Corruption and the Corrupted

Madhu Koda is ill. And the causative agent for his illness is a virus called CBI. There is an old saying in India that anything taken in excess becomes poison, even the Amrita, the holy nectar that brought gods immortality. Rupees 2000 crore is indeed a huge sum to hide and Koda – an independent MLA who became Jharkhand’s Cheaf Minister should have known that being independent in India means being the enemy of other two parties – both ruling and the opposition.

And some 60 fun-loving MLA’s from Karnataka are having good times in a 5-star hotel in Hyderabad. And some million people of North Karnataka are enduring worst time in their lifetime on the broken streets and highways thanks to the rain-god. You voted them so that you spend rest of your lives in misery and they spend their lives merrymaking.

There is a rumour that our Honourable Minister for It and Communications is involved in Rupees 20000 crore scam. Of course he has denied it – and they deny it because they know the truth.

He too will become ill – it’s only a matter of few days(Hoping that the Virus called CBI is  not in the control of vaccine called Congress!).

Corruption is everywhere – we hear it, we watch it, we savour it, we talk about it and we forget it – ultimately we become Them. And the Tamasha goes on…………

IAS Mains 2009 Geography Question Paper – 2

 

GEOGRAPHY

Paper II

INSTRUCTIONS

Time Allowed: Three Hours                                             Maximum Marks: 300

Each Question is printed both in Hindi and English Medium.

 

Answer must be written in the medium specified in the Admission Certificate issued to you, which must be stated clearly on the cover of the answer book in the space provided for the purpose. No Marks will be given for the answers written in a medium other than that specific in the Admission Certificate.

Candidates should attempt Question No. 1 and 5 which are compulsory and any three of the remaining questions selecting at least one question from each Section. Wherever a question is attempted, all its parts are to be attempted. The number of marks carried by each question is indicated at the end of the question.

Illustrate your answer with suitable sketches, maps and diagrams, where appropriate.

 

SECTION – A

1. On the outline map of India provided to you, mark the location of any fifteen of the following for which 1 (one) mark is given to each correct entry. Write in your answer script the significance geographical relevance or strategic importance of these locations, whether physical / commercial / economic / ecological / environmental / cultural in not more than 30 words for each entry. 3 (three) marks are allotted for each write up. 15×4=60

a) Akarimota

b) Kolleru Lake

c) Van Tivu

d) Silent Valley

e) Amaravati River

f) Pirotan Island

g) Mangla

h) Meghnagar

i) Shipki La

j) Bhachau

k) The Home of Sundari tree

l) Place of orgin of River Narmada

m) Gokak

n) Ken River

o) Bailadila

p) Bhavani Sagar Dam

q) Kutralam Falls

r) Dalma Hills

s) Rangit River

t) Dhanjori Hills

 

2. A). Discuss the formation and their distribution of the major soil types of India. 30

 

B). Give reasons as to why is rainfall variability a characteristic feature of India’s monsoons. 30

 

3. Distinguish between the West and East coasts of India in terms of their evolution, present topography and drainage pattern. 60

4. Examine the role of raw materials in the location of the Iron and Steel Industry in India. Illustrate your answer with suitable examples. 60

SECTION – B

5. Answer any three of the following in about 200 words each: 20×3=60

 

A). what is the role of the Triple Transport System in the regional development of India?

 

B). Explain the factors responsible for the distribution of Sugar Industry in India.

 

C). State the geographical factors which influence rural house types in India.

 

D). Giving reasons, identify the chronic drought prone areas of India.

 

6. What are the cause and consequences of environmental degradation in India’s industrial areas? Give specific examples. 60

 

7. “There is no sharp divide where an urban settlement stops and rural areas begin.” Analyze the statement with reference to the sprawl of Indian cities. 60

 

8. A). How do the ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors operate for the emergence of slums in the metropolises of India? 30

 

B). Discuss the impact of globalization of India’s industry and agriculture sectors. 30

IAS Mains 2009 Geography Question Paper-1

GEOGRAPHY

Paper I

INSTRUCTIONS

Time Allowed: Three Hours Maximum Marks: 300

Each Question is printed both in Hindi and English Medium.

Answer must be written in the medium specified in the Admission Certificate issued to you, which must be stated clearly on the cover of the answer book in the space provided for the purpose. No Marks will be given for the answers written in a medium other than that specific in the Admission Certificate.

Candidates should attempt Question No. 1 and 5 which are compulsory and any three of the remaining questions selecting at least one question from each Section. Wherever a question is attempted, all its parts are to be attempted. The number of marks carried by each question is indicated at the end of the question.

Illustrate your answer with suitable sketches, maps and diagrams, where appropriate. A world map is attached to and forms part of this question paper. Please check when you receive the question paper.

SECTION – A

1. Answer the following in about 200 words each:

a) Highlight the geomorphic features essentially found in topographies under the second cycle of Erosion. 20

b) Give a brief account of principal land biomes and their latitudinal distribution. 20

c) Discuss views on slope development provided by L.C. King. 20

2. a). Identify each feature that is indicated by the numerals (i) to (x) on the world Map provided. Identification of the feature carries 2 marks each. 2×10=20

b). Mention the location of each feature in respect of + (-) GMT. This carries 1 mark each. 1×10=10

c). provide a write up on the significance of the identified feature in approximately 40 words, this carries 3 marks each. 3×10=30

3. a). Explain factors contributing to the global climate change 20

b). Discuss the consequences of Climate Change on agriculture and food security, and on the Coastal Zones of the world. 20

c). How does Climate change affect urban areas? 20

4. a). Examine economic significance of the resources of the Continental Shelf of the Indian Ocean. 30

b). Comment on marine heat budget and the oceanic Circulation system. 30

Section – B

(Human Geography)

5. Write short notes on any three of the following in about 200 words each: 20×3=60

a). Weight Triangle

b). ‘Limit to Growth’ Model

c). Tropical atmospheric instability

d). Zonal and Azonal soils

6. a). Provide a geographical account of global production and distribution of food. 30

b). ‘Quantitative Revolution and model building provided an empirical basis for geographical research’ – Elaborate.

7. Elaborate the concept of Megalopolis and discuss the characteristics and problems related to two such regions selecting one each from North America and Europe. 60

8. a). Provide a broad classification of world cultural regions. 30

b). Highlights the significance of environmental issues in Regional Planning. 30

Taji Mideren

A resident of Elopain village in the Ithun Valley, Lohit District, North-East Frontier Agency (Arunachal Pradesh), Taji Mideren was a farmer and trader. He took part in the activities against British rule and killed  three British officers near the Dikran river in 1905. He organized his Mishmi fellow tribals and got them to come together to resist the expansion of British authority. He established a Mishmi Confederacy under Pangon and other Mishmi leaders. A British expedition was sent to his village in 1913 to arrest him for the murder of the three British officers. The British burnt down the houses in the village but failed to arrest him and others. He was finally captured by the British police at Sadiya in December 1917, and was deported to Tezpur in Assam. There he was tried and sentenced to death. He died on the gallows in the Tezpur Jail on January 29, 1918.

source : http://www.easternpanorama.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=351:taji-mideren&catid=5:cover-story&Itemid=8

Maski

Maski is an archaeological site in the Raichur district of the state of Karnataka, India. It lies on the bank of the Maski river which is a tributary of the Tungabhadra. The site came into prominence with the discovery of a minor rock edict of Emperor Ashoka by C. Beadon in 1915. It was the first edict of Emperor Ashoka that contained the name Asoka in it instead of the earlier edicts that referred him as Devanampiye piyadasi. This edict was important to conclude that many edicts found earlier in the Indian sub-continent in the name of Devanampiye piyadasi, all belonged to Emperor Ashoka. The edict is etched on a rock-face of Durgada-gudda, one of the gneissic outcrops that are present in the site.

(wikipedia)

Haileybury College

an educational and training institute for the newly recruited cadets of the east india company. The idea of giving the East India Cadets (newly recruited members of the Company’s Civil Service) a designed education and training before they entered active service was first conceived and implemented by Lord wellesley. With the purpose of educating and training the newly arrived cadets, Wellesley set up an institution called fort william college in 1800. But the court of directors refused to fund the College on the plea of irregularity. It was established without taking any prior permission from the Court. The Court rejected Wellesley’s Fort William College, but not his idea of building a professional bureaucracy for administering the colonial state. The Court resolved to establish a similar training and educational institute in England. The East India College, commonly known as Haileybury College (from its location) was thus established in 1806.

All cadets were henceforth required to receive education and training at the College for four years to qualify themselves for the Company’s Covenanted Civil Service. Rigid rules and regulations were framed to give moral, physical and intellectual training to the cadets. The educational programme was planned according to the syllabi of the Oxford and Cambridge Universities. Along with the courses on western subjects were introduced additionally the Indian languages and history. For moral training of the cadets were engaged reputed moral philosophers like Rev Samuel Henley (principal) and, Rev Edward Lewton. Thomas R Malthus (1766-1834), a celebrated theorist of Political Economy was also a Moral Philosopher in the College. With Malthus was another great theoretician, David Ricardo (1772-1823).

The academic and moral atmosphere of the College had a positive impact on the young cadets. Rhetoric goes that if India made the crown of the British Empire in the nineteenth century, its steel-frame was the Indian Civil Service. By extending the rhetoric it may be said that the artisan of the steel-frame had been the Haileybury College which had trained the freshmen of the bureaucracy morally, physically and intellectually.

(Banglapedia)

Brahmadeya, Devadana and Agrahara Land Grants

Land grants to religious institutions were called Brahmadeya, (i.e. donated to Brahmins) Devadana (donated to Gods) and Agrahara (Settlement – of priests) These lands donated to the temples and monasteries apart from being used as normal tenancy also carried a right vested with the temple authorities to call for unpaid labour (called Vishti) as a religious service to the temple from the tillers on the donated land.

Lands were given as brahmadeya either to a single Brahmana or to several Brahmana families which ranged from a few to several hundreds or even more than a thousand, as seen in the South Indian context. Brahmadeyas were invariably located near major irrigation works such as tanks or lakes. Often new irrigation sources were constructed when brahmadeyas were created, especially in areas dependent on rains and in arid and semi-arid regions. When located in areas of intensive agriculture in the river valleys, they served to integrate other settlements of a subsihena level production. Sometimes, two or more settlements were clubbed together to form a brahmadeya or an agrahara. The taxes from such villages were assigned to the Brahmana donees, who were also given the right to get the donated land cultivated. Boundaries of the donated land or village were very often carefully demarcated. The various types of land, wet, dry and garden land within the village were specified. Sometimes even specific crops and trees are mentioned. The land donations implied more than the transfer of land rights. For example, in many cases, along with the revenues and economic resources of the village, h u m v resources such as peasants (cultivators), misans and others were also transferred to donees. There is also growing evidence of the encroachment of the rights of villagers over community lands such as lakes and ponds. Thus, the Brahmanas became managers of agricultural and artisanal production in these settlements for which they organized themselves in to assemblies.

Kiang Nongbah

 

Raja Rajendra Singh of Jaintiapur, a Jaintia king was deprived of his kingdom as his territory in the plains was taken away by the British. He was left with the option to rule over his people in the hills which offered little scope for earning revenue for running the administration. Hence he declined kingship. The British then offered rulership to the village headmen, Dolois and Sirdas. This worked well from 1835 to 1853, though the people secretly bore a grudge against the British. Then the British imposed a house-tax in

1860 which was met with resentment and within a few months, the people rose in a rebellion that was easily put down as the rebels were not organised. Towards the close of 1860 income tax was also levied in addition to the house-tax. There was an apprehension in the air that tax would also be levied on betel and betel-nut. Imposition of these taxes created turmoil amongst the Jaintias and they rose again in a fierce rebellion in 1862. The magnitude of the upsurge was such that as many as seven regiments and detachments of troops were put into action to suppress it. Jowai, which was besieged by the rebels for about 3 weeks, was thus reoccupied amidst heavy casualties. The leader and guiding spirit in this rebellion was a young man, U Kiang Nongbah. In the first rebellion he kept his identity secret and thus avoided arrest. He was extremely shrewd and a great organiser. He contacted all the Dolois and Sirdars without causing any suspicion. He managