Bt Brinjal

Introduction to Bt Brinjal:

* The Bt brinjal is a suite of transgenic brinjals (also known as an eggplant or aubergine) created by inserting a crystal gene (Cry1Ac) from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis into the genome of various brinjal cultivars.
* The insertion of the gene, along with other genetic elements like promoters, terminators and an antibiotic resistance marker gene into the brinjal plant is accomplished using Agrobacterium-mediated recombination.
* The Bt brinjal has been developed to give resistance against lepidopteron insects, in particular the Brinjal Fruit and Shoot Borer (Leucinodes orbonalis)(FSB).
* Monsanto, a multinational company based in the USA, has developed the Bt brinjal in partnership with India's Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company (Mahyco).
* Some of the cultivars of brinjal that are alleged to have been engineered include: Malpur local, Manjari gota, Kudachi local, Udupi local, 112 GO, and Pabkavi local.
* It was approved for commercialization in India in 2009, but after a public outcry the Indian government applied a moratorium on its release.

Read more »

Posted in: Today's G.K

Adarsh Scam

The Adarsh Housing Society is a cooperative society in the city of Mumbai in India. It was reserved for the war widows and veterans of the  Kargil War. 

Corruption Allegations

                      * In 2010, the Indian media brought to public the violations of rules at various phases of construction in the Adarsh Society. 

                      * Questions were raised on the manner in which apartments in the building were allocated to bureaucrats, politicians and army personnel who had nothing to do with Kargil War and the way in which clearances were obtained for the construction of the building of the Adarsh Society.

                      * The Adarsh society high-rise was constructed in the posh Colaba locality of Mumbai, which is considered a sensitive coastal area by the Indian Defence forces and houses various Indian Defense establishments.

                             * The society is also alleged to have violated the Indian environment ministry rules.

                             *  Many activists like Medha Patkar had been trying to uncover this scam since a long time.

                     * The exposure of the infamous nexus between politicians, bureaucrats and builders in this scam is said to be only the tip of the iceberg. It had led to resignation of the then Chief Minister, Ashok Chavan.

                     * Several inquiries have been ordered by the army and the Government to probe into the irregularities.  

                     * Some of the current occupants of the flats in the Adarsh co-operative society building have offered to vacate their flats at the earliest, denying allegations that they were alloted flats because they influenced or helped, in some manner, the construction of the society by violating the rules.

                     * The media also exposed that the lower house of the Indian Parliament was misled by one of the bureaucrats, Pradeep Vyas, involved.

                     * The environment minister Jairam Ramesh formally set the ball rolling for the demolition of the entire 31-story scam-tainted Adarsh building in Coloba's eco-sensitive zone on Friday November 12, 2010.

                     * The environment minister is said to have sent a show cause notice to the Adarsh housing society. The environment minister is said to have stated that "all options under the law are open except regularization of the structure".

                             *  As per the Ministry of Environment and Forests' order dated 16 Jan 2011, 'the unauthorised structure should be removed in its entirety and the area restored to its original condition'.

Read more »

Posted in: Today's G.K

Class 4

Hyderabad


           * It was one of the Mughal Provinces in Deccan.
           * This Hyderabad state was founded by one of the Mughal Governors Nizam-ul-mulk-Asaf Shah also known as Chin Qilich Khan (1724-1748).
           * When he died in 1748, the Carnatic war started, because of war of succession.
           * He had two sons, each one supported by the French and the British.
           * Hyderabad was the first state to enter into Subsidiary Alliance given by the British Governor General Lord Wellesley.
           * The last ruler of Hyderabad state was Osman Ali Khan.
           * He fled to Pakistan in 1948, when Hyderabad was annexed to Indian Union.
           * Then Andhra Pradesh comprising of Hyderabad, was the first state to be established based on Lingua-Franca.
           * The wonderful fact was that Hyderabad was never annexed by British and acted independently till 1948.

Oudh/Avadh


       * This state was established by Saadat khan Burhanul Mulk (1722-1739)
       * The next important Nawab was the Shujah ud Daula.
       * He participated in the Battle of Buxar. (1764)
       * After the Battle of Buxar, the British didint annex Avadh, instead kept it as a buffer state for Bengal (To avoid the direct onslaught of Afghans)
       * In 1856, Avadh was annexed to British Empire by Lord Dalhousie by Good Governance Rule.
       * This was one of the Main causes of Revolt of 1857.      


Mysore Kingdom
                
                * In 1612, Mysore Kingdom was founded by Raja Woodyar (One of the feudals of Vijayanagara  kingdom), with the permission from the Vijayanagar Ruler Venkata II of Araveedu Dynasty.
                * Capital was Sri Ranga Pattinam (Seringapattinam).
                * In 1761, Hyder Ali captured the power from the Udayar Dynasty.
                * Anglo Mysore War started.


The four Anglo Mysore Wars will be dealt in The Next chapter "The British Expansion In India" 

Read more »

Posted in: Class 4

Class-III- The Danish, The French, The Dutch

The Dutch
            * The Dutch East India Company had their first settlement at Masoolipattinam in 1605.

            * Their second settlement was at Pulicat (பழவேற்காடு) in present Andhra Pradesh. 

            * Their settlements are

                             # Masoolipattinam.

                             # Pulicat

                             # Surat

The Danish

       * They came to India in 1616.

           * Their main induction wasn't trade with India but to propogate Chrisitianity. 

           * Their main settlements were

                             # Serampore (Bengal) Near Kolkatta

                             # Tharangampadi (In cuddalore)

           * This Serampore is an important education centre set up by the Danish.

The French

           * The French East India Company was setup in 1664 as a Governor department.

           * British East India Company was  private body. French East India Company was a governor body.

           * It was setup because of the effort by the French Finance Minister Colbertt during the perod of Louis XIV.

          

   Factories

           * The following were the factories of French

                              # Surath (1668)

                              # Masoolipattinam (1669)

                              # Puducherry (1673)

           * When the french governor Dupleix came to India, the war between English & French known as Carnatic War (1741 AD)                 

Read more »

Posted in: Class 2

Class 2-II-The British

After the french came the english who ruled us for nearly a 200 whole years..

                                                The British/ The English
             * The English East India Company was setup in 1600., given a charter by Queen Elizabeth I for Exclusive Trade.
             * It was built by raising shares from the people. 
             * It is a shareholder's share and its also a private institution.
             * From 1600-1813 East India Company possessed the Trade Monopoly with India.
             * The major share holders of the English East India Company was known as the Court Of Directors (COD)


English East India Company
             
             * The body was located in London.
             * It managed all the Indian affairs through representatives.
                              # Governor of Fort Williams (Kolkatta)
                              # Governor General of Fort Williams
                              # Governor General of India, The Viceroy.
             * They set up their first factory at Masoolipattinam in 1611.
             * Their second factory was at Surat in 1613.
             * In 1639, the British got a land called Madras, (from Damarla Venkatadri Nayakudu) and constructed the first ever fort in India, St.George Fort.
             * It was constructed by Governor of Madras, Francis Day.
             * In 1668, the East India Company acquired Bombay for a lease of 10£ per year from the british crown. 
             * As a fact, Bombay, a portuguese settlement was given as a dowry to the British King Charles II for the marriage of Poruguese king's daughter.
             * In 1698, the English East India Company bought the following 3 villages 
                              # Govindpur
                              # Sutanidha
                              # Kalikata
              * In 1700 EIC built a fort called Fort Williams (Kolkatta)


                
                          # Compare with that of french
                          # Masoolipattinam (1621)

                          # Surath (1613)

                          # Madras (1639)

              * Their other trade centres were
                          # Balapore
                          # Hoogley (West Bengal)
                   Click here to see their current positions in India

Read more »

Posted in: Class 2

Balapore And Hoogley

Balapore    (Orissa)                     Missile Testing
Hoogley      (West Bengal)           Integrated Test Range Facility (ITRF) under DRDO
                                                    (Defence Research and Development Organisation)

Read more »

Posted in: Class 2

India won the World Cup


Bleed Blue

Read more »

Indias first

Sport

         * Person to swim across the English Channel: Mihir Sen, 1958

         * Woman to swim across the English Channel: Arati Saha, 1959

         * Formula One race driver: Narain Karthikeyan

         * Formula One team: Force India F1
         * A1 GP race victory: Narain Karthikeyan, Zhuhai, China, 2007

         * Person to equal world record in Archery: Limba Ram, 1992

  

Olympics

         * Olympic team medal: Gold for Hockey at the 1928 Summer Olympics Amsterdam, beating the Netherlands.

         * Olympic Individual medal (in British India): Silver by Norman Pritchard for 200 metres races at the 1900 Summer Olympics, Paris. (This is disputed however. The IOC claims he participated for India. The IAAF records him as participant for Great Britain.)

         * Olympic Individual medal: Bronze by K. D. Jadhav for wrestling at the 1952 Summer Olympics Helsinki.

         * Olympic Individual medal by a woman: Bronze by Karnam Malleswari for weightlifting 54 kg class, at the 2000 Summer Olympics Sydney.

