55881251-gk-irma-2010

presents

GKpedia for IRMA 2010 (Latest comprehensive GK inputs + Previous IRMA GK questions + Sample Test)

The section of General Awareness in IRMA primarily focuses on social sector. Past years

trend highlights some specific areas such as

Data/Pattern of Agriculture sector

The various NGOs and Social movements: their leaders, area of activity etc.

Social problems of India

Human development indicators, data etc.

WTO, its implication for rural sectors

Mishaps like accident due to fire, contaminated water, liquor etc.

The Govt. schemes for social sector viz poverty alleviation, literacy, employment,

healthcare etc.

(Read through the social sector section in Economic Survey and Budget 2008-09)

To cover these topics browse Govt. of India Websites/Publications. The Public Information

Bureau of Govt. publishes India 2010, which will prove a helpful reading. Website of the

Planning Commissions and documents too have comprehensive analysis of social sectors.

Magazine ‗YOJNA‘ too would have useful and relevant material for this exam.

We have provided some of the questions that have been asked in IRMA over the past few

years. These questions have been based on the students‘ memory. Also to help you judge

your competency in General Knowledge, a set of practice questions with answers has

been provided towards the end.

Page (2) of (90) GKpedia for IRMA 2010

GKpedia for IRMA 2010

India - Some Basic Information

Land – 32,87,263 sq km; 7th largest in the world

Pop – 102 cr. (2001 Census); 2nd most populous

28 states, 7 UTs including 1 NCR (Delhi)

Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, & Uttarakhand - 3 new states in that order

Land Frontier – 15,200 km

Total length of coast line – 7,516.6 km

Population Density – 324 / sq km

Sex ratio – 933

Literacy rate – 65.38

2.4% of the world‘s surface area & 16.7% of the world‘s population

India has a heritage of democratic republics (Janapadas)

National Symbols

Jana Gana Mana: adopted January 24, 1950, 1st sung on December 27, 1911, at

INC,

Calcutta, originally in Bengali…..written by Rabinder Nath Tagore

Vande Mataram: 1st sung at 1896 INC session, originally in Sanskrit by Bankim C

Chatterji

Saka Era (AD 78), adopted on March 22, 1957

Tiger ( national animal) , Peacock ( national bird0, Lotus (national flower)

National Flag adopted on July 22, 1947

State emblem is an adaptation of Sarnath lion capital of Asokha adopted on January

26, 1950

Flag code adopted in 2002

Dolphin – National Aquatic Creature

Satyameva Jayate – from Upanishads

Traditional Indian calendar starts with Chaitra


Major Sectors of the Economy

Primary – Agriculture & allied - 20-22%

Secondary – Industrial, which includes mining & quarrying; manufacturing;

electricity, gas & water supply, and construction - 22-24%

Tertiary – Services, which includes trade, hotels, IT, transport & communication;

financial

services, and community, social & personal services - 57.2%

Micro finance hub of India is Andhra Pradesh

IT and Biotechnology hub is Bangalore

Automobile hub is Tamil Nadu

Hyderabad pharma hub

Mumbai financial capital

GDP - $1.25 trillion (2009), world‘s 11th largest economy

At $3.13 trillion, 4th largest by PPP, after U.S., Japan, & China

2nd fastest GDP growth among large economies

India a services led economy. GDP growth rate was 7.5% in 2004-05, 9.5% in

2005-06, 9.7% in 2006-07, 9.2% in 2007-08, 6.7% in 2008-09, 7.4% in 2009-10

India‘s share in world trade has increased from 0.7% in 2003 to 1.1% in 2008.

Export target $200 billion by March 2011.

Latest poverty estimate of Tendulkar Panel is 8.3 crore households and 37.2%

Principal commodities exported are ores and minerals, gems and jewelry chemical

and allied products engineering goods petroleum products, agriculture and allied

products

Principal commodities imported are pearls, fertilizers, cereals, edible oils, newsprint

and

petroleum products

Infrastructure and building up of social infrastructure - top priorities

India was the second largest economy in the world before British era

Shameful record of famines in British India – 1947 famine in Bengal

Agriculture

About 64% of the population dependent on agriculture

Contributes 20-22% to GDP

2008-09 – 4th Advance estimate 233.88 MT

Net sown area – 1,412 lakh hectares (2000)

Area under forests – 695.5 lakh hectares (2003-04)

60% of area sown is dependent upon rainfall

Agriculture, Animal husbandry and Fisheries contributed 5.3% to GDP in 2005-06

3 harvesting seasons – Rabi, Kharif, & Zaid

Major Rabi crops: wheat, barley, mustard


Major Kharif crops: rice, jowar, bajra, cotton

Food grain cropping share comes down to 65 per cent of gross cropped area (2000)

Estimated production of Rice in 2008-09 is 99.37 mt

Estimated production of Wheat in 2008-09 is 77.63 mt

India third largest producer and consumer of fertilizers

India second largest producer of fruits and vegetables

Land area under marginal holdings (less than 1 hectare) is 20% of Total Cultivated

Area

(2001-2002)

High level of disguised unemployment

33% ideal forest cover

Need for improved irrigation, better seeds & fertilizers, consolidation of land

holdings,

Land reforms, better access to credit, extension of marketing facilities, etc.

The first Green Revolution achieved breakthrough in the production of wheat and

rice

No significant breakthrough in production of oil seeds & pulses

M.S. Swaminathan, C. Subramaniam and Norman Borlaug key figures in Green

Revolution

National Food Security Mission

Rotting food grains and malnutrition

Contract farming and regulated markets - key areas of reforms

Controversy over GM crops - GM cotton and Brinjal

Organic farming a necessity not a fad (latest controversy of antibiotics in honey)

Dairy, Poultry and Fisheries

NDDB ( National Dairy Development Board) – chairperson Dr. Amrita Patel

AMUL started by Dr. Verghese Kurien, who also launched Operation Flood (White

Revolution)

105 MT of milk production (2008-09)

UP – largest milk producer, also largest milch bovine pop

485 million livestock population, World No.1

Total egg production reached 50.7 billion in 2006-07

India ranked sixth in poultry

India 3rd largest producer of Fish

Fisheries sector major contributor to exports

Rs.8,357 crore valuation in 2008-09 of fisheries exports

National Fisheries Development Board set up in Hyderabad

Allied activities give good scope for income generation and employment


Agriculture & related institutes

Central Institute for Medicinal and Aromatic Plants - Lucknow

International Crop Research Institute for Semi-arid Tropics - Hyderabad

National Fisheries Development Board - Hyderabad

National Dairy Research Institute - Karnal

Indian Council of Agricultural Research - Delhi

Central Sheep Breeding Farm - Hissar

National Institute of Agricultural Marketing - Jaipur

National Institute of Rural Development - Hyderabad

National Institute of Agriculture Research Management – Hyderabad

Health (INDIAN DEMOGRAPHY)

Population growth – 1.93% (annual)

Decadal growth – 21.34 (1991-2001)

Crude Birth Rate (CBR) – 25; CDR – 8.1

IMR – 64 (2002); MMR – 487

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) – 3.2

Life Expectancy at Birth – 63.8 yrs (M); 66.9 yrs (F)

Highest TFR – Bihar with 4.5

India first country to officially adopt family planning programme

Sale of non-iodated salt banned in 2006 to control Goitre

AYUSH programme for alternate medical systems (Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha

and Homeopathy)

India has the largest number of Homeo practitioners

India has digitalized traditional knowledge of healing systems like Ayurveda Yoga

and Siddha and registered with European patent office to prevent frivolous grant of

patents

Small-pox officially ―eliminated‖ in 1975

New disease - SARS / Dengue and Swine flu

Nation Rural Health Mission launched in 2005

Acute need for Health Insurance

Malnutrition acute problem

Fluoride ‗belts‘ in the country

Recurrence of Brain Fever


National Health Policy 2002

Eliminate

Malaria, Yaws, & Leprosy - 2005

Kala Azar - 2010; Filariasis - 2015

Achieve zero level growth of HIV / AIDS - 2007

Reduce

IMR to 30 / 100 & MMR 100 / lakh by 2010

Prevalence of Blindness to 0.5% by 2010

Mortality by 50% on a/c of vector diseases like TB / Malaria

India is home to

As per revised estimates carried out in 2006, the number of persons living with HIV

in India is 2 to 3.1 million

Highest blind population

Highest polio-afflicted population specially in parts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar

Highest TB population (1/3rd of global TB pop)

Highest diabetic population (nearly 15%)

Highest projected population with cardiovascular diseases

Lifestyle diseases in urban, semi-urban areas

Health - National Programmes

National Malaria Control Programme (1953)

National Filaria Control Programme (1955)

National TB Control Programme (1962)

National Leprosy Control Programme (1955)

National Programme for Control of Blindness (1953)

National AIDS Control Programme (1987)

National Goitre Control Programme (1962)

National Mental Health Programme (1955)

National Surveillance Programme for Communicable Diseases (1997-98)

The Universal Immumisation Programme aims at preventing TB, Diphtheria,

Pertusis, Tetanus Polio and Measles

The pulse polio programme was launched in 1995-96


Transport

Railways modest beginning in 1853

6909 stations over total track kms of 1,09,996; 41% of total track electrified

16 Railway Zones; 11 International Airports

12 Major Ports incl. one at Ennore (TN) – India‘s first corporatized port

200 non-major ports

219 National Highways; longest NH 7 between Kanya Kumari & Varanasi; shortest

is NH 47A between Willingdon Island & Kochi (Kerala)

Cochin largest shipyard in country

Golden Quadrilateral – 5,486 km (D-M-C-K)

North-South Corridor & East-West Corridor – 7,300 km

Hyderabad and Bangalore International Airports are greenfield airports

India 33 lakh kms of roads

NHDP largest highway project in the country

India has largest merchant shipping fleet in developing countries

Railways largest employer

Railway still a monopoly of public sector

Dedicated Railway freight corridor proposed

Environment

20.55% area under forest cover ( Ideal forest cover is 33.33%)

Forest Survey of India – HO at Dehra Dun

15 Biosphere Reserves, 4 recognized by UNESCO viz., Nilgiri, Sunderbans, Gulf

of Mannar and Nanda Devi

Forest Policy – 1894, revised 1952 & 1988

Project Tiger – 1973; 281 Tiger Reserves in 17 states

Project Elephant – 1992; 14 reserves

Eco-mark – to label environment-friendly consumer products

Sunderlal Bahuguna of Chipko Movement awarded Padma Vibushan

Sunita Narain Centre for Science and Environment Delhi

Vandana Shiva, Maneka Gandhi and Amala – Blue Cross, Navadhanya

Mining license of Vedanta revoked

Many projects in Uttarakhand on Ganga put on hold

Development vs Environment

India‘s good record in carbon emissions

Low development responsible for low emissions?

Is environment clearance becoming politicized? Ex: Vedanta and Polavaram

Bishnois – highly eco friendly community – Haryana, Rajasthan


Credit rating agencies in India

ONICRA Credit Rating Agency of India Ltd.

Credit Rating Information Services of India Limited (CRISIL)

Investment Information and Credit Rating Agency of India (ICRA)

Credit Analysis & Research Limited (CARE)

Duff & Phelps Credit Rating India Private Ltd. (DCR India)

Ratings awarded by major credit rating agencies:

AAA - : Highest Safety

AA - : High Safety

A - : Adequate Safety

BBB - : Moderate Safety

BB - : Sub -moderate Safety

B - : Inadequate Safety

C - : Substantial Risk

D - : Default

Under Pulse Polio Programme children in which group are given two doses of oral

polio vaccines at an interval of six weeks …. 0 to 5 years

Vaidyanathan Committee : corporate credit institutions

The last live stock census was done in the year 1992.

National fishries development board is located at Hyderabad.

Panchayati Raj

The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act

The idea that produced the 73rd Amendment was not a response to pressure from the

grassroots, but to an increasing recognition that the institutional initiatives of the preceding

decade had not delivered, that the extent of rural poverty was still much too large and thus

the existing structure of government needed to be reformed. It is interesting to note that this

idea evolved from the Centre and the state governments. It was a political drive to see PRIs

as a solution to the governmental crises that India was experiencing. The Constitutional

(73rd

Amendment) Act, passed in 1992 by the Narasimha Rao government, came into force

on April 24, 1993. It was meant to provide constitutional sanction to establish "democracy

at the grassroots level as it is at the state level or national level". Its main features are as

follows :

The Gram Sabha or village assembly as a deliberative body to decentralised

governance has been envisaged as the foundation of the Panchayati Raj System.

A uniform three-tier structure of panchayats at village (Gram Panchayat — GP),

intermediate or block (Panchayat Samiti — PS) and district (Zilla Parishad — ZP)

levels.


All the seats in a panchayat at every level are to be filled by elections from respective

territorial constituencies.

Not less than one-third of the total seats for membership as well as office of

chairpersons of each tier have to be reserved for women.

Reservation for weaker castes and tribes (SCs and STs) have to be provided at all

levels in proportion to their population in the panchayats.

To supervise, direct and control the regular and smooth elections to panchayats, a State

Election Commission has to be constituted in every State and UT.

The Act has ensured constitution of a State Finance Commission in every State/UT,

for every five years, to suggest measures to strengthen finances of PRIs.

To promote bottom-up-planning, the District Planning Committee (DPC) in every

district has been accorded constitutional status.

An indicative list of 29 items has been given in Eleventh Schedule of the Constitution.

Panchayats are expected to play an effective role in planning and implementation of

works related to these 29 items.


Education as a fundamental right (86th constitutional

amendment)

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan

Launched in 2001, 75:25 exp sharing during 10th Plan between Centre & States

All children in 6-14 yrs bracket in school

Bridge all gender & social category gaps at primary stage by 2007 & elementary

stage by

2010

Universal retention by 2010

Before 1976 education was the exclusive responsibility of the states

Central Advisory Board for Education was first established in 1920

National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education was launched in

1995

NCERT set up in 1961

National Literacy Mission was launched in 1988

Navodaya Schools launched in 1985

Mid-Day Meal Scheme – Launched 1995, aims to increase enrolment & retention

in schools

Operation Blackboard – Launched 1987-88, 2 large classrooms, 2 teachers,

essential teaching material

Lok Jumbish – Launched in Rajasthan with assistance from Sweden, aims for

education for all

Shiksha Karmi Project – aims at universalisation & qualitative improvement of

primary education in remote places of Rajasthan, special emphasis on girl child

National Curriculum Framework was launched in 2005

UGC set up in 1953

IGNOU set up in 1985

National Book Trust set up in 1957

Important Government Programmes

SGSY Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY)launched in 1999

PURA ( Provision of Urban Amenities in Rural Area) is a concept of Abdul Kalam

Maharashtra first state to launch Food for Work Programme

NREGA rechristened as Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Act

Prime Minister Gram Sadak Yojana launched in 2000

Indira Awaas Yojana launched in 1985

National Drinking Water Mission launched in 1986

Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana launched in 2001


Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) aims at urban

development

VAMBAY (Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojna) is a programme aimed at

rehabilitation of slum households

Integrated Child Development Services launched in 1975

Welfare Schemes

Annapurna Scheme (2000-01) – Poor over 65 yrs of age with no pension are

eligible, 10 kg

of rice per month

Antyodaya Anna Yojana (2000) – Poorest of the poor, 35 kg of food grain at

highly subsidized rates (Rs.2 - rice, Rs.3 - wheat)

Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (2001) – Universal Food for Work scheme

in all UTs / states, who are supplied with 50 lakh tonne food grain free of cost by

MoRD

MGNREGS – Food for Work programme in 200 most backward districts; 100 days

employment guarantee for ONE member of a poor household or else compensation

provided; Minimum Wage at Rs.60 per day

Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship for scheduled caste and students launched in

2006. For higher studies like M.phil and P.hd

Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers launched in 2007

A central scheme for Primitive Tribal Groups launched in 1998-99

National Policy for older persons launched in 1999

Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act enacted in 2006

India ratified the Convention on Elimination of Discrimination against Women in

1993

Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) launched in 1975

SABLA scheme for adolescent girls

Basic services for urban poor

MID DAY MEAL SCHEME

The Midday Meal Scheme is the popular name for school meal programme in India . It

involves provision of lunch free of cost to schoolchildren on all working days. The key

objectives of the programme are: protecting children from classroom hunger, increasing

school enrolment and attendance, improved socialisation among children belonging to all

castes , addressing malnutrition, and social empowerment through provision of

employment to women. The scheme has a long history especially in Tamil Nadu

introduced statewide by K. Kamaraj government in 1960s and expanded by M. G.

Ramachandran in 1982 has been adopted by most of the states in India after a landmark

direction by the Supreme Court of India on November 28, 2001. 12 crore (120 million)

children are so far covered under the Midday Meal Scheme, which is the largest school


lunch programme in the world. Allocation for this programme has been enhanced from Rs

3010 crore to Rs 4813 crore (Rs 48 billion1.2 billion) in 2006-2007.

In April 2001 People‘s Union for Civil Liberties (Rajasthan) initiated the now famous

right to food litigation . This public interest litigation has covered a large range of issues

relating to right to food, but the best known intervention by the court is on midday meals.

In one of its many direction in the litigation the Supreme Court directed the government to

fully implement its scheme of providing cooked meals to all children in primary schools.

This landmark direction converted the midday meal scheme into a legal entitlement, the

violation of which can be taken up in the court of law. The direction and further follow-up

by the Supreme Court has been a major instrument in universalising the scheme The State

of Karnataka introduced the provision of cooked meals in June 2002. Since then it has

successfully involved private sector participation in the programme. One of the successful

of the ventures is Akshaya Patra, which started with leadership from ISKCON in the

Bangalore community. The Foundation gets a corpus from the State government but meets

a major share of its costs with donations from private corporations and individuals in the

city.

