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  • Important Historical Sculpture/Tribes in India, Their festivals, and Culture

     

     
    7th May 2021
    Important Historical Sculpture and Paintings
               Famous Sculpture/                             Painting Era/ Dynasty      Monument
        Bodhisattva Padmapani Gupta Period Ajanata
        Mahakapi Jataka Sunga Bharhut stupa
        Torso of Vishnu Gupta Period Mathura
        Stupa worship Mauryan/Sunga period Bharhut stupa
        Yakshini Mauryan/Sunga period Bharhut stupa
        Queen Maya’s dream Mauryan/Sunga period Bharhut stupa
        Painting of Yashodahara,Rahul & buddha Gupta Period Ajanata
        Standing Buddha Gupta Period Sarnath
        Seated Buddha Kushanas Mathura
        Standing Buddha Kushanas Gandhara
        Mara Vijaya Multiple period Ajanta
        Maheshmurthi Rashtrakuta Period Elephanta caves
        Shiva chasing boar Vijaynagara Period Lepakshi temple
        Shiva killing Tripurasura   Thanjavoor
        Dakshinamurthy Vijaynagara Period Lepakshi temple
        Ladies attending Parvathy Vijaynagara Period Lepakshi temple
        Krishna playing the flute   Pundareekapuram temple
        Sheshashayana Vishnu Gupta Period Dashavtar temple
        Vishnu in Nara-Narayan form Gupta Period Dashavtar temple
        Arjun Penance Pallavas Mahabalipuram
        Statue of Suparshvanatha Pallavas  
        Statue of Gommateshwara, Ganga Dynasty Shravanbelagola, Karnataka
        Yakshi Mauryan Period Didarganj
        Durga with eight arms shown in the act of defeating Mahishasura, Pallavas Mahishasura Mardini Cave, Mahabalipuram
        Ravana Shaking Mount Kailasha Rashtrakuta Ellora
        Nandi bull Cholas Brihadeshwara temple
        Kalyana Sundara Murthy Rashtrakuta Ellora
        Nayika Ganga Dynasty Lingraj temple
        Nataraja Cholas Brideshwar temple
        Manjira player Ganga Dynasty Surya Mandir,Odhisa
        Mohini Hoysalas Chennakeshava temple
        Pillars with horse rider Naykas Meenakshi temple
        Worship of Bodhi tree Mauryan Period Bharhut
        Animals worshipping Bodhi tree Sungas Sanchi
        Yakshini Sungas Sanchi
        Taming of Nalagiri elephant Mauryan Period Amravati
        Head of Buddha Kushanas Gandhara
        Seated Buddha Kushanas Mathura
        Dwarfish Yaksha   Pithalkoda caves
        Five Ratha Pallavas Mahabalipuram
        Vrikshika Sunga Sanchi Stupa
        Buddha’s Great departure Kushanas Gandhara
        Indra flying amid clouds together with celestial nymphs Gupta Period Ajanta

     

    The following table contains the tribes in India, significant aspects of their life, and festivals they celebrate.
      Name of the tribe States/ Region Significant aspects related to the tribe Festivals
      Munda Chota Nagpur Plateu 1.Christianity is their main religion.
    2..They speak Mundari which is austro-asiatic Language.    		 Main festivals of Munda tribe are Mage Parab , Ind-Parab Jom-Nagoa or Jom Nawa ,Batauli ,Kolom Sing ,Phagu Festival ,Sarhul or Ba Parab ,Karam and Sohrai Festival
      Santhals West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Jharkhand and Assam. 1.Santhals are the third largest tribe in India.
    2.Santhals speak Santhali, which belongs to the Austro- Asiatic language family. Santhals have their script called Olchiki, which was developed by Dr Raghunath Murmu in 1925.
    3.Santhals have no temples of their own. They even do not worship any idols. Santhals follow the Sarna religion.    		 Santhals mainly celebrate the Karam festival which falls in the month of September and October
      Angami Nagaland 1.Men wear shawls called white Mhoushu and the black Lohe. The women wear Mechala – the wrap around skirt and shawls of unique designs and patterns
    2.Christianity is the major religion followed among the Angami tribal people
    3.Angamis are quite popular for their woodcraft and artwork.    		 Sekrenyi is the main festival celebrated among the Angamis in Nagaland.
      Bhils The central Bhils are found in the mountain regions in the Indian states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujrat and Rajasthan. Bhils are also found in the north eastern parts of Tripura. 1.Religion practice among the Bhils differ from place to place. Most of them worship local deities like Khandoba, Kanhoba, Bahiroba, and Sitalmata. Some of the worship Tiger God called ‘vaghdev’. They have no temples of their own.
    2.Ghoomar is the most famous dance among the Bhils.
    3.Than Gair is the religious dance drama performed by the men in the month of Sharavana (July and August)    		 The Baneshwar fair is the main festival celebrated among the Bhils. This fair is held during the period of Shivatri (in the month of January or February) and is dedicated to Baneshwar Mahadev also known as Lord Shiva. On this occasion Bhils gather all together set up camps on the banks of the Som and Mahi river.
      Chenchus Chenchu inhabit in the Nallamalai hills, which have been the part of the Nagarjuna Sagar Tiger Sanctuary for centuries in Andhra Pradesh India. 1.Chenchus talk in Chenchu language with the Telgu accent. Their language is also known as Chenchucoolam, Chenchwar, Chenswar or Choncharu.
    2.Chenchus worship number of deities. They mainly believe in Bhagaban taru who lives in the sky and look after the Chenchus in all their doings. Another deity they worship is Garelamai Sama, who is the Goddess of forest.    		  
      Khasis Khasi tribe is mainly found in the sate of Assam and the Khasi Jaintia hills in Meghalaya 1.Khasis speak Khasi, which is an Austro- Asiatic language. It is the part of the Mon-Khmer group of languages.
    2.Khasis have a matriachal society.
    3.Most of the Khasis follow Christianity as the religion. The Khasi believe in the supreme creator God U Blei Nong-thaw.    		 Nongkrem is the major festival celebrated among the Khasis.
      Bhuthias Bhutia tribes are of the Tibetan origin. They migrated to Sikkim around 16th century. In the northern part of the Sikkim where they are the major inhabitants, they are known as the Lachenpas and Lachungpas. Majority of the Bhutias are concentrated in the dry valley of the North Sikkim. 1.Bhutia tribes usually speak Sikkimese.
    2.The legal system among the Bhutias is termed as the Dzumsa, which means the rendezvous point of the common masses.
    3. Bhutia male wear Bakhu which is a loose traditional dress with the full sleeves. While the women dress consists of Silken Honju, which is the full sleeves blouse    		 Losar and Losoong are the main festivals celebrated among the Bhutia tribes.
      Gonds The Gonds are the tribal community mostly found in the Gond forests of central India. They are widely spread in the Chhindwara District of Madhya Pradesh 1.Gonds tribe speak Gondi language which is related to the Telgu and the other Dravidian languages.
    2.Gonds have been largely influenced by the Hindus and for the long time have been practicing the Hindus culture and traditions. Gonds are the worshipers of Janani or the mother of creator.
    3.Gusadi dance is the most famous dance perfomed by the Gonds.    		 Gonds fair and festivals are influenced from the Hindu traditions. Keslapur Jathra is the important festival of the Gonds.
      Gaddis Himachal Pradesh. 1.The main occupation of Gaddi tribes is shepherding and they make their livelihood by rearing and selling sheeps, goats, mules and horses
    2. They speak Gaddi langauge    		 The Namagen dance is performed in the month of September to celebrate the autum. They were costumes which are largely woolen and studded with ornaments of silver. They are worn by women.
      Birhor Chattisgarh 1.They follow Hinduism and have their indigenous traditional beliefs. ‘Sing Bonga’, is regarded by the people as the supreme god.
    2.Birhor tribe is one of the primitive tribes. They belong to the Proto-Australoid stock; linguistically, they originate from the Austro-Asiatic group.    		  
      Garo Meghalaya 1.In Garo tribes, women are the owners of property thus making it a matrilineal society.
    2.most of the Garos adopted Christianity. These tribes speak Garo language, which is also further divided into different sub-languages or dialects.    		 Wangala is one of the significant festivals of these tribes This festival is celebrated after the harvest of crops as thanks giving ceremony to their deity Salijong
      Zeliang Nagaland 1.The Zeliang practice wet cultivation or Panikheti and terraced cultivation. They practice Jhum cultivation though they prefer Panikheti.
    2.Many have accepted the religion of Christianity.    		 The Hega festival is one of the most important and the largest festivals among the Zeliang community
      Rengma Nagaland 1.They belong to the Mongoloid racial stock. The Rengma is a patriarchal society therefore the line of descent is traced through the male side and property rights goes to the male line.

     

    2.The Rengma tribes are agriculturists. They grow paddy through Jhum cultivation and wet cultivation.

    3.Traditionally Rengma tribes are worshippers of supernatural beings. The Supreme god is known as Teronyu. Nyensug and Nyensugi are the next important god and goddesses who are worshipped for household wealth. Now most of the Rengma tribes are Christians

