The Competition Master

RAPID GK SERIES 18

RAPID GK SERIES 18

1. The National Safety Day is on 2. In India, the Kothari Commission dealt with this field 3. This country is the largest producer of Chil...

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PM calls for doubling expenditure on R&D in 12th Plan

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"> Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has called for increase in the expenditure on research and development, R&D, by at least 2 percent from the current 1 percent by the end of 12th Five Year Plan. 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> Dr. Singh said that government is examining a proposal to build national capacity and capability in supercomputing which will be implemented by the Indian Institute of Science Bangalore at an estimated cost of Rs. 5000 crore. 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> It is also considering a proposal to establish a Neutrino Observatory in Theni district in Tamil Nadu with a proposed investment of Rs 1350 crore. 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> The Prime Minister also gave away awards to scientists for their achievements and tribals of Koraput region for the global recognition they received for conservation of bio-diversity and developing climate resilient farming systems. 
 
 </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"> The theme of this year’s Congress is ‘Science and Technology for Inclusive Innovation - Role of Women’. 
</li>
</ul></div>

PM calls for doubling expenditure on R&D in 12th Plan

Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has called for increase in the expenditure on research and development, R&D, by at least 2 percent f...

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Arab League asks Syria to stop gunfire

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div id="5442" style="display: block;"> <ul><li style="text-align: justify;"> Arab League has asked for an immediate halt to the gunfire in Syria. 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> Addressing a Press Conference in Cairo, the League chief Nabil al-Araby said snipers and gunfire remain in Syrian cities. 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> He also informed that the Syrian regime withdrew heavy weapons from cities and freed 3,484 prisoners. 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> The head of the observer mission, Sudanese General Mohammed Ahmed Mustafa al-Dabi will be sending his first report in the next two days on the situation in Syria. 
</li>
</ul></div></div>

Arab League asks Syria to stop gunfire

Arab League has asked for an immediate halt to the gunfire in Syria. Addressing a Press Conf...

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Bihar implements new Lokayukta Act

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"> Bihar government has implemented its new Lokayukta Act. A notification was issued in this regard. Earlier, the Lokayukta was just an individual, now it is an institution. 
 
 </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"> The  new Lokayukta Act has many provisions to keep its scope wide to contain corruption. Chief Minister, Ministers, Legislators and public servants come under its purview. 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> The Speaker of the State Assembly and the Chairman of the Legislative Council besides former Chief Minister, Ministers and legislators have also come under its ambit. 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> The Lokayukta will also have employees, corporations and organisations receiving government grants under its scanner.  
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> As per the new Act, the Lokayukta is a multi-member body comprising one chairman and two members. 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> Of the three, at least 2 persons shall be judicial members. 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> The Five member selection committee headed by the Chairman of the legislative council will have power to put in place a search committee of members from the judiciary. 
</li>
</ul></div>

Bihar implements new Lokayukta Act

Bihar government has implemented its new Lokayukta Act. A notification was issued in this regard. Earlier, the Lokayukta was just an indi...

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1.62 lakh killed in 9-year long war in Iraq: British NGO

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"> A British NGO, Iraq Body Count (IBC) has claimed that nearly 1.62 lakh people were killed in Iraq during the nine-year long US invasion. 
 
 </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"> Almost 80 percent of them were civilians while the remainders were US soldiers, Iraqi Security Forces, and insurgents. 
 
 </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"> The NGO warned that the level of violence has not changed much but the number of incidents have come down from the peak of sectarian strife in 2006 and 2007. 
 
 </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"> The NGO’s overall toll differed markedly from that published by the Iraqi government. 
 
 </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"> The government’s monthly data puts the death toll since the beginning of 2007 at 34,485. 
</li>
</ul></div>

1.62 lakh killed in 9-year long war in Iraq: British NGO

A British NGO, Iraq Body Count (IBC) has claimed that nearly 1.62 lakh people were killed in Iraq during the nine-year long US invasion. ...

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MP Cow Progeny Slaughter Prevention Bill gets presidential nod

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"> President Pratibha Patil has granted her assent to the long-pending Madhya Pradesh Cow Progeny Slaughter Prevention (Amendment) Bill which proposes seven-year imprisonment for cow slaughter. 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> The Gau-Vansh Vadh Pratishedh (Sanshodhan) Vidheyak has received the Presidential approval following which it has become an Act and has subsequently been published in the extraordinary gazette 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> In fulfillment of its commitment to protecting and conserving cow progeny, the state government had passed the amendment bill in the state Assembly in 2010 to remove the flaws in the Madhya Pradesh Gauvansh Pratishedh Adhiniyam 2004 (Madhya Pradesh Cow Progeny Slaughter Prevention Regulation) 
 
 </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"> a guilty of cow slaughter would be liable to imprisonment for seven years instead of present three years and a minimum fine of Rs 5,000 which may be increased by the court. 
 
