UPSC Prelims 2024 Syllabus PDF

UPSC Prelims
2024
INFORMATION BROCHURE
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About Prelims
UPSC Civil Services Exam is the most
important examination of India. Candidates
all over India have already started preparing
for it. There is very intense and strong
competition between the five to seven lakh
candidates.
Firstly UPSC in February 2024 will invite

applications for the Civil Services
(Preliminary) Examination only. The
Candidates who are declared by the
Commission to have qualified for admission
to the Civil Services (Main) Examination will
have to apply online again and submit on-
line Detailed Application Form-I along with
scanned documents/certificates in support
of date of birth, category and educational
qualification with required Examination Fee.
PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION
The Examination shall comprise of two compulsory Papers of 200 marks each.
(i) Both the question papers will be of the objective type (multiple choice questions)
and each will be of two hours duration.
(ii) The General Studies Paper-II of the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination will
be a qualifying paper with minimum qualifying marks fixed at 33%.
(iii) The question papers will be set both in Hindi and English.
INDIAN POLITY
THE EARLY ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE IN INDIA
CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS IN THE COLONIAL INDIA (1858-1935)
CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY OF INDIA
CONSTITUTION AT GLANCE
SOURCES OF INDIAN CONSTITUTION
PHILOSOPHY OF INDIAN CONSTITUTION
FEATURES OF INDIAN CONSTITUTION
PREAMBLE OF THE CONSTITUTION
THE UNION AND ITS TERRITORY
CITIZENSHIP OF INDIA
Covered in Books of BestCurrentAffairs.com

LIBERTIES & RIGHTS
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS
DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATE POLICY
GANDHIAN PERSPECTIVE ON ‘COMMON GOOD’
FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES
DEMOCRACY
PARLIAMENTARY FORM OF GOVERNMENT
PRESIDENT OF INDIA
RULE OF LAW
VICE PRESIDENT OF INDIA
COUNCIL OF MINISTERS
CABINET & ITS SECRETARIAT
CABINET COMMITTEES
PRIME MINISTER
ATTORNEY GENERAL & SOLICITOR GENERAL
COMPTROLLER AND AUDITOR GENERAL OF INDIA
THE PARLIAMENT
LOKSABHA SPEAKER AND RAJYA SABHA CHAIRMAN
LEADER OF THE HOUSE & LEADER OF OPPOSITION
WHIPS
THE GOVERNOR
THE STATE LEGISLATURE
UNION TERRITORIES
UNION AND STATES RELATIONS
FINANCE COMMISSION
INTER STATE COUNCIL
INDIAN POLITY
THE SUPREME COURT
HIGH COURTS
LOK ADALATS
FAST TRACK COURTS
PANCHAYATS
PANCHAYATS (EXN TO SCHEDULED AREAS) ACT 1996
URBAN LOCAL BODIES
ELECTIONS AND ELECTION COMMISSION
UNION PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION
EMERGENCY
OFFICIAL LANGUAGE

SPECIAL DIRECTIVES
IMPORTANT ORGANISATIONS
TRIBUNALS
IMPORTANT COUNCILS
AMENDMENT TO CONSTITUTION
42ND AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION
44TH AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION
ANTI-DEFECTION LAW
NITI AAYOG
SPECIAL PROVISIONS OF STATES
SCHEDULED AREAS AND TRIBAL AREAS
RIGHT TO INFORMATION
SCHEDULES TO THE CONSTITUTION
HUMAN RIGHTS
CHILD RIGHTS
WOMEN RIGHTS IN INDIA
CONSUMERS RIGHTS
RIGHTS OF TRIBALS
RIGHTS OF DISABLED
RIGHTS OF OLD PERSONS
RIGHTS OF WORKERS IN INDIA
LAW COMMISSION OF INDIA
POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF GANDHI
LEGISLATIVE CONTROL
BUDGETARY PROCESS IN INDIA
DISTRICT COLLECTOR (DC)
INDIA, UK & USA: A COMPARISON
PUBLIC POLICY IN INDIA
ROLE OF BUREAUCRACY
POLITICAL CONCEPTS IN BRIEF
FIFTH SCHEDULE OF THE CONSTITUTION
SIXTH SCHEDULE OF THE CONSTITUTION
PANCHAYATS (EXTN TO SCHEDULED AREAS) ACT
FORESTS RIGHTS ACT
INDIAN
ART & CULTURE
WORLD HERITAGE SITES IN INDIA
THE ORIGIN OF RACES IN INDIA
LANGUAGES IN INDIA

LITERATURE IN INDIA
INDIAN MUSIC
INDIAN DANCES
ARTS & CRAFTS OF INDIA
ARCHITECTURE OF INDIA
RELIGIONS OF INDIA
FAIRS AND FESTIVALS OF INDIA
PERFORMING ARTS IN INDIA
THEATRE IN INDIA
COSTUMES IN INDIA
PAINTINGS IN INDIA
PLACES & MONUMENTS IN INDIA
CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS
CINEMA IN INDIA
FAMOUS PERSONALITIES OF INDIA
TRIBES IN INDIA
TRIBAL LANGUAGES
INDIAN ECONOMY
ECONOMY OF INDIA
ECONOMIC CONCEPTS IN NEWS
ECONOMIC GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
ECONOMIES AND ITS SECTORS
BASIC CONCEPTS
RESERVE BANK OF INDIA
BANKING IN INDIA
CO-OPERATIVE BANKING IN INDIA
NON-BANKING FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS IN INDIA
MONETARY POLICY OF INDIA
FISCAL POLICY
PUBLIC FINANCE
PAYMENT AND SETTLEMENT SYSTEMS IN INDIA
INFLATION
TAXATION IN INDIA
GOODS & SERVICES TAX (GST)
FINANCIAL MARKETS AND INSTRUMENTS
GOVERNMENT SECURITIES MARKET IN INDIA
PENSION REFORMS IN INDIA
FOREIGN CAPITAL
FOREIGN TRADE
FINANCIAL BENCHMARKS
PLANNING IN INDIA
INSURANCE SECTOR
COMMITTEES RELATED TO ECONOMY
CRUDE OIL IMPORT AND INDIAN ECONOMY
BLACK MONEY ISSUE IN INDIA
SUBSIDIES IN INDIA
POVERTY
INCLUSION & FINANCIAL INCLUSION
UNEMPLOYMENT
INDUSTRY
WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND
IMF & THE WORLD BANK
WORLD BANK
BANK FOR INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENTS
TOPICS IN NEWS
ECONOMICS TERMINOLOGY
POLICY DECISIONS BY RBI
ENVIRONMENT
ECOLOGY
BIODIVERSITY
GLASGOW CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE
FOREST SURVEY REPORT 2021

ECOLOGY
MARINE LIFE
POLLUTION
AIR POLLUTION
CLIMATE CHANGE
OZONE DEPLETION
INDIA TAKING ON CLIMATE CHANGE
BIODIVERSITY
MAJOR SANCTUARIES/NATIONAL PARKS
INDIAN BIODIVERSITY: IMPORTANT FACTS
SCHEDULE SPECIES DATABASE OF INDIA
ENVIRONMENT GK
INDIA AND BIODIVERSITY
WILDLIFE AND ITS CONSERVATION
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS AND INSTITUTIONS
ANTI-PREDATOR ADAPTATION
ENVIRONMENT LAWS IN INDIA
2019 CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE
CLIMATE CHANGE ACRONYMS AND TERMS
SPECIES CHANGING IUCN RED LIST STATUS
INDIAN PHYSICAL
& ECONOMIC
GEOGRAPHY
GEOGRAPHY OF INDIA
PHYSIOGRAPHY OF INDIA

THE HIMALAYAS
DECCAN PLATEAU
WESTERN GHATS
EASTERN GHATS
DRAINAGE SYSTEM
CLIMATE OF INDIA
SOILS OF INDIA
NATURAL VEGETATION IN INDIA
MALWA REGION
CHOTA NAGPUR PLATEAU
THAR DESERT
AGRICULTURE
IRRIGATION
ANIMAL HUSBANDRY & FISHERIES
MINERALS IN INDIA
INDUSTRIES IN INDIA
ENERGY RESOURCES
TRANSPORT AND COMMUNUCATION

WORLD PHYSICAL
& ECONOMIC
GEOGRAPHY
ASIA
ASIA: REGIONAL DIVISIONS

AFRICA
EUROPE
AUSTRALIA
NORTH AMERICA
SOUTH AMERICA
MIDDLE AMERICA
ANTARCTICA
POPULATION
RACES OF WORLD POPULATION
UN REPORT ON WORLD POPULATION
POPULATION MIGRATION
MAJOR TRIBES OF THE WORLD
AGRICULTURE
LIVESTOCK
MINERALS
INDUSTRIES
ENERGY RESOURCES
TRANSPORT
TOP COUNTRIES IN CROPS PRODUCTION
RANK OF COUNTRIES IN WORLD MINERAL PRODUCTION
ANCIENT
HISTORY OF INDIA
STONE AGE
BRONZE AGE
VEDIC PERIOD

BUDDHISM AND JAINISM
BUDDHIST TEXTS
JAIN TEXTS
MAGADHA
FOREIGN INVASIONS
MAURYA DYNASTY
POST MAURYAN KINGDOMS
EARLY HISTORY OF SOUTH INDIA
THE GUPTA PERIOD
LATER GUPTAS (7-12 CENTURY)
POST-GUPTA PERIOD IN SOUTH INDIA

MEDIVIAL
HISTORY OF INDIA
INDIA BETWEEN 750–1200 AD
CULTURAL TRENDS (750-1200)
ALBERUNI’S INDIA
ART AND ARCHITECTURE
CONTACT WITH SOUTHEAST ASIA

THE ARABS IN SINDH
SOURCES OF MEDIEVAL HISTORY
EARLY MEDIEVAL INDIA
PRE-SULTANATE ERA
EARLY MUSLIM INVASIONS
CONSOLIDATION OF DELHI SULTANATE
THE KHILJIS
THE TUGHLAQS
DECLINE OF THE DELHI SULTANATE
SOCIETY UNDER THE DELHI SULTANS
VIJAYANAGAR EMPIRE
BAHMANI KINGDOM
SUCCESSORS OF BAHMANI KINGDOM
FOUNDATION OF MUGAL EMPIRE
RULE OF AKBAR
JAHANGIR AND SHAH JAHAN
RULE OF AURANGZEB
MUGHAL ADMINISTRATION
SOCIETY DURING MUGHALS
CULTURE DURING MUGHALS
DECLINE OF MUGHAL EMPIRE
BHAKTI MOVEMENT
SUFI THOUGHT
MARATHAS
PESHWA
REGIONAL STATES
ADVENT OF THE EUROPEANS
BRITISH POWER IN BENGAL
INDIAN NATIONAL
MOVEMENT
ECONOMIC IMPACT OF BRITISH RULE
LAND REVENUE SYSTEM

REFORM MOVEMENTS
RESISTANCE TO BRITISH RULE
THE REVOLT OF 1857
INDIAN NATIONALISM
INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS
NATIONALIST MOVEMENT 1905-1918
AZAD HIND
REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENTS
EDUCATION DURING BRITISH RULE
INDIAN PRESS DURING BRITISH
GOVERNOR-GENERALS OF INDIA
INDIAN PRINCELY STATES

SCIENCE &
TECHNOLOGY
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN NEWS
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY NEW CONCEPTS
CELL & GENETICS

PLANTS
MICRO-ORGANISMS
DIET & NUTRITION
DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
SKELETAL & MUSCULAR SYSTEM
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
CIRCULATORY SYSTEM
NERVOUS SYSTEM
SENSORY ORGANS
EXCRETION & OSMOREGULATION
ENDOCRINE SYSTEM
REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM
HUMAN DISEASES
APPLICATIONS OF BIOLOGY
IMPORTANT TOPICS: PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY
MINERALS AND THEIR USES
INDIAN SPACE PROGRAMME

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Sri Kalyani Saraswati
Todi Subha Pantuvarali
Vasant Vasanta
Yaman Kalyan Yamuna Kalyani
Tala is the rhythmical groupings of beats. These rhythmic cycles range from 3 to 108 beats. It is he theory of time
measure and has the same principle in Hindustani and Carnatic music, though the names and styles differ. The musical time is
divided into simple and complicated metres. Tala is independent of the music it accompanies and has its own divisions. It moves in
bars, and each beat in it is divided into the smallest fraction. Tala is the most important aspect of classical music, and it can be
considered to be the very basis or pulse of music. Different talas are recognised like Dadra, Rupakyes Jhaptal, Ektal, Adha-
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Chautal and Teen-Tal. There are over a 100 Talas, but only 30 Talas are known and only about 10-12 talas are actually used. The
most commonly encountered one is the one with sixteen beats called the teentaal. Laya is the tempo, which keeps the uniformity of
time span. The Matra is the smallest unit of the tala.
Carnatic music has a rigid thala structure. The thalas are defined on the basis of intricate arithmetic
calculations. Thalas always occur in cyclic pattern. The thalas are made up of three basic units, namely, laghu drutam and
anu drutam. The time unit of laghu varies according to the "jaati". Depending on the jaati Laghu we get 35 thalas. It is
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again possible to split each time unit or beat into five “ghatis”. This leads to 35x5 = 175 thalas in Carnatic music. The most
common thala is the Adi (first, foremost) thala, which consists of a repeating measure of 8 beats. Thalas are also
associated with moods just like the ragas. The popular mapping from the thalas gatis to the moods is chatusram devotional and
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happy times tisram-festivity khandam- anger or frustration misram-romantic and joyous, and sangeernam – confusion.
 Alap: Alap is the first movement of the Raga. It is a slow, serene movement acting as an invocation and it gradually
develops the Raga
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 Jor: Jor begins with the added element of rhythm which, combining with the weaving of innumerable melodic patterns,

gradually grains in tempo and brings the raga to the final movement.fa
Jhala: Jhala is the final movement and climax. It is played with a very fast action of the plectrum that is worn on the right index
finger.
 Gat: It is the fixed composition. A gat can be in any tala and can be spread over from 2 to 16 of its rhythmic cycles in any
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tempo, slow, medium or fast. A gat, whether vocal or instrumental, has generally two sections. The first part is called “pallavi”
(Carnatic) or “asthayi” (Hindustani) which opens the composition and is generally confined to the lower and middle octaves.
The following part of the composition is called the”anupallavi” (or "antara”) which usually extends from the middle to upper
octaves. In Carnatic music further melodic sections called “charana” follows the “anupallavi.”
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STYLES OF INDIAN CLASSICAL MUSIC

HINDUSTANI MUSIC
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In Hindustani music, there are 10 main forms of styles of singing and compositions: Dhrupad, Dhamar, Hori,
Khayal, Tappa, Chaturang, Ragasagar, Tarana, Sargam and Thumri. Nowadays Ghazals have become very popular as the 'light
classical' form of music.
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FORMS OF HINDUSTANI MUSIC
1. DHRUPAD
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The word 'Dhrupad' is derived from 'Dhruva' meaning fixed and 'pada' meaning words or song. Therefore, the
term dhrupad means "the literal rendering of verse into music" and so the songs have a particularly potent impact. Dhrupad is the
oldest and perhaps the grandest form of Hindustani vocal music. It is said to have descended from older forms like the Prabandha
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and the Dhruvapada.

Dhrupad was essentially devotional in essence. In fact, prior to the reign of Akbar it was performed almost
exclusively in temples. Dhrupad reached its pinnacle of glory during Akbar's reign when stalwarts like Swami Haridas, Baba Gopal
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Das, Tansen and Baiju Bawra performed it. By the 13th century AD, Dhrupad as a form of music was well developed. It was
adapted for court performance during the reign of Raja Man Singh Tomar (1486-1517) of Gwalior. Swami Haridas and his disciple
Tansen have also greatly contributed in its development.
Haridas and his disciple Tansen have also helped in its development. Dhrupad has been in decline since the
18th century. Dhrupad is essentially a poetic form incorporated into an extended presentation style marked by precise and orderly
elaboration of a raga. The exposition preceding the composed verses is called alap, and is usually the longest portion of the
performance. Dhrupad compositions have four parts or stanzas. A dhrupad recital typically consists of one or two male vocalists
accompanied by the Tanpura and Pankhawaj. Dhrupad compositions are usually written in Braj Bhasha, though sometimes
Punjabi, Rajasthani, Bengali and Urdu are also used. Originally, the compositions were written in Sanskrit. The Sangeeta
Ratnakara of Sarangadeva (12th century A.D) contains a detailed description of five major styles or geetis, of Shastriya Sangeet -
'Shuddha', 'Bhinna', 'Ghodi', 'Sadharani' and 'Vesura'. Of these the only one surviving in its original form today is the 'Sadharani
geeti' which is the Dhrupad sung by the Dagars.
There are four forms of Dhrupad singing: Dagar Bani, Khandaar Bani, Nauhar Bani and Gauhar Bani. The
Dagar Bani, which is the leading school today, has survived changing musical patterns and presents this art form in all its
originality. At present, the only renowned exponents of this genre of music are the Dagar brothers (Rajasthan) and Pandit Ram
Chatur Mullick (West Bengal). Other important exponents of this form of singing are Bhavani Shankar Majumdar, Phalguni Mitra,
Siyaram Tiwari, Abhay Narayan Mallick and Vidur Mallick from Darbhanga.
INDIAN CULTURE [BestCurrentAffairs.com] Page 32