    		 Ngada is the most important festival of Rengma tribes. It is celebrated after harvesting the crop or at the end of November or in the beginning of December. Actually it is a “Thanks giving” festival of the Rengma tribes
      Ao Nagaland The Ao Nagas are rich in their folk literature.
    With the arrival of Christian missionaries in the 19th century the Ao were some of the earliest converts to Christianity among the other Naga tribes.    		 1. The Aos observe Moatsü Mong after the sowing is done. The festival provides them a period of recreation and entertainment after the stressful work of clearing fields, burning jungles, sowing seeds, cleaning up the Tsubu (wells) and repairs and construction of houses by elders of the Putu Menden, stretching over a week.
    2.Aos have another festival called Tsüngrem Mong. It is celebrated in the eve of the harvest.
      Lushai Manipur/Mizoram 1.Lushai tribes have developed expertise in swimming and hunting. That they are good archers are apparent from the fact that they can nicely handle ‘Sairawkher’.
    2.The way they dress shows that these Lushai tribes have got aesthetic sense. Lukhum is a special hat worn by the Lushai tribes. It is sharp in shape, mainly prepared from ‘bamboo splits’. Special open-hexagonal weave are used for weaving these hats.
    3.For proper administration, the whole of the Lushai society are segregated into clans and castes, nicely run by a village head. Different is the way in which they practice the ‘Sakhua sacrifice’. These Lushai tribes are pious.    		 There Bamboo dance(known as Cheraw dance) is very famous.
      Hmar Manipur 1.The society is patrilineal and patriarchal in nature.
    2. Hmars worship supernatural beings. Pathien is the supreme god.
    3.The Hmars depend on forest products. Their economy can be classified dually -traditional and subsidiary occupations.    		 Chawn-lam, Dar-lam, Pheipheet-lam, Hrang-lam, Tinna-Hla-lam are the common dances of the Hmar community. All dances are based on the rhythmic tunes of musical instruments.
      Kuki Manipur Kuki Tribe of Manipur are mainly followers of Christianity and Judaism.  
      Mizo Mizoram 1.The Mizos are of the Mongoloid racial stock with well built features.
    2.They follow Christianity
    3.The Mizos are mainly an agricultural people. Jhum cultivation is the traditional form of agriculture that is practiced    		 The Mizo celebrate many festivals among which Chapchar kut and Pavlkut are most important festivals. Chapchar kut is celebrated in the month of March. It is the spring festival celebrated. Pawl kut is a harvest festival celebrated in the months of December and January.
      Chakesang Nagaland   Held in between March and April, the Tsukhenyi festival is one of the least known tribal festivals in India that is celebrated with great enthusiasm by the Chakesang Nagass
      Limboos Sikkim 1.Many Limbu follow a combination of Buddhism and their traditional beliefs.
    2.There traditional group dance is called dhannach and is performed during marriage,death or any festivities
    3.The traditional dress of Limboos are mekhli and Taga    		  
      Lepchas Sikkim 1.The Lepchas are the aboriginal inhabitants of Sikkim and they are mostly settled in North Sikkim. They are mostly Buddhist but many of them have now adopted Christianity
    2. The traditional cloths of the Lepchas are woven in exquisite colour combinations. Men’s dress is called Thokro-Dum and the female’s dress is called Dumdyam or Dumvum.
    3. The Lepcha trace their descent patrilineally. The marriage is negotiated between the families of the bride and the groom.    		  
      Apatani Aruanchal Pradesh 1.UNESCO has proposed the Apatani valley for inclusion as a World Heritage Site for its “extremely high productivity” and “unique” way of preserving the ecology
    2. Women of the Apatani Tribe, in India’s Apatani plateau, are famous for the bizarre nose plugs they’ve been wearing since times long passed.    		 They have two major festival- Dree and Myoko.
      Nyishis Aruanchal Pradesh 1.The Nyishi language belongs to the Sino-Tibetan family, however, the origin is disputed.
    2.Polygyny is prevalent among the Nyish.
    3. The Nyishis, who traditionally wear cane helmets surmounted by the crest of a hornbill beak (known as pudum, padam), have considerably affected the population of this bird.
    Several organizations, such as the Arunachal Wildlife and Nature Foundation and the Wildlife Trust of India, have been trying to stop the Nyishi hunting these birds in order to protect them from extinction. Nature reserves, such as the Pakke Sanctuary, are being set up to protect the birds, while artificial materials, such as fiberglass, have been introduced as an alternative to the hornbill beak in Nyishi dress.    		 Nyokum is the festival celebrated by the Nyishi people, a religion which commemorates their ancestors.
      Adis Aruanchal Pradesh Adi dances vary from the slow, rustic and beautifully enchanting style Ponung (performed in Solung festival) to the exhilarating, exuberant thumps of Delong performed by Men in Etor festival. These dances have led to certain forms of dancing which jointly narrate a story, the Tapu (War Dance). In the Tapu War Dance, the dancers vigorously re-enact the actions of war, its gory details and the triumphant cries of the warriors. Yakjong is performed in Aran festival. The Adi celebrate a number of festivals, in particular their prime festivals are Aran, Solung, Etor.Solung, is observed in the first week of September for five days or more. It is a harvest festival performed after the sowing of seeds and transplantation, to seek for future bumper crops. Ponung songs and dances are performed by women folk during the festival
      Sema/Sumi Nagas Nagaland 1.The ‘Sumi Naga’ is one of the major Naga peoples in Nagaland, India. The Sumis mainly inhabit the Zunheboto district, although many have spread and is now living in a few more districts within Nagaland.
    2.Sumi Naga tribe practiced kiti-do and were a headhunter as every other Naga tribals .    		 Tuluni (July 8) is a festival of great significance for the Sumi. This festival is marked with feasts as the occasion occurs in the bountiful season of the year. Drinking rice beer indispensably forms as part of the feasts. Rice beer is served in a goblet made of bamboo or made from the leaf of plantain. This drink is called Tuluni which gives the festival its name.
      Konyak tribe Nagaland The Konyak are a Naga people, and are recognised among other Naga by their tattoos, which they have all over their face and hands; facial tattoos were earned for taking an enemy’s head. They are called the land of Angh’s. They have the largest population among the Nagas. Aoleang is the biggest festival for the Konyak. They wear their traditional attire and sing folk song to celebrate the Aoleang festival.
      Reang Tripura 1.The Reangs are basically a semi-nomadic tribe who practice jhum (slash and burn) or shifting method of cultivation on the hill sides.
    2. The Reang basically belonged to the Mongoloid group and speaks the Tibeto-Burmese language ‘Kau Bru    		 The Hodaigri dance amongst the Reang (Bru) was usually performed on the occasion of Maikhlungmo rituals i.e. worship of Goddess of food grains and cotton especially during the month of September-October
      Mishing Assam 1.The Mishing tribe is the second largest tribe among the other tribes of North- East India.
    2.Traditionally Mishing people live near the bank of river and they build their “Chang Ghar” with the help of timber bamboo, thatch, etc for comfort living.    		 Mishing people are easy going, very simple living and are fond of festivals. The main festival is “Ali-Aye-Ligang” which is the most colourful spring festival held every year on first Wednesday of the month “Gimur polo”(Feb-March).
      Karbi Assam 1.The Karbis believes in animism which consists of such a belief in the role of spiritual beings in human life.
    2. Various types of dances are performed by the youths during the performances of Chomangkan, the death ceremony and other socio-religious festivals. The Karbis have very limited number of musical instruments. A big drum called Cheng is their main musical instrument.    		 A number of festivals are observed by the people belonging to Karbi tribal group. Like for instance, they celebrate ‘Chojun Puja’ or ‘Swarak Puja’, ‘Rongker’, ‘Chokk-eroi’, ‘Hacha-Kekan’, ‘Chomangkan’.
      Mikir Assam    
      Kols Madhya Pradesh Most of these tribes are landless labourer. They prefer to live in groups near villages called Kolhan  
      Bonda Odhisa The Bonda are an ancient tribe of people who live in the isolated hill regions of the Malkangiri district of southwestern Odisha, India,  
      Oarons Odhisa,Bihar and Jharkhand 1.Oraon also called Kurukh, aboriginal people of the Chota Nagpur region in the state of Jharkhand, India. They call themselves Kurukh and speak a Dravidian language akin to Gondi and other tribal languages of central India.
    2.Speakers of Oraon number about 1,900,000, but in urban areas, and particularly among Christians, many Oraon speak Hindi as their mother tongue.
    3.It was long thought that the Oraons and the other tribals were animists, people who attribute a living soul to plants, inanimate objects and natural phenomena. This view has been discarded although amateur anthropologists still sort it out in articles, in popular magazines. The Oraons are not nature worshipers.    		  
      Murias Chattisgarh 1.The Muria are an adivasi (scheduled tribe) of the Bastar district of Chhattisgarh, India. They are part of the Gondi people.
    2.They have mixed-sex dormitories where adolescents are sent to practice premarital sex, sometimes with a single partner and sometimes serially.
    3.The Muria are traditionally animists, with village and clan deities    		  
      Korba Chattisgarh Famous for there Karma dance  
      Sahariya Rajasthan 1.Sahariya Tribe is the only primitive tribe of the Rajasthan state
    2.They follow Hindu religious practices and speak a dialect influenced by Hadoti.    		  
      Irulas Tamil Nadu 1. They inhabit the area of the Nilgiri mountains, in the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, India
    2.Early 20th century anthropological literature classified the Irular under the Negrito ethnic group.
    3.Unlike the Negrito tribes in the Andaman Islands who have retained their language, Irular speak the Irula language, a Dravidian language that is closely related to Tamil, Yerukala, Sholaga and other Tamil languages    		  
      Badagas Tamil Nadu 1.The Badagas live in the Nilgiri Hills of Tamil Nadu, India. They speak the unwritten Badaga language and are the one of the social groups in Nilgiris
    2.Thundu (a white piece of cloth) forms an integral part of the attire of Badaga women and as a cultural item, is presented to visiting dignitaries as a gesture of good will.    		 Their important festival is Hethai Habba.
      Uralis Kerela 1.The Urali tribes like most of the tribes in south India, worship nature as Gods and inventor of the world. They consider the Sun as ‘the creator of all souls’ and moon as the mother of all creation.
    2.The Uralis generally do not engage in inter-tribal marriage, instead they prefer to marry within their own tribe. It is custom amongst them to wear a sacred thread on special occasions like weddings and funerals.    		  
      Jarawas Andaman & Nicobar Island 1.The Jarawa are still at the primitive stage of life on earth. They entirely depend upon forest and sea for food. Wild boar and monitor lizard are consumed. Various kinds of fruit , honey and tubers are parts of their diet too.
    2.The jarawas of both sexes go complete naked. However some ornaments made with shells and palm leaves are worn by them but these are not in the sense to cover their nudity.
    This tribe has lived in the southeast part of Andaman but after the British regime they shifted to the western region of the island. They have forever been hunter gatherers in the true sense however things have changed since the 1990’s specially after the building of the old trunk road.    		  
      Sentinelese Andaman & Nicobar Island 1.The Sentinelese people are said to be so hostile that their home has been named the ‘hardest place to visit’ in the world.The Sentinelese and other indigenous Andamanese peoples are frequently described as negritos,
    2.They inhabit the North Sentinel island, and are the only remaining tribe in the Andamans to still maintain their isolation from the rest of the world. Nobody knows exactly how they look, the population or how they live. Since 1967, the indian governments with the help of anthropologists have tried to make contact with the tribe. They tried giving gifts of food, coconuts, etc but they were always met with hostility. The tribe showers arrows and stones at whoever comes near the island.
    .    		  
      Onge Andaman & Nicobar Island Onges are one of the most primitive tribes in India. They belong to the Negrito racial stock and they have been mainly seen near the Dugong creek in Little Andaman. They are dependent on the food provided by nature and are a semi-nomadic tribe.
    The onge population fell post british colonization from 672 in 1986 to 92 in 1901 but has remained stable since.    		  
      Shompen Andaman & Nicobar Island The Shompens, who live in the Great Nicobar island, are a semi-nomadic people. They wander in their forest and coastal habitat in search of fruits and games. There are two territorial groups among the Shompens; The habitation of Shompens is the Great Nicobar which is the largest among the Nicobar group of Islands. Like the Nicobarese, they belong to the Mongoloid race.  
      Pangwal Himachal Pradesh. 1.These rugged people, who are Hindus, have their unique customs, traditions, and institutions. The native Pangwals and Bhotis are robust, hardworking, handsome people who keep the valley’s unique culture alive in folk songs, music and tribal dances. Music, dance and the locally brewed liquor ‘patar’, play a significant role in the life of the Pangwals. One of the major festivals celebrated towards the end of February is ‘Jukaru’
      Sherdukpen Aruanchal Pradesh 1.The Sherdukpen language is part of the Kanauri branch of the Tibeto-Burman family.
    2.Bardo Chham is a folk dance of Sherdukpens, a small community of West Kameng District of Arunachal Pradesh, Bardo Chham is based on the stories of good and evil. According to the local beliefs, there are both good and evil in mankind. The Sherdukpens mask themselves representing the different animals and dance to show an act of fighting the evil forces.    		  
      Wattal tribe Jammu & Kashmir Dumhal dance is performed by Wattal tribe on special occassions  
      Bhutias Sikkim 1.The Bhutia are a community of people of Tibetan ancestry, who speak Lhopo or Sikkimese, a Tibetan dialect fairly mutually intelligible to standard Tibetan
    2. Singhi Chham or Kanchendzonga Dance is a dance form in Sikkim whereby the dancers perform in a lion costume that represents the snow lion. It is a dance of the Bhutia people    		  
      Todas Tamil Nadu Tribals of Nilgiri hills  

     

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  • Schemes, Project, and Policies Regarding Science and Tech

     

    5th May 2021

    1. SATHI

    The Department of Science & Technology has launched a unique scheme called “Sophisticated Analytical & Technical Help Institutes(SATHI)”.

    Objectives of the Scheme

    • SATHI will address the problems of accessibility, maintenance, redundancy and duplication of expensive equipment in the institutions.
    • This will also foster a strong culture of collaboration between institutions and across disciplines to take advantage of developments, innovations and expertise in diverse areas.

    2. National Mission on Quantum Technologies & Applications (NM-QTA)

    The Finance Minister in budget 2020 has announced a National Mission on Quantum Technologies & Applications (NM-QTA).

    About NM-QTA

    • The mission will function under the Department of Science & Technology (DST).
    • It will be able to address the ever-increasing technological requirements of society and take into account the international technology trends.
    • The mission will help prepare next-generation skilled manpower, boost translational research and also encourage entrepreneurship and start-up ecosystem development.

    3. Project MANAV: Human Atlas Initiative

    • For the first time, Indian scientists will be mapping every single tissue of the human body to have a deeper understanding of the roles of tissues and cells linked to various diseases.
    • Department of Biotechnology (DBT) launched MANAV: Human Atlas Initiative towards improving knowledge on human physiology.
    • It is a project funded by DBT, which aims at creating a database network of all tissues in the human body from the available scientific literature.
    • It is a project that involves scientific skill development for annotation, science outreach along with handling big data.
    • It will involve gaining better biological insights through physiological and molecular mapping, develop disease models through predictive computing and have a holistic analysis and finally drug discovery.
    • The student community, who will be the backbone on assimilating the information, will be trained and imparted with skills to perform annotation and curation of information that will ultimately form the online network.
    • DBT has invested funds shared between two institutions in Pune – National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS) and Indian Institute of Science, Education and Research (IISER), Pune.
    • Besides, Persistent Systems Limited has co-funded the project and is developing the platform.

    4. Project Cosmic Microwave Background-Bharat

    • CMB stands for Cosmic Microwave Background, and the scientific space project CMB-Bharat has been presented as a proposal to ISRO and is under consideration.
    • In the workshop, project CMB-Bharat, which could help us listen to the faintest murmurs of the early universe, was discussed.
    • CMB-Bharat is a proposal for comprehensive next-generation Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) mission in international collaboration with major Indian contribution.
    • This referred to quantum gravitational waves, which are different from what LIGO detectors had observed that were classical in nature.

    5. Phyto-Pharma Plant Mission

    Objectives

    • Rs 50 crore Mission aimed at conservation and cultivation of endangered and threatened endemic medicinal plants, and discovery of new botanical drugs for unmet medical needs using the rich traditional ethnobotanical knowledge and biodiversity of these states and at the same time also improve the availability of authentic and quality botanical raw material on a sustainable basis for a boom in the phyto-pharmaceutical industry
    • Nodal Ministry –Ministry of Science & Technology

    6. Brahmaputra Biodiversity and Biology Boat

    Objectives

    • B4 will establish a large barge on the river with a well-equipped laboratory for analysis of all components of the entire ecosystem of the river and surroundings. The B4 will link to all the local research institutions along the river, as well as national and international laboratories
    • Nodal Ministry –Ministry of Science & Technology

    7. INSPIRE (INNOVATION IN SCIENCE PURSUIT FOR INSPIRED RESEARCH)

    Objectives

    • To attract talent to Science.
    • To communicate to the youth of the country the excitements of creative pursuit of science, attract talent to the study of science at an early age and thus build the required critical human resource pool for strengthening and expanding the Science & Technology system and R&D base.
    • It does not believe in conducting competitive exams for the identification of talent at any level.
    • It believes in and relies on the efficacy of the existing educational structure for the identification of talent.
    • INSPIRE has three components:
    • i. Scheme for Early Attraction of Talent (SEATS)
    • ii. Scholarship for Higher Education (SHE)
    • iii. Assured Opportunity for Research Careers (AORC)
    • The Inspire Awards have been renamed as MANAK

    8. JIGYASA –

    Objectives

    • Student-Scientist Connect Programme
    • Connecting school students and scientists so as to extend student’s classroom learning with that of a very well planned research laboratory-based learning.
    • CSIR + Kendriya Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS).

    9. VAJRA

    Objectives –

    • The Government of India recently launched VAJRA (Visiting Advanced Joint Research) Faculty scheme by the Department of Science and Technology which enables NRIs and overseas scientific community to participate and contribute to research and development in India. The Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), a statutory body of the Department will implement the Scheme.
    • International Faculty / scientists/technologists including Non-resident Indians (NRI) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) / Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) are offered adjunct / visiting faculty positions in Indian Institutions / Universities for a period of 1-3 months under this scheme. The faculty can also undertake the role of teaching /mentoring apart from R&D.
    • Public funded institutions and national laboratories are allowed to host the VAJRA faculty.
    • Nodal Ministry –Ministry of Science & Technology

    10. National Initiative for Developing & Harnessing Innovation (NIDHI)

    Objectives

    A programme to address the complete chain of innovation ecosystem right from scouting to mentoring to scaling up innovations. launched by DST. Establishment of a research park at IIT Gandhinagar has been supported at a cost of Rs.90 cr.

