List of Secretaries General of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation

No.	Name	Country of origin	Took Office	Left Office
1	Tunku Abdul Rahman	Malaysia	1971	1974
2	Hassan Al-Touhami	Egypt	1974	1975
3	Amadou Karim Gaye	Senegal	1975	1979
4	Habib Chatty	Tunisia	1979	1984
5	Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada	Pakistan	1984	1988
6	Hamid Algabid	Niger	1988	1996
7	Azeddine Laraki	Morocco	1996	2000
8	Abdelouahed Belkeziz	Morocco	2000	2004
9	Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu	Turkey	2004	2014
10	Iyad bin Amin Madani	Saudi Arabia	2014

List of Secretaries General of Organization of American States

S.No.	Period	Name	Country
1	1948–1954	Alberto Lleras Camargo	Colombia
2	1954–1955	Carlos Dávila Died while in office	Chile
3	1956–1968	José A. Mora	Uruguay
4	1968–1975	Galo Plaza	Ecuador
5	1975–1984	Alejandro Orfila	Argentina
6	1984–1994	João Clemente Baena Soares	Brazil
7	1994–2004	César Gaviria Re-elected to a second term at the 1999 General Assembly	Colombia
8	15 September 2004 – 15 October 2004	Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Resigned	Costa Rica
–	15 October 2004 – 26 May 2005	Luigi R. Einaudi (acting)	United States
9	26 May 2005 – present	José Miguel Insulza Elected 2 May 2005 (see:OAS Secretary General election, 2005)	Chile

List of Secretaries General of the European Commission

S.No.	Name	Start period	End period
1	Catherine Day	2005	Present
2	David O'Sullivan	2000	2005
3	Carlo Trojan	1997	2000
4	David Williamson, CB	1987	1997
5	Emile Noel	1957	1987

NATIONAL HEALTH PROGRAMMES

MALARIA
The National Anti-Malaria Programme is the world’s biggest health programme against a single communicable disease and continues to be the country’s most comprehensive and multi-faceted public health activity. Earlier deaths due to malaria were completely eliminated. Unfortunately, due to various factors, these achievements could not be maintained. Resurgence of malaria necessitated renewed vigourous anti-malaria activities and the programme was modified in the context of escalating malaria incidence. During the year 2008, 1.52 million cases and 0.76 million pf. cases with 935 deaths have been reported.

FILARIA
Lymphatic Filariasis is a serious debilitating and incapacitating. The infected person may develop swelling limbs and genitals which keep on increasing making the person incapacitated. This disease has been reported from over 250 districts in 20 states and UTs wherein over 590 million people live. The National Filaria control programme is being implemented since 1955. The national health policy has envisaged the goal of lymphatic filariasis elimination by the year 2015. In 2005, in 229 districts, 346.89 million persons were administered a dose of DEC against targeted population of 434.49 million, showing a coverage rate of 79.84%.

KALA-AZAR
Kala-azar is a parasitic disease caused by Leishmania donovani transmitted by sandflies phlebotomus orgentipes. Kala-azar is endemic in Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and parts of Uttar Pradesh. National Health Policy, has envisaged the goal of Kala-azar elimination by the year 2010. The disease incidence has come down from 77,099 cases in 1992 to 44553 cases in 2007 and deaths from 1416 to 203 respectively. During the year 2008,33234 cases and 146 deaths have been reported. While till March, 2009, 2254 cases and 5 deaths were reported.

TUBERCLUOSIS
TB is serious public health problem in India. India accounts for nearly onefifth of Global TB burden. Every year there are approximately 19 lakh new cases in the country of which approximately 8 lakh are new smear positive and therefore highly infectious. To control TB, national TB control programme (NTCP) is in operation in the country since 1962. Two persons die from TB in India every three minutes more than 900 persons every day. In the year 2008, there were 3.8 million bacillary pulmonary cases, 3.9 million abacillary cases and 0.8 million extra-pulmonary cases.

LEPROSY The National Leprosy Control programme was launched by the Government of India in 1955. It was redesignated as the National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP) in 1983. The second phase of National Leprosy elimination project was started from 1 April 2001 for a period of three years with the objective to achieve elimination of Leprosy as a public health problem by 2005, thereby reducing the case load to less than 1/10,000 population. In the year 1981, the country had a prevalance of 57.6 cases per 10,000 population which has come down to 0.72 per 10,000 population in March 2009.

BLINDNESS
The national programme for control of Blindness (NPCB) was launched in the year 1976 with the goal of reducing prevalence of blindness to 0.3 percent. As per survey in 2001-02, prevalence of blindness is estimated to be 1.1%. As per the survey conducted during 2006-07, the estimated prevalence of blindness has come down to 1%.

AIDS The AIDS programme implementation has been completely decentralized to States and Union Territories. Each state and Union territory has registered a state AIDs control society (SACS) responsible for implementating the programme at the State/UT level. In 2006, the country is estimated to have 3.1 million HIV positive persons, with an estimated adult HIV prevalence of 0.36%. Trends of HIV infection in 2006 indicate a mixed response in the country. While there is increase in some areas, in other areas it has shown decline. India continues to be in the category of concentrated epidemic. A total of 1,82,787 AIDS cases have been reported since 1986 till 31st March 2007.

MENTAL DISEASE
The national health programme was started in 1982 for providing community based mental health care using the existing public health infrastructure. The WHO report on Global Burden diseases has projected mental illness to be the fourth major cause of morbidity. Several mental disorders that include schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, organic psychosis and major depression affect nearly 20 per 1000 population.

CANCER
Cancer is an important public health problem in India with nearly 8-9 lakh new cases occurring every year in the country. It is estimated that there are 25 lakh cases of cancer in the country at any given point of time.According to a survey 40% of the cancer cases are due to comsumption of tobacco. With the objectives of prevention, early diagnosis and treatment, the National Cancer, Control programme (NCCP) was launched in 1975-76. The programme was revised in 1984-85 and subsequently in December 2005. There are 23 regional Cancer Centres recognized under the programme in different parts of countries to provide the specialized treatment and undertake research in the field of cancer.