2. KHAYAL
Khayal literally means ‘a stray thought’, ‘a lyric’ and ‘an imagination'. This is the most prominent genre of
Hindustani vocal music depicting a romantic style of singing. Khayal originated as a popular form of music in the 18th century AD
and was ultimate in the blending of Hindu and Persian cultures. Its origins are a mystery. Some people trace its origins to
'Sadarang' Nyaamat Khan, a beenkaar in the Mughal court of Muhammad Shah 'Rangila'. Others believe that Khayal singing was
the invention of Hussein Shah Sharqi. The most important features of a Khayal are 'Tans' or the running glides over notes an d
'Bol-tans' which distinguish it from Dhrupad.
Khayal is dependent to a large extent on the imagination of the performer and the improvisations he is able to

incorporate. Khayals are of two varieties: Vilambit (slow tempoed) and Drut (fast tempoed). A Khayal is also composed in a
particular raga and tala and has a brief text. The Khayal texts range from praise of kings or seasons, description of seasons to the
pranks of Lord Krishna, divine love and sorrow of separation. The texts contain rhyme, alliteration and play on words. Generally
composed in the archaic Hindi dialect known as Brij Bhasha, khayal songs are also found in languages like Bhojpuri, Punjabi, Urdu,
Rajasthani, Marathi and occasionally Sanskrit.
Essentially, the tanpura and tabla accompany khayal performances. Other ensembles include the sarangi,
harmonium, violin and swarmandal. There are six main gharanas in khayal: Delhi, Patiala, Agra, Gwalior, Kirana and Atrauli-Jaipur.
Gwalior Gharana is the oldest and is also considered the mother of all other gharanas. The Agra Gharana was founded by Haji
Sujan Khan, the Jaipur-Atroli Gharana was founded by Ustad Allaudin Khan and the Kirana Gharana was pioneered by Ustad
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Abdul Wahid Khan and Ustad Abdul Karim Khan.
Among the other eminent khayal singers, mention may be made of Faiyaz Khan, Amir Khan, Bade Ghulam Ali
Khan, Kishori Amonkar, Bhimsen Joshi, Pandit Jasraj, Sawai Gandharva, Sureshbabu Mane, Balakrishnabuwa Kapileswari,
Roshanara Begum, Hirabai Barodekar, Feroz Dastur, Gangubai Hangal, Manik Verma, Saraswati Rane and Prabha Atre. Some of
the renowned khayal singers are C.R.Vyas, Rashid Khan, Shubha Maudgalya, Ajoy Chakraborty, Shahid Parvez, Shruti Sadolikar,
Ashvini Bhede Deshpande, Mukul Shivputra and Meeta Pandit.
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3. THUMRI
Thumri originated in the Eastern part of Uttar Pradesh, mainly in Lucknow and Benares, around the 18th
century AD and was believed to be first patronised in the court of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah of Lucknow. Thumri was developed by
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the famous musician Sadiq Ali Shah. It is believed to have been influenced by hori, kajri and dadra, popular in Eastern Uttar
Pradesh. Some people consider that an older musical presentation called chalika, described in the Harivansha (400 AD), to be the
precursor of Thumri. Thumri is supposed to be a romantic and erotic style of singing and is also called “the lyric of Indian classical

music”.
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The song compositions are mostly of love, separation and devotion. Its most distinct feature is the erotic subject
matter picturesquely portraying the various episodes from the lives of Lord Krishna and Radha. They are usually sung in slower
tempo, giving more importance to the lyrics with short alaps. Thumris are composed in lighter ragas and have simpler talas. Thumri
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is generally written in Braj Bhasha, Khari Boli and Urdu. A Thumri recital typically consists of one or two male/female vocalists
accompanied by sarangi and/or harmonium, tanpura and tabla.
A Thumri is usually performed as the last item of a Khayal concert. There are three main gharanas of thumri -
- Benaras, Lucknow and Patiala. Qadar Piya, Sanad Piya, Lallan Piya, Kenwar Shyam, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah and Rang Piya are
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some well-known thumri singers of the Lucknow Gharana. Rasoolan Bai, Siddeshwari Devi and Girja Devi are exponents of the
Benaras style of thumri. Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, one of the most famous thumri singers, belonged to the Patiala Gharana.
Shobha Gurtu is a renowned contemporary singer of thumri.
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4. DADRA: Dadra bears a close resemblance to the Thumri. The texts are as amorous as those of Thumris. The major
difference is that dadras have more than one antara and are in dadra tala. Singers usually sing a dadra after a thumri.
5. DHAMAR-HORI: These compositions are similar to Dhrupad but are chiefly associated with the festival of Holi. Here the
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compositions are specifically in praise of Lord Krishna. This music, sung in the dhamar tala, is chiefly used in festivals like
Janmashthami, Ramnavami and Holi. Hori is a type of dhrupad sung on the festival of Holi. The compositions here describe
the spring season. These compositions are mainly based on the love pranks of Radha-Krishna.
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6. TAPPA: The tappa is said to have developed in the late 18th Century AD from the folk songs of camel drivers. The credit for its
development goes to Shorey Mian or Ghulam Nabi of Multan. Tappa literally means 'jump' in Persian. They are essentially
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folklore of love and passion and are written in Punjabi. Its beauty lies in the quick and intricate display of various
permutations and combinations of notes. The compositions are very short and are based on Shringara Rasa. It is rather
strange that even though the Tappa lyrics are in Punjabi, Tappa is not sung in Punjab.
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Varanasi and Gwalior are the strongholds of Tappa. Bengal has also been greatly influenced by the Tappa
style, where Ramnidhi Gupta created a special kind of songs, called Bangla Toppa, after the same kind of music from Punjab
called Shori Mia's Toppa. He set his romantic lyrics on melodies, which were based on Hindustani classical music. Later his
songs became popular as Nidhubabur Toppa. Even today this kind of songs is heard in Bengal, especially in Calcutta. But the
numbers of both the exponents and audience of this kind of music are waning fast.
Chandidas Maal is one of the last few performers of these songs. Others persons who created the same kind of
songs in Bengal include Sridhar Kathak, Gopal Ude and Amritolal Basu to name a few. Some of the eminent tappa singers
include Krishna Rao, Shankar Pandit, Nidhu Babu, Mian Gammu, Shadi Khan, Babu Ram Shai, Nawab Hussain Ali Khan,
Mammi Khan, Chajju Khan, Sher Khan and Girija Devi.
7. RAGASAGAR: Ragasagar consists of different parts of musical passages in different ragas as one song composition. These
compositions have 8 to 12 different ragas and the lyrics indicate the change of the ragas. The peculiarity of this style depends
on how smoothly the musical passages change along with the change of ragas.
8. TARANA: Tarana is a style consisting of peculiar syllables woven into rhythmical patterns as a song. It is usually sung in faster
tempo.
9. CHATURANG: Chaturang denotes four colours or a composition of a song in four parts: Fast Khayal, Tarana, Sargam and a
"Paran" of Tabla or Pakhwaj.
INDIAN CULTURE [BestCurrentAffairs.com] Page 33

Efficient transfer of resources from those having idle resources to others who have a pressing need for
them is achieved through financial markets. Stated formally, financial markets provide channels for allocation of
savings to investment. These provide a variety of assets to savers as well as various forms in which the investors
can raise funds and thereby decouple the acts of saving and investment. The savers and investors are constrained

not by their individual abilities, but by the economy’s ability, to invest and save respectively. The financial
markets, thus, contribute to economic development to the extent that the latter depends on the rates of savings
and investment.
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The financial markets have two major components: Money market Capital market.
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 The Money market refers to the market where borrowers and lenders exchange short-term funds to solve
their liquidity needs. Money market instruments are generally financial claims that have low default risk,
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maturities under one year and high marketability.
 The Capital market is a market for financial investments that are direct or indirect claims to capital. It is
wider than the Securities Market and embraces all forms of lending and borrowing, whether or not evidenced
by the creation of a negotiable financial instrument. The Capital Market comprises the complex of institutions
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and mechanisms through which intermediate term funds and long-term funds are pooled and made available
to business, government and individuals. The Capital Market also encompasses the process by which securities
already outstanding are transferred.
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The Securities Market, however, refers to the markets for those financial instruments/ claims/obligations that
are commonly and readily transferable by sale. The Securities Market has two interdependent and inseparable
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segments, the new issues (primary) market and the stock (secondary) market.
 The Primary market provides the channel for sale of new securities. The issuer of securities sells the
securities in the primary market to raise funds for investment and/or to discharge some obligation.
 The Secondary market deals in securities previously issued. The secondary market enables those who hold
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securities to adjust their holdings in response to charges in their assessment of risk and return. They also sell
securities for cash to meet their liquidity needs. BestCurrentAffairs.com
 The price signals, which subsume all information about the issuer and his business including associated risk,
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generated in the secondary market, help the primary market in allocation of funds.
This secondary market has further two components:

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 First, the spot market where securities are traded for immediate delivery and payment. The other is forward
market where the securities are traded for future delivery and payment. This forward market is further divided
into Futures and Options Market (Derivatives Markets).
 In futures Market the securities are traded for conditional future delivery whereas in option market, two types
of options are traded. A put option gives right but not an obligation to the owner to sell a security to the writer
of the option at a predetermined price before a certain date, while a call option gives right but not an
obligation to the buyer to purchase a security from the writer of the option at a particular price before a
certain date.
EQUITY MARKET/STOCK MARKET
Equity market is the market in which shares are issued and traded, either through exchanges or over-
the-counter markets. Also known as the stock market, it is one of the most vital areas of a market economy
because it gives companies access to capital and investors a slice of ownership in a company with the potential to
realize gains based on its future performance.
INDIAN ECONOMY VOL -1 [BestCurrentAffairs.com] Page 125

Equity markets are the meeting point for buyers and sellers of stocks. The securities traded in the
equity market can be either public stocks, which are those listed on the stock exchange, or privately traded
stocks. Often, private stocks are traded through dealers, which is the definition of an over-the-counter market.
Today India has two national exchanges, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock
Exchange (NSE). Each has fully electronic trading platforms with around 9400 participating broking outfits. Foreign
brokers account for 29 of these. There are some 9600 companies listed on the respective exchanges with a
combined market capitalization near Rs.24.7 lakh crore. Any market that has experienced this sort of growth has
an equally substantial demand for highly efficient settlement procedures. In India 99.9% of the trades, according

to the National Securities Depository, are settled in dematerialized form in a T+2 rolling settlement the capital
market is one environment. In addition, the National Securities Clearing Corporation of India Ltd (NSCCL) and
Bank of India Shareholding Ltd (BOISL), Clearing Corporation houses of NSE and BSE, guarantee trades
respectively. The main functions of the Clearing Corporation are to work out (a) what counter parties owe and (b)
what counter parties are due to receive on the settlement date. (Course Book by BestCurrentAffairs.com)
Furthermore, each exchange has a Settlement Guarantee Fund to meet with any unpredictable
situation and a negligible trade failure of 0.003%. The Clearing Corporation of the exchanges assumes the
counter-party risk of each member and guarantees settlement through a fine-tuned risk management system and
an innovative method of online position monitoring. It also ensures the financial settlement of trades on the
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appointed day and time irrespective of default by members to deliver the required funds and/or securities with the
help of a settlement guarantee fund.
Indian stock markets operated in the age-old conventional style of fact-to-face trading with bids and
offers being made by open outcry. At the Bombay Stock Exchange, about 3,000 persons would mill around in the
trading ring during the trading period of two hours from 12.00 noon to 2.00 p.m. Indian stock markets basically
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quote-driven markets with the jobbers standing at specific locations in the trading ring called trading posts and
announcing continuously the two-way quotes for the scrips traded at the post. As there is no prohibition on a
jobber acting as a broker and vice versa, any member is free to do jobbing on any day. In actual practice,
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however, a class of jobbers has emerged who generally confine their activities to jobbing only. Book by
bestcurrentaffairs.com.
The question of automating trading has always been under the active consideration of the Bombay

Stock Exchange for quite some time. It has decided to have trading in all the non-specified stocks numbering
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about 4,100 totally on the computer on a quote-driven basis with the jobbers, both registered and roving,
continuously keying in their bids and offers into the computer with the market orders getting automatically
executed at the touch and the limit orders getting executed at exactly the rate specified.
In March 1995, the BSE started the computerized trading system, called BOLT - BSE on-line trading
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system. Initially only 818 scripts were covered under BOLT. In July 1995, all scripts (more than 5,000) were
brought under the computerized trading system. The advantages realized are: (a) improved trading volume; (b)
reduced spread between the buy-sell orders; c) better trading in odd lot shares, rights issues etc.
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DEBT MARKET
The National Stock Exchange started its trading operations in June 1994 by enabling the Wholesale
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Debt Market (WDM) segment of the Exchange. This segment provides a trading platform for a wide range of fixed
income securities that includes central government securities, treasury bills (T-bills), state development loans
(SDLs), bonds issued by public sector undertakings (PSUs), floating rate bonds (FRBs), zero coupon bonds
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(ZCBs), index bonds, commercial papers (CPs), certificates of deposit (CDs), corporate debentures, SLR and non-
SLR bonds issued by financial institutions (FIs), bonds issued by foreign institutions and units of mutual funds
(MFs).
To further encourage wider participation of all classes of investors, including the retail investors, the
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Retail Debt Market segment (RDM) was launched on January 16, 2003. This segment provides for a nationwide,
anonymous, order driven, screen based trading system in government securities. In the first phase, all
outstanding and newly issued central government securities were traded in the retail debt market segment. Other
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securities like state government securities, T-bills etc. will be added in subsequent phases. The settlement cycle is
same as in the case of equity market i.e., T+2 rolling settlement cycle.
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DERIVATIVES MARKET
The emergence of the market for derivative products, most notably forwards, futures and options, can
be traced back to the willingness of risk-averse economic agents to guard themselves against uncertainties arising
out of fluctuations in asset prices. By their very nature, the financial markets are marked by a very high degree of
volatility. Through the use of derivative products, it is possible to partially or fully transfer price risks by locking–in
asset prices. As instruments of risk management, these generally do not influence the fluctuations in the
underlying asset prices. However, by locking-in asset prices, derivative products minimize the impact of
fluctuations in asset prices on the profitability and cash flow situation of risk-averse investors.
Derivative is a product whose value is derived from the value of one or more basic variables, called
bases (underlying asset, index, or reference rate), in a contractual manner. The underlying asset can be equity,
forex, commodity or any other asset. For example, wheat farmers may wish to sell their harvest at a future date
to eliminate the risk of a change in prices by that date. Such a transaction is an example of a derivative. The price
of this derivative is driven by the spot price of wheat which is the “underlying”.
In the Indian context the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956 (SC(R)A) defines “derivative” to
include –

 A security derived from a debt instrument, share, loan whether secured or unsecured, risk instrument or
contract for differences or any other form of security.
 A contract, which derives its value from the prices, or index of prices, of underlying securities.
Derivatives are securities under the SC(R)A and hence the trading of derivatives is governed by the regulatory
framework under the SC(R)A.
List of various derivatives contracts that have come to be used:

 Forwards: A forward contract is a customized contract between two entities, where settlement takes place on

a specific date in the future at today’s pre-agreed price.
 Futures: A futures contract is an agreement between two parties to buy or sell an asset at a certain time in
the future at a certain price. Futures contracts are special types of forward contracts in the sense that the
former are standardized exchange-traded contracts.
 Options: Options are of two types - calls and puts. Calls give the buyer the right but not the obligation to buy
a given quantity of the underlying asset, at a given price on or before a given future date. Puts give the buyer
the right, but not the obligation to sell a given quantity of the underlying asset at a given price on or before a
given date.
 Warrants: Options generally have lives of up to one year, the majority of options traded on options exchanges
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having a maximum maturity of nine months. Longer-dated options are called warrants and are generally
traded over-the-counter.
 LEAPS: The acronym LEAPS means Long-Term Equity Anticipation Securities. These are options having a
maturity of up to three years.
 Baskets: Basket options are options on portfolios of underlying assets. The underlying asset is usually a
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moving average or a basket of assets. Equity index options are a form of basket options.
 Swaps: Swaps are private agreements between two parties to exchange cash flows in the future according to
a prearranged formula. They can be regarded as portfolios of forward contracts. The two commonly used
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swaps are:
 Interest rate swaps: These entail swapping only the interest related cash flows between the parties in the
same currency and

 Currency swaps: These entail swapping both principal and interest between the parties, with the cash
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flows in one direction being in a different currency than those in the opposite direction.
Swaptions: Swaptions are options to buy or sell a swap that will become operative at the expiry of the options.
Thus a swaption is an option on a forward swap. Rather than have calls and puts, the swaptions market has
receiver swaptions and payer swaptions. A receiver swaption is an option to receive fixed and pay floating. A
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payer swaption is an option to pay fixed and receive floating.
We Revise and Update our Books Every Year according the changing Trend of the Exam.
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COMMODITIES MARKET
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Derivatives as a tool for managing risk first originated in the commodities markets. They were then
found useful as a hedging tool in financial markets as well. In India, trading in commodity futures has been in
existence from the nineteenth century with organized trading in cotton through the establishment of Cotton Trade
Association in 1875. Over a period of time, other commodities were permitted to be traded in futures exchanges.
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Regulatory constraints in 1960s resulted in virtual dismantling of the commodities future markets. It is only in the
last decade that commodity future exchanges have been actively encouraged. However, the markets have been
thin with poor liquidity and have not grown to any significant level.
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Difference between Commodity and Financial Derivatives

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The basic concept of a derivative contract remains the same whether the underlying happens to be a
commodity or a financial asset. However there are some features, which are very peculiar to commodity derivative
markets. In the case of financial derivatives, most of these contracts are cash settled. Even in the case of physical
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settlement, financial assets are not bulky and do not need special facility for storage. Due to the bulky nature of
the underlying assets, physical settlement in commodity derivatives creates the need for warehousing.
Similarly, the concept of varying quality of asset does not really exist as far as financial underlying is
concerned. However in the case of commodities, the quality of the asset underlying a contract can vary largely.
This becomes an important issue to be managed. We have a brief look at these issues.
Physical Settlement: Physical settlement involves the physical delivery of the underlying
commodity, typically at an accredited warehouse. The seller intending to make delivery would have to take the
commodities to the designated warehouse and the buyer intending to take delivery would have to go to the
designated warehouse and pick up the commodity. This may sound simple, but the physical settlement of
commodities is a complex process. The issues faced in physical settlement are enormous. There are limits on
storage facilities in different states. There are restrictions on interstate movement of commodities. Besides state
level octroi and duties have an impact on the cost of movement of goods across locations.
A derivatives contract is written on a given underlying. Variance in quality is not an issue in case of
financial derivatives as the physical attribute is missing. When the underlying asset is a commodity, the quality of
the underlying asset is of prime importance. There may be quite some variation in the quality of what is available
in the marketplace. When the asset is specified, it is therefore important that the exchange stipulate the grade or
grades of the commodity that are acceptable. Commodity derivatives demand good standards and quality
assurance/certification procedures. A good grading system allows commodities to be traded by specification.

