The Union Legislature

BICAMERAL LEGISLATURE

Art 79 … There shall be a Parliament of the union and that it is to consist of the Prez, two Houses known as the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) & the House of the People (Lok Sabha). The Prez. Does not sit or participate in the daily proceedings in the House. (Certain functions summoning the Houses, proroguing them, dissolving the Lok Sabha, addressing the Houses.)

The Rajya Sabha was first constituted on April 3, 1952. The Lok Sabha held its first sitting on May13, 1952 after the first general election in the winter of 1951-52.

Composition:

The States In India Are Represented In The Rajya Sabha On The Basis Of Population.

LOK SABHA	RAJYA SABHA
COMPOSITION
Art 81…Lower House consists of not more than 530 representatives of the states; not more than 20 representatives Union Territories; not more than 2 members of the Anglo- Indian community , nominated by the President . Direct Election – on adult suffrage. in the case of Sikkim –its sole representatives in the Parliament is elected by the members of its Legislature Assembly[Art371F(e)]	Art 80…Council of States is composed of not more than 12 members by the Prez. from amongst persons having “special knowledge or practical experience in literature, science, art and social science “ not more than 238 representatives of the states & the Union Territories elected by the method of indirect election. The representatives of each state are elected by the elected members of the Legislature Assembly of the State in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote.
DURATION
Each Lok Sabha is formed for a five-year term, after which it is automatically dissolved, unless extended by a Proclamation of Emergency, which may extend the term in one-year increments. The 15th Lok Sabha was formed in May 2009.	Terms of office are for six years, with one third of the The Rajya Sabha meets in continuous session and, unlike the lower house of parliament, the Lok Sabha, are not subject to dissolution members facing re-election every two years.
QUALIFICATIONS
Membership of the Lok Sabha requires that the person must be a citizen of India, aged 25 or over, mentally sound, should not be bankrupt and has no criminal procedures against him/her. For reserved seats, one should be member of the scheduled castes and/or tribes.	To become a member of the Rajya Sabha, a person must be a citizen of India, not less than 30 years of age. He or she should be mentally sound and should not be bankrupt. He or she must also declare in an affidavit to be free from criminal procedures. For reserved seats, it is a requirement to be member of a scheduled caste or tribe, or both. The President of India can also appoint one.

Art89…. The Vice-President of India (currently, Hamid Ansari) is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. The Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, who is elected from amongst its members, takes care of the day-to-day matters of the house in the absence of the Chairman

SPEAKER OF THE LOK SABHA: is the presiding officer of the lower house of Parliament of India. The speaker is elected in the very first meeting of the Lok Sabha after the General elections for a term of 5 years from amongst the members of the Lok Sabha. He is supposed to resign from his original party because as a speaker, he has to remain impartial.

Powers of The and Functions Speaker

The Speaker presides over the sessions of the Lok Sabha and conducts the business in the house. He decides whether a bill is a money bill or a non-money bill. He maintains discipline and decorum in the house and can punish a member for his unruly behavior by suspending him. He permits the moving of various kinds of motions and resolutions like the motion of no confidence, motion of adjournment motion of censure and calling attention notice. The Speaker decides on the agenda to be taken up for discussion during the meeting. The President fixes the date of election of speaker.

DEPUTY SPEAKER OF LOK SABHA

The Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha is the vice-presiding officer of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament of India. He acts as the presiding officer in case of leave or absence caused by death or illness of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.

The Deputy Speaker is elected in the very first meeting of the Lok Sabha after the General elections for a term of 5 years from amongst the members of the Lok Sabha. He is supposed to resign from his original party because as a Deputy Speaker, he has to remain impartial.

Powers of The and Functions Deputy Speaker

In case of the absence of the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker presides over the sessions of the Lok Sabha and conducts the business in the house. He decides whether a bill is a money bill or a non-money bill. He maintains discipline and decorum in the house and can punish a member for his unruly behavior by suspending him. He permits the moving of various kinds of motions and resolutions like the motion of no confidence, motion of adjournment, motion of censure and calling attention notice. The Deputy Speaker decides on the agenda to be taken up for discussion during the meeting.

SECRETARY GENERAL

The secretary general of the Lok Sabha is not connected with politics. The speaker chooses him and appoints him from among those who have served Parliament in various capacities in the Secretariat. He remains in office until the age of retirement, at present fixed at 60 years. His action cannot be discussed in nor outside the House; answerable only to the speaker; adviser to the speaker. He is permanent officer forming a link between the changing composition of the different Houses and speakers.

