jamshedpur flood 2008

29/02/2008

29/02/2008

Following are the Highlights of pre-Budget Economic Survey 2007-08 :


FY'08 economic growth at 8.7%, against 9.6% a year ago

Inflation rate to decline from 5.6% in FY'07 to 4.4% in '08

Holding 9% growth a challenge, two digit growth even greater

Inflation and infrastructure biggest growth challenges

Skill dearth causing attrition, wage hike; pushing inflation
Farm growth in FY'08 seen at 2.6%, against 3.8% a year ago

Foodgrain output seen at 219.3 MT against 217.3 MT in FY'07

Acceleration in domestic investment, savings drove growth

Macroeconomic fundamentals continue to inspire confidence

Investment climate full of optimism

Industrial growth slower at 9% in first 9 months of FY'08

Costly rupee, sluggish consumer goods and infra a concern

Rupee rose by 8.9% against USD during current fiscal.

Average credit growth slowed to 26.8% in FY'07, down in '08

Forex reserves up by $91.6 bn to $290.8 bn on Feb 8, 2008

GDP projected at Rs 46,93,602 crore (mkt price) in 2007-08 *

Inflation reined despite higher commodity prices & surge incapital inflows

Growth deceleration spread across most sectors, barringpower, community services and composite category of trade,hotels, transport and communications

Cumulative increase in non-food credit by Jan 4, 2008 was11.8% as against 17.5% a year ago

Capital inflows rise to 7.7% of GDP in first half of FY'08as against 5.1% in FY'07

FDI inflows reach $11.2 bn, outward investments surge to$7.3 bn in April-September

Exports reach $111 bn in first 9 months of FY'08; Importsgrow 25.9%

Surge in capital inflows, including FDI, to continue inmedium term

Complete the process of selling 5-10% equity in previouslyidentified profit making non-navratna PSUs

Phase out control on sugar, fertiliser, drugs

Sell old oil fields to private sector

Allow a share for foreign equity in all retail trade

Raise foreign equity in insurance to 49 per cent

Allow 100 per cent FDI in greenfield private agri banks

State Electricity Regulatory Commissions should notifyrational, credible, cross subsidy to make open-access viable

Increase work week to 60 hours from 48 hours and daily limit to 12 hours.

26.02.2008

· Maharashtra has become the first state in the country to set up a separate Minorities Development Department.
· (NREGA) Under this Act, 2.7 crore people were provided employment till the middle of January 2008 during the current financial year.
· Cyclone Ivan – Madagascar
China-based Sinosteel has said it would set up its first integrated steel plant in Jharkhand and a cold forged rolls unit at Haldia in West Bengal.
· "No Country for Old Men" has won the Academy Award for best picture.
· Daniel Day-Lewis won the second best actor Oscar - There Will Be Blood
· The best actress Oscar was won by French actress Marion Cotillard who played French singer Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose.


27/02/2008

Following are the highlights of Railway Budget 2008-09 :
· Freight traffic target of 785 million tonnes crossed to touch 790 million tonnes.
· Railway plan size increased from Rs 11,000 crore to Rs 30,000 crore in the last four years.
· Set new profit of Rs 25,000 cr in 2007-08.
· 560 railway station platforms to be lengthened to take long trains.
· Middle-level and low-level platforms to be upgraded to high-level platforms in several stations to help commuters.
· Doubling of lines to be given priority.
· Professional agencies being involved on a pilot basis to ensure cleanliness in running trains.
· Work on automatic signalling to start in new sections.
· Rlys planning SMARTCARD ticketing system.
· Electrification of more routes in North India.
· Foot overbridge along high level platforms.
· In talks with foreign cos for new wagon designs.
· High level platforms in 135 stations.
· Housekeeping in Shatabdi to be outsourced.
· Lifts and escalators in 50 stations.
· Modular toilets to be introduced in trains.
· Rajdhanis, Shatabdis to get modernised coaches.
· Touch screens, colour TVs across all major stations.
· 6,000 automatic ticket sale machines in 2 years.
· By 2010 all coaches to be in stainless steel.
· Rlys to connected to call centres for reservations.
· 16,548 old rail tracks to be renewed.
· Ticket confirmation via mobiles likely.
· Pvt cos can make terminals on Rly land.
· All un-manned crossings to be manned.
· Metal detectors, baggage scan at key stations.
· Display boards to be set up across stations for convenience of passengers.
· Go Mumbai tickets to be sold at bus depots.
· Delhi-JNPT-NavaSheva western freight corridor cleared.
· Multi-level parking at 30 major stations.
· Free Rajdhani, Shatabdi travel for Ashok Chakra winners.
· New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune to be made world-class stations.
· 50% concessions for AIDS patients.
· Free season tickets for girls till graduation.
· Rlys to issue wait-listed e-tickets.