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MESOCARNIVORE
A mesocarnivore is an animal whose diet consists of 50–70% meat with the balance consisting of non-vertebrate
foods which may include insects, fungi, fruits, other plant material and any food that is available to them. Mesocarnivores are from a
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large family group of mammalian carnivores and vary from small to medium sized, which are less than fifteen kilograms.
Mesocarnivores are seen today among the Canidae (coyotes, foxes), Viverridae (civets), Mustelidae (martens, tayra), Procyonidae
(ringtail, raccoon), Mephitidae (skunks), and Herpestidae (some mongooses). The red fox is also the most common of the
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mesocarnivores in Europe and has a high population density in the areas they reside.
In North America, though some mesocarnivores, such as otters, lynx, or marten, are in danger of being over hunted
for their pelts. This has led to efforts to help protect and conserve the mesocarnivores in the area which have been largely
successful thus far. These animals play an essential role in the function and system of the ecosystem, since the elimination of apex

predators. fa
Example species:
 Coyote (Canis latrans)
 River otter (Lontra canadensis)
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 Raccoon (Procyon lotor)
 Mongoose (Herpestidae)
 Red fox (Vulpes vulpes)
 Striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis)
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 Marten (Martes spp.)
HYPERCARNIVORE
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 A hypercarnivore is an animal which has a diet that is more than 70% meat, either via active predation or by scavenging. The
remaining non-meat diet may consist of non-animal foods such as fungi, fruits or other plant material. Some extant examples of
hypercarnivorous animals include crocodilians, owls, shrikes, eagles, vultures, felids, most wild canids, dolphins, snakes,
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spiders, scorpions, mantises, marlins, groupers, piranhas and most sharks. Every species in the family Felidae, including the
domesticated cat, is a hypercarnivore in its natural state. Additionally, this term is also used in paleobiology to describe taxa of
animals which have an increased slicing component of their dentition relative to the grinding component. Hypercarnivores need
not be apex predators. For example, salmon are exclusively carnivorous, yet they are prey at all stages of life for a variety of
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organisms.
 Many prehistoric mammals of the clade Carnivoramorpha (Carnivora and Miacoidea without Creodonta), along with the early
order Creodonta, and some mammals of the even earlier order Cimolesta, were hypercarnivores. The earliest carnivorous
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mammal is considered to be Cimolestes, which existed during the Late Cretaceous and early Paleogene periods in North
America about 66 million years ago. Theropod dinosaurs such as Tyrannosaurus rex that existed during the late Cretaceous,
although not mammals, were obligate carnivores.
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HYPOCARNIVORE
 A hypocarnivore is an animal that consumes less than 30% meat for its diet, the majority of which consists of fungi, fruits, and
other plant material. Examples of living hypocarnivores are the grizzly bear (Ursus horribilis), black bear (Ursus americanus),
binturong (Arctictis binturong), kinkajou (Potos flavus), and humans.
MESOPREDATOR
 A mesopredator is a mid-ranking predator in the middle of a trophic level, which typically preys on smaller animals.
Mesopredators often vary in ecosystems depending on the food web. There is no specific size or weight restrictions to qualify
as a mesopredator. It depends on how large the apex predator is, and what the mesopredator's prey is. When new species are
introduced into an ecosystem, the role of mesopredator often changes; the same happens if a species is removed.
 Raccoons and skunks are mesopredators. Pictured is a common raccoon and a striped skunk eating cat food in an urban area.
OMNIVORE
 An omnivore is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and
nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nutrients
ENVIRONMENT VOL - 1 [BestCurrentAffairs.com] Page 19
and energy of the sources absorbed. Often, they have the ability to incorporate food sources such as algae, fungi, and bacteria
into their diet.
 Omnivores come from diverse backgrounds that often independently evolved sophisticated consumption capabilities. For
instance, dogs evolved from primarily carnivorous organisms (Carnivora) while pigs evolved from primarily herbivorous
organisms (Artiodactyla). Despite this, physical characteristics such as tooth morphology may be reliable indicators of diet in
mammals, with such morphological adaptation having been observed in bears.
 The variety of different animals that are classified as omnivores can be placed into further sub-categories depending on their
feeding behaviors. Frugivores include maned wolves and orangutans; insectivores include swallows and pink fairy armadillos;

granivores include large ground finches and mice.
 Various mammals are omnivorous in the wild, such as species of hominids, pigs, badgers, bears, coatis, civets, hedgehogs,
opossums, skunks, sloths, squirrels, raccoons, chipmunks, mice, and rats.
 Most bear species are omnivores, but individual diets can range from almost exclusively herbivorous (hypocarnivore) to almost
exclusively carnivorous (hypercarnivore), depending on what food sources are available locally and seasonally. Polar bears
are classified as carnivores, both taxonomically (they are in the order Carnivora), and behaviorally (they subsist on a largely
carnivorous diet). Depending on the species of bear, there is generally a preference for one class of food, as plants and
animals are digested differently. Canines including wolves, dogs, dingoes, and coyotes eat some plant matter, but they have a
general preference and are evolutionarily geared towards meat. However, the maned wolf is a canid whose diet is naturally
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50% plant matter.
 Like most arboreal species, squirrels are primarily granivores, subsisting on nuts and seeds. However, like virtually all
mammals, squirrels avidly consume some animal food when it becomes available. For example, the American eastern gray
squirrel has been introduced to parts of Britain, continental Europe and South Africa. Its effect on populations of nesting birds
is often serious because of consumption of eggs and nestlings.
Other species:
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 Various birds are omnivorous, with diets varying from berries and nectar to insects, worms, fish, and small rodents. Examples
include cranes, cassowaries, chickens, crows and related corvids, kea, rallidae, and rheas. In addition, some lizards, turtles,
fish (such as piranhas and catfish), and invertebrates are omnivorous.
 Quite often, mainly herbivorous creatures will eagerly eat small quantities of animal food when it becomes available. Although
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this is trivial most of the time, omnivorous or herbivorous birds, such as sparrows, often will feed their chicks insects while food
is most needed for growth. On close inspection it appears that nectar-feeding birds such as sunbirds rely on the ants and other
insects that they find in flowers, not for a richer supply of protein, but for essential nutrients such as cobalt/vitamin b12 that are

absent from nectar. Similarly, monkeys of many species eat maggoty fruit, sometimes in clear preference to sound fruit. When
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to refer to such animals as omnivorous, or otherwise, is a question of context and emphasis, rather than of definition.
Examples of omnivores: humans, dogs, pigs, walking catfish, American crows, gravel ant.
Various birds are omnivorous, with diets varying from berries and nectar to insects, worms, fish, and small rodents. Examples
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include cranes, cassowaries, chickens, crows and related corvids, kea, rallidae, and rheas. In addition, some lizards, turtles,
fish (such as piranhas and catfish), and invertebrates are omnivorous.
PISCIVORE
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 A piscivore is a carnivorous animal that eats primarily fish. The name "piscivore" is derived from the Latin word for fish, piscis.
Piscivore is equivalent to the Greek-derived word ichthyophage, both of which mean "fish eater". Fish were the diet of early
tetrapods (amphibians); insectivory came next, then in time, reptiles added herbivory.
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 Some animals, such as the sea lion and alligator, are not completely piscivorous, often preying on aquatic invertebrates or land
animals in addition to fish, while others, such as the bulldog bat and gharial, are strictly dependent on fish for food. Humans
can live on fish-based diets as can their carnivorous domesticated pets, such as dogs and cats. Some creatures, including
cnidarians, octopuses, squid, spiders, sharks, cetaceans, grizzly bears, jaguars, wolves, snakes, turtles, and sea gulls, may
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have fish as significant if not dominant portions of their diets.

Examples of extant piscivores
 Aquatic genet  Giant otter  Barracuda
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 Flat-headed cat  Bottlenose dolphin  Giant trevally

 Bulldog bat  Harbor seal  Alligator gar
 Sea lion  Osprey  Lemon shark
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 Fur seal  Merganser  Fishing spider

 Orca  Penguin  Tiger
 Otter shrew  Bald eagle  Piranha
  
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European otter Arapaima Bluefish

 North American river otter  Fish-eating bat  Lionfish
 American mink  Gharial  Kidako moray
 Fishing cat  Yellow-bellied sea snake
 Amazon river dolphin  African tigerfish
Extinct and prehistoric piscivores
 Baryonyx (an opportunistic predator that had a crocodile-like skull, and scales of the lepidotid fish Scheenstia have been found
in a skeleton where the stomach should be)
 Spinosaurus (close relative of Baryonyx, is hypothesized to have preyed on fish because of giant coelacanthids found in the
same environment, and due to anatomical features, including a pressure-sensitive snout that could have detected movements
of swimming prey)
 Laganosuchus (flattened head suggests that it passively waited for fish to swim near its mouth in order to engulf them)
 Pteranodon (remains of fish found in the beaks and stomach cavities of some specimens)
 Elasmosaurus (long neck, stereoscopicly positioned eyes, and long teeth are thought to be adaptations for stalking and
trapping fish and other schooling animals)
 Thyrsocles (fossil specimen found with the stomach stuffed with the extinct herring Xyne grex)
 Xiphactinus (a 4-meter-long specimen was found with a perfectly preserved skeleton of its relative, Gillicus, in its stomach)
 Diplomystus (a small relative of the herring, numerous fossils of individuals that died while trying to swallow other fishes,
including smaller individuals of the same species, are known)

 Ornithocheirus (hypothesized to be piscivorous due to anatomy of its jaws and dentition)
 Titanoboa (multiple cranial and biochemical characteristics suggest it was primarily piscivorous)
AUTOTROPH
 An autotroph or primary producer is an organism that produces complex organic compounds (such as carbohydrates, fats, and
proteins) using carbon from simple substances such as carbon dioxide, generally using energy from light (photosynthesis) or
inorganic chemical reactions (chemosynthesis). They convert an abiotic source of energy (e.g. light) into energy stored in

organic compounds, which can be used by other organisms (e.g. heterotrophs). Autotrophs do not need a living source of
carbon or energy and are the producers in a food chain, such as plants on land or algae in water (in contrast to heterotrophs
as consumers of autotrophs or other heterotrophs). Autotrophs can reduce carbon dioxide to make organic compounds for
biosynthesis and as stored chemical fuel. Most autotrophs use water as the reducing agent, but some can use other hydrogen
compounds such as hydrogen sulfide.
 The primary producers can convert the energy in the light (phototroph and photoautotroph) or the energy in inorganic chemical
compounds (chemotrophs or chemolithotrophs) to build organic molecules, which is usually accumulated in the form of
biomass and will be used as carbon and energy source by other organisms (e.g. heterotrophs and mixotrophs). The
photoautotrophs are the main primary producers, converting the energy of the light into chemical energy through
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photosynthesis, ultimately building organic molecules from carbon dioxide, an inorganic carbon source. Examples of
chemolithotrophs are some archaea and bacteria (unicellular organisms) that produce biomass from the oxidation of inorganic
chemical compounds, these organisms are called chemoautotrophs, and are frequently found in hydrothermal vents in the
deep ocean. Primary producers are at the lowest trophic level, and are the reasons why Earth sustains life to this day.
 Most chemoautotrophs are lithotrophs, using inorganic electron donors such as hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen gas, elemental
sulfur, ammonium and ferrous oxide as reducing agents and hydrogen sources for biosynthesis and chemical energy release.
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Autotrophs use a portion of the ATP produced during photosynthesis or the oxidation of chemical compounds to reduce
NADP+ to NADPH to form organic compounds.
 There are many different types of primary producers out in the Earth's ecosystem at different states. Fungi and other
organisms that gain their biomass from oxidizing organic materials are called decomposers and are not primary producers.
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However, lichens located in tundra climates are an exceptional example of a primary producer that, by mutualistic symbiosis,
combine photosynthesis by algae (or additionally nitrogen fixation by cyanobacteria) with the protection of a decomposer
fungus. Also, plant-like primary producers (trees, algae) use the sun as a form of energy and put it into the air for other

organisms. There are of course H2O primary producers, including a form of bacteria, and phytoplankton. As there are many
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examples of primary producers, two dominant types are coral and one of the many types of brown algae, kelp.
BACTERIVORE
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 A bacterivore is an organism which obtains energy and nutrients primarily or entirely from the consumption of bacteria. The
term is most commonly used to describe free-living, heterotrophic, microscopic organisms such as nematodes as well as many
species of amoeba and numerous other types of protozoans, but some macroscopic invertebrates are also bacterivores,
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including sponges, polychaetes, and certain molluscs and arthropods. Many bacterivorous organisms are adapted for
generalist predation on any species of bacteria, but not all bacteria are easily digested; the spores of some species, such as
Clostridium perfringens, will never be prey because of their cellular attributes.
Examples of bacterivores:
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 Caenorhabditis elegans
 Ceriodaphnia quadrangula
 Diaphanosoma brachyura
 Vorticella
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 Paramecium
 Many species of protozoa
 Many benthic meiofauna, e.g. gastrotrichs
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 Springtails
 Many sponges, e.g. Aplysina aerophoba
 Many crustaceans
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 Many polychaetes, e.g. feather duster worms

 Some marine molluscs
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CARNIVORE
 A carnivore meaning "meat eater" (Latin, caro, genitive carnis, meaning "meat" or "flesh" and vorare meaning "to devour"), is
an animal whose food and energy requirements derive solely from animal products (mainly muscle, fat and other soft tissues)
whether through hunting or scavenging. Animals that depend solely on animal flesh for their nutrient requirements are called
hypercarnivores or obligate carnivores, while those that also consume non-animal food are called mesocarnivores or
facultative carnivores. Omnivores also consume both animal and non-animal food, and apart from the more general definition,
there is no clearly defined ratio of plant vs. animal material that would distinguish a facultative carnivore from an omnivore. A
carnivore at the top of the food chain, not preyed upon by other animals, is termed an apex predator.
 "Carnivore" also may refer to the mammalian order Carnivora, but this is somewhat misleading: many, but not all, Carnivora
are meat eaters, and even fewer are true obligate carnivores (see below). For example, while the Arctic polar bear eats meat
almost exclusively (more than 90% of its diet is meat), most species of bears are omnivorous, and the giant panda is
exclusively herbivorous. There are also many carnivorous species that are not members of Carnivora. The correct term for
mammals in this group is "carnivoran". Besides, some mammals, especially the cetaceans, are highly carnivorous yet are not
true Carnivorans.
 Outside the animal kingdom, there are several genera containing carnivorous plants (predominantly insectivores) and several
phyla containing carnivorous fungi (preying mostly on microscopic invertebrates such as nematodes, amoebae and
springtails).

50cm of rainfall in Assam and about 10cm rainfall in West Bengal and Orissa. This rainfall is very useful for Assam Tea and
spring rice crops of West Bengal. Similar thunderstorm causes about 25cm rainfall in Karnataka which is locally called as
“Cherry Blossom”, beneficial to the coffee plantation and “Mango Showers” elsewhere in South India, which are of salutary
effect on the mango crop. “Loo”, a hot wind blows in the northern plain during May and June, with the temperature range of
45°C to 50°C.
c) The South - West Monsoon Season (June to September): The ‘monsoon burst’ brings about the sudden onset of rain on
different dates in different parts of India. The Arabian Sea current covers West Coast, Maharashtra, Gujarat and parts of
Madhya Pradesh, whereas the Bay of Bengal current strikes the Bengal coast and the Shillong plateau and moves West and

north - west, parallel to the Himalayas and brings rain to Bihar, U.P., Delhi etc. The two currents merge over Punjab. The
tropical depressions, which periodically occur, cause dry spells during the monsoon season. So these depressions determine
the amount of rainfall The East Coast of India remains dry during this season of June - September, since it is in the rain
shadow area of the western current and is parallel to the Bengal current. The normal date of onset of the S.W. - Monsoon is
20th May in Andaman and Nicobar Island, 1st June on Kerala coast and by 15th July it covers whole of India. The withdrawal
of monsoon is much more gradual process than its onset. Normally it withdraws from north-west India by the beginning of
October and from remaining part of India by the beginning of December. Out of the total moisture brought by the monsoon,
only 20 percent is precipitated in India. Arabian Sea branch causes the first monsoon- burst over the Kerala coast normally by
5th June and later on causes heavy rain along the western coast, while the large part of Deccan lies in a rain shadow of the
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Western Ghats and receive decreasing amount of rainfall. The Arabian Sea branch does not brings much rain to Gujarat and
Rajasthan mainly due to absence of a mountain barrier, but gives moderate to heavy rainfall in the foothills of Western
Himalayas, Eastern Punjab and North-eastern Rajasthan. The Arabian Sea branch is much more powerful than the Bay of
Bengal branch. The Bay of Bengal branch after crossing the deltaic region enters the Khasi Valley and entrapped within it due
to funnel shape of the region and strikes Cherrapunji in a perpendicular direction causing heaviest rainfall near “Mawsynram”
(1143cm). A series of depression are originated at the head of Bay of Bengal and travel in a north westerly direction across
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central and northern India causes heavy rainfall along their tracks, with the frequency of 2 to 4 depressions per month from
June to September.
d) The North - East Monsoon (October to December): The retreat of South-West monsoon from North India starts in
September and is gradual. During this season, severe cyclonic storms develop in the Bay of Bengal which moves in a South-
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easterly to North-Westerly direction. They give substantial amount of rainfall to the East coast and sometimes cause havoc in
Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. In Tamil Nadu and surrounding areas, it is known as the north east monsoon
period. Generally the withdrawal of monsoon starts from 1st September in the north-western India and is completed in mid

