41 Agriculture Information Centers Established in Agriculture Universities and ICAR Institutions

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has established 44 Agricultural Technology Information Centres (ATICs) in 28 Agricultural Universities and 16 ICAR Institutes in the country. The ICAR has also created a network of 630 Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) in the country to facilitate farmers’ access to agricultural technology generated by National Agricultural Research System.

The Department of Agriculture & Cooperation is implementing Kisan Call Centre (KCC) programme under which Agriculture related information is provided to the farmers in 22 regional languages through a countrywide common toll free number 1800-180-1551 covering all the States and Union Territory of India. The KCCs established at 13 locations in the country operate from 6.00AM to 10.00 PM on all 365 days in a year. The Kisan Call Centre located in Kanpur district of Uttar Pradesh caters to all the farmers of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Castle Naggar in Himachal Pradesh was given Heritage Status

The Castle Naggar, Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation's prime hotel in the picturesque Kullu valley, was notified under the heritage status by the Union Tourism ministry on 23 August 2012. Naggar was the capital of the erstwhile Kullu state for about 1460 years.

The castle was built by Raja Sidhi Singh in the 16th century. The castle has traditional architecture called Kathloonmi, which uses a combination of stones and wooden beams. The castle was handed over to state-owned HPTDC in 1978 to be run as a hotel.

Indian Magsaysay Award Winners

Name	Year Awarded	Category
Vinoba Bhave	1958	Community Leadership
Chintaman Deshmukh	1959	Government Services
Amitabha Chowdhury	1961	Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts
Mother Teresa	1962	Peace and International Understanding
Dara Khurody	1963	Community Leadership
Verghese Kurien	1963	Community Leadership
Tribhuvandas Patel	1963	Community Leadership
Welthy Fisher	1964	Peace and International Understanding
Jayaprakash Narayan	1965	Public Service
Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay	1966	Community Leadership
Satyajit Ray	1967	Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts
Moncompu Sambasivan Swaminathan	1971	Community Leadership
M. S. Subbulakshmi	1974	Public Service
Boobli George Verghese	1975	Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts
Henning Holck-Larsen	1976	Peace and International Understanding
Sombhu Mitra	1976	Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts
Ela Ramesh Bhatt	1977	Community Leadership
Mabelle Arole	1979	Community Leadership
Rajanikant Arole	1979	Community Leadership
Gour Kishore Ghosh	1981	Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts
Pramod Karan Sethi	1981	Community Leadership
Chandi Prasad Bhatt	1982	Community Leadership
Manibhai Desai	1982	Public Service
Arun Shourie	1982	Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts
Rasipuram Lakshman	1984	Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts
Muralidhar Amte	1985	Public Service
Lakshmi Chand Jain	1989	Public Service
K. V. Subbanna	1991	Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts
Ravi Shankar	1992	Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts
Banoo Jehangir Coyaji	1993	Public Service
Kiran Bedi	1994	Government Services
Pandurang Athavale	1996	Community Leadership
Tirunellai Seshan	1996	Government Services
Mahasweta Devi	1997	Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts
Mahesh Chander Mehta	1997	Public Service
Jockin Arputham	2000	Peace and International Understanding
Aruna Roy	2000	Community Leadership
Rajendra Singh	2001	Community Leadership
Sandeep Pandey	2002	Emergent Leadership
James Michael Lyngdoh	2003	Government Services
Shantha Sinha	2003	Community Leadership
Laxminarayan Ramdas	2004	Peace and International Understanding
V. Shantha	2005	Public Service
Arvind Kejriwal	2006	Emergent Leadership
Palagummi Sainath	2007	Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts
Mandakini Amte	2008	Community Leadership
Prakash Amte	2008	Community Leadership
Deep Joshi	2009	Community Leadership
Neelima Mishra	2011	Emergent Leadership
Harish Hande	2011	Emergent Leadership
Kulandei Francis	2012	Community Leadership

List of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awardees

The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna (RGKR) is India’s highest honour given for achievement in sports. The words "Khel Ratna" literally mean "sports gem" in Hindi. The award is named after the late Rajiv Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India. It carries a medal, a scroll of honour and a substantial cash component. Up to 2004–05, the cash component was Rs. 500,000/- (c.11,500 USD).The money has been increased from Rs. 500,000 to Rs. 750,000.

 List of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awardees

Year	Name of the Sportsperson(s)	Sport Discipline
1991–92	Viswanathan Anand	Chess
1992–93	Geet Sethi	Billiards
1993–94	Not Conferred
1994–95	Cdr. Homi D. Motivala (Joint)	Yachting (Team Event)
	Lt. Cdr. P. K. Garg (Joint)
1995–96	Karnam Malleswari	Weightlifting
1996–97	Nameirakpam Kunjarani (Joint)	Weightlifting
	Leander Paes (Joint)	Tennis
1997–98	Sachin Tendulkar	Cricket
1998–99	Jyotirmoyee Sikdar	Athletics
1999–2000	Dhanraj Pillay	Hockey
2000–01	Pullela Gopichand	Badminton
2001–02	Abhinav Bindra	Shooting
2002–03	Anjali Ved Pathak Bhagwat(Joint)	Shooting
	K. M. Beenamol (Joint)	Athletics
2003–04	Anju Bobby George	Athletics
2004–05	Lt. Col Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore	Shooting
2005–06	Pankaj Advani	Billiards and Snooker
2006–07	Manavjit Singh Sandhu	Shooting
2007–08	Mahendra Singh Dhoni	Cricket
2008–09	Mary Kom (Joint)	Boxing
	Vijender Singh (Joint)	Boxing
	Sushil Kumar (Joint)	Wrestling
2009–10	Saina Nehwal	Badminton
2010–11	Gagan Narang	Shooting
2011–12	Vijay Kumar (Joint)	Shooting
	Yogeshwar Dutt (Joint)	Wrestling

Welfare Schemes for Women

Many welfare schemes for women are implemented by Government of India, State Governments and Union Territory Administrations. The details of major schemes under implementation by Ministry of Women and Child Development for the welfare of women are as under :

i. RAJIV GANDHI NATIONAL CRECHE SCHEME FOR THE CHILDREN OF WORKING MOTHERS (RGNCS) provides day care facilities to the children in the age group 0-6 years from families with monthly income of less than 12000/-. In addition to being a safe space for the children, the crèches provide services such as supplementary nutrition, pre-school education and emergency health care, etc.

ii. CENTRAL SOCIAL WELFARE BOARD: The main women welfare related schemes and programmes being implemented by CSWB are family counselling centres, awareness generation programme and condensed courses of education for women.

iii. NATIONAL MISSION FOR EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN (NMEW) is an initiative of the Government of India for empowering women holistically. It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme sanctioned in April 2011 and acts as an umbrella Mission with a mandate to strengthen inter-sectoral convergence.

iv. WORKING WOMEN’S HOSTEL (WWH) Scheme envisages provision of safe and affordable hostel accommodation to working women, single working women, women working at places away from their home-towns and for women being trained for employment.

v. SUPPORT TO TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMME (STEP) for Women was launched as a Central Sector Scheme during 1986-87. It aims at making a significant impact on women by upgrading skills for self and wage employment. The target group includes the marginalized assetless rural women and urban poor.

vi. RASHTRIYA MAHILA KOSH (RMK) with a corpus of Rs.100 crore extends micro-finance services to bring about the socio-economic upliftment of poor women.

vii. INDIRA GANDHI MATRITVA SAHYOG YOJANA (IGMSY) is a Conditional Cash Transfer scheme for pregnant and lactating (P&L) women introduced in the October 2010 to contribute to better enabling environment by providing cash incentives for improved health and nutrition to pregnant and nursing mothers.

viii. SWADHAR SCHEME: The Ministry of Women and Child Development had been administering Swadhar scheme since 2001 for Women in difficult circumstances. Under the Scheme, temporary accommodation, maintenance and rehabilitative services are provided to women and girls rendered homeless due to family discord, crime, violence, mental stress, social ostracism. Another scheme with similar objectives/target groups namely Short Stay Home (SSH) is being implemented by Central Social Welfare Board.

ix. UJJAWALA is a comprehensive scheme for prevention of trafficking and rescue, rehabilitation and reintegration of victims of trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation.

Integrated Nutrient Management (Fertilizers)

The main objective of Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) Division is to ensure adequate availability of quality fertilizers to farmers through periodical demand assessment and timely supply, promoting integrated nutrient management, which is soil test-based judicious and balanced use of chemical fertilizers in conjunction with organic manures and bio-fertilizers, promotion of organic farming and ensuring quality control of fertilizers through implementation of Fertilizer (Control) Order, 1985.

Fertiliser Consumption

India is the third largest producer and consumer of fertilizers in the world after China and the USA. Against 21.65 million tonnes of fertilizer nutrients (NPK) consumed during 2006-07, the nutrient consumption is 22.57 million tonnes during 2007-08. The consumption of major fertilizers namely, Urea, DAP, MOP, SSP and Complexes were 25.96, 7.50, 2.88, 2.29 and 6.57 million tonnes during 2007-08. India is by and large self sufficient in respect of Urea and about 90 per cent in case of DAP. The all India average fertilizer consumption is 116.5 kg/ha of NPK nutrients, though there is wide variation from state to state varying from 212.7 kg/ha in Punjab, 208.2 kg/ha in Andhra Pradesh, 190.9 kg/ha in Haryana to less than 5 kg/ha in States like Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland etc. Considering the skewed pattern of fertilizer use, Government of India is promoting balanced and integrated use of fertilizer nutrient through various initiatives. As a result, NPK consumption ration has now improved to 5.5:2.1:1 during 2007-08 from 7.0:2.7:1 during 2000-01.

Price of Fertilizers

Presently urea is the only fertilizer which is under Statutory Price Control. To ensure adequate availability of fertilizers to farmers at reasonable rates, subsidy is provided by Government of India. Urea, the most consumed fertilizers, is subsidized under the New Urea Pricing Scheme, whereas P&K fertilizers, which are decontrolled, are covered under the Concession Scheme. The policy for uniform freight subsidy on all fertilizers under the fertilizer subsidy regime is also implemented.

Buffer Stocking of P&K Fertilizers

A buffer stock of limited quantity of Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) and Muriate of Potash (MOP) is being maintained at strategic locations to met emergent requirements. These stocks are in the nature of rolling stocks and are replenished when depleted. Besides meeting emergent needs, the Buffer Stock also helps to meet requirements of States which have low demand and hence sometimes find it difficult to induce suppliers to move fertilizers in small quantities.

Fertiliser Quality Control

Fertilizer is the most critical and costly input for sustaining agricultural production and ensuring food security of the country. The Government ensures the quality of fertilizers through Fertilizer Control Order (FCO), issued under Essential Commodities Act, 1955 to regulate, the trade, price, quality and distribution of fertilizers in the country. The State Governments are the enforcement agencies for implementation of the provisions of FCO, 1985. The Order strictly prohibits the manufacture, import and sale of any fertilizer, which does not meet prescribe standards. The FCO provides for compulsory registration of fertilizer manufacturers, importers and dealers, specifications of all fertilizes manufactured/imported and sold in the country, regulation on manufacture of fertilizer mixtures, packing and marking on the fertilizer bags, appointment of enforcement agencies, setting up of quality control laboratories and prohibition on manufacture/import and sale of non-standard/spurious/adulterated fertilizers. To check the quality of fertilizes sold in the country, there are 71 Fertilizer Quality Control Laboratories at present, which includes 4 Central Government laboratories namely; Central Fertilizer Quality Control & Traiing Institute, Faridabad and is three Regional Laboratories at Chennai, Navi Mumbai and Kalyani (Near Kolkata). These laboratories have a total annual analyzing capacity of 1.31 lakh samples.

Promotion of Integrated Nutrient Management (INM)

The Government is promoting soil test-based balanced and judicious use of chemical fertilizers, biofertilizers and locally available organic manures like farmyard manure, compost, nadep compost, vermi compost and green manure to maintain soil health and its productivity. A Centrally Sponsored Scheme, "National Project on Management of Soil Health and Fertility" (NPMSF) has been approved during 2008-09 with an outlay of Rs.429.85 crores for the remaining period of XI Plan. The two existing schemes namely: i) centrally sponsored scheme of Balanced and Integrated Use of Fertilizers and ii) Central Sector Scheme "Strengthening of Central Fertilizer and Quality Control & Traiing Institutes and its Regional Labs. have been subsumed in the new scheme w.e.f. 1.4.2009. The components of the new scheme include setting up of 500 new soil testing laboratories, strengthening of the existing 315 soil testing laboratories, setting up of 250 mobile soil testing laboratories, promotion of organic manures, soil amendments and distribution of micro nutrients, setting up of 20 new fertilizers quality control laboratories and strengthening of 63 existing fertilizer quality control laboratories during 11th Plan.
There are 686 Soil Testing Laboratories (2007-08) in India. These include 560 static and 126 mobile Laboratories maintained by State Governments and fertilizer industry with an annual analyzing capacity of about 7 million soil samples. During 2008-09, an amount of Rs.16.63 crore has been released under NPMSF for 42 new Static Soil Testing Laboratories (STLs), 44 Mobile Soil Testing Laboratories (MSTLs), strengthening of 39 existing soil testing laboratories, 2 new fertilizer quality control laboratories and strengthening of 19 existing fertilizers quality control laboratories (FQCLs) in 16 States.

National Project on Organic Farming

With the view to promote organic farming practices to reduce the burden on Chemical Fertilizers, to ensure effective utilization of farm resources and to cater domestic and international growing Organic Food Market, a National Project on Organic Farming was launched during 10th Plan with an outlay of Rs.115.00 crores. The earlier scheme "National Project on Development and Use of Biofertilizers" has been merged with the "National Project on Organic Farming ". The main objective of the scheme includes:

• Capacity Building through Service Providers.
• Financial and Technical support for setting up of organic input production unit such as Fruits and Vegetable market waste compost, Biofertilizers and biopesticides and Vermiculture hatcheries.
• Human resource development through training and demonstration.
• Awareness creation and market development.
• Quality Control of Organic Inputs.

As a continuing efforts from previous scheme for promotion of bio-fertilizers there are around 169 bio-fertilizer production units in the country with installed capacity of 67000 MT. and annual production of more than 20 thousand ton of bio-fertilizers and more than 18800 ton of other inoculants including biopesticides.
Under the scheme a capacity has also been created for processing of 708 tons of agricultural waste per day in to compost, 5606 MT of bio-fertilizers and more than 17000 ton of vermiculture and vermicompost. Since the launch of the scheme, the area under certified organic farming has increased 20 fold from 42000 ha (2003-04) to 865,000 ha (2007-08). The organic food production has increased from 4.09 lakh ton in 2006-07 to 9.02 lakh ton during 2007-08.

Genetics

Genetics (from Ancient Greek genetikos, “genitive” and that from genesis, “origin”), a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms. Genetics deals with the molecular structure and function of genes, with gene behavior in the context of a cell or organism (e.g. dominance and epigenetics), with patterns of inheritance from parent to offspring, and with gene distribution, variation and change in populations. Given that genes are universal to living organisms, genetics can be applied to the study of all living systems, from viruses and bacteria, through plants (especially crops) and domestic animals, to humans (as in medical genetics).
The fact that living things inherit traits from their parents has been used since prehistoric times to improve crop plants and animals through selective breeding. However, the modern science of genetics, which seeks to understand the process of inheritance, only began with the work of Gregor Mendel in the mid-19th
century. Although he did not know the physical basis for heredity, Mendel observed that organisms inherit traits via discrete units of inheritance, which are now called genes. Genes correspond to regions within DNA, a molecule composed of a chain of four different types of nucleotides: the sequence of these nucleotides is the genetic information organisms inherit. DNA naturally occurs in a double stranded form, with nucleotides on each strand complementary to each other. Each strand can act as a template for creating a new partner strand.
This is the physical method for making copies of genes that can be inherited. The sequence of nucleotides in a gene is translated by cells to produce a chain of amino acids, creating proteins— the order of amino acids in a protein corresponds to the order of nucleotides in the gene. This relationship between nucleotide sequence and amino acid sequence is known as the genetic code. The amino acids in a protein determine how it folds into a three-dimensional shape; this structure is, in turn, responsible for the protein’s function. Proteins carry out almost all the functions needed for cells to live. A change to the DNA in a gene can change a protein’s amino acids, changing its shape and function: this can have a dramatic effect in the cell and on the organism as a whole. Although genetics plays a large role in the appearance and behavior of organisms, it is the combination of genetics with what an organism experiences that determines the ultimate outcome. For example, while genes play a role in determining an organism’s size, the nutrition and health it experiences after inception also have a large effect.

Carbon Dating

Carbon dating is a radiometric dating method that uses the naturally occurring radioisotope carbon-14 (14C) to estimate the age of carbonbearing materials up to about 58,000 to 62,000 years. Raw, i.e. uncalibrated, radiocarbon ages are usually reported in radiocarbon years “Before Present” (BP), “Present” being defined as 1950. Such raw ages can be calibrated to give calendar dates.
One of the most frequent uses of radiocarbon dating is to estimate the age of organic remains from archaeological sites. When plants fix atmospheric carbon dioxide  into organic material during photosynthesis they incorporate a quantity of 14C that approximately matches the level of this isotope in the atmosphere (a small difference occurs because of isotope fractionation, but this is corrected after laboratory analysis[citation needed]). After plants die or they are consumed by other organisms (for example, by humans or other animals) the 14C fraction of this organic material declines at a fixed exponential rate due to the radioactive decay of 14C. Comparing the remaining 14C fraction of a sample to that expected from atmospheric 14C allows the age of the sample to be estimated.
The technique of radiocarbon dating was developed by Willard Libby and his colleagues at the University of Chicago in 1949. Emilio Segrè asserted in his autobiography that Enrico Fermi suggested the concept to Libby in a seminar at Chicago that year. Libby estimated that the steady state radioactivity concentration of exchangeable carbon-14 would be about 14 disintegrations per minute (dpm) per gram.
In 1960, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry for this work. He first demonstrated the accuracy of radiocarbon dating by accurately estimating the age of wood from an ancient Egyptian royal barge for which the age was known from historical documents.

Earth Basic Facts

Earth’s Circumference at the Equator: 24,901.55 miles (40,075.16 km)

Earth’s Circumference Between the North and South Poles: 24,859.82 miles (40,008 km)

Earth’s Diameter at the Equator: 7,926.28 miles (12,756.1 km)

Earth’s Diameter at the Poles: 7,899.80 miles (12,713.5 km)

Average Distance from the Earth to the Sun: 93,020,000 miles (149,669,180 km)

Average Distance from the Earth to the Moon: 238,857 miles (384,403.1 km)

Highest Elevation on Earth - Mt. Everest, Asia: 29,035 feet (8850 m)

Tallest Mountain on Earth from Base to Peak - Mauna Kea, Hawaii: 33,480 feet (rising to 13,796 feet above sea level) (10204 m; 4205 m)

Point Farthest From the Center of the Earth - The peak of the volcano Chimborazo in Ecuador at 20,561 feet (6267 m) is farthest from the center of the earth due to its location near the equator, and the oblateness of the Earth.

Lowest Elevation on Land - Dead Sea: 1369 feet below sea level (417.27 m)

Deepest Point in the Ocean - Challenger Deep, Mariana Trench, Western Pacific Ocean: 35,840 feet (10924 m)

Highest Temperature Recorded: 135.8°F - Al Aziziyah, Libya, September 13, 1922 (57.7°C)

 Lowest Temperature Recorded: -128.5°F - Vostok, Antarctica, July 21, 1983 (-89.2°C)

Water vs. Land: 70.8% Water, 29.2% Land

Age of the Earth: 4.5 to 4.6 billion years

Atmosphere Content: 77% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and traces of argon, carbon dioxide and water

Revolution around Sun: 365.2425 days

Chemical Composition of the Earth:
34.6% Iron,
29.5% Oxygen,
15.2% Silicon,
12.7% Magnesium,
2.4% Nickel,
1.9% Sulfur,
0.05% Titanium

Rotation on Axis: 23 hours and 56 minutes and 04.09053 seconds. But, it takes an additional four minutes for the earth to revolve to the same position as the day before relative to the sun (i.e. 24 hours).

Summer Olympics - 27 July 2012

The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXX Olympiad, are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. London will become the first city to officially host the modern Olympic Games three times, having previously done so
in 1908 and in 1948. London was selected as the host city on 6 July 2005 during the 117th IOC Session in
Singapore, defeating Moscow, New York City, Madrid and Paris after four rounds of voting. The successful bid was headed by former Olympic champion Sebastian Coe.
The Olympics prompted a redevelopment of many of the areas of London in which the games are to be held – particularly themed towards sustainability. While the budgetary considerations have generated some criticism, the Games will make use of many venues which were already in place before the bid, including Wembley Stadium, Wembley Arena, Wimbledon All England Club, Lord’s Cricket Ground, The O2 Arena, Earls Court Exhibition Centre, Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, and the Excel Centre.

India’s Five Year Plans at a Glance

The Five Year Plans

The development plans are drawn by the Planning Commission to establish India’s economy on a socialistic pattern in successive phases of five year Periods-called the Five Year Plans.

Major Bodies Behind the Making of Five Year Plans

The organisation was set up to formulate basic economic policies, draft plans and watch its progress and implementation. It consists of:

(I) Planning Commission of India

(ii) National Planning Council

(iii) National Development Council and State Planning Commissions

DETAILS OF THE FIVE YEAR PLANS

FIRST FIVE YEAR PLAN (1951-56)

In July 1951, the Planning Commission issued the draft outline of the First Five Year Plan for the period April 1951 to March 1956. It was presented to the Parliament in December 1952. In the First Plan, agriculture received the main thrust, for sustaining of growth and development of industries which would not be possible without a significant rise in the yield of raw materials and food.

Objectives:

i) To increase food production.

ii) To fully utilise available raw materials.

iii) To check inflationary pressure.

Outlay: The total proposed outlay was Rs. 3,870 crore.

SECOND FIVE YEAR PLAN (1956-61)

The main objective was to launch upon industrialisation and strengthen the industrial base of the economy. It was in this light that the 1948 Industrial Policy Resolution was revised and a new resolution of 1956 was adopted. The Second Plan started with an emphasis on the expansion of the public sector and aimed at the establishment of a socialistic pattern of society.

Objectives:

i) A sizeable increase in national income so as to raise the level of living.

ii) Rapid industrialisation of the country with particular emphasis on the development of basic and key industries.

Outlay: The Second Plan proposed a total public sector outlay of Rs. 4,800 crores though actual outlay was only Rs. 4,672 crore.

THIRD FIVE YEAR PLAN (1961-66)

In the third Plan, the emphasis was on long-term development. The Third Plan report stated that during the five-year period concerned, the Indian economy “must not only expand rapidly but, at the same time, become self-reliant and self-generating.”

Objectives:

i) An increase in national income of more than 5 per cent annually. The investment pattern laid down must be capable of sustaining this growth rate in the subsequent years.

ii) An increase in the agricultural produce and to achieve self sufficiency by increasing food grain production.

iii) Greater equality of opportunities, more even distribution of economic power and reducing wealth and income disparities.

FOURTH FIVE YEAR PLAN (1969-74)

After the ‘Plan Holiday’, the Fourth Plan was begun in 1969.

Objectives:

i) To achieve stability and progress towards self-reliance.

ii) To achieve an overall rate of growth of 5.7 per cent annually.

iii) To raise exports at the rate of 7 per cent annually.

Outlay: The total proposed outlay was Rs. 24,880 crore, which included Rs. 15,900 crores as public sector outlay and Rs. 8,980 crore as private sector outlay.

FIFTH FIVE YEAR PLAN (1974-79)

The Plan was formulated against the background of sever inflationary pressure.

Objectives: In addition to removal of poverty and attainment of self-reliance, the Fifth Plan had the following major objectives.

i) 5.5 per cent overall rate of growth in Gross Domestic objectives.

ii) Expansion of productive employment and fuller utilisation of existing skills and equipment.

iii) A national programme for minimum needs and extended programmes of social welfare.

Outlay: A total outlay of Rs. 53,410 crore was proposed for the Fifth Plan.

SIXTH FIVE YEAR PLAN (1980-85)

The draft of the Sixth Five Year Plan (1978-1983) was presented in 1978. However, the plan was terminated with the change of Government in January 1980. The new Sixth Five Year Plan was implemented in April 1980.

Objectives:

i) To eliminate unemployment and underemployment.

ii) To raise the standard of living of the poorest of masses.

iii) To reduce disparities in income and wealth.

Outlay: The proposed outlay for the Sixth Plan totalled Rs.1, 58, 710 crore.

SEVENTH FIVE YEAR PLAN (1985-90)

The draft of the Seventh Plan was approved on November 9, 1985 by the National Development Council. The plan was part of the long-term plan for the period of 15 years.

Objectives:

i) Decentralisation of planning and full public participation in development.

ii) The maximum possible generation of productive employment.

iii) Removal of poverty and reduction in income disparities.

EIGHTH FIVE YEAR PLAN (1992-97)

The Eighth Plan proposed a growth rate of 5.6 per cent per annum on an average during the plan period. The Eighth Plan focused on (i) clear prioritisation of sectors/projects for investment in order to facilitate implementation of the policy initiatives taken in the areas of fiscal, trade and industrial sectors and human development.

Objectives:

i) Generation of adequate employment of achieve near full employment level by the turn of the century.

ii) Containment of population growth through people’s active co-operation and an effective scheme of incentives and disincentives.

iii) Universalisation of elementary education and complete eradication of illiteracy among the people in the age group of 15 to 35 years.

THE NINTH FIVE-YEAR PLAN (1997-2002)

It began on April 1, 1997. The Ninth Plan was the first concrete attempt to translate the programme of economic reforms and the New Economic Policy within the framework of an indicative Plan. The Approach Paper to the Ninth Plan (1997-2002) was approved by the N.D.C. on 16th January, 1997.

Objectives:

i.) Priority to agriculture and rural development

ii.) Accelerating growth rate of economy

iii.) Food and nutritional security for all

iv.) Containing growth rate of population

v.) Empowerment of women and socially disadvantaged groups such as SC/ST, backward classes and minorities.

vi.) Promoting and developing participatory institutions like “Panchayati Raj” institutions, co-operatives and self-help groups.

TENTH FIVE YEAR PLAN (2002-07)

On December 21, 2002, the Tenth Five Year Plan was approved by the National Development Council (NDC). The Plan has further developed the NDC mandated objectives, of doubling per capita income in 10 years, and achieving a growth rate of 8% of GDP per annum. An 8% growth rate is considered necessary for achieving the social and economic targets of Tenth Plan Keeping in mind decadal growth performance and the steady acceleration that the country has recorded in growth over the past two decades, it is a realisable target. The plan has a number of new features, such as, for the first time

(a) It recognises the rapid growth of labour force over the next decade

(b) Addresses the issue of poverty and the unacceptably low levels of social indicators

(c) Adopted a “differential development strategy” to equate national targets into balanced regional development as there is vast difference in the potentials and constraints of each state

(d) Recognises that the governance is perhaps one of the most important factors for ensuring realisation of the Plan

(e) Identifies measures to improve efficiency, unleash entrepreneurial energy, and promote rapid and sustainable growth

(f) Proposes major reforms for agricultural sector making ‘agriculture’ the core element of the Plan.

Since economic growth is not the only objective, the Plan aims at harnessing the benefits of growth to improve the quality of life of the people by setting the following key targets:

1. All children to be in school by 2003 and all children to complete five years of schooling by 2007

2. Reduction in poverty ratio from 26% to 21%

3. Growth in gainful employment to, at least, keep pace with addition to the labour force

4. Decadal population growth to reduce from 21.3% in 1991-2001 to 16.2% by 2001-11

5. Reducing gender gaps in literacy and wage rates by 50%

6. Literacy rate to increase from 65% in 1999-2000 to 75% in 2001

7. Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) to be reduced from 72 in 1999-2000, to 45 in 2007

8. .Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) to be reduced from 4 per 1000 in 1999-2000 to 2 per 1000 in 2007

9. Providing portable drinking water in all villages

10. Cleaning of major polluted river stretches

11. Increase in forest/tree cover from 19% in 1999-2000 to 25% in 2007

ELEVENTH PLAN (2007-2012)

The United Progressive Alliance government issued a paper in the eleventh plan titled “Towards faster and more inclusive growth.” According to the approach paper, the monitorable targets of five-year plan are:

1. GDP growth rate to be increased to 10% by the end of the plan;

2. Farm sector growth to be increased to 4%;

3. Creation of seven crore job opportunities;

4. Reduce educated unemployed youth to below 5 percent

5. Infant mortality rates to be reduced to 28 per 1000 births;

6. Maternal death rates to be reduced to 1 per 1000 births;

7. Clean drinking water to all by 2009;

8. Improve sex ratio to 935 by 2011-12 and to 950 by 2016-17;

9. Ensure electricity connection to all villages and broadband over power lines (BPL) households by 2009

10. Roads to all villages that have a population of 1000 and above by 2009;

11. Increase forest and tree cover by 5%;

12. Achieve the World Health Organization standard air quality in major cities by 2011-12;

13. Treat all urban wastewater by 2011-12 to clean river waters;

14. Increase energy efficiency by 20 percent by 2016-17

List of Languages in India State Wise

India has 22 languages which have been given the grade of National Languages.

Name of State/Union Territory	Major Language Spoken	Other Languages Spoken
Jammu and Kashmir	Kashmiri	Dogri and Hindi
Himachal Pradesh	Hindi	Punjabi and Nepali
Punjab	Punjabi	Hindi
Uttrakhand	Hindi	Urdu, Punjabi and Nepali
Haryana	Hindi	Punjabi and Urdu
Delhi	Hindi	Punjabi, Urdu and Bengali
Uttar Pradesh	Hindi	Urdu
Rajasthan	Hindi	Punjabi and Urdu
Madhya Pradesh	Hindi	Marathi and Urdu
Chhattisgarh	Hindi	Bengali and Oriya
Bihar	Hindi	Maithili and Urdu
Jharkhand	Hindi	Santali, Bengali and Urdu
West Bengal	Bengali	Hindi, Santali, Urdu, Nepali
Sikkim	Nepali	Hindi, Bengali
Assam	Assamese	Bengali, Hindi, Bodo and Nepali
Arunachal Pradesh	Bengali	Nepali, Hindi and Assamese
Nagaland	Bengali	Hindi and Nepali
Mizoram	Bengali	Hindi and Nepali
Tripura	Bengali	Hindi
Meghalaya	Bengali	Hindi and Nepali
Manipur	Manipuri	Nepali, Hindi and Bengali
Odisha	Oriya	Hindi, Telegu and Santali
Maharashtra	Marathi	Hindi, Urdu and Gujarati
Gujarat	Gujarati	Hindi, Sindhi, Marathi and Urdu
Daman and Diu	Gujarati	Hindi and Marathi
Dadra and Nagar Haveli	Gujarati	Hindi, Konkani and Marathi
Goa	Konkani	Marathi, Hindi and Kannada
Karnataka	Kannada	Urdu, Telugu, Marathi and Tamil
Andhra Pradesh	Telugu	Urdu, Hindi and Tamil
Kerala	Malayalam	None
Lakshadweep Islands	Malayalam	None
Tamil Nadu	Tamil	Telugu, Kannada and Urdu
Puducherry	Tamil	Telugu, Kannada and Urdu
Andaman and Nicobar Islands	Bengali	Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam

Different Types of Awards (India & World)

Nobel Prize
• It is the most coveted international award of the world.
• It was instituted by the inventor of dynamite, Alfred Bernard Nobel (1833-96)
• The award is given on Dec.10, which is the death anniversary of its founder.
• Nobel made a trust from the money that he earned through the patent of his invention whose interest is used to give the money for the Nobel Prizes.
• Nobel Prize is given every year to those eminent person who have made pioneering achievements in the field of Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, Peace, Literature and Economics.
• Apart from Economics, all other categories have been given since 1901. Economics Nobel Prize was in 1967 and was first given in 1969.

Other Awards and Prizes
Pulitzer Prize
• It was instituted in 1970 and named after the US Publisher Joseph Pulitzer.
• It is conferred annually in the USA for accomplishments in journalism, literature and music.

Magsaysay Awards
• They were instituted in 1957 and named after Ramon Magsaysay, the late President of Philippines, who died in an air crash.
• This award is given annually on August 31, for outstanding contributions to Public service, community leadership, journalism, literature and creative arts and international understanding.
• They are often regarding as the Nobel Prize of Asia.

Booker Prize
• It is the highest literary award given to the authors of British, Irish and Commonwealth countries.
• It is instituted in 1968 by the Booker Company and the British Publishers Association along the lines of Pulitzer Prize of US.
• Booker Prize has been renamed as Man Booker Prize, as the sponsorship has been taken by the Man Group, an international stockbroker.

Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding
• It was instituted in 1965 by the Government of India.
• It is given annually to persons for outstanding contributions to the promotion of international understanding and goodwill among the people of the world.

Oscar Awards
• These awards were instituted in 1929 and conferred annually by the Academy of Motion Pictures in USA.
• These are considered the most prestigious award in the cinema world.
• The first Indian to get an Oscar was Bhanu Athaiya for the movie ‘Gandhi’.
• Satyajit Ray was the First Indian who was awarded Oscar for lifetime achievements in cinema in 1992.

Right Livelihood Award
• It was instituted in 1980 by the Right Livelihood Society, London.
• It is renowned as alternate Nobel Award to promote and contribute in the field of environment and social justice.

Mahatma Gandhi Peace Prize
• It was instituted in 1995 by the Government of India.
• It is presented for international peace on the lines of Nobel Prize.

UNESCO Peace Prize
• It is presented by United Nation Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for extraordinary contribution for international peace.

UNESCO Human Right Award
• It is also presented by UNESCO for contributions in the field of Human Rights Awareness.
• It is given every alternate year.

UN Human Right Award
• It is presented by United Nation (UN) for personal contribution for the cause of human rights.
• It is presented every sixth year.

World Food Prize
• It is presented by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), one of the branches of UNO, for the cause of agriculture and food development.

Olympic Gold Order
• It is presented by the International Olympic Committee for distinguished services in the development of the OLYMPIC MOVEMENT.

Indira Gandhi Award for International Peace, Disarmament and Development
• It is presented by Indira Gandhi Memorial Fund for specialized contribution in the filed of International disarmament and development.

Bharat Ratna
• It is the highest civilian award of India. It is presented by the Government of India.
• It is presented for exceptional public service and rarest achievements in the field of art, literature and science.
• It was instituted in 1954 and the first recipient was Dr. Radhakrishnan.
• Padma Vibhushan is the second highest civilian award for distinguished services in any field including Government service.
• Padma Bhushan and Padma Shree are the other important civilian awards.

Bhartiya Jnanpeeth Awards
• It was instituted in 1965 and is given for distinguished works in any reconised language by a scholar.

Sahitya Akademi Award
• It was instituted in 1955 and is given for any exclusive writing in any of the 22 languages including English literature during last 5 years.

Murtidevi Award
• It was constituted in 1948 and is given in any Indian language or English literature, for distinguished contribution to Indian values.

Saraswati Samman
• It was instituted in 1991 by the K. K. Birla Foundation and is given for any distinguished literary work made during last 10 years in any of the Indian language.

Tansen Awards
• These awards are given by the Government of Madhya Pradesh for the outstanding contribution in the field of music.

Vyas Samman
• It was instituted in 1992 by K. K. Birla Foundation for outstanding contribution to Hindi literature.

Iqbal Samman
• These awards are given by the Government of Madhya Pradesh for the outstanding contribution in the field of literature.

Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Awards
• These awards are given to the Indian scientist for their exceptional performance.

R. D. Birla Award
• These awards are given in the field of medical sciences.

Dhanvantri Award
• These awards are given for the extra ordinary performance in medical sciences.

Arjuna Awards
• These were instituted in 1961and given by Sports Ministry, Government of India.
• These are given for the special achievements in different types of sports.

Dronacharya Awards
• These were instituted in 1985 and given by Sports Ministry, Government of India.
• These are given to sports coaches.

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna
• It was instituted in 1962 and is presented for commendable display by the players.

Gallantry Awards
• Param Vir Chakra : It is India’s highest award for bravery.
• Mahavir Chakra : It is the second highest gallantry award.
• Vir Chakra : It is the third highest gallantry award.
• Ashok Chakra : It is the highest peace-time gallantry award.

Famous Historical Monuments of India

Name	Place	Built by
Ajanta- Ellora Caves	Aurangabad (Maharashtra)	Gupta rulers
Aram Bagh	Agra (UP)	Babur
Agra Fort	Agra (UP)	Akbar
Akbar’s Mausoleum	Sikandra (UP)	Akbar
Itmad-ud-daula Fort	Agra (UP)	Noorjahan
Anand Bhawan	Allahabad (UP)	Motilal Nehru
Bada Imambara	Lucknow (UP)	Asaf-ud-daula
Bharatpur Fort	Bharatpur (Rajasthan)	Raja Surajmal Singh
Bibi Ka Maqbara	Aurangabad (Maharashtra)	Aurangzeb
CharMinar	Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh)	Quli Qutub Shah
Charar-e- Shar	Jammu & Kashmir	Zainul Abedin
Chhota Imambara	Lucknow (UP)	Muhammad Ali Shah
Dargah Ajmer Sharif	Ajmer (Rajasthan)	Sultan Shyasuddin
Dilwara’s Jain Temple	Mount Abu (Rajasthan)	Siddharaja
Deewan-e- Khas	Agra Fort (UP)	Shahjahan
Adhai Din Ka Jhopra	Ajmer (Rajasthan)	Qutubuddin Aibak
Elephanta’s cave	Mumbai (Maharashtra)	Rashtrakuta rulers
Fatehpur Sikri	Agra (UP)	Akbar
Ferozshah Kotla	Delhi	Ferozshan Tughlaq
Golghar	Patna (Bihar)	British Govt.
Gateway of India	Mumbai (Maharashtra)	British Govt.
Hauz Khas	Delhi	Alauddin Khilji
Hawa Mahal	Jaipur (Rajasthan)	Maharaja Pratap Singh
Humayun’s Tomb	Delhi	Humayun’s wife
Jama Masjid	Agra (UP)	Shahjahan
Jama masjid	Delhi	Shahjahan
Jagannath Temple	Puri (Odisha)	Anantvarman Ganga
Jantar-Mantar	Delhi	Sawai Jai Singh
Jaigarh Fort	Jaipur (Rajasthan)	Sawai Jai Singh
Jim Corbett Park	Nainital (Uttarakhand)	Sir Malcom Hailley
Jodhpur Fort	Jodhpur (Rajasthan)	Rao Jodhaji
Kanheri’s Fort	Mumbai (Maharashtra)	Buddhists
Khirki Masjid	Delhi	Ghyasuddin Tughlaq
Lal Bagh	Bangaluru (Karnataka)	Hyder Ali
Lakshmi Narayan Temple	Delhi	Birla Family
Makka Masjid	Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh)	Quli Qutub Shah
Moti Masjid	Agra Fort (UP)	Shahjahan
Moti Masjid	Delhi Fort	Aurangzeb
Nahargarh Fort	Jaipur (Rajasthan)	Sawai Jai Singh
Nishat Garden	Srinagar (J & K)	Asaf Ali
Purana Qila	Delhi	Shershan Suri
Pathar Ki Masjid	Patna (Bihar)	Pervez Shah
President House	Delhi	British Govt.
Qutub Minar	Delhi	Qutubuddin Aibak
Red Fort	Delhi	Shahjahan
Safdar Jung Tomb	Delhi	Shuja-ud-daula
Sabarmati Ashram	Ahmadabad (Gujarat)	Mahatma Gandhi
Shantiniketan	West Bengal	Rabindra Nath Tagore
Shish Mahal	Agra (UP)	Shahjahan
Shalimar Garden	Srinagar (J & K)	Jahangir
Shershah’s Tomb	Sasaram (Bihar)	Shershah’s son
Saint George Fort	Chennai (Tamil Nadu)	East India Company
Sati Buri	Mathura (UP)	Raja Bhagwan Das
Sun Temple	Kornak (Odisha)	Narsimhadeva I
Swarna Mandir (Golden Temple)	Amritsar (Punjab)	Guru Ramdas
Tajmahal	Agra (UP)	Shahjahan
Vellure Math	Kolkata (West Bengal)	Swami Vivekanand
Victoria Memorial	Kolkata (West Bengal)	British Govt.
Vishnupad Temple	Gaya (Bihar)	Rani Ahiliabai
Vijaya Stambha	Chittorgarh (Rajasthan)	Maharana Kumbha

United Nations in India

The United Nations in India is led by the UN Resident Coordinator, Mr. Patrice Coeur-Bizot, who is the designated representative of the UN Secretary General and leader of the UN Country Team.   The UN Country Team, which consists of Heads of UN Agencies, steers the work of the UN within India.  The Resident Coordinator mechanism focuses on Joint Programmes, Teams (security, disaster, operations, AHI), Advocacy with national and provincial elected representatives, UNDAF common programming, planning and monitoring, resource mobilization, HACT and popularizing and localizing MDGs.

The UN in India has harmonized the UNDAF with national goals as articulated in the 11th Five-year Plan of the Government of India to facilitate ‘inclusive growth’.   Accordingly, the UNDAF India 2008-2012 focuses on delivering results to the excluded groups, especially women and girls, and was approved by the Planning Commission, Government of India in February 2007.

The following is a brief note on individual UN entity’s priority areas in India. 

APCTT: The APCTT works on technology transfer services, technology capacity-building, promotion and management of innovation as well as sub-regional and regional networking.

ESCAP: UNESCAP is the regional development arm of the UN and serves as the main economic and social development centre for the UN in Asia and the Pacific. The mandate of UNESCAP is to foster cooperation between its 53 members and nine associate members. In December 2011, ESCAP set up its sub-regional office for South and South West Asia (SRO-SSWA) in New Delhi, launched with a high-level policy dialogue on development challenges facing the sub-region. The SRO-SSWA strives to facilitate regional economic cooperation and the sharing of development experiences in support of MDG achievement with a focus on least developed countries within the sub-region. It serves 10 countries in the sub-region, namely: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Islamic Republic of Iran, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Turkey.

FAO: FAO focuses on technical assistance in facilitating multi-lateral cooperatio0n to reduce the risk to food security and economic growth, offering support to the national government in strengthening the implementation of national missions and programmes aimed at reducing poverty and piloting innovative approaches and piloting innovative approaches with governments, NGOs and private sector in agricultural and rural development. 

IFAD: IFAD’s focus is on providing access to improved livelihood opportunities for tribal communities in semi-arid areas, microfinance services, and use of new technologies for agriculture to help reduce poverty.

IFC:   IFC has doubled its budget in the area of its main focus- infrastructure- to $600 million.  Areas of work are natural gas, wind power, port services, and developing PPP in infrastructure sector.

ILO: The overarching goal of ILO work is Decent Work (DW), i.e., promoting opportunities for all women and men to obtain decent and productive work in conditions of freedom, equity, security and dignity. ILO’s Programme has been finalized jointly with its partners – Government, employers and workers.

IMF: The focus of IMF's work is to facilitate the flow of information between the Government of India, the Reserve Bank of India and the IMF and train officials from RBI, national and state governments.

UNAIDS: The UNAIDS in India coordinates technical support with all development partners for implementation of  the third five-year phase of the National AIDS Control Programme. It also generates strategic information to track and monitor the epidemic.

UNODC: UNODC activities in India focus on drug abuse awareness, preventing transmission of HIV, precursor chemical control, human trafficking and in new areas such as prison reforms, migrants and anti corruption.

UNDP:  UNDP works to support Government at all levels and communities in villages and towns on inclusive governance, livelihoods promotion, stemming the spread of HIV/AIDS. In areas prone to natural disasters, UNDP helps further efforts aimed at building the resilience of communities at risk. UNDP is committed to help India achieve MDGs as well as the national objectives articulated in consecutive Five-Year Plans.

UNESCO: UNESCO’s work in India focuses on capacity building in the areas of education, natural, social and human sciences, heritage sites, culture and strengthening communication and information capacities

UNIC: The UNIC was the first United Nations office to be established in India and also covers Bhutan.  UNIC's work includes informing media, governments, NGOs, academia and general public about the work of the United Nations. 

UNFPA: UNFPA works within the SWAP on the Reproductive and Child Health programme (RCH II) within the rubric of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) till 2010.  UNFPA, in addition, provides support for addressing pre-natal sex selection and gender based violence, improving adolescent sexual and reproductive health, promoting safe sexual behaviour, mainstreaming RH and gender in disaster response, and promoting population and development strategies.

UNHCR: The UNHCR protects and assists some 11,500 refugees in India.   While India is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its Protocol of 1967, it has been a member of UNHCR’s Executive Committee in Geneva since 1996. 

UNICEF: The India Country Programme is UNICEF’s largest country programme of cooperation. The overall goal of the Country Programme is to advance the fulfillment of the rights of all women and children in India to survival, development, participation and protection by reducing social inequalities based on gender, caste, ethnicity or region.

UNIDO: The UNIDO’s Regional Office for South Asia acts to mobilize knowledge, information, skills and technology to promote competitive industry, productive employment and sound environment.

UN Women: Advancement of women’s rights being the centre of all its efforts, UN Women focuses its activities on three strategic areas: i) Enhancing women’s economic security and rights; ii)  Reducing prevalence of violence against women and HIV/AIDS  iii) Advancing gender justice in democratic governance and iv) capacity building of women elected representatives.

UNMOGIP: The UNMOGIP observes developments pertaining to the adherence of the cease-fire of December 1971 and report these to the Secretary-General. Based in both India and Pakistan, UNMOGIP has field stations , Liaison Office in New Delhi (India) administrative and Logistics HQ in Rawalpindi (Pakistan), and Operational HQ (alternates six-Monthly between Rawalpindi (Pakistan) and Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir).

UNOPS: UNOPS’ India Procurement Office (IPO) has been operating from New Delhi since September 2007.  It operates, currently, as a procurement agent for Government of India, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

WB: The World Bank’s Country Strategy for 2009-2012 focuses on helping the country to fast- track the development of much needed infrastructure and to support the seven poorest states achieve higher standards of living. 

WFP: The World Food Programme’s Country Programme (2008-12) has three major components I) capacity development to improve the performance of food based schemes ii) Improving nutritional status of women and children through fortification initiatives and support to the ICDS and iii) )Improving food security by creating assets and reducing vulnerability through food for work projects.

WHO: In India, WHO provides technical assistance and collaborates with the Government of India and major stakeholders in health development efforts. It assists notably in Policy Development; Capacity Building and Advocacy. The four main strategic objectives of WHO in India are:  (i)  reduce the burden of communicable and emerging diseases;  (ii) promote maternal and child health;  (iii) scale up prevention and control of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) ; and  (iv) strengthen health systems development within the national and global environment, with a focus on human resources.

UNCTAD: UNCTAD assists Indian policy makers (the Ministry of Commerce, area focus ministries like textiles, small scale industry, women and child development and local governments) and other stakeholders (industry, civil society) in understanding the developmental dimension of key trade issues, as they relate to negotiations in the WTO and other trading arrangements.

UN HABITAT: The Programme focuses on: i) Pro-poor Urban Water Governance, ii) Urban Water Demand Management, iii) Integrated Urban Environmental Sanitation, and iv) Creation of income generation opportunities for the urban poor by involving them in the management and delivery of community-based water and sanitation services.

UN Millennium Campaign: The UNMC works in close collaboration with the UNRC mechanism for promoting MDGs, especially focusing on civil society initiatives.

ITC, Geneva: International Trade Centre, Geneva has operations in India and works as a Non Resident Agency.

Prime Ministers of India

Name	Tenure	Party
Dr. Manmohan Singh	May 22, 2004 - till date	INC
Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee	March 19, 1998 - May 22, 2004	Bharatiya Janata Party
Shri Inder Kumar Gujral	April 21, 1997 - March 19, 1998	Janata Dal
Shri H. D. Deve Gowda	June 1, 1996 - April 21, 1997	Janata Dal
Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee	May 16, 1996 - June 1, 1996	Bharatiya Janata Party
Shri P. V. Narasimha Rao	June 21, 1991- May 16, 1996	Congress (I)
Shri Chandra Shekhar	November 10, 1990 - June 21, 1991	Janata Dal (S)
Shri Vishwanath Pratap Singh	December 2, 1989 - November 10, 1990	Janata Dal
Shri Rajiv Gandhi	October 31, 1984 - December 2, 1989	Congress (I)
Mrs. Indira Gandhi	January 14, 1980 - October 31, 1984	Congress (I)
Shri Charan Singh	July 28, 1979 - January 14, 1980	Janata Party
Shri Morarji Desai	March 24, 1977 - July 28, 1979	Janata Party
Mrs. Indira Gandhi	January 24, 1966 - March 24, 1977	Congress
Shri Gulzari Lal Nanda	January 11, 1966 - January 24, 1966	Congress
Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri	June 9, 1964 - January 11, 1966	Congress
Shri Gulzari Lal Nanda	May 27, 1964 - June 9, 1964	Congress
Shri Jawaharlal Nehru	August 15, 1947 - May 27, 1964	Congress

World Heritage Sites

World Heritage Sites are extremely exceptional cultural and natural properties nominated voluntarily by signatory nations, which have been approved for inclusion in the List by the World Heritage Committee. In 1972, worldwide concern over the potential destruction of the Earth’s cultural and natural heritage led the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to establish an international treaty called the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. More commonly known as the World Heritage Convention, it aims to identify, celebrate and protect the Earth’s irreplaceable natural and cultural heritage, and to ensure it is conserved for all people, for all time. For the purposes of the World Heritage Convention, the following are considered as "cultural heritage": a) Monuments: architectural works, works of monumental sculpture and painting, elements or structures of an archaeological nature, inscriptions, cave dwellings and combinations of features, which are of outstanding universal value from the point of view of history, art or science; b) Groups of buildings: groups of separate or connected buildings which, because of their architecture, their homogeneity or their place in the landscape, are of outstanding universal value from the point of view of history, art or science; c) Sites: works of man or the combined works of nature and of man, and areas including archaeological sites which are of outstanding universal value from the historical, aesthetic, ethnological or anthropological points of view. For the purposes of the World Heritage Convention, the following are considered as "natural heritage": a) Natural features consisting of physical and biological formations or groups of such formations, which are of outstanding universal value from the aesthetic or scientific point of view; b) Geological and physiographical formations and precisely delineated areas which constitute the habitat of threatened species of animals and plants of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation; c) Natural sites or precisely delineated natural areas of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science, conservation or natural beauty. Benefits A key benefit of ratification, particularly for developing countries, is access to the World Heritage Fund. Annually, about US$4 million is made available to assist States Parties in identifying, preserving and promoting World Heritage sites. Emergency assistance may also be made available for urgent action to repair damage caused by human-made or natural disasters. In the case of sites included on the List of World Heritage in Danger, the attention and the funds of both the national and the international community are focused on the conservation needs of these particularly threatened sites. Sites inscribed on the World Heritage List also benefit from the elaboration and implementation of a comprehensive management plan that sets out adequate preservation measures and monitoring mechanisms. In support of these, experts offer technical training to the local site management team. Finally, the inscription of a site on the World Heritage List brings an increase in public awareness of the site and of its outstanding values, thus also increasing the tourist activities at the site. The Convention sets out the duties of States Parties in identifying potential sites and their role in protecting and preserving them. By signing the Convention, each country pledges to conserve not only the World Heritage sites situated on its territory, but also to protect its national heritage. The States Parties are encouraged to integrate the protection of the cultural and natural heritage into regional planning programmes, set up staff and services at their sites, undertake scientific and technical conservation research and adopt measures which give this heritage a function in the day-to-day life of the community. The Convention stipulates the obligation of States Parties to report regularly to the World Heritage Committee on the state of conservation of their World Heritage properties. These reports are crucial to the work of the Committee as they enable it to assess the conditions of the sites, decide on specific programme needs and resolve recurrent problems. It also encourages States Parties to strengthen the appreciation of the public for World Heritage properties and to enhance their protection through educational and information programmes. Western Ghats has been declared as World Heritage A cluster of sites from the Western Ghats in peninsular India has been inscribed in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. The clusters of sites are in the landscapes of Agasthyamalai, Periyar, Anamalai, Nilgiris, and Upper Cauvery in Kodagu, Kudremukh, and Sahyadri. These constitute the thirty nine sites in seven sub-clusters of the Western Ghats, identified and proposed as a potential UNESCO World Natural Heritage Cluster Site, in 2006.  The proposal was made by the Ministry of Environment and Forests based on expert inputs from ATREE, Nature Conservation Foundation, Mysore and Wildlife Institute of India, Dehra Dun. The Western Ghats are a biological hotspot harbouring 60 Important Bird Areas (IBA), 325 globally threatened species, many endemic species and sacred groves, across six states (Gujarat, Maharashtra,  Goa,  Karnataka,  Tamil Nadu and Kerala). The area of 150,000 km2 boasts a varied ecosystem with a historical Gondwanaland origin and significant global value. The Ghats can lay claim to a unique landform and biodiversity; however they are also under threat of increased developmental pressure from energy needs. Coffee, tea and rubber plantations too have grown over the years, leaving the area with less undisturbed space. Under the title of a Natural Heritage Site, it is expected that areas of the Western Ghats pronounced World Natural Heritage sites will be able to restrict some development, allowing these areas to be better conserved.

list of Presidents of India

 

S.No.	Name	Took Office	Left Office	Political Party
1	Rajendra Prasad	26 Jan 1950	13 May 1962	Indian National Congress
2	Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan	13 May 1962	13 May 1967	Independent
3	Zakir Hussain	13 May 1967	3 May 1969	Independent
	Varahagiri Venkata Giri*	3 May 1969	20 July 1969	Independent
	Muhammad Hidayatullah	20 July 1969	24 Aug 1969	Independent
4	Varahagiri Venkata Giri	24 Aug 1969	24 Aug 1974	Independent
5	Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed	24 Aug 1974	11 Feb 1977	Indian National Congress
	Basappa Danappa Jatti*	11 Feb 1977	25 July 1977	Independent
6	Neelam Sanjiva Reddy	25 July 1977	25 July 1982	Janata Party
7	Giani Jail Singh	25 July 1982	25 July 1987	Indian National Congress
8	Ramaswamy Venkataraman	25 July 1987	25 July 1992	Indian National Congress
9	Shankar Dayal Sharma	25 July 1992	25 July 1997	Indian National Congress
10	Kocheril Raman Narayanan	25 July 1997	25 July 2002	Independent
11	A.P.J. Abdul Kalam	25 July 2002	25 July 2007	Independent
12	Pratibha Patil	25 July 2007	Incumbant	Indian National Congress

* denotes Acting Presidents