the Sixth Pay Commission was constituted in October, 2006

Chandrapur Ordnance Factory – Maharashtra

Headquarters -

A family of 40 Ordnance Factories under the aegis of its corporate headquarters
Ordnance Factory Board, Kolkata
Armoured Vehicle Head Quarters ,Avadi ,Chennai
Ordnance Equipment Factories Head Quarters – KANPUR
Factories

1. Ammunition Factory Khadki, PUNE
2. Cordite Factory Aruvankadu, The Nilgiris, T.N.
3. Engine Factory Avadi,CHENNAI
4. Gun Carriage Factory, Jabalpur
5. Field Gun Factory, Kanpur
6. Grey Iron Foundry, Jabalpur
7. Gun and Shell Factory, COSSIPORE, KOLKATA
8. Heavy Alloy Penetrator Project, Tiruchirappalli
9. High Explosive Factory, Khadki
10. Heavy Vehicle Factory, Avadi, Chennai
11. Machine Tool Prototype Factory, Ambarnath, Thane
12. Metal and Steel Factory, Ishapore, West Bengal
13. Ordnance Clothing Factory, Avadi
14. Ordnance Cable Factory, Chandigarh
15. Ordnance Equipment Factory, Kanpur
16. Ordnance Clothing Factory, Shahjahanpur, UP
17. Ordnance Equipment Factory, Hazratpur, UP
18. Ordnance Factory, Ambernath
19. Ordnance Factory, Ambajhari, Nagpur
20. Ordnance Factory, Bhandar a, Maharashtra
21. Ordnance Factory, Bhusawal, Jalgaon, Maharashtra
22. Ordnance Factory, Bolangir, Orissa
23. Ordnance Factory, Kanpur
24. Ordnance Factory Chandrapur, Maharashtra
25. Ordnance Factory Dumdum
26. Ordnance Factory Dehu Road, PUNE
27. Ordnance Factory Dehradun
28. Ordnance Factory Itarsi, Madhya Pradesh
29. Ordnance Factory Khamaria, Madhya Pradesh
30. Ordnance Factory Katni, Madhya Pradesh
31. Ordnance Factory Muradnagar, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh
32. Ordnance Factory Project Nalanda
33. Ordnance Factory Project Medak, AP
34. Ordnance Factory Tiruchirapalli
35. Ordnance Factory Varangaon, JALGAON
36. Opto Electronics Factory, Raipur, Dehradun, Uttaranchal
37. Ordnance Parachute Factory, Kanpur
38. Rifle Factory Ishapore, 24 PARGANAS (NORTH)
39. Small Arms Factory, Kanpur
40. Vehicle Factory Jabalpur


Maharashtra - 10
UP - 8
MP – 6
TN - 6
WB - 4
Uttarakhand - 2
Bihar - 1
Orissa - 1
Punjab - 1
AP - 1


Kanpur – 5
Jabalpur - 3
Pune - 3
Chennai - 3
Kolkata - 2

Ordnance Factories Institute of Learning

1. National Academy of Defence Production, Ambajhari, Nagpur
2. Ordnance Factories Institute of Learning Ambajhari, MAH
3. Ordnance Factories Institute of Learning Ambernath, MAH
4. Ordnance Factories Institute of Learning Avadi, TN
5. Ordnance Factories Institute of Learning Dehradun
6. Ordnance Factories Institute of Learning Ishapore, WB
7. Ordnance Factories Institute of Learning Khamaria, MP
8. Ordnance Factories Institute of Learning Kanpur
9. Ordnance Factories Institute of Learning Medak, AP


· With the successful user trials, the Ordnance Factory, Chandrapur will hand over the first batch of Pinaka rocket to the Army on 29th Feb, Director General and Chairman of Ordnance Factory Board, Sudipta Ghosh said.
· India successfully test fired its first-ever undersea nuclear capable ballistic missile(Sagarika missile ) off the eastern coastal city of Vishakahpatnam, catapulting it to the select band of five countries equipped with the technology. The missile K-15, with a range of 700 kms.
· The Justice (Retd) R K Manisana Singh Commission, probing the large-scale violence during an Adivasi rally at Beltola in Guwahati on 24th Nov, has submitted its report to Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.
· Petronet CEO and Managing Director Prosad Dasgupta said.
· Researchers at the University of California claim to have discovered a new system to encode digital information within DNA.
·

24.02.2008

• Indian Air Force today inducted the Advanced Jet Trainer (AJT) Hawk 132 in Bidar.
  British Aerospace Systems (BAe) built Hawk
  Air Chief Fali H Major.
  Ulysses- 1. 1990
  2. transmit useful data on solar winds.
  3. joint European-NASA project
  Philippines – landslide and rain.
  · Brazil and Argentina agreed to develop a nuclear reactor jointly.
  · 7th Session of the South Africa-India Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) in Cape Town,
  · credit-linked capital subsidy scheme (CLCSS) for micro and small enterprises (MSE), for a period of five years that will enable them to avail subsidy of up to Rs 15 lakh on loan of Rs one crore. started by the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises in the Tenth Five Year Plan. The scheme was modified and the ceiling of loan was raised from Rs 40 lakh to Rs one crore in September 2005.
  · Under SLR provisions, banks have to park 25 percent of their deposits in government bonds.
  · Boeing, world's largest maker of commercial jetliners
  
  · North beat West to retain Duleep Trophy; pocket Rs 30 lakh
  · Noted space scientist and former Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman Prof U R Rao has been elected as Fellow of the prestigious World Academy of Art and Science (WAAS).
  · Solicitor-General G.E. Vahanvati
  · HDFC Bank to buy CBoP (Centurian Bank of Punjab)
  · amendment made in 1986, there are a total of 25 Supreme Court judges.
  · 2010 Youth Olympiad
  o Singapore is set to host this first ever Olympiad

world current affairs 2008

• Hundreds Die in Tribal Violence in Kenya
• President of Georgia - Mikhail Saakashvili
• Serbian President - Boris Tadic
• Kosovo Declares Independence

2007 Disasters

PLACE- REASON

Indonesia - plane crash

Florida - tornado

Sumatra, Indonesia - earthquake

Yogyakarta, Indonesia - plane crash

• Ulyanovskaya, Russia- methane explosion
  
• Honiara, Solomon Islands - earthquake





• Doula, Cameroon - plane crash


• Greensburg, Kansas - tornado
• Novokuznetsk, Russia - methane explosion
• Chittagong, Bangladesh and Beijing, China - rain
• Karachi, Pakistan - storm
• West Bengal, India- rain
• Niigata, Japan - earthquake
• Sao Paulo, Brazil - aeroplane skids
• Minneapolis, Minn- bridge collapse
• Benaleka, Congo- train derailed
• North Korea- rain
• Hunan province, China- bridge collapse
• coast of central Peru - earthquake
• Greece- fire
• Sumatra, Indonesia- earthquake
• Phuket, Bangkok ,Thailand - aeroplane skids





• Sudan - flood



• southern Colombia- landslide
• southern Calif- wildfire
• Carribean- Tropical Storm Noel
• Mexico - floods
• southern Russia- storm
• Bangladesh - Cyclone Sidr
• Donetsk, Ukraine- mining explosion
• Antarctica- ship sink
• western Turkey - plane crash
• Omaha, Nebraska- gun fire





• South Korea - oil spill

world current affairs 2007

• Sudan president - Omar al-Bashir


• first snowfall in 89 years - Buenos Aires(argentina)


• murder of some 1.5 million Armenians during World War I - by turkey


• Winter Olympics in 2014 - Sochi, Russia


• Cyclone Sidr - Bangladesh


• Askariya Shrine - Samarra


• The Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, massacred between 1 million and 2 million people in what country in the 1970s? - Cambodia


• Ukrainian President - Viktor Yushchenko


• Nicolas Sarkozy, the conservative candidate,


• Ségolène Royal, of the Socialist Party


• Earthquake and Tsunami Strike the Solomon Islands


• Rev. Ian Paisley - Northern Ireland executive government.


• Robert Zoellick as the president of the World Bank


• crimes against humanity for supporting rebel troops in Sierra Leone's brutal civil war that claimed the lives of about 300,000 people in the 1990s. - Former Liberian Dictator Charles Taylor


• G8 Conference - Heiligendamm, agree to consider ways to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.new global climate policy by 2009, a potential successor to the Kyoto Protocol.spend $60 billion to treat AIDS and other diseases in the third world.


• Israeli Prime Minister - Ehud Barak


• Chemical Ali - Ali Hassan al-Majid


• Israeli President in Rape Case - Moshe Katsav


• News Corporation - Rupert Murdoch, Wins Approval to Buy Dow Jones ( previously owned by The Bancroft family)


• Xanana Gusmão as prime minister - East Timor


• new constitution - Thailand


• President of Turkey - Abdullah Gul


• Barbara Morgan - former teacher , Endeavour to the International Space Station


• Quake Near Lima, Peru


• Hurricane Dean - Mexico


• Viktor Zubkov - Russian PM


• Yasuo Fukuda - Japanese PM


• Three Earthquakes Strike Indonesia


• Cristina Fernández de Kirchner - president argentine


• Wildfires Devastate Southern California


• Discovery - space shuttle


• President Mikheil Saakashvili - Georgia


• Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch - Khmer Rouge Leader


• Prime Minister Fouad Siniora - Lebanon

21/02/2008

1. Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956.
2. In 1986, the number of judges in the Supreme Court were increased from 18 to 25 plus the Chief Justice.
3. 2007 Sahitya Academi award - Amarkant was awarded in Hindi language

19/02/2008

• Punjab worst in child sex ratio: UNPF in the age group of 0-6 years.


• Equal Opportunities Commission - Chairperson N R M Menon .


• Export Promotion Council for EOUs and SEZ (EPCES).Special Economic Zones have generated employment for 1.46 lakh people in two years, while exports have doubled during the first nine months of this fiscal to touch 10 billion dollars (Rs 40,000 crore).

• Currently 42 SEZs are operational in the country, while 197 zones have been notified and 138 have got in-principle approval.

• EPCES Director-General Lalit Singhal

• Sebi chief - C B Bhave

• Roger Federer has won the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award for a fourth straight time while Justine Henin has won the women's award for the first time.

• Lewis Hamilton for the World Breakthrough of the Year award and British marathon runner Paula Radcliffe for the World Comeback of the Year award.

• fifth National Winter Games - Gulmarg

• 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada

• Amy Winehouse - five of 50th Grammy Awards.

• MESSENGER probe - Mercury

• 
  India's Tiger populations dwindles by half, only 1,411 left

• Akshaya Patra Foundation, serving noon meals - The ISKON supported Foundation

• UN to celebrate 2009 as International Year of Astronomy

• India's first ankle replacement surgery performed

The top ten smokers countries

The top ten smokers countries, identified by Forbes magazine include Kenya, Turkey, Namibia, Yemen, Guinea, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro, Mongolia, Nauru and Sao Tome and Principe.

80,000 women die during abortions every year in India

Around 11 million abortions are carried out in India every year and nearly 80,000 women die during the process, according to a research.
A majority of abortions are performed by untrained hands and studies suggest that nearly 80,000 women die due to unsafe abortions, Dr Hema Divakar, Chairperson of Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies in India (FOGSI), said in Bangalore.

Stressing on the need to promote awareness about emergency contraception methods, she said research shows that 78 per cent of pregnancies in the country are unplanned, of which 25 per cent are unwanted, leading to approximately 11 million abortions annually.

"The level of emergency contraception is abysmally low in India," she told reporters on Wednesday quoting from a WHO research, adding that only one out of 100 women were aware of it.

Recent advertisements had created some awareness, but the sale of these contraceptives was yet to pick up, she said.

An Emergency Contraceptive (EC) can prevent pregnancy by over 80 per cent if taken within 72 hours of intercourse.

However, these pills are to be taken only in an emergency and not as a regular form of contraception, she added.

Clearing misconceptions associated with EC, she it was not an abortion pill and cannot abort a foetus once pregnancy is established.

EC acts as an interceptive agent that prevents ovulation, fertilisation or implantation depending on the phase of menstrual cycle, Divakar added.

Proper and timely use of EC pills can bring down the spiralling unsafe abortions, she added.

Dismissing allegations that EC would lead to an increase in sexual activity among youth, Divakar said, "It will only prevent unwanted pregnancies and reduce the number of abortions. In a country like India, where women are not often empowered to take decisions, EC could help in not burdening them with unwanted pregnancies."

Rekha Gogi, Medical Officer, Family Planning Association of India, said promiscuity and sexual activity among youth has always been there. "It is only now that it is coming out in the open."

However, she did agree that pregnancies among unmarried women had been on the rise in the past few years.

"The EC will only help in cutting down the number of unsafe abortions that many of these try to resort to when they are pregnant."

Divakar said that flexible job hours, growing presence of call centres and educational institutions have led to an increase in the sexual activity among the youth in Bangalore.

Teenage smoking may harm brain: study

Smoking can be harmful not only for health but for the development of brain especially when taken during teenage stage.
Brain is particularly vulnerable to the effects of tobacco during adolescence, when it rapidly matures.

Researchers have shown that young smokers, particularly boys are more likely to suffer hearing problems making it harder for them to focus in class.

"The levels of disruption (to hearing) are significant enough that if you were already struggling at school it could tip you towards school failure," said Dr Leslie Jacobsen, a paediatric psychiatrist at Yale University in the United States.

Dr Jacobsen looked at the effect of smoking and brain development in a group of youngsters aged between 14 and 19.

The changes found in the regions responsible for relaying signals to the ear were greatest in the smokers suggesting the brain is at heightened risk while maturing during adolescence, the magazine reports.

The study added to research showing nicotine can affect brain development in the womb, said Dr Richard Todd a child psychiatrist in the US state of Missouri.

"It seems the brain remains vulnerable long into adolescence," he said.

Previous research has shown toddlers whose mothers smoked during pregnancy are up to 12 times more likely to be disruptive, aggressive and withdrawn.

Smoking in pregnancy is also linked to a host of health problems, including still birth and premature birth.

It has also been linked to the risk of cot death.

girls