Despite the success of the program, child hunger as a problem persists in India. According

to current statistics, 42.5% of the children under 5 are underweight. This is due to simple

reasons such as not using iodized salt. ―India is home to the world‘s largest food insecure

population, with more than 200 million people who are hungry,‖ India State Hunger Index

(ISHI) said, adding that the country‘s poor performance is driven by its high levels of child

under-nutrition and poor calorie count. ―Its rates of child malnutrition is higher than most

countries in Sub-Saharan Africa,‖ it noted.

A report released as part of the 2009 Global Hunger Index ranks India at 65 out of 84

countries.

LOOK EAST POLICY

Look East policy is an attempt to forge closer and deeper economic integration with its

eastern neighbours as a part of the new realpolitik in evidence in India‘s foreign policy, and

the engagement with Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a part of the

recognition on the part of India‘s elite of the strategic and economic importance of the

region to the country‘s national interests

Members: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar,

Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam


SARVA SHIKSHA ABHIYAAN

The 'Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan' (Hindi : The 'Education for All' Movement, is a flagship

programme of the Government of India pioneered by Atal Bihari Vajpayee for achievement

of universalization of elementary education in a time bound manner, as mandated by the

86th amendment to the Constitution of India making free and compulsory education to

children of ages 6–14 (estimated to be 205 million in number in 2001) a fundamental right .

The programme aims to achieve the goal of universalization of elementary education of

satisfactory quality by 2010. There are 8 main programs in SSA. It includes

ICDS,AANGANWADI etc. It also Includes KGBVY. Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidalaya

Yojana was started in 2004 with a view to give primary education to all girls. Later on it

was merged with SSA.

Goals

1. All in school by 2005.

2. Complete 5 years of primary education by 2005 and 8 years of schooling by 2010.

3. Satisfactory Quality with emphasis on education for life.

4. Bridge all gender and social gaps at primary level by 2007 and elementary level by

2010.

5. Universal retention by 2010.

The program seeks to open new schools in those habitations which do not have schooling

facilities and strengthen existing school infrastructure through provision of additional class

rooms, toilets, drinking water, maintenance grant and school improvement grants.

KUTIR JYOTI SCHEME

In order to boost electrification of households that are below the poverty line (BPL), the

Power Ministry wants to revitalise the Kutir Jyoti programme.

Originally launched by the Congress Government in the late 80s, the Kutir Jyoti

programme envisaged extending single point light connections to households of rural BPL

families. These were to include Harijan and tribal families. The programme had come

under criticism as it was seen as one of the factors responsible for rampant increase in

transmission & distribution (T&D) losses and even inflating supplies to the agriculture

sector over the years.

PMGSY PRADHAN MANTRI GRAMEEN SADAK YOJNA

Rural Road Connectivity is not only a key component of Rural Development by promoting

access to economic and social services and thereby generating increased agricultural

incomes and productive employment opportunities in India, it is also as a result, a key

ingredient in ensuring sustainable poverty reduction. Notwithstanding the efforts made,

over the years, at the State and Central levels, through different Programmes, about 40% of


the Habitations in the country are still not connected by All-weather roads. It is well known

that even where connectivity has been provided, the roads constructed are of such quality

(due to poor construction or maintenance) that they cannot always be categorised as All-

weather roads.

With a view to redressing the situation, Government have launched the Pradhan Mantri

Gram Sadak Yojana on 25th December, 2000 to provide all-weather access to unconnected

habitations. The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) is a 100% Centrally

Sponsored Scheme. 50% of the Cess on High Speed Diesel (HSD) is earmarked for this

Programme.

SWARNJAYANTI GRAM SWAROZGAR YOJANA

Swarnajayanthi Gram Sswarozgar Yojana Scheme is a holistic approach towards poverty

eradication in rural India through creation of self-employment opportunities to the rural

Swarozgaries. This scheme is implemented in the country through District Rural

Development Agencies. The Centre and State fund this program in the ratio of 75:25. It is

designed to help poor rural families cross the poverty line. This is achieved through

providing income generating assets and inputs to the target groups through a package of

assistance consisting of subsidy and bank loan.

Objectives: SGSY came into existence in 1999-2000 duly merging the schemes of

Integrated Rural Development Program (IRDP), Training for Rural Youth under Self

Employment (TRYSEM) Development of Women & Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA)

and Supply of Improved Toolkits to Rural Artisans (SITRA).

The scheme aims to bring every assisted poor family above the poverty line by ensuring

appreciably sustainable level of income over a period of time. This objective is to be

achieved by organizing the rural poor in to Self Help Groups (SHG) through the process of

social mobilization, their training and capacity building, and provision of income

generating assets.

MAHATAMA GANDHI NATIONAL RURAL EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE

SCHEME

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is an

Indian job guarantee scheme, enacted by legislation on August 25, 2005. The

scheme provides a legal guarantee for one hundred days of employment in every

financial year to adult members of any rural household willing to do public work

related unskilled manual work at the statutory minimum wage of Rs.100 per day.

The Central government outlay for scheme is Rs. 40,100 crores in FY 201011.It

was initially called the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) but

was renamed on 2 October 2009.


The act was brought about by the UPA coalition government supported by

the left parties. The promise of this project is considered by many to be one of the

major reasons for the reelection of the UPA in the Indian general election, 2004.

Dr. Jean Drèze, a Belgian born economist, at the Delhi School of Economics, has

been a major influence on this project The act directs state governments to

implement MNREGA "schemes". Under the MGNREGA the Central Government

meets the cost towards the payment of wage, 3/4 of material cost and some

percentage of administrative cost. State Governments meet the cost of

unemployment allowance, 1/4 of material cost and administrative cost of State

council. Since the State Governments pay the unemployment allowance, they are

heavily incentivized to offer employment to workers. However, it is up to the State

Government to decide the amount of unemployment allowance, subject to the

stipulation that it not be less than 1/4th the minimum wage for the first 30 days, and

not less than 1/2 the minimum wage thereafter. 100 days of employment (or

unemployment allowance) per household must be provided to able and willing

workers every financial year.

The scheme commenced on February 2, 2006 in 200 districts, was expanded to

cover another 130 districts in 20072008 and eventually covered all 593 districts in

India by April 1, 2008. The outlay was Rs. 110 billion in 20062007, and rose

steeply to Rs. 391 billion (140% increase in amount with respect to previous

20082009 budget) in 20092010. First a proposal is given by the Panchayat to the

Block Office and then the Block Office decides whether the work should be

sanctioned. The MGNREGA achieves twin objectives of rural development and

employment.

INDIRA AWAS YOJNA ( IAY) FOR RURAL HOUSING

With a view to meeting the housing needs of the rural poor, Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY)

was launched in May 1985 as a sub-scheme of Jawahar Rozgar Yojana. It is being

implemented as an independent scheme since 1 January 1996. The Indira Awaas Yojana

aims at helping rural people below the poverty-line belonging to SCs/STs, freed bonded

labourers and non-SC/ST categories in construction of dwelling units and up gradation of

existing unserviceable kutcha houses by providing grant-in-aid. From 1995-96, the IAY

benefits have been extended to widows or next-of-kin of defence personnel killed in action.

Benefits have also been extended to ex-servicemen and retired members of the paramilitary

forces as long as they fulfill the normal eligibility conditions of Indira Awaas Yojana.

Under the scheme allotment of the house is done in the name of the female member of

the households or in the joint names of husband and wife. A minimum of 60 % of funds are

to be utilized for construction of houses for the SC/ST people. Further, 60% of the IAY

allocation is meant for benefiting SC/ST families, 3% for physically handicapped and 15%


for minorities. 5% of the central allocation can be utilized for meeting exigencies arising

out of natural calamities and other emergent situations like riot, arson, fire, rehabilitation

etc.

NATIONAL SOCIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMME

The National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) then comprised of National Old Age

Pension Scheme (NOAPS), National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS) and National

Maternity Benefit Scheme (NMBS). These programmes were meant for providing social

assistance benefit to the aged, the BPL households in the case of death of the primary

breadwinner and for maternity. These programmes were aimed to ensure minimum national

standards in addition to the benefits that the States were then providing or would provide in

future.

Human Development Index

Indian rank 134 out of 182 in human development index

The Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite statistic used to rank countries by

level of "human development" and separate developed (high development), developing

(middle development), and underdeveloped (low development) countries. The statistic

is composed from data on life expectancy, education and percapita GDP (as an

indicator of standard of living) collected at the national level .

The HDI combines three dimensions:

Life expectancy at birth, as an index of population health and longevity

Knowledge and education, as measured by the adult literacy rate (with wothirds

weighting) and the combined primary, secondary, and tertiary gross enrollment

ratio (with one third weighting).

Standard of living, as indicated by the natural logarithm of gross domestic product

per

capita at purchasing power parity.

Poverty: Poverty in India is widespread with the nation estimated to have a third of the

world's poor. According to a 2005 World Bank estimate, 42% of India falls below the

international poverty line of US$ 1.25 a day (PPP, in nominal terms 21.6 a day in urban

areas and 14.3 in rural areas); having reduced from 60% in 1981. According to the criterion

used by the Planning Commission of India 27.5% of the population was living below the

poverty line in 2004–2005, down from 51.3% in 1977–1978, and 36% in 19931994. As

per the 2001 census, 35.5% of Indian households availed of banking services, 35.1%

owned a radio or transistor, 31.6% a television, 9.1% a phone, 43.7% a bicycle, 11.7% a

scooter, motorcycle or a moped, and 2.5% a car, jeep or van; 34.5% of the households had

none of these assets.


National rural health mission

The National Rural Health Mission (2005-12) seeks to provide effective healthcare

to rural population throughout the country with special focus on 18 states, which

have weak public health indicators and/or weak infrastructure.

These 18 States are Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Himachal

Pradesh, Jharkhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Madhya

Pradesh, Nagaland, Orissa, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttaranchal and Uttar

Pradesh.

The Mission is an articulation of the commitment of the Government to raise public

spending on Health from 0.9% of GDP to 2-3% of GDP. It has as its key

components provision of a female health activist in each village; a village health

plan prepared through a local team headed by the Health & Sanitation Committee of

the Panchayat; strengthening of the rural hospital for effective curative care and

made measurable and accountable to the community through Indian Public Health

Standards (IPHS); and integration of vertical Health & Family Welfare Programmes

and Funds for optimal utilization of funds and infrastructure and strengthening

delivery of primary healthcare.

It seeks to revitalize local health traditions and mainstream AYUSH into the public

health system. Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and Maternal Mortality

Ratio (MMR)

Revitalize local health traditions and mainstream AYUSH

Every village/large habitat will have a female Accredited Social Health Activist

(ASHA)

Council for Advancement of People’s Action & Rural

Technology (CAPART)

Recognising the need for an organisation that would coordinate and catalyse the

development work of voluntary agencies in the country, particularly to ensure smooth flow

of benefits to the underprivileged and socio-economically weaker sections of society,

Government of India, in September, 1986 set up the Council for Advancement of People‘s

Action and Rural Technology (CAPART), a registered society under the aegis of the

Department of Rural Development, by merging two autonomous bodies, namely, People‘s

Action for Development of India (PADI) and Council for Advancement of Rural

Technology (CAPART).

District rural development agency (DRDA)

The District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) has traditionally been the principal organ

at the District level to oversee the implementation of different anti-poverty programmes.

Since its inception, the administrative costs of the DRDAs were met by way of setting apart

a share of the allocations for each programme.


However, of late, the number of the programmes had increased and while some of the

programmes provided for administrative costs of the DRDAs, others did not. There was no

uniformity among the different programmes with reference to administrative costs.

Keeping in view the need for an effective agency at the district level to coordinate the anti-

poverty effort, a new Centrally Sponsored Scheme for strengthening the DRDAs has been

introduced with effect from 1st April, 1999. Accordingly, the administrative costs are met

by providing a separate budget provisions. This scheme which is funded on a 75:25 basis

between Centre and States, aims at strengthening and professionalsing the DRDAs.

Five Year Plans

1. First plan – 1951-56 Highest Priority to agriculture, irrigation and power

2. Second plan – 1956 to 1961 Highest Priority to Heavy Industries

3. Third plan – 1961-1966 Self sustaining growth

4. 1967 to 1969 plan Holiday three annual plans

5. Fourth plan – 1969-74 Equality and Social Justice

6. Fifth plan – 1974-79 Self Reliance

7. Sixth plan – 1980-85 Removal of Poverty

8. Seventh plan – 1985-90 Increased employment

9. 1991, 1992 – Annual plans

10. Eighth plan – 1992-97 Faster economic growth

11. Ninth plan – 1997-2002 accelerating growth rate with stable prices

12. Tenth plan – 2002-07 Growth with enhanced quality of life

13. Eleventh plan – 2007-2012 Faster and inclusive growth

14. NDC approves plans

15. Planning Commission is advisory body

Eleventh five year plan major objectives

Eleventh plan (2007-2012)

The eleventh plan has the following objectives:

1. Income & Poverty

Accelerate GDP growth from 8% to 10% and then maintain at 10% in the 12th Plan

in order to double per capita income by 2016-17 Increase agricultural GDP growth

rate to 4% per year to ensure a broader spread of benefits

Create 70 million new work opportunities.

Reduce educated unemployment to below 5%.

Raise real wage rate of unskilled workers by 20 percent.

Reduce the headcount ratio of consumption poverty by 10 percentage points.


2. Education

Reduce dropout rates of children from elementary school from 52.2% in 2003-04 to

20% by 2011-12

Develop minimum standards of educational attainment in elementary school, and by

regular testing monitor effectiveness of education to ensure quality

Increase literacy rate for persons of age 7 years or above to 85%

Lower gender gap in literacy to 10 percentage point

Increase the percentage of each cohort going to higher education from the present

10% to 15% by the end of the plan

3. Health

Reduce infant mortality rate to 28 and maternal mortality ratio to 1 per 1000 live

births Reduce Total Fertility Rate to 2.1

Provide clean drinking water for all by 2009 and ensure that there are no slip-backs

Reduce malnutrition among children of age group 0-3 to half its present level

Reduce anaemia among women and girls by 50% by the end of the plan

4. Women and Children

Raise the sex ratio for age group 0-6 to 935 by 2011-12 and to 950 by 2016-17

Ensure that at least 33 percent of the direct and indirect beneficiaries of all

government schemes are women and girl children

Ensure that all children enjoy a safe childhood, without any compulsion to work

5. Infrastructure

Ensure electricity connection to all villages and BPL households by 2009 and

round-the-clock power.

Ensure all-weather road connection to all habitation with population 1000 and

above (500 in hilly and tribal areas) by 2009, and ensure coverage of all significant

habitation by 2015

Connect every village by telephone by November 2007 and provide broadband

connectivity to all villages by 2012

Provide homestead sites to all by 2012 and step up the pace of house construction

for rural poor to cover all the poor by 2016-17

6. Environment

Increase forest and tree cover by 5 percentage points.

Attain WHO standards of air quality in all major cities by 2011-12.

Treat all urban waste water by 2011-12 to clean river waters.

Increase energy efficiency by 20 percentage points by 2016-17.


Employment Scenario

Total labour force – Estimated 457.50 million. More than 86% in informal sector

Services – 23 per cent; Industry – 17-19 per cent

Unemployment for males in 2004 – Increases to 9% in rural areas (5.6% in 1993-

94) and 8.1% in urban areas (6.7% in 1993-94)

Unemployment for females in 2004 – Increases to 9.3% in rural areas (5.6% in

1993-94) and 11.7% in urban areas (10.5% in 1993-94)

Disguised unemployment and underemployment feature of India. More than 50% of

the

workforce in Agriculture

India‘s first Rural Employment Guarantee Programme in Maharashtra

61st round of NSSO 2004-05 informal sector workers 395 million out of total of

457.50 million

About 62% of unemployment in rural areas and 38% unemployment in urban areas

Demographic dividend – 15 to 64 years age group was 62.9% in 2006 – to be

68.4% in 2026

Some other facts

Biggest constituent of UPA after Congress is Trinamool Congress

Agatha Sangma aged 28 is the youngest Cabinet Minister

Pranab Mukherjee is Finance Minster – heads many GOMs

Hamidullah Syed Basheer, age 27 is the youngest Member of Parliament from

Lakshwadweep

The chairman of the National Identification Authority is Nandan Nilekani

The chairman of the PMEAC is C. Rangarajan

Bindeswari Pathak receives the prestigious Stockholm Water Prize

Vandana Shiva awarded Sydney Peace Prize

Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley – leaders of opposition

Some important Statutory and Autonomous Organisations

1. National Commission for Minorities, 1993

2. National Commission for Women, 1992

3. National Commission for Protection of Rights of Children, 2007

4. Rashtriya Mahila Kosh, 1993 to facilitate credit support to poor women

5. National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation

6. Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India (ALIMCO) Kanpur a public

sector unit

7. Rehabilitation Council of India, 1992


8. National Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism Cereberal Palsy Mental Retardation

and Multiple Disabilities

9. National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation

10. National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities, 2005

11. National Commission for Scheduled Castes

12. National Commission for Safai Karamchari‘s

13. National Commission for Backward Classes, 1993

14. National Commission for Human Rights

15. Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA), 1990

16. National Commission on Population, 2000

17. National Knowledge Commission

18. Council for Advancement of People Action and Rural Technology (CAPART), 1986

19. Unique Identification Authority

20. National Innovation Council

21. Investment Commission


Important days

Important Days in World History Timeline

Jan 10 World Laughter Day

Jan 11 Death anniversary of Lai Bahadur Shastri

Jan 12 National Youth Day (Birth day of Swami Vivekanand)

Jan 23 Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose's birth anniversary

