capital. The ICOR can be thought of as a measure of the inefficiency with which capital is used. In most countries the ICOR is in the neighborhood of 3.

The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) was founded on 9th April 1950 by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
Gross national income (GNI) comprises the total value produced within a country (i.e. its gross domestic product), together with its income received from other countries (notably interest and dividends), less similar payments made to other countries.
The gross domestic product (GDP) or gross domestic income (GDI) is a basic measure of a country's economic performance and is the market value of all final goods and services made within the borders of a nation in a year
Gross domestic product ('GDP') is defined as the "value of all final goods and services produced in a country in 1 year".[1] On the other hand, Gross National Product (GNP) is defined as the "value of all goods and services produced in a country in one year, plus income earned by its citizens abroad, minus income earned by foreigners in the country".[2] The key difference between the two is that GDP is the total output of a region, e.g. France, and GNP is the total output of all nationals of a region, e.g. French.
NDP: Net domestic product is defined as "gross domestic product (GDP) minus depreciation of capital
Opportunity cost or economic opportunity loss is the value of the next best alternative forgone as the result of making a decision

Council for Economic Mutual Assistance. This
organization known variously as CEMA or COMECON, is
composed of the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East
Germany, Hungary, Mongolia, Poland, and Rumania.

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is a company-wide computer software system used to manage and coordinate all the resources, information, and functions of a business from shared
The National Commission on Agriculture, Government of India, first used the term ‘social forestry’ in 1976. It was then that India embarked upon a social forestry project with the aim of taking the pressure off the forests and making use of all unused and fallow land. Government forest areas that are close to human settlement and have been degraded over the years due to human activities needed to be afforested. Trees were to be planted in and around agricultural fields. Plantation of trees along railway lines and roadsides, and river and canal banks were carried out. They were planted in village common land, Government wasteland and Panchayat land.

With the introduction of this scheme the government formally recognised the local communities’ rights to forest resources, and is now encouraging rural participation in the management of natural resources. Through the social forestry scheme, the government has involved community participation, as part of a drive towards afforestation, and rehabilitating the degraded forest and common lands.

Farm forestry
At present in almost all the countries where social forestry programmes have been taken up, both commercial and non commercial farm forestry is being promoted in one form or the other. Individual farmers are being encouraged to plant trees on their own farmland to meet the domestic needs of the family. In many areas this tradition of growing trees on the farmland already exists.
Mega Food Park Scheme proposes a demand driven/pre-marketed model with strong backward/forward linkages and sustainable supply chain. The primary objective of the proposed scheme is to facilitate establishment of integrated value chain, with processing at the core and supported by requisite forward and backward linkages.

A type of farming practiced in semi-arid or dry grassland areas without irrigation using such approaches as fallowing, maintaining a finely broken surface, and growing drought-tolerant crops.

Footloose industry is a general term for an industry that can be placed and located at any location without effect from factors such as resources or transport.
These industries often have spatially fixed costs, which means that the costs of the products do not change despite where the product is assembled. Diamonds and computer chips are some examples of footloose industries.
Business process outsourcing (BPO) is a form of outsourcing that involves the contracting of the operations and responsibilities of a specific business functions (or processes) to a third-party service provider. Originally, this was associated with manufacturing firms, such as Coca Cola that outsourced large segments of its supply chain.[1]. In the contemporary context, it is primarily used to refer to the outsourcing of services.

Medical tourism (also called medical travel, health tourism or global healthcare) is a term initially coined by travel agencies and the mass media to describe the rapidly-growing practice of traveling across international borders to obtain health care.

In economics, "dumping" can refer to any kind of predatory pricing. However, the word is now generally used only in the context of international trade law, where dumping is defined as the act of a manufacturer in one country exporting a product to another country at a price which is either below the price it charges in its home market or is below its costs of production.

What is Anti Dumping Duty?

Where any article is exported from any country or territory to India at less than its normal value then upon the importation of such article to India the central Govt. may be notification in the official gazette impose an anti dumping duty not exceeding the margin of dumping in relation to such article.

Countervailing duties (CVDs) are duties imposed under WTO Rules to neutralize the negative effects of other duties. They are imposed when a foreign country subsidizes its exports, hurting domestic producers in the importing country.

Most favoured nation (MFN), is a status awarded by one nation to another in international trade. It means that the receiving nation will be granted all trade advantages — such as low tariffs — that any other nation also receives. In effect, a nation with MFN status will not be treated worse than any other nation with MFN status.

Free trade area is a type of trade bloc, a designated group of countries that have agreed to eliminate tariffs, quotas and preferences on most (if not all) goods and services traded between them. It can be considered the second stage of economic integration. Countries choose this kind of economic integration form if their economical structures are complementary. If they are competitive, they will choose customs union.

The Green Box contains fixed payments to producers for environmental programs, so long as the payments are "decoupled" from current production levels. The Amber Box contains domestic subsidies that governments have agreed to reduce but not eliminate. The Blue Box contains subsidies which can be increased without limit, so long as payments are linked to production-limiting programs

In order to qualify for the “green box”, a subsidy must not distort trade, or at most cause minimal distortion. These subsidies have to be government-funded (not by charging consumers higher prices) and must not involve price support.

The SDR is an international reserve asset, created by the IMF in 1969 to supplement its member countries’ official reserves. Its value is based on a basket of 4 key international currencies, and SDRs can be exchanged for freely usable currencies.

Established in March 1991 as the successor to the Andean Reserve Fund (ARF), the LARF is a regional financial institution having an independent juridical personality. Its functions are to assist in correcting payments imbalances through loans with terms of up to four years and guarantees extended to members, to coordinate their monetary, exchange, and financial policies and to promote the liberalization of trade and payments in the Andean subregion.

Three probable topics for this year Essay Paper

Looking at previous year essay papers topics, I am hoping that we might get one of these topics in essay paper. Preparing these topics might help you in essay paper. 

1) WTO- Focus on Doha Round
2) Climate Changes
3) NAM - Relevance

You all are also most welcome to post essay topics which you think are very probable to come in this year essay paper. Thanks.