Lovely Quotes !!!!!!!!!!!

IAS is a long drawn proposition ::: hence some refreshing quotes :::

" If you win, you need not explain, but if you loose, you should not be there to explain"
ha ha ha,,,,,,,,who else but Adolf Hitler said this

"If you don't come across problems, you should be sure that you are in the wrong path"
----------- Swami Vivekananda

Indian Space Programme

Factsheet :

• ISRO was established in 1969 as India's primary space Research & Development organization.
It is responsible for developing launcher and propulsion systems, launch sites, satellites and their tracking networks.

• Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) is ISRO's single largest facility, near Trivandrum providing the technology base for launcher & propulsion development.

• Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre has development branches in Bangalore and Trivandrum are supported by major test facilities at Mahendragiri for wide spectrum of liquid motors, from reaction control system thrusters to the 720kN Vikas and cryogenic engines.

• ISRO Satellite Centre is the lead centre for the design, fabrication & testing of science, technology and applications satellites.

• SHAR Centre is ISRO's orbital launch site and largest solid motor production and test facility.

• ISRO Inertial Systems Unit provides inertial systems & components for satellites and launchers.

• ISRO Telemetry, Tracking & Command Network is headquartered in Bangalore, ISTRAC operates a network of ground station to provide TTC support for launcher & satellite operations.

• Space Applications Centre is located at Ahmedabad, SAC is ISRO's applications R&D centre, including communications, remote sensing and geodesy.

• INSAT Master Control Facility is at Hassan, 180km from Bangalore.

• Development & Educational Communications Unit is at Ahmedabad.

Questions on Medieval India

These might help you guys in the Prelims !! Solve these and send us the answers :::

1) Name the Chauhan ruler who conquered Chittor
a) Prithviraj I b) Vigraharaj I c) Prithviraj III d) Trilochanpal

2) Who succeeded Muizuddin at Ghazni ?
a) Nasiruddin Qubacha b) Aybak c) Tajuddin Yaldoz d) none of these

3) For his bravery, Bakhtiyar received a Khilat from
a) Yaldoz b) Qubacha c) Aybak d) Muizuddin

4) According to whom, Muizuddin’s army against Prithviraj III had 1,20,000 men ?
a) Chand Bardai b) Ferishta c) Minhas Siraj d) Hasan Nizami

5) Who, in circa 854, established a hereditary Arab Government at Sind ?
a) Hajjaj bin Yusuf b) Abdul Aziz Hibbari c) Saman Khuda d) none of these

6) Name the Ismaili ruler who had good relations with Anandpal
a) Fath bin Dawud b) Fath Ahmad c) Fath bin Aziz d) Amin-ul-Mulk

7) Sar-i-jandar means
a) head of the royal household b) head of the royal bodyguard c) head of the royal karkhanas d) none of these

8) In 1189, before the first battle of Tarain, Muizuddin had conquered
a) Lahore for the 3rd time b) Tabarhinda c) Debal d) Peshawar

9) Who defeated Muizuddin at Anhilawara in 1178 ?
a) Mulraja I b) Vidyadhar Chandel c) Mulraja II d) Jaichand

10) Another name of Transoxiana was
a) Amu-un-nahr b) Mawara-un-nahr c) Toghuz-Oghuz d) Seistan

Wow !!! Chinese are ruling in Space !!!

On 27 September 2008 China reached another milestone in its space programme when a Chinese taikonaut, Zhai Zhigang, ventured out of the spacecraft, Shenzhou-7, and performed a 30 minute-long spacewalk. Shortly after the taikonaut returned from the spacewalk, the Shenzhou-7 released a micro-satellite BX-1, weighing 40kg and measuring 40 cm on each side, to take pictures of the orbiting mother spaceship. The BX-1, orbiting in tandem with Shenzhou-7, took thousands of stunning pictures of the mother spaceship, leaving the world greatly impressed about China's growing scientific and technical capabilities. Live telecast of the launch of Shenzhou-7 - the first such event in the history of China was equally impressive, as it reflected China's growing confidence in itself as a space power to reckon with.

Axioms of Lamarck

Jean Baptiste Lamarck (1744-1829) published the Philosophy of Zoology in 1809. It was the first, but unsuccessful attempt of "The Theory of Evolution for all Species". He started from 2 Axioms : Firstly, he believed that the tendency to improvement is inherent in all living beings.And secondly, he believed that the environment can directly induce changes in the shape of the organs of all living beings, i.e. a physically weak person can become an athelete through regular physical exercises. Lamarck concluded that physical characteristics of an animal species is transmitted through heredity. But, he was grossly mistaken ! So, what is the correct theory ??

(Wait for the next article on Darwin's Theory..... )

Bio Warfare

Biowarfare is closely related to knowledge about diseases. The opportunities for the weaponisation of diseases began with scientific breakthroughs in the early 1970s. In 1973, the first gene was cloned, and three years later the first company to exploit technology based on recombinant DNA was found in the United States. Biotechnology has immense potential to improve biological warfare capabilities. However, the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) came into being in 1975; as a result, during the last 30 years, even though science has evolved further, no clear attempts have been made to develop new weapons.