Jan 25 International Customs Duty Day, India Tourism Day

Jan 26 Republic Day

Jan 30 (Martyr's day) Mahatma Gandhi's Martyrdom Day; World

Leprosy Eradication Day

Feb 2 World Wetlands Day

Feb 13 Sarojini Naidu's Birth Anniversary

Feb 14 St. Valentine's Day

Feb 24 Central Excise Day

Feb 28 National Science Day

Mar 8 International Women's Day

Mar 15 World Consumer Day

Mar 16 National Vaccination Day

Mar 19 World Disabled Day

Mar 21 World Forestry Day

Mar 22 World Day for Water

Mar 23 World Meteorological Day

Mar 24 World TB Day

April 7 World Health Day

April 13 Jallianwallah Bagh Massacre Day (1919)

April 22 World Earth Day

April 23 World Books Day

May 1 International Labour Day (May Day)

May 3 International Energy Day

May 8 International Red Cross Day (It is celebrated to

commemorate the birth anniversary of the founder of the Red

Cross Organisation Jean Henry Dunant)

May 11 National Technology Day

May 15 International Family Day

May 24 Commonwealth Day

May 31 World No Tobacco Day

Jun 5 World Environment Day

Jun 27 World Diabetes Day

Jul 1 Doctor's Day

Jul 11 World Population Day

Aug 29 Sports Day (Dhyanchand's birthday)

Aug 30 Small Industry Day


Sep 5 Teacher's Day

Sep 7 Forgiveness Day

Sep 8 International Literacy Day

Sep 14 Hindi Day, World First Aid Day

Sep 15 International Day of Democracy

Sep 16 Weld Ozone Day

Sep 21 Word Alzheimer's Day

Sep 25 Social Justice Day

Sep 27 World Tourism Day

Oct 1 International Day for the Elderly (UN)

Oct 2 Gandhi Jayanti, International Nonviolence Day

Oct 3 World Nature Day

Oct 4 World Animal Day

Oct 5 World Habitat Day; World Teacher's Day

Oct 6 World Wildlife Day

Oct 8 Indian Air force Day

Oct 9 World Postal Day

Oct 10 World Mental Health Day; National Post Day

Oct 12 World Sight Day

Oct 13 World Calamity Control Day (UN)

Oct 14 World Standards Day

Oct 15 World White cane day (guiding the blind)

Oct 17 International Poverty Eradication Day

Oct 20 National Solidarity Day (China attacked India on that day)

Oct 24 United Nations Day

Nov 7 Infant Protection Day; World Cancer Awareness Day

Nov 14 Children's Day/World Diabetics day

Nov 26 Law Day

Dec 1 World AIDS Day

Dec 10 Human Rights Day

Dec 11 UNICEF Day

Dec 14 National Energy Conservation Day

Dec 23 Kisan Divas (Farmer's day)


C.K. PRAHALAD

The Fortune at the bottom of the pyramid

Competing for the Future……..works of CK Prahlad

(August 8, 1941 – April 16, 2010) was a globally known figure who consulted the

top management of many of the world's foremost companies. He was the Paul and

Ruth McCracken Distinguished University Professor of Corporate Strategy at the

Stephen M. Ross School of Business in the University of Michigan .

In 2009, he was awarded Pravasi Bharatiya Sammaan

In 2009 he was conferred Padma Bhushan 'third in the hierarchy of civilian awards' by

the Government of India .

In 2009 he was named the world's most influential business thinker on the

[Thinkers50.com] list, published by The Times.

MAHATAMA GANDHI JI

BOOK : A WEEK WITH GANDHI … LOUIS FISCHER

MY EXPERIMENTS WITH TRUTH… AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF

MAHATAMA GANDHI

MOVIE ― GANDHI‖…. DIRECTOR : Richard Attenborough

WRITER : JOHN BRILEY

Latest census in India

15th Indian National census began on April 1, 2010. Census has been conducted in

India since 1872 and this is the first time biometric information will be collected.

The census will cover all 1.2 billion Indians, involve 25 lakh (2.5 millions) officials.

It is estimated to cost Rs 2,209 crore (1.3 billion US dollars).

Information such as name, age, sex, date of birth, caste, ownership of mobile

phones, computers and Internet will be collected during this massive undertaking.

Information on castes initially not intended to be collected was later included after

demand from almost all opposition parties. Opposition to not including the caste

was spearheaded by Lalu Prasad Yadav, Sharad Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav

and supported by opposition parties Bharatiya Janata Party, Akali Dal, Shiv Sena,

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. Information

on caste was last collected during British Raj in 1931. During the early census,

people often exaggerated their caste status to garner social status and it is expected

that people downgrade it now in the expectation of gaining government benefits

Once the information will be collected and digitalised, fingerprints and photos will

be collected. Unique Identification Authority of India will issue a 16-digit

identification number to all individuals and the first ID is expected to be issued in

2011


Indian agriculture

Achievements of Indian Agriculture:

India is the largest producer of wheat in the world

India is the largest producer of Rice in the world

India is among the largest vegetable oil economies in the world

India is the largest producer of Tea in the world

India is the second largest producer of Fruits in the world

India is the largest producer of Milk in the world

India is the largest producer of Coffee in the world

India is the largest producer of Cotton in the world

Indian Agriculture by its sheer size can dictate global markets directly and indirectly.

Majority of rural population still is dependent on agriculture for their livelihood and over

600 million farmers involved in agriculture related activities.

Agriculture in India has a long history dating back to ten thousand years.

Today, India ranks second worldwide in farm output. Agriculture and allied sectors like

forestry and logging accounted for 16.6% of the GDP in 2007, employed 52% of the total

workforce and despite a steady decline of its share in the GDP, is still the largest economic

sector and plays a significant role in the overall socio-economic development of India.

India is the largest producer in the world of milk, cashew nuts, coconuts, tea, ginger,

turmeric and black pepper. It also has the world's largest cattle population (281 million). It

is the second largest producer of wheat, rice, sugar, groundnut and inland fish. It is the third

largest producer of tobacco. India accounts for 10% of the world fruit production with first

rank in the production of banana and sapota.

India's population is growing faster than its ability to produce rice and wheat.

Indian economy at a glance

Illiteracy (Literacy – 64.8% - 75.3% male and 53.7% female literates)

Low HDI – 134 (Calculated using Life expectancy at birth, primary education, Per

capita income)

Low level of technology and productivity

Poverty

46% of children suffer from malnutrition.

High savings and low capital formation

Low per capita income

Over sized population (1.38% growth)

Dependence on primary production


72.25% live in villages

High density of population – 324/sq.km

Agriculture Sector Overview

Growth rate of 2% approximately

Green Revolution helped to achieve self sufficiency in food.

Blue, White, Yellow Revolutions increased the production of marine products, milk

and oil seeds.

43% land arable

60% of arable land - monsoon dependent

Minimum Support Price, (MSP) on pulses, oilseeds, sugarcane to help farmers

Cropping season

The Indian crops can be divided into three groups in which two are major namely Kharif

& Rabi.

Kharif crop- The Kharif season is during the southwest monsoon (July-October). During

this season, agricultural activities take place both in rain-fed areas and irrigated areas.

Kharif crop includes Rice (Paddy), Jowar, Bajra, Maize, Cotton, Sugarcane, Seasamum,

Soyabean, and Groundnut.

Rabi crops- The Rabi season is during the winter months, when agricultural activities

take place only in the irrigated areas. This crop is sown in October last and harvested in

March/April every year. These crops include Wheat, Jowar, Barley, Gram, Tur,

Rapeseed, and Mustard.

Zayad Crop- In some parts of the country a crop is sown during March to June every year.

Zayad crops include Melon, watermelon, Vegetables, Cucumber, Moong, Urad etc.

Irrigation- India is a monsoon dependent country for its water resources. Irrigation sector

has been fundamental to India‘s economic development and poverty alleviation since 25%

of India‘s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 65% of employment is based on agriculture.

During the post independence period, the country has invested a huge amount of capital in

the major and the medium irrigation projects. Among the states, three have already

achieved 70% or more of the ultimate irrigation potential with Tamilnadu recording 100%

achievement, followed by Punjab and Rajasthan at 84% and 74% respectively. Six states,

i.e., Haryana, Karnataka, Jammu & Kashmir, and West Bengal are in the range of 63% to

71%, whereas in U.P. and Maharashtra, the achievement would be 56% each. The states of

Bihar, Gujarat, Orissa, M.P. and Assam have achieved less than 50% of the ultimate

potential.


Revolutions

Revolutions in Indian Economy

Revolutions Area Key Person

Green Agriculture Dr. Norman Borlaug and

Dr. M.S.Swaminathan.

Yellow Oil Seeds Sam Pitroda

White Milk Varghese Kurien

Blue Fish -

Pink Shrimp -

Brown Masaaley -

Grey Wool & Poultry –

Black Crude Oil

Agriculture: At A Glance

Agriculture growth rate target for Tenth Plan (2002-2007) is 4%,but achieved was

merely

1.8%. target for 11th plan is again 4%.

Agriculture sector provides employment to 58.4% of country‘s workforce and is the

single largest private sector occupation.

India holds first position in the world in the production of sugarcane and sugar,

Brazil closely follow us and many times its production is more than ours. Brazil is

also largest producer of Ethanol.

Cashew nuts assume an important place in the Indian Economy. India produces

45% of the global production of cashew. India is the largest producer, processor,

consumer & exporter of cashew in the world.

India contributes about 13% to the world vegetable production and occupies first

rank in the production of Cauliflower, second in onion and third in cabbage in the

world.

India‘s share in the world production of mango is about 54%.

India occupies the first rank in banana production of 1.16 Million tones.

Animal husbandry output constitutes about 30% of the country‘s agriculture output.

U.P. is the highest wheat producing state, Punjab and Haryana hold 2nd & 3rd

positions respectively.

Rice is the main food crop in India. The highest rice producing State is West

Bengal, U.P & Punjab are 2nd& 3rd respectively.

The highest pulses & Soyabean producing state is Madhya Pradesh.

The highest cereals producing state is Maharashtra.

India is the largest producer & consumer of tea in the world and accounts for

around 27% of world production and 13% of world trade.


Karnataka, which is the largest producer of coffee in the country, accounts for

56.5% of total coffee production in India. India ranks sixth in the world coffee

production.

Kerela is the main rubber producing state, which produces 90% of the rubber in the

country and accounts for over 85% of the area under cultivation.

India is the largest Milk producing country in the world.

India is the third highest tobacco producing country in the world.

India ranked first in production of vegetable in the world. Besides India is the

second largest producer of fruits in the world.

The Horticulture sector contributed 28% of GDP in agriculture.

Agriculture finance

Agricultural production in this country depends upon millions of small farmers. It is the

intensity of their effort and the efficiency of their technique that will help in raising yields

per acre. Because of inadequate financial resources and absence of timely credit facilities at

reasonable rates, many of the farmers, even though otherwise willing, are unable to go in

for improved seeds and manures or to introduce better methods or techniques. Works of

minor irrigation like wells owned by the cultivators either get into disuse or are not fully

utilized for want of capital.

Types of Financing: Finance required for production can be divided broadly into :

(a) short-term (for periods up to 15 months) ;

(b) medium-term (from 15 months up to 5 years) and

(c) long-term (above 5 years). Short-term loans are required for purchasing seeds,

manures and fertilizers or for meeting labour charges, etc. These are expected to be

repaid after the harvest. Medium-term loans are granted for purposes such as

sinking of wells, purchase of bullocks, pumping plants and other improved

implements, etc. Loans repayable over a longer period (i.e. above 5 years) are

classified as long-term loans.

These are utilised for payment of old debts, purchase of the heavier machines, making

permanent improvements and increasing the size of the holding17. Primary sources of

agricultural credit are:

The following agencies provide finance to the cultivators :—

1. Private agencies:

(a) Money lenders and landlords ;

(b) Commercial banks.


2. Public or semi-public agencies:

(a) The State

(b) Co-operative societies

(c) Regional Rural banks

Co-operatives: Commercial and regional rural banks are institutional lenders whereas

moneylenders which operate in the villages and talukas are non-institutional lenders.

Moneylenders have exploited the farmers and small landowners. With increased

institutional intervention in the rural finance sector, this exploitation has reduced

considerably and the farmers are no longer at the mercy of the whimsical moneylenders for

the satisfaction of their financial requirements.

NABARD: NABARD, which is considered to be the leading institution in the agricultural

sector, was set up on July1, 1982. Since its inception, NABARD has taken over the

functions of the Agricultural finance department of RBI and the Agricultural

Refinance and Development Corporation (ARDC). NABARD is responsible for the

development, planning, operational matters, coordination, monitoring, research, training

and consultancy in relation to rural credit.

NABARD maintains two funds, viz National Rural Credit (Long term operations) and the

National Rural Credit (Stabilization) Fund. Both the Central and the State governments

contribute to these funds. It operates throughout the country through its 16 regional offices

and 3 Sub-offices.

Crop Insurance Scheme: the United Front government on an experimental basis in selected

districts during the Rabi 1997-98 season introduced The Crop Insurance scheme. The limit

of insurance cover was fixed at Rs. 10000 irrespective of the losses incurred by them.

Under the new scheme, the farmers will themselves deal with the insurance provider

directly and the government will not provide any subsidiary directly to the farmers. Both

premium and claims were shared between the central and the state governments in the ratio

of 4:1.

National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS): The National Agricultural Insurance

Scheme (NAIS) was introduced in the country from the1999-2000 Rabi season, replacing

the Comprehensive Crop Insurance Scheme (CCIS), which was in operation in the country

since1985. The General Insurance Corporation (GIC) on behalf of the Ministry of

Agriculture implements this scheme.

The main objective of the scheme is to protect the farmers against losses suffered by them

due to crop failure on account of natural calamities, such as, drought, flood, hailstorm,

cyclone, fire, pest/diseases etc.


Forest: The overall forest cover in India is around 19.3% in the year 1999. The estimate is

done by the planning commission of India. One would find different figure from different

sources precisely because different agencies have different definition of what constitute a

forest. The latest assessment on forest cover (FSI 1999) indicates that 11.48 per cent of the

total geographical area is dense forest (over 40 per cent crown density) and 7.76 per cent is

the open forest (10-40per cent crown density).

Dense forest 37.73 m ha 11.48%

Open forest 25.51 m ha 7.76 %

Mangroves 0.49 m ha 0.15%

Some important key points

The Tehri Dam

The Tehri Dam is a rock and earth-fill embankment dam on the Bhagirathi River near

Tehri in Uttarakhand , India . It is the primary dam of the Tehri Hydro Development

Corporation Ltd. and the Tehri hydroelectric complex. Completed in 2006, the Tehri Dam

withholds a reservoir of 2.6 billion cubic meters for irrigation , municipal water supply

and the generation of 1,000 MW of hydroelectricity along with an additional 1,000 MW of

pumped storage hydroelectricity

Watershed Development Fund (NABARD)

A Watershed Development Fund (WDF) has been established at NABARD with the

objective of integrated watershed development in 100 priority districts of 18 States through

participatory approach. The total corpus of WDF is Rs.200 crore. Under WDF, two-thirds

of amount is given for loan based project and one-third of amount is given for grant based

project in the State. A number of externally aided projects are also under implementation

on watershed approach, which covers an area of about 1.5 lakh hectares annually.

Various Watershed Development Programmes namely:

National Watershed Development Project for Rainfed Areas (NWDPRA)

Soil Conservation in the Catchments of River Valley Project & Flood Prone River

(RVP & FPR)

Reclamation & Development of Alkali & Acid Soil (RADAS)

Watershed Development Project in Shifting Cultivation Areas (WDPSCA) are

being

implemented.


Treasury Information Management System In Kerala

The Group of Eight (G8, and formerly the G6 or Group of Six and also the G7 or

Group of Seven) is a forum, created by France in 1975, for governments of six

countries in the world: France , Germany , Italy , Japan , the United Kingdom , and

the United States . In 1976, Canada joined the group (thus creating the G7 ). In

becoming the G8, the group added Russia in 1997.

The Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (G-20, G20,

Group of Twenty) is a group of finance ministers and central bank governors from

20 economies: 19 countries plus the European Union , which is represented by the

President of the European Council and by the European Central Bank.

97TH

Indian Science Congress held at Trivantpuram ( Kerala) in January 2010

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw – Biocon- related to biotechnology

Un accustomed Earth – Jumpha Lahiri

Republic Day Guests : 2008 President Nicolas Sarkozy France

2009 President Nursultan Nazarbayev Kazakhstan

2010 President Lee Myung bak Republic of Korea

Inflation is checked from Whole sale Price Index ( WPI)

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an organization that intends to supervise

and liberalize international trade . The organization officially commenced on

January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement , replacing the General

Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which commenced in 1948. The WTO

has 153 members, representing more than 97% Of total world trade. The WTO's

headquarters is at the Centre William Rappard , Geneva, Switzerland .

BRIC COUNTRIES : BRIC (typically rendered as "the BRICs" or "the BRIC

countries" or known as the "Big Four") is a grouping acronym that refers to the

countries of Brazil, Russia, India, and China that are deemed to all be at a similar

stage of newly advanced economic development.

OPEC ( ORGANISATION OF PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES) The

Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was created in 1960 to

unify and protect the interests of oil-producing countries. OPEC allows oil-

producing countries to guarantee their income by coordinating policies and prices

among them. This unified front was created primarily in response to the efforts of

Western oil companies to drive oil prices down. The original members of OPEC

included Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela. OPEC has since

expanded to include seven more countries (Algeria, Angola, Indonesia, Libya,

Nigeria , Qatar, and United Arab Emerates) making a total membership of 12.

Competition Bill 2002 replaced MRTP Act, (Monopoly restrictive Trade practices

Act). Narmada Bachao Andolan, Megha Patkar, Bhoo Daan, Vinoba Bhave

Indian Economy: some important data

According to the estimates by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation,

the Indian economy has registered a growth of 7.4 per cent in 2009-10, with 8.6 per cent

year-on-year (y-o-y) growth in its fourth quarter. The growth is driven by robust


performance of the manufacturing sector on the back of government and consumer

spending. GDP growth rate of 7.4 per cent in 2009-10 has exceeded the government

forecast of 7.2 per cent for the full year. According to government data, the manufacturing

sector witnessed a growth of 16.3 per cent in January-March 2010, from a year earlier.

