Prelims 2017

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Day 35

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 Geography www.iasscore.in

OTHER GEOGRAPHICAL FACTS

EARTH
The Earth is the third planet of the solar system as counted from the sun. The Earth also came into
existence almost the same time as the other members of the solar system, i.e. around 4.5 billion years
ago. This is the planet we live on and where multitude of diverse life forms has evolved.
A large number of hypotheses were put forth by different philosophers and scientists regarding the origin
of the earth.
Nebular Hypothesis - One of the earlier and popular arguments was by German philosopher Immanuel

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Kant. Mathematician Laplace revised it in 1796. It is known as Nebular Hypothesis. The hypothesis
considered that the planets were formed out of a cloud of material associated with a youthful sun, which
was slowly rotating.

is far from the present day picture of the earth. OR
Earth initially was a barren, rocky and hot object with a thin atmosphere of hydrogen and helium. This

The period, between the 4,600 million years ago and the present, led to the evolution of life on the surface
of the planet. The earth has a layered structure.
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From the outermost end of the atmosphere to the centre of the earth, the material that exists is not
uniform. The atmospheric matter has the least density. From the surface to deeper depths, the earths
interior has different zones and each of these contains materials with different characteristics
PHYSICAL CONDITIONS NECESSARY FOR LIFE
For life to exist on a celestial body the following conditions seem to be necessary:
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Presence of some elements such as carbon (C), oxygen (O2), Nitrogen (N2) and hydrogen (H2) which
are involved in the basic structures of complex molecules forming living cells.
Suitable temperature range on its surface for sustenance of life. Most of the living organisms cannot
survive at too high (>700C) or too low (<O0C) temperatures because, life processes cannot be carried out
at very high and very low temperatures.
Presence of a liquid medium, like water, which is a must for transporting nutrients inside a living body.
Presence of a protective atmosphere having a protective layer like ozone layer, to prevent harmful
radiations to reach its surface.
On the Earth all these conditions are satisfied and hence, we have life on it
WHAT MADE EARTH A SPECIAL PLANET?
The following three factors, it seems, have contributed in this regard.
Right distance from the Sun: The Earth stays at the right distance from the sun in an almost circular orbit.
Therefore, it receives just appropriate amount of energy from the sun, so that, the temperature range on
its surface is suitable for the origin and evolution of life.
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Appropriate mass and size: The Earth has appropriate mass and radius so that it could provide gravitational
field sufficient enough to hold atmosphere.
Occurrence of some natural events on Earth at right time and in desirable sequence so that a life
supporting system (called Biosphere) could evolve on its surface.

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EARTH Key Facts

Human population of the Earth - Seven billion Plus
World Population Growth : 1.13% as of (2015-16) - 2014 estimate
Countries of the world : 196 (195 Excluding Taiwan)
Earths Circumference at the equator - 24,901.55 miles (40,075.16 km)
Earths Circumference between the North and South Poles - 24,859.82 miles (40,008 km)
Earths Diameter at the Equator 7,926.28 miles (12,756.1 km)
Average Distance from the Earth to the Sun 92, 935, 700 miles
Average Distance from the Earth to the Moon 238.900 miles/384, 400 km
Highest Elevation on Earth : Mt. Everest, Asia : 29,035 feet (8850 m)

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Lowest Elevation on Land : Dead Sea: 1369 feet below sea level(417,27 m)

(11022 m)
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Deepest Point in the Ocean: Challenger Deep. Mariana Trench. Western Pacific Ocean: 36,740 feet

Highest Temperature Recorded: 135.80F - A1 Aziziyah, Libya, Sep. 13,1922 (57.7C)

Lowest Temperature Recorded: 128.5F - Vostok, Antarction. July 21,1983 (89.2C)
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Atmosphere content: 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen and 1% Traces of argon, carbon dioxide andwater.
Rotation on Axis: 23 hours and 56 minutes and 04.09053second. But, it takes an additional fourminutes
for the earth to revolve to the some position as the day before relative to the sun (i.e., 24 hours)
Revolution around Sun: 365. 2425 day
Chemical Composition of the Earth: 34.6% Iron, 29.5% Oxygen, 15.2% Silicon, 12.7%, Magnesium,
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2.4% Nickel, 1.9% Suffer and 0.05% Titanium.