Iron and Steel Industries

Iron and Steel

The Union Executive

The Union Executive

Nutritional Requirements

Nutritional Requirements

TRADE DOSE

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Trade Gatt Wto

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Earthquake n Landforms

Earthquakes

Geography Dose

The Volcano Explosivity Index

Volcanic eruptions can be violent, passive, or anywhere in between. When a people are told that a volcano is going to erupt, many imagine an explosive eruption with a giant ominous cloud of ash and red hot lava flowing down a mountain. However, since volcanic eruptions can vary greatly in size and intensity, volcanologists use the Volcano Explosivity Index, or VEI, to classify the size of an eruption.

The Volcano Explosivity Index

The VEI scale has been used in modern volcanology as a way to forecast the possible size of a volcanic eruption based on that volcano's historical eruptions.

It first debuted in 1982 as a paper titled "The Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI): An Estimate of Explosive Magnitude for Historical Volcanism," written by Christopher Newhall and Steve Self and published in the Journal of Geophysical Research.

The VEI of a volcano depends mostly on the volume of material ejected during the eruption and the height of the ash column or plume. The VEI scale breaks down volcanic eruptions into nine classifications ranging from a VEI of zero to eight - zero being a non-explosive eruption and eight being a mega-colossal eruption. There are no known explosive events with a VEI greater than eight.

Read more at Suite101: The Volcano Explosivity Index: Scientists Use the VEI Scale to Measure the Impact of an Eruption http://volcanoes.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_volcano_explosivity_index#ixzz0aooybuVZ

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What Is the Rift Valley?
Africa's Great Rift Valley is a 6,000-mile crack (fissure) in the earth's crust, stretching from Lebanon to Mozambique. One of its most dramatic sections slices through East Africa, dividing Kenya into two segments. Geologists know that the Rift Valley was formed by violent subterranean forces that tore apart the earth's crust. These forces caused huge chunks of the crust to sink between parallel fault lines and force up molten rock in volcanic eruptions. Evidence that this process, called rifting, is still in progress comes from the many active and semi-active volcanoes, located along the Rift. Evidence of volcanic activity along the rift is provided by the presence of numerous boiling hot springs.
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What is Orogenesis?

In its original, literal sense, orogenesis means ‘mountain building’, but today it more specifically refers to the tectonics of mountain building (as opposed to mountain building by erosion).

Orogenesis is brought about by the movements of the rigid plates making up the Earth's crust and uppermost mantle (described by plate tectonics).

Where two plates collide at a destructive margin rocks become folded and lifted to form chains of mountains (such as the Himalayas).

Processes associated with orogeny are faulting and thrusting , folding, metamorphism, and plutonism .

However, many topographical features of mountains – cirques, U-shaped valleys – are the result of non-orogenic processes, such as weathering, erosion, and glaciation.

Isostasy (uplift due to the buoyancy of the Earth's crust) can also influence mountain physiography.

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Economy Dose

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Rural Development Budget - Indian Interim Budget 2009, Rural Development Sector

The Indian Government continues to accord highest priority to rural development. A number of programmes have been designed to help improve the living conditions of the rural population. The programs designated under the Indian Interim Budget 2009 are:

(i) The Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF). The RIDF is the main instrument to channel bank funds for financing

rural infrastructure, through State Governments. The corpus of RIDF was increased from Rs.5,500 crore in 2003-04 to Rs.14 thousand crore for the year 2008-09 to ensure greater availability of funds for its activities. A separate window for rural roads was created under RIDF with a corpus of Rs.4 thousand crore for each of the last three years.

(ii) Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY). Given the importance of housing for the weaker sectors of the rural population, 60 lakh houses were to be constructed under the Indira Awaas Yojana by 2008-09. In the period between 2005-06 and December 2008, 60.12 lakh houses have already been constructed.

(iii) Panchayat Empowerment and Accountability Scheme (PEAIS). The PEAIS is an existing scheme under the central sector plan which has been recognized as a powerful instrument to incentivise States to empower the Panchayats and put in place accountability systems to make their functioning transparent and efficient. The Interim Budget acknowledges the need to build in incentives for encouraging States to devolve funds, functions and functionaries and set up an institutional framework for such devolution. The Indian Government has proposed to substantially expand the scheme through State allocations.