         * Olympic Silver medal: Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore for Men's Double Trap at the 2004 Summer Olympics Athens.

         * Olympic Individual gold medal: Abhinav Bindra for 10 m Air Rifle at the 2008 Summer Olympics Beijing.

         * Olympic Bronze medallist in Boxing:Vijender Kumar in Beijing Olympics 2008.

         * Olympic Bronze medallist in Wrestling: Sushil Kumar in Beijing Olympics 2008.

Chess

         * Chess Grandmaster : Male - Vishwanathan Anand, 1988.

         * Female - Koneru Humpy - 2002 - She was also the youngest woman to become a grandmaster at 15 years old.

Tennis

         * Grand Slam title: Mahesh Bhupathi (partnering with Japanese Rika Hiraki) in the Mixed Doubles category of the 1997 French Open.

         * Woman to win a match in a Grand Slam event: Nirupama Vaidyanathan beat Italian Gloria Pizzichini in the first round of the 1998 Australian Open

         * Woman to reach 4th round (highest as of 2009) of a Grand Slam singles event: Sania Mirza in the Singles category of the 2005 US Open.

         * Woman to win a Grand Slam title: Sania Mirza (partnering with Mahesh Bhupathi) in the Mixed Doubles category of the 2009 Australian Open.

Grand Slam junior title: Leander Paes in the Singles category of the 1990 Wimbledon Championship.

         * Grand Slam junior title by a woman: Sania Mirza (partnering with Russian Alisa Kleybanova) in the Doubles category of the 2003 Wimbledon Championships.

Read more »

Posted in: Today's G.K

Class 2- I-Portuguese

Now the first lesson in Indian history....


                             Coming of The Europeans

Introduction before the lesson:

         * Megallan was the first person to tell that the world is not flat.
         * In 1492, Colombus discovered the American Continent. Especially West Indies.
         * In 1498, Vasco-da-gama reached India.

Introduction:

       
         * The various countrymen who came to trade in India were
                        1. Portuguese
                        2. Dutch (Netherland)
                        3. The English
                        4. Danish (Denmark)
                        5. The French

Portuguese:

        * Vasco-da-gama
               # He was warmly welcomed by the Hindu Ruler Zamorin of Calicut.

        * Francis de Almedia (1505-1509)
              # He was the first governor of Portuguese settlement in India.
              # He followed a policy called "Blue Water Policy"

        * Albuquerqie (1509-1515)             
              # He was a contemporary of the Vijaya nagara ruler Krishna Deva Raya.
              # He captured Goa from the Bijapur Sultan.
              # He encouraged his countrymen marrying Indian Women.
              # He tried to abolish Sati.
              # He was a precursor to Lord William Bentick.

       * Nino da Cunna (1529-1538) 
              # He changed the portuguese capital in India from Kochi to Goa.

Three Important Settlements:

         The important settlements of Portuguese in India are
                        1. Goa
                        2. Calicut
                        3. Cannanore
                        4. Daman and Diu

Points to be noted: 


      * Portuguese got an excellent stand in Brazil.
      * In 1661, Bombay, a portuguese settlement was given as dowry to the British Emperor Charles II for the marriage of Portuguese king's daughter.
      * In 1739, Marathas captured portuguese island Bussien & Salsette. (Nariman Point)

Read more »

Posted in: Class 2

Blue Water Policy

* It was a policy introduced by Francis de Almedia.
* According to it, "The portuguese should be the sole trade power in Arabian sea and The Indian Ocean"

Read more »

Posted in: Class 2

Comp 1

1.Consider the following facts about a country in Africa:
1. This country was once known as Economic Power House of West Africa
2. It is world's largest producer of cocoa and third largest producer of coffee.
3. In recent times, there is a political turmoil in this country following the presidential election leading to widespread coverage in media all over world.
Identify this country from the given options:
(A)Liberia
(B)Ghana
(C)Mali
(D)Côte d'Ivoire

2.Hashim Thaci, who is facing charges of Human Trafficking is prime minister of which among the following countries / territories ?
(A)Serbia
(B)Kosovo
(C)Bulgaria
(D)Bosnia and Herzegovina

3.Indian Navy and which among the following Navies have regularly conducted joint exercises named 'INDRA' since 2003?
(A)Russian
(B)UK
(C)US
(D)Australia

4.In which state are located the Integrated Kashang Hydroelectric Project & Sainj Hydroelectric Project which are being supported by Asian Development Bank ?
(A)Jammu & Kashmir
(B)Himachal Pradesh
(C)Uttarakhand
(D)Punjab