INDIAN GEOGRAPHY: FACTS
The Geological History of India is complex and varied. It begins with the first formation of the earths crust,
first deposits of sedimentary rocks, first progeny and extends up to recent alluvial deposits.
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Major Geological Phases of India

1st phase: Characterized by the cooling and solidification of the Earths crust (Pre-camb-600 M.Y.)
Archaean gneisses and granite crumpling of Aravallis.
2nd Phase: Crumpling of sediments of Dharwarian Group (Bijawars).
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3rd Phase: Calcareous and Arenaceous deposits (Cuddapah and Vindhyan basins).
4th Phase: The Pro-Carboniferous glaciations formation of Gondwana rock -95% coal is found in them.
5th Phase: Fracturing of Gondwanaland, uplifting of Vindhyan and formation of Western Ghats.
6th Phase: Cretaceous Lava flow, 5 lakhs sq. km formation of the Deccan Trap.
7th Phase: Collision of Indian Plate (Gondwanaland) with the Asian plate (Angaraland) and for Three
Successive Ranges of Himalayas.
Himadri Greater Himalayas Oligocene.
Himachal Lesser- Himalayas Oligocene.
Siwalik Outer Himalayas Post Pliocene.
8th Phase: Sedimentation and alleviation of Indo-Ganga trough Pliocene and Holocene.
9th Phase: Down warping of Rajmahal Garo Gap and Upheaval of Indo-Ganga divide, Potwar Formation
of Narmada - Tapi Trough.
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 Indian Polity www.iasscore.in

CENTRAL SECRETARIAT
The Constitution has provided an elaborate framework for the governance system in India. Part V, Chapter 1
deals with the Union Executive, Chapter II deals with the Parliament and Chapter IV deals with the Union
Judiciary. The Executive Power of the Union vests in the President and is exercised by him either directly or
through officers subordinate to him in accordance with the Constitution (Article 53).
Article 74 provides that there shall be a Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister as the Head to aid and
advice the President, who shall, in the exercise of these functions, act in accordance with such advice. Article
75 provides that the Prime Minister shall be appointed by the President and the other Ministers shall be
appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister. Article 77 provides for the Conduct of

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Government Business.
Exercising powers vested by virtue of Article 77, the President has made the The Government of India

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(Allocation of Business) Rules. The Rules stipulate that the business of the Government of India shall be
transacted in the Ministries, Departments, Secretariats and Offices.
The Rules provide that all business allotted to a Department shall be disposed of by, or under general or special
directions of, the Minister-in-charge, subject to certain limitations where consultation is required with other
departments or where cases have to be submitted to the Prime Minister, the Cabinet and its Committees or
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the President. These Rules also provide for the constitution of the Standing Committees of the Cabinet and
each Standing Committee shall consist of such Ministers as the Prime Minister may, from time to time,
specify.
The Rules also provide for appointment of ad hoc Committees of Ministers for investigating and reporting to
the Cabinet, and, if so authorized, for taking decisions on such matters. The Rules also stipulate that it shall
be the responsibility of the Departmental Secretary, who shall be the administrative head thereof, to ensure
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observance of these Rules in the Department.

STRUCTURE OF THE MINISTRIES/DEPARTMENTS
A typical Ministry consists of one or more departments each under the charge of a Secretary. Usually a
Cabinet Minister is in-charge of Ministry with a number of Ministers of State and/or Deputy Ministers to
assist him according to the work allotted. The functioning of a ministry can usually be divided into three
different levels:
(a) Political level
(b) The Secretariat level
(c) The Executive level
A. Political Head
The Minister, the Minister of State, the Deputy Minister and the Parliamentary Secretary are the political
officers who are in-charge of a ministry. They come to occupy their position on the strength of their place in
the party and board and not by virtue of any expertise or technical qualifications. Broadly speaking the
functions of Minister In-charge of a Department are of four kinds.
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I. The Minister initiates the broad policies which the department has to follow and decides all the important
policy questions which may arise in the functioning of the department.
II. The Minister exercises general supervision over the implementation of the policy by the Department.
III. The Minister bears the responsibility for the policies and the administration of his Department before the
Parliament. He answers in Parliament the questions relating to his Department. He has to pilot the
legislation and to represent his department before the Parliament as well as the people.
IV. One of the most important functions of the Minister is to represent his Ministry in the Cabinet. He has
to keep in mind the principle of joint responsibility of the Cabinet and ensure co-ordination of his policies
with those of other ministries.
The Ministers of State, the Deputy Ministers and the Parliamentary Secretaries share such of the duties of
the Cabinet Minister, as he may assign to them. Usually the responsibility of some specific work is allotted
to a Minister of State while the Deputy Ministers and the Parliamentary Secretaries provide general assistance
to the Minister in-charge.
B. The Secretariat Organization