Economic activities which showed significant growth rates in 2009-10 over the

corresponding period last year were mining and quarrying (10.6 per cent), manufacturing

(10.8 per cent), electricity, gas and water supply (6.5 per cent), construction (6.5 per cent),

trade, hotels, transport and communications (9.3 per cent), financing, insurance, real estate

and business services (9.7 per cent), community, social and personal services (5.6 per cent).

The Gross National Income is estimated to rise by 7.3 per cent in 2009-10 as compared to

6.8 per cent in 2008-09. The per capita income is estimated to grow at 5.6 per cent in 2009-

10. India‘s industrial output grew by 17.6 per cent in April 2010. The manufacturing sector

that accounts for 80 per cent of the index of industrial production (IIP) grew 19.4 per cent

in April 2010, as against 0.4 per cent a year-ago.

Capital goods production grew by 72.8 per cent against a contraction of 5.9 per cent a year

ago. Consumer durables output continued to grow at a fast pace of 37 per cent, mirroring

higher purchase of goods such as televisions and refrigerators.

The Economic scenario

The number of registered foreign institutional investors (FIIs) was 1710 as on May 31,

2010 and the total FII inflow in equity during January to May 2010 was US$ 4606.50

million while it was US$ 5931.80 million in debt.

Net investment made by FIIs in equity between June 1, 2010 and June 14, 2010 was US$

530.05 million while it was US$ 875.73 million in debt.

As on June 4, 2010, India's foreign exchange reserves totaled US$ 271.09 billion, an

increase of US$ 9.88 billion over the same period last year, according to the Reserve Bank

of India's (RBI) Weekly Statistical Supplement.

Moreover, India received foreign direct investment (FDI) worth US$ 25,888 million during

April-March, 2009-10, taking the cumulative amount of FDI inflows during August 1991 -

March 2010 to US$ 1, 32,428 million, according to the Department of Industrial Policy and

Promotion (DIPP).

The services sector comprising financial and non-financial services attracted 21 per cent of

the total FDI equity inflow into India, with FDI worth US$ 4,392 million during April-

March 2009-10, while construction activities including roadways and highways attracted

second largest amount of FDI worth US$ 2,868 million during the same period. Housing

and real estate was the third highest sector attracting FDI worth US$ 2,844 million


followed by telecommunications which garnered US$ 2,554 million during the financial

year 2009-10.

Exports from India were worth US$ 16,887 million in April 2010, 36.2 per cent

higher than the level in April 2009, which touched US$ 12,397 million, according

to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. India's imports during April 2010 were

valued at US$ 27,307 million representing a growth of 43.3 per cent over April

2009.

India's logistics sector is witnessing increased activity—the country's major ports

handled 560,968 metric tonnes (MT) of cargo during April-March 2009-10, an

increase of 5.74 per

cent over previous year traffic, according to revised estimates released by the

Ministry of

Shipping.

Foreign tourist arrivals in India during the month of May 2010 were 345,000, an

increase of 15.5 per cent over May 2009. Foreign tourist arrivals during January-

May 2010 were 2.263 million, an increase of 11.3 per cent over the corresponding

period last year. Foreign

exchange earnings during May 2010 were US$ 951 million, an increase of 42.2 per

cent over May 2009. Foreign exchange earnings during January-May 2010 were

US$ 5822 million, an increase of 38.3 per cent over the corresponding period last

year, according to data released by the Ministry of Tourism.

The total telephone subscriber base in the country reached 638.05 million in April

2010 taking the overall tele-density to 54.10, according to the figures released by

the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). Also the wireless subscriber

base increased to 601.22 million.

According to the latest statistics from the Association of Mutual Funds in India

(AMFI), the assets under management (AUM) of mutual funds were worth US$

170.46 billion in May 2010 as compared to US$ 135.58 billion in May 2009.

As per NASSCOM‘s Strategic Review 2010, the BPO sector continues to be the

fastest growing segment of the industry and is expected to reach US$ 12.4 billion in

2009-10, growing at 6 per cent.

According to data released by Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers

(SIAM), the total number of vehicles including passenger cars, commercial

vehicles, two wheelers and three wheelers produced in 2009-10 was 14,049,830, as

compared to 11,172,275 produced in 2008-09.

According to the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council, the exports of

gems and jewellery from India including rough diamonds, rose by 57.08 per cent

during April-May 2010 to touch US$ 5551.24 million.

According to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, domestic airlines carried 211,380

passengers between January-May 2010, an increase of 21.95 per cent over 173,340

passengers carried in the same period last year.

The number of corporate merger & acquisitions (M&As) and private equity (PE)

transactions have more than doubled during January-May 2010. 439 M&A and PE


deals valuing over US$ 30 billion took place between January-May 2010 as

compared to 179 deals worth US$ 8.1 billion in the corresponding period in 2009.

The HSBC Markit Business Activity Index, which measures business activity

among Indian services companies, based on a survey of 400 firms, rose to 62.1 in

April 2010, its highest since July 2008, and compared with 58.1 in March 2010.

Agriculture

Agriculture is one of the strongholds of the Indian economy and accounted for 15.7 per

cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2008-09, and 10.23 per cent of the

total exports. Moreover, it provided employment to 58.2 per cent of the work force.

Production of food grains during 2009-10 is estimated at 216.85 million as per second

Advance Estimates.

In the Union Budget 2010-11, the Finance Minister, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee made the

following announcements for the agriculture sector.

US$ 86.89 million is provided to increase the Green Revolution to the eastern

region of the country comprising Bihar, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Eastern up, West

Bengal and Orissa.

US$ 65.17 million has been provided to organise 60,000 pulses and oil-seed

villages in rain-fed areas in 2010-11 and provide an integrated intervention for

water harvesting, watershed management and soil health to improve productivity of

the dry land farming areas.

Banks have been consistently meeting the targets set for agricultural credit flow in

the past few years. For the year 2010-11, the target has been set at US$ 81.47

billion.

In addition to the 10 mega food park projects already being set up, the government

has decided to set up five more such parks.

External commercial borrowings are available for cold storage for preservation or

storage of agricultural and allied products, marine products and meat.

Growth potential story

The data centre services market in the country is forecast to grow at a compound

annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.7 per cent between 2009 and 2011, to touch close

to US$ 2.2 billion by the end of 2011, according to research firm IDC India‘s report

published in March 2010. The report further stated that the overall India data centre

services market in 2009 was estimated at US$ 1.39 billion.

According to a report by research and advisory firm Gartner published in March

2010, the domestic BPO market is expected to grow at 25 per cent in 2010 to touch

US$ 1.2 billion by 2011. Further, the BPO market in India is estimated to grow 19

per cent through 2013 and grow to US$ 1.8 billion by 2013. According to the


report, the domestic India BPO services market grew by 7.3 per cent year-on-year

in 2009.

The BMI India Retail Report Quarter 3, 2010 released in May 2010, forecasts that

total retail sales will grow from US$ 353.0 billion in 2010 to US$ 543.2 billion by

2014.

According to a report titled 'India 2020: Seeing, Beyond', published by domestic

broking major, Edelweiss Capital in March 2010, stated that India's GDP is set to

quadruple over the next ten years and the country is likely to become an over US$ 4

trillion economy by 2020.

India will overtake China to become the world's fastest growing economy by 2018,

according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the research arm of London-

based Economist magazine.

Exchange rate used: 1 USD = 47.14 INR (as on June 2010)

Important reading on Energy sector

Sustainable Development Last Updated: August 2010

Sustainable development in India now encompasses a variety of development schemes in

social, cleantech (clean energy, clean water and sustainable agriculture) and human

resources segments, having caught the attention of both the Central and State governments

and also public and private sectors.

In fact, India is expected to begin the greening of its national income accounting, making

depletion in natural resources wealth a key component in its measurement of gross

domestic product (GDP).

As per a report by UN Environment Program (UNEP), 'Global Trends in Sustainable

Energy Investment 2010', released on July 2010, India was ranked eighth in the world in

terms of investment in sustainable energy. The report further stated that India invested

around US$ 2.7 billion in sustainable energy in 2009.

Wind energy attracted 59 per cent of financial investment in clean energy in India. India

was placed fifth in the world for installed wind power during the year.

Biomass and waste was the second largest sector recipient of investment, generating US$

0.6 billion of new financial investment or 22 per cent of the total.

India's sustained effort towards reducing greenhouse gases (GHG) will ensure that the

country's per capita emission of GHG will continue to be low until 2030-31, and it is

estimated that the per capita emission in 2031 will be lower than per capita global emission

of GHG in 2005, according to a new study. Even in 2031, India's per capita GHG


emissions would stay under four tonnes of CO2 which is lower than the global per capita

emission of 4.22 tonnes of CO2 in 2005.

India has been ranked ninth in the tree planting roll of honour in 2009 in a campaign to

plant a billion trees, which was launched by the United Nations Environment Programme

(UNEP) in November 2006.

The Secretary of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Mr. Vijay Sharma, announced

that India has joined the United Nations Environment Programme's Plant for the Planet:

Billion Tree Campaign (BTC) by planting two billion trees since 2007.

The number of carbon credits issued for emission reduction projects in India is set to triple

over the next three years to 246 million by December 2012 from 72 million in November

2009, according to a CRISIL Research study.

This will cement India's second position in the global carbon credits market (technically

called Certified Emission Reduction units or CERs). The growth in CER issuance will be

driven by capacity additions in the renewable energy sector and by the eligibility of more

renewable energy projects to issue CERs. Consequently, the share of renewable energy

projects in Indian CERs will increase to 31 per cent.

CRISIL Research expects India's renewable energy capacity to increase to 20,000 mega

watt (MW) by December 2012, from the current 15,542 MW.

The contribution of renewable energy to the power business in India has now reached 70

per cent compared to 10 per cent in 2000, in terms of project numbers and dollar value,

according to Anita George, Director, Infrastructure, International Finance Corporation

(IFC).

As per industry estimates, private equity and global venture capital companies will invest

up to US$ 1 billion in high-growth, incentive-driven renewable energy companies by the

end of the current fiscal. Companies such as Moser Baer and Caparo Energy along with

state-owned companies are planning to raise funds for clean energy projects. Recently, the

International Finance Corporation (IFC), a World Bank arm, committed US$ 10 million in

Azure Power India, a solar energy producer.

India's first-ever 3 MW solar photovoltaic power plant, developed by the Karnataka Power

Corporation Limited (KPCL), the state-owned power generating company, was dedicated

to the nation at Yalesandra village in Kolar district on June 17, 2010. The plant, which uses

modular crystalline technology to generate solar energy, has been set up at a cost of US$

1.29 million.

India is the fifth largest wind energy producer in the world, with installed capacity of

nearly 10,500 MW and a target to scale up capacity to 14,000 MW by the end of 2011.


Corporate Initiatives

According to a study released in May 2010 by leading Swiss lender, Bank Sarasin, Indian

information technology (IT) giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), telecom major Bharti

Airtel and wind-turbine maker, Suzlon are among the global firms having high sustainable

development standards. Other Indian firms, which have high level of sustainability

standards mentioned in the report include India's largest manufacturer of irrigation plants,

Jain Irrigation and leading IT-firm Infosys.

The study, which was conducted among 360 emerging market companies, found that a

third of these firms have high rating in terms of sustainability.

Further, Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) commercial arm Antrix Corporation

was awarded the Globe Sustainability Research Award 2010, set up by Stockholm-based

Global Forum, for fostering sustainable development. The prestigious award has been

conferred on Antrix for its contribution to improve sustainable livelihood of the rural poor

while reducing their vulnerability to climate risks.

Tata Steel Rural Development Society (TSRDS), an organisation involved in the

steel major's community building initiatives, embarked on an initiative to empower

communities by creating awareness on the Right to Information (RTI) Act at the

grassroot level, in October 2009.

Wipro Infotech, provider of IT and business transformation services, has unveiled

its new eco-friendly and toxin-free desktops, manufactured with materials

completely free of deadly chemicals like polyvinyl chloride and brominated flame

retardants.

Ramky Enviro Engineers Ltd and GE Power & Water have signed an agreement, to

work together and offer environment management solutions, including waste-water

treatment and recycling.

Public sector major the Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited's (BHEL) two units—Tiruchi and

Ranipet have collaborated Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IITM) for joint research

and the focus would be sea water desalination and pollutant control systems.

National Solar Mission

According to Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy Dr Farooq Abdullah, the

government targets to set up 1,100 MW grid-connected solar plants, including 100 MW

capacity plants as rooftop and smaller solar power plants for the first phase of the National

Solar Mission till March 2013.

In addition, the government plans to generate 20,000 MW solar power by 2022 under the

three-phase National Solar Mission, with 2000 MW capacity equivalent off-grid solar


applications, including 20 million solar lights, also planned to be installed during this

period.

The new and renewable energy ministry has signed power purchase agreements for solar

capacity of as much as 100 MW to speed up solar power capacity addition in the country.

Seven projects from Tamil Nadu have been selected under the Jawaharlal Nehru National

Solar Mission programme. Each of these seven companies is to set up a 1 MW solar

photovoltaic power generation facility connected to the state grid.

Clean Energy and Technology

Investment levels in energy efficiency have remained strong despite the global recession

according to the Energy Efficiency Indicator (EEI) survey conducted by Johnson Controls

in June 2010. Across all regions surveyed, energy management is considered an important

priority among commercial decision-makers (92 per cent). Notably, respondents from India

(85 per cent) and China (80 per cent) were more likely to consider energy management

very or extremely important as compared to those in Europe (55 per cent) and North

America (53 per cent).

Green Industry Bio Energy Private Limited, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) formed by

Emergent Ventures and US-based Indus Terra is aiming to use poultry litter in Haryana to

generate power for the state power grid.

The power project, costing US$ 13.23 million, will convert poultry manure into electricity

and slurry into fertiliser by the process of anaerobic digestion at a high temperature through

a process called thermophilic digestion.

The 5.6 MW power project would be built in two phases; phase one with a capacity of 1.4

MW and the second with 4.2 MW capacity.

The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) is looking to create a demand for energy efficient,

products goods and services awareness. The Bureau has set up an energy efficiency

financing platform (EEFP), which aims at ensuring availability of finance at reasonable

rates for energy efficiency project implementation and its expansion.

USAID through its clean-tech energy initiatives is stepping up its presence in India by

partnering stakeholders and mentoring and working with the policy makers. Through the

Environmental Cooperation-Asia Clean Development and Climate Programme (ECO-

Asia), a programme of the US Agency for International Development's Regional

Development Mission for Asia (USAID/RDMA), it aims to catalyse policy and finance

solutions for clean energy.


Corporate Investments

Gamesa Corporacion Tecnologica, a Spanish company specialising in sustainable

energy technologies, especially fabrication of wind turbines and setting up of wind

farms, has set up a 500 MW per year capacity facility in Chennai at an investment

of US$ 54.7 million.

CLP India aims to add around 200 MW of wind power installations every year to its

portfolio and has committed an investment of over US$ 2.2 billion towards this. It

recently opened its 99 MW Theni Wind Farm in Tamil Nadu taking its total wind

power portfolio in India to 446 MW.

Power and automation technology major ABB has launched its fourth global wind

power generator factory at Vadodara. The factory will supply wind power

generators for Indian and global markets.

US-based private equity (PE) fund Blackstone has invested US$ 300 million in

Moser Baer Projects Private Ltd (MBPPL), a subsidiary of Moser Baer India. It is

considered to be the largest investment by a single PE investor in power sector. The

investment will fund MBPPL's plans of commissioning 5,000 MW of power

generation capacity—4,000 MW of thermal power, 500 MW of solar power and

500 MW of hydro power—over the next six years in India and Germany.

Orient Green Power Company Ltd (OGPL), a part of the Chennai-based Shriram

Group, has tied up with Nishi-Nippon Environmental Energy Co of Japan to set up

a 7.5 MW biomass power project.

The Mumbai-based Apar Group has announced partnership with Neat Energy, Inc,

US, to set up a solar power generation facility of up to 40 MW near Bhuj in Kutch

district, at an

investment of up to US$ 130.3 million.

The Cleantech division of the diversified Mahindra & Mahindra Group plans to

install 50 MW of solar power generation capacity across five States at an outlay of

US$ 161.12 million.

Government Initiatives

In the Union Budget 2010-11, the government announced the setting up of the National

Clean Energy Fund (NCEF) for funding research and innovative projects in clean

technologies. To build the corpus of the NCEF, clean energy cess on coal produced in India

at a nominal rate of US$ 1.08 per tonne has been levied. This cess is also applied on

imported coal. The clean energy cess imposed on coal, lignite and peat came into effect

from July 1, 2010.

Moreover, the plan outlay for the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has been

increased by 61 per cent, from US$ 134.7 million in 2009-10 to US$ 217.2 million in 2010-

11. The Urban Development Ministry has launched a US$ 300 million green urban

transport project called the Sustainable Urban Transport Project (SUTP). Under the project,

green urban transport will be introduced in select cities to overcome pollution and other


hazards of the existing urban transport system, including traffic impediments for

pedestrians.

The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has announced renewable energy

certificate (REC) norms in a bid to promote power generation from clean sources in the

country. The Orissa government has come out with a draft Action Plan on Climate Change

entailing an investment of around US$ 3.6 billion in 11 key sectors over the next five years.

It has proposed to put in place a Climate Change Agency to ensure effective

implementation of the plan. Orissa has become the first state to have formulated the

Climate Change Action Plan.

During 2009, the Indian government approved its national biofuels policy, targeting 20 per

cent biodiesel and ethanol blends in diesel and petrol respectively by 2017. Under the plan,

the government proposes a minimum support price for non-edible oilseeds.

Present India (2010 …)

Unique Identification Number

Tembhali: India‘s most ambitious project to issue an unique identification number to all its

citizens got off to a start with the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh handing over the

first UID Number ‗782474317884‘ to Rajana Sonawane, a tribal lady 's in Tembhali village

in Nandurbar, Maharashtra on September 29, 2010. This marks the national launch of the

Aadhaar Project under Unique Identification Authority of India.

Ranjna received the Aadhaar letter from the Prime Minister. Ranjna‘s letter marks the point

where the Aadhaar initiative transforms from a technology concept to an on the round

reality. Ranjna had enrolled with her five year old son Hitesh, who was the second person

to receive the Aadhaar letter. For Hitesh, Aadhaar will be his first proof of identity.

The launch of Aadhaar in Tembhali was also attended by the UPA Chairperson, Sonia

Gandhi. During a public function marking the launch, the Prime Minister acknowledged

the significance of the number and dedicated Aadhaar to the service of the nation.

Nandan Nilekani, Chairman of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) & Ex

Infosys CEO, mentioned the significance of the Aadhaar number for the millions of

residents who still do not have any form of identification, ―Today many people in this

country do not possess any form of identification. The Aadhaar number will be able to fill

this void‖.

Ranjna and Hitesh were among ten people from Tembhali who received letters containing

their Aadhaar number from the Prime Minister and UPA Chairperson. Tembhali thus

becomes India‘s first ‗Aadhaargram‘.


The Aadhaar (UID) project will be rolled out across the country in the next four years. The

12digit UID number will be stored in a centralised database and linked to the basic

demographics and biometric information photograph, ten fingerprints and iris of each

individual. In Kerala, Akshaya, IT@School and Keltron have been identified as enrolment

agencies.

Now Surfing – Rural India @ 5.4 Million Users

If you are talking about an Internet revolution in India, you will, now, have some very

impressive numbers to aid you. The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and

the Indian Market Research Bureau (IMRB), jointly, carried out a research recently and

concluded that the number of active Internet users in rural India is expected to rise to 5.4

million in 2010 – a staggering 30% increase since 2008. The numbers are of users who

have logged in at least once over the last 30 days which adds considerable weight to the

figures.

e-Choupal: ITC Scaled Down Commodities, Launched Tamil Portal In

FY09

Its annual report, BSE listed ITC Ltd has noted that with Government intervention over the

past year – like a ban on exports, stock controls and subsidization of prices, ITC had to exit

trading in several commodities, and consequently, restructure its e-Choupal network.

ITC launched 50 e-Choupals during the year in Tamil Nadu, supported by the Tamil

version of echoupal.com ―with over 250 web pages‖, looking to target crops such as paddy.

ITC also set up three more Choupal Sagar malls during the year, and now has 24 Choupal

Sagars in three states.

e-Choupals are outlets for sourcing raw materials and selling FMCG products, set up in

Rural India by ITC, in partnership with local entrepreneurs. These are backed by a digital

infrastructure, and offer farmers value added services such as crop advisories, advance

weather forecasts, output price discovery, direct communication tools etc.

Reuters Market Light also has a service for daily updates via SMS, and powers Nokia Life

Tools with similar inputs. eChoupals claim to cover over 40,000 villages, but I wonder if

all villagers have access to them. Access to information is power, and given the societal

complexities of our country, I feel that personal access to such information via the mobile

would be more powerful than having a ―Sanchalak‖ in control of information. According to

a press release in July, e-Choupals reached out to 1 million farmers, which isn‘t much.


Pranab launches pension scheme for unorganised sector workers

Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday launched a pension scheme for

workers in the unorganised sector who do not have access to the social security net.

―I launched the scheme to coincide with the 78th birthday of Prime Minister Manmohan

Singh. This scheme will help those who are not covered under any social security scheme,‖

Mr. Mukherjee said after unveiling the programme at a function here in Murshidabad

district.

Validity period

Under the scheme — which is named ‗Swavalamban' — subscribers would get Rs.1,000

from the government each year for a subscription amount of Rs.12,000 per year. The

scheme will remain valid for this financial year and for the next three consecutive fiscals.

Mr. Mukherjee has already allocated Rs. 100 crore for the scheme in the budget for 2010-

11. It will be managed by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority of

India.

A subscriber can enter the scheme at the age of 18 years and will be eligible for pension

after turning 60.

Mr. Mukherjee said 87 per cent of the country's workforce would benefit from the

‗Swavalamban' scheme, adding that there were eight crore people above 60 who were not

getting pension.

This figure will rise to 20 crore over the next 17-18 years.

On turning 60, the pensioner can withdraw 60 per cent of his contribution, while the

balance will be given as a monthly annuity by the LIC. The LIC has been appointed one of

the many aggregators who will collect subscription amounts from subscribers.

Higher pension amount

Mr. Mukherjee said that while announcing the scheme in the budget, he had asked the State

governments to join the programme so that pensioners could benefit by getting a higher

pension amount.


Responses

―However, only two states — Haryana and Karnataka — have responded to the scheme,‖

he said.

Minister of State for Finance N.N. Meena, LIC chairman T.S. Vijayan and other senior

Finance Ministry officials were present at the event.

Mahatama Gandhi tanta mukti gaon mohim

The United Nations has decided to recognise the Mahatma Gandhi Tanta Mukti Gaon

Mohim (Dispute-free Village Scheme) of the Maharashtra government. The scheme was

introduced as a way to get rid of small disputes in the village and thus bring about

harmony. It was also seen as a measure to reduce the work pressure on policemen. Pune

Rural SP Pratap Dighavkar will present the model to the U.N. at their New York

headquarters on August 11.

Speaking to journalists here, he said that he was really happy to be representing India at the

global level. ―The credit goes to the local police officers and constables. I am just

representing them,‖ he said. The presentation will be given to the officials of the United

Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Children's Fund

(UNICEF), the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the U.N. General Assembly and

the Security Council.

The Maharashtra model is likely to be replicated in other developing countries, where

logistics and infrastructure of the judicial machinery were weak, Mr. Dighavkar said. He

will also spend time with social scientists, reformers and peace makers in various

universities and share the model and his experiences with them.

Speaking of the achievements of the scheme, he cited figures in Pune district where 790 out

of 1,134 villages have become ‗dispute-free' in the last two and a half years and hence the

district received Rs. 19,31,000,00 ($4.4 million), as the prize money from the State

government. Since October 2009, 36,294 conflicts at the village-level were resolved and

now, 28,084 cases were awaiting resolution, he said.

Mr. Dighavkar said the scheme helped the government save Rs. 20 crore and also 15 tonnes

of paper. The government did not have to spend a single rupee for the implementation of

the scheme.

In April 2010, Khairlanji was recognised by the scheme as a dispute-free village. The

award and the money came to the village three years after four from a family of Dalits were

brutally massacred there. The case will now be heard in the Supreme Court after the death

sentence of six of the accused was commuted to life term. Calling Khairlanji dispute-free,

some would argue, was an irony. The committee members of the village defended


themselves saying that murder, as a cognizable offence, was out of the ambit of the scheme

and hence, the committee could not do anything about it.

Mr. Dighavkar refused to comment on Khairlanji and said he would do the same if the

question came up in the U.N. presentation.

―I cannot say anything about a matter that is in the courts. But I agree, sometimes political

and communal biases may play a role at the village level.‖

Khairlanji was not the only village facing such issues over the scheme being implemented

in the State since 2007, when Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and Home Minster R.R.

Patil introduced it.

Gender issues surrounding the scheme came to light when Kiran Moghe, State president of

the All India Women's Democratic Association (AIDWA) studied its implementation in

Pune district in association with the Department of Women's Studies, University of Pune.

―In Pune, there are not many sharp distinctions in caste. But there are serious gender

problems. In a society that is mostly male-dominated, it is already difficult for women,

especially in the rural areas, to express themselves. To add to it, the committee members

are in most cases, men. This puts more pressure on the women and cases of domestic

violence are covered up,‖ she said.

Five-eggs-a-week scheme inaugurated in Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri

Collector V. Arun Roy inaugurated the five-eggs-a-week scheme at the Panchayat Union

Primary School, Kaveripattinam, near Krishnagiri, on Tuesday in the presence of Public

Relations Officer N. Monoharan and other officials.

Inaugurating the scheme, the Collector said that during the birth anniversary celebrations of

former Chief Minister C.N. Annadurai, Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi had announced the

scheme to increase the number of eggs from three to five a week at all the noon meal

centres.

Accordingly, a total of 1,99,833 students would get the extra nutrition through the 1,585

rural noon meal centres and 12 urban centres across the Krishnagiri district.

For 4,401 students who do not consume eggs, bananas would be supplied for all the five

days. The Collector called upon the noon meal centre workers to maintain hygiene in the

centres, check the quality of eggs and boil them to the required temperature.

He also called up on the Block Development Officers, Assistant Project Officers and

elected representatives to visit the noon meal centres on regular basis and verify whether

the scheme is implemented properly.


The serving of boiled channa (20 grams) on Tuesdays and boiled potato (20 grams) on

Fridays would continue, the Collector added.

In Dharmapuri, Collector P. Amutha inaugurated the scheme at the Illakkiampatti

Government Girls Higher Secondary School in Dharmapuri on Monday. After inaugurating

the scheme, she said that under the scheme, a total number of 1,92,335 students will be

benefited from this scheme. She also said that 7,075 students who do not consume eggs

will be provided banana in all the five days.

Pranab to launch LIC's Swavalamban scheme

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is scheduled to formally launch the ‗Swavalamban

Scheme' of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) on Sunday at Murshidabad in West Bengal.

The Centre has already approved the operational guidelines for the scheme which was

announced by Mr. Mukherjee in his budget speech for 2010-11. The scheme is applicable

to all citizens in the unorganised sector who join the New Pension Scheme (NPS), subject

to their meeting the eligibility criteria, an official statement said here. The scheme is to be

funded by grants from the Centre.

Under the scheme, the Central government will contribute Rs.1,000 a year to each NPS

account opened in 2010-11 and for the next three years. To be eligible, a person will have

to make a minimum contribution of Rs.1,000 and a maximum contribution of Rs.12,000

annually .

In recognition of their faith in the NPS, all NPS accounts opened in 2009-10 will also be

entitled to the benefit of ‗Swavalamban', subject to fulfilment of the eligibility criteria. A

person will have the option to join the NPS as an individual as per the existing scheme or

through the CRA Lite approved by the Pension Fund Regulatory Development Authority

(PFRDA).

Akrama-Sakrama scheme approved by cabinet

The State Cabinet has given approval to the Akrama-Sakrama scheme for regularisation of

unauthorised housing layouts and violations in building bylaws across the State.

The scheme will come into effect immediately (after it is notified in the State gazette) and

building bylaw violations up to 25 per cent for commercial structures and up to 50 per cent

for residential structures will be regularised. The penalty for various categories and

varieties of violations has also been slashed by 50 per cent. All violations, with December

3, 2009, being the cut-off date, will be eligible under the regulation scheme, and those who

pay the fine within a specified period (likely to be a month) will be eligible for a 5 per cent

discount.


Further, the declaration and the fine to be paid will also be similar to the self-assessment

scheme (SAS) in payment of the property taxes. All building owners will be given three

months‘ time to submit their application and the applications received will be processed

within a period of three months. In other words, violations can be regularised within a

period of six months after the notification is gazetted.

Exit from the ‗Swavalamban scheme' would be on the same terms and conditions on which

exit from Tier-I account of NPS is permitted and will be subject to the condition that the

minimum pension out of the accumulated pension wealth would be Rs.1,000 a month, in

accordance with the provisions of operational guidelines.

Sabla scheme likely to be launched on November 14

The Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls - Sabla - is likely to be

launched in 200 select districts on November 14, celebrated as Children's Day in the

country.

The Scheme is aimed at addressing the multi-dimensional problems of adolescent girls

between 11 and 18 years and would be implemented through the platform of Integrated

Child Development Scheme (ICDS) projects and anganwadi centres. Over one crore girls

are expected to benefit from the scheme annually.

Upgrading skills

The girls would be empowered by improvement in their nutritional and health status and

upgrading home, life and vocational skills. It also aims at equipping the girls on family

welfare, health, hygiene and information and guidance on existing public services, along

with mainstreaming out of school girls into formal or non-formal education.

Nutrition would be provided to all girls of 11 to 15 years who are out of school and those of

15 to 18 years. The scheme is expected to tackle the inter-generational cycle of

malnutrition, effectively, to prepare young girls for future motherhood. It would eventually

result in the reduction of high levels of anaemia, maternal mortality rate and child

marriages.

Launch on pilot-basis

The Centre is in the process of identifying the 200 select districts where the scheme would

be launched on a pilot basis. The government has allocated Rs. 1,000 crore for the purpose

for the current financial year. Sabla would be a Centrally-sponsored scheme except for the

nutrition component for which the State would have to shell out 50 per cent of the cost. As

per the estimates, the cost of nutrition would be Rs. 5 per day per girl.


Health problems

Adolescent girls in general, and those out of school in particular, have considerable unmet

needs in terms of health including reproductive health, education, nutrition and skill

development. Given the high levels of under-nutrition and anaemia in adolescent girls and

women, compounded by early marriage, early child bearing and inadequate spacing

between births, adolescent girls perpetuate an inter-generational cycle of under-nutrition,

gender discrimination and poverty.

‘Laadli' scheme making its mark

Over 6,900 girls registered under the Delhi Government's ‗Laadli' girl child welfare scheme

have passed their Class X examination.

As per information provided by the Delhi Government, the flagship scheme launched in

2008 has come a long way as Rs.3.7 crore has already been released as final claim in

respect of these girls who have attained 18 years of age.

The scheme has received a good response so far with 290,655 girls registered under it till

July this year. It has helped improve the gender ratio in Delhi and enrolment of girls in

schools. Girls who are keen to pursue their studies after passing Class X would be helped in

securing admission to higher secondary classes.

United Nations

The United Nations Organization (UNO): There are currently 192 member states,

The General Assembly (the main deliberative assembly); the Security Council (for

deciding certain resolutions for peace and security); the Economic and Social

Council (for assisting in promoting international economic and social cooperation

and development); the Secretariat (for providing studies, information, and facilities

needed by the UN); the International Court of Justice (the primary judicial organ);

and the United Nations Trusteeship Council (which is currently inactive). Other

prominent UN System agencies include the World Health Organization (WHO), the

World Food Programme (WFP) and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

The UN's most visible public figure is the Secretary-General, currently Ban Ki-

moon of South Korea, who attained the post in 2007. The organization is financed

from assessed and voluntary contributions from its member states, and has six

official languages: Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), English, French, Russian, and

Spanish.

International Court of Justice is located in The Hague, while other major agencies

are based in the UN offices at Geneva, Vienna, and Nairobi. Other UN institutions

are located throughout the world.


Important areas of reading and building awareness:

(1) CURRENT CRR & SLR

(2) CURRENT PORTFOLIO OF MINSTER RELATED TO AGRICULTURE,

RURAL DEVELOPMENT ETC

(3) COMMON WEALTH GAMES ANY CONTROVERSY


IRMA 2007

1. What is poverty?

2. Many economics are of the opinion that India is no more a developing country.

Rather it is a country in the state of transformation. What are the symptoms, which

have prompted these economists to form this opinion about India?

A. More and more countries are outsourcing their business to India.

B. India has a vast reserve of highly technically skilled manpower

C. Instead of agro based economy we are economically growing.

3. Which of the following is true about farmer in India?

4. Which of the following policy is designed for farmers specially – Kisan Credit Card,

PSL

5. Which of the following is not a BRIC country?

6. The economic growth of a country is very much influenced by which of the following

policies of Govt. of the country?

(1) Forex Mgmt. Policy

(2) Trade Policy

(3) Fiscal Policy

(4) Monetary Policy

7. 2001 census birth rate highest in which state?

8. As we all know a high rate of economic growth raises the living standard of the

general public in a country and is considered the most potent factor in eliminating ...

(1) cultural barriers

(2) low quality of employment

(3) gender inequality

(4) poverty

(5) All of these

9. Highest Milk producing state in India?

10. Which of the following is the women upliftment programme run by Indian Govt.

(1) TRYSEM

(2) Swa Shakti

(3) TREAD

(4) SGSY

(5) STEP


11. The most obvious indicator of a prosperous village is

(1) MaleFemale ratio

(2) Effective Water Management

(3) Soil Health

(4) Women Empowerment

(5) All of these

12. Where will be a probability of less poor?

(1) Metro

(2) Remote village

(3) Town

(4) District HQ

13. In certain studies done by Agri. Scientist it is noticed that the formers use/apply more

than the required quantity of chemical fertilizers in their fields. What may be the

reasons for the same? Farmers have a misconception that .....

(A) More fertilizer will give good crops

(B) More fertilizer reduce the water required for the crop

(C) Chemical fertilizer increase the fertility of the land for the future.

14. UNO classified countries amongst the developed and undeveloped on the basis of

(1) Population

(2) Education Facilities

(3) Per Capita Income

(4) Change in the index of GDP in last three years

(5) None of these

15. Which of the following in a country like India can be considered as the sign(s) of

economic growth?

(A) High rate of migration of people from city to metros and rural to urban areas

(B) Rising imbalance in malefemale ratio

(C) Decline in rate of unemployment

16. Marginal and Small farmers in most of the places in India are mainly dependent on

who for their working capital requirements for their day to day affairs

(A) Local Money Holders

(B) Rural Banks

(C) National Banks

17. Farmers in India certainly get a subsidy on which of the following commodities

(1) Tractors (2) Chemicals (3) Seeds (4) Fertilizers

18. In India population policies are made for a period of 20 years. Period of the present

population policy is


19. India is considered a very important Dam and Multipurpose river valley project

construction country. But latest/new studies shown that these projects have created

some problems in the country than providing the solution of the same. Which are

these problems?