(iv) Project Arrow. The Department of Posts has launched “Project Arrow” to revitalize its core operations and to provide new technology enabled services to both rural and urban Indians. So far this has been successfully implemented in 500 post offices in the country. This Project will receive full government support as it will enhance the services offered to India and will also lay the foundation for a vibrant delivery mechanism for many social sector schemes such as Pensions, and the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS).

The primary components of capital receipts include loans brought up by Government of India from public, termed as market loans. Some of the other components of capital receipts include borrowings by Government from Reserve Bank and loans obtained from foreign governments and bodies.

The primary components of capital payments include capital expenditure on acquisition of assets like equipment, machinery, land and buildings. Capital payments also include transactions in the Public Account and investments in shares.

Budget: A brief look

In a nutshell, the India Budget depicts receipts and expenses along with full details of tax revenues and other receipts. The budget also explains the revenue deficit, gross fiscal deficit and the gross primary deficit of the Central Government.

Agriculture Budget

Since the majority of the Indian population are dependent on Agriculture for their livelihood, the India Budget places an emphasis on agriculture. The main objective is to be self-sufficient in food. India also aims to offer cheaper credit to farmers as part of an ongoing scheme to bring farmers into the banking system.

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Agriculture Cooperatives in India national organizations banks

National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC)

The National Cooperative Development Corporation(NCDC) was established by an Act of Parliament in 1963 as a statutory Corporation under the Ministry of AgricultureFunctions

National Agricultural Co-operative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) The objects of the NAFED shall be to organise, promote and develop marketing, processing and storage of agricultural, horticultural and forest produce, distribution of agricultural machinery, implements and other inputs, undertake inter-State, import and export trade, wholesale or retail as the case may be and to act and assist for technical advice in agricultural production for the promotion and the working of its members and cooperative marketing, processing and supply societies in India.

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INDIAN REFORMERS

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INDIAN REFORMERS Acharya Vinoba Bhave Acharya Vinoba Bhave was a freedom fighter and a spiritual teacher. He is best known as the founder of the 'Bhoodan Movement' (Gift of the Land). The reformer had an intense concern for the deprived masses. Vinoba Bhave had once said, "All revolutions are spiritual at the source.

Baba Amte From a child born with a silver spoon in his mouth, Baba Amte later transformed his life into a social activist. He devoted his entire life to serve the downtrodden people of the society. He left his lucrative profession to join India's struggle for independence. Founder of Anandvan

Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Dr B R Ambedkar, popularly known as Babasaheb Ambedkar, was one of the architects of the Indian Constitution. He was a well-known politician and an eminent jurist. Ambedkar was the main inspiration behind the inclusion of special provision in the Constitution of India for the development of Schedule Caste people. Dr. Ambedkar was the Law Minister of India from 1947 to 1951. He took part in the Satyagraha of untouchables at Nasik in 1930 for opening the Hindu temples to them. Dr. Ambedkar was emancipator of the 'untouchables' and crusader for social justice. This liberator of the down trodden was affectionately called "Babasaheb". He was posthumously awarded 'Bharat Ratna' in the year 1990.

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar is considered as one of the pillars of Bengal renaissance. In other words, he managed to continue the reforms movement that was started by Raja Rammohan Roy. Vidyasagar was a well-known writer, intellectual and above all a staunch follower of humanity. He brought a revolution in the education system of Bengal.

Jyotiba Phule Jyotiba Phule was one of the prominent social reformers of the nineteenth century India. He led the movement against the prevailing caste-restrictions in India. He revolted against the domination of the Brahmins and for the rights of peasants and other low-caste fellow.

Swami Vivekananda Swami Vivekananda was one of the most influential spiritual leaders of Vedanta philosophy. He was the chief disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahansa and was the founder of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission. Swami Vivekananda was the living embodiment of sacrifice and dedicated his life to the country and yearned for the progress of the poor, the helpless and the downtrodden.

Swami Dayanand Saraswati Dayanand Saraswati was one of the most radical socio-religious reformers in the history of India. Swami Dayanand Saraswati was the founder of Arya Samaj and propagated egalitarian approach of the Vedas at a time when widespread casteism was prevalent in the society.

Raja Ram Mohan Roy Raja Ram Mohan Roy is known as the 'Maker of Modern India'. He was the founder of the Brahmo Samaj, one of the first Indian socio-religious reform movements. He played a major role in abolishing the role of Sati. Raja Rammohan Roy was a great scholar and an independent thinker.

Ramakrishna Paramhansa Ramakrishna Paramhansa was one of the foremost Hindu spiritual leaders of the country. His teachings are still deeply revered by the people. He also played a key role in the social reform movement in Bengal in 19th century.

Medha Patkar Medha Patkar is a well known social activist of India. She was born on 1st December in the year 1954. Prior to becoming a social reformer, she completed her M.A. in Social Work from Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS).She left Ph. D. in the midst and got actively involved in the agitations conducted by tribals and peasants of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.

Shanta Sinha Shanta Sinha, the Ramon Magsaysay award winner, has recently been appointed for the post of chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights. She is the founder secretary trustee of the Mamidipudi Venkatarangaiya (MV) Foundation, Secunderabad.

Shahu Chhatrapati Shahu Chhatrapati was the Maharaja or the king of the Indian princely state of Kolhapur. Also known by the name of Rajarshi Shahu, he was known to be a great social reformer of his time. Shahu Chhatrapati was born on 26 June in the year 1874 as Yeshwantrao Ghatge.

ANNIE BESANT Founder of Theosophical Scoiety,She founded the Home-Rule League. She revived the Theosophical Society. In 1915, she chaired the Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress. She also edited 'New India'. She established Indian Boy Scouts Association. She received a prestigious award for her work for scouts. She also studied Hinduism. India is indebted to Annie Besant for her immeasurable work for freedom struggle, educational advancements and social reforms.

Sant Kabir---The hallmark of Kabir's works consists of his two line couplets, known as the 'Kabir ke Dohe'. The Dohas reflect the deep philosophical thinking of the poet saint. Sant Kabir believed in the Vedantic concepts of atman. He always advocated the Impersonal Aspect of God (Nirguna)

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PHYSIOGRAPHIC DIVISION OF INDIA

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PHYSIOGRAPHIC DIVISION OF INDIA