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Immediately below the political head, there is the Secretariat organization of the Department. The function
of the Secretariat is to provide to the Minister, mature and expert advice for the formulation of policies and
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watch over the execution of these policies when they have been formulated. The Secretariat may be called the
brain centre of the administrative body directing and controlling the administrative activities. The head of the
Secretariat organisation of a department is called the Secretary. For the convenient transaction of business the
Department is further sub-divided into convenient units as mentioned below:
Department Secretary
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Wing Additional Secretary/Joint Secretary

Division Deputy Secretary
Branch Under Secretary
Section Section Officer
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The scheme obviously suggests that the Department is sub-divided into a number of wings each headed by
a joint Secretary/Additional Secretary. Each Wing is sub-divided into division each headed by a Deputy
Secretary; a division into branches each headed by, an Under Secretary and a Branch into sections each headed
by a Section Officer. The functions of these levels of functionaries are be described in brief.
a) Secretary: The Secretary is the administrative head of the Ministry or the Department. He is the principal
adviser to the Minister on all matters of policy and administration within the ministry/department. He
is fully responsible for the efficient administration of the ministry/department before the Parliamentary
Commii.i on Public Accounts, Estimates Committee and Committee on Public Undertaking, etc. He has
to keep himself informed of the functioning of the department and exercise control over his subordinates.
Mr. Gopalaswamy Ayyengar suggested that the Secretary should not involve himself in too much of
routine. He should be concerned more with the overall policy issues. He should co-ordinate and guide the
work of his subordinates rather than do most of the work himself.
b) Special Secretary: This level does not find place in the normal hierarchy. However at times a senior officer
is designated as Special Secretary and carries the rank of Secretary itself. Such an arrangement was made
for short periods in the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of External Affairs. However, this is an
exceptional measure and tends to distort the normal functioning of the ministry/department.
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c) Additional Secretary: Originally the officer next in the hierarchy to the Secretary was the Deputy Secretary.
But in course of time new levels of Joint Secretary/Additional Secretary and even the Special Secretary
came into existence. Various committees have adversely commented on the interposition of these levels
between the Secretary and the Deputy Secretary. The post of Additional Secretary is rather more anomalous.
There is no specific unit of administration of which an Additional Secretary is to be in-charge. Sometimes,
he is placed-in charge of a department and does the work of a Secretary; at other time he is placed at
the head of a wing and performs the task of a Joint Secretary. Sometimes he helps the Secretary in a
specific field of activity. Richard Tottentam has observed that there isno difference between the functions
of a Joint Secretary and Additional Secretary to be placed in-charge of some specific area of work and
relieve the Secretary to be placed in-charge of some specific area of work and relieve the Secretary of
some of his burdens. In that case he may deal directly with the Minister in respect of the particular area
of work allotted to him.
d) Deputy Secretary: The Deputy Secretary is an officer who acts on behalf of the Secretary. He holds charge
of a secretariat division and is responsible for the disposal of the Government business dealt with under
his charge. He should ordinarily be able to dispose of a large number of cases coming upto him on his

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own responsibility. However, after independence the post has got rather devalued and there is hardly any
decision which aDeputy Secretary is now taking on his own. Most of the important cases are submitted