20. Nurses emigration from which state is maximum in Gulf countries?

21. The infrastructural facilities are often referred to as economic and social overheads.

Which of the following is/are included in these facilities?

22. Sectoral Growth rate in Xth plan

23. Cooperative Credit Societies in village is known as

(1) Rural Cooperative Banks

(2) Choupal

(3) Panchayat Samiti

(4) Agri. Credit Society

24. The recent suicides of farmers in Maharashtra and Karnataka were related to which

crop – Paddy, Cotton, Onion

25. SEZ full form?

26. Name of the bank of Dr. Mohd. Younus.


IRMA 2006

1. As all of us know India is the largest producer of milk in the world. Not only this,

India also has largest livestock population in the world. Despite this India's share in

export of diary products is not very promising. What might have hampered India's

potential export dairy products?

(A) European Union and USA used to provide heavy subsidy to dairy farming

uptill now.

(B) Indian producers receive no subsidy.

(C) Rich nations use to dump their dairy products.

(D) Indian livestock population is not of very high quality.

(1) Only (A)

(2) Only (B) and (C)

(3) Only (B) and (D)

(4) Only (A), (B) and (D)

(5) (A), (B), (C) and (D) all

2. As per the reports published in newspapers and magazines/journals the

nonagricultural sector is gaining a higher growth rate in employment rural areas.

Which of the following sectors are emerging as important source of rural

employment?

(A) Manufacturing

(B) Trade

(C) Transport

(1) Only (A)

(2) Only (B)

(3) Only (C)

(4) (A) and (B) both

(5) (A), (B) & (C) all

3. Musampally, a village in Andhra Pradesh has more borewells (6000) than people

(5000). But only a few (less than 100) yield water. There are several other villages

like Musampally where borewells do not yield water. What is/are the probable

cause(s) for the same?

(A) Boring is not done properly.

(B) Water table has started receding in most of the States in India in general.

(C) The foodgrain crop which is being sown these days is abnormally high water

absorbing. Hence no borewell in those areas yield water.

(1) Only (A)

(2) Only (B) and (C)

(3) Only (B)

(4) Only (A) & (C)

(5) (A), (B) & (C) all


4. Ratan Tata, the Chairman of Tata Group of industries when asked about his plans for

the future, commented, 'We believe that our companies should be in business to serve

the biggest and fastest growing segment in India'. His indication was towards

(1) Higher income group having of Rs.10 lakhs and above.

(2) Middle class having income between 2 to 5 lakhs.

(3) Rural people who are now demanding a life demanding a life style

comparable to the people in cities and urban areas.

(4) Youngsters who are about 60% of today's India.

(5) None of these

5. The first private Greenfield 'Special Economic Zone' (SEZ) is coming up in

(1) Mumbai

(2) New Delhi

(3) Hyderabad

(4) Bangalore

(5) Jaipur

6. What may be the probable reason(s) owing to which employment opportunities in

agricultural sector have gone down in the last few years? (Answer of this question

should be based on knowledge of current trend in the area).

(A) More and more people in rural areas are shifting towards horticulture and

other such high value products. (Like spices, medicinal plants)

(B) Agriculture of crops has declined sharply.

(C) Agriculture in India has become almost 100% mechanized.

(1) Only (A)

(2) Only (B)

(3) Only (A) & (B)

(4) Only (A) & (B)

(5) None of these

7. The Union Budget 200405 has given special attention to agricultural and rural

sectors. Which of the following is/are correct in this regard?

(A) Doubling the agricultural credit in the next five years.

(B) Rs.2800 crore allocated for the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme.

(C) Rs.8000 crore earmarked for Rural Industrial Development Fund.

(1) Only (A) & (B)

(2) Only (A) & (C)

(3) Only (A)

(4) Only (B)

(5) (A), (B) & (C) all


8. Occupancy rights were granted to farmers in India under the Provisions of .....

(1) Abolition of Zamindari Act

(2) Consolidation of Landholding Act

(3) Tenancy Reforms Act

(4) Land Ceiling Act

(5) All of these

9. Late Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Narayan was associated with .....

(1) Total revolution (2) White revolution

(3) Blue revolution (4) Green revolution

(5) None of these

10. It is generally observed that the Indian farmers specializing in agricultural

commodities and they are in distress and some of them are going towards suicides.

What are the probable reasons for general distress of farmers in India?

(A) Earlier, Indian agricultural prices were lower than international prices, hence

export was possible.

(B) Due to WTO obligations Indian farmers are put to unrest.

(C) Exports by developed countries are heavily subsidized. Indian farmers do not

get that much subsidy.

(1) Only (A) (2) Only (B)

(3) Only (B) & (C) (4) (A), (B) & (C) all

(5) None of these

11. Many a times it is seen that the services provided by the organization fail to reach the

poor. What could be the reason(s) for it?

(A) Public spending is typically enjoyed by the rich.

(B) Money does not reach to frontline service providers like teachers in primary

schools and doctors in clinics etc.

(C) Incentive for effective and prompt/honest services may be very weak.

(1) Only (A)

(2) Only (B)

(3) Only (C)

(4) (A) & (B) only

(5) (A), (B) & (C)

12. Under Indira Awaas Yojana, grantslnaid is provided for house construction to help

.....

(1) people below poverty line

(2) SCs and STs only

(3) rural people below poverty line

(4) SCs, STs and QBCs

(5) None of these


13. 'Gyandoot'is concerned with the .....

(1) use of literacy mission for the benefit of rural people.

(2) use of information technology for the benefit of rural masses in Maharashtra.

(3) uses of information technology for the benefit of rural masses in Madhya

Pradesh.

(4) Decentralization project in Kerala.

(5) None of these

14. Bio fuels are supposed to contain several hazardous pollutants. Which of the

following is NOT them?

(1) Chlorine

(2) Carbon monoxide

(3) Formaldehyde

(4) Nitrogen dioxide

(5) None of these

15. In the context of the WTO Agreement on Agriculture (AoA), Blue Box subsidies

rotor to

(1) a market price support mechanism that sets no production limits

(2) direct linking of production to subsidies, also setting limits on output by way

of quotas etc

(3) income support scheme unlinked to production

(4) all forms of domestic support deemed to be trade distorting

(5) None of these

16. If you are asked to comment on health care services in India without referring to any

literature which of the following statement(s) will you pick up as TRUE statements?

(A) The child mortality rate has gone up as there is imbalance in sex ratio.

(B) Now more people have access to mother child care units.

(C) India has sufficiently high number of senior citizens

(1) Only (A)

(2) Only (B)

(3) Only (B) & (C)

(4) (A) Only (Q

(5) None of these

17. The phrase "non performing assets (NPAs)" in the context of banking refers to .... .

(1) deposits warranting payment of a very high rate of interest by banks.

(2) deposits involving payment of low level of interest.

(3) advances on which repayment is not forthcoming as per repayment schedule.

(4) collateralfree loans.

(5) loans and advances sanctioned to small economic operators.


18. If you are asked to comment on the Public Distribution System (PDS) in India which

of the following statement(s) will you pick up as correct? (Without referring to any

literature).

(A) The number of PDS outlets has gone up almost in ail states.

(B) Number of items covered under PDS has reduced as people use the system

only for purchase of sugar and kerosene.

(C) Public Distribution System has failed miserably in its goal.

(1) Only (A)

(2) Only (A) & (B)

(3) Only (B)

(4) Only (B) & (C)

(5) None of those

19. Public Distribution System (PDS) is aimed primarily at

(1) The equitable distribution of land among the public

(2) Fair distribution of the means of production among the rich and the poor

(3) providing people with foodstuff and other essential commodities at fair price

(4) proper distribution of public assets

(5) None of these

20. From a total of 12 biodiversity hot spots in the world, India has two. These are .... .

(1) IndoGangetic plains and the Deccan plateau

(2) the Eastern Ghats and the Thar desert

(3) Coorg valley and Chhattisgarh

(4) the northeastern region and the Western Ghats

(5) None of these

21. In the past few years, foreign exchange reserves in India .... .

(1) have increased considerably

(2) have remained steady

(3) have decreased significantly

(4) have decreased by a small margin

(5) have been siphoned off by Indian Corporates

22. Micro Finance refers to .... .

(1) the system of extension of credit by micro financial institutions to any kind of

enterprises or small, medium or large.

(2) the system of financing the micro enterprises only, necessarily by micro

financial institutions.

(3) provision of thrift, credit and other financial services of very small amounts to

the poor, not necessarily by small financial institutions only.

(4) system of extension of installment loans for purchase of consumer services

(5) None of these


23. An indicator currently used by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

and many of the world for measurement of the quality of people's life is known as .....

(1) human development index

(2) average expectancy of life

(3) per capita income

(4) standard of living index

(5) None of these

24. 'Rainfed' farming can be called .....

(1) safe, simple and cost effective method.

(2) complex, diverse and risk prone

(3) highly risk prone

(4) less risk prone

(5) None of these

25. 'Inflationary pressure on an economy essentially signifies ....

(1) absence of growth impulses in the economy

(2) a disequilibrium between exports and imports

(3) excess of government revenue over government expenditure

(4) an imbalance between money supply and the supply of goods and services in

the economy

(5) None of these

26. As per rough estimates how many people are displaced by the big dam projects in

India?

(1) 10 million

(2) 12 million

(3) 15 million

(4) 20 million

(5) 38 million

27. AntiPoverty programmes are strong indicators of government initiatives in the area of

rural development. Which of the following is NOT an antipoverty programme

launched by the Government of India?

(A) Swarnjayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY)

(B) Sampoorna Grameen Rojgar Yojana (SGRY)

(C) Kisan Credit Card Scheme

(1) Only (A)

(2) Only (B)

(3) Only (C)

(4) (A) & (B) both

(5) None of these


28. In Indian agriculture which of the following is next to foodgrains In terms of area

coverage value?

(1) Oilseeds

(2) Vegetables

(3) Fruits

(4) Flowers

(5) None of these

29. One area in which cooperative movement has been most successful with exemplary is

.... .

(1) bankingsector

(2) housing development

(3) dairy & milk prod

(4) small scale sector

(5) Khadi & village industry

30. Which of the following agencies was set up to promote new technological inputs for

enhancing prosperity?

(1) CAPART

(2) HUDCO

(3) SIDBI

(4) IDB1

(5) None of these

Answers Key

1.(5) 2.(4) 3.(3) 4.(3) 5.(1) 6.(5 ) 7.(5) 8.(5) 9.(1) 10.(5)

11.(3) 12.(5) 13.(3) 14.(1) 15.(2) 16.(3) 17.(3) 18.(1) 19.(3) 20.(4)

21.(1) 22.(2) 23.(1) 24.(3) 25.(2) 26.(5) 27.(3) 28.(1) 29.(3) 30.(1)


IRMA 2005

1. Which of the following is the second largest agro based industry in India?

(1) Sugar

(2) Oil

(3) Paper

(4) Jute

(5) None of these

2. The 5th

Ministerial Level Meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) held

recently in Mexico. Which of the following is NOT TRUE about it?

(A) USA and European Union both decided to cut down their export subsidies to a

substantial level.

(B) Indian and a coalition of about 50 developing countries decided to be away

from the discussion as they were not given proper time slot to put up their

views.

(C) India was of the view that subsidy on agricultural products should not be

removed by developed countries to enable India and order such countries to

complete with them and be a strong economy.

(1) Only A

(2) Only B

(3) Only C

(4) B and C both

(5) A and B both

3. About 140 children between 4 to 14 years from the rural areas other died or fells

seriously ill due to a malarial fever recently. This sudden out break of the mysterious

illness look place in.

(1) Orissa

(2) Andra Pradesh

(3) Maharashtra

(4) Tamil Nadu

(5) None of these

4. The Prime Minister of India recently announced an extension of cheaper loan faculty

to farmers. Which of the following is NOT TRUE about it ?

(A) Farmers availing loans up to Rs.2 lakhs would be charged an interest rate

equivalent to the Prime lending rate.

(B) Crop loans up to Rs.50,000 given by the Public Sector Banks will have

maximum 9% interest.

(C) If the crop fails due to any natural calamity the interest amount automatically

will be waived off. Only principle amount will be required to be paid off in

equal quarterly installments in 7 years time.


(D) All agricultural loans can how be availed for a maximum period of 120

months like any other nonagricultural loans.

(1) Only A & B

(2) Only A & D

(3) Only B & D

(4) Only A, C & D

(5) Only A, B & C

5. The procurement of Sal seeds was recently in news. Which of the following is/are the

correct statements, about the uses, production and export of Sai seeds?

(A) Sai seeds are occurred from the forests of Assam & Kashmir.

(B) Sai seed oil is in great demand in the Japan.

(C) This time some State Govt. imposed a tax on the Sai seeds coming from other

states which created some imbalance in its interstate markets.

(1) Only A

(2) Only B

(3) Only C

(4) Only C & B

(5) All are correct

6. Which of the following considered a cash crop?

(1) Wheat

(2) Bajra

(3) Ground Nut

(4) Paddy

(5) All of these

7. The Matrivedi Shamayitha Math who is helping people of marginalised areas by

forming Self Help Group ‗Atmadwip‘ is located in which area of the country?

(1) Bankura district, West Bengal

(2) Bikaner district, Rajasthan

(3) Bhuj district, Gujrat

(4) Raipur district, Chhattisgarh

(5) None of these

8. Which type of winds generally bring rains in India?

(1) Planetary winds (2) Monsoon winds

(3) Cyclonic winds (4) Anticyclonic winds

(5) None of these

9. The name of Ishwarbhai Patel is closely associated with which of the following?

(1) Herbal Medicine Plantation

(2) Rural Sanitation

(3) Power generation through garbage

(4) Promotion of nonconvention means of enemy


10. Who amongst the following was adjudged as who ‗week‘s Man of the Year 2002 as

he help Himalayan Villagers tap local resources and thus to open new avenues of self

reliance to them?

(1) Baba Amte

(2) Rajendra Singh

(3) Sundarlal Bahuguna

(4) Suresh Prabhu

(5) None of these

11. Who amongst the following is the author of the book, Monetary and Financial Sector

Reforms in India : A Central Banker‘s Perspective‘ which was published recently?

(1) Dr. Bimal Jalan

(2) Dr. Y.N. Reddy

(3) Dr. N.Nagrajan

(4) Dr. C. Ragrajan

(5) None of these

12. Who amongst the following has devised an ecofriendly system to clear muddy water

with a purification design which works with the help of a perennial reed?

(1) Prof. Suresh Billore of Ujjain

(2) Prof. K.S. Jagadish of Bangalore

(3) Dr. Bindeshwar Prasad Subash Chauchataya Technology fame

(4) V. Radhakishan of Bangalore

(5) None of these

13. Attaining growth with Social Justice needs talking of the problem of .....

(1) Inequality

(2) Inefficiency

(3) Corruption

(4) Population

(5) None of these

14. The Prime Minister recently gave a clearance to a relief package of at most Rs.600

crores for the farmers from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Uttaranchal. This is to

provide relief to those growing ..... .

(1) Cotton

(2) Wheat

(3) Sugarcane

(4) Paddy

(5) Onions


15. Which of the following TRUE about the ‗River Linking Project which is very much

news these day?

(1) The National Water Board has prepared a plan to link 6 out of 331 river which

can be linked easily.

(2) The estimated cost is Rs.5,50,000 crore

(3) Sri Suresh Prabhu, a Union Minister is given the responsibility for the

implementation of the plan.

(4) The Supreme Court of India has fixed a time limit for the action which 2025.

(5) All the above are true.

16. Which of the following is a famous international market for floricultural products of

India?

(A) Iraq

(B) Netherlands

(C) China

(1) Only A

(2) Only B

(3) Only A & B

(4) Only C

(5) None of these

17. Which of the following states is said to be one of South Asia‘s worst flood ravaged

parts as every year it is badly affected by severe floods?

(1) Bihar

(2) Chhattisgarh

(3) Rajasthan

(4) Assam

(5) None of these

18. Which of the following is NOT a part of the Medical Termination pregnancy Act

1971 which, has recently then made more stringent by passing of a bill?

(A) Stringent punishment to clinics for abortions who are not authorised to

conduct abortions.

(B) Abortions are to be conducted only if mother/child is affected by HIV or is

likely to get HIV.

(C) A panel of doctors appointed by the Chief Medical Officer of the district is

authorised to recommend abortion of a girl child in case of serious threat to

life of mother and/ or child.

(1) Only A

(2) Only B

(3) Only C

(4) Only A & B

(5) Only B & C


19. Who is considered the pioneer of Green Revolution in India?

(1) Dr .V. Kurian

(2) Dr. M.S. Swaminathan

(3) Dr. J.V. Narilkar

(4) Dr. Amrita Patel

(5) None of these

20. Before the WTO came into being which agency/organisation details with

International trade issues?

(1) FAO

(2) ITC

(3) GATT

(4) UPOV

(5) None of these

21. Under Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), every family living below

poverty line is provided with how much foodgrain per month?

(1) 20 kg (2) 25 kg

(3) 30 kg (4) 35 kg

(5) None of these

22. Which of the following countries has raised an objection to the river linking plan of

India?

(1) Pakistan (2) Nepal

(3) China (4) Bhutan

(5) None of these

23. A good quantity of gas was found in the basin of which of the following rivers?

(1) Krishna and Godavari

(2) Ganga and Yamuna

(3) Cauveri

(4) Jhelum and Chenab

(5) None of these

24. Which of the following concepts is given by Ravindranath Upadhyay, a Gandhian

who was honoured by the prestigious Jamnalal Bajaj Award recently?

(1) Developing a new technique of water harvesting which results in 20%

reduction in loses.

(2) Use of local resources in energy production like wind, solar power etc. at

small scale and for personal use of each house hold.

(3) Collection of dew as a source of potable water.