 </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"> The amended Act provides that no person shall slaughter or cause to be slaughtered or offered for slaughter of any cow progeny by any means. 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> Besides, no person, including transporter, shall transport or offer for transport or cause to be transported any cow progeny himself or by his agent, servant or by any other person acting in his behalf within the state or outside the state for the purpose of its slaughter in contravention of the provisions of the Act or with the knowledge that it will be or is likely to be slaughtered. 
</li>
</ul></div>

MP Cow Progeny Slaughter Prevention Bill gets presidential nod

President Pratibha Patil has granted her assent to the long-pending Madhya Pradesh Cow Progeny Slaughter Prevention (Amendment) Bill whic...

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Gaza Premier in Turkey, in First Official Trip Abroad

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"> Ismail Haniya, the Hamas prime minister of Gaza, who is making his first official trip abroad since his Islamist movement took over the Palestinian strip in 2007, sought Monday to strengthen ties with the Arab and Muslim world in the wake of regional uprisings that have produced a rise in Islamist political strength. 
 
 </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"> Turkey, ruled by the Islamic-based Justice and Development Party, has grown close to Hamas and has downgraded its relations with Israel. In 2010, a group of ships and boats sailed from Turkey in an effort to break the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza, and Israeli commandos boarded the vessels to stop them. When they met with resistance, the commandos killed nine activists on board. Turkey has demanded an apology and compensation; Israel has refused. 
 
 </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"> The meeting, organized in Amman, the Jordanian capital, by King Abdullah II of Jordan, is viewed as an effort to revive peace negotiations aimed at establishing a Palestinian state, but both Palestinian and Israeli officials were keeping expectations for the meeting low. Hamas opposes negotiations with Israel as a waste of time, and it urged the Palestinian Authority not to attend. 
 
 </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"> Hamas has long maintained its political headquarters in Syria 
</li>
</ul></div>

Gaza Premier in Turkey, in First Official Trip Abroad

Ismail Haniya, the Hamas prime minister of Gaza, who is making his first official trip abroad since his Islamist movement took over the ...

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Over 12000 killed in drug violence in Mexico

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"> Over 12,000 people died in drug-related violence in 2011 in Mexico, and about 50,000 have been killed since the start of President Felipe Calderon's crackdown on drug gangs in 2006. 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> Reports  came out as brutal violence continued to rock parts of Mexico amid a military crackdown on organised crime involving tens of thousands of troops. 
 
 </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"> Reforma daily counted 12,539 drug-related killings in 2011, which it said was a 6.3 per cent increase on the previous year.  
 
 </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"> It said the violence had become more brutal with increases in beheadings to almost 600 and more than 1,000 cases of torture. 
 
 </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"> The daily Milenio newspaper recorded 12,284 drug-related deaths in 2011 and underlined major hikes in killings. 
</li>
</ul></div>

Over 12000 killed in drug violence in Mexico

Over 12,000 people died in drug-related violence in 2011 in Mexico, and about 50,000 have been killed since the start of President Felipe...

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Lunar orbiter captures huge crater on moon

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"> NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has captured shots of a massive Aristarchus crater on moon, which is even visible to the naked eye.  
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> The space probe flew over the moon at just 16.2 miles up to take shots of the crater that was created when a huge comet or asteroid slammed into a plateau on the surface. 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> Sixteen miles up is just over twice the height that jets fly on Earth. The cliffs of the Aristarchus crater are two miles high - twice as deep as the Grand Canyon - with layers of minerals exposed by the huge impact tumbling into the crater below. 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> Aristarchus crater is situated on the southeast edge of the Aristarchus Plateau.  
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> The floor of Aristarchus crater provides explorers a unique opportunity to study a great variety of lunar rocks and geologic processes, perhaps including how lunar granite forms. 
</li>
</ul></div>

Lunar orbiter captures huge crater on moon

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has captured shots of a massive Aristarchus crater on moon, which is even visible to the naked eye. ...

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Bits of Russian satellite to hit Earth

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"> A Russian spacecraft that became stranded in orbit on the way to Mars last year is expected to fall back to Earth next week.  
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> The 13.5 tonne Phobos-Grunt has been circling Earth since November when rocket boosters failed to ignite and send the spaceship on its journey to the Martian moon of Phobos. 
 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> The spacecraft suffered a computer malfunction after launch and when repeated attempts to contact the rocket failed, the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, had to abandon the mission. 
 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> The spacecraft, the largest planetary rocket ever built by Russia, was designed to return rock samples from Phobos, the first time material would have been brought back from the moon of another planet. The rocket was to deliver a Chinese Mars orbiter and carried containers of bacteria to test their survival in space.</li>
</ul></div>

Bits of Russian satellite to hit Earth

A Russian spacecraft that became stranded in orbit on the way to Mars last year is expected to fall back to Earth next week. The 13...