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to the Joint Secretary and not even the Joint Secretary is taking many decisions himself.
Under Secretary: Under Secretary is an officer in-charge of a branch and exercises control both in regard
to the discharge of business and the maintenance of discipline. He should normally initiate action on
inward communication. He should be able to dispose of minor cases on his own and send more important
cases to the Deputy Secretary in such a form that in ordinary course the Deputy Secretary should be able
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to deal with the case briefly. He is supposed to be a link between the office and the senior officers of the
Ministry.
f) Section Officers: The Superintendents who are in-charge of sections are called Section Officers. A Section
Officer has to supervise the work of his staff in his Section. He is also responsible for handling important
cases himself. He distributes the work amongst the staff, trains and advises them in the discharge of their
duties. He is also supposed to co-ordinate the work of different functionaries in his section and ensure
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prompt and efficient disposal of work. His other functions include adoption of proper methods of
processing of cases, timely submission of arrears statements and other periodical reports, proper maintenance
of section diary, file register, Assistants diaries and other necessary registers. He is also to ensure strict
compliance with instructions regarding treatment of secret papers.
g) Assistants/UDCs: An Assistant works under the orders of the Section Officer and is responsible for the
work entrusted to him. Each Assistant is allotted a number of subjects whose cases he is to deal with.
Selected Assistants may be authorized to submit cases directly to the Branch Officers. UDCs perform
functions similar to those of the Assistant except that they are not ordinarily required to deal with cases
which are of important nature. These functionaries are ordinarily entrusted with the work of a routine
nature. For example, registration of papers, maintenance of circulars and other registers, indexing, recording,
preparation of arrears statements, typing, comparing and dispatch, etc.
Functions of the Secretariat
In brief, the secretariat performs the following functions:
(i) It helps the Minister. It gets the feedback from the field agencies about the execution of the policies
decided by the Minister. On the basis of analysis of the feedback data, the secretariat advises the minister
either to adopt some new policies or to modify the existing ones.
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(ii) Our democratic system of government is based on the Rule of Law. Many of the policies are expressed
in terms of new legislation. While the legislative function of enacting the law vests with the Parliament,
someone has to draft the law and place it before the Parliament. The secretariat assists the Minister in
preparing the draft legislation.
(iii) Sectoral Planning and Programme Foundation- the plans for different sectors of the Government are
prepared and placed before the Minister by the Secretariat. They have also to translate these plans into
various implementable programmes. This is one of the very important functions of the Secretariat and
is of great consequence in giving policy guidance to the field agencies.
(iv) Financial Control-
(a) Budgeting and control of expenditure in respect of activities of the Ministries/Departments; and
(b) According or securing administrative and financial approval to operational programmes and plans and
their subsequent modifications.
(v) Supervision and Control- The secretariat has to exercise the necessary supervision and control over the

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execution of the policies and programmes by the executive departments or semi - autonomous field
agencies. While they have to desist from interfering in the day-to-day working of these field organizations,
the secretariat has to evaluate their performance and their working results with a view to advising the
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Minister in respect of further policy formulation.
(vi) Co-ordination and interpretation of policies-assisting other branches of the government and maintaining
contact with the State Governments.
(vii) Initiating measures to develop greater personnel and organizational competence both in the Ministries/
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Departments and its executive agencies. The Secretariat has to see that proper policies of recruitment,
training, etc. of personnel at all levels are evolved so that adequate number of personnel of proper
qualifications and experience are available at all times to man the various positions in the Secretariat as
well as in the field formulations
(viii) Assisting the Minister in the discharge of his parliamentary responsibilities. The Secretariat has to prepare
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replies to the parliamentary questions, call-attention notice, adjournment motions, etc., which have to be
replied to by the Minister. They have also to advise the Minister with regard to various policy statements
and interventions in the debates in the Parliament.