December from South- eastern coast of Tamil Nadu. With the migration of Sun towards the south, a high pressure centre
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begins to build up over the landmass and there is a gradual weakening and withdrawal of monsoon. The retreating monsoon
causes rain in the coastal tracts to the south of Krishna delta and the interior of the southern districts.
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MONSOON IN INDIA
 The monsoon of South Asia is among several geographically distributed global monsoons. It affects the Indian subcontinent,
where it is one of the oldest and most anticipated weather phenomena and an economically important pattern every year from
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June through September, but it is only partly understood and notoriously difficult to predict. Several theories have been
proposed to explain the origin, process, strength, variability, distribution, and general vagaries of the monsoon, but
understanding and predictability are still evolving.
 The unique geographical features of the Indian subcontinent, along with associated atmospheric, oceanic, and geophysical
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factors, influence the behavior of the monsoon. Because of its effect on agriculture, on flora and fauna, and on the climates of
nations such as Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka – among other economic, social, and
environmental effects – the monsoon is one of the most anticipated, tracked, and studied weather phenomena in the region. It
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has a significant effect on the overall well-being of residents and has even been dubbed the "real finance minister of India".
 The India Meteorological Department defines "Monsoon" as the seasonal reversal of the direction of winds along the shores of
the Indian Ocean, especially in the Arabian Sea, which blow from the southwest for half of the year and from the northeast for
the other half.
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Background
 Observed initially by sailors in the Arabian Sea traveling between Africa, India, and Southeast Asia, the monsoon can be
categorized into two branches based on their spread over the subcontinent:
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 Arabian Sea branch

 Bay of Bengal branch
 Alternatively, it can be categorized into two segments based on the direction of rain-bearing winds:
 Southwest (SW) monsoon
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 Northeast (NE) monsoon

 Based on the time of year that these winds bring rain to India, the monsoon can also be categorized into two periods:
 Summer monsoon (May to September)
 Winter monsoon (October to November)
 The complexity of the monsoon of South Asia is not completely understood, making it difficult to accurately predict the quantity,
timing, and geographic distribution of the accompanying precipitation. These are the most monitored components of the
monsoon, and they determine the water availability in India for any given year.
 Monsoons typically occur in tropical areas. One area that monsoons impact greatly is India. In India monsoons create an entire
season in which the winds reverse completely.
 The rainfall is a result of the convergence of wind flow from the Bay of Bengal and reverse winds from the South China Sea.
 The onset of the monsoon occurs over the Bay of Bengal in May, arriving at the Indian Peninsula by June, and then the winds
move towards the South China Sea.
CLIMATIC REGIONS OF INDIA
The climatic division of India is based upon Trewartha’s scheme, which is a modified form of Koppen’s system and it corresponds
with the vegetative, agricultural and geographical regions of India. Main climatic regions of India include:
GEOGRAPHY PART - 1 [BestCurrentAffairs.com] Page 42

(i) Tropical Rain Forest (Am): It is found on the West coastal plain, the Western Ghats and some parts of Assam. It is
characterized by high temperature in winter not below 18.2°C; and in summer about 29°C. The average rainfall exceeds
200 cm.
(ii) Tropical Savanna (Aw): It is located in peninsular region except the semi - arid zone in the leeside of the Sahyadris. It is
characterized by long dry weather throughout winter and early summer and high temperature (above 18.2°C). Annual
rainfall varies from 76 cm in the west to 150 cm. in the east.
(iii) Tropical Semi-arid Steppe (BS): Prevails in the rain-shadow belt running southward from Central Maharashtra to Tamil
Nadu in the leeside of the Sahyadris and Cardamom Hills. It is characterized by low rainfall which varies from 38 cm to 80

cm, high temperature between 20°- 30° C.
(iv) Tropical and Sub-Tropical Steppe (BSh): Occurs over Punjab extending to Kutch region. The Thar Desert is in the west
and the more humid climate of the Ganga plain and the Peninsula to its East and South respectively.
(v) Tropical Desert (BWh): The area includes the western parts of Barmer, Jaisalmer and Bikaner district of Rajasthan. A
large portion of Kutch Peninsula along with Thar Desert is also included. It is characterized by scanty rainfall (30 cm.
average) with few parts receiving 12 cm annual rainfall. Temperature is above 35° C.
(vi) Humid Sub-tropical with Dry Winter (Cwa): The area includes South of the Himalayas, East of the tropical and sub -
tropical steppe and north of tropical Savanna. It is characterized by rainfall of 63.5 cm to 254 cm most of which is received
during the South West Monsoon season.
(vii) Mountain Climate (H): The area lies above 6000 metre sea-level. Examples are the Himalayan and Karakoram ranges.
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Temperature decreases with altitude. The Trans - Himalayan region particularly Ladakh has a dry and cold climate - what
may be called cold desert. Drought is permanent.
VARIABILITY IN THE RAINFALL
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The average annual rainfall in India is 100cm. However, this rainfall is neither uniformly distributed throughout the country nor
certain to occur every year. The unpredictable nature of the annual rain poses a major problem for India. But, there are certain
regions of heavy rainfall in India which are almost certain to get the annual rainfall of more than 200 cm every year. These are
Assam and its neighbourhood, the Western Ghats and the adjoining coastal areas and foothills of the Himalayas. In contrast,
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certain areas, particularly western Rajasthan, Kutch, Ladakh Plateau are perpetually drought - prone, the average annual
precipitation being about 100 cm.

LONG PERIOD AVERAGE (LPA) OF RAINFALL
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LPA of rainfall is the rainfall recorded over a particular region for a given interval(like month or season) average over a long
period like 30years, 50-years etc. Itacts as a benchmark while forecasting the quantitative rainfall for that region for aspecific
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month or season. For example, LPA of south west monsoon rainfall overKerala for the months June, July, August and
September are 556mm, 659mm,427mm and 252mm respectively. Current LPA of all India south west monsoonrainfall based
on the average rainfall over the period 1961 -2010 is 880.6mm.
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MONSOON TROUGH
 Monsoon Trough is an elongated low-pressure area which extends from heat lowover Pakistan to Head Bay of Bengal. This is
one of semi-permanent feature ofmonsoon circulation. Monsoon trough may be a characteristic of east westorientation of
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Himalayan ranges and north south orientation of Khasi-Jaintia Hills.Generally eastern side of monsoon trough oscillates,
sometimes southwards andsometimes northwards.Southward migration results in active/vigorous monsoon over major part of
India. Incontrast, the northward migration of this trough leads to break monsoon conditionover major part of India and heavy
rains along foothills of Himalayas andsometimes floods in Brahmaputra river.
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WHAT IS HEAT LOW?

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 During the northward march of sun in northern hemisphere, the continentsurrounding the Arabian Sea begin to receive large
amounts of heat; not only in theform of radiation from sun, but also flux of heat from the earth’s surface intoatmosphere (160
Watts/m2 for month of June over the arid zones of northwestIndia, Pakistan and middle eastern countries). As a result of this
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large input ofpower, trough of low pressure forms over this region. It is a semi-permanentfeature of monsoon over India. The
heat low is very shallow (extending up to 850hPa (1.5 KM) level and there exist a well-marked ridge above heat low. In spite
ofoccurrence of cloudiness, the precipitation is very small. Intense heat low (pressuredeparture is below normal) acts as
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suction devise for moist air along the monsoontrough and to some extend related to good monsoon over India. During weak
heatlow (pressure departure is above normal) monsoon rainfall over India is greatlyaffected and results in deficient or scanty
rainfall over vast area of country (eg. In1987, central pressure over heat low area was mostly above normal, which provedto be
drought year). Satellite measured estimates of longwave radiation indicatesthat tropical /subtropical deserts are heat sinks.
WHAT IS MONSOON LOW?
 An area with pressure at the centre lowest one, closed in shape with winds blowingaround in anti-clockwise direction in
Northern Hemisphere is Low Pressure Area (LPA). The LPA is associated with a whirling motion of air, convergence
andupward motion of air. In the low usually clouds and rainfall are present. LPA whichseen during monsoon is monsoon
low.The monsoon lows may be intensified into monsoon depressions. The monsoonlows and depressions are the principal rain
bearing systems of the south westmonsoon period over India. Substantial amounts of rainfall are generated by thewestward
passage of monsoon depressions forming in the Bay of Bengal. These are low pressure areas having wind speeds between 17
and 33 knots in theircirculation.On the average, 2 depressions form in each of the monsoon months (JuneSeptember).
However, year to year variation in their number is quite large. Thosethat form in early June are responsible for the advance of
the southwest monsoon,and are not strictly monsoon depressions. In July and August they usually formnorth of 18°N in the
northwest Bay, and the site of genesis shifts in Septembersouthward in the Central Bay.

WHAT IS TIBETAN HIGH?
 Tibetan High is a warm anticyclone (in this wind are changing in a clock-wisedirection in the Northern Hemisphere and it will
have always outflow of winds)located over Tibetan Plateau (centre latitude at 28ºN, longitude 98ºE) in themiddle/upper
troposphere during monsoon period. It is marked at 300 hPa levelwith centre 30ºN, 90ºE and extends 70ºE-110ºE.The outflow
of winds from TibetanHigh as the easterly flow concentrates into jet stream centred near about thelatitude of Chennai at 150
hPa in July. The jet stream runs from the east coast ofVietnam to the west coast of Africa. Thusthe location of the Easterly
Jetstreamseems to influence the pattern of monsoon rainfall. Shifting its position east or westcauses variation of monsoon

activity over India. The Tibetan 'High' may sometimesshift much to the west of its usual position. In such a situation, the
monsoon mayextend further westward into Pakistan and in extreme cases into north Iran, thoughsuch a westward position of
the Tibetan 'High' would be against its having origin inthe heating effect of the Tibetan Plateau.
WHAT IS MASCARENE HIGH?
 Mascarene High is a high-pressure area that is found around Mascarene Islands(in south Indian Ocean) during monsoon
period. This is responsible for crossequatorial flow through south Arabian Sea and it acts as southern hemisphericlinkage. The
variation in the intensity of High Pressure causes monsoon surgesacross equatorial flow. These surges are responsible for
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heavy rains along thewest coast.
WHAT IS SOMALI JET?
 Somali jet is low level (1 to 1.5 km asl) inter hemispheric cross equatorial flow ofair, attains Jet speed at the west end of
monsoon regime along the east coast ofAfrica. This Jet originates near Mauritius and northern part of Madagascar in
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thesouthern Hemisphere. This jet reaches Kenya coast (at about 3ºS) covers theplains of Kenya, Ethiopia and to Somali Coast
at about 9ºN). During May, it moves further into eastern Africa, then into Arabian sea and reacheswest coast of India in June. It
attains maximum strength in July. Short period (8-10days) fluctuations are observed in Low Level Jet stream. Its strengthening
givesrise to strong monsoon over peninsular India.
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WHAT IS TROPICAL EASTERLY JET?

 South of the sub-tropical ridge over Asia, the easterly flow concentrates into jetstream centred near about the latitude of
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Chennai at 150 hPa in July. This isTropical easterly jet. The jet stream runs from the east coast of Vietnam to the westcoast of
Africa. Over Africa, the location is at 10° N. Normally, the jet is at anaccelerating stage from the South China Sea to south
India and deceleratesthereafter. The location of the Easterly Jetstream seems to influence the pattern ofmonsoon rainfall. TEJ
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weakens to less than 50 knots over India in September.During Break monsoon conditions TEJ moves northwards up to latitude
20ºN.
MONSOON DEPRESSION AND DEPRESSION FORMING IN PRE-MONSOON SEASON AND POST-MONSOON SEASON
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 The depressions which form in the monsoon season are called the monsoondepressions. These are low pressure areas with
two or three closed isobars (at 2hPa interval), which cause most of monsoon rains. These can be of Bay origin,Land origin or
Arabian Sea origin. Their shape is roughly elliptical and its horizontal extension is about 1000’s of Kms of surface. Its vertical
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extension is about 6-9 kms.Monsoon depression is cold core system (central temperature colder thanenvironment) over
surface and in the lower levels and warm core in upper levels (central temperature warmer than environment). The Maximum
wind strength andintensity can be noticed at the levels of 0.9km or 1.5 km. The monsoondepressions tilt southwards with
height and if monsoon depression is movingwestward, the heavy rainfall is mainly concentrated in the SW quadrant. Due to
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thehigh vertical wind shear present during South west monsoon season, monsoondepressions are generally do not intensify
into cyclonic storms.The depressions forming in pre-monsoon season and post-monsoon seasonintensify into a cyclonic storm.
The average diameter of Post monsoon storms isabout 1200 km whereas in pre-monsoon season it is about 800 km,
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howeverintensity does not depend on size. The cyclonic storm is a warm core phenomenonwhere the temperatures at the
centre are warmer than the surrounding (areas) regions. The maximum warming occurs at the 300 hPa level.
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WHY DON'T WE GET CYCLONES DURING MAIN MONSOON MONTHS LIKE JULY AND AUGUST?
 Tropical cyclogenesis requires several favourable precursor environmental conditions. Warm Ocean waters (of at least 26.5℃
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throughout sufficient depth at least on the order of 50 m). Relatively moist layers near the height of 5 km. Nonnegligible amount
of Coriolis force, pre-existing near surface disturbance. Low values of vertical wind shear between the surface and upper
troposphere. In July and August winds on the surface are westerly/south-westerly to the south of monsoon trough and south
easterly/ easterly to its north and are generally stronger over the seas than the Land areas. The upper winds are
westerly/south-westerly to the south and south easterly/ Easterly to the north of this trough region. Westerly winds increase
with height and reach a maximum speed of 20-25 knots between 900 to 800 hPa levels. Easterly winds strengthen with height
from 200 hPa reaching a maximum at 100 hPa. Speeds are between 60 to 80 knots over peninsula at 150 /100 hPa level or
even at lower height (around 200 hPa) in the southern latitude. This results in high values of vertical wind shear which is
unfavourable for Tropical cyclogenesis. So, we don’t get cyclones during main monsoon months like July and August.
WHAT IS OFF SHORE TROUGH?
 During monsoon season a shallow trough of low pressure is observed (on sea level surface chart) along west coast of India.
This is known as off-shore trough. This type of system quite frequently develops off the west coast of India, anywhere from
north Kerala to south Gujarat, during the period of southwest monsoon, and is responsible for the strengthening of the
monsoon in terms of rainfall, in the adjacent parts of the coastal belt.

WHAT IS OFF SHORE VORTEX?
 West coast of India has an orographic barrier in the form of Western Ghats. These mountains are oriented in north south
direction and approximately 1000 km in length and 200 km in breadth. When monsoon winds strikes the mountains, on many
occasions they do not have enough energy to climb over Western Ghats. On such occasions they tend to be deflected round
the mountains and return current forms the off-shore vortex. These vortices are responsible for the occurrence of heavy to very
heavy rainfall over west coast during monsoon season.

WHAT IS QUASI-BIWEEKLY OSCILLATION OR MONSOON INTRA-SEASONAL OSCILLATION?
 Westward propagating biweekly oscillation of 14 to 15 days. Trough lines and lowpressure systems, ridges and high-pressure
systems propagate in sequence from east to west with a periodicity of 2 weeks (14 to 15 days). This is known as
Quasibiweekly oscillation. When a trough or low-pressure area propagates on a particular area that area will experience an
enhanced precipitation and when ridge or high-pressure passes over particular area, it will lead to suppressed rainfall or no
rainfall over a particular area.
WHAT IS MADDEN JULIAN OSCILLATION?
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 The Madden Julian Oscillation (MJO) is one of the most important atmosphereocean coupled phenomena in the tropics, which
has profound influence on Indian Summer Monsoon. The MJO is the leading mode of tropical intra-seasonal climate variability
and is characterized by organization on a global spatial scale with a period typically ranging from 30-60 days, which was
discovered by Madden and Julian in 1971 in a published paper. It has the following characteristics: -
 MJO is a massive weather event consisting of deep convection coupled with atmospheric circulation, moving slowly
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eastward over the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
 MJO is an equatorial traveling pattern of anomalous rainfall that is planetary in scale.
 Each cycle lasts approximately 30–60 days. Also known as the 30-60 day oscillation, 30-60 day wave, or intra-seasonal
oscillation (ISO).
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 The MJO involves variations in wind, sea surface temperature (SST), cloudiness, and rainfall.
 Based on the place of convective activity the period of MJO is divided into 1-8 phases with each phase roughly last for 7 to 8
days. Since the MJO is the most important mode of tropical intra-seasonal variability with potentially important influences on

monsoon activity in the Asian regions on extended range time scale (beyond 7 days to on1 month), the capability of statistical
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or numerical models in capturing MJO signal is very crucial in capturing the active/break cycle of monsoon.
WHAT IS SEFS?
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 SEFS stands for Statistical Ensemble Forecasting system. It is a statistical model used by IMD for the long range forecasting of
South west monsoon season rainfall over the country as a whole. For this a set of 8 predictors that having stable and strong
physical linkage with the Indian south-west monsoon rainfall is used.
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WHAT IS MMCFS?
 MMCFS stands for Monsoon Mission Coupled Forecasting System. It is a coupled dynamical model developed under Monsoon
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Mission Project. The original model frame work of CFS was developed by the National Centers for Environmental Prediction
(NCEP), USA. This model was modified to provide better forecast over Indian monsoon region for different spatial and
temporal resolutions through mission mode research work by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune in
collaboration with various climate research centers from India and abroad. The latest high-resolution research version of the
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coupled model has been implemented in High Performance Computer (HPC) at Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM),
Pune. IMD uses Monsoon Mission Climate Forecast System (MMCFS) model for preparing operational forecast of rainfall and
temperature along with statistical models.
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WHAT IS MONSOON MISSION?

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 Monsoon Mission is a national programme launched by Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) with a vision to develop state-of-
the-art dynamical prediction system for the monsoon rainfall in different time scales. The mission supports focused research by
national and international research groups with definitive objectives and deliverables to improve models in the short, medium,
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extended and seasonal range scales through setting up of a framework for generating dynamical forecasts and improving skill
of forecasts. It also supports observational programs which will helps the better understanding of the atmospheric processes
related to monsoon. The main objectives of this mission are:
 To improve Seasonal and Intra-seasonal Monsoon Forecast
 To improve Medium Range Forecast.
 Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, India Meteorological Department (IMD), Indian National Centre for Ocean
Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad and National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecast (NCMRWF), Noida are
the major participating institutions in Monsoon Mission.
WHAT IS CLOUD BURST?
 If 10 cm rainfall is received at a station in one hour, the rain event is termed as cloud burst. It is very difficult to pred ict the
cloud bursts due to its very small scale in space and time. To monitor or nowcast (forecasting few hours lead time) the cloud
burst, we need to have dense radar network over the cloud burst prone areas or one need to have a very high resolution
weather forecasting models to resolve the scale of cloud burst. Cloud bursts do occur at plains, however, mountainous regions
are more prone to cloud bursts due to orography.