Since September 11, 2001, the detection of bioweapons has become a priority in many countries. The Anthrax letters are a case in point. In the United States, many laboratories are developing various technologies that have direct homeland security applications, and bio-detection systemshave become a top priority. Two distinct but complementary approaches are being pursued in the bioweapons detection arena. In order to identify the physical characteristics of a “germ cloud” present in the atmosphere some distance away from a detector system, air sampling sensors are installed on platforms facing the threat. In particular, micro-air vehiclesare sent as probes into the suspect area, providing digital information by data link. In an amphibious scenario, air and water sampling units could be mounted on floating buoys or low velocity missile probes.

Agni III : the China factor ???

On July 9, 2006, the long awaited Agni-III ballistic missiles test finally took place. This was the first test of this version of Agni designed with a range of 3,000 km. This missile used two-stage solid propellant. It took off successfully but failed to cover its determined course completely.
Apparently, the missile developed a snag while entering into its second stage. Admitting the snag the Indian minister of defence said that it was not a major failure. Scientists are quite confident that the error will be rectified, and the missile would be ready for testing in the near future.
The general understanding is that a series of tests would help develop missiles properly.
India began testing of the Agni series of missiles since 1989. On May 22, 1989, the first test of Agni took place in which Indian scientists demonstrated re-entry vehicle technology.
In May 1992, the second test of Agni failed, but the third test was successful in February 1994. The 1994 test achieved its vital mission objectives such as “re-entry, maneuvering range, control, guidance, 2-stage propulsion and stage separation.” However, for a long period, Agni had the status of technology demonstrator or experimental flight. After the 1998 nuclear device tests, a series of tests of Agni took place. On April 11, 1999, Agni-II surface-to-surface missile with a range of 2500 km plus was tested.

China and other countries also had to face several failed tests of their missiles programme. However, they succeeded only after repeated efforts. Other weapon systems have also faced similar failures.

The Agni-III is critically important for Indian security and nuclear strategy. The acquisition will greatly overcome India’s missile inferiority, more so as India has declared ‘no first use’ of nuclear weapons as part of its nuclear doctrine.

News !!

Many of our Model Questions have appeared in the GS Mains & the Essay papers !! Moreover, topics that we had stressed upon in the Classroom programme also surfaced in the GS papers.
e.g. pros & cons of SEZs, Convertibility of Indian Rupee, Non-Cooperation Movement, Indo-Bhutan relations, Indo-China, India's role in Afghanistan et al.
Specifically (Paper I) : Qs 1 (a), 1 (c), 3(b), 3(c), 4(c), 5(a), 6(a), 6(c), 7(b), 7(c), 11(a)
(Paper II) : Qs 1 (b), 1(c), 2(b), 2(d), 2(e), 3(a), 3(d), 5(b), 6(a, b, c, d), 8(a, b, c, d, e), 9(a), 10 (a, b), 11(a)
Essay : SEZ s
Hence, a total of 271 marks in GS I & II !!!!

Chandra Yaan

The final destination is a circular Lunar orbit 100 kilometres above the surface of the Moon. The first challenge for the engineers of ISRO will be to put the satellite into the transfer orbit around the earth. The PSLV has been modified to lift the 1,304 tonne satellite and attain a highly elliptical orbit.
The nearest point (perigee) of this orbit will be about 250 kilometres and the farthest point (apogee) will be about 22,860 km away from earth. The launch vehicle will have to achieve a velocity of about 26,000 km an hour to place the satellite into the transfer orbit. This, it will do in just over 18 minutes, or 1,096 seconds, to be exact. The capacity of the strap-on-booster motors of PSLV has been increased from nine to 12 tonnes of solid propellant to achieve that. (Because of the increased length of the strap-ons, they are referred to with the suffix XL.)
The first stage of the vehicle together with its six strap-on boosters carries 320 tonnes of propellants. The third stage also uses solid propellant while the second and fourth stages use liquid propellants. Once the launch Vehicle puts the satellite into orbit, the inbuilt thrusters are used to move it into an extended transfer orbit.

All about Dr (Dr) Pachauri

Dr Rajendra K Pachauri assumed his current responsibilities as the Chief Executive of TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute) in 1981, first as Director and, since April 2001, as Director-General.
TERI does original research and provides knowledge in the areas of energy, environment, forestry, biotechnology, and the conservation of natural resources to overnments,institutions, and corporate organizations worldwide. In April 2002, Dr Pachauri was elected the Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, established by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme in 1988. IPCC along with former Vice President Al Gore has been awarded the “Nobel Peace Prize” for the year 2007. He has been active in several international forums dealing with the subject of climate change and its policy dimensions.
He was conferred with the “Padma Vibhushan”, second highest civilian award, for his services in the field of science and engineering in January 2008 by the President of India.
To acknowledge his immense contributions to the field of environment, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the President of India in January 2001. He was also bestowed the “Officier De La Légion D’Honneur” by the Government of France in 2006.
Commencing his career with the Diesel Locomotive Works, Varanasi, where he held several managerial positions, Dr Pachauri joined the North Carolina State University in Raleigh, USA, where he obtained an MS in industrial engineering in 1972, a Ph.D. in industrial engineering and a Ph.D. in economics. He also served as Assistant Professor (August 1974-May 1975) and Visiting Faculty Member (Summer 1976 and 1977) in the Department of Economics and Business.

Indo-Vietnam Trade

Over the past five years there has been a steady increase in the trade volume between India and Vietnam. Finally, it crossed the US$1 billion mark in year 2006-2007. One decade ago, in
1994, the total trade was a meagre US$ 102.6 million. In the last five years there has been a
continuous growth in the bilateral trade. In 2005-06, the bilateral trade was US$ 822.06 million, it grew by 39.81 per cent and reached US$ 1,149.36 million in 2006-07. However, the noticeable fact is that despite the growth in bilateral trade volume, its share in India’s total trade remains insignificant. Over the past five years, the yearly percentage growth in total trade has increased from 0.32% to 0.37%. This indicates that although India-Vietnam trade is increasing, this increase is not exceptional in light of India’s overall trade growth. In 2003-04 India constituted around 1.6 per cent of Vietnam’s total export”2. Despite the increase in India’s share in Vietnamese trade, India still does not figure among the top ten trading partners of Vietnam.
An important highlight of the India-Vietnam trade is that the Balance of Trade (BoT)
has continuously been in favour of India.

Major items of India’s export to Vietnam include food ingredients, ordinary metals, plastic
materials, pharmaceuticals, steel of all kinds, leather and textile materials and pesticides. India’s import basket from Vietnam contains crude oil, pepper, tea, rubber, cinnamon, coal, computer and electronic components. ONGC Videsh has invested US$162 million in offshore oil and natural gas exploration. Esaar Group,Godrej Limited and Ranbaxy are some of the important Indian
companies in Vietnam.

Himadri

India now has its own research station at the Arctic, called "Himadri". Equipped with state-of-the-art facilities for year-round scientific work, the station is at Ny-Alesund in Norway, which is the northern-most permanent human settlement, 1,200 km from the North Pole. Ny-Alesund is the playground for scientists interested in Arctic research.
With Himadri, India has become the 11th country to have established a full-fledged research station here. The others are Britain, Germany, France, Italy, China, Japan, South Korea, The Netherlands, Sweden and Norway. India began its Arctic research programme in August 2007 with five scientists. The National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research, an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, will manage Himadri. Based in Goa, NCAOR has been coordinating India’s polar research.

Admiral Gorshkov

On January 20, 2004, India finally signed the deal to acquire the 44,900-ton Russian aircraft carrier, the Admiral Gorshkov. It was the replacement for the INS Vikrant. The Vikrant, India’s first aircraft carrier, had been commissioned in 1961. Indian efforts to acquire its first carrier began. The Gorshkov was named after Admiral Sergei Gorshkov, the father of the Soviet Union’s blue-water navy. Until he took over, the Soviet Navy had emphasised submarine construction and ballistic missile deterrence.

Economic Jargon

Debenture :

A type of debt instrument that is not secured by physical asset or collateral. Debentures are backed only by the general creditworthiness and reputation of the issuer. Both corporations and governments frequently issue this type of bond in order to secure capital.

Debentures have no collateral. Bond buyers generally purchase debentures based on the belief that the bond issuer is unlikely to default on the repayment. An example of a government debenture would be any government-issued Treasury bond (T-bond) or Treasury bill (T-bill). T-bonds and T-bills are generally considered risk free because governments, at worst, can print off more money or raise taxes to pay these type of debts.

Earning Per Share :

For example, assume that a company has a net income of $25 million. If the company pays out $1 million in preferred dividends and has 10 million shares for half of the year and 15 million shares for the other half, the EPS would be $1.92 =(24/12.5).

Bonds :

A debt investment in which an investor loans money to an entity (corporate or governmental) that borrows the funds for a defined period of time at a fixed interest rate. Bonds are used by companies, municipalities, states and Indian and foreign governments to finance a variety of projects and activities.

Track II Diplomacy

Track II or non-official diplomacy has gained considerable attention in recent years as a mechanism for conflict resolution and peace building between countries. The phrase ‘Track II’ was coined by Joseph Montville of the Foreign Service Institute in the year 1982 to describe methods of diplomacy that fell outside the formal governmental system. According to him, Track II diplomacy is “unofficial, informal interaction between members of adversary groups or nations which aims to develop strategies, influence public opinion, and organize human and material resources in ways that might help resolve their conflict”. Dr Louise Diamond and Ambassador John McDonald wholater expanded non-official interactions into nine tracks define Track II as “the realm of professional non-governmental action attempting to analyse, prevent, resolve, and manage international conflicts by non-state actors.” However, current practice of Track II methods are neither limited to its narrowscope of conflict resolution nor limited to the members of adversary groups or nations. It has been utilised meaningfully to enlarge common grounds between the countries. This is especially true of Indo-US relations.