Each Department may have one or more attached or subordinate offices. The roles of these offices are:
Attached and Subordinate offices
(1) Where the execution of the policies of the government requires decentralisation of executive action and/or direction,
a department may have under it executive agencies called Attached and Subordinate offices.
(2) Attached offices are generally responsible for providing executive direction required in the implementation of the
policies laid down by the department to which they are attached. They also serve as repository of technical information
and advise the department on technical aspects of question dealt with by them.
(3) Subordinate offices generally function as field establishments or as agencies responsible for the detailed execution of
the policies of government. They function under the direction of an attached office, or where the volume of executive
direction involved is not considerable, directly under a department. In the latter case, they assist the departments
concerned in handling technical matters in their respective fields of specialisation.
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C. The Executive Organisation

The Secretariat, as we have seen, is responsible for discharging the policy making functions of the Government.
Below the secretariat there is, in most of the departments, the executive organisation with a head of its own
known as the Head of the Department. The Head of the Secretariat Organisation i.e. Secretary is not technically
speaking the Head of the Secretariat Organisation. The Secretary is the Chief Advisor to the Government in
the formulation of policies. Primarily his duties are in the nature of staff rather than line work. The
executive organisation is the line machinery of the department/ministry and is also often termed (rather
confusingly) as a department with its own head who is officially styled as the Head of the Department. Such
executive head is designated differently in different departments. Usually he is called Director or Director-
General but there are also designations such as Inspector General, Advisor, Commissioner, etc.

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PELLET GUNS
Pellet guns are non-lethal weaponsintended to be less likely to kill a living target thanconventional weapons.
Non-lethal weapons are used in combat situations to limit the escalation of conflict where employment of
lethal force is prohibited or undesirable, where rules of engagement require minimum casualties, or where
policy restricts the use of conventional force.
Pellets are loaded with lead and once fired they disperse in huge numbers. They dont follow a definite path.
They are a form of non-lethal crowd control methods used by police and military worldwide. The other popular
methods are tear gas, water cannon, pepper spray, etc.
Pellets guns are intended to injure individuals and cause pain. They are effective over short ranges up to 500

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yards but when fired from close quarters can be lethal, particularly when sensitive parts like eyes are hit. Pellets
can penetrate soft tissues.

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They are effective over short ranges up to 500 yards but when fired from close quarters can be lethal,
particularly when sensitive parts like eyes are hit. Pellets can penetrate soft tissues.
Pellet guns are manufactured at the Ordinance Factory, Ishapore.
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PELARGONIC ACID VANILLYL AMIDE

Pelargonic Acid Vanillyl Amide (also called Nonivamide), an organic compound found in natural chili pepper.
It is like capsaicin a natural capsaicinoid from chili peppers and commonly used in food additives to create
a hot sensation, even in self-defense pepper sprays and as an alternative to capsaicin in medical products for
topical treatment of pain.
When fired, PAVA shells burst and temporarily stun, immobilise and paralyse the target in a more effective
way than a tear gas shell or pepper sprays, and also can be used in combination with stun and tear shells.
PAVA spray is dispensed from a hand-held canister in a liquid stream. The propellant is nitrogen Maximum
accuracy, however, will be achieved over a distance of 1.25 - 2 metres. PAVA primarily affects the eyes causing
closure and severe pain.

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It has been recommended by the T.V.S.N. Prasad Committee for replacing Pellet guns.
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SWATCHCH SURVEKSHAN SURVEY

The Swachh Bharat Mission was launched throughout the length and breadth of the country as a national
movement. There are two components of the Mission, namely, Swachh Bharat Mission- Gramin for Indias
rural centres and Swachh Bharat Mission- Urban for Indias urban centres.
Swachh Bharat Mission in urban areas is focused on building Open Defecation Free towns (via construction
of Individual Household Toilets, Community and Public Toilets) and 100% scientific management of Solid
Waste.
In order to foster a healthy competition between cities, the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) started
the Swachh Survekshan survey in 2016 which rated 73 cities across the country.

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Following the same, the MoUD has issued guidelines for Swachh Survekshan 2017 which will conduct a
survey to rank 500 cities (having a population of 1 lakh and above). The components covered in this survey
are:
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Solid Waste Management (SWM) including road sweeping, municipal solid waste from residential,
commercial areas and from construction & demolition waste.
Individual, community and public toilets
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Open defecation free city/town strategy
Information, education and behaviour change communication (IEBC) strategy, and ICT based system to
enhance Urban Local Body (ULB) operations.
The objective of the survey is to encourage large scale citizen participation and create awareness amongst all
sections of society about the importance of working together towards making towns and cities a better place
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to live in. Additionally, the survey also intends to foster a spirit of healthy competition among towns and cities
to improve their service delivery to citizens, towards creating cleaner cities.
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