REGIONAL RURAL BANKS

Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) had been established to take the banking services to the doorsteps of rural masses especially in remote rural areas with no access to banking services. These banks were originally intended to provide institutional credit to those weaker sections of the society at concessional rate of interest, who depend on private money-lenders. The banks were also intended to mobilise and channelise rural savings for supporting productive activities in the rural areas. However, with effect from 22 March 1997, the RRBs were allowed to lend outside the target group by classifying their advances into ‘Priority Sector’ and ‘others’. Similarly the interest rates on term deposits offered by RRBs have also been freed. Subsequently, it has been decided to permit RRBs at their discretion to offer differential rate of interest on their term deposits of maturity subject to certain conditions. The credit outstanding of all the 196 RRBs stood at Rs. 32,870 crore as at the end of March 2005 and Rs. 62,143 crore was mobilized as deposits by RRBs till that date.

RESERVE BANK OF INDIA

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was established under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 on 1 April 1935 and nationalised on 1 January 1949. The Bank acts as banker to the Central Government, state governments, commercial banks, state co-operative banks and some of the financial institutions. It formulates and administers monetary policy with a view to ensuring stability in prices while promoting higher production in the real sector through proper deployment of credit. RBI plays an important role in maintaining the stability of exchange value of the rupee and acts as an agent of the Government in respect of India’s membership of International Monetary Fund. The Reserve Bank also performs a variety of developmental and promotional functions. These apart, the Reserve Bank also handles the borrowing programme of the Government of India.

The Reserve Bank is the sole authority for issue of currency in India other than one rupee coins and subsidiary coins and notes.

As the agent of the Central Government, the Reserve Bank undertakes distribution of one-rupees notes and coins, as well as small coins issued by the Government.

Countries by rail transport network size

Rank	Country	Railway Length (km)
1	India	65,000
2	Russia	128,000
3	China (PRC)	93,000
4	United States	226,427
5	Canada	46,552
6	Australia	38,445
7	Germany	37,679
8	Argentina	35,897
9	South Africa	31,000
10	France	29,901
11	Brazil	29,817
12	Mexico	26,704
13	Italy	24,179
14	Japan	23,474
15	Ukraine	22,300
16	Romania	22,298
17	Poland	19,627
18	United Kingdom	16,321
19	Kazakhstan	15,079
20	Spain	15,064
21	Sweden	12,821
22	Iran	11,106
23	Turkey	10,991
24	Czech Republic	9,487
25	Indonesia	8,529
26	Hungary	7,942
27	Pakistan	7,791
28	Egypt	6,700
29	Finland	5,919
30	Chile	5,898
31	Austria	5,927
32	Belarus	5,491
33	Sudan	5,478
34	North Korea	5,235
35	Cuba	5,076
36	Switzerland	5,063
37	Algeria	4,316
38	Uzbekistan	4,230
39	Bulgaria	4,159
40	New Zealand	4,128
41	Norway	4,114
42	Thailand	4,071
43	Democratic Republic of the Congo	4,007
44	Myanmar (Burma)	3,955
45	Serbia	3,809
46	Slovakia	3,658
47	Nigeria	3,528
48	Belgium	3,513
49	South Korea	3,381
50	Turkmenistan	3,181
51	Vietnam	3,147
52	Mozambique	3,116
53	Zimbabwe	3,000
54	Uruguay	2,993
55	Netherlands	2,896
56	Bolivia	2,866
57	Portugal	2,842
58	Bangladesh	2,835
59	Kenya	2,778
60	Angola	2,761
61	Tanzania	2,722
62	Croatia	2,974
63	Greece	2,552
64	Namibia	2,382
65	Latvia	2,269
66	Tunisia	2,218
67	Syria	2,139
68	Denmark	2,667
69	Azerbaijan	2,918
70	Iraq	2,032
71	Peru	2,020
72	Morocco	1,989
73	Republic of Ireland	1,919
74	Malaysia	1,849
75	Mongolia	1,810
76	Lithuania	1,766
77	Colombia	1,663
78	Taiwan (Republic of China)	1,661
79	Georgia	1,513
80	Sri Lanka	1,508
81	Saudi Arabia	1,412
82	Zambia	1,237
83	Slovenia	1,228
84	Moldova	1,156
85	Bosnia and Herzegovina	1,103
86	Israel	1,001
87	Cameroon	974
88	Ecuador	966
89	Ghana	953
90	Senegal	906
91	Botswana	888
92	Guatemala	885
93	Madagascar	854
94	Armenia	869
95	Guinea	837
96	Estonia	816
97	Gabon	810
98	Malawi	797
99	Republic of the Congo	795
100	Djibouti	781
101	Benin	758
102	Mali	733
103	Mauritania	728
104	Honduras	699
105	Macedonia	699
106	Ethiopia	699
107	Cambodia	650
108	Côte d'Ivoire	639
109	Burkina Faso	622
110	Tajikistan	616
111	Fiji	597
112	Togo	568
113	El Salvador	562
114	Dominican Republic	517
115	Liberia	490
116	Philippines	479
117	Albania	423
118	Kyrgyzstan	417
119	Lebanon	401
120	Panama	355
121	Venezuela	336
122	Eritrea	306
123	Swaziland	301
124	Costa Rica	278
125	Luxembourg	275
126	Jamaica	272
127	Uganda	259
128	Jordan	251
129	Montenegro	249
130	Hong Kong (People's Republic Of China)	210
131	Singapore	199.4
132	Guyana	187
133	Suriname	166
134	Puerto Rico (US)	96
135	Sierra Leone	84
136	Antigua and Barbuda	77
137	Afghanistan	75
138	Nepal	59
139	United Arab Emirates	52
140	Saint Kitts and Nevis	50
141	Haiti	40
142	Paraguay	36
143	Brunei	13
144	Liechtenstein	9
145	Nicaragua	6
146	Nauru	5
147	Western Sahara	5
148	Laos	4
149	Lesotho	3
150	Monaco	1.7
151	Vatican City	0.862
	World	1,370,782

IMPORTANT FACTS

1.     The Speaker is the presiding officer of the lower house (Lok Sabha) of Parliament of India.
2.     The Speaker holds office from the date of election till immediately before the first meeting of the next Lok Sabha. He/She is eligible for re-election.
3.     On the dissolution of the Lok Sabha, although the Speaker ceases to be a member of the House, he/she does not vacate her office.
4.     The Speaker may, at any time, resign from office by writing under his/her hand to the Deputy Speaker.
5.     He/she decides whether a bill is a money bill or a non money bill.
6.     He/she maintains discipline and decorum in the house and can punish a member for their unruly behaviour by suspending them.
7.     He/she permits the moving of various kinds of motions and resolutions like themotion of no confidence, motion of adjournment, motion of censure and calling attention notice as per the rules.
8.     The Speaker decides on the agenda to be taken up for discussion during the meeting.
9.     The first speaker of the Lok Sabha was Shri G.V. Mavalankar.
10.     Meira Kumar is the first women speaker of the Indian Parliament.
11.     The UK is a country in north-western Europe. It is bordered to the south by the English Channel; to the east by the North Sea; to the west by the Irish Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.
12.     The United Kingdom is made up of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
13.     England, Scotland and Wales together forms Great Britain.
14.     Great Britain and Northern Ireland together form the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" (UK).
15.     The UK is a developed country and has the world's seventh-largest economy by nominal GDP and eighth-largest economy by purchasing power parity.
16.     It was the world's first industrialised country.
17.     The UK is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946. It has been a member of the European Union and its predecessor the European Economic Community since 1973.
18.     The Royal Greenwich Observatory in London is the defining point of the Prime Meridian.
19.     The UK's de facto official language is English (British English). According to the 2011 census, Polishhas become the second largest language spoken in England.
20.     England's national sport is cricket although some of England's football teams are world famous, such as Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool.
21.     A mountain pass is a saddle point between two areas of higher elevations and makes a path for crossing between the chains of mountains.
22.     The Khardung la's pass is located at the Ladakh range of the Himalayan ranges. It is a gateway to the valleys of Shyok and Nubra.
23.     The Karakoram pass is located in the Karakoram Ranges between Jammu and Kashmir border and the Xingjiang region of China.
24.     Bara-lacha la is present in Zanskar range connecting Lahaul district in Himachal Pradesh to Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir, situated along the Leh-Manali highway.
25.     Jelep La is a high mountain pass between India and Tibet in East Sikkim District of Sikkim. It connects Lhasa to India.
26.     Nama Pass is located in eastern Kumaun region of the Pithoragarh District of Uttarakhand, India. It links Kuthi and Darma Valley.
27.     Nathu La connects the Indian state of Sikkim with China's Tibet Autonomous Region.
28.     Rohtang Pass is a high mountain pass on the eastern Pir Panjal Range of the Himalayas, connects the Kullu Valley with the Lahaul and Spiti Valleys of Himachal Pradesh, India.
29.     Shipki La is a mountain pass and border post on the India-China border. The river Sutlej enters India (from Tibet) through this pass.
30.     Zoji La is a high mountain pass in India, located on the Indian National Highway 1 between Srinagar and Leh in the western section of the Himalayan mountain range.
31.     A credit card is a payment card issued to users to pay for goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for them to banks within stipulated time.
32.     The credit card issuer gives a certain amount of time to pay back all of what holder has borrowed before they charge interest. This period of time is called the grace period and is usually between 20 and 25 days.
33.     Zero interest credit cards or interest free credit cards help customers to avoid paying interest on credit, if they repay the debt within a specified period of time.
34.     In 1950, Diners Club became the first company to offer a credit card that could be used at multiple locations.
35.     A Debit card is essentially like an ATM card. When a person makes any purchases using a debit card, then bank account is instantaneously debited to the extent of the purchase amount.
36.     Benefits to customers include: convenience; rewards and benefits packages; also offer reward points which may be redeemed for cash, products, or airline tickets.
37.     Credit Card associations are an association of card-issuing banks such as Discover, Visa, MasterCard, American Express, etc. that set transaction terms for merchants, card-issuing banks, and acquiring banks.
38.     Visa International has the largest global ATM network in over 113 countries.
39.     According to 2009-10, credit card users in India are 18.3 million whereas debit card users are 181.4 million.
40.     On August 6, 1945, during World War II (1939-45), an American B-29 bomber dropped the world's first deployed atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima.
41.     It was done on the executive order of U.S. President Harry S. Truman.
42.     The atomic bomb was equivalent of 20,000 tons of TNT, it has flattened the city and killed tens of thousands of civilians.
43.     Three days later, a second B-29 dropped another A-bomb on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 40,000 people.
44.     Later Japan's Emperor Hirohito announced his country's unconditional surrender in World War II on August 15, citing the devastating power of "a new and most cruel bomb."
45.     Since then, more have died from leukemia and solid cancers attributed to exposure to radiation released by the bombs.
46.     The effects of the bombing of Hiroshima are still felt today. For generations after the bombing, children were born with severe health defects that are believed to be connected to the effects of the bomb's radiation.
47.     Hiroshima was chosen because it had not been targeted during the US Air Force's conventional bombing raids on Japan and it was also an important military base.
48.     After the war, Hiroshima was rebuilt as a peace memorial city and the closest surviving building to the epicentre was designated the Hiroshima Peace Memorial.
49.     Hiroshima has been declared a City of Peace by the Japanese Parliament.
50.     Rare earth elements or rare earth metals are a group of seventeen elements in the Periodic Table from Atomic no. 57 to 71.

Lakes and Rivers

• Lake Baikal (Russia) is the deepest lake of the world.One of the biggest and most ancient lakes of world is situated nearly in the center of Asia in a huge stone bowl set 445 m above sea level. Everyone who has been to its shores is impressed and charmed by the grandeur, size, and unusual might of this Siberian miracle of nature. Other important lakes in Russia are Lake Onega and Lake Ladoga.
• Lake Eyre is a important lake of Australia.
• Lake Onakal (Uganda) and Lake Aswan (Egypt) are man made lakes.
• Lake Tso Sekuru located on the Tibetan Plateau is the highest lake of the world.
• Lake Titicaca, located at the boundary of Bolivia and Peru is the highest navigable lake of the world.
  The highest lake in India is Devtal, located at a height of 17,745 ft in the Garhwal Himalayas.
• Dead Sea is the lowest lake of the world, its base is located 2500 ft below the sea level.
• Lake Van (Turkey) is the most saline lake of the world, with salinity of330%. It is followed by Dead Sea (238%) Jordan, and Great Salt Lake (220% salinity) USA.
• Caspian Sea is the largest lake of the world. It is a salt water lake. Ural and Volga rivers drain into it from the north, therefore its northern part is less saline.
• Lake Victoria, forms the border between Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya.
• Lake Nyasa or Lake. Malawi forms the border of Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique.
• Lake Tanganyika forms the border of Zaire. Tanzania and Zambia.
• Lake Superior is the largest fresh water lake of the world.
• The nuclear test range of China is located near the lake Lop Nor.
• Lake Chad forms the border of Chad, Niger, Nigeria, Camroon.
• Lake Great Bear it is famous as Port Radium.
• Lake Athabasca famous as Uranium City.
• LakeVolta in Ghana is a largest man made lake.
• Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela is famous for oil reserves.
• Wular Lake: Wular Lake is one of the largest fresh water lakes in Asia and the largest in India, is located in Jammu and Kashmir. It is measures 24 kms across and surrounded by towering mountains, The green water of the Wular Lake is an important natural habitat for fish, a rich population of birds and wildlife. Thousands of people living on its shores and elsewhere in the Kashmir valley depend on Wular Lake for fishing to earn their livelihood.
• Dal Lake: The Kashmir valley is blessed with exotic natural beauty of landscape and water bodies, out of them one of the best is Dal Lake. Dal Lake is one of the most beautiful lakes of India and is the second largest in the J&K valley. This is one of the most famous lakes in India and an icon of the Kashmir tourism industry. Apart from the natural beauty, Dal Lake attractions are The floating gardens, colorful shikaras and houseboats. The east of Dal Lake was the residence of goddess Maa Durga. The Dal lake is situated in the beautiful city of Srinaga,Some of the most famous mosques are also located in Srinagar city to visit.
• Loktak Lake: Loktak Lake is the largest freshwater lake in northeastern India, located in Manipur. It is also called the only floating lake in the world due to the floating phumdis. This ancient lake plays an important role in the economy of Manipur. It serves as a source of water for hydro power generation, irrigation drinking water supply and wildlife. The Keibul Lamjao National Park, which is the last natural refuge of the endangered sangai now found only in manipur.
• Chilka Lake: Chilka Lake is the brackish water lake and is the largest coastal lake in India. The Chilka Lake in situated in Orissa and is Asia’s largest inland salt-water lagoon. Brackish water is water that has more salinity than fresh water, but not as much as seawater. Chilika Lake, popularly known as Chilka, is the queen of natural scenery in the tribal state Orissa, also known as the Swiss-lake in the continent. Attraction of chilika lake are fishing boats, migratory birds and an entertaining baba. The beautiful chilka lake is paradise for the migratory birds.
• Pulicat lake: It is a saline backwater lake lying along the Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh coast; part extending to Chengalpattu district of Tamil Nadu. It has an area of 481 sq.KM and it is the 2nd largest brackish water lagoon in India after Chilka lake in Orissa.

Rivers

• The Ganga : The source of Ganga is at Gaumukh (the shape of the ice formation is like a cow's mouth), where the mighty river emerges from the depths of Gangotri glacier. The Gangotri glacier is situated at the height of4255 m above sea level and is approximate 24 km in length and 7-8 km in width. Here the river is known as Bhagirathi after King -Bhagirath. Rising in the icy caves of Gangotri glacier, the gushing , tossing and gurgling Bhagirathi starts its long journey downwards where later it joins river 'Alaknanda' and becomes Ganga. There are many legends associated with river Ganga, some of which are even mentioned in the ancient holy scriptures.
• The Godavari : It is the only river in India that flows from western to southern India and is considered to be one of the big river basins in India. With a length of 1465 km, it is the second longest river in India after the Ganges river. .It is also known as "Dakshin ganga (Southern Ganges)" or "Budi Ganga". Godavari originates near Trimbak in Nashik District of Maharashtra state and flows east across the Deccan Plateau into the Bay of Bengal near Narasapuram in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh.
• The Kavery : The origin of this river is traditionally placed at Talakaveri, Kodagu in the Western Ghats in Karnataka, flows generally south and east through Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and across the southern Deccan plateau through the southeastern lowlands, emptying into the Bay of Bengal through two principal mouths. The Kaveri basin is estimated to be 27,700 square miles (72,000 km2)
• Krishna River starts its journey in the Western Ghats at an altitude of about 1300 metres above sea level in Mahabaleshwar. The river passes through Sangli District and enters the sea in the Bay of Bengal at Hamasaledevi in Andra Pradesh. It passes through the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andra Pradesh.
• Narmada River : This river rises on the summit of Amarkantak Hill in Madhya Pradesh state .It traverses the first 320 kilometres course around the Mandla Hills, which form the head of the Satpura Range; then moves towards Jabalpur passing through the `Marble Rocks`, it enters the Narmada Valley between the Vindhya and Satpura ranges, and moves westwards towards the Gulf of Cambay. It flows through the states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, and finally meets the Arabian Sea in the Bharuch District of Gujarat. Narmada River flows through the states of Madhya Pradesh 1,077 km (669.2 miles), Maharashtra, 74 km (46.0 miles)), 35 km (21.7 miles) border between Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra and 39 km (24.2 miles) border between Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat and in Gujarat 161 km (100.0 miles)).
• The river Brahmaputra is one of the major river in the world. It originates from Mansarovar near Mount Kailash in the Himalayas, flows via Tibbet, China, India and Bangladesh to Bay of bangal. The total length it travels from Himalayans to the Bay is 2900 Km. In Tibbet the river is known as 'Tsangpo'. It follows the great Himalayans in its course till India with an avergae height of 4000 meters. It enters India in Arunachal Pradesh where it is called 'Siang'. It then flows down to the plains of Assam, where it is called Dibang. It joins with other two giant rivers, Dibang and Lohit.
• The Mahanadi River rises in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh and then flows in the eastward direction, cutting a ravine in the Eastern Ghat. Before joining the Bay of Bengal at False Point through several channels, the river enters the plains of Orissa near Cuttack and forms a delta. This delta is one of the largest mangrove forests in peninsular India, and also a rice producing area. The term `Mahanadi` means Great River and it is truly one of the largest rivers in southeast India and the sixth largest in India. The Tel and the Hadso are the main tributaries of the Mahanadi. Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Orissa share are drained by the Mahanadi.
• Tapti is a river of western India and the history of this river starts with its origin in the Betul district. It rises in Betul district of Madhya Pradesh and flows between two spurs of the Satpura Hills, across the plateau of Khandesh, and thence through the plain of Surat to the sea. It has a total length of around 724 km. and drains an area of 30,000 sq. m. For the last 32 m. of its course, it is a tidal flow, but is only navigable by vessels of small tonnage; and the port of Swally at its mouth. The history of this river is closely associated with the Anglo Portuguese history. The upper reaches of the river are now deserted, owing to silting at the outflow of the river. The waters of the Tapti are usually not used for irrigation.
• Yamuna River : The main stream of the river Yamuna originated from the Yamunotri glacier near Bandar Punch in the Mussorie range of lower Himalayas in the district of Uttar Kashi in Uttarakhand. Some say the source of the river is the Saptarishi Kund, a glacial lake. There is a sacred shrine of Yamunotri or Yamnotri, near this source at an altitude of 3235 m. The Tons and Giri rivers are the important tributaries of Yamuna and principal source of water in mountaineous range. The river Yamuna traverse a route length of about 1200 km in the plain from Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh to the confluence with river Ganga at Allahabad.
• Nile River (4,132 miles 6,650 km.) : The Nile River is the longest river in the world. It has its origins in Burundi, south of the Equator, and flows northward through north eastern Africa, eventually flowing through Egypt and finally draining into the Mediterranean Sea. Three principal streams form the Nile. In Ethiopia's highlands, water flows from the Blue Nile and the Atbara. Headstreams of the White Nile flow into Lake Victoria and Lake Albert. The Nile River basin is immense and occupies an area about one-tenth of the continent of Africa. It includes portions of Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Zaire, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, The Sudan, and Egypt. It is estimated to drain an area of 1,293,000 square miles (3,349,000 sq. km.)
• Amazon : The length of the Amazon River is approximately 6400 kilometres (4000 miles). The Amazon River is located in South America. It runs through Guyana, Ecuador, Venezuela, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia and Peru.
• Mississippi-Missouri River : The Mississippi is the world's fourth-longest river at 3,870 miles, including the Missouri River. It flows from its source, at Lake Itasca, in Minnesota, to the Gulf of Mexico. It is the longest river in the United States. This river forms the Bird-foot Delta.
• Rio-Grande : This river forms the border between the USA and the Mexico.
• St Lawrence River : This river forms the biggest inland waterway of the world. Niagara Fall is located on this river.
• Colorado River : World famous Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam are located on this river. Rhine River. This river forms the busiest waterway in Europe. This river is also called 'Coal River'. The busiest port of the Europe, Rotterdam, is situated on the mouth of this river.
• Danube River : This river, originating from the Black Forest Mountains of Germany and flowing through the capitals of five European nations - Belgrade (Yugoslavia), Bratislava (Slovania), Bucharest (Romania), Budapest (Hungary) and Vienna (Austria) - falls into the Black Sea.
• Volga River : This is the longest river of Europe. It originates from the Voldai Hills and drains into the Caspian Sea.
• Niger River : The river Niger, draining into the Gulf of Guinea, is also known as the 'Oil River'.
• Zambezi River : Victoria Fall and Kariba dam are located on this river.
• Congo/Zaire River : This river intersects the Equator twice. Stanley and Livingston Falls are located on this river.
• Amur River : This river forms the border of Russia and China.
• Mekong River : This is the longest river of South-East Asia.
• Murray-Darling River : This river originates from the Mt Kosciusko and is the largest river of Australia.
• R. Limppo : This river which originates from the high velds of South Africa, cuts across the tropic of Capricorn twice.
• R. Mahe : This river of India cuts across the tropic of Cancer twice.
• Seine River: The Seine is a 776 km (482 mi)-long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Source-Seine, 30 kilometres northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre.
• Tigris River: River that was a boundary of Mesopotamia, or the "land between the rivers" (Tigris and Euphrates) The Tigris was the eastern of the two rivers and flowed from a source deep in the Armenian mountains all the way to the Persian Gulf, about 1,200 miles. Both rivers were the lifeblood of Mesopotamian civilizations, giving them water and a vehicle for their trade and defense.
• Euphrates River: River that was a boundary of Mesopotamia, or the "land between the rivers" (Tigris and Euphrates) The Euphrates was the western of the two rivers and flowed from a source deep in the Armenian mountains all the way to the Persian Gulf, almost 1,800 miles. Both rivers served as means of defense and trade for every civilization in this area.
• The Huang Ho River: The Huang Ho is the world's sixth-longest river at 3,395 miles. Its source is the Kunlun Mountains, in western China. Its mouth is the Gulf of Bohai. The river is called the Yellow River, named for the color of the silts that are carried downstream in its flow. The earliest civilization in China settled on the banks of the Huang Ho. Ever since, the river has been a source of life and death. The river has flooded so often that is has become known as the River of Sorrow. Possibly the worst flood in written history occurred in 1931. Between July and November of that year, the river overflowed its banks, flooding about 34,000 square miles of land completely and about 8,000 square miles partially. Entire villages and huge amounts of agriculture and farmland were washed away. About 80 million people were left homeless. Nearly 1 million people died in the flood itself and in the famines and epidemics that resulted from the flooding.
• Rhine River: The Rhine River is 1,230 kilometres (760 mi) long. It is one of the longest rivers in Europe. The Rhine is an important waterway. Many goods are transported over the Rhine, and the Rhine valley is also an important wine producing region. The river Rhine begins at Tomasee, a lake in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland, and runs through Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands. It is also the border between Switzerland and Liechtenstein and also the border between Germany and France.
• Irrawaddy River: Irrawaddy River, Burmese Ayeyarwady, principal river of Myanmar (formerly Burma), running through the centre of the country. Myanmar’s most important commercial waterway, it is about 1,350 miles (2,170 km) long. The river flows wholly within the territory of Myanmar. Its total drainage area is about 158,700 square miles (411,000 square km). Its valley forms the historical, cultural, and economic heartland of Myanmar.

INDIAN IRRIGATION

Water is very important for survival of all forms of life- plant as well as animal. India, by virtue of its peculiar placement in the foothills of the Himalayas and the Deccan Plateau running through it, has vast water resources which have been very meagrely tapped. Conventional and recognised means of irrigation are tanks, wells and canals.
Wells: Well irrigation is an important type of irrigation in India. Wells are particularly suitable for small farms. The important well-irrigated States are Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. In these States water-table is high, soil is soft and, therefore, wells are easily sunk.
Tubewells are an important development in India. They are worked by electricity or diesel oil and thus, they relieve our cattle of much of the strain. They are being quickly developed in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana and Punjab. This is because these have ample sub-soil water.
Wells and tubewells account for about 48 percent of the total irrigation in India.
Tanks: Tanks are also an important and ancient source of irrigation. They are of considerable importance in central and southern India, specially in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. About 8 percent of the total irrigated area is irrigated by tanks.
Canals: Canals are the most important means of irrigation in the country. Some canals were constructed by the early Hindu and Mohammedan kings. Most of the canals, however, are the product of the British rule. At present, canals irrigate about 39 percent of total irrigated area of India. Most of the canals of the country are found in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. Storage canals have been constructed in Deccan and Madhya Pradesh.
Major , Medium and Minor Irrigation Projects: The methods of irrigation used in India can be broadly classified into major, medium and minor irrigation schemes. Irrigation projects having Culturable Command Area (CCA) of more than 10,000 hectares each are classified as major projects. Those having a CCA between 2,000 hectares and 10,000 hectares fall under the category of medium irrigation projects. And the projects which have a CCA of less than 2,000 hectares are classified as minor irrigation schemes. For the purpose of analysis the major and the medium irrigation projects are generally grouped together. These projects comprise a network of dams, bunds, canals and other such schemes. Such projects require substantial financial outlay and are, therefore, constructed by the government or any other agency which may draw financial assistance form the government and financial institutions.
The minor irrigation projects, on the other hand, comprise all ground water development schemes such as dug wells, private shallow tubewells, deep public tubewells, and boring and deepening of dugewells, and small surface water development works such as storage tanks, lift irrigation projects, etc. Minor irrigation projects or the groundwater development schemes are essentially people's programmes implemented primarily through individual and cooperative efforts with finances obtained mainly through institutional sources.

IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT

Creation for irrigation potential of 10 million hectares was targeted under Bharat Nirman during 2005-06 to 2008-09. The target was proposed to be met through completion of on-going major and medium irrigation projects, and extension, renovation and modernization of existing projects. As per information provided by State Governments, the total irrigation potential created during the period is 7.31 million hectares against the target of 10 million hectares.

SOME IRRIGATION AND MULTIPURPOSE PROJECTS

Bargi Project (Madhya Pradesh): It is a multipurpose project consisting of a masonry dam across Bargi river in the Jabalpur district and a left bank canal.
Beas Project (Joint venture of Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan): It consists of Beas-Sutlej Link and Beas Dam at Pong.
Bhadra Project (Karnataka): A multipurpose project across the river Bhadra.
Bhakra Nangal Project (Joint project of Haryana, Punjab, and Rajasthan): India's biggest, multipurpose river valley project comprises a straight gravity dam across the Sutlej river at Bhakra, the Nangal dam, the Nangal hydel channel, two power houses at Bhakra dam and two power stations at Ganguwal and Kotla.
Bhima Project (Maharashtra): Comprises two dams, one on the Pawana river near Phagne in Pune district and the other across the Krishna river near Ujjaini in Sholapur district.
Chambal Project (Joint project of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan): The project comprises Gandhi Sagar dam, Rana Pratap Sagar dam and jawahar Sagar dam.
Damodar Valley Project (West Bengal and Bihar): A multipurpose project for the unified development of irrigation, flood control and power generation in West Bengal and Bihar. It comprises multipurpose dams at Konar, Tilaiya, Maithon and Pancher; hydel power stations at Tilaiya, Konar, Maithon and Panchet; barrage at Durgapur; and thermal power houses at Bokaro, Chandrapura and Durgapur. The project is administrated by the Damodar Valley Corporation.
Dulhasti Power Project (Jammu & Kashmir): It is a 390 MW power project in Kishtwar region of Jammu & Kashmir on Chenab river. Work for this project started in 1981. The foundation stone was laid on April 15, 1983 by the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi. Work on this project was suspended due to threats of kidnapping and killings by Kashmiri militants resulting in long delay in completion of project.
Farakka Project (West Bengal): The project was taken up for the preservation and maintenance of Calcutta port and for improving the navigability of the Hoogly. It comprises a barrage at Jangipur across the Bhagirathi and a feeder channel taking off from the Ganga at Farakka and tailing into the Bhagirathi below the Jangipur barrage.
Gandak Project (Joint project of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh): Nepal also derives irrigation and power benefits form this project.
Ghataprabha Project (Karnataka): A project across Ghataprabha in Belgaum and Bijapur districts.
Hirakund (Odisha): World's longest dam, is located on the Mahanadi river.
Jayakwadi Project (Maharashtra): A masonry spillway across the river Godavari.
Kahalgaon Project (Bihar): The 840-MW Kahalgaon Super Thermal Power Project, a joint venture between National Thermal Power Corporation and the Russian State Enterprise Foreign Economic Association, was on August 12,1996 commissioned and put into commercial operation.
Kakrapara Project (Gujarat): On the Tapti river near Kakrapara, in Surat district.
Kangsabati Project (West Bengal): The project, put in operation in 1965, is located on the Kangsabati and Kumari rivers.
Karjan Project (Gujarat): A masonry dam across Karjan river near Jitgarh village in Nandoo Taluka of Bharuch district.
Kosi Project (Bihar): A multipurpose project, which serves Bihar and Nepal.
Koyna Project (Maharashtra): It is built on a tributary of river Krishna with a capacity of 880 MW. It feeds power to Mumbai-Pune industrial belt.
Krishna Project (Maharashtra): Dhom dam near Dhom village on Krishna and Kanhar dam near Kanhar village on Varna river in Satna district.
Kukadi Project (Maharashtra): Five independent storage dams, i.e. Yodgaon, Manikdohi, Dimbha, Wadaj and Pimpalgaon Jog. The canal system comprises (i) Kukadi left bank Canal, (ii) Dimbha left bank canal, (iii) Dimbha right bank canal, (iv) Meena feeder and (v) Meena branch.
Kundoh Project (Tamil Nadu): It is in Tamil Nadu whose initial capacity of 425 MW has since been expanded to 535 MW.
Let Bank Ghaghra Canal (Uttar Pradesh): A link channel taking off from the left bank of Ghaghra river of Girja barrage across Sarju.
Madhya Ganaga Canal (Uttar Pradesh): A barrage across Ganga in Bijnore district.
Mahanadi Delta Scheme (Odisha): The irrigation scheme will utilize releases from the Hirakud reservoir.
Mahanadi Reservoir Project (Madhya Pradesh): It has three phases: (1) Ravishankar Sagar Project and feeder canal system for supply of water of Bhilai Steel Plant and Sandur dam across Sandur village. (2) Extension of Mahanadi feeder canal. (3) Pairi dam.
Mahi Project (Gujarat): A two –phase project, one across the Mahi river near Wanakbori village and the other across Mahi river near Kadana.
Malaprabha Project (Karnataka): A dam across the Malaprabha in Belgaum district.
Mayurakshi Project (West Bengal): An irrigation and hydro-electric project comprise the Canada dam.
Minimato Bango Hasdeo Project (Madhya Pradesh): This project is locted at Hasdeo Bango river in Korba district and envisages construction of a masonry dam. A hydel power plant of 120 MW capacity has been commissioned on the Bango dam.
Nagarjunasagar (Andhra Pradesh): On the Krishna river near Nandikona village (about 44 km from Hyderabad).
Panam Project (Gujarat): A gravity masonry dam across Panam river near Keldezar village in Panchmahal district.
Parambikulam Aliyar (Joint venture of Tamil Nadu and Kerala): The integrated harnessing of eight rivers, six in the Annamalai Hills and two in the plains.
Pochampad (Andhra Pradesh): Across Godavari river.
Pong Dam (Punjab): It is an important hydro-electric project located on Beas river.
Rajasthan Canal (Indira Gandhi Canal- Rajasthan): The Project uses water released from Pong dam and provides irrigation facilities to the north-western region of Rajasthan, i.e., a part of the Thar desert. It consists of Rajasthan feeder canal (with the first 167 km in Punjab and Haryana and the remaining 37 km in Rajasthan) and 445 km Rajasthan main canal entirely in Rajasthan.
Rajghat Dam Project (Madhya Pradesh): The Rajghat Dam and Rajghat Hydro Electric Projects are Inter-State projects of MP and UP. The Rajghat Dam is almost complete. All the three units of Rajghat Hydro-Electric Project had been synchronized during 1999 and power generation has been continuing ever since.
Ramganga (Uttarakhand): A dam across Ramganga, a tributary of the Ganga river located in Garhwal district. The project has, besides reducing the intensity of floods in central and western Uttar Pradesh, provided water for the Delhi water supply scheme.
Ranjit Sagar Dam (Thein Dam) (Punjab): A multi-purpose highest dam in the country, built on the Ravi river for the benefit of Punjab, Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir.
Rihand Project (Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh): It is the largest man-made lake in India on the borders of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh with a capacity of 300 MW annually.
Sabarmati (Gujarat): A storage dam across Sabarmati river near Dhari Village in Mehsana district and wasna barrage near Ahmedabad.
Salal Project (Jammu & Kashmir): With the successful completion of the 2.5-km long tailrace tunnel, the 690-MW Salal (Stage I and II ) project in Jammu and Kashmir became fully operational on August 6, 1996.
Sarda Sahayak (Uttar Pradesh): A barrage across the river Ghaghra, a link channel, a barrage across River Sarda and a feeder channel of two major aqueducts over rivers Gomti and Sai.
Sharavathi Project (Karnataka): It is located at the Jog Falls with a capacity of 891 MW. It primarily feeds Bengaluru industrial region and also Goa and Tamil Nadu.
Sone High Level Canal(Bihar): An extension on Sone Barrage project.
Tawa Project (Madhya Pradesh): A project across the Tawa river, a tributary of the Narmada in Hoshangabad district.
Tehri Dam Project (Uttarakhand): Earth and rock-fill dam on Bhagirathi river in Tehri district.
Tungabhadra Project (Joint Project of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka): On the Tungabhadra River.
Ukai Project (Gujarat): A multipurpose project across Tapti river near Ukai village.
Upper Krishna Project (Karnataka): A project consisting of Narayanpur dam across the Krishna river and a dam at Almatti.
Upper Penganga Project (Maharashtra): Two reservoirs on Penganga river at Isapur in Yavatmal district and the other on Rayadhu river at Sapli in Parbhani district.
Uri Power Project (Jammu & Kashmir): It is located on the river Jhelum in the Uri Tehsil of Baramulla district in Jammu & Kashmir. It is a 480-MW hydroelectric project which was dedicated to the nation of February 13, 1997.

Major Straits of the world

Name	Joins	Location
Malacca Strait	Andaman Sea & South China Sea	Indonesia - Malaysia
Palk Strait	Palk Bay & Bay of Bengal	India-Sri Lanka
Sunda Strait	Java Sea & Indian Ocean	Indonesia
Yucatan Strait	Gulf of Mexico and Carribbean Sea	Mexico-Cuba
Mesina Strait	Mediterranean Sea	Italy-Sicily
Otranto Strait	Adriatic Sea & Ionian Sea	Italy-Albania
Bab-el-Mandeb Strait	Red Sea & Gulf of Aden	Yemen-Djibouti
Cook Strait	South Pacific Ocean	New Zealand (N & S islands)
Mozambique Strait	Indian Ocean	Mozambique - Malagassy
North Channel	Irish Sea & Atlantic Ocean	Ireland-England
Taurus Strait	Arafura Sea & Gulf of Papua	Papua New Guinea - Australia
Bass strait	Tasman Sea & South Sea	Australia
Bering Strait	Bering Sea & Chuksi Sea	Alaska-Russia
Bonne-Fasio Strait	Mediterranean Sea	Corsika-Sardinia
Bosporous Strait	Black Sea and Marmara Sea	Turkey
Dardenleez Strait	Marmara Sea and Agean Sea	Turkey
Davis strait	Baffin Bay & Atlantic Ocean	Greenland-Canada
Denmark strait	North Atlantic and Arctic Ocean	Greenland-Iceland
Dover strait	English Channel & North Sea	England-France
Florida Strait	Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean	USA-Cuba
Hormuz strait	Gulf of Persia & Gulf of Oman	Oman-Iran
Hudson strait	Gulf of Hudson & Atlantic Ocean	Canada
Gibraltar Strait	Mediterranean Sea & Atlantic Ocean	Spain-Morocco
Magellan strait	Pacific and South Atlantic Ocean	Chile
Makkassar Strait	Java Sea & Celebeze Sea	Indonesia
Tsungaru Strait	Japan Sea and Pacific Ocean	Japan (Hokkaido-Honshu island)
Tatar Strait	Japan Sea & Okhotsk Sea	Russia (E Russia-Sakhalin Island)

Mountains and Plateau

Mountains are such highlands whose slopes are steep and the peaks are pointed. Generally, the mountains are more than 1000 mts high. The mountains whose height is less than 1000 mts, are called hills. The highest point of a mountain or a hill is called its peak. A mountain range is a system of mountains and hills having several ridges, peaks, summits and valleys, formed in a particular period and spread in a narrow belt.

Classification of Mountains

• Folded Mountains: These Mountains are the results of compressive forces, triggered by the endogenetic forces. When the rocks on (he surface of the earth are folded due to the forces generated within the earth, the resultant Himalaya Ural, Rockies, Andes, Atlas etc. examples of folded mountains.
• Block Mountains: These Mountains originate due to the forces of tension leading to the formation of rift valleys. These are also know as fault Block Mountains, as they are the result of faulting. Sierra Nevada mountain of California, USA, Vosages and Black Forest mountains of Europe.
• Accumulated Mountains: These mountain are formed due to accumulation of lava other ejected materials in the proccess of vulcanism. Fujiyama of Japan, Cotopaxi of Equador are its examples.
• Relict Mountains: When orginal mountains are eroded by the agents of gradation, they become relict mountains. Vindhyas, Aravallis, Satpura, Eastern Ghats, Western Ghats, Parasnath etc. are relict mountains.

Plateau

A plateau may be defined as that upland which has at least one side of very steep slope standing well above the neighbouring surface and whose upper part is extensive and almost flat.

Classification of Plateau

1. Intermontane Plateau: These Plateaus are surrounded by hills and mountains from all sides. For Example Tibetan plateau, Columbian plateau.
2. Piedmont Plateau: Which is surrounded by-mountain range on one side and by plain or ocean on the other side. For Example Appalachian Mountains (USA) and Patagonian plateau of South America.
3. Dome Shaped Plateau: These Plateaus are formed when the landmass is uplifted in such a manner that the middle portion is raised and the sides are rounded. Chhotanagpur plateau of Jharkhand, Ozark Plateau (USA).
4. Continental Plateau: These are very extensive Plateau and surrounded by oceanic coasts or plains. These are also called Shield. For Example Siberian shield.
5. Volcanic Plateau: These Plateau are formed due to accumulation of thick layers of bassltic laves. Deccan plateau of India and Columbian plateau of USA are the best example of this type.

Plateaus	Location
Anatolia	Turkey
Meseta	Iberian Peninsula
Chiyapas	S. Mexico
Alaska / Yukon	USA
Columbian	USA
Great Basin	USA
Colorado	USA

Ocean Currents

When ocean water moves in a fixed direction within a fixed limit (of area) with very high velocity, it is called current. The velocity of a current is more than that of drift. | Ocean currents can be divided into two type warm currents and cold currents. The currents flowing from the equator to the poles are warm and those flowing from poles to the equator are cold.
Due to Coriolis force, the Ocean currents in the Northern Hemisphere deflect towards their right and those in the Southern Hemisphere, towards their left. The only exception of this rule of the flow of ocean is found in the Indian Ocean, where the direction of current flow changes with the change in the direction monsoon wind flow.
Ocean currents influence the climate of bordering coastal regions. They affect temperature, humidity and precipitation.

Coral Reefs

Coral reefs are the regions of very high bio-diversity. These are formed due to accumulation and solidification of skeletons of lime secreting organism known as coral polyps. They are dominating rocks. Coral reefs are of three types :

1. Fringing Reef: Coral reefs developed along the coasts are called fringing reefs. Examples: Gulf of Mannar (india), Southern Florida (USA) etc.
2. Barrier Reef : The coral reefs qf the coastal platforms are called "barrier reefs". There is extensive but shallow lagoon between the coastal land and the reef. Great Barrier Reef, located parallel to the east coast of Australia, is the largest of all the barrier reefs of the world.
3. Coral Ring or Atoll : A ring of narrow growing corals of horse-shoe shape is called atoll. It is generally found around an island or in elliptical form on a submarine platform. Examples : Fiji Atoll, Funfutti Atoll etc.

Tides

Rise and fall of the ocean water level due to the gravitational forces of the Sun and the Moon are referred to as Tides. The waves generated by tide-are called Tidal Waves. The hight of the tides at different places varies a lot due to several factors such as - depth of water, the coastal features and openness or closeness of the sea. Though the Sun is far bigger than the moon yet, the gravitational force of the Moon is double than that of the sun. This is due to the fact that the Sun is at a greater distance than the Moon, from the Earth.
Every place, along the coast, experiences tide and ebbs twice in 24 hours. When the Sun, the Earth and the Moon are aligned in a straight line this position is referred to as SYZYGY. The combined forces of the Sun and the Moon result into High or Spring Tides. High tides are experienced on the full moon and the new moon.
Unlike this, when the Sun, the Earth and the Moon are aligned in a right angle position, the gravitational forces of the Sun and the Moon work against each other, when Neap or Low Tides are experienced. The part of the Earth facing the Moon , experiences a tide due to the gravitational pull of the Moon, but, at the same time the part of the Earth on the Opposite side also experidences a tide. This is due to the strong centrifugal force to balance the rotation of the earth.