Mountains
The Peninsular Mountains : classified as follows
the western Ghats	run along the west coast from south of the Tapti river valley to Kanyakumari; Deccan trap constitutes the northern portion of the Ghats; Southern part : composed of Archean gneisses, Schists and Charnockites Anai Muddi in the Anaimalai Hills 2,695 m (8,842 ft) in Kerala is the highest peak in the Western Ghats.
the Eastern Ghats	irregular hill ranges stretches from northern Orissa to the Kerala and Tamil Nadu across coastal Andhra; Highest Peak at 1680m in Vishakhapatnam dist( Andhra)
The meeting point of the western and Eastern Ghats in the Nilgiri Hills has the highest point at Doda Betta Peak.
The Vindhya Range	Running from Sasaram(Bihar) in the east to Jobat(Gujarat) in the west separates northern India from the southern mainland They are believed to have been formed by the wastes created by the weathering of the ancient Aravali mountains.[
The Satpura range	extends from Narmada valley(N) to the Tapti valley (S) ; It is triangular in shape, with its apex at Ratnapur highest point : Dhupgarh near Pachmarhi(M.P.)
The Aravalis	the oldest mountain range in India; most ancient fold mountain ranges ; separates the semi desert and fertile regions of Rajasthan highest point: Gurushikhar peak of Abu hills
The Northern Mountains : stretches across northern India from Jammu and Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh( abt 2400km); the world’s youngest fold mountain ,achieve greatest heights in eastern Nepal
the outer Himalayas ( the siwaliks )	composed of tertiary sediments; emerged as most recent phase in Himalaya OROGENY
the outer Himalayas ARE SEPERATED FROM THE LESSER Himalayas by Duns ( valleys resulting from draining away of the temporary lakes formed by ridges when these obstructed the course of rivers
the lesser/outer Himalayas ( the himachal)	the ranges include the 400km Pir Panjal range, the longest range of the Himalayas
the greater Himalayas ( the himadri)	the innermost Himalayan Range is the world’s highest and most continuous of Himalayan ranges ; Himadri’s highest peak include world’s highest peak- Mt Everest
the trans Himalayan zone	include imp ranges such as Zaskar Range and the Great Karakoram Range :extends 2wards south-east to form the Kailash Range; highest peak K2 longest glacier : Siachen ( Nubra Valley – 72 km )
the Peninsular Plateau : largest and oldest of all the physiographic division ; north- east limit: Aravali Range ‘ northern extreme – Bundelkhand and western and eastern ends : Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats resp.
the central plateaus	the upland of Central India with river Ganga (N) , Vindhya and Satpura ranges (S)Kaimur-Maikal Range (E) and Aravalis and Kutch to (W) comprise Mewar,Malwa(in M.P. formed of lava ) and Vindhya Plateaus
the eastern Plateaus	diversified to topography ; low lying Mahanandi basin to undulating plateatus of the Bhaghelkhand , Chhota Nagpur and Dandakaranya Meghalaya Plateau : beyond lava ridden Rajhmahal Hills
The Kathiawar and Kutch Plateaus	joined to the Peninsular Plateaus by Gujrat’s plain; Deccan lava make up this region while Kutch – tertiary rocks
The Deccan plateaus	occupy land between the Western and Eastern Ghats and south of Mahadeo ,Maikal and Satpura ranges ; comprise the Maharashtra Plateau(basalt) ‘Karnataka and Telangana plateaus ( Archaean gneisses) India’s largest plateaus
the great plains : lies between the Himalayas and the peninsular Plateau , alluvial in nature
the Punjab Haryana plains	Comprise the Bist Doab (betn Sutlej &Beas Rivers); Upper Bari Doab ( betn Beas and Ravi Rivers) and south- east Malwa Plain.
the Rajasthan plains	comprise the marusthali of Thar and nearly Bagar areas Luni river : flowing 2wards south-east ,only river in region Rajasthan desert : sloping 2wards 2 direction – Indus valley in Pak ( W-wards ) and Ran of Kutch (S-wards)
the Ganga Plains	spreading across the states of Uttar Pradesh ,West Bengal &Bihar divided into : Ganga –Yamuna Doab , Rohilkhand Plain ,Avadh plain ( U.P.),Bihar Plain and Bengal Plain Ganga Delta : constitutes the Ben gal basin , covered with tidal forests ( the Sunderbans)
the Brahmaputra Plains	formed by deposit carried by Brahmaputra River , moist soil conditions
the Coastal plains : 4500 –km long coastline , Arabian Sea (W) , the Bay of Bengal (E)&Indian ocean (S) runs from Rann of Kutch (W) to the delta of the Ganga- Brahmaputra (E)
the east coastal plains	extend betn the source of Subarnarekha and Kanyakumari ; contain deltas of almost all rivers ( except Tapti and Narmada ) ; include Tamil Nadu plains, Andhra Plain and Utkal Plain
the West coastal plains	run from Rann of Kutch to Kanyakumari; sandy plains
Islands : has a no. of islands (247) ; Bay of Bengal ( 204) & Arabian Sea (43) The Andaman and Nicobar Islands: in the Bay of Bengal, represent elevated potions of submarine mountains. Mount Harriet (460m): in South Andaman Islands is the highest point. The Nicobar group contains 19 Islands. The Great Nicobar – largest island in group Islands in Arabian Sea : coral origin & surrounded by fringing reefs e.g. Lakshadweep islands Author--Nisha Dolas

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Expedition 21

Expedition 21 was the 21st long-crew-flight of the International Space Station (ISS). The expedition began on 30 September 2009. Frank de Winne is the first ESA astronaut to command a space mission.

The handover between Expedition 20 and Expedition 21 required three Soyuz vehicles being docked to the station at the same time, the first time this has occurred.

Soyuz TMA-16 brought the final members of Expedition 21 to the ISS along with space tourist Guy Laliberté. Laliberté returned on Soyuz TMA-14 with two members of Expedition 20.

Nicole P. Stott was the last ISS expedition crew member to fly on the Space Shuttle. She returned to Earth aboard STS-129 in November 2009.

Crew

Position	First Part (October 2009 to November 2009)	Second Part (November 2009 to December 2009)
Commander	Frank De Winne, ESA 2nd spaceflight
Flight Engineer 1	Roman Romanenko, RSA 1st spaceflight
Flight Engineer 2	Robert Thirsk, CSA 2nd Spaceflight
Flight Engineer 3	Jeffrey N. Williams, NASA 3rd spaceflight
Flight Engineer 4	Maksim Surayev, RSA 1st spaceflight
Flight Engineer 5	Nicole P. Stott, NASA 1st spaceflight Source -- Wikipedia