5.Consider the following:
1. Near Infrared
2. Mid Infrared
3. Far Infrared
Which among the following is the correct order of increasing wavelength of the above?
(A)1 2 3
(B)3 2 1
(C)2 1 3
(D)3 1 2

6.Where are the headquarters of National Cadet Corps ?
(A)Pune
(B)New Delhi
(C)Chandigarh
(D)Bhopal

7.The Indo-UK Task Force has been created for which among the following ?
(A)Military Affairs
(B)Corporate Affairs
(C)Social Affairs
(D)Bilateral Issues

8.In the 11th plan the share of which among the following kinds of electricity has decreased from 2007-2010 period?
(A)Nuclear Power Capacity
(B)Thermal Power Capacity
(C)Hydro Power Capacity
(D)Solar Power Capacity

9.Consider the following statements:
1. Government of India is planning to invest one trillion US dollar on infrastructure in 12th five Year Plan
2. Half of this investment is envisaged to be financed through private sources
Which among the above statements is / are correct?
(A)Only 1
(B)Only 2
(C)Both 1 & 2
(D)Neither 1 nor 2

10.Container Corporation of India Limited (CONCOR) comes in which among the following categories?
(A)Mini Ratna
(B)Navratna
(C)Maharatna
(D)None of them

Read more »

Posted in: comp 1

Sorry for some delays

Other pages are not ready to be published as this blog is a 1 day old child. All will be fine tomorrow brothers and sisters.

Read more »

           Daily Updates And Hints By An IAS Topper

Read more »

States and their Capitals

Andaman and Nicobar Islands	Port Blair
Andhra Pradesh	Hyderabad
Arunachal Pradesh	Itanagar
Assam	Dispur
Bihar	Patna
Chandigarh	Chandigarh
Chattisgarh	Raipur
Dadra and Nagar Haveli	Silvassa
Daman and Diu	Daman
National Capital Territory of Delhi	Delhi
Goa	Panaji
Gujarat	Gandhinagar
Haryana	Chandigarh
Himachal Pradesh	Shimla
Jammu and Kashmir	• Srinagar (S) • Jammu (W)
Jharkhand	Ranchi
Karnataka	Bengaluru
Kerala	Thiruvananthapuram
Lakshadweep	Kavaratti
Madhya Pradesh	Bhopal
Maharashtra	Mumbai
Manipur	Imphal
Meghalaya	Shillong
Mizoram	Aizawl
Nagaland	Kohima
Orissa	Bhubaneswar
Puducherry	Pondicherry
Punjab	Chandigarh
Rajasthan	Jaipur
Sikkim	Gangtok
Tamil Nadu	Chennai
Tripura	Agartala
Uttar Pradesh	Lucknow
Uttarakhand	Dehradun
West Bengal	Kolkata

Read more »

Posted in: Today's G.K

States and their CMs

	Andhra Pradesh	Kiran Kumar Reddy
	Arunachal Pradesh	Dorjee Khandu
	Assam	Tarun Kumar Gogoi
	Bihar	Nitish Kumar
	Chhattisgarh	Raman Singh
	National Capital Territory of Delhi	Sheila Dikshit
	Goa	Digambar Kamat
	Gujarat	Narendra Modi
	Haryana	Bhupinder Singh Hooda
	Himachal Pradesh	Prem Kumar Dhumal
	Jammu & Kashmir	Omar Abdullah
	Jharkhand	Arjun Munda
	Karnataka	B. S. Yeddyurappa
	Kerala	V.S. Achuthanandan
	Madhya Pradesh	Shivraj Singh Chauhan
	Maharashtra	Prithviraj Chavan
	Manipur	Okram Ibobi Singh
	Meghalaya	Mukul Sangma
	Mizoram	Lal Thanhawla
	Nagaland	Neiphiu Rio
	Orissa	Dipti Mayee Manadhata
	Pondicherry†	V. Vaithilingam
	Punjab	Parkash Singh Badal
	Rajasthan	Ashok Gehlot
	Sikkim	Pawan Kumar Chamling
	Tamil Nadu	M. Karunanidhi
	Tripura	Manik Sarkar
	Uttarakhand	Ramesh Pokhriyal
	Uttar Pradesh	Mayawati
	West Bengal	Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee

Read more »

Posted in: Today's G.K

Other pages are not ready to be published as this blog is a 1 day old child. All will be fine tomorrow brothers and sisters.

Read more »

           Daily Updates And Hints By An IAS Topper

Read more »

Class 3 Part II

                       Regional Kingdoms

 First comes the Bengal (1717-1765)

Bengal 


           *Founded by Murshid Quli Khan.