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Sanskrit book on Indira Gandhi released

Sanskrit book on Indira Gandhi released

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit released Sanskrit books on the life of former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi The b...

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Egypt Holds Final Round of Vote as Mubarak Faces Prosecutors

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"> Egyptians are voting in the third round of parliamentary elections  as prosecutors begin to present their case in the trial of former President Hosni Mubarak. 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> The final stage of the vote, the first since Mubarak was ousted in February, covers nine provinces including the North and South Sinai governorates. 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> Almost a year after the revolt against Mubarak began, it is still unclear what power an elected parliament will have or how a new government will be constituted. The assembly is due to hold its first session on Jan. 23. Presidential elections are scheduled to be held by the end of June. 
 
 </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"> “The new parliament will witness political struggles between the military council, the Brotherhood and Salafis, and the revolutionary forces. 
</li>
</ul></div>

Egypt Holds Final Round of Vote as Mubarak Faces Prosecutors

Egyptians are voting in the third round of parliamentary elections as prosecutors begin to present their case in the trial of former Pre...

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Iran warns US carrier against Gulf return

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"> Iran's army chief says the Islamic republic will take action if the US aircraft carrier that recently left the Persian Gulf returned. 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> The carrier USS John C Stennis, one of the US navy's biggest vessels, left the area because of 10 days of Iranian naval exercises in which they fired a number a new missiles. 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> The US Defence Department said the passage was "routine". 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> The United States keeps at least one aircraft carrier in or near the Gulf at all times, on rotations of weeks or months. It maintains the base of its Fifth Fleet in the Gulf state of Bahrain. 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> Tensions have risen in recent days after Iran, which insists its nuclear program is purely for peaceful purposes, test-fired a series of missiles near the key Gulf oil supply route of the Strait of Hormuz. 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> The display of military muscle was designed to show Iran's ability to close the strait, through which 20 per cent of the world's oil flows, if it chooses. 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> The US and its allies have imposed their sanctions to punish Iran for maintaining a nuclear program they believe masks military objectives. 
 
 </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"> French president Nicolas Sarkozy had proposed a freezing of assets of Iran's central bank and an embargo on exports of Iranian oil, a move also being considered by the European Union. 
</li>
</ul></div>

Iran warns US carrier against Gulf return

Iran's army chief says the Islamic republic will take action if the US aircraft carrier that recently left the Persian Gulf returned....

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World-first hybrid sharks found off Australia

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div id="5453" style="display: block;"> <ul><li> <div style="text-align: justify;">Marine biologists say they have discovered the world's first hybrid sharks off Australia's east coast, a potential sign the predators are adapting to cope with climate change.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> 
</div> </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"> They say the mating of the Australian black-tip shark with its global counterpart, the common black-tip, is an unprecedented discovery with implications for the entire shark world. 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;">The larger common black-tip shark swims in the colder waters of southern Queensland and northern New South Wales, while the smaller Australian black-tip likes warmer seas.</li>
</ul></div></div>

World-first hybrid sharks found off Australia

Marine biologists say they have discovered the world's first hybrid sharks off Australia...

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S Arabia, Libya agree to restore diplomatic ties

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"> Saudi Arabia and Libya have agreed to restore full diplomatic ties and exchange ambassadors now that longtime Libyan ruler Moammar Gaddafi is no longer in power. 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> The Saudi media said Monday that ties between Riyadh and Tripoli would be restored and that the Saudi Embassy in Libya would be reopened. 
 
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<li style="text-align: justify;"> The kingdom recalled its ambassador to Libya during the civil war that began in February. Gaddafi was captured and killed in October. 
 
 </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"> Saudi officials have long accused Gaddafi's regime of trying to assassinate Saudi King Abdullah when he was crown prince in 2004. 
</li>
</ul></div>

S Arabia, Libya agree to restore diplomatic ties

Saudi Arabia and Libya have agreed to restore full diplomatic ties and exchange ambassadors now that longtime Libyan ruler Moammar Gaddaf...

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Hungarians protest against govt's new Basic Law

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"> Tens of thousands of Hungarians protested in Budapest on Monday against the government and its new Basic Law in a show of anxiety over what they see as the ruling Fidesz party's moves to weaken democratic institutions and cement its powers.  
 
 </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"> Centre-right Fidesz, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orban, won a two-thirds majority in elections in 2010 and has rewritten a large body of law since, drawing accusations at home and abroad that it has undermined democratic checks and balances.  
 
 </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"> The Basic Law, which replaced the previous constitution as of January 1, recasts rules governing many walks of life in what Fidesz calls a completion of a democratization process that started in 1989 when communism collapsed.</li>
</ul></div>

Hungarians protest against govt's new Basic Law

Tens of thousands of Hungarians protested in Budapest on Monday against the government and its new Basic Law in a show of anxiety over wh...