    11.Surya Jyoti

    Objectives

    • In order to capture daylight and concentrate the same inside a dark room, particularly in the urban slum or rural areas which lack electricity supply, a low cost and energy-efficient Micro Solar Dome (Surya Jyoti) has been tested and developed. -Potential users of this device are10 million households.
    • According to preliminary estimates, if this technology is adopted in 10 million households only, it has the potential of saving 1750 million units of energy.
    • It would also lead to an emission reduction of about 12.5 million ton of CO2 equivalent, hence giving a fillip to the mission of ‘Clean India, Green India’.
    • The manufacturing process, being labour-intensive, would also generate huge job opportunities in the economy.
    • Nodal Ministry – Department of Science & Technology.

    12. Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan

    • Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan is running successfully to motivate children to learn Science, Maths and Technology through observation and experimentation.
    • It was launched on 9th July 2015 by Late Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Former President of India.
    • Nodal Ministry-HRD Ministry.

    13. Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIIT) Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020

    About the Bill:

    • Amend the principal act: Introduction of the Indian Institutes of Information Technology Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020 will amend the Indian Institutes of Information Technology Act of 2014 and Indian Institutes of Information Technology (Public-Private Partnership) Act, 2017.
    • The principal acts of 2014 and 2017 are the unique initiatives of the Government of India to impart knowledge in the field of Information Technology to provide solutions to the challenges faced by the country.
    • It will grant statutory status to five Indian Institutes of Information Technology in Public-Private Partnership mode at Surat, Bhopal, Bhagalpur, Agartala and Raichur.
    • The new bill will declare them as Institutions of National Importance along with already existing 15 Indian Institutes of Information Technology under the Indian Institutes of Information Technology (Public-Private Partnership) Act, 2017

    14. Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine (WISTEMM) program

    • TheIndo-U.S. Fellowship for WISTEMM is providinginternational exposureto severalwomen scientists of India
    • It is a fellowship for Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine.
    • It is a program of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) in association with Indo-U.S. Science & Technology Forum (IUSSTF).
    • It aims to provide opportunities to Indian Women Scientists, Engineers & Technologists to undertake international collaborative research in premier institutions in the U.S.A , to enhance their research capacities and capabilities
    • The fellowship is for bright Indian women Citizen within the age bracket of 21 to 45 years.

    The programme is run for two categories of women scientists:

    1. Women Overseas Student Internship (Module I) for women students pursuing PhD.
    2. Women Overseas Fellowship (Module II) for women with a PhD degree and holding a regular position
      at any recognized institution/laboratory in India.

     

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  • Important Straits

     

    4th May 2021

    Important straits in the news.

    A strait is a naturally formed, narrow, typically navigable waterway that connects two larger bodies of water. Most commonly it is a channel of water that lies between two landmasses. Some straits are not navigable, for example, because they are too shallow, or because of an unnavigable reef or archipelago.

    Strait of Hormuz

     

    • It links the Persian Gulf (west) with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea (southeast).
    • On the north coast lies Iran, and on the south coast the United Arab Emirates and Musandam, an exclave of Oman. 
    • The strait is 35 to 60 miles (55 to 95 km) wide and separates Iran from the Arabian Peninsula.
    • It contains the islands of Qeshm (Qishm), Hormuz, and Hengām (Henjām) and is of great strategic and economic importance, especially as oil tankers collecting from various ports on the Persian Gulf must pass through the strait.
    • OPEC members Saudi Arabia, Iran, the UAE, Kuwait and Iraq export most of their crude via the Strait
    • Qatar, the world’s biggest liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter, sends almost all of its LNG through the Strait
    • The UAE and Saudi Arabia have sought to find other routes to bypass the Strait, including building pipelines.

    2. Strait of Malacca

    • Strait of Malacca connects the Andaman Sea (Indian Ocean) and the South China Sea (Pacific Ocean).
    • Stretching about 800km, it is the longest straits in the world and facilitates not just shipping and the movement of people in the surrounding communities but is a confluence of trade, cultures, ideas, and knowledge between the East and West.
    • It runs between the Indonesian island of Sumatra to the west and peninsular (West) Malaysia and extreme southern Thailand to the east and has an area of about 25,000 square miles (65,000 square km).
    • The strait derived its name from the trading port of Melaka (formerly Malacca)—which was of importance in the 16th and 17th centuries—on the Malay coast.
    • As the link between the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea, the Strait of Malacca is the shortest sea route between India and China and hence is one of the most heavily travelled shipping channels in the world.
    • Singapore, one of the world’s most important ports, is situated at the strait’s southern end.
    • The global shift in economic power from the West to the East coupled with burgeoning trade, investments, and production in areas spanning the Indian and Pacific Ocean regions has given increasing importance to this region.

    3. Bab-el-Mandab

    • The Bab al-Mandab strait is the narrow waterway that separates the Arabian Peninsula from the Horn of Africa.
    • It links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.
    • At its narrowest point, the strait is only 29 km wide between Yemen on one side and Djibouti and Eritrea on the other.
    • It is a key strategic channel for commerce and trade, with an estimated 4 percent of global oil supply passing through it.

    4. Palk Strait

    • It connects the Bay of Bengal in the northeast with Palk Bay in the southwest.
    • The strait is 40 to 85 miles (64 to 137 km) wide, 85 miles long, and less than 330 feet (100 metres) deep.
    • It receives several rivers, including the Vaigai (India), and it contains many islands on the Sri Lankan side.
    • The Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project (SSCP) is a 167 km long shipping canal, and envisages the creation of a navigable canal from the Gulf of. Mannar to the Bay of Bengal to facilitate the movement of ships.
    • The Adam’s Bridge is a series of sand shoals created by sedimentation over a period of time.
    • All islands are made up of a calcareous framework of dead reef and sand.
    • In India, the Gulf of Mannar region in Tamil Nadu is one of the four major coral reef areas and the others are Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat, Lakhsadweep and Andaman and Nicobar islands.
    • With its rich biodiversity of over 4,000 species of various flora and fauna, part of this Gulf of Mannar between Rameswaram and Tuticoirin covering 21 islands and the surrounding shallow coastal waters was declared as a Marine National Park in 1986.

    5.Sunda Strait

    • It links the Java Sea (Pacific Ocean) with the Indian Ocean (south).
    • Sunda Strait, Indonesian Selat Sunda, is a channel, 16–70 miles (26–110 km) wide, between the islands of Java (east) and Sumatra.
    • The Sunda Strait is an important passage connecting the Indian Ocean with eastern Asia.
    • The strait stretches in a roughly northeast/southwest orientation, with a minimum width of 24 km (15 mi) at its northeastern end between Cape Tua on Sumatra and Cape Pujat on Java.
    • It is very deep at its western end, but as it narrows to the east it becomes much shallower, with a depth of only 20 m (65 feet) in parts of the eastern end.
    • It is notoriously difficult to navigate because of this shallowness, very strong tidal currents, sandbanks, and man-made obstructions such as oil platforms off the Java coast.
    • The strait’s narrowness, shallowness, and lack of accurate charting make it unsuitable for many modern, large ships, most of which use the Strait of Malacca instead.

    6.Mozambique Channel

    • It is located between the island nation of Madagascar on the east and Mozambique on the African mainland (west).
    • About 1,000 miles (1,600 km) long, it varies in width from 250 to 600 miles (400 to 950 km) and reaches a maximum depth of 10,000 feet (3,000 m).
    • The Comoro Archipelago marks the northern entrance, and the islands of Bassas da India and Europa lie in the south.
    • An important route for shipping in eastern Africa, it receives all major Madagascar rivers and has the ports of Mahajanga (Majunga) and Toliary (Tuléar) on the same coast.
    • Along the opposite coast are the mouth of the Zambezi River and the ports of Maputo (formerly Lourenço Marques), Moçambique, and Beira.
    • The Mozambique Current passes through the strait.

    7.Gibraltar Strait

    • It is a channel connecting the Mediterranean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean, lying between southernmost Spain and northwesternmost Africa.
    • It is 36 miles (58 km) long and narrows to 8 miles (13 km) in width between Point Marroquí (Spain) and Point Cires (Morocco).
    • It is one of the most significant global sea lanes because it provides a means of seaborne transit for shipping between the Atlantic and Mediterranean, and via the Suez Canal into the Indian Ocean and beyond.
    • After the English Channel, the Strait is the world’s busiest shipping lane.

    8. Bosphorus strait and Dardanelles strait

    • Bosphorus,also known as the Strait of Istanbul, is a narrow, natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in northwestern Turkey.
    • The Bosporus connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara, and, by extension via the Dardanelles, the Aegean and Mediterranean seas.
    • It is the world’s narrowest strait used for international navigation.
    • Dardanelles is a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey that forms part of the continental boundary between Europe and Asia, and separates Asian Turkey from European Turkey.
    • The Dardanelles connects the Sea of Marmara with the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas, while also allowing passage to the Black Sea by extension via the Bosphorus.
    • The Dardanelles is 61 kilometres (38 mi) long, and 1.2 to 6 kilometres (0.75 to 3.73 mi) wide, averaging 55 metres (180 ft) deep with a maximum depth of 103 metres (338 ft) at its narrowest point abreast the city of Çanakkale

    9. Yucatan Strait

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies : Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea

    Location: Mexico-Cuba

    10. Mesina Strait  

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies : Mediterranean Sea

    Location: Italy-Sicily

    11. Otranto Strait

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies :Adriatic Sea & Ionian Sea

    Location: Italy-Albania

    12. Cook Strait 

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies :South Pacific Ocean

    Location:  New Zealand (North & South Islands)

    13. North Channel

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies :Irish Sea & Atlantic Ocean

    Location: Ireland-England

    14. Hudson strait     

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies : Gulf of Hudson & Atlantic Ocean

    Location: Canada

    15. Magellan strait   

    Join: Pacific and South Atlantic Ocean

    Location: Chile

    16. Makassar Strait

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies: the Java Sea & Celebes Sea

    Location: Indonesia

    17. Tsugaru Strait 

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies: Japan Sea and Pacific Ocean

    Location: Japan (Hokkaido-Honshu Island)

    18. Tatar Strait  

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies: Japan Sea & Okhotsk Sea

    Location: Russia (East Russia-Sakhalin Islands)

    19. Fovex Strait 

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies: South Pacific Ocean

    Location: New Zealand (South Island- Stewart Island)

    20. Formosa Strait  

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies: the South China Sea & East China Sea

    Location: China-Taiwan

    21. Taurus Strait

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies:Arafura Sea & Gulf of Papua

    Location: Papua New Guinea — Australia

    22. Bass Strait

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies: the Tasman Sea & South Sea

    Location: Australia

    23. Bering Strait

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies: the Bering Sea & Chukchi Sea

    Location: Alaska-Russia

    24. Bonne-Fasio Strait

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies: Mediterranean Sea

    Location: Corsica — Sardinia

    25. Davis Strait  

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies : the Baffin Bay & Atlantic Ocean

    Location: Greenland-Canada

    26. Denmark Strait 

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies: North Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean

    Location: Greenland-Iceland

    27. Dover strait  

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies: The English Channel & North Sea

    Location: England-France

    28. Florida Strait

    Joining seas/ Water Bodies: Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean

    Location: USA-Cuba

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  • Key/Important Terms related to Ancient/ Medieval History

     

    3rd May 2021
    Important officers and their role in the Maurya Empire
    1. Sannidhata – Treasurer and keeper of the stores in Maurya Period. He was in charge of the collection of revenue from various parts of the kingdom and looked after the income and expenditure by supervising the works of akshapataladhyaksha (Accountant-General)
    2. Samharta– His function was to collect Revenue both in cash and kind.
    3. Amatyas–They were some sort of administrative personnel or civil servants who filled the highest administrative and judicial appointments.
    4. Rajukas–Ashoka appointed a class of officers known as the Rajukas, who were vested with the authority of rewarding as well we punishing people.
    5. Adhyaksas-­ The officers who looked after the various departments.
    6. Yuktas- They appear to have been the subordinate official whose duties were largely secretarial works and accounting.
    7. Gopa and Sthanika- There was an intermediate level of administration between the district level and village level, which was administered by the Gopa and Sthanikas.
    8. Gramika- Head of the village. He was not a paid servant and was chosen among village elders.
    9. Grambhojaka- Gramika was helped by Grambhojaka.
    10. Pramukha- Eighteen chief handicrafts of the time were organised in guilds called as Shrenis, the president of Shrenis was known as Pramukha.

    Important officers of the Gupta empire

    1. Uparika- He was directly appointed by the king as a provincial governor.
    2. Kumaramatyas- A link between the central and the provincial administration under the Guptas was provided by the officers called Kumaramatyas and Ayuktas. Kumaramatyas was a body of top-ranking officials attached not only to the king but also to the crown-prince and sometimes placed in charge of district.
    3. Gopasramin- In Samudraguptas period an officer working as akshapataladhikrita. Their function was to enter numerous matters in the accounts register, recover royal dues and to check embezzlement and recover fines.
    4. Sandhivigrahika-The foreign minister, minister of war and peace. First appeared under the rule of Samudragupta.
    5. Mahabaldikarta-Commander-in-Chief.
    6. Mahadandanayaka-
    7. Mahapratihara- Chief of palace guards.
    8. Pustapala- Record-keeper. Maintained record of land transactions in a district. They were also known as Karanika.
    9. Vishaya- Vishayas were divided into smaller parts called Vithis which were the villages and consisted of the lowest unit of administration.
    10. Mahattama,Mahattaka and Mahattara- Elder who assisted the Gramika in the village administration.
    11. Agharikas- During the reign of Harsha, Agharikas looked after the land given in charity.
    12. Samantas- Feudal chiefs.