(4) Common granary for the rural areas where villages can deposit their produce

according to their capacity and take it back when they need it.

(5) None of these.


25. In which of the following state it is suggested that all those persons who are canning

Rs.5,000 or more every month should put a H stamp on their Ration Cards so that

essential commodities are not sold to those people?

(1) Tamil Nadu

(2) Kerala

(3) Delhi

(4) Uttar Pradesh

(5) None of these

26. Recently the provision for ‗Rain Water Harvesting‘ on all the building was made

mandatory in a state. Which of the following is that states? (Success rate is also report

as 99%)

(1) Delhi (2) Karnataka

(3) Kerala (4) Tamil Nadu

(5) None of these

27. Panchayat Raj Institutions help in attaining ..... .

(1) Forest Development

(2) Agricultural Development

(3) Decentralised Development

(4) Road Development

(5) None of these

28. Why is Dona round of WTO so popular?

(1) It was a sea side venue

(2) It was the first round of WTO

(3) It set the development agenda of WTO

(4) It failed to take any decision

(5) None of these

29. Human Development index stressed which of the following for attaining

development?

(1) Growth is the ultimate

(2) Growth is only a means

(3) Growth to be included

(4) Growth to the ignored

(5) None of these

30. As per the Welfare Scheme of the Union Govt. every active fisherman is insured for

an amount of ... (in case of death).

(1) Rs. 1 lakh (2) Rs. 50,000/

(3) Rs. 25,000/ (4) Rs. 1,50,000/

(5) None of these


31. Sustainable development involves attaining both ..... .

(1) Agricultural and Industrial Development

(2) Rural and Urban Development

(3) Inter and intergenerational Equity

(4) Government and NGO Development

(5) None of these

32. A post Harvest Technology centre is functioning at

(1) IIT Kharagpur

(2) Chandra Shekhar Azad Agriculture University, Kanpur

(3) Didhanchandra Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, W. Bengal

(4) Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi

(5) None of these

33. Agreement on Agriculture of the CATT (WTO) deals with ..... .

(1) Farm production subsidies

(2) Tariffs on agricultural goods

(3) Agroexport subsidies

(4) All (1), (2) & (3)

(5) None of these

34. The currently under going Janmabhoomi programme relates to ..... .

(1) the movement for temple construction

(2) rural development in general

(3) distribution of land to the poor

(4) archaeological excavations for locating medieval structures

(5) None of these

35. The Agricultural census is conducted to seek information on which of the following?

(A) Number of ratio in each family

(B) The number of tractors available in the country

(C) Distribution of holding landlord

(D) Land use the cropping pattern

(1) Only A & B

(2) Only B

(3) Only C & D

(4) Only C

(5) None of these

36. India is the largest producer of ..... .

(1) Coconut (2) Pineapple

(3) Apple (4) Orange

(5) Sugarcane


37. Which of the following has been made a fundamental right in 2001?

(1) Food

(2) Employment

(3) Housing

(4) Education

(5) All of these

Answers Key

1.(1) 2.(2) 3.(2) 4.(4) 5.(4 ) 6.(5) 7.(1) 8.(2) 9.(2) 10.(3) 11.(2) 12.(1) 13.(1) 14.(3) 15.(3) 16.(2) 17.(5) 18.(5) 19.(2) 20.(3)

21.(1) 22.(5) 23.(1) 24.(4) 25.(1) 26.(4) 27.(3) 28.(4) 29.(1) 30.(1)

31.(3 ) 32.(1) 33.(3) 34.(2) 35.(4) 36.(5) 37.(5)


IRMA 2004

Directions: For the following questions, choose the correct option.

1. Which of these is a major tea producing state ?

Ans. Assam

2. What is the position of India in fish production ?

Ans. Third

3. What is the full form of WTO ?

Ans. World Trade Organisation

4. Which of these in a major Jute producing country ?

Ans. Bangladesh

5. India‘s GDP is 2,30,000 crores what is the projected share of India‘s GDP in the

world GDP in 2020?

Ans. 10%

6. What is the allowed water discharge level by Cauvery water Board according to the

latest report ?

Ans. 52.92 TMC (Water year June 2005 to July 2006 at Mettur dam)

7. What is the rank of Indian economy in the world ?

Ans. Sixth

8. What is the basis for determining whether a person is below poverty line or not (in

India) ?

Ans. If income is not sufficient to purchase all the resources requires to live.

9. What is ‗Van panchayat‘ ?

Ans. Van Panchayats are a unique institution, characteristic of the state of

Uttaranchal, for organized utilization and protection of forests and related natural

resources by local communities that are dependent on them.

10. How many (percent) people in India are dependent on agriculture?

Ans. 6065%

11. Fertilizer Industry falls under which ministry ?

Ans. Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers

12. What is the minimum investment capital for an industry to be declared SSI ?

Ans. Rs. 1 crore


13. ‗Right to work‘ comes in :

Ans. Fundamental Rights

14. Which was the first metallurgical satellite in India ?

Ans. METSAT

15. What is the amount that an SC/ST candidate has to pay for Lok Sabha election

nomination?

Ans. Rs. 250

16. Which crops are grown in the Ganga basin ?

Ans. Rice, Sugarcane, Lentis, Oilseeds, Potatoes, Wheat.

17. What is the time for North Eastern Monsoon ?

Ans. November to April

18. Date of formation of the 13th Lok Sabha is :

Ans. 13, October 1999

19. What is the per capita food grain availability in India ?

Ans. 525 gms

20. Which of these countries is the largest producer, consumer and exporter of spices?

Ans. India

21. What is the purpose of ‗Helpage India‘ ?

Ans. Care of older persons

22. UN has decided to celebrate this year as

Ans. International year of Thanks Giving

23. What is the main banking authority in India ?

Ans. RBI


IRMA 2003

1. Anthrax is

Ans. A diseased which spread through spores.

2. Who is the renowned author associated with Narmada Valley Project?

Ans. Arundhati Roy

3. Who has recently given a saying to ban smoking at public places?

Ans. Supreme Court

4. Which dam‘s project stated once again after Supreme Court's recent ruling?

Ans. Narmada Valley project

5. Calorie intake for children to come under below poverty line is

Ans. 2400 calorie

6. ―Monsoon wedding‖ is a

Ans. Movie which won award in Venice film festival.

7. Largest producer of milk in world is

Ans. India

8. Largest producer of Rice in world is

Ans. China

9. Following 2 statements related to sugar production are given, which of these is/are

false?

(a) India largest producer of sugar

(b) India largest consumer of sugar.

Ans. Neither statement is false.

10. Following 3 statements related to children literacy rate and their population in

world are given, which of these is/are false?

(a) 113 million are illiterate

(b) 137 million total population

Ans. Statement (b) is false

11. Chairman of National commission on cattle is

Ans. Dharampal

12. An award related to operation flood was given to

Ans. Dr. V. J. Kurien


IRMA 2003

1. Which Indian received the Templeton Prize recently?

Ans. Pandurang Shastri Athawale 1997

Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan 1975

Mother Teresa 1973

2. Which organisation is Amrita Patel associated with?

Ans. National Dairy Development Board

3. What is the total length (kms) covered by allweather roads in India?

Ans. 960, 000 km

4. Who is associated with Shirdi Village?

Ans. Sai Baba

5. What is Operation Flood?

Ans. Dairy products production

6. Indian Population shall increase by how much by 2050?

Ans. 159.3 million

7. Which person is associated with the Ever Green Revolution?

Ans. M. S. Swaminathan

8. Which movement is Arundhati Roy associated with?

Ans. Narmada Valley Project

9. Which two states are involved in the Cauvery River Water dispute?

Ans. Tamilnadu and Karnataka

10. When was the last census of animals undertaken in India?

Ans. October 2003, and before that in year 1997

11. Deficiency of which vitamin causes night blindness?

Ans. Vitamin A

12. Who received the Nobel Prize for Economics in 2000?

Ans. Amartya sen


13. Which of the following is a water born disease?

(1) T.B. (2) Malaria

(3) Typhoid (4) None of these

Ans. Malaria

14. The Central Government has allowed VRS for which of the following group of

workers?

(1) All Central Government employees

(2) Bank employees

Ans. Bank employees

15. In which event did K. Malleswari win an Olympic medal in Sydney Olympics?

Ans. Weightlifting

16. Which organisation did World Bank Chief James Wolfensohn visit on his recent

trip to India?

Ans. L & T Infocity Ltd.

17. Which state has an extremely efficient sugar cooperative system?

Ans. Maharashtra

18. Which gas affect the Ozone layer the most?

Ans. Carbon di oxide

19. Who is the Governor of newly constituted state Uttaranchal?

Ans. Surjit Singh Barnala

20. Which state lead in these crop: Tendu leaves, Coffee etc.?

Ans. Tendu leaves – M. P., Coffee – Karnataka

21. In which states of India Panchayati Raj in not available?

(1) Assam & Meghalaya

a. Nagaland & Meghalaya

Ans. Nagaland and Meghalaya

22. Who won the Booker prize for the year 1999 2000?

Ans. 2000 : Margaret Atwood, Trezza Azzopardi, Michael Collins, Kazuo Ishiguro,

Matthew Kneale, Brian O'Doherty.

1999 : J. M. Coetzee, Anita Desai, Michael Frayn, Andrew O'Hagan, Ahdaf Soueif,

Colm Tóibín.

23. Who is the chairman of NABARD?

Ans. Mr. Y. C. Nanda


IRMA 2002

1. Expected population of India by the end of 2000 ...

(1) 100 million (2) 130 million

(3) 110 million (4) 190 million

Ans. 100 million

2. Rural population of India is what percentage of total population?

Ans. 70%

3. Chandrababu Naidu has launched a scheme for social awareness :

Ans. Lok Jumbish

4. Kalahandi is famous for :

(1) Flood (2) Rural Development program

(3) Surplus food growth (4) None of these

Ans. Surplus food growth

5. World population day …………….

Ans. 11th July

6. Which cash crop failure was the reason for farmers committing suicide ?

Ans. COTTON

7. What is Terminator Seed ?

Ans. An infertile seed developed by monsonto and US department of Agriculture that

requires farmers to by new seed year after year after year.

8. Which MNC is involved in this conspiracy ?

Ans. MONSANTO

9. Which two companies are allowed to be disinvested by GOI ?

Ans. GAIL & IOL

10. 1998 GDP growth rate is .......

Ans. 5.4%

11. Important criteria for classifying people below poverty time:

Ans. CALORIE

12. Which state in India has allowed 1/3 reservation of women in Civil Services ?

Ans. Possibly West Bengal


13. Largest importer of food grain in the world is …………..

Ans. Japan

14. ‗Dirham‘ to the currency of which country ?

Ans. KUWAIT

15. After a prolonged legal battle, women of which country have been allowed to vote ?

Ans. KUWAIT

16. Full form of "SIDBI"

Ans. Small Industries Development Bank of India

17. Who has written "Policing Democracy"

Ans. Author is R.K. Raghavan

18. "Narendra Nath" who died recently was related to …….

(1) Hockey

(2) Chess

(3) Badminton

(4) Tennis

Ans. Tennis

19. Duration of "Eight five year plan"

Ans. 19921997

20. Which of these is not a fundamental right ?

(1) Slaughter of healthy animal

(2) National Heritage

(3) Security

Ans. Slaughter of healthy animal


IRMA 2001

1. Main objective of IRDP was :.....

Ans. Enable indentified rural poor families to augment their incomes and cross the

poverty line through acquisition of credit based productive assests.

2. 73rd Constitutional amendment is related to :

Ans. Panchayatas

3. Prof. Amartya Sen has been awarded Nobel Prize in Economics for which field?

Ans. Third world countries and illiteracy

4. Name given to Revolution in Fishing

Ans. Blue Revolution

5. Untouchability is eradicated through :

(1) Constitutional amendments.

(2) By forgetting

(3) Direction principle

(4) None of these

Ans. Constitutional amendments

6. Reservation in constitution is given on the basis of :

(1) Religion and language

(2) Religion only

(3) Language only

(4) Caste only.

Ans. Caste only

7. What does "RYOTAWRI" system mean?

Ans. A system of revenue collection for farmers.

8. What is the scheme not related to Poverty Alleviation ?

(1) JRY

(2) EGS

(3) FWP

(4) None of these

Ans. None of these


9. What was the total area of Land Holding in 1990 in India?

Ans. 105, 507, 000 hectare

10. Why did few farmers recently commit suicide?

Ans. Because they were unable to pay loan defaults.

11. Who is a "Marginal Farmer"?

Ans. A cultivator with a land holding of 1 hectare or less (2.5 acres)

12. Timing of Rabi crop :

Ans. November – April

13. Where is the headquarter of FAO?

Ans. Rome, Italy

14. Which state has completely privatised electricity?

Ans. Orissa


Sample Questions for your reference

1. The name of the prison where gross human rights violations were reported in Iraq by

US soldiers was

(1) Baghdad Central prision

(2) Abu Gharib

(3) Abu Sahara

(4) Al Hasania

2. The term ‗food security‘ as used in development and humanitarian aid implies

(1) a situation in which people in a community at all times, have access to

nutritious, safe, personally acceptable and culturally appropriate foods,

produced in ways that are environmentally sound and socially just.

(2) availability of ample storages and warehouses in a community, so that the

food is secure.

(3) availability of cultivable land to grow food crops.

(4) as development takes places in a community, the food habits evolve and

acquire a global character.

3. The NGO, ‗cry‘ (child relief and you), was established in 1978 by

(1) Amit Awasthi

(2) Jagjit Singh

(3) Rippan Kapur

(4) Rohan Singh

4. The state to have recorded the most dramatic decadal growth in literacy since 1991 is

(1) Orissa

(2) Rajasthan

(3) Madhya Pradesh

(4) Chhattisgarh

5. Which state has the dubious distinction of recording the lowest sex ratio of 861 in

census 2001.

(1) Haryana

(2) Bihar

(3) Orissa

(4) Rajasthan


6. Kerala has the highest literacy rate in India. Accord to census 2001 it hovered around

(1) 99%

(2) 90.92%

(3) 95.6%

(4) 88%

7. The top 3 states, in terms of literacy rates, in India are

(1) Kerala, Tamilnadu, Andra Pradesh

(2) Kerala, Mezoram, Lakhyadweep

(3) Kerala, Mizoram, Tamilnadu

(4) Kerala, Bengal, Tamilnadu

8. Department of ‗Ayush‘ (Ministry of health and family welfare) is to

(1) upgrade and strengthen Indian system of medicine like Ayurveda, yoga,

Homeopathy, Sidha etc.

(2) address the needs of aged people

(3) supervise education of prodigal brains in the field of medicine and utilize their

services in R&D.

(4) None of the above

9. The term ‗Green GDP‘ implies

(1) net value of GDP, deducting the amounts not realized, thus what is left is the

currency, which is green in colour.

(2) the GDP of Islamic countries.

(3) the adjustment of traditional GDP, deducting resource and environmental

costs in economic activities.

(4) the GDP of fastest growing economies, which causes envy to other nations,

symbolically represented by colour green.

10. What is meant by ‗trickledown‘ theory of development?

(1) Income generated in industrial sector at top will integrate the agriculture

(subsistence) sector at the bottom by flow of income.

(2) For development to become a reality, policies should focus on the

marginalized sections, which have trickled down, and reached the bottom

rungs of society.

(3) Development should imply trickle down of power from center to grass root

levels of panchayats.



11. In India, estimation of incidence of poverty is on the basis of per capita calorie

consumption, which amounts to

(1) 2400 cal for rural and 2100 cal urban areas




12. According to the planning commission statistics, the percentage of people below

poverty line in India, in rural & urban areas respectively, is

(1) 26% and 23.6%

(2) 30% and 26%

(3) 23% and 22%

(4) 30% and 35%

13. The long-term target of ‗National Population Policy 2000‘ is to achieve a stable

population by the year

(1) 2025

(2) 2010

(3) 2020

(4) 2045

14. ‗Operation Flood‘ is a

(1) cooperative based movement pioneered by Dr. Kurien, for the production of

milk.

(2) the rescue mission army undertakes to protect civilians from the wrath of

floods.

(3) strategy to flood foreign markets with cheaper goods.

(4) programme to evacuate submerged villagers in catchment areas, when flooded

by river after construction of a dam.

15. The human development Index (HDI) of UNDP measures three basic dimensions of

human development. These do NOT include.

(1) Longevity and Health

(2) IT in governance

(3) Education and Knowledge

(4) Decent standard of living

16. GDI is

(1) Grand Development Index

(2) Gross Development Initiative

(3) Gender related Development Index

(4) Goals of Development in India


17. How much was India‘s production of sugarcane in 200708?

(1) 194 million tonnes




18. Which automobile company was in news recently for its new marketing initiative

titled ‗Ghar Ghar Ki Pehchaan‘ for tapping rural markets for its popular model?

(1) Maruti Suzuki

(2) Hyundai

(3) Tata Motors

(4) Mahindra & Mahindra

19. NEERI – National Environment Engineering Institute, is situated at

(1) Dehradun

(2) Shimla

(3) Nagpur

(4) Trivendrum

20. How much was India‘s per capita income in 200708 according to the Central

Statistical Organisation?

(1) Rs 19,718

(2) Rs 27,745

(3) Rs 33,131

(4) Rs 39,361

21. ―Bhagidari‘, is the successful citizen participation initiative of govt. of:

(1) Maharashtra

(2) Delhi

(3) Gujarat

(4) Uttar Pradesh

22. The expenditure, as a percentage of GDP, on education, in India is

(1) 2.4%

(2) 8%

(3) 5%

(4) 3.9%

23. The expenditure on health, as a percentage of GDP, in India is

(1) 9%

(2) 5%

(3) 4%

(4) 3%


24. Ironically, amidst the reports of starvation deaths, the food subsidy bill of India has

climbed to all time high of

(1) 27,746 crores

(2) 40,000 crores

(3) 1000 crores

(4) 54,880 crores

25. As per the International Labour Organisation (ILO), what percentage of children (age

group 10-14 years) are employed as child labour?

(1) 10%

(2) 12%

(3) 14%

(4) 20%

26. The chairperson of the NGO, center for science and Environment (CSE) is

(1) Sunita Narayan

(2) Aruna Roy

(3) Amrita Patel

(4) Maneka Gandhi

27. How much was India‘s production of cotton in 200708 and how much is each bale

worth?

(1) 15 million bales, 130 kg




28. How much was India‘s trade deficit (imports minus exports) in 200708, according to

the Ministry of Commerce & Industry?

(1) $ 56.7 billion

(2) $ 72.4 billion

(3) $ 80.3 billion

(4) $ 97.1 billion

29. Survey of India comes under the purview of_____

(1) Defence Ministry

(2) Environment and Forest Ministry

(3) Home Ministry

(4) Science and Technology Ministry


30. Name the scheme designed to provide AIIMS like institutions in 6 backward states of

Bihar Chhattisgarh, MP, Orissa, Rajasthan and Uttaranchal.

(1) Pradhan Mantri Chirayu Yojna

(2) Pradhan Mantri Sanjeevani Yojna

(3) Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Sangathan Yojna

(4) Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojna

31. Demographic transition‘ is the transition form a stable population with high mortality

and high fertility to a stable population with

(1) low mortality and low fertility

(2) high mortality and low fertility

(3) low mortality and high fertility


32. The ‗Greenhouse Gases‘ does NOT include

(1) CO2 (2) Chloroflouro carbons

(3) Methane (4) Sulphur dioxide

33. International Day against Drug abuse is observed on

(1) June 26 (2) October 10

(3) April 5 (4) January 2

34. The ‗Golden Triangle‘ of world‘s primary opium and heroin producing areas,

includes the countries of

(1) Myanmar Thailand and Laos (2) India, Myanmar and Thailand

(3) Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia (4) India, Myanmar, China

35. The limit on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the sector of print media in India is

(1) 74% (2) 15%

(3) 51% (4) 26%

36. The ‗Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan‘ (SSA) is a centrally sponsored scheme to universalize

the

(1) higher education (2) secondary education

(3) elementary education (4) Vocational education

37. How much was the share of agriculture in India‘s GDP in 200708, according to the

Central Statistical Organisation (CSO)?

(1) 12.1% (2) 17.8%

(3) 23.1% (4) 27.4%


38. By what name was the 1992 ‗United Nations Conference on Environment and

Development‘ better known?

(1) Earth Summit (2) Terra Firma Summit

(3) Kyoto Summit (4) Globus Summit

39. The union cabinet approved implementation of PURA in 4130 rural clusters in next 5

years. PURA stands for

(1) Pollution Under Control in Rural Areas

(2) Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas

(3) People in Urban areas to be settled in rural Areas.

(4) Providing Useful amenities to rural Areas.

40. How much was India‘s production of crude oil and natural gas in 200708, according

to the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas?

(1) 34 million tonnes & 32,274 million cubic metres




41. How much was the share of agriculture in India‘s GDP in 200708, according to the

CSO?

(1) 45.7% (2) 54.2%

(3) 61.1% (4) 73.4%

42. How much was India‘s food grain production in 200708?

(1) 190 million tonnes (2) 219 million tonnes


43. Rajendra Singh is the founder of an origination, in the field watershed mgmt, which is

transforming the landscape of Rajasthan. Name the origination.

(1) Yuva Bharat

(2) Mazdoor Kissan Sangarsh Sangh

(3) Tarun Bharat Sangh


44. 70% of the global total of HIV infected live in the

(1) Sub Saharan Africa (2) Indian Subcontinent

(3) Northern Africa (4) USA and Canada

45. How much was India‘s external debt at the end of financial year 200708 (on March

31, 2008), according to the RBI?

(1) $ 119 billion (2) $ 169 billion

(3) $ 187 billion (4) $ 221 billion


46. How much was India‘s steel production in 200708, according to the Department of

Industrial Policy and Promotion?



47. The rationale behind ‗Midday Meal‘ Scheme is

(1) to address the problem of absenteeism of teachers in rural areas.

(2) to reduce the drop outs in primary school as midday meal serves as an

incentive to attend school regularly.

(3) Mid day Meals scheme would bolster food for work Programme.

(4) None of the above.

48. An index combining the unemployment rate and inflation rate, used to measure the

political significance of the condition of the economy and consumer confidence, is

known as

(1) misery index (2) unemployment index

(3) discomfort index (4) weak index

49. What is Tobin Tax related to?

(1) Stock market transaction (2) Agriculture tax

(3) Property tax (4) Public property tax

50. What is sex ratio?

(1) Number of females per thousand males

(2) Number of males per thousand females

(3) Number of females per sq. km.

(4) Number of females per 100 families

51. Who among the following is the managing director of the home appliance major

Whirlpool India?

(1) Rajeev Kanwal (2) Pushpinder Singh

(3) Raj Jain (4) Rajat Kapoor

52. Which company claims to be "India's first global corporation"?

(1) Reliance group (2) Ranbaxy

(3) Tata sons (4) AB Birla group

53. How much is the annual installed capacity of the India‘s nuclear power programme

run by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL)?

(1) 2198 MW (2) 3153 MW

(3) 4124 MW (4) 5393 MW

54. How much was India‘s rice production in 200708?




55. In India first agriculture insurance scheme, Comprehensive Crop Insurance Scheme

(CCIS) had been launched in which year?

(1) 199900 (2) 200001

(3) 198586 (4) 199596

56. Which among the following statements is/are true about the Minimum Alternative

Tax (MAT)?

A. Mat is levied on companies whose tax liability in a particular year is less tha

7.5% of their book profits

B. Mr. P Chidambaram had introduced this tax in his earlier stint in finance

ministry

C. The Budget 200405 has scrapped this tax

Choose the answer from the following choices:

(1) Only A (2) Only B

(3) A and B (4) B and C

57. Which of the following has the highest share (2000 MW) of annual installed capacity

in India‘s nuclear power production?

(1) Kakrapar (2) Kaiga

(3) Kudankulum (4) Tarapur

58. According to the Central Statistical Organisation what was the growth rate in India‘s

industrial production in 200708?

(1) 7.3% (2) 8.1%

(3) 9.7% (4) 11.2%

59. According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) how many

vehicles (two-wheelers, three-wheelers, cars and utility vehicles and commercial

vehicles) were exported from India in 200708?

(1) 0.21 million (2) 0.67 million

(3) 1.23 million (4) 1.94 million

60. Which type of winds generally bring rains in India?

(1) Planetary winds (2) Monsoon winds

(3) Cyclonic winds (4) Anticyclonic winds

61. The name of Ishwarbhai Patel is closely associated with which of the following?

(1) Herbal Medicine Plantation

(2) Rural Sanitation

(3) Power generation through garbage

(4) Promotion of non-convention means of enemy


62. Which of the following statements is true about Venu Srinivasan?

(1) He is the Chairman of the Chennai based TVS Motor Company

(2) He is the first Indian to be honoured by Warwick University (UK) with

doctorate degree (Honorary)

(3) He excels in manufacturing technology and research

(4) All of the above

63. Who amongst the following is the author of the book, Monetary and Financial Sector

Reforms in India : A Central Banker‘s Perspective‘ which was published recently?

(1) Dr. Bimal Jalan (2) Dr. Y.N. Reddy

(3) Dr. N.Nagrajan (4) Dr. C. Rangrajan

64. On 1st July, Saddam Hussein faced an Iraqi judicial hearing, where he was read seven

preliminary charges. Which of the following has/have been included in these charges

A. Invasion of Kuwait

B. Suppressing the Shiite uprising

C. Gassing of the Kurds

(1) A and B (2) B and C

(3) A only (4) A, B and C

65. Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) is a standard criterion for

(1) Measuring oxygen levels in animals

(2) Computing oxygen levels in forest ecosystems

(3) Estimating pollution levels in aquatic systems

(4) Measuring oxygen levels in blood

66. Agni I missile has a range of:

(1) More than 300 kms (2) More than 700 kms

(3) 400 kms (4) 100 kms

67. Recently United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

(UNESCO) has declared two temples in India as "World heritage monuments". These

two temples are landmark examples of

(1) Chola culture (2) Gupta architecture

(3) Kushana architecture (4) Chandela culture

68. India is abundant in the reserves of which radioactive element?

(1) Uranium (2) Thorium

(3) Radium (4) Plutonium .

69. Which of the following is a famous international market for floricultural products of

India?

(A) Iraq

(B) Netherlands

(C) China


(1) Only A (2) Only B

(3) Only A & B (4) Only C

70. What is common to Mangala, Aishwariya and Bhagyam?

(1) Oil fields developed by Cairn

(2) Drilling rigs of ONGC

(3) Matchstick brands of ITC

(4) Brands of fireworks from Sivakasi

71 A 533Metre tall building is being constructed at the site of World Trade Tower that

was destroyed on 11th November, 2002. The name given to the building under

construction is

(1) Phoenix Tower (2) Dragon Tower

(3) Hope Tower (4) Freedom Tower

72. Except Pakistan, USA has offered non NATO ally status to another country recently.

The country is

(1) Ukraine (2) Uganda

(3) Uruguay (4) Morocco

73. Who is considered the pioneer of Green Revolution in India?

(1) Dr. V. Kurian (2) Dr. M.S. Swaminathan

(3) Dr. J.V. Narikar (4) Dr. Amrita Patel

74. The first Amendment to the constitution was passed in the year

(1) 1953 (2) 1952

(3) 1951 (4) 1950

75. Before the WTO came into being which agency/organisation deals with International

trade issues?

(1) FAO (2) ITC

(3) GATT (4) UPOV

76. The documentary film, A Brilliant Sun, directed by Zafar Hai, chronicles the life of

which business magnate?

(1) J.R.D. Tata (2) Laxmi Niwas Mittal

(3) M.S. Oberoi (4) Aditya Vikram Birla

77 Thymine deficiency causes:

(1) Parkinson's disease (2) BeriBeri

(3) Scurvy (4) Pellagra

78. Total fatty matter (TFM) is a parameter used to judge the quality of which product?

(1) Hair dye (2) Skin cream

(3) Soap (4) Shampoo


79. Why did the Indian government ban the import of ‗Terminator seeds‖?

(1) They contain a virus which can destroy local crops

(2) These seeds are injurious to human and animal health

(3) These seeds contain genetically engineered properties to prevent further

multiplication

(4) These seeds multiply at very slow rates

80. Instrument used to measure the force and velocity of the wind as

(1) Ammeter (2) Anemometer

(3) Altimeter (4) Audiometer

81. Recently the provision for ‗Rain Water Harvesting‘ on all the building was made

mandatory in a state. Which of the following is that state? (Success rate is also report

as 99%)

(1) Delhi (2) Karnataka

(3) Kerala (4) Tamil Nadu

82. Panchayati Raj Institutions help in attaining ..... .

(1) Forest Development (2) Agricultural Development

(3) Decentralised Development (4) None of these

83. Consider the following

A. Bharat Electronics Limited

B. Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited

C. Goa Shipyard Limited

Which of these is/are functioning under the Department of Defence Production and

Supplies?

(1) 1, 2 and 3 (2) 1 only

(3) 2 and 3 (4) 1 and 3

84. Which one among the following is the highest peak?

(1) Kamet (2) Kin Lun

(3) Nanga Parbat (4) Nanda Devi

85. "Point 5353" which was at the center of controversy in recent past was related to

(1) Kargil War

(2) IndoChina Border Dispute

(3) IndoNepal Border

(4) Oil Exploration in Indian Ocean

86. "Powering India's Growth" tagline is associated with one Navratna PSU (public

sector undertaking). The PSU in the question is

(1) Power Trading Corporation (2) Indian Oil

(3) NTPC (4) SAIL


87. Applause Entertainment, which recently produced Amitabh Bachchan starrer film

'Dev', is financially backed by a well-known businessman. The businessman in the

question is

(1) Kumar Mangalam Birla (2) Ratan Tata

(3) Vijay Mallya (4) Sunil Bharti Mittal

88. Which variety of coal contains the highest percentage of carbon?

(1) Anthracite (2) Peat

(3) Bituminous (4) Lignite

89. The currently undergoing Janmabhoomi programme relates to ..... .

(1) the movement for temple construction

(2) rural development in general

(3) distribution of land to the poor

(4) archaeological excavations for locating medieval structures

90. The Agricultural census is conducted to seek information on which of the following?

(A) Number of ratio in each family

(B) The number of tractors available in the country

(C) Distribution of holding landlord

(D) Land use the cropping pattern

(1) Only A and B (2) Only B

(3) Only C and D (4) Only C

91. India is the largest producer of ..... .

(1) Coconut (2) Pineapple

(3) Apple (4) Sugarcane

92. Which of the following has been made a fundamental right in 2001?

(1) Food (2) Employment

(3) Housing (4) Education

93. Who invented the World Wide Web in 1989?

(1) Tim Berners Lee (2) Ken Thompson

(3) Bill Gates (4) Doug Englebart

94. The branch of agriculture which deals with the health and breeding of the domestic

animals is called:

(1) Dairy science (2) Veterinary Science

(3) Poultry (4) Animal Husbandry

95. Which of the following is the second largest agro based industry in India?

(1) Sugar (2) Oil

(3) Paper (4) None of these


96. "CRISIL" is an abbreviation for

(1) Credit Rating Information Services of India Ltd.

(2) Child Rehabilitation Service of India Ltd.

(3) Children Relief and Inhabitants Securities of India Ltd.

(4) Credit Rating Investigation Service of India Ltd.

97. Constitution amending bill passed by the parliament also requires to be ratified by the

legislatures of not less than half of the states in regard to the

(1) Fundamental Rights

(2) Fundamental Duties

(3) Representation of states in the parliament

(4) Constitutional Emergency

98. One of the essential conditions of perfect competition is

(1) Different prices for identical products

(2) Large number of buyer and sellers

(3) Large number of buyers and less numbers of sellers

(4) Only one seller in the market.

99. Under whose advice the President of India declares Emergency under Article 352?

(1) Council of Ministers

(2) Chief Ministers of all states

(3) Cabinet

(4) Prime Minister

100. Tenth Five–Year Plan covered the period:

(1) 2001–2006 (2) 2002–2007

(3) 2003–2008 (4) 2000–2005

101. Largest Sugarcane Producing State in India is:

(1) Uttar Pradesh (2) Haryana

(3) Orissa (4) Bihar

102. Which of the following offices has not been provided in the constitution?

(1) Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha

(2) Deputy speaker of Lok Sabha

(3) Deputy Prime Minister

(4) Deputy Speaker of Legislative Assembly

103. What is ‗Sagar Samriddhi‘?

(1) ONGC‘s multibillion dollar deep–sea oil and gas hunt.

(2) A new oil exploration ship.

(3) The operation launched to increase the export of sea products.

(4) A new nuclear submarine.


104. Who is the successor to the authority that was functioning as the privy council before

the coming into being of the Constitution of India?

(1) The president of India

(2) The council of Ministers of the central Government

(3) Supreme court

(4) The Rajya Sabha

105. Which of the following is not included in the National Income?

(1) Imputed rent of owner occupied houses.

(2) Government expenditure on making new bridge.

(3) Winning a lottery

(4) Commission paid to an agent for sale of a house.

106. ‗Ceteris Paribus‘ means

(1) Ignoring everything (2) Including each component

(3) All other things unchanged (4) Everything variable

107. River Ganga does not pass through the state of:

(1) UP (2) Bihar

(3) Haryana (4) West Bengal

108. The Indian Government has approved in the end of 2001 the cultivation of genetically

modified cotton called 'BT Cotton'. Which multinational company is the major

beneficiary of this decision?

(1) Cargill (2) BASF

(3) Monsanto (4) Syngenta

109. Which PC component was invented by Douglas Englebart?

(1) Hard disc (2) Processor

(3) Monitor (4) Mouse

110. What is dry ice?

(1) Liquid nitrogen (2) Water ice

(3) Solid carbon dioxide (4) Frozen ethanol

Answers Key

1.(1) 2.(1) 3.(3) 4.(2) 5.(1) 6.(2 ) 7.(2) 8.(1) 9.(3) 10.(1)

11.(1) 12.(1) 13.(4) 14.(1) 15.(2) 16.(3) 17.(3) 18.(2) 19.(3) 20.(3)

21.(2) 22.(4) 23.(1) 24.(1) 25.(3) 26.(1) 27.(3) 28.(1) 29.(3) 30.(4) 31.(1) 32.(4) 33.(1) 34.(1) 35.(4) 36.(3) 37.(2) 38.(2) 39.(2) 40.(1)

41.(2) 42.(2) 43.(3) 44.(1) 45.(4) 46.(1) 47.(2) 48.(1) 49.(1) 50.(1) 51.(3) 52.(4) 53.(3) 54.(2) 55.(3) 56.(3) 57.(3) 58.(2) 59.(3) 60.(2)

61.(2) 62.(4) 63.(2) 64.(4) 65.(3) 66.(2) 67.(1) 68.(2) 69.(2) 70.(1)

71.(4) 72.(4) 73.(2) 74.(3) 75.(3) 76.(1) 77.(2) 78.(3) 79.(3) 80.(2) 81.(1) 82.(4) 83.(1) 84.(3) 85.(1) 86.(3) 87.(1) 88.(1) 89.(3) 90.(4)

91.(4) 92.(4) 93.(1) 94.(4) 95.(4) 96.(1) 97.(3) 98.(2) 99.(3) 100.(2) 101.(1) 102.(3) 103.(1) 104.(3) 105.(3) 106.(4) 107.(3) 108.(3) 109.(1) 110.(3)

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