Murshid Quli Khan (1717-1727)

          
           * He transferres the Bengaal's capital from Dakha to Murshidabad.
           * He gave agricultural loan to peasants and it was called "Taqqavi"




Siaraj-ud-daula (5th person after the above)(1756-1757)


           * In his reign, British started fortifying Calcutta.
           * The Nawab Siraj ordered to demolish the fortification of Calcutta by the British and Chandranagore by the French.
           * French obeyed and British refused.
           * Nawab captured Calcutta.
           * Calcutta was captured by Siraj-ud-daula and in June 20, 1756, the Black Hole Episode took Place.
           * This news reached Madras and Robert Clive came with his army.

           * Battle of Plassey took place in June 23, 1757.

           * Robert Clive bribed the four important persons from Siraj's side. They are 
                 1. Mir Jafar           =   Commander in Chief

                 2. Jagat Seth         =   Important Banker In Calcutta

                 3. Omni Chand     =    Important Merchant In Calcutta

                 4. Manik Chand   =    Officer Incharge Of Calcutta

           * In this cheating Battle, Siraj was beheaded by his own soldier.


Mir Jafar (1757-1760)


               * Now the Bengal became not only the sponsored state but also plundered stage.





  (To be continued.....)

Read more »

Posted in: class 3

Class 3 Part I

              I missed the Class 2 because of the department function in our college. Will update it Tomorrow. Now to the third class. In second class the Coming of Europeans was discussed. Now to THE LATER MUGHALS

The links in the middle takes you to some other blog pages which gives you those relevant details

             Before reading: We are well aware of the mughals from Babur to Aurangazeb. But dont know after him. But as far as UPSC exams are considered, it is the most crucial part. There are some points given in highlights here. They are irrelevant to this topic. But are important questions.

                          Later Mughals

             As we all know Aurangazeb is the last fittest emperor of the Mughal Empire> These are the Emperors who succeeded him.

1. Bahadur Shah I (1707-1712)

          * One of the sons of Aurangazeb.
          * Original Name - Muhammad Muazzam
          * He released the Maratha Prince Shahu and the maratha civil war started in 1707.
             (as you know, history is lika a spider web. The link shahu provides the story of prince shahu)

2. Jahander Shah (1712-1713)

          * He abolished the Jizyah tax (poll tax), levied on non muslims in a muslim country.
          * He gave the title "Sawai" to Jai Singh Of Amber (Old Name Of Jaipur)
          * He came to throne with the help of a minister Zulfigar Khan.
          * He was killed by Sayyid brothers (Abdullah Sayyid, Hussein Ali Sayyid) famously known as King Makers.

3. Faruk siyar (1713-1719)

         * He killed the Sikh commander Banda Bahadur
         * He came to throne with the help of same Sayyid brothers.
         * And in 1719 he (he he he) was killed by the same Sayyid Brothers.

4. Muhammad Shah I (1719-1749)

        * He was famously known as Muhammad shah Rangeela.
        * During his period, India was ruled by the persian ruler, Nadir Shah.
           (Personal advice, click advice)
        * Nadir Shah Took away Kohinoor Diamond And Peacock Throne.

5. Ahamad Shah (1749-1754)

        * During his period, the first invasion of Afghan Ruler Ahmad Shah Abdali took place.


6. Alamgir II (1754-1759)

        * Nothing important about him. Just a joke regarding his name. Click Alamgir to view.

7. Shah Alam II (1759-1806)

        * His original Name was Ali Gauhar.
        * He participated in Third Battle Of Panipet in 1761.
        * He participated in the Battle Of Buxar in 1764.
        * In 1803, Delhi was captured for the first time by The British and Shah Alam II became the Pensioner of British. (Nearly 2600000 per year)

8. Akbar II (1806-1837)

       * He gave the title Raja to Ram Mohan Rai and persuaded him to go to London for asking more pension.
       * But Raja Ram Mohan Rai died at Bristol in 1833.

9. Bahadur Shah II (1837-1857-1862)

       * He was a King without Kingdom.
       * After Revolt of 1857, he was deported/exiled to Rangoon (Former capital Of Burma) in Burma.


     (Will read about revolt in next class) Next the Third Lesson will be continued in next post to avoid confusion..

Read more »

Posted in: class 3

Blcak hole episode

After the capture of Calcutta, the Nawab went back to Murshidabad for retiring in night. Meanwhile one of his generals, locked all the british prisoners in a poor ventilllated room with just a small hole. The next morning nearly all of them are suffocated to death. This is called Black Hole Episode by the historians.

Read more »

Posted in: class 3