    Important officers of Satvahana Period

    1. Uparakshita- In Satvahanas kingdom, their function was building caves for monks.
    2. Gaulamika- Administration of the villages was placed under them in the Satvahana period.
    3. Valaikkarars- Troops in the royal service and were the bodyguard of the monarch

     

     

    Medieval India

    Amils– Revenue officers

    Arz-i-mamalik– Minister in-charge of the army of the whole country.

    Ahl-i-qalam– Reporter

    Baqqal– Trader, grain-dealer

    Batai– Division of crop between the cultivator and landlord or the government, payments may be in

    kind or cash

    Barid- An intelligence officer appointed by the state to collect information

    Chachar– Land out of cultivation for 3-4 years.

    Chaauth or Chauthaai– One-fourth of the land revenue, originally a Zamindari charge in Gujrat demanded by Shivaji as a war expense.

    Charai– A tax on cattle.

    Dagh System– A system of branding of horses and animal.

    Dam- A copper coin considered as 1/40* the silver rupee for the official purposes.

    Dastur-al-amal- Rule book

    Dhimmi-  A non-Muslim client or subject

    Darul Mulk- Capital

    Gumashta- An agent or representative

    Hamam– A room for the bath of hot and cold water

    Hundi- A bill of exchange

    Jamabandi– Settlement of the amount of revenue assessed upon an estate or district

    Jarib– A measurement, land measurement or survey

    Jihat– Extra cesses

    Jizya– (a) In the literature of Delhi sultanate, any tax which is not kharaj or land tax

    (b) In the Shariat, a personal and yearly tax on non-Muslims.

    Kankut– Estimation of land revenue

    Karori– A revenue officer.

    Khiraj– Land revenue

    Mahal- A group of land regarded as a unit for land revenue purposes.

    Mansab– A military rank conferred by the Mughal emperor.

    Mauza- Revenue term for village

    Mokasa- Grant of land for military service, rent-free land.

    Nabud– Remission of land revenue on account of natural disasters.

    Paibaqi- Land reserved for allotment in jagir

    Polaj- Land continuously in cultivation

    Sarrafs– Money Chargers, bankers

    Saurghal-Rent-free land

    Taqavi- Advance of money for sowing or extending cultivation

    Upari- Temporary occupant; tenant at will.

    Usar- Barren land

    Zawabit- Secular laws

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  • Important Historical Literature/Books/Newspapers in the Freedom Struggle and Important Social Religious Reforms Movements

     

    1st May 2021

    Important Socio-Cultural Reform movements

     

    1. Brahmo Samaj

    • Raja Ram Mohan Roy (1772-1833) founded the Brahmo Sabha in August 1828; it was later renamed Brahmo Samaj.
    • The Samaj was committed to “the worship and adoration of Eternal, Unsearchable, Immutable Being who is the author and Preserver of the Universe”.
    • Prayers, Meditations and reading of the Upanishads were to be the forms of worship and no forms of a graven image, statute or sculpture, carvings, paintings, picture, portraits etc were to be allowed in the Samaj buildings, thus underlining the Samaj’s opposition to idolatry and meaningless rituals.
    • The long-term agenda of Brahmo Samaj was to Purify Hinduism and to preach monotheism.
    • This long-terms agenda was based on twin pillars of reason and Vedas and
    • The Samaj kept its emphasis on human dignity, opposition to idolatry and criticism of social evils such as Sati.
    • Maharishi Debendranath Tagore gave a new life to the movement when the joined it in 1843.
    • The Samaj supported widow remarriage, women’s education, the abolition of polygamy improvement in ryots’ condition and temperance.
    • When Keshub Chandra Sen was made the acharya by soon after he joined it, the Samaj experienced another phase of energy, vigour and eloquence. He was instrumental in popularising the movement.
    • After Keshab Chandra Sen was dismissed from the Brahmo Samaj owing to his radical reforms he founded Brahmo Samaj of India.
    • Significance of the Brahmo Samaj-
      • Denounce polytheism and idol worship.
      • Discarded faith in divine avatars.
      • It denied that any scripture could enjoy the status of ultimate authority transcending human reason and conscience.
      • It criticised the caste system.
      • Took no definite stand on the doctrine of karma and transmigration of the soul.

    2. Prarthana Samaj

    • Keshab Chandra Sen helped found the Prarthana Samaj in Bombay in 1863.
    • They relied on education and persuasion rather than on confrontation with Hindu orthodoxy.
    • It’s four-point social agenda includes-
      • Disapproval of the cast system.
      • Women’s education.
      • Widow remarriage
      • Raising the age of marriage for both male and female.
    • Prominent figures include-
      • G. Ranade (1842-1901)
      • G. Bhandarkar
      • G. Chandavarkar. 

     3. Young Bengal Movement

    • Henry Vivan Derozio, who taught at the Hindu College was the leader and its inspirer.
    • During the 1820s and early 1830s, there emerged a radical intellectual trend among the youth in Bengal which came to be known as ‘Young Bengal Movement’.
    • Drawing inspiration from the French Revolution, Derozio inspired his pupils to
      • Think freely and rationally.
      • Question all authority.
      • Love, liberty and equality and freedom.
      • Oppose decadent customs and traditions.
    • The movement also supported women’s rights and education.
    • The movement, however, failed to have long term impact, reasons for which are-
      • Prevailing social conditions at that time were not ripe for the adoption of radical ideas.
      • The movement lacked any real link with the masses.

     4. Paramhansa Mandalis

    • It was founded in Maharashtra in 1849.
    • The founder of this movement believed in one god.
    • They were primarily focused on breaking the caste barriers.
    • They also advocated widow remarriage and women’s education.
    • Branches of Paramhansa Mandalis existed in Poona, Satara and other towns of Maharashtra.

     5. Satya Shodhak Samaj

    • Jyotiba Phule founded the Satyashodhak Samaj in 1873.
    • Its leadership came primarily from the backward classes-Malis, Telis, Kunbis, Saris and Dhangars.
    • Main aims of the movement were-
      • Social service.
      • Spread of education among women and lower classes.
    • Phule aimed at the complete abolition of the caste system and socio-economic equalities.
    • The movement gave a sense of identity to the deprived communities as a class against Brahmins who were seen as the exploiters.

    6.The Ramkrishna Movement

    • It was led by Ramkrishna Paramhansa.
    • The Brahmo Samaj appealed more to the intellectual elite in Bengal, while the average Bengali found more emotional satisfaction in the cult of bhakti and yoga so the movement found many followers.
    • Two objectives of the Ramakrishna movement were
      • To bring into existence a band of monks dedicated to a life of renunciation and practical spirituality.
      • In conjunction with lay disciples to carry on preaching, philanthropic and charitable works, looking upon all men, women and children, irrespective of caste, creed or colour, as veritable manifestations of the Divine.
    • The second objective was taken up by Swami Vivekananda after Ramakrishna’s death when he founded the Ramakrishna Mission in 1897.
    • Paramahamsa sought salvation through traditional ways of renunciation, meditation and bhakti amidst increasing westernisation and modernisation.

    7. The Servants of India Society.

    • Gopal Krishna Gokhale (1866-1915), founded the Servants of India Society in 1905 with the help of M.G. Ranade.
    • The aim of the society was-
      • to train national missionaries for the service of India;
      • to promote, by all constitutional means, the true interests of the Indian people;
      • to prepare a cadre of selfless workers who were to devote their lives to the cause of the country in a religious spirit.
    • The society chose to remain aloof from political activities and organisations like the Indian National Congress.

    8. Arya Samaj

    • Dayananda Saraswati (1824-1883) founded the movement.
    • Dayananda subscribed to the Vedic notion of chaturvarna system in which a person was not born in any caste but was identified according to the occupation the person followed.
    • The Arya Samaj fixed the minimum marriageable age at twenty-five years for boys and sixteen years for girls.
    • Inter-caste marriages and widow remarriages were also encouraged. Equal status for women was the demand of the Samaj, both in letter and in spirit.

    9. Sree Narayana Guru Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Movement

    • It was started by Sree Narayana Guru Swamy (1856- 1928) among the Ezhavas of Kerala.
    • Ezhavas were a backward caste of toddy-tappers and were considered to be untouchables, denied education and entry into temples.
    • The SNDP movement was an example of a regional movement born out of the conflict between the depressed classes and upper castes.
    • Sree Narayana Guru held all religions to be the same and condemned animal sacrifice besides speaking against divisiveness on the basis of caste, race or creed.
    • The movement as a whole brought transformative structural changes such as upward social mobility, a shift in the traditional distribution of power and a federation of ‘backward castes’ into a large conglomeration.

    10. Sef-Respect Movement

    • This movement was started by V. Ramaswamy Naicker, a Balija Naidu, in the mid-1920s.
    • The movement aimed at a rejection of the brahminical religion and culture which Naicker felt was the prime instrument of exploitation of the lower castes.
    • He sought to undermine the position of brahmin priests by formalising weddings without brahmin priests.

    11. Temple Entry Movement

    • K. Madhavan, a prominent social reformer and editor of Deshabhimani, took up the issue of temple entry with the Travancore administration. Nothing transpired.
    • In the meanwhile, Vaikom, in the northern part of Travancore, became a centre of agitation for temple entry.
    • In 1924, the Vaikom Satyagraha led by K.P. Kesava was launched in Kerala demanding the throwing open of Hindu temples and roads to the untouchables.
    • Gandhi undertook a tour of Kerala in support of the movement.
    • Leaders like P. Krishna Pillai and A.K. Gopalan were among the satyagrahis.
    • Finally, in 1936, the Maharaja of Travancore issued a proclamation throwing open all government-controlled temples to all Hindus.

    12. Aligarh Movement

    • A section of Muslims led by Syed Ahmed Khan (1817-1898) was ready to allow the official patronage to stimulate a process of growth among Indian Muslims through better education and employment opportunities.
    • He wanted to reconcile Western scientific education with the teachings of the Quran which were to be interpreted in the light of contemporary rationalism and science even though he also held the Quran to be the ultimate authority.
    • He said that religion should be adaptable with time or else it would become fossilised, and that religious tenet was not immutable.
    • He advocated a critical approach and freedom of thought and not complete dependence on tradition or custom.
    • He was also a zealous educationist-founded the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College (later, the Aligarh Muslim University) at Aligarh in 1875.
    • The Aligarh Movement emerged as a liberal, modern trend among the Muslim intelligentsia based in Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College, Aligarh.
    • It aimed at spreading-
      • (i) modern education among Indian Muslims without weakening their allegiance to Islam;
      • (ii) social reforms among Muslims relating to purdah, polygamy, widow remarriage, women’s education, slavery, divorce, etc.
    • The ideology of the followers of the movement was based on a liberal interpretation of the Quran and they sought to harmonise Islam with modern liberal culture.
    • They wanted to impart a distinct socio-cultural identity to Muslims on modern lines.

    13. The Deoband School (Darul Uloom)

    • The Deoband Movement was begun at the Darul Uloom,Deoband, in Saharanpur district (United Provinces) in 1866 by Mohammad Qasim Nanotavi (1832-80) and Rashid Ahmed Gangohi (1828-1905) to train religious leaders for the Muslim community.
    • The Deoband Movement was organised by the orthodox section among the Muslim ulema as a revivalist movement.
    • It has the twin objectives of propagating pure teachings of the Quran and Hadis among Muslims and keeping alive the spirit of jihad against the foreign rulers.
    • On the political front, the Deoband school welcomed the formation of the Indian National Congress and in 1888.
    • Shibli Numani, a supporter of the Deoband school, favoured the inclusion of English language and European sciences in the system of education.
    • He founded the Nadwatal Ulama and Darul Uloom in Lucknow in 1894-96. He believed in the idealism of the Congress and cooperation between the Muslims and the Hindus of India to create a state in which both could live amicably.

    14. Sikh Reform Movements.

    • The Sikh community could not remain untouched by the rising tide of rationalist and progressive ideas of the nineteenth century.
    • The Singh Sabha Movement was founded at Amritsar in 1873 with a two-fold objective—
      • to make available modern western education to the Sikhs, and
      • to counter the proselytising activities of Christian missionaries as well as the Brahmo Samajists, Arya Samajists and Muslim maulvis.
    • For the first objective, a network of Khalsa schools was established by the Sabha throughout Punjab.
    • In the second direction, everything that went against the Gurus’ teachings was rejected, and rites and customs considered to be consistent with Sikh doctrine were sought to be established.
    • The Akali movement (also known as Gurudwara Reform Movement) was an offshoot of the Singh Sabha Movement.
    • It aimed at liberating the Sikh gurudwaras from the control of corrupt Udasi mahants.
    • The government tried its repressive policies against the non-violent non-cooperation satyagraha launched by the Akalis in 1921 but had to bow before popular demands.
    • The government passed the Sikh Gurudwaras Act in 1922 (amended in 1925) which gave the control of gurudwaras to the Sikh masses to be administered through Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) as the apex body.
    • The Akali Movement was a regional movement but not a communal one.

    15. The Theosophical Movement

    • A group of westerners led by Madame H.P. Blavatsky and Colonel M.S. Olcott, who were inspired by Indian thought and culture, founded the Theosophical Society in New York City, the United States in 1875.
    • In 1882, they shifted their headquarters to Adyar, on the outskirts of Madras.
    • The society believed that a special relationship could be established between a person’s soul and God by contemplation, prayer, revelation, etc.
    • It accepted the Hindu beliefs in reincarnation and karma and drew inspiration from the philosophy of the Upanishads and Samkhya, yoga and Vedanta schools of thought.
    • It aimed to work for the universal brotherhood of humanity without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste or colour.
    • It opposed child marriage and advocated the abolition of caste discrimination, uplift of outcastes, improvement in the condition of widows.
    • In India, the movement became somewhat popular with the election of Annie Besant (1847-1933) as its president.
    • She laid the foundation of the Central Hindu College in Benaras in 1898 where both Hindu religion and Western scientific subjects were taught.
    • The Theosophical Society provided a common denominator for the various sects and fulfilled the urge of educated Hindus.
    • To an average Indian, the Theosophist philosophy seemed to be vague and lacking a positive programme; to that extent, its impact was limited to a small segment of the westernised class.
    • As religious revivalists, the Theosophists did not attain much success.
    • But as a movement of westerners glorifying Indian religious and philosophical traditions, it gave much-needed self-respect to the Indians fighting British colonial rule.
    • Viewed from another angle, the Theosophists also had the effect of giving a false sense of pride to the Indians in their outdated and sometimes backwards-looking traditions and philosophy.