WHAT IS BREAK AND ACTIVE MONSOON SPELLS?
 After southwest monsoon gets established over Central India in July, copious rainfall is received over large areas of the
country with maximum over central India. During the peak monsoon rainfall months (July and August) of the season, the
monsoon trough shifts north and south about its normal position causing large scale rainfall variation over the country both in
terms of spatial and temporal scales. The intervals of dry monsoon conditions during which the large-scale rainfall over the
monsoon trough zone (the zone between which the monsoon trough fluctuates north and south wards) is interrupted for
several days in July and August are known as the breaks. On the other hand, the intervals between spells of dry monsoon

conditions when the rainfall is higher than normal are known as active spells. Break in the monsoon rainfall was defined as the
situations when the trough of low pressure was not seen on the surface chart and the easterlies were practically absent in the
lower tropospheric levels up to about 1.5 km above sea level for more than 2 days.
WHAT ARE THE CRITERIA USED TO DECLARE ACTIVE AND WEAK MONSOON CONDITION?
 Criterion for declaring active monsoon condition over a meteorological sub division is:
i) Rainfall 1 ½ to4 times the normal.
ii) The rainfall in at least two stations should be 5 cm, if that sub-division is along the west coast and 3 cm, if it is elsewhere.
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iii) Rainfall in that sub-division should be fairly widespread to widespread. (over the land area)
iv) Wind speed is between 23 to 32 knots(over the Sea)
Criteria for declaring weak monsoon condition over a meteorological sub division is:
i) Rainfall less than half the normal (over the land area) Wind speed up to 12 knots (over the Sea)
WHAT IS RAINSTORM?
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 Rainstorm is a storm characterised by substantial heavy rainfall. It is an extreme rainfall event experienced over a particular
area for a particular period, in association with various weather systems of different spatial scales (Monsoon, Thunderstorms,
cyclonic storm etc.) A rainstorm of any considerable duration typically consists of spurts of high-intensity rain punctuated by
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variable periods of low-intensity rain. Many times it has been observed that rainstorms lead to floods and landslides.
WHAT IS IFLOWS?

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IFLOWS is a monitoring and flood warning system that will be able to relay alerts of possible flood-prone areas anywhere
between six to 72 hours in advance. The primary source for the system is the amount of rainfall, but the system also factors in
tidal waves and storm tides for its flood assessments. The system has provisions to capture the urban drainage within the city
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and predict the areas of flooding. The system comprises seven modules- Data Assimilation, Flood, Inundation, Vulnerability,
Risk, Dissemination Module and Decision Support System. The system incorporates weather models from the National Centre
for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF), India Meteorological Department (IMD), field data from the rain gauge
network of 165 stations set up by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), BMC and IMD. It has been launched for
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Mumbai city on 12th June 2020.
INDIAN OCEAN DIPOLE

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 The Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), also known as the Indian Niño, is an irregular oscillation of sea surface temperatures in which
the western Indian Ocean becomes alternately warmer (positive phase) and then colder (negative phase) than the eastern part
of the ocean.
 The IOD involves an aperiodic oscillation of sea-surface temperatures (SST), between "positive", "neutral" and "negative"
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phases. A positive phase sees greater-than-average sea-surface temperatures and greater precipitation in the western Indian
Ocean region, with a corresponding cooling of waters in the eastern Indian Ocean—which tends to cause droughts in adjacent
land areas of Indonesia and Australia. The negative phase of the IOD brings about the opposite conditions, with warmer water
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and greater precipitation in the eastern Indian Ocean, and cooler and drier conditions in the west.
 The IOD also affects the strength of monsoons over the Indian subcontinent. A significant positive IOD occurred in 1997–98,
with another in 2006. The IOD is one aspect of the general cycle of global climate, interacting with similar phenomena like the
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El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in the Pacific Ocean.

 The IOD phenomenon was first identified by climate researchers in 1999.
 An average of four each positive-negative IOD events occur during each 30-year period with each event lasting around six
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months. However, there have been 12 positive IODs since 1980 and no negative events from 1992 until a strong negative
event in late 2010. The occurrence of consecutive positive IOD events is extremely rare with only two such events recorded,
1913–1914 and the three consecutive events from 2006 to 2008 which preceded the Black Saturday bushfires. Modelling
suggests that consecutive positive events could be expected to occur twice over a 1,000-year period. The positive IOD in 2007
evolved together with La Niña, which is a very rare phenomenon that has happened only once in the available historical
records (in 1967). A strong negative IOD developed in October 2010, which, coupled with a strong and concurrent La Niña,
caused the 2010–2011 Queensland floods and the 2011 Victorian floods.
 In 2008, Nerilie Abram used coral records from the eastern and western Indian Ocean to construct a coral Dipole Mode Index
extending back to 1846 AD. This extended perspective on IOD behaviour suggested that positive IOD events increased in
strength and frequency during the 20th century.
 The Subtropical Indian Ocean Dipole (SIOD): It is featured by the oscillation of sea surface temperatures (SST) in which the
southwest Indian Ocean i.e. south of Madagascar is warmer and then colder than the eastern part i.e. off Australia. It was first
identified in the studies of the relationship between the SST anomaly and the south-central Africa rainfall anomaly; the
existence of such a dipole was identified from both observational studies and model simulations.
POST-MONSOON
 During the post-monsoon or autumn months of October to December, a different monsoon cycle, the northeast (or "retreating")
monsoon, brings dry, cool, and dense air masses to large parts of India. Winds spill across the Himalayas and flow to the

 The two Uttaramerur inscriptions of the twelfith and fourteenth years (919 and 921) of the Chola monarch Parantaka I may be
considered great landmarks in the history of the Chola village assemblies. In these inscriptions, we see the completion of the
transition from the appointment of individual executive officers (the variyar) by the sabha to the establishment of a fairly
elaborate committee system.
 By this means, important sections of local administration were entrusted to committees (Variyam) of six or twelve members
according to the importance of their functions. The first inscription laid down rules for the election of the various committees,
and the second inscription, dated two years later, amended these rules with a view to removing some practical difficulties that
had been experienced in their working.

THE CHERAS (9TH TO 12TH CENTURY)
 The Chera kingdom was another historical Tamil chiefdom of southern India, which controlled the Cauvery river valley. It first
arose some time after the 3rd century BC with Karuvur-Van-chi as its inland political centre and Muchiri on the Kerala cost as
its port of trade, where merchants exchanged pepper for gold and wine from the Raman empire.
 The Cheras exercised a clan rule under different Lingages. Its rulers apparently fought intertribal conflicts with the Cholas and
Pandyas, and subjugated minor chiefs of the Velir clan. The Chera kingdom o Makotai was established in the 9th century in the
Periyar valley of Derala, with Makotaipuram (kodungallur) and Quilon as its first and second capital.
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The kingdom acquired an agrarian base through land grants to Brahmins and Brahmin institutions, such as temples to Siva
and Vishnu, trading ventures with Arab and Jewish lands provided commercial resources. Contemporary texts give an account
of the ruling dynasty’s legendary origins and history.
 Makotai was supposedly hostile to the Pandyas but friendly with the Mushakas of Kerala. Despite a series of defensive wares,
constant invasions by the Cholas of Tanjavur led to the disintegration of the Makotai kingdom by the early 12th century.
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THE RASHTRAKUTA
 The term ‘rashtakuta’ means designated officers-in-charge of territorial division called rashtra. The originally belonged to
Lattatura or modern Latur of Maharashtra. They were feudatories under the Chalukyas of Badami.
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 The Rashtrakutas were descendants of the nobles who governed under the Andhras. They were follower of jainism.
Dhantidurga (735-756) established this kingdom. His ancestors were subordinates of the Chalukyas. They overthrew the
Chalukyas and ruled up to 973.

 Dhantidurga was succeeded by his son Krishna I (756-774). Krishna I is credited to have built the Kailasa temple at Ellora. He

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is also said to have totally eclipsed the contemporary Chalukya rulers. Other kings of this dynasty were Govinda II (774780),
Dhruva (780-790), Govinda III (793-814) and Amoghavarsa Nrupatunga I (814-887).
The extend of the Amoghavarsa’s empire can be estimated from the accounts of the Arabian traveller, Sulaiman, who visited
his court in 1851 and wrote in his book that ‘his kingdom was one of the four great empires of the world at that time.’ However,
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Amoghavarsha lacked the maratial spirit of his predecessors, partly due to his leanings towards religion and literature.
 The principles, appealed to him. He was a patron of literature and patronished men of letters, such as Kinasena, the author of
Adipurana, Mahaviracharya, the author of Ganitasara Samgraha and Saktayana, the author of Amonghavriti. Amoghavarsha
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himself wrote Kavirajamarga which is the earliest Kannada work on poetics.

 Among Amoghavarsha’s successors, two significant Rashtrakuta rulers were Indra III (915-27) and Krishna III (939-5-65). Indra
III defeated the Paratihara king Mahipala I, plundered his capital Kanauj, and challenged the eastern Chalukyas. The Arab
traveler AlMashdi, who visited India during this period, calls the Rashtrakuta king the, ‘greatest king of India.’ Krishna III, fourth
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in succession from Indra III, invaded the Chola kingdom and his army reached Rameswaram, where he built a pillar of victory
and a temple.
 In about 963 he led an expedition of northern India and brought Vengi under his control by putting his nominee on the throne.
But by waging wars almost against all his neigbours, he aliennated them and created serious problems for his successors.
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During the reign of his successors, the situation worsened on account of the internal dissensions including the wars of
succession. Taking advantage of this situation, the Paramaras of Malwa, who were the feudatories of the Rashtrakuta,
declared their independence and invaded the Rashtrakuta kingdom and plundered the Rashtrakuta capital Manyakheta
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(modern Malkhed, Maharashtra) in 972-73. Soon, other feudatories of the Rashtrakutas also became independent. Thus, by
the end of 10th century the Rashtakutas completely disappeared form the scene,
 The dynasty of the Dhalukyas of Kalyani was founded by Tailapa after overthrowings the Rashtrakutas in 974-75, The dynasty
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founded by him, with its capital at Kalyani (Karnataka), is known as the later Chalukyas of the Chalukyas of Kalyani (the early
Chalukyas being the Chalukyas of Badami). Tailapa ruled for twentythree years form 974 to 997. He made extensive
conquests during his reign.
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By defeating the Gangas, he conquered North Mysore. He fought a protracted war with the Paramaras of Malwa and
eventually took Paramara Munja, prisoner and executed him in his capital. He opened the longdrawn phase of wars against
the Cholas of Thanjavur, by attacking Uttama Chola.
 The Chaluky-Chola power struggle becomes a regular feature during the period of his successors. This lead to weakening of
the dynasty and decline of its financial resources.
CAUSES OF TRIPARTITE STRUGGLE
Causes for Tripartite Struggle between the Pratiharas, Palas and Rashtrakutas are as follows:
 To acquire supremacy over Kanauj, as symbol of prestige.
 Te get control over the rich resources of the Gangetic valley.
 To get control over Gujarat and Malwa whose nearness to the coast was very important for forging trade.
 Lust for war booty, and important source for maintaining a huge army.
 Desire to impress the smaller kingdoms with the sense of their power and demand respect.
 The Rashtrakutas were tolerant in religious matters and patronised not only Saivism as will. The Rashtrakuta rulers were even
tolerant of Islam. They permitted Muslim merchants to settle, build their mosques and preach their religion in the Rashtrakuta
dominions. Their tolerant policies gave a great impetus to trade and commerce.
MEDIEVAL HISTORY [BestCurrentAffairs.com] Page 4

 In the field of literature also, their tolerant spirit is visible. They equally patronised Sanskrit, Prakrit, Apaghransa, a forerunner of
many modern India languages, and Kannada They patronised the arts liberally. The rock-cut cave temples at Ellora-
Brahmanical.
 Buddhist and jain are the symbols of their religious toleration and are one of the splendours of Indian art. The Kailash Temple,
built by the Rashtrakut king Drishna I, is an unrivalled and stupendous piece of art. The ancient Indian rock-cut architecture
reached its zenith under the Rashtrakutas.
 The last great Chalukya ruler was Vikramakitya VI (1076-1126) who, on his coronation, withdrew the Saka era and introduced
the Chalukya-Vikram era. Vikramaditya VI was a great patron of writers.

 Bilhana, the author of the Vikramankadevacharita and Vijananeshvara, the commentator of the Mitakshara commentator on
the Smritis, adorned his court. In 1085, he invaded Kanchi and annexed some Chola territories in Andhra. He fought numerous
wars against the Hoysalas of Dwarasamudra, the Kakatiyas of Warangal.
 The Yadavas of Devagiri and the Kadambas of Goa, who were all the feudatories of the Chalukyas. Despite defeating them he
could not suppress their power and within three decades of this death. Most of the leading Khalukyan feudatories asserted
their imdependence once again, by the middle of the twelfth century, The Chalukyan kingdom of Kalyan, had become almost
extinct and their place was taken by the kaktiyas of Warangal, the Hoysalas of Dwarasamudra and the Yadavas of Devigiri.
THE PRATIHARAS (8TH TO 10TH CENTURY)
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 The Pratihars were also called GurjarPratihars probably because they originated from Gurjarat or Southwest Rajasthan. It is
believed that originally they were a branch of the Gurjaras, which was one of the nomadic central Asian tribes that poured into
India along with the Hunas following the disintegration of the Gupat Empire.
 As rulers, the Pratiharas came into prominence in the middle of the eight century when their king, Nagabhatta I, defended
western India form the Arab incursions form Sindh into Rajasthan. He was able to leave to his successors a powerful
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principality comprising Malwa and parts of Rajputana and Gujarat.
 After the Nagabhatta I regin, the Pratiharas suffered a series of defeats mostly at the hands of the Rashtrakutas. The Pratihara
power regained its lost glory only after only after the succession of Mihirbhomja, popularly known as Bhoja. He had a long
reign of 46 years and his evenful career drew the attention of the Arab traveler, Sulaiman.
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 He re-establidhed the supremacy of his family in Bundelkhand and subjugated Jodhpur. The Daulatpura copper plate of Bhoja
shows that the pratihara king had succeeded in reasserting his authority over central and eastern Rajputana. Mihirbhoja was
succeeded by his son Mahendrapala I whose most notable achievement was the conquest of Magadha and northern Bengal.

Mahendrapala I was a Liberal patron of literature. The most brilliant writer in his court was Rajasekhara who has to his cred it a
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number of literary worksKarpuramanjari, Bala Ramayana, Bala and Bharta, Kavyamimamsa.
Mahendrapala’s death was followed by a scramble for the possession of the throne. Bhoja II seized the throne, but half
brother, Mahipala soon usurped the throne. The Rashtrkutas again challenged the strength of the Pratihara Empire and its
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ruler, Indra III, completely devastated the city of Kanauj. However, the withdrawal of Indra III to the Deccan enabled Mahipala
to recover form the fatal blow.
 Mahendrapala II, son and successor of mahipala, was able to keep his empire intact. But it received a shattering blow during
the reign of Devapala, when the Chandelas become virtually independent. The process of decline of the Pratihara empire
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which had begun with Devapal accelerated during the reign of Vijayapala.
 Thus, we find that the Pratiharas emerged as one of the most powerful empires of the early medieval period. The Arab traveler
Al-Masudi, who visited India in the year 915-16, also refers to the power and resouces of the king of Kanauj whose kingdom
extended up to Sind in the west and touched the Rashtrakuta kingdom in the south.
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THE PALAS (8TH TO 11TH CENTURY)
 Sulaiman, an Arab merchant who visited India in the 9th century has termed the Pala Empire as Rhumi. The Pala Empire was
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founded by Gopal in 750. It is believed that he was elected as the king by the notable men of the area to end the anarchy
prevailing there after the death of Sasanka of Bengal.
 Gopala was an ardent Buddhist and is supposed to have built the monastery at Odantapuri (Sharif district of Bihar). Gopala
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was succeeded by his son Bharmapla who raised the Pala kingdom to greatness.
 The kingdom expanded under him and it comprised the whole of Bengal and Bihar. Besides, the kindom of Kanauj was a
dependency, ruled by Dharmapal’s own nominee. Beyond Kanuja, there were a large number of vassal states in the Punjab,
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Rajputana, Malwa and Berar whose rulers acknowledged Dharmapala as their overlord.
 However, Dharmapala’s trimphant career was soon challenged by his pratihara adversary. After a reign of 32 years Dharmapal
died, leaving his extensive dominions unimpaired to his son Devapala. Devapala ascended the throne in 810 and Ruled for 40
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years. He extended his control over Pragjyotishpur (Assam), parts of Orissa and parts of Modern Nepal Devapal was a great
patron of Buddhism and his fame spred to many buddhist countries outside India. As a Buddhist, he founded the famous
mahavihara of Vkramasial near Bhagalpur. He also credited with the construction of a vihara at Somapura (Paharpur). He also
patronised Haribhadra, one of the great Buddhist authors.
 Balaputradeva, a king of the Buddhist Sailendras, ruling Java, sent an ambassador to Devapala, asking for a grant of five
villages in order to endow a monastery at Nalanda.
 Devapala granted the request and appointed Viradeva, as head of Nalanda Monastery. Devapala’s court was adorned with the
Buddhist poet Vijrakatta, the author of Lokesvarasataka.
 The glory of the Pala Empire suffered with the death of Devapala. The rule of his successors was marked by a steady process
of disintegration. A series of invasions led by the Chandellas and the Kalachuris dismembered the Pala Empire.
THE SENAS (11TH TO 12TH CENTURY)
 The Sena dynasty ruled Bengal after the Palas. Its founder was Samantasena described as a ‘brahmakshatriya’. The title
brahmakshatriya shows that Samantasena was a Brahmin, but his successors called themselves simply Kshatriyas.
Samantasena’s son Hemantasena took advantage of the unstable political situation of Bengal and carved out independent
principality.