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Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood plans to put treaty with Israel to a referendum

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>MB says 'will not recognize Israel under any circumstances'; move to cancel peace treaty could represent strategic chance too great for MB as it seeks international legitimacy.</li>
<li> </li>
<li> The Muslim Brotherhood, the overwhelming victor in the first round of elections for the Egyptian Parliament, has announced it will not recognize Israel and intends to bring the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty to a referendum. 
 
 </li>
<li> "We will not recognize Israel under any circumstances; we are talking about an occupation entity and a criminal enemy," said Dr. Rashad Bayoumi, the deputy head of the Brotherhood. 
</li>
</ul></div>

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood plans to put treaty with Israel to a referendum

MB says 'will not recognize Israel under any circumstances'; move to cancel peace treaty could represent strategic chance too grea...

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France calls for embargo on Iranian oil

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"> France has urged its European partners to follow the US lead and impose an embargo on Iranian oil exports and freeze Iranian central bank assets, as tension with Tehran escalates. 
 
 </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"> French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said it was time to toughen sanctions – along the lines President Nicolas Sarkozy had proposed in late November. "France ... wants sanctions toughened and the president (Sarkozy) has made two concrete proposals on that front – the first being the freezing of Iranian central bank assets, a tough measure, and the second an embargo on Iranian oil exports, 
 
 </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"> President Barack Obama signed new sanctions against Iran into law. 
 
 </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"> If enforced strictly, the sanctions could make it nearly impossible for most refiners to buy crude from Iran, the world's fourth biggest producer. 
 
 </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"> The United Nations Security Council has already imposed four rounds of global sanctions on Iran over its refusal to halt sensitive nuclear activities. 
 
 </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"> Talks between Iran and six world powers – the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany – are in stalemate. 
</li>
</ul></div>

France calls for embargo on Iranian oil

France has urged its European partners to follow the US lead and impose an embargo on Iranian oil exports and freeze Iranian central bank...

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President inaugurates new SHAR Mission Control Centre

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li> <div style="text-align: justify;">President Pratibha Patil visited the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC SHAR) at Sriharikota here on Monday and dedicated the new Mission Control Centre to the nation.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> 
</div> </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"> She also witnessed a simulation of the launch of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) at the Mission Control Centre and various exhibits of the advances in space science and technology.  
 
 </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"> The new centre has been developed with state-of-the-art facilities to meet the requirements for the launch of the Geo-Synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark-III and future missions of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) 
 
 </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"> Ms. Patil presented ISRO awards for 2008-09, including the Lifetime Achievement Award to the former ISRO chairman, K. Kasturirangan. 
 
 </li>
<li>The  First Launch Pad, where the integration of the soon-to-be-launched of PSLV-C19 was in progress.</li>
</ul></div>

President inaugurates new SHAR Mission Control Centre

President Pratibha Patil visited the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC SHAR) at Sriharikota here on Monday and dedicated the new Mission C...

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Nathpa Jhakri sets a new record

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"> With 6,975 million units of gross electricity generation achieved during the three quarters of financial year 2011-12, the country's largest 1,500-MW Nathpa Jhakri Hydro Power Station is heading for establishing new benchmarks in the hydro power sector.   
 
 </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"> The generation during the period has not only surpassed the MoU target by 740 million units but also last year's generation of 6,402 MU achieved during the same period. “The power station has generated 7,140 million units of electricity during the full financial year 2010-11 which was an all-time record 
 
 </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"> The power station is owned and operated by the public sector SJVN Limited.  
 
 </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"> Commissioned in 2003-04, the country's largest hydro power station had established a milestone of 50,000 million units on October 20, 2011.  The Plant Availability Factor (PAF) during the three quarters period also peaked at 104.6 per cent against the normative average of 82 per cent 
</li>
</ul></div>

Nathpa Jhakri sets a new record

With 6,975 million units of gross electricity generation achieved during the three quarters of financial year 2011-12, the country's ...

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Einstein was offered post of Travancore varsity Vice-Chancellor

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"> Decades before India made a name for itself in the field of education, the tiny princely State of Travancore aimed high in higher education and even made an unsuccessful bid to enlist the services of great physicist Albert Einstein as Vice-Chancellor of its fledgling university for a monthly pay of Rs. 6,000. 
 
 </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"> The Nobel prize winning scientist, considered the founder of modern physics and one who developed the theory of general relativity, politely declined the invitation saying he wanted to join Princeton University in the United States. 
 
 </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"> Set up in 1937, Travancore University was renamed University of Kerala later, and is planning year-long celebrations to mark its Platinum Jubilee this year. 
</li>
</ul></div>

Einstein was offered post of Travancore varsity Vice-Chancellor

Decades before India made a name for itself in the field of education, the tiny princely State of Travancore aimed high in higher educati...

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