     

     

    Important Newspapers associated with the freedom Struggle

       

     

        Name of the Paper             or journal

               

    		 Year and Place  of           Publication        

     

    Name of the Founder          or       Editor

                   
     

     

         Bengal Gazette

    		  

     

    1780, Calcutta

    		  

     

    James Augustus Hicky
    India Gazette 1787, Calcutta Henry Louis Vivian Derozio was associated with it
     

     

         Bombay Herald           (First Paper from                   Bombay)

    		 1789, Bombay ————
         Digdarshana

     

    (First Bengali Monthly)

    		  

     

    1818, Calcutta

    		  

     

    ———–
          

     

    Bengal Gazette        (First Bengali                    Newspaper)

     

    		 1818, Calcutta Harishchandra Ray
     

     

        Sambad Kaumudi

        (Weekly in Bengali)

     

    		 1821 Raja Ram Mohan Roy
     

     

       Mirat-ul-Akbar                   (First Journal in        Persian)

    		 1822, Calcutta Raja Ram Mohan Roy
            Banga-Duta            (A weekly in four languages- English, Bengali, Persian, Hindi) 1822, Calcutta Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Dwarkanath Tagore and others.
        Bombay Times   (From 1861 onwards, The Times of India)

     

     

    		 1838, Bombay Foundation laid by Robert Knight                            Started by Thomas Bennett

     

     
          Rast Goftar            (A Gujarati fortnightly) 1851 Dadabhai Naoroji
          Hindu Patriot 1853, Calcutta Girishchandra Ghosh
     

     

             Bengalee

    		  

     

    1862, Calcutta

    		 Girishchandra Ghosh

     

    (Taken over by S.N. Banerjea in 1879)
        Amrit Bazar Patrika 1868, Jessore District Sisirkumar Ghosh and Motilal Ghosh
        Bangadarshana              (In Begali) 1873, Calcutta Bankimchandra Chatterji
     

     

        Indian Statesman

    (Later, The Statesman)

    		 1875, Calcutta Started by Robert Knight
     

     

     The Hindu (In Egnlish)

    (Started as weekly)

    		 1878, Madras G.S. Aiyar, Viraraghavachari and Subha Rao Pandit
     

     

       Tribune (daily)

    		 1881, Lahore Dayal Singh Majeetia
       Kesari(Marathi daily)             and    Maharatta (English            weekly) 1881, Bombay Tilak, Chiplunkar, Agarkar
    Swadeshmitran                  (A Tamil paper) Madras  

     

    G.S. Aiyar
     Paridasak (a weekly) 1886 Bipin Chandra Pal (publisher)
     

     

          Yugantar                          

    		 1906, Bengal  

     

    Barindra Kumar Ghosh andBhupendra Dutta

     
     

     

       Indian Sociologist

    		  

     

    London

    		  

     

    Shyamji Krishnavarma
     

     

        Bande Matram

    		  

     

    Paris

    		  

     

    Madam Bhikaji Kama
     

     

           Talwar

    		  

     

    Berlin

    		  

     

    Virendranath Chattopadhyay
     

     

          Ghadar

    		  

     

    Vancouver

    		  

     

    Ghadar Party
     

     

         Bombay Chronicle               (a daily)

    		  

     

    1913, Bombay

    		  

     

    Started by Pherozeshah Mehta
     

     

    The Hindustan Times

    		 1920, Delhi Founded by K. M. Panikkar as a part of the Akali Dal Movement
     

     

    Leader (in English)

    		      ———- Madan Mohan Malaviya
     

     

    Bahishkrit Bharat (Marathi fortnightly)

    		  

     

    1927

    		  

     

    B. R. Ambedkar
     

     

       Kudi Arasu (Tamil)

    		  

     

    1910

    		  

     

    E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker (Periyar)
     

     

    Bandi Jivan

    		  

     

    Bengal

    		  

     

    Sachindranath Sanyal
     

     

    National Herald

    		  

     

    1938

    		  

     

    Started by Jawaharlal Nehru

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  • Important Policies and Schemes Regarding Education

     

    30th Apr 2021

    1. SHREYAS Scheme: Scheme for Higher Education Youth in Apprenticeship and Skill (SHREYAS)

    Launched by- Ministry of Human Resource Development

    Important objectives-

    • Improve employability: The scheme aims to improve the employability of introducing employment relevance to the learning process of higher education.
    • Linking education with industry: Close link between education and industry/service sector.
    • Establishing earn while you learn the system into education

    Operation of the scheme-

    • It will be operated in conjunction with the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme.
    • The scheme will be implemented by the Sector Skill Council.

    2.  NEAT Scheme- National Educational Alliance for Technology (NEAT) 

    Launched by- Ministry of Human Resource Development

    Objective- Objective is to use Artificial Intelligence to make learning more personalised and customised as per the requirements of the learner.

    • It is a PPP based scheme.
    • MHRD would act as a facilitator to ensure that the solutions are freely available to a large number of economically backward students.
    • MHRD would create and maintain a National NEAT platform that would provide one-stop access to these technological solutions.
    • EdTech companies would be responsible for developing solutions and manage the registration of learners through the NEAT portal.

    3. EQUIP- ‘Education Quality Upgradation and Inclusion Programme (EQUIP)’

    • It is a Five-year vision plan, finalised and released by HRD Ministry.
    • The ten Expert Groups have suggested more than 50 initiatives that would transform the higher education sector completely.
    • The groups have suggested 10 goals for the higher education sector.
    • Key Goals are-
      • Double the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education and resolve the geographically and socially skewed access to higher education institutions in India.
      • Position at least 50 Indian institutions among the top-1000 global universities.
      • Double the employability of the students passing out of higher education
      • Achieve a quantum increase in investment in higher education.

      Important Initiatives launched in 2019-

    • DHRUV- The Pradhan Mantri Innovative Learning Programme –
      • DHRUV has been started by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India to identify and encourage talented children to enrich their skills and knowledge.
      • In centres of excellence across the country, gifted children will be mentored and nurtured by renowned experts in different areas, so that they can reach their full potential.
      • The program aims to cover two areas namely Science and Arts.
      • The program is to be launched from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
    • NISHTHA- National Initiative for School Heads and Teachers Holistic Advancement.
      • Its aim is to build capacities of 42 Lakh government teachers across the country.
      • The basic objective of this massive training programme ‘NISHTHA’ is to motivate and equip teachers to encourage and foster critical thinking in students.
    • PARAMARSH- Paramarsh’ for Mentoring NAAC Accreditation Aspirant Institutions to promote Quality Assurance in Higher Education
      • The scheme will be operationalized through a “Hub & Spoke” model wherein the Mentor Institution, called the “Hub” is centralized and will have the responsibility of guiding the Mentee institution through the secondary branches the “Spoke”.
    • SHAGUN– Union HRD Minister launches Integrated Online junction for School Education ‘Shagun’
      • It is one of the world’s largest Integrated Online Junction for – School Education.
      • It is an over-arching initiative to improve the school education system by creating a junction for all online portals and websites relating to various activities of the Department of School Education and Literacy in the Government of India and all States and Union Territories.
    • UDISE+ Unified District Information System for Education Plus – To ensure quality, credibility and timely availability of information from all the schools in the country.

    4. RISE– Revitalising Infrastructure and Systems in Higher Education (RISE).

    • Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) scope was expanded to meet the rising financial requirements of educational infrastructure in the country
    • The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the proposal for expanding the scope of Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) by enhancing its capital base to Rs. 10,000 crore and tasking it to mobilise Rs. 1,00,000 crore for Revitalizing Infrastructure and Systems in Education (RISE) by 2022.
    • The CCEA has also approved that the modalities for raising money from the market through Government guaranteed bonds and commercial borrowings.
    • In order to expand this facility to all institutions, especially to the institutions set up after 2014, Central Universities which have very little internal resources, and the school education/health education infrastructure like AllMSs, Kendriya Vidyalayas, the CCEA has approved five windows for financing under HEFA.

    5. IMPRESS- Impactful Policy Research in Social Sciences

    • Under the Scheme, 1500 research projects will be awarded for 2 years to support the social science research in the higher educational institutions and to enable research to guide policymaking.
    • The broad objective is to identify and fund research proposals in social sciences with maximum impact on governance and society.

    6. SPARC- Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration.

    • SPARC scheme aims at improving the research ecosystem of India’s higher educational institutions by facilitating academic and research collaborations between Indian Institutions and the best institutions in the world.
    • At a total cost of Rs.418 Cr for implementation up to 31.3.2020 and Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur is the National Coordinating Institute to implement the SPARC programme.
    • Only such Indian institutes can apply which are in top 100 NIRF ranking or top 100 NIRF subject ranking.

     7. LEAP-Leadership for Academicians Programme

    • It is a flagship leadership development training programme.
    • It is a three weeks Flagship leadership development training programme (2 weeks domestic and one-week foreign training) for second level academic functionaries in public-funded higher education institutions.
    • The implementation of LEAP Programme will be through 15 NIRF top-ranked Indian Institutions.

    8. ARPIT- Annual Refresher Programme In Teaching (ARPIT)

    • It is a major and unique initiative of online professional development of 15 lakh higher education faculty using the MOOCs platform SWAYAM.
    • For implementing ARPIT, 75 discipline-specific institutions have been identified and notified as National Resource Centres (NRCs) in the first phase.

    9. Pradhan Mantri Vidya Lakshmi Karyakram- It is a first of its kind portal for students seeking Education Loan.

    • A fully IT-based Student Financial Aid Authority has been proposed through the ‘Pradhan Mantri Vidya Lakshmi Karyakram.
    • This initiative aims to bring on board all Banks providing Educational Loans.

    10. Institutes of Eminence Scheme-

    • The aim of the scheme is to bring higher educational institutions selected as IoEs in top 500 of the world ranking in the next 10 years and in top 100 eventually overtime.
    • The salient features are available in the UGC Guidelines and the UGC Regulations under which greater autonomy viz.
      • To admit foreign students up to 30% of admitted students.
      • To recruit foreign faculty up to 25% of faculty strength.
      • To offer online courses up to 20% of its programmes; to enter into academic collaboration with top 500 in the world ranking Institutions without permission of UGC.
      • Free to fix and charge fees from foreign students without restriction.
      • The flexibility of course structure in terms of a number of credit hours and years to take a degree; complete flexibility in fixing of curriculum and syllabus, etc. has been provided to IoEs.
    • Each Public Institution selected as IoE will be provided financial assistance up to Rs. 1000 Cr over a period of five years.
    • The private institution will not be given any funds.

    11. Samagra Shiksha Scheme–

    • The scheme is an overarching programme for the school education sector extending from pre-school to class XII and aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education at all levels of school education.
    • It envisages the ‘school’ as a continuum from pre-school, primary, upper primary, secondary to senior secondary levels and subsumes the three erstwhile centrally sponsored schemes- Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and Teacher Education(TE).
    • Bridging gender and social category gaps at all levels of school education is one of the major objectives of the scheme.
    • The scheme reaches out to girls and children belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), minority communities and transgender.
    • The Samagra Shiksha scheme supports States for a strengthening of school infrastructure including in rural areas.
    • The scheme provides for the infrastructural strengthening of existing government schools based on the gaps determined by Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) and proposals received from respective States/UTs.

    12. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan-

    • Universalizing elementary education across the countryRashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan, Vidhyanjali, PBBB.
    • Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme in partnership with State Governments for universalizing elementary education across the country. Its overall goals include universal access and retention, bridging of gender and social category gaps in education and enhancement of learning levels of children.
    • SSA provides for a variety of interventions, including inter alia, the opening of new schools, construction of schools and additional classrooms, toilets and drinking water, provisioning for teachers, periodic teacher training and academic resource support, textbooks and support for learning achievement. These provisions are made in accordance with norms and standards and free entitlements as mandated by the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009. 

    13. Rashtriya Madhyamic Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA)-

    • It aims to raise the minimum level of education to class X and universalize access to secondary education.
    • To ensure good-quality secondary education with a focus on Science, Mathematics and English; and
    • To reduce the gender, social and regional gaps in enrolments, dropouts and improving retention.
    • To make sure that the secondary schools conform to prescribed norms, removing gender, socio-economic and disability barriers, etc. Important physical facilities are provided which include, (i) additional classrooms, (ii) laboratories, (iii) libraries, (iv)art and crafts room, (v) toilet blocks, (vi) drinking water provisions, (vii) electricity / telephone/internet connectivity and (viii) disabled-friendly provisions. Improvement in quality through, (i) appointment of additional teachers to improve PTR (ii) in-service training of teachers, (iii) ICT enabled education, (iv)curriculum reforms and (v) teaching learning reforms. Equity aspects addressed through (i) special focus in micro-planning, (ii) preference to areas with concentration of SC/ST/minority for opening of schools, (iii) special enrolment drive for the weaker section, (iv more female teachers in schools and (v) separate toilet blocks for girls. 

    14. Rashtriya Ucchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA)-

    • It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS), launched in 2013. It aims at providing strategic funding to eligible state higher educational institutions based on their progress.
    • The key objectives of RUSA are to improve access, equity and quality in higher education through planned development of higher education at the state level.
    • The central funding (in the ratio of 60:40 for general category States, 90:10 for special category states and 100% for union territories) would be norm based and outcome dependent.
    • The funding flows from the central ministry through the state governments/union territories to the State Higher Education Councils before reaching the identified institutions.