 Vijayasena, son of Hemantasena, brought the family into the limelight by comquering nearly the whole of Bengal. Vijayasena
assumed several immaterial titles like paramesvara, paramabhattaraka, and maharajadhiraja. He had two capitals, which was
one, at Vijaypuri of Bangladesh. The famous poet Sriharasha composec the Vijayaprasasti in memory of Vijayasena.
 Vijayasena was succeeded by his son, Ballalasena. Ballalasena was a great scholar. He wrote four works of which two are
extant, the Banasagara and the Adbhutasagara. The first is an extensive work on omens and portents, and the second on
astronomy.
 Lakshmanasena succeeded Ballalasena in 1179. The reign of Lakshmanasena was remarkable for patronising literature. He
was a devout Vaishnava and, Jayadeva, the famous Vaishnava poet of Bengal and author of the Gita Govinda lived at his

court.
 His reign saw the decline of the Sena power because of internal rebellions. The invasion of Bakhtiya Khalji gave it a crushing
blow. A detailed account of the invasion of Bakhtiya Khalji has been given in Tabakat-i-Nasiri.
THE EASTERN CHALUKYAS (OF VENGI) (8TH TO 10TH CENTURY)
 Vishnuvardhana was the founder of the dynasty of the eastern Chalukyas of Vengi. Pulakesin II of Badami subdued the king of
Pishtapura (Pitapuram in the Godavari district) and the vishnukundin king and appointed his younger brother, Vishnuvardhana,
vicerory of the newly conquered territories. Very soon, the Viceroyalty developed into an independent kingdom and
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Vishnuvardhana became the founder of dynasty known as the eastern Chalukyas of Vengi (Vijayawada). This is the earliest
reference of Jainism in the Telugu country.
 Vishnuvardhana himself was a Bhagavata. Vishnuvarkhana was succeeded by his son Jayasimha I. His fater, Jayasimha was
also a Bhagavata. He was succeeded by Vishnuvardhana II, Vijayasiddhi, jayasimha II, Vikramaditya, Vishnuvardhana III and
then by Vijayadity one after another. His reign withessed a great political revolution in the Deccan when the imperial Chalukyas
were overthrown by the Rashtrikutas who began a protracted struggle against the eastern Chalukyas.
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 Vijayaditya was succeeded by his brother’s son Bhima. His succession was disputed by his uncle, Yaddamalla, who seized
Vengi with the help of the Rashtrakuta king, Krishna II. The Chalukyan nobles, however, succeeded in restoring the kingdom to
its lawful master after defeating Krishna II. He was a devotee of Siva and built the temples of Bhimavaram and Draksharamam
in the east Godavari district.
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THE YADAVAS (OF DEVGIRI) (12TH TO 13TH CENTURY)

 The first member of the dynasty was Dridhaprahara. However, Seunachandra I, the son of Dridhaprahar, was the first to
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the territory ruled by the Yadavas came to be known as Seunadesa.
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secure feudatory status for his family from the Rashtrakutas. The importance of this chief can be assessed from the fact that
Meanwhile, the great Chalukyan power was already on the read to decline. The Yadavas naturally took advantage of the
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situation and asserted their independence. Bhillama, thus, laid the foundationof the yadava Empire which endured for about a
century.
 Simhana was the most powerful ruler of the family. As the Hoyasalas proved a great obstacle to the further expansion of the
kingdom in the south, Simhana launched a successful campaign against them. Elated by his successes in the south, Simhana
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waged war against his hereditary enemies in the north-the Paramaras of malwa and the Chalukyas of Gujarat. He defeated
and killed the Paramara king Arjumavarman.
 Thus, the Yadava kingdom reached the zenith of its glory and power in the reign of Simhana. Many among the Hoyasalas, the
Kakatiyas, the Paramaras and the Chalukyas dared to challenge his supremacy in the Deccan.
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 Simhana was not merely a wirrior, but was also a patron of music and literature. Singitaratnakara of Sarangadeva, an
important work on music, was written in his court. Anantadeva and Changadeva were the two famous astronomers who also
adorned his court.
 Changadeva established a college of astronomy at Patana in Khandesh in memory of his illustrious grandfather,
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Bhaskaracharya. Anantadeva wrote a commentary on Bharahmagupta’s Brahmasphhutra Siddhanta and Varahamihira’s

Brihat Jataka.
 Sankaradeva was probably the last of the Yadava rulers. After his accession, hi immediately repudiated the authority of
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Alauddin. Malik kafur easily defeated Kankaradeva, put him to death and annexed the Yadav kingdom.
 The period between the 9th and 11th century saw the energence of warrior castes-military ruling clans which ultimately
coalesced into a single caste, that of the Rajputs, the term being derived, from the Sanskrit word rajaputra. The four Rajput
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clans that claimed a special status during his time were the Prathiharas, the Chalukyas, the Chauhans (also called
Chahamanas) and the Dolankis.
 Western and Central India provide us with example of a fresh spurt in the emergence of local states. For example, the Rajput
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clans such as the Gujarara, Prathihar, Guhila, Paramara, Chahamana as well as the Kalachuriwa and Chandella exploited
political uncertainties of the post-Gupa era in western and central India.
 They donimated the political scene for centuries, especially during the period exending from the eighth to the thirteenth
centuries. The picture of the political processes that resulted in the replacement of old dynasties by new Rajput powers of
uncertain origin is not clear.
 Nonetheless an attempt has been made to work out some essential traits of the nature of the distribution of political authority.
Unlike northern and eastern India, the region showed some influence of Iineage-at least in some parts of the region. Even in
these parts, the dispersal of administrative and fiscal powers along with the changes in the bureaucratic set-up-all based on
new landholding-set the tome of fedual polity.
 The problem of the origin of Rajput dynasties is highly complex and controversial. Their gotrochhara makes them Kshatriyas of
the Lunar family (somavamshi) while on the basic of old davyas some maintain that they were of the solar race. The myths of
solar origin regard them as Kashtriya created in Kaliyuga to wipeout the mlecchas (foreigners).
 Rajasthani bards and chroniclers regard them as fire-born (agnikula). According to the agnikula myth recorded by a court poet,
the founder of the house of the Paramaras originated form the firepit of sage Vasistha on Mount Abu. The man who thus
sprang out of the fire forcibly wrested the wish-granting cow of sage Vasishtaha form sage Vishwamitra and restored it to the
former.
 Sage Vasistha gave him the fitting name of paramara-slayer of the enemy. From him sprang a race, which was regarded with
high esteem by virtuous kings. The Parakara inscription also declares th origin of the Paramaras form the firepit of sage
Vasishtha on the Mount Abu.

CENTRAL EUROPE
 It consists of Czech Republic, Hungry, Poland and Slovakia. The high Carpathian Mountains sweep across the northern
Slovakia. The lower Sudeten Mountain lies on the border of the Czech Republic and Poland.
 Together these mountains form a barrier which divides the Great Hungarian plain and the Dannbe river basin in the South from
Poland and the vast rolling lowlands of the North European plain.
 Pomeriania is a sandy coastal area with lakes formed by glaciers. It stretches west from the River Vistula to just beyond the
German border; Poland's largest river is the river Vistula. It flows northwards passing through the capital, Warsaw on the way

to the Baltic Sea.
 The Sudeten Mountains are famous for their hot minerals springs. These occur where water heated deep within the Earth's
crust finds its way to the surface along fracture in the rock.
 The River Danube forms the border between Slovakia and Hungary for over 162 km. It then turns south to flow across the
Great Hungarian plains. The Great Hungarian Plains covers almost half of Hungary's land area. It is a mixture of farmland and
Steppe.
 The Tatra Mountains are a small range at northern end of the Carpathian Mountains. They include Geriachousky which is
central Europe's highest point at 2,655 m.
 The Carpathian Mountains are both the coldest and the wettest part of Central Europe. Temperature plunges below zero
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across the whole region during winter. In summer, eastern Hungary is the hottest place.
 Brown coal or lignite is central Europe's main fuel and one of Poland's major exports. A variety of minerals are mined in the
mountains of Czech Republic and Slovakia. Hungary has a wide range of industries producing vehicles, metals and
chemicals as well as textile and electrical goods. The Czech Republic is famous for its breweries and glass making.
 Central Europe's main crops are cereals such as maize, wheat and rye, along with sugar beet and potatoes. In Hungary, sweet
pepper grows, helped by the warm summers and mild winters.
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 They are used to make paprika. Grapes are also grown, to make wine. Large areas of the plains of Hungary and Poland are
used for rearing pigs and cattle. Trees for timber grow in the mountain of Slovakia and Czech Republic.
 Most people in central Europe live in low laying areas, for example, along the River Vistula in Poland and in the lowlands of the
Czech Republic.
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 In mountainous Slovakia many people still live in rural towns and villages. The industrial areas and capital cities have the
highest population densities.

SOUTH EAST EUROPE

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It consists of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Macedonia, Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro).
The Southeast Europe is largely mountainous with range running from northwest to southeast.
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The Dinaric Alps runs parallel to the Dalmatian coast, and the Pindus Mountain continue this line into Greece. In the Aegean
Sea the drowned peaks of an old mountain chain form thousands of islands.
 The Vojvodina region of Yugoslavia is the southern part of the great Hungarian plains. The plain is flat and fertile soil allows
grain crops like corn and wheat to be grown.
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 The Balkan Mountains forms a spur running east to west through Bulgaria and separate the two main rivers the Danube and
the Maritsa. Dalmatian coast has many long, narrow islands near the shore. These were formed as the Atlantic Sea flooded
the river valley which ran parallel to the coast.
 The Peloponnese is a mountainous peninsula linked to the Greek mainland only by a narrow strip of land called an isthmus.
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There are two groups of Greek islands-the Ionian island of the west of mainland Greece, and the more numerous islands to
the east in Aegean Sea.
 The Southern Europe's climate varies from north to south. Continental climates are found in the north; winters are cold and dry
while towards the south, winters are milder and summers much hotter. Europe's wettest place is found in the mountain in
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Bosnia and Herzegovina.

 The mainland Greece and the many islands in the Aegean Sea are centre of a thriving tourist trade, while tourism on the Black
Sea coast continues to grow. The Dalmatian coast had a small, but growing tourist industry until the civil war in former
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Yugoslavia disrupted that and other industries. Heavy industries like chemicals, engineering and ship-building remain an
important source of income in Bulgaria.
 Greece population is mostly urban; over 50 per cent live in the capital Athens and in Salonica. In Bulgaria, most people live in
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cities. About half of Albania's and Macedonia's people are still rural. Since the civil war, the different ethnic groups in Bosnia
and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia and Croatia have lived from one another.
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EASTERN EUROPE
 It consists of Belorussia, Moldavia, Romania and Ukraine. The flat and rolling grassland, marshes and rivers, flood plains
covers almost all of Ukraine and Belorussia. The Carpathian Mountains cross the southwestern corner of Ukraine and continue
a large arc shaped chain of high peaks at the heart of Romania.
 Along the southern part of this chain the Carpathians are called the Transylvanian Alps.
 The Pripet Marshes in Belorussia and Ukraine form the longest area of marshland in Europe. The Steppes are great wide
grassland, which are found across Eastern Europe and central Asia. Over 70% of the Ukrainian landscape is Steppe.
 The Crimea Peninsula divides the Sea of Azov from the Black Sea. The steep mountain of Krymsk Hory runs along the south-
eastern coast of Crimea.
 The climate is continental with warm dry summers and very cold dry winters. Temperatures are higher along the fringe of the
Black Sea while the Carpathian Mountains are colder and wetter all year round.
 In Ukraine, most industry is based on the country's minerals reserve. The Donbas region has Europe's largest coalfield and is
an important centre for iron and steel production. Belorussia's main industries are chemicals; machine building and food
processing. Romania's manufacturing industries are growing with the help of foreign investment.
 The Black soils found across much of Ukraine are very fertile and the country is a big producer of cereals sugar beet and sun-
flowers, which are grown for their oil. In Moldavia and southern Romania the warm summers are ideal for growing grapes for
wine, along with sunflowers and variety of vegetables. Cattle and Pigs are farmed throughout Eastern Europe.

 Most Romanians live in Bucharest, the capital or in other cities and towns. In Ukraine, two third of the population lived in the
cities in the Donbas industrial area.
 Most of the Belorussian people are city dwellers. Moldova is the most rural country in Eastern Europe; half its people live in the
countryside and make their living from farming.
THE MEDITERRANEAN
 The Mediterranean Sea separates Europe from Africa. It stretches more than 4,000 km from east to west. The Mediterranean

Sea would be an enormous lake if it were not for strait of Gibraltar, a narrow opening only 13 km wide which joins it to the
Atlantic Ocean.
 The Mediterranean lies over the boundary of two continental plates. The Mediterranean coasts are bordered by several
thousand miles of sandy beaches. The area of sea off the coast of Tunisia and also the Adriatic Sea are shal- lower than the
rest of the Mediterranean. The rugged Atlas Mountain runs through the most of Morocco and Algeria.
 They form a barrier between the Mediterranean and the Sahara, which lies south to them. Greek Islands has thousands of
islands, which lie, both in the Mediterranean and in the smaller Aegean Sea. Some of them are the remains of old volcanoes
which has left black sand on the beaches.
 Suez Canal links the Mediterranean to the Gulf of Suez and the Red Sea. Before it was built ship had to sail around the whole
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of Africa to reach Asia.
 The tourism industry in and around the Mediterranean is one of the most highly developed in the world. More than half of the
world's income from tourism is generated here. Resorts have grown up along the northwest coast of Africa, and in Egypt, in
southern Spain, France, Italy, Greece and Turkey, tourism brings huge economic benefit.
 The Mediterranean has a large fishing industry, although most of the fishing is small- scale. Tuna and Sardines are caught
throughout the region and mussels are found off the coast of Italy.
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 Fish canning and packing takes place at most of the larger ports. Small oil and gas reserves are extracted off the coast of
North Africa and near Greece, Spain and Italy.
IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT EUROPE
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1. Europe is the sixth largest continent with an area of 10,360,000 sq km.
2. The highest point in Europe is Mont Blanc (4807 m) in the Alps and Mt Elbrus (5633 m) in the Caucasus.

3. Belgium and Netherlands are the two small low lands countries very thickly populated.
4.
5.
6.
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Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark are collectively known as Scandinavia.
The Seine and Rhine are the important rivers that join the English Channel and the North Sea.
The Volga, which is the largest river of Europe, joins a landlocked Sea named the Caspian.
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7. Elbrus is the highest mountain peak in Europe, which lies in the Caucasus.
8. Lombardy in Italy and the lowlands of Andalusia in Spain and the plains of Hungry are the lowlands.
9. More than 700 million people live in Europe and its population is highly urbanized.
10. Rotterdam, in the Netherlands is a part of conurbation, a large built up are with several towns and cities.
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11. Temperate type of climate is found in Europe.

12. North European plain is the Europe's agricultural heart.
13. The Alps were formed when after can plate collided with the Eurasian Plate.
14. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are together called 'Baltic State.'
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15. Belgium, Luxemberg and Netherlands are called 'Low countries.'

16. The plain of Flanders in Western Germany has fertile soil.
17. The Burren is a large area of limestone rock in the west of Ireland. Its flat surfaces are known as limestones pavements.
18. The coast of Normandy is lined with high chalk cliffs.
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19. The Duero, Tagus and Guadalquivir rivers flow across the Meseta on their courses to Atlantic Ocean.
20. Germany is a leading manufacturer of cars, machinery and transport equipment.
21. Sicily is the largest islands in Mediterranean. It has a famous active volcano called Mount Etna.
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22. The Po Valley is a broad flat plain in North of Italy.

23. Sicily has Italy's highest temperature, due to warm African winds.
24. The Poland's largest river is Vistula. It flows northwards, passing through the capital Warsaw on its way to the Baltic Sea.
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25. TheTatra Mountains are small range at the northern end of the Carpathian Mountains.
26. The Balkan Mountains forms a spur running east to west through Bulgaria and separate the two main rivers, the Danube and
the Maritsa.
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27. Carpathian Mountain Range is the largest mountain range in Eastern Europe. They are rich source of timber and minerals.
28. Suez Canal links the Mediterranean to the Gulf of Suez and the Red Sea. Before it was built, ship had to sail around the whole
of Africa to reach Asia.
29. The Atlas Mountains runs through most of Morocco and Algeria. They form barrier between the Mediterranean coast and the
Sahara, which lies south of them.
30. The Carpathian Mountains are both the coldest and the wettest parts of central Europe.
31. Tyrrhenian Sea divides the Italian mainland from Sardinia is gradually filling with sediments from the rivers, which flow into it.
32. Poland's largest river is the Vistula. It flows northwards passing through the Capital Warsaw.
33. Central Europe's main crops are cereals such as maize, wheat and rye, along with sugar beet and potatoes.
34. The worst nuclear incident in history happened at Chernobyl's nuclear power station in Northern Ukraine.

THE SUPREME COURT

The Supreme Court of India is the supreme judicial body of India and the highest court of India under the constitution.
It is the most senior constitutional court, and has the power of judicial review. The Chief Justice of India is the head and chief judge
of the Supreme Court, which consists of a maximum of 34 judges and has extensive powers in the form of original, appellate and
advisory jurisdictions.

