Upsc Aspirants

4.5 billion – 1 B.C. World History Before Christ  (B.C.)  or Before the Common Era  (B.C.E.) 4.5 billion  B.C. Planet Earth formed. 3 billion  B.C. First signs of primeval life (bacteria and blue-green algae) appear in oceans. 600 million  B.C. Earliest date to which fossils can be traced. 4.4 million  B.C. Earliest known hominid fossils ( Ardipithecus ramidus ) found in Aramis, Ethiopia, 1994. 4.2 million  B.C. Australopithecus anamnesis  found in Lake Turkana, Kenya, 1995. 3.2 million  B.C. Australopithecus afarenis  (nicknamed “Lucy”) found in Ethiopia, 1974. 2.5 million  B.C. Homo habilis  (“Skillful Man”). First brain expansion; is believed to have used stone tools. 1.8 million  B.C. Homo Erectus  (“Upright Man”). Brain size twice that of  Australopithecine  species. 1.7 million  B.C. Homo Erectus  leaves Africa. 100,000  B.C. Fi...

India produces about 62 million tonnes of solid waste annually, of which 75-80% is collected, and only 22-28% is treated. Rest lands up in open dump yards and landfills or is burnt Definition- Waste management   refers to the activities and actions required to manage waste from its start till its disposal . This includes collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste together with monitoring and regulation. The waste hierarchy refers to the “3 Rs” reduce, reuse and recycle, which classify waste management strategies according to their desirability in terms of waste minimisation. The waste hierarchy remains the cornerstone of most waste minimisation strategies. Solid-waste management is the collection, treatment and disposal of solid material that is discarded because it has served its purpose or is no longer useful. The Polluter pays principle is a principle where the polluting party pays for the impact caused to the environment. Here it generally refers t...

 Parliamentary committees The work done by the Parliament in modern times is not only varied in nature, but considerable in volume. The time  at its disposal is limited. It cannot, therefore, give close consideration to all the legislative and other matters that come up before it. A good deal of its business is, therefore, transacted by what are called the Parliamentary Committees. Ad hoc and Standing Committees Parliamentary Committees are of two kinds:  Ad hoc  Committees and the Standing Committees.  Ad hoc  Committees are appointed for a specific purpose and they cease to exist when they finish the task assigned to them and submit a report. The principal  Ad hoc  Committees are the Select and Joint Committees on Bills. Others like the Railway Convention Committee, the Committees on the Draft Five Year Plans and the Hindi Equivalents Committee were appointed for specific purposes. Apart from the  Ad hoc  Committees, each...

The  Indian Judiciary  administers a  common law system  of legal jurisdiction, in which customs, precedents and legislation, all codify the law of the land. It has in fact, inherited the legacy of the legal system established by the then colonial powers and the princely states since the mid-19th century, and has partly retained characteristics of practices from the ancient and medieval times. There are various levels of judiciary in India – different types of courts, each with varying powers depending on the tier and jurisdiction bestowed upon them. They form a strict hierarchy of importance, in line with the order of the courts in which they sit, with the Supreme Court of India at the top, followed by High Courts of respective states with district judges sitting in District Courts and Magistrates of Second Class and Civil Judge (Junior Division) at the bottom. PDF File Download  https://drive.google.com...

The Mughal Dynasty From the latter half of the 16th century they exp anded their kingdom from Agra and Delhi until in the 17th century they controlled nearly all of the subcontinent. They imposed structures of administration and ideas of governance that outlasted their rule, leaving a political legacy that succeeding rulers of the subcontinent could not ignore. Babur The first Mughal emperor (1526- 1530) Political situation in northwest India was suitable for Babur to enter India . Sikandar Lodi died in 1517 and Ibrahim Lodi succeded him. I.Lodhi tried to create strong centralized empire which alarmed Afghan chiefs as well as Rajputs. So in 1526 he defeated the Sultan of Delhi, Ibrahim Lodi and his Afghan supporters, at (First) Panipat (War) and captured Delhi and Agra. The establishment of an empire in the Indo-Gangetic valley by Babur was a threat to Rana Sanga. So in 1527 – defeated Rana Sanga, Rajput rulers and allies at Khanwa [a place west of Agra]. ...

Government Schemes  and Initiatives Related to Public Health  1. Mission Indradhanush 2. Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus Eliminated (MNTE) 3. Decision to Introduce New Vaccines 4. Child Health 5. Maternal Health 6.  Adolescent Health 7. The National Health Mission (NHM) 8.  National Programme for Control of Blindness 9.  National Programme for Health Care of the Elderly (NPHCE) 10.  National Programme for Prevention and Control of Fluorosis 11.  Oral Health Programme 1. Mission Indradhanush:  The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has launched “Mission Indradhanush”, depicting seven colors of the rainbow, to fully immunize more than 89 lakh children who are either unvaccinated or partially vaccinated; those that have not been covered during the rounds of routine immunization for various reasons. They will be fully immunized against seven life-threatening but vaccine preventable diseases which include: Diphtheria Whooping...

Different types of Soil, their Conservation Methods Soil conservation measures should aim at preventing or at least minimizing the soils loss. In order to do this proper land utilization coupled with agricul­tural practices should be adopted. Broadly categorizing there are two methods of soil conservation. These are biological and mechanical. The biological measures are again divided into Agronomic, Agrostological and Dry farming we shall study these measures in some detail. Methods 1. Agronomic practices: Normally, the land will possess a vegetational cover so as to prevent erosion. The measures to be followed must be patterned along the nature's own methods of conservation. The following are some of the methods. 2. Contour farming: Crops are cultivated along the contour of the land. The plow marks will be on level and can hold the rain. Even in heavy rain, the runoff is checked by the plants growing along the contour. Tillage: contour tilling will preve...