     15. Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA)-

    • It aims at-
      • Building institutional capacity in Institutes of higher education in research & training relevant to the needs of rural India.
      • As a flagship programme of the Ministry of HRD, it aims to link the Higher Education Institutions with a set of at least (5) villages, so that these institutions can contribute to the economic and social betterment of these village communities using their knowledge base.
      • Provide rural India with professional resource support from institutes of higher education, especially those which have acquired academic excellence in the field of Science, Engineering & Technology and Management.
    • The UBA 2.0 was officially launched on 25th April, 2018

    16. SWAYAM-

    • Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds is an indigenous IT platform for hosting the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs).
    • SWAYAM is designed to achieve the three cardinal principles of Education Policy viz., access, equity and quality.
    • It targets those students who could not complete their studies and professionals who wish to upgrade their knowledge.
    • This is done through an indigenous developed IT platform that facilitates hosting of all the courses, taught in classrooms from 9th class till post-graduation to be accessed by anyone, anywhere at any time.

    17. Saksham Scholarship Scheme-

    • The scheme was launched in 2014-15, with the objective of encouraging economically weaker differently-abled students to pursue technical education at Diploma and Degree levels.
    • The scholarship amount of Rs.30,000 is provided towards tuition fee reimbursement and Rs.20000 as contingency allowance for 1000 persons/annum.

    18. Swayam Prabha-

    • The SWAYAM PRABHA is a group of 32 DTH channels devoted to telecasting of high-quality educational programmes on a 24X7 basis using the GSAT-15 satellite.
    • Every day, there will be new content for at least (4) hours which would be repeated 5 more times in a day, allowing the students to choose the time of their convenience.
    • Information and Library Network (INFLIBNET), an autonomous Inter-University Centre (IUC) of UGC maintains the web portal.
    • The DTH Channels shall cover the following:
      • Higher Education.
      • School education (9-12 levels)
      • Curriculum-based courses that can meet the needs of life-long learners of Indian citizens in India and abroad.
      • Assist students (class 11th & 12th) prepare for competitive exams.

    19.Shala Darpan Portal-

    • It is an E-Governance school automation and management system for Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS).
    • This portal has been developed for information sharing and knowledge dissemination for employees and students across schools and offices of NVS.

    20. All School Monitoring Individual Tracing Analysis (ASMITA)-

    • Shala Asmita Yojana (SAY) aims to track the educational journey of close to 25 crore school students from Class I to Class XII across 15 lakh schools in the country.
    • Students will be tracked through their Aadhaar numbers and incase those not having a unique number will be provided with it.
    • This online database will carry information about student attendance and enrolment, mid-day meal service, learning outcomes and infrastructural facilities, among other things, on one platform for both private and government schools. 

    21. Global Initiative of Academic Network (GIAN)-

    • It is intended to enlarge and deepen the interface of India’s institutions of higher learning and globally recognised institutions of academic eminence.
    • Under it, faculty from highly rated institutions abroad will visit India, interact and partner with their counterparts and with students, and deliver specialised courses. 

    22. IMPRINT India-

    • It is MHRD supported Pan-IIT + IISc joint initiative to address the major science and engineering challenges that India must address and champion to enable, empower and embolden the nation for inclusive growth and self-reliance.
    • This novel initiative with a twofold mandate is aimed at:
      • Developing new engineering education policy.
      • Creating a road map to pursue engineering challenges
    • IMPRINT provides the overarching vision that guides research into areas that are predominantly socially relevant.

    23. Ishan Uday and Ishan Vikas-

    • Ishan Vikas and Ishan Uday schemes are being implemented for the students of the North-Eastern region.
    • Ishan Vikas is coordinated by IIT, Guwahati.
    • Under it selected school children from the North Eastern States  are  brought in close contact with the Indian Institute of Technology (IITs), Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs) and  National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) during the vacation period
    • Ishan Uday Scholarship Scheme is administered by the University Grants Commission (UGC). Under the scheme, the scholarship is provided to the economically backward students from the North East Region for pursuing general degree courses, technical and professional degree courses.
    • It is envisaged to provide 10000 scholarships annually.

    24. Shodhganga-

    • It is the repository developed to contain an electronic copy of all M.Phil/PhD thesis to make it accessible to all institutions.
    • The task of setting-up of this repository is assigned to Information and Library Network (INFLIBNET), an interuniversity centre of the University Grants Commission (UGC).
    • It also provides access to Indian theses and dissertations in open access to the worldwide academic community and making visibility of Indian research to other countries.

    25. Vidya Virta Abhiyan-

    • It is to encourage varsities to display portraits of Param Veer Chakra-decorated soldiers.
    • The objective is to instil a sense of nationalism and patriotism among the students
    • Universities and educational institutions across the country will have a wall of heroes, depicting portraits of soldiers who showed extraordinary courage in defending the nation.

    26. Diksha Portal-

    • HRD ministry has launched Diksha Portal (diksha.gov.in) for providing a digital platform to a teacher to make their lifestyle more digital.
    • It will serve as National Digital Infrastructure for Teachers.
    • Diksha portal will enable, accelerate and amplify solutions in the realm of teacher education. It will aid teachers to learn and train themselves for which assessment resources will be available.

    27. Margadarshan-

    • The scheme aims to provide mentoring to institutes by a well-performing Institute.
    • Institutions of repute will act as a mentor with its existing facilities to serve as the hub to guide and disperse knowledge to 10 technical institutions.
    • It is under the purview of All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), a national-level apex advisory body under the Ministry of Human Resource and Development.
    • Mentor institute also provides services to faculty for self-improvement.
    • Government-owned, aided and self-financed institutes and universities approved by AICTE can participate.

    28. JIGYASA-

    • It is a student- scientist connect programme by the Ministry of HRD and Ministry of S&T.
    • It focuses on connecting school students and scientists so as to extend student‘s classroom learning to research laboratory based learning by visiting CSIR laboratories and by participating in mini-science projects.
    • CSIR and Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) are collaborating to implement this programme.

    29. Maitreyi Yatra-

    • It is an exclusive student exchange programme for J&K organized by Ministry of Human Resource development.
    • It provides a good opportunity for the youth of J&K to be acquainted with culture, language and development story of different parts of the country.

    30. Madhyamik and Ucchatar Shiksha Kosh (MUSK)-

    • It is a non-lapsable pool in the Public Account for secondary and higher, education known as “Madhyamik and Uchchtar Shiksha Kosh” (MUSK) into which all proceeds of “Secondary and Higher Education Cess” will be credited.
    • The funds arising from the MUSK would be utilized for schemes in the education sector which would be available for the benefit of students of secondary and higher education, all over the country.
    • The MUSK would be maintained as a Reserve Fund in the non-interest bearing section of the Public Accounts of India.
    • The major benefit will be enhancing access to secondary and higher education through the availability of adequate resources while ensuring that the amount does not lapse at the end of the financial year.

    31. National Testing Agency (NTA)-

    • It has been established as a premier, specialist, autonomous and self-sustained testing organization to conduct entrance examinations for admission/fellowship in higher educational institutions.
    • It will be registered as a society under the Indian Societies Registration Act.
    • It will act an autonomous and self-sustained premier testing organization chaired by an eminent educationist appointed by Ministry of HRD.
    • It would conduct those entrance examinations which are currently being conducted by the CBSE (NEET, JEE), AICTE etc, thereby relieving them of this responsibility.

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  • Important Seas and Mountain Ranges of the World

     

    29th Apr 2021

    Tasman Sea

    The Tasman Sea is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) across and about 2,800 kilometres (1,700 mi) from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, who was the first recorded European to encounter New Zealand and Tasmania. The British explorer Captain James Cook later extensively navigated the Tasman Sea in the 1770s as part of his first voyage of exploration.

    Persian Gulf

    This inland sea of some 251,000 square kilometres (96,912 sq mi) is connected to the Gulf of Oman in the east by the Strait of Hormuz; and its western end is marked by the major river delta of the Shatt al-Arab, which carries the waters of the Euphrates and the Tigris. Its length is 989 kilometres (615 miles), with Iran covering most of the northern coast and Saudi Arabia most of the southern coast. The Persian Gulf is about 56 km (35 mi) wide at its narrowest, in the Strait of Hormuz. The waters are overall very shallow, with a maximum depth of 90 metres (295 feet) and an average depth of 50 metres (164 feet).

    Countries with a coastline on the Persian Gulf are (clockwise, from the north): Iran; Oman’s exclave Musandam; the United Arab Emirates; Saudi Arabia; Qatar, on a peninsula off the Saudi coast; Bahrain, on an island; Kuwait; and Iraq in the northwest. Various small islands also lie within the Persian Gulf, some of which are the subject of territorial disputes between the states of the region.

    Mediterranean Sea
    The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant. The sea is sometimes considered a part of the Atlantic Ocean, although it is usually identified as a separate body of water.

    The countries with coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea are

    1. Albania
    2. Algeria
    3. Bosnia and Herzegovina
    4. Croatia
    5. Cyprus
    6. Egypt
    7. France
    8. Greece
    9. Israel
    10. Italy
    11. Lebanon
    12. Libya
    13. Malta
    14. Morocco
    15. Monaco
    16. Montenegro
    17. Slovenia
    18. Spain
    19. Syria
    20. Tunisia
    21. Tukey

    In addition, the Gaza Strip (“Palestine” has been associated with the geographical area that currently covers the State of Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip) and the British Overseas Territories of Gibraltar and Akrotiri and Dhekelia have coastlines on the sea.

    Black Sea

    The Black Sea is a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean. It has an area of 436,400 km2 (168,500 sq mi) (not including the Sea of Azov). The roughly oval-shaped Black Sea occupies a large basin strategically situated at the southeastern extremity of Europe but connected to the distant waters of the Atlantic Ocean by the Bosporus (which emerges from the sea’s southwestern corner), the Sea of Marmara, the Dardanelles, the Aegean Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea.

    Countries bordering the Black Sea are-

    1. Ukraine
    2. Russia
    3. Georgia
    4. Turkey
    5. Bulgaria
    6. Romania

     

    Caspian Sea

    The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed inland body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world’s largest lake or a full-fledged sea. It is in an endorheic basin (a basin without outflows) located between Europe and Asia.

    The Caspian Sea is bordered on the northwest by Russia, on the northeast by Kazakhstan, on the west by Azerbaijan, on the southeast by Turkmenistan, and on the south by Iran. It is classified as both a sea and a lake, and it is the largest enclosed inland body of water in the world.

    1. Azerbaijan
    2. Iran
    3. Kazakhstan
    4. Russia
    5. Turkmenistan

     

    Red Sea

    The Red Sea (also the Erythraean Sea) is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. To the north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez (leading to the Suez Canal). The sea is underlain by the Red Sea Rift which is part of the Great Rift Valley.

    The salinity of the Red Sea is greater than the world average, approximately 4 percent. This is due to several factors:

    • Lack of significant rivers or streams draining into the sea.
    • Limited connection with the Indian Ocean, which has lower water salinity.
    • High rate of evaporation and very little precipitation.

    The six countries bordering the Red Sea proper are:

     

    Eastern shore:

    • Saudi Arabia
    • Yemen
    • Western shore:
      • Egypt
      • Sudan
      • Eritrea
      • Djibouti

    Aral Sea

    The Aral Sea was an endorheic lake lying between Kazakhstan (Aktobe and Kyzylorda Regions) in the north and Uzbekistan (Karakalpakstan autonomous region) in the south. The name roughly translates as “Sea of Islands”, referring to over 1,100 islands that once dotted its waters; in the Turkic languages aral means “island, archipelago”.

     

    South China Sea

    The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Karimata and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around 3,500,000 square kilometres (1,400,000 sq mi). The area’s importance largely results from one-third of the world’s shipping sailing through its waters and that it is believed to hold huge oil and gas reserves beneath its seabed.

    It is located

    • south of China;
    • east of Vietnam and Cambodia;
    • northwest of the Philippines;
    • east of the Malay peninsula and Sumatra, up to the Strait of Malacca in the western, and
    • north of the Bangka–Belitung Islands and Borneo

    Ross sea

    The Ross Sea is a deep bay of the Southern Ocean in Antarctica, between Victoria Land and Marie Byrd Land. It derives its name from the British explorer James Ross who visited this area in 1841. To the west of the sea lies Ross Island and to the east Roosevelt Island, while the southernmost part is covered by the Ross Ice Shelf, and is about 200 miles (320 km) from the South Pole.

    Weddel sea

    The Weddell Sea is part of the Southern Ocean and contains the Weddell Gyre. Its land boundaries are defined by the bay formed from the coasts of Coats Land and the Antarctic Peninsula. The easternmost point is Cape Norvegia at Princess Martha Coast, Queen Maud Land. To the east of Cape Norvegia is the King Haakon VII Sea. Much of the southern part of the sea is covered by a permanent, massive ice shelf field, the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf .
    The sea is named after the Scottish sailor James Weddell, who entered the sea in 1823 and originally named it after King George IV; it was renamed in Weddell’s honour in 1900.