 As the apex constitutional court in India, Supreme Court takes up appeals primarily against verdicts of the high courts of
various states of the Union and other courts and tribunals. It is required to safeguard the fundamental rights of citizens and
settles disputes between various government authorities as well as the central government vs state governments or state
governments versus another state government in the country.
 As an advisory court, it hears matters which may specifically be referred to it under the Constitution by the President of India.
The law declared by the Supreme Court becomes binding on all courts within India and also by the union and state
governments. As per the Article 142 of the Constitution, it is the duty of the President of India to enforce the decrees of the
Supreme Court and the court is conferred with the inherent jurisdiction to pass any order deemed necessary in the interest of
justice. The Supreme Court has replaced the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council as the highest court of appeal since 28
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January 1950.
HISTORY
 In 1861, the Indian High Courts Act 1861 was enacted to create high courts for various provinces and abolished Supreme
Courts at Calcutta, Madras and Bombay and also the sadar adalats in presidency towns in their respective regions. These new
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high courts had the distinction of being the highest courts for all cases till the creation of the Federal Court of India under the
Government of India Act 1935. The Federal Court had jurisdiction to solve disputes between provinces and federal states and
hear appeals against judgement of the high courts. The first CJI of India was H. J. Kania.
 The Supreme Court of India came into being on 28 January 1950. It replaced both the Federal Court of India and the Judicial
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Committee of the Privy Council which were then at the apex of the Indian court system. The first proceedings and inauguration,
however, took place on 28 January 1950 at 9:45 am, when the judges took their seats and therefore it is thus regarded as the
official date of establishment.

 The Supreme Court initially had its seat at the Chamber of Princes in the parliament building where the previous Federal Court
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of India sat from 1937 to 1950. The first Chief Justice of India was H. J. Kania. In 1958, the Supreme Court moved to its
present premises. Originally, the Constitution of India envisaged a supreme court with a chief justice and seven judges; leaving
it to Parliament to increase this number. In formative years, the Supreme Court met from 10 to 12 in the morning and then 2 to
4 in the afternoon for 28 days in a month.
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JURISDICTION OF THE SUPREME COURT
 The Supreme Court of India was constituted as per Chapter IV of the Part V of Constitution of India.

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The fourth Chapter of the Indian Constitution is " The Union Judiciary". Under this Chapter, the Supreme Court of India is
vested with all Jurisdiction.
 As per Article 124, The Supreme Court of India had been Constituted and Established.
 As per Article 129, the Supreme Court is to be the Court of Record.
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 As per Article 131, the Original Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court is authorized.
 As per Articles 132, 133, 134 the Appellate Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court is authorized.
 Under Article 135, Federal Court's Power is given to the Supreme Court.
 Article 136 is dealing with the Special leave to Appeal to the Supreme Court.
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 Review Power of the Supreme Court is explained in Article 137.

 Article 138 deals with the Enlargement of the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.
 Article 139 deals with the Conferment on the Supreme Court of powers to issue certain writs.
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 Ancillary powers of Supreme Court is given as per Article 140.

 The Law making power of the Supreme Court is given under Article 141 of the Constitution. .Law declared by Supreme
Court to be binding on all courts.
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 The foundation stone of the Supreme Court's building was laid on 29 October 1954 by Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first President
of India. The main block of the building has been built on a triangular plot of 17 acres and has been designed in an Indo-British
style by the chief architect Ganesh Bhikaji Deolalikar, the first Indian to head the Central Public Works Department.
 The Registry of the Supreme Court is headed by the Secretary-General who is currently assisted by 10 registrars, several
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additional and deputy registrars, etc. Article 146 of the Constitution deals with the appointments of officers and servants of the
Supreme Court registry.
 Supreme Court Rules, 2013 entitle only those advocates who are registered with the Supreme Court, called Advocates-On-
Record to appear, act and plead for a party in the court. Those advocates who are designated as 'Senior Advocates' by the
Supreme Court or any of the high courts can appear for clients along with an advocate-on-record. Any other advocate can
appear for a party along with or under instructions from an advocate-on-record.
 Initially, the Constitution of India provided for a Supreme Court with a chief justice and 7 judges. In the early years, a full bench
of the Supreme Court sat together to hear the cases presented before them. As the work of the Court increased and cases
began to accumulate, Parliament increased the number of judges (including the Chief Justice) from the original 8 in 1950 to 11
in 1956, 14 in 1960, 18 in 1978, 26 in 1986, 31 in 2009, to 34 in 2019.
 As the number of the judges has increased, they sit in smaller benches of two or three (referred to as a division bench)—
coming together in larger benches of five or more (referred to as a constitution bench) when required to settle fundamental
questions of law. A bench may refer a case before it to a larger bench, should the need arise.
 Cases involving Interpretation of the Constitution are heard by at least a 5 judge bench as provided under Article 145(3).
 The largest-ever bench at the Supreme Court of India has been constituted in 1973 in Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala.
A bench of 13 judges was set up to decide whether Parliament had the unfettered right to amend the Constitution or not that
eventually gave rise to the Basic Structure doctrine.
INDIAN POLITY VOL - 2 [BestCurrentAffairs.com] Page 1

 In practice, judges of the Supreme Court have been selected so far, mostly from amongst judges of the high courts. Barely
seven justices—S. M. Sikri, S. Chandra Roy, Kuldip Singh, Santosh Hegde, R. F. Nariman, U. U. Lalit, L. Nageswara Rao and
Indu Malhotra—have been appointed to the Supreme Court directly from the bar (i.e., who were practising advocates).
 The Supreme Court saw its first woman judge when Justice M. Fathima Beevi was sworn into office in 1989. The seventh and
the most recent woman judge in the court is Justice Indu Malhotra.
 In 1968, Justice Mohammad Hidayatullah became the first Muslim Chief Justice of India. In 2000, Justice K. G. Balakrishnan
became the first judge from the dalit community. In 2007 he also became the first dalit Chief Justice of India. In 2010, Justice
S. H. Kapadia coming from a Parsi minority community became the Chief Justice of India. In 2017, Justice Jagdish Singh

Khehar became the first Sikh Chief Justice of India. Indu Malhotra is the first woman justice to be selected directly from the bar.
SUPREME COURT ADVOCATES
There are three categories of Advocates who are entitled to practise law before the Supreme Court of India:-
(i) SENIOR ADVOCATES

These are Advocates who are designated as Senior Advocates by the Supreme Court of India or by any High Court. The Court can
designate any Advocate, with his consent, as Senior Advocate if in its opinion by virtue of his ability, standing at the Bar or special
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knowledge or experience in law the said Advocate is deserving of such distinction. A Senior Advocate is not entitled to appear
without an Advocate-on-Record in the Supreme Court or without a junior in any other court or tribunal in India. He is also not
entitled to accept instructions to draw pleadings or affidavits, advise on evidence or do any drafting work of an analogous kind in
any court or tribunal in India or undertake conveyancing work of any kind whatsoever but this prohibition shall not extend to settling
any such matter as aforesaid in consultation with a junior.
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(ii) ADVOCATES-ON-RECORD
Only these Advocates are entitled to file any matter or document before the Supreme Court. They can also file an appearance or
act for a party in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court of India has made the law that only the advocate on record can file the
case in the Supreme Court. However, any other advocate can draft the case and argue the case as well but cannot file the case in
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the Supreme Court. The reason behind this rule made by the Supreme Court is that the Supreme Court doesn’t want to waste the
time of the court. An advocate on record knows the rules and regulations of the SC properly. To become an AOR, the advocate
must have passed the Supreme Court AOR exam. If an advocate was to give the Supreme Court AOR exam:

 The advocate must have the experience of 5 years in which he should have 4 years in practice plus 1 year practice under any
AOR of the Supreme Court. fa
 The AOR under whom the advocate is practicing, must have the experience of more than 10 years in the Supreme Court of
India.
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(iii) OTHER ADVOCATES
These are Advocates whose names are entered on the roll of any State Bar Council maintained under the Advocates Act, 1961 and
they can appear and argue any matter on behalf of a party in the Supreme Court but they are not entitled to file any document or
matter before the Court.
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JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE
 The Constitution seeks to ensure the independence of Supreme Court judges in various ways. As per Article 50 of directive
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principles of state policy, the state shall take steps to separate the judiciary from the executive. Independence of the judiciary,
the supremacy of the constitution and rule of law are the features of the basic structure of the Constitution.
 The Supreme Court and high courts are empowered to frame suo moto cases without receiving the formal petitions/complaints
on any suspected injustice including actions/acts indulging in contempt of court and contempt of the Constitution by the
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executive, legislators, citizens, etc.

 The main purpose of the Supreme Court is to decide constitutional issues. It is the duty of the judiciary to frame suo moto
cases or to probe the cases/petitions at the earliest against the executive or legislature when laws are implemented violating
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the basic foundation and basic structure of the Constitution as the Article 38 (1) of directive principles ensures that the
state/judiciary shall strive to promote the welfare of the people by securing a social order in which social, economic and
political justice is animated/informed in all institutions of life.
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 A person who has retired as a judge of the Supreme Court is debarred from practicing in any court of law or before any other
authority in India. However, Supreme Court and high court judges are appointed to various posts in tribunals and commissions,
after their retirement.
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REVIEW PETITION: Article 137 of the Constitution of India lays down provision for the power of the Supreme Court to review
its own judgements. Per this Article, subject to the provisions of any law made by parliament or any rules made under Article
145, the Supreme Court shall have power to review any judgment pronounced or order made by it. The Supreme Court can
nullify any decision of parliament and government on the basis of violation of basic features. It can overrule the impeachment
process of the President and Judges which is passed by the parliament on the basis of constitutional validity or basic features.
 Under Order XL of the Supreme Court Rules, that have been framed under its powers under Article 145 of the constitution, the
Supreme Court may review its judgment or order but no application for review is to be entertained in a civil proceeding except
on the grounds mentioned in Order XLVII, Rule 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
 Under Articles 129 and 142 of the Constitution, the Supreme Court has been vested with power to punish anyone for contempt
of any court in India including itself. The Supreme Court performed an unprecedented action when it directed a sitting Minister
of State in Maharashtra government, Swaroop Singh Naik, to be jailed for 1-month on a charge of contempt of court on 12 May
2006.
 Article 145 of the Constitution of India empowers the Supreme Court to frame its own rules (with Presidential approval) for
regulating court practice and procedures. Three versions of the rules have been published: the first in 1950, then in 1966 and
2013.
 The Supreme Court decided to follow a new Roster System from 5 February 2018 for allocation of matters to judges. Under
the new roster system, the CJI will hear all special leave petitions (SLPs), and matters related to public interest, social justice,
elections, arbitration, and criminal matters, among others. The other collegium/senior judges to hear matters related to labour

disputes, taxation matters, compensation matters, consumer protection matters, maritime law matters, mortgage matters,
personal law matters, family law matters, land acquisition matters, service matters, company matters etc.
 Supreme Court Reports is the official journal of reportable Supreme Court decisions. It is published under the authority of the
Supreme Court of India by the Controller of Publications, Government of India, Delhi. In addition, there are many other reputed
private journals that report Supreme Court decisions. Some of these other important journals are: SCR (The Supreme Court
Reports), SCC (Supreme Court Cases), AIR (All India Reporter), SCALE, etc.
The judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the president. The chief justice is appointed by the president after
consultation with such judges of the Supreme Court and high courts as he deems necessary. The other judges are appointed by

president after consultation with the chief justice and such other judges of the Supreme Court and the high courts as he deems
necessary. The Constitution of India has the following provisions regarding the Supreme Court of India:
ESTABLISHMENT OF SUPREME COURT (ARTICLE 124)

1. There shall be a Supreme Court of India consisting of a Chief Justice of India and, until Parliament by law prescribes a larger
number, of not more than seven.
2. Every Judge of the Supreme Court shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal after consultation
with such of the Judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Courts in the States as the President may deem necessary for
the purpose and shall hold office until he attains the age of sixty-five years: Provided that in the case of appointment of a
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Judge other than the Chief Justice, the Chief Justice of India shall always be consulted. Provided further that:
a) a Judge may, by writing under his hand addressed to the President, resign his office;
b) A Judge may be removed from his office in the manner provided in clause (4).
The age of a Judge of the Supreme Court shall be determined by such authority and in such manner as Parliament may by law
provide.
3. A person shall not be qualified for appointment as a Judge of the Supreme Court unless he is a citizen of India and -
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a) has been for at least five years a Judge of a High Court or of two or more such Courts in succession; or
b) has been for at least ten years an advocate of a High Court or of two or more such Courts in succession; or
c) is, in the opinion of the President, a distinguished jurist.
4. Parliament may by law regulate the procedure for the presentation of an address and for the investigation and proof of the
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misbehaviour or incapacity of a Judge under clause (4).
5. Every person appointed to be a Judge of the Supreme Court shall, before he enters upon his office, make and subscribe
before the President, or some person appointed in that behalf by him, an oath or affirmation according to the form set out fo r

the purpose in the Third Schedule.
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6. No person who has held office as a Judge of the Supreme Court shall plead or act in any court or before any authority within
the territory of India.
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JUDGES SALARIES ETC: ARTICLE (125)
1. There shall be paid to the Judges of the Supreme Court such salaries as may be determined by Parliament by law and, until
provision in that behalf is so made, such salaries as are specified in the Second Schedule.]
2. Every Judge shall be entitled to such privileges and allowances and to such rights in respect of leave of absence and pension
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as may from time to time be determined by or under law made by Parliament and, until so determined, to such privileges,
allowances and rights as are specified in the Second Schedule:
Provided that neither the privileges nor the allowances of a Judge nor his rights in respect of leave of absence or pension shall
be varied to his disadvantage after his appointment.
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APPOINTMENT OF ACTING CHIEF JUSTICE: ARTICLE 126

When the office of Chief Justice of India is vacant or when the Chief Justice is, by reason of absence or otherwise, unable to
perform the duties of his office, the duties of the office shall be performed by such one of the other Judges of the Court as the
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President may appoint for the purpose.
APPOINTMENT OF AD-HOC JUDGES: ARTICLE 127

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1. If at any time there should not be a quorum of the Judges of the Supreme Court available to hold or continue any session of
the Court, the Chief Justice of India may, with the previous consent of the President and after consultation with the Chief
Justice of the High Court concerned, request in writing the attendance at the sittings of the Court, as an ad hoc Judge, for such
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period as may be necessary, of a Judge of a High Court duly qualified for appointment as a Judge of the Supreme Court to be
designated by the Chief Justice of India.
2. It shall be the duty of the Judge who has been so designated, in priority to other duties of his office, to attend the sittings of the
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Supreme Court at the time and for the period for which his attendance is required, and while so attending he shall have all the
jurisdiction, powers and privileges, and shall discharge the duties, of a Judge of the Supreme Court.
ARTICLE 128: ATTENDANCE OF RETIRED JUDGES AT SITTINGS OF THE SUPREME COURT

Notwithstanding anything in this Chapter, the Chief Justice of India may at any time, with the previous consent of the President,
request any person who has held the office of a Judge of the Supreme Court or of the Federal Court 2 [or who has held the office of
a Judge of a High Court and is duly qualified for appointment as a Judge of the Supreme Court] to sit and act as a Judge of the
Supreme Court, and every such person so requested shall, while so sitting and acting, be entitled to such allowances as the
President may by order determine and have all the jurisdiction, powers and privileges of, but shall not otherwise be deemed to be, a
Judge of that Court: Provided that nothing in this article shall be deemed to require any such person as aforesaid to sit and act as a
Judge of that Court unless he consents so to do.
ARTICLE 129: SUPREME COURT TO BE A COURT OF RECORD

The Supreme Court shall be a court of record and shall have all the powers of such a court including the power to punish for
contempt of itself.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN NEWS

NEXT GENERATION SEQUENCING
 Next generation sequencing (NGS), massively parallel or deep sequencing are related terms that describe a DNA sequencing
technology which has revolutionised genomic research. Using NGS an entire human genome can be sequenced within a
single day. In contrast, the previous Sanger sequencing technology, used to decipher the human genome, required over a

decade to deliver the final draft. Although in genome research NGS has mostly superseded conventional Sanger sequencing,
it has not yet translated into routine clinical practice.
 In contrast to microarray methods, sequence-based approaches directly determine the nucleic acid sequence of a given DNA
or cDNA molecule.
 The first major foray into DNA sequencing was the Human Genome Project. This project, which used first-generation
sequencing, known as Sanger sequencing (the chain-termination method), took 13 years, cost $3 billion and was completed
in 2003.
 Compared to conventional Sanger sequencing using capillary electrophoresis, the short read, massively parallel sequencing
technique is a fundamentally different approach that revolutionised sequencing capabilities and launched the second-
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generation sequencing methods – or next-generation sequencing (NGS) – that provide orders of magnitude more data at much
lower recurring cost.
 Next-generation sequencing (NGS), also known as high-throughput sequencing, is the catch-all term used to describe a
number of different modern sequencing technologies. These technologies allow for sequencing of DNA and RNA much more
quickly and cheaply than the previously used Sanger sequencing, and as such revolutionised the study of genomics and
molecular biology. Such technologies include:
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Advantages of NGS:
 NGS can be used to analyse DNA and RNA samples and is a popular tool in functional genomics. In contrast to microarray
methods, NGS-based approaches have several advantages including:
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 a priori knowledge of the genome or genomic features is not required
 it offers single-nucleotide resolution, making it possible to detect related genes (or features), alternatively spliced
transcripts, allelic gene variants and single nucleotide polymorphisms

 higher dynamic range of signal
 higher reproducibility
NGS Technologies:
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 requires less DNA/RNA as input (nanograms of materials are sufficient)
 Illumina (Solexa) sequencing: Illumina sequencing works by simultaneously identifying DNA bases, as each base emits a
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unique fluorescent signal, and adding them to a nucleic acid chain
 Roche 454 sequencing: This method is based on pyrosequencing, a technique which detects pyrophosphate release, again
using fluorescence, after nucleotides are incorporated by polymerase to a new strand of DNA.
 Ion Torrent: Proton / PGM sequencing: Ion Torrent sequencing measures the direct release of H+ (protons) from the
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incorporation of individual bases by DNA polymerase and therefore differs from the previous two methods as it does not
measure light.
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‘MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES’ IN NEWS
 India, the ‘vaccine capital’ of the world, can become a global leader in another product: Monoclonal antibodies. The pandemic
has thrust India onto the launch pad for a leadership position in products such as ventilators and oxygen concentrators.
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Monoclonal antibodies (mAb) join the list.