     

    Mountain Ranges

    Sr. No. Mountain Range Important/Highest Peaks Location Description
    1 Rocky Mountains Mt. Elbert (highest peak in the Rockies) North America It is one of the longest fold mountains in the world and extends from Canada to Western US (New Mexico State)
    2 Appalachian Mountains Mt. Mitchell, North Carolina, US (highest peak of Appalachian Mountains) North America It is a fold mountain with rich in mineral resources
    3 Alps Mont Blanc (French –Italian border) Europe It is a folded mountain and source for rivers like Danube, Rhine, etc.
    4 Sierra Nevada Mt. Whitney California, USA Habitat for many Red Indian tribes
    5 Alaska Range Mt. McKinley North America Mt. McKinley highest peak in North America
    6 Altai Mountains Belukha mountain Central Asia Young folded mountain which extends from Kazakhstan to northern China.
    7 Andes Mountains Mt. Aconcagua South America Longest mountain chain in the world
    8 Atlas Mountains Mt. Toubkal Northwestern Africa Young fold mountain spreading over Morocco and Tunisia.
    9 Drakensberg Mountains Mt. Lesotho South Africa Young folded mountain
    10. Caucasus Mountain Mt. Elbrus Europe Located between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea
    11. Ural Mountains Mt. Narodnaya Russia This mountain range act as a boundary between Europe and Asia.
    12. Hindukush Mountains Mt. Trich Mir Pakistan and Afghanistan Folded mountain with rugged topography which makes it difficult for transportation.
    13. Himalayas Mt. Everest Asia Young fold mountains in Asia which separates Indian sub-continent from Asian plains
    14. Arakan Yoma Mt. Kennedy peak Myanmar It extends from north to south direction. Shifting cultivation is practised.
    15. Kunlun Mountains Mt. Muztag North of Tibetan plateau and western China It is one of the young folded mountains.
    16. Vosges Mt. Grand Ballon Eastern France, Europe Famous for the cultivation of grapes and manufacture of wines.
    17. Great Dividing Range Mt. Kosciuszko Australia This range is the source for the rivers Darling and Murray.

     

    Mountains-in-the-world

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  • Polity Titbits: Constitutional Developments under British/ British Administrative Measures

     

    28th Apr 2021

    In India, the British Government passed various laws and acts before the formulation of the constitution. The Regulating Act of 1773 was enacted as a first step to regulate the working of East India Company. However, the Indian Independence Act, 1947 finally ended the British rule in India and declared India as an independent and sovereign nation with effect from August 15, 1947.

    The Regulating Act of 1773

    • The Regulating Act of 1773 was enacted as a first step to regulate the working of East India Company
    • The Gov of Bengal was made Gov General of Bengal. He was assisted by 4 people. This 4+1 becomes became Supreme Council of Bengal also known as the GG’s Exec Council.
    • A Supreme Court was established in Bengal comprising of a chief justice and three other judges

    Pitts’s India Act, 1784

    • We see a shrinking of the Council from 4 members to 3 members. Hence 3+1 is the renewed GG’s Executive Council.
    • Board of control was established to control the civil, military and revenue affairs of the company
    • The Court of Proprietors was no more empowered to revoke or suspend the resolution of the directors approved by the Board of Control.

    Charter Act of 1833

    • The Governor-General of Bengal was made the Governor-General of India. The first Governor-General of India was William Bentinck.
    • He was given legislative powers over entire India including the Governors of Bombay and Madras.
    • The company lost the status of a commercial body and was made purely an administrative body.
    • This Act. was the first law to distinguish between the executive and legislative powers of the Gov General.
    • A 4th member was introduced who could only discuss and vote only on the legislative matter.
    • Council of India = [(3+1) +  1(4th member also called the Law Member)]
    • The first such Law Member was Macaulay. This Council of India was, to a certain extent, the Legislature. Strength of the Executive remained 3+1 .

    Charter Act of 1853

    • From here on, we see a gradual increase in the membership of the Council and further separation of powers.
    • Access to compete in civil services for Indians.
    • It brought out the separation in the legislative and executive functions of the Governor-General’s council.
    • The 4th member (Law Member)was included as a full-time Member in the GG’s Executive Council. His position was taken by 6 Members referred to as Legislative Councillors.
    • Council of India = [(4+1) + 6(Legislative Councillors) + 1 Commander-in-Chief]
    • 6 Councillors were,
      1. 1 Chief Judge of SC of Calcutta.
      2. 1 Judge of SC of Calcutta
      3. 4 members of the ICS
    •  

    Government of India Act, 1858

    • India was to be governed by and in the name of the crown through Viceroy, who would be the representative of the crown in India.
    • The designation of Governor-General of India was changed to Viceroy. Thus, Governor-General Lord Canning became the first Viceroy of India
    • Board of Control and Board of directors were abolished transferring all their powers to British Crown
    • A new office ‘secretary of state was created with a 15 member council of India to assist him. Indian Councils Act, 1861
    • The major focus of the act was on administration in India. It was the first step to associate Indians to legislation.
    • The act provided that the viceroy should nominate some Indians as non-official members in the legislative council.
    • The legislative powers of Madras and Bombay presidencies were restored.
      It provided for the establishment of legislative councils for Bengal, North-Western Frontier Province (NWFP) and Punjab.
    • Viceroy was empowered to issue ordinances during an emergency without the concurrence of the legislative council.

    Indian Councils Act of 1861

    • After 1861, the Council was called Imperial Legislative Council(ILC) or Indian Legislative Council(ILC). The Executive was further enhanced by 1 member.
    • The Viceroy now had the power to Nominate 6 – 12 Non-Official members in the Legislature who would be holding the office for 2 years.
    • ILC = [(5+1) + (Additional Members -> Minimum 6, Maximum 12)]
    • The composition of Additional Members was as follows:
      1. 50% Nominated Official Members
      2. 50% Nominated Non-Official Members
    • The Act thus sowed the seed for the future Legislative as an independent entity separate from the Executive Council.

    Indian Councils Act of 1892 

    • Due to the excessive demand of the Congress, the Additional Members were increased. Additional Members -> Minimum 10, Maximum 12.
    • ILC = [(5+1) + (Additional Members -> Minimum 10, Maximum 16)]

    The composition of Additional Members was as follows:

    • Nominated official members (those nominated by the Governor-General and were government officials)
    • 5 Nominated Non-Officials (nominated by the Governor-General but were not government officials)
    • 4 Nominated by the Provincial Legislative Councils of Bengal Presidency, Bombay Presidency, Madras Presidency and North-Western Provinces.
    • 1 Nominated by the Chamber of Commerce in Calcutta.

    Indian Councils Act of 1909: The Morley-Minto reforms

    • It introduced for the first time the method of election.
    • The additional members of the Governor-General Council were increased from 16 to a maximum of 60.
    • The composition of Additional Members was as follows:
      1. Nominated official members (those nominated by the Governor-General and were government officials)
      2. Nominated non-official members (nominated by the Governor-General but were not government officials)
      3. Elected Members (elected by different categories of Indian people)
    • It provided for the association of Indians in the executive council of the Viceroy and Governors. Satyendra Prasad Sinha joined the Viceroy’s executive council as a law member.
    • It introduced Separate Electorate for Muslims.

    Indian Councils Act of 1919: The Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms

    • Central Legislature thereafter called the Indian Legislature was reconstituted on the enlarged and more representative character.
    • The act set up bicameral legislatures at the centre consisting of two houses- the Council of the States (Upper House) and the Central Legislative Assembly (Lower House).
    • It consisted of the Council of State consisted of 60 members of whom 34 members were elected and the Legislative Assembly consisted of about 145 members, of whom about 104 were elected and the rest nominated.
    • Of the nominated members, about 26 were officials.  The powers of both the Chambers of the Indian Legislature were identical except that the power to vote supply was granted only to the Legislative Assembly.
    • The central and provincial subjects were demarcated and separated.
    • The Provincial subjects were further divided into Transferred Subjects and Reserved Subjects, the legislative council had no say in the latter. This was known as the system of Diarchy.
    • The principle of separate electorate was further extended to Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians and Europeans.
    • It provided for the appointment of a statutory commission to report the working of the act after ten years

    The Government of India Act 1935

    • It marked the next great stride in the evolution of the Legislatures.
    • The Federal Legislature was to consist of two Houses, the House of Assembly called the Federal  Assembly and the Council of States.
    • The Federal Assembly was to consist of 375 members, 250 to represent Provinces and 125 to represent the Indian States, nominated by the Rulers.
    • The representatives of the Provinces were to be elected not directly but indirectly by the Provincial Assemblies.
    • The term of the Assembly was fixed as five years.
    • The Council of State was to be a permanent body not subject to dissolution, but one-third of the members should retire every three years.
    • It was to consist of 260 members.  104 representatives of Indian States, six to be nominated by the Governor-General, 128 to be directly elected by territorial communal constituencies and 22 to be set apart for smaller minorities, women and depressed classes.
    • The two Houses had in general equal powers but demands for supply votes and financial Bills were to originate in the Assembly.
    • The principle of Separate Electorate was extended to depressed classes, women and workers.
    • Provided for the formation of Reserve bank of India

    Indian Independence Act, 1947

    • The act formalized the Lord Mountbatten Plan regarding the independence of India on June 3, 1947.
    • The Act ended the British rule in India and declared India as an independent and sovereign nation with effect from August 15, 1947.
    • Provided for the partition of India into two dominions of India and Pakistan
    • The office of Viceroy was abolished and a Governor-General was to be appointed in each of the dominions
    • The Constituent Assemblies of the two dominions were to have powers to legislate for their respective territories.
    • Princely states were free to join any of the two dominions or to remain independent.

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  • Polity Titbits: Important Governor Generals and Viceroys

     

    27th Apr 2021

    • With almost absolute power the Governor-General and viceroy played a significant role in the shaping history of the country. Following are some of these important figures and significant events and major reforms carried out by them.

              Governor Generals of                            Bengal/India

                          (Period)

      		                   Important events/Reforms

      Warren Hastings

      (1773-1785)

      Regulating Act of 1773.

      First Governor-General of Bengal.

      End of the dual system of administration (1765-1772).

      Supreme Court at Calcutta.

      Wrote Introduction to the first English translation of Gita.

      Founded Madarasa Aliya at Calcutta.

      Lord Cornwallis

      (1786-1793)

      Separation of three branches of service: commercial, judicial and revenue.

      Permanent Land Revenue Settlement of Bengal-1793.

      Reformed, modernised and rationalised the civil service.

      Introduced the Cornwallis Code.

      Sanskrit College, Varanasi.

      Lord Wellesley

      (1797-1805)

      Introduction of Subsidiary Alliance System.

      Fourth Anglo-Mysore war.

      Fort William College, Calcutta.

      Lord Hastings

      (1813-1823)

      Anglo-Nepal War-(1814-16)

      Third Anglo-Maratha War-(1817-19) and dissolution of Maratha confederacy.

      Introduction of Ryotwari System of Thomas Munro, Governor of Madras-1820.

      Lord William Bentinck

      (1828-1835)

      Charter Act of 1833.

      Abolition of Sati-1829.

      Resolution of 1835 and Education reforms and introduction of English as the official language.

      The annexation of Mysore-1831, Coorg, and Central Cachar-1831.

      Lord Dalhousie

      (1848-1856)

      Introduction of the Doctrine of Lapse and annexations of Satara-1848, Jaitpur and Sambhalpur-1849, Udaipur-1852, Jhansi-1853, Nagpur-1854 and Awadh-1856.

      Wood’s Dispatch of 1854.

      Railway Minute of 1853.

      Telegraph and Postal reforms.

      Widow Remarriage Act-1856.

      Lord Canning

      (1856-1857)

      		 Establishment of universities at Bombay, Madras and Calcutta.

      Mutiny of 1857.

             Governor-General                            and

               Viceroy of India

                      (Period)

      		                                Important events/Reforms
       Lord Canning

      (1858-1862)

      		 Transfer of control from East India Company to the Crown by the Government of India Act 1858

      Indian Councils Act-1861

      Lord Mayo

      (1869-1872)

      Opening of Rajkot College in Kathiawad and Mayo College at Ajmer for political training of Indian Princes.

      Statistical Survey of India was established.

      Department of Agriculture and Commerce was established.

      Introduction of state railways.

      Lord Lytton

      (1876-1880)

      The great famine of 1876 affecting Bombay, Madras, Mysore, Hyderabad, Central India and Punjab.

      Appointment of Famine Commission under the presidency of Richard Strachey.

      Vernacular Press Act was passed- 1878.

      The Arms Act-1878.

      Lord Ripon

      (1880-1884)

      Education Commission 1882 under William Hunter-1882.

      Ilbert Bill controversy.

      Repeal of Vernacular Press Act in 1882.

      The First Factory Act in 1881 to improve labour conditions.

      Government resolution on local self government-1882.

      Lord Dufferin

      (1884-1888)

      Establishment of Indian National Congress.

      Lord Lansdowne

      (1888-1894)

      The categorisation of civil services into imperial, provincial and subordinate.

      Indian Councils Act-1892

      Durand Commission (1893) was set up to define the Durand Line between India and Afghanistan.

      Lord Curzon

      (1899-1905)

      Police Commission (1902) was appointed under Sir Andrew Frazer.

      University Commission (1902) was appointed and Universities Act (1904) was passed.

      Department of Commerce and Industry was established.

      Calcutta Corporation Act-1899

      Partition of Bengal (1905).

      Lord Minto-II

      (1905-1910)

      Popularisation of anti-partition and Swadeshi Movements.

      Split in Indian National Congress at Surat in 1907.

      Indian Muslim League was established by Aga Khan (1907)

      Morley-Minto reforms or Indian Councils Act 1909.

      Lord Hardinge-II

      (1910-1916)

      		  Transfer of capital from Calcutta to Delhi (1911).

      Establishment of Hindu Mahasabha (1915) by Madan Mohan Malviya.
            Lord Chelmsford

      (1916-1921)

      		 Home Rule League was formed by Annie Besant and Tilak (1916)

      Lucknow session of Congress (1916).

      Lucknow Pact between Congress and Muslim League (1916).

      Champaran Satyagraha (1918), and Satyagraha at Ahmadabad (1918).

      Montague’s August Declaration.

      Government of Indian Act- 1919

      Jallianwalla Bagh massacre (1919).

      Non-Cooperation and Khilafat Movements were launched.

      Foundation of Women’s University at Poona (1916) and Saddler’s Commission was appointed for reforms in educational policy.

      Appointment of S. P. Sinha as governor of Bihar first Indian to do so.

      Lord Reading

      (1921-1926)

      The Chaura-Chauri Incident-Feb5, 1922 and withdrawal of Non-Cooperation movement.

      Moplah rebellion in Kerala (1921).

      Repeal of the Press Act of 1910 and Rowlatt Act of 1919.

      Kakori train robbery (1925)

      Establishment of Swaraj Party (1922).

      The decision to hold a simultaneous examination for ICS in Delhi and London with effect from 1923.

      Lord Irwin

      (1926-1931)

      Simon Commission-1928

      Appointment of the Harcourt Butler Indian States Commission (1927)

      Murder of Saunders and Bomb blast in the Assembly Hall of Delhi-1929

      Lahore session of Congress 1929 and Purna Swaraj Resolution.

      Dandi March (12 March, 1929) and launch of Civil Disobedience Movement.

      Lord Willingdon

      (1931-1936)

      Second Round Table Conference and failure of the conference, resumption of the Civil Disobedience Movement.

      Announcement of the Communal Award (1932).

      Poona Pact (1932)

      Third Round Table Conference 1932.

      The Government of India 1935.

      Establishment of All India Kisan Sabha 1936.

      Establishment of Congress Socialist Party by Acharya Narendra Dev and Jayaprakash Narayan (1934)

      Lord Linlithgow

      (1936-1944)

      First general elections were held and Congress attained absolute majority (1936-1937).

      Congress ministers resigned (1937) after the outbreak of WW-II

      Subhash Chandra Bose elected as the president of Congress-1938.

      Lahore Resolution by Muslim League for the demand of separate state for Muslims.

      August Offer by the viceroy-1940.

      Cripp’s Mission to India

      Passing of the Quit India Resolution by Congress-1942

      Lord Wavell

      (1944-1947)

      C Rajgopalachari’s CR Formula (1944) and Gandhi-Jinnah Talks failed.

      Wavell Plan and the Shimla Conference (1942)

      Cabinet Mission and Congress accepted its plan 1946

      Observance of the ‘Direct Action Day’ (16 August 1946) by the Muslim League.

      Elections to the Constituent Assembly and formation of Interim Government by the Congress (September 1946).

      Announcement of the end of British rule in India by Clement Attlee on February 20, 1946

      Lord Mountbatten

      (1947-48)

      		 June Third Plan (June 3, 1947) announced.

      Introduction of Indian Independence Bill in the House of Commons.

      Appointment of two boundary commissions under Sir Cyril Radcliff for the partition of Bengal and Punjab.

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  • Polity Titbits: Important Amendments in the Indian Constitution

     

    26th Apr 2021

    First Amendment Act, 1951

    • Empowered the state to make special provisions for the advancement of socially and economically backward classes.
    • Provided for the saving of laws providing for the acquisition of estates, etc.
    • Added Ninth Schedule to protect the land reforms and other laws included in it from the judicial review. After Article 31, Articles 31A and 31B were inserted.

    The Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956

    • The Seventh Amendment brought about the most comprehensive changes so far in the Constitution. This amendment was designed to implement the State Reorganisation Act.
    • The Second and Seventh schedules were substantially amended for the purpose of the States Reorganization Act.

    Constitutional (10th Amendment) Act, 1961

    • The Tenth Amendment integrates the areas of Free Dadra and Nagar Haveli with the Union of India and provides for their administration under the regulation of making powers of the President.

    Constitutional (13th Amendment) Act,1963

    • Gave the status of a state to Nagaland and made special provisions for it.

    The Constitution (24th Amendment) Act, 1971

    • It amended Article 13 and 368 with a view to removing all possible doubts regarding the power of Parliament to amend the Constitution and procedure thereof.
    • It gets over the Golak Nath ruling and asserts the power of Parliament, denied to in the Golak Nath, to amend Fundamental Rights.

    The Constitution (Twenty-fifth) Amendment Act, 1971

    • The 25th amendment of the Constitution in 1971 added a new clause, Article 31C to the Constitution. Up to 1971, the position was that Fundamental Rights prevailed over the Directive Principles of State Policy and that a law enacted to implement a Directive Principle could not be valid if it conflicted with a Fundamental Right.
    • Article 31C sought to change this relationship to some extent by conferring primacy on Articles 39(b) and 39(c) over Articles 14, 19 and 31.

    Twenty-Sixth Amendment Act, 1971

    • Abolished the privy purses and privileges of the former rulers of princely states.

    The Constitution (Thirty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1974

    • By this amendment twenty State Acts concerning land ceiling and land tenure reforms were added to the Ninth Schedule to the Constitution.

    The Constitution (Thirty-eight Amendment) Act, 1975 

    • Made the declaration of emergency by the President non-justiciable.
    • Made the promulgation of ordinances by the President, governors and administrators of Union territories non-justiciable.
    • Empowered the President to declare different proclamations of national emergency on different grounds simultaneously

    The Constitution (42nd Amendment) Act, 1976

    • The Amendment was meant to enhance enormously the strength of the Government. The major Amendments made in the Constitution by the 42nd Amendment Act are: Preamble The characterization of India as ‘Sovereign Democratic Republic’ has been changed to ‘Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic’.
    • The words ‘Unity of the nation’ have been changed to ‘Unity and integrity of the nation’.
    • Parliament and State Legislatures: The life of the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies was extended from 5 to 6 years.
    • Executive: It amended Article 74 to State explicitly that the President shall act in accordance with the advice of the Council of Ministers in the discharge of his functions.
    • Judiciary: The 42nd Amendment Act inserted Article 32A in order to deny the Supreme Court the power to consider the Constitutional validity of the State law. Another new provision, Article 131A, gave the Supreme Court an exclusive jurisdiction to determine question relating to the Constitutional validity of a central laws. Article 144A and Article 128A, the creatures
      of the Constitutional Amendment Act made further innovation in the area of judicial review of the Constitutionality of legislation. Under Article 144A, the minimum number of judges of the Supreme Court to decide a question of  Constitutional validity of a Central or State law was fixed as at least seven and further, this required two-thirds majority of the judges sitting declare law as unconstitutional. While the power  of the High Court to enforce Fundamental Rights remained untouched, several restrictions were imposed on its power to issue writs ‘for any other purpose’.
    • Federalism: The Act added Article 257A in the Constitution to enable the Centre to deploy any armed force of the Union, or any other force under its control for dealing with any grave situation of law and order in any State.
    • Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles: A major change that was made by42nd Constitutional Amendment was to give primacy to all Directive Principles over the Fundamental Rights contained in Articles 14, 19 or 31.
    • The 42nd Constitutional Amendment added a few more Directive Principles – free legal aid, participations of workers in the management of industries, protection for environment and protection of forests and wildlife of the country.
    • Fundamental Duties: The 42nd Amendment Act inserted Article 51-A to create a new part called IV-A in the Constitution, which prescribed the Fundamental Duties to the citizens.
    • Emergency: Prior to the 42nd Amendment Act, the President could declare an emergency under Article 352 throughout the country and not in a part of the country alone. The Act authorized the President to proclaim emergency in any part of the country.

    The Constitution (44th Amendment) Act, 1978

    • It reduced the life of Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies again to five years and thus restore the status quo ante.
    • It cancelled 39th Amendment which had deprived the Supreme Court of its jurisdiction to decide disputes concerning election of the President and the Vice-President
    • A new provision was added to Article 74(1) saying that the President could require the council of ministers to reconsider its advice to him, either generally or otherwise and the President should Act in accordance with the advice tendered after such re-consideration. Article 257A was Omitted
    • It has been provided that an Emergency can be proclaimed only on the basis of written advice tendered to the President by the Cabinet.
    • Right to Property has been taken out from the list of Fundamental Rights and has been declared a legal right.

    The Constitution (Fifty-first Amendment) Act, 1984

    • The Amendment effectuates some changes in Articles 330 and 332 with a view to provide for reservation of seats in the Lok Sabha for Scheduled Tribes in Meghalaya, Aruncahal Pradesh and Mizoram, as well as in the Legislative Assemblies of Nagaland and Meghalaya.

    The Constitution (52nd Amendment) Act, 1985

    • The amendment is designed to prevent the scourge of defection of Members of Parliament and State Legislatures from one political party to another.

     The Constitution (61st Amendment) Act, 1989

    • The 61st Amendment reduces the voting age from 21 years to 18 years for the Lok Sabha and Assembly election.

    The Constitution (Sixty-fifth Amendment) Act, 1990

    • Article 338 of the Constitution has been amended for the Constitution of a National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes consisting of a chairperson, vice-chairperson and five other members who shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal.

    The Constitution (Sixty-ninth Amendment) Act, 1991

    • The Amendment Act was to grant Statehood to Delhi as ‘National Capital Territory of Delhi’. It also provides a 70 member assembly and a 7 member Council of Ministers for Delhi.

     The Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992

    • April 20,1993 as it got rectification by the State legislatures and was assented to by the President of India. After notification, the Panchayati Raj Institutions have now got Constitutional legitimacy.
    • After part VIII of the Constitution, a separate part IX has been added to the Constitution with the addition in Article 243A and fresh Schedule called Eleventh Schedule enumerating the powers and functions of Panchayti Raj Institutions.
    • The Act provides for Gram Sabha, a three-tier model of Panchayati Raj, reservation of seats for SCs and STs in proportion to their population and one-third reservation of seats for women.

    The Constitution (74th Amendment) Act, 1992

    • The Act provides constitutional status to Urban Local Bodies. After part VIII of the Constitution, a separate part IXA has been added to the Constitution with the addition in Article 243A and a fresh schedule called Twelfth schedule enumerating the powers and functions of urban local bodies has been incorporated.
    • The Act provides Municipal Panchayat, Municipal Council and Municipal Corporation, reservation of seats for SCs and STs in proportion to their population and one-third reservation of seats for women

    The Constitution (76th Amendment) Act, 1994

    • This Amendment Act raises the reservation quota of government jobs and seats for admission in the educational institutions in favor of socially and educationally backward classes to 69 per cent in Tamil Nadu.
    • Further, the Amendment Act has been included in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution to exempt it from the purview of judicial scrutiny

    The Constitution (Seventy-seventh Amendment) Act, 1995

    • This Amendment has added a new clause (4-a) to Article 16 of the Constitution which empowers the State to make any provisions for reservation in promotions in Government jobs in favour of SCs and STs, if it is of opinion that they are inadequately represented in the services under the State.
    • This has been done to nullify the effect of the Supreme Court Judgment in the Mandal Commission Case (Indra Sawhney vs. Union of India) in which the Court has held that reservation in promotions cannot be made.

    The Constitution (80th Amendment) Act, 2000

    • Based on the recommendations of the Tenth Finance Commission, an alternative scheme for sharing taxes between the Union and the State has been enacted by the Constitution (Eightieth Amendment) Act, 2000.
    • Under the new scheme of devolution of revenue between Union and the States, 26 per cent out of gross proceeds of Union taxes and duties is to be assigned to the States in lieu of their existing share in the income-tax, excise duties special excise duties and grants in lieu of tax on railway passenger fares. 

    The Constitution (85th Amendment) Act, 2001

    • This Act amended Article 16 (4A) of the Constitution to provide for consequential seniority in the case of promotion by virtue of rule of reservation for Government servants belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.

    The Constitution (86th Amendment) Act, 2002

    • With a view to making right to free and compulsory education a fundamental right, the Act inserts a new Article, namely, Article 21A conferring on all children in the age group of 6 to 14 years the right to free and compulsory education.
    • The Act amends in Part-III, Part –IV and Part-IV(A) of the Constitution.

    The Constitution (89th Amendment) Act, 2003

    • The Act adds Article 338A and provides for the creation of National Commission for Scheduled Tribes.

     The Constitution (90th Amendment) Act, 2003

    • The Act amends Article 332 and adds section (6) regarding representation in the Bodo Territorial Areas District in the State of Assam.

    The Constitution (Ninety-one Amendment) Act,2003

    • The Act makes provisions for limiting the size of the Council of Ministers at the Center and in the States and gives teeth to debar a defector from holding any remunerative political post for the remaining tenure of the legislature unless reelected.

    The Constitution (Ninety- third Amendment) Act, 2005

    • Providing reservation for the socially and educationally backward classes, besides the Schedules Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, in private unaided educational institutions.

    The Constitution (97th Amendment) Act, 2012

    • In Part IIIof the constitution, after the words “or unions” the words “Cooperative Societies” was added.
    • In Part IVa new Article 43Bwas inserted, which says: The state shall endeavour to promote voluntary formation, autonomous functioning, democratic control and professional management of the co-operative societies”.
    • After Part IXAof the constitution, a Part IXBwas inserted to accommodate state vs centre roles.

    The Constitution (99th Amendment) Act, 2014

    • The National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) was established by the Union government of India by amending the constitution of India through the 99th Constitutional Amendment Act, 201

    The Constitution (100th Amendment) Act, 2015

    • Constitution (100th Amendment) Act 2015 ratified the land boundary agreement between India and Bangladesh.
    • The act amended the 1st schedule of the constitution to exchange the disputed territories occupied by both the nations in accordance with the 1974 bilateral Land Boundary Agreement.
    • India received 51 Bangladeshi enclaves (covering 7,110 acres) in the Indian mainland, while Bangladesh received 111 Indian enclaves (covering 17,160 acres) in the Bangladeshi mainland

    The Constitution (101st Amendment) Act, 2017

    • Introduced the Goods and Services Tax.

    The Constitution (102nd Amendment) Act, 2018

    • Constitutional status to National Commission for Backward Classes

    The Constitution (103rd Amendment) Act, 2019

    • A maximum of 10% Reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWSs) of citizens of classes other than the classes mentioned in clauses (4) and (5) of Article 15, i.e. Classes other than socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.
    • Inserted Clause [6] under Article 15 as well as Inserted Clause [6] under Article 16.

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