 Monoclonal antibodies, as a class of medicines, are gaining ground the world over. Recently, the US Food and Drug
Administration approved its 100th mAb. Today, mAbs account for a fifth of all new drug approvals of the FDA.
 When people who were infected with a particular virus or bacteria did not show severe symptoms, it implies their immune
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system produced antibodies that were effective in fighting the antigens from the microbe. The antibodies are found in their
body for up to 5 or 7 months since infection.
 If these antibodies are carefully extracted or harvested from their body and then replicated or ‘cloned’ in a laboratory, they can
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be injected into a patient’s body. The patient’s body now has the antibodies required to fight the invader’s antigens. These
cloned or duplicated antibodies are called Monoclonal Antibodies or MABs. In contrast to MABs, a vaccine aims to boost or
provoke one’s immune system to generate antibodies that are effective in fighting the foreign antigen. While MAB is an
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inorganic approach, vaccine is an organic one.

 In India, mAbs have been pushed into common discourse by the pandemic, and people have become familiar with names such
as Tocilizumab, Itolizumab, Casirivimab and Imdevimab. Earlier, only doctors knew these names.
 What are monoclonal antibodies? We know that antibodies are substances (Y-shaped proteins) that are produced by our
body’s immune system, which destroy invading pathogens. Monoclonal antibodies are antibodies produced in labs, using living
cells. These drugs therefore come under the head ‘biologics’, which are drugs produced exclusively from living organisms.
They could also be ‘biosimilars’— biologics that are ‘similar’ to another ‘reference’ biologic medicine.
 By all accounts, manufacturing mAbs is difficult, because these are very complex molecules. A regular medicine molecule may
have about 20-25 atoms; an mAb has about 25,000 atoms, says Roche, the Swiss company which funded the Basel Institute
of Immunology, whose scientists Georges Köhler and César Milstein developed a process to produce mAbs and went on to
win the Nobel prize in 1984.
Types of MABs:
 Interestingly, the beneficial antibodies being cloned in a lab need not necessarily come from humans and can come from
certain animals too. Accordingly, MABs are of 4 broad types.
 Murine: made from mouse proteins, names of drugs based on this end in -omab
 Chimeric: a combination of mouse and human proteins, names of drugs based on this end in -ximab
 Humanized: Here small doses of mouse proteins are attached to human proteins, names of drugs based on this end in -
zumab
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY [BestCurrentAffairs.com] Page 1

 Human: These are fully human proteins, names of drugs based on this end in -umab
Covid-19 and mAb:
 Doctors have been trying out mAbs for treating Covid-19; that is how they have become part of the pandemic narrative.
However, these are used in some specific cases of infections. The mAbs don’t kill the viruses, but come in handy when the
body’s immune system over-reacts and produces a profusion of antibodies — called cytokine storm — which may result in the
antibodies attacking the healthy cells (auto immune).
 In India, Roche’s Tocilizumab (distributed by Cipla) is a leading drug, but there are others in the fray too. Biocon is ramping up
its Itolizumab production because of the growing demand. Earlier, India’s Central Drugs Standards Control Organisation gave

the ‘emergency use authorisation’ for a cocktail of two antibodies — Roche’s Casirivimab and Imdevimab. This cocktail, Roche
said, “can play a role in the fight against Covid-19 and in treatment of high-risk patients before their condition worsens.”
 GAVI, the global vaccine alliance, says that some 70 mAbs are under development for Covid-19 treatment.
 mAbs are a class of fast-growing drugs. In 2019, seven of the top ten best selling drugs were mAbs. In February, a research
report of Researchandmarkets.com said the market for mAbs would reach $161.7 billion by 2024, growing at a CAGR of 7.21
per cent between 2020 and 2024.
HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTING
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High Performance Computing most generally refers to the practice of aggregating computing power in a way that delivers
much higher performance than one could get out of a typical desktop computer or workstation in order to solve large problems
in science, engineering, or business.
 High performance computing (HPC) is the ability to process data and perform complex calculations at high speeds. To put it
into perspective, a laptop or desktop with a 3 GHz processor can perform around 3 billion calculations per second. While that
is much faster than any human can achieve, it pales in comparison to HPC solutions that can perform quadrillions of
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calculations per second.
 One of the best-known types of HPC solutions is the supercomputer. A supercomputer contains thousands of compute nodes
that work together to complete one or more tasks. This is called parallel processing. It’s similar to having thousands of PCs
networked together, combining compute power to complete tasks faster.
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Why is HPC important?
 It is through data that groundbreaking scientific discoveries are made, game-changing innovations are fueled, and quality of life
is improved for billions of people around the globe. HPC is the foundation for scientific, industrial, and societal advancements.

 As technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), and 3-D imaging evolve, the size and amount of data
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that organizations have to work with is growing exponentially. For many purposes, such as streaming a live sporting event,
tracking a developing storm, testing new products, or analyzing stock trends, the ability to process data in real time is crucial.
To keep a step ahead of the competition, organizations need lightning-fast, highly reliable IT infrastructure to process, store,
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and analyze massive amounts of data.
How does HPC work?
 HPC solutions have three main components:
 Compute
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 Network
 Storage
 To build a high performance computing architecture, compute servers are networked together into a cluster. Software
programs and algorithms are run simultaneously on the servers in the cluster. The cluster is networked to the data storage to
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capture the output. Together, these components operate seamlessly to complete a diverse set of tasks.
 To operate at maximum performance, each component must keep pace with the others. For example, the storage component
must be able to feed and ingest data to and from the compute servers as quickly as it is processed. Likewise, the networking
components must be able to support the high-speed transportation of data between compute servers and the data storage. If
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one component cannot keep up with the rest, the performance of the entire HPC infrastructure suffers.
What is an HPC cluster?
 An HPC cluster consists of hundreds or thousands of compute servers that are networked together. Each server is called a
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node. The nodes in each cluster work in parallel with each other, boosting processing speed to deliver high performance
computing.
HPC use cases: Deployed on premises, at the edge, or in the cloud, HPC solutions are used for a variety of purposes across
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multiple industries. Examples include:

 Research labs. HPC is used to help scientists find sources of renewable energy, understand the evolution of our universe,
predict and track storms, and create new materials.
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Media and entertainment. HPC is used to edit feature films, render mind-blowing special effects, and stream live events around
the world.
 Oil and gas. HPC is used to more accurately identify where to drill for new wells and to help boost production from existing
wells.
 Artificial intelligence and machine learning. HPC is used to detect credit card fraud, provide self-guided technical support,
teach self-driving vehicles, and improve cancer screening techniques.
 Financial services. HPC is used to track real-time stock trends and automate trading.
 HPC is used to design new products, simulate test scenarios, and make sure that parts are kept in stock so that production
lines aren’t held up.
 HPC is used to help develop cures for diseases like diabetes and cancer and to enable faster, more accurate patient
diagnosis.
NetApp and HPC
 The NetApp HPC solution features a complete line of high-performance, high-density E-Series storage systems. A modular
architecture with industry-leading price/performance offers a true pay-as-you-grow solution to support storage requirements for
multi-petabyte datasets. The system is integrated with leading HPC file systems, including Lustre, IBM Spectrum Scale,
BeeGFS, and others to handle the performance and reliability requirements of the world’s largest computing infrastructures.
 E-Series systems provide the performance, reliability, scalability, simplicity, and lower TCO needed to take on the challenges
of supporting extreme workloads:

 Performance. Delivers up to 1 million random read IOPS and 13GB/sec sustained (maximum burst) write bandwidth per
scalable building block. Optimized for both flash and spinning media, the NetApp HPC solution includes built-in technology that
monitors workloads and automatically adjusts configurations to maximize performance.
 Reliability. Fault-tolerant design delivers greater than 99.9999% availability, proven by more than 1 million systems deployed.
Built-in Data Assurance features help make sure that data is accurate with no drops, corruption, or missed bits.
 Easy to deploy and manage. Modular design, on-the-fly (“cut and paste”) replication of storage blocks, proactive monitoring,
and automation scripts all add up to easy, fast and flexible management.
 Scalability. A granular, building-block approach to growth that enables seamless scalability from terabytes to petabytes by

adding capacity in any increment—one or multiple drives at a time.
 Lower TCO. Price/performance-optimized building blocks and the industry’s best density per delivers low power, cooling, and
support costs, and 4-times lower failure rates than commodity HDD and SSD devices.
FIRST CAR-T CELL THERAPY CONDUCTED
 The Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy has emerged as a breakthrough in cancer treatment. Clinical trials
conducted globally have shown promising results in end stage patients, especially in patients suffering from Acute Lymphocytic
Leukemia.

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Though this technology has a remarkable therapeutic potential for cancer patients, at present this technology is not available in
India. Each patient's CAR-T cell therapy costs 3-4 crore (INR). The challenge therefore is to develop this technology in cost-
effective manner and make it available for the patients.
 The manufacturing complexity is a major reason for the therapy cost. In order to promote and support development of CAR-T
cell technology against cancer and other diseases, BIRAC and DBT have taken initiatives and launched specialized calls to
invite proposals in the last 2 years.
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 The 4th June, 2021 was a historic day for TMH, IIT Bombay team and cancer care in India as the first CAR-T cell therapy (a
type of gene therapy) was done at the Bone Marrow Transplant unit at ACTREC, Tata Memorial Center in Mumbai. The CAR-
T cells were designed and manufactured at Bioscience and Bioengineering (BSBE) department of IIT Bombay.
 This work is partly supported by BIRAC-PACE scheme. The TMC-IIT Bombay team are further supported to extend this project
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for conducting Phase I/II trial of their CAR-T product by DBT/BIRAC, through National Biopharma Mission.
 This is a “first in India” gene therapy in early phase pilot clinical trial and the dedicated efforts and excellent collaboration
between IIT Bombay and Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai. The central government’s National Biopharma Mission-BIRAC has

approved 19.15 Cr crore to the team for conducting a first-in-human phase-1/2 clinical trial of the CAR-T cells. The clinical
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trials are being done by Dr (Surg Cdr) Gaurav Narula, Professor of Paediatric Oncology and Health Sciences, and his team
from TMC, Mumbai, and the novel CAR-T cells that will act as drugs that were manufactured by Prof Rahul Purwar, Bioscience
and Bioengineering (BSBE) department and his team at IIT Bombay. The design, development, and extensive pre-clinical
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testing was carried out by IIT-B as a collaborative project with Tata Memorial Center, Mumbai by the two Investigators.
 National Biopharma Mission is also supporting the development of Lentiviral vector manufacturing facility for packaging
plasmids used to transfer the modified T cell inside the body, cGMP facility for T-cell transduction and expansion for CAR T-
cell manufacturing to two other organizations. The development of CAR-T cell technology for diseases including acute
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lymphocytic leukemia, multiple myeloma, glioblastoma, hepatocellular carcinoma and type-2 diabetes is supported through
DBT.
 Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) is a not-for-profit Section 8, Schedule B, Public Sector
Enterprise, set up by Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India as an Interface Agency to strengthen and
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empower the emerging Biotech enterprise to undertake strategic research and innovation, addressing nationally relevant
product development needs.
CHIME TELESCOPE
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 Scientists with the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) Collaboration, who include researchers at the
Pune-based Tata Institute for Fundamental Research (TIFR) and the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA), have
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assembled the largest collection of fast radio bursts (FRBs) in the telescope’s first FRB catalogue.
 While catching sight of an FRB is considered a rare thing in the field of radio astronomy, prior to the CHIME project, radio
astronomers had only caught sight of around 140 bursts in their scopes since the first FRB was spotted in 2007.
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 FRBs are oddly bright flashes of light, registering in the radio band of the electromagnetic spectrum, which blaze for a few
milliseconds before vanishing without a trace. These brief and mysterious beacons have been spotted in various and distant
parts of the universe, as well as in our own galaxy. Their origins are unknown and their appearance is highly unpredictable.
 But the advent of the CHIME project — a large stationary radio telescope in British Columbia, Canada — has been a game
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changer and has nearly quadrupled the number of fast radio bursts discovered to date. With more observations, astronomers
hope soon to pin down the extreme origins of these curiously bright signals.
 The telescope has detected a whopping 535 new fast radio bursts in its first year of operation itself, between 2018 and 2019.
 The new catalogue significantly expands the current library of known FRBs, and is already yielding clues as to their properties.
For instance, the newly discovered bursts appear to fall in two distinct classes: those that repeat, and those that don’t.
Scientists have identified 18 FRB sources that burst repeatedly, while the rest appear to be one-offs.
 When the scientists mapped their locations, they found the bursts were evenly distributed in space, seeming to arise from any
and all parts of the sky. From the FRBs that CHIME was able to detect, the scientists calculated that bright fast radio bursts
occur at a rate of about 800 per day across the entire sky — the most precise estimate of FRBs overall rate to date.
 CHIME comprises four massive cylindrical radio antennas, roughly the size and shape of snowboarding half-pipes, located at
the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory, operated by the National Research Council of Canada in British Columbia.
The telescope receives radio signals each day from half of the sky as the Earth rotates.
 While most radio astronomy is done by swivelling a large dish to focus light from different parts of the sky, CHIME stares,
motionless, at the sky, and focuses incoming signals using a correlator — a powerful digital signal processor that can work
through huge amounts of data, at a rate of about seven terrabytes per second, equivalent to a few per cent of the world’s
Internet traffic.

‘QUASARS’ IN NEWS
 Astrophysicists have developed a new method for pinpointing the whereabouts of extremely rare extragalactic objects. They
hope their technique for finding 'changing-look quasars' will take scientists one step closer to unravelling one of greatest
mysteries of the universe -- how supermassive black holes grow. Quasars are believed to be responsible for regulating the
growth of supermassive black holes and their host galaxies.
 A quasar is a region of spectacular luminosity at the centre of a galaxy, powered by a supermassive black hole -- the largest
type of black hole, with a mass that exceeds that of our sun by millions or billions. There is a supermassive black hole at the

centre of the Milky Way.
 Quasars are the most luminous persistent source of light in the universe. Many galaxies, including our own, are thought to
have one, and astrophysicists have identified more than a million in total.
 Quasars are formed when gaseous matter is drawn by gravitations forces towards a supermassive black hole. As this gas
approaches the black hole, it forms an 'accretion disk' which orbits the black hole. Energy is released from the disk in the form
of electromagnetic radiation, and it is this radiation that produces the quasar's luminosity.
 The accretion disk is surrounded by a thick, dusty donut that obscures much of the quasar's emission. Because the dusty
structure is very large, the level of obscuration should not change on human timescales, however a changing-look quasar can
appear to switch from bright to dark quickly (within a human year), which would be highly surprising if true. Creating a more
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comprehensive list of changing-look quasars would be a major step towards understanding the reasons behind these apparent
transitions.
‘FLEXOELECTRICITY’ IN NEWS
 Flexoelectricity is a property of a dielectric material whereby it exhibits a spontaneous electrical polarization induced by a strain
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gradient.
 Flexoelectricity is closely related to piezoelectricity, but while piezoelectricity refers to polarization due to uniform strain,
flexoelectricity refers specifically to polarization due to strain that changes from point to point in the material. This nonuniform
strain breaks centrosymmetry, meaning that unlike in piezoelectiricty, flexoelectric effects can occur in centrosymmetric crystal
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structures.
 Flexoelectricity is not the same as Ferroelasticity. Inverse flexoelectricity, quite intuitively can be defined as generation of strain
gradient due to polarization. Similarly extending on that, Converse flexoelectricity would refer to the process where a

polarization gradient induces strain in a material.
RARE MINERAL FOUND

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
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Researchers have, for the first time, discovered a rare mineral hidden inside the teeth of a chiton, a large mollusk found along
rocky coastlines. Before this strange surprise, the iron mineral, called santabarbaraite, only had been documented in rocks.
 The new finding helps understand how the whole chiton tooth -- not just the ultrahard, durable cusp -- is designed to endure
chewing on rocks to feed. Based on minerals found in chiton teeth, the researchers developed a bio-inspired ink for 3D printing
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ultrahard, stiff and durable materials.

 One of the hardest known materials in nature, chiton teeth are attached to a soft, flexible, tongue-like radula, which scrapes
over rocks to collect algae and other food.
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NEW GREEN AMMONIA ECONOMY
 In a world-first, scientists have developed a new, environmentally friendly process that could drive the future production of
green ammonia.
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 Ammonia (NH3) is a globally important commodity for fertiliser production to help sustain food production. It is currently
produced via a metal catalysed reaction between nitrogen gas and hydrogen from natural gas, using an established
technology known as the Haber-Bosch process.
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 The production of each metric tonne of ammonia contributes to the emission of roughly 1.9 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide,
and accounts for roughly 1.8 per cent of global carbon emissions.
 Scientists have discovered a process based on phosphonium salts that represents a breakthrough in overcoming this carbon-
st
intensive problem.
 The research unlocks the potential to produce ammonia and fertilisers from renewable energy in reactors, as small as a
refrigerator, that could be rolled out at the individual farm or community level.

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Direct, zero-carbon ammonia synthesis methods currently being explored include the electrochemical nitrogen reduction
reaction, which can produce ammonia at room temperature and pressures from nothing more than air, water and renewable
energy.
GREEN HYDROGEN
 Scientists and technocrats have for years been engaged in the quest of discovering alternative fuels to fossil fuels which are
responsible for the production of over 830 million tons per annum of carbon dioxide, in turn catalysing human-induced global
heating. The latest studies by a battery of scientists representing about 195 countries have signalled the crucial issue of
climate vulnerability, especially for the Asian countries.
 The forthcoming 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow from November 1-12, 2021 is to re-
examine the coordinated action plans to mitigate greenhouse gases and climate adaptation measures.
 In order to achieve the goal of an alternative source of energy, governments are placing large bets in the hope of adopting a
multi-faceted practical approach to utilise ‘Green hydrogen’ as a driving source to power our industries and light our homes
with the ‘zero emission’ of carbon dioxide.
 Hydrogen is the most abundant element on the planet, but rarely in its pure form which is how we need it. It has an energy
density almost three times that of diesel. This phenomenon makes it a rich source of energy, but the challenge is to compress
or liquify the LH2 (liquid hydrogen); it needs to be kept at a stable minus 253° C (far below the temperature of minus 163° C at
which Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) is stored; entailing its ‘prior to use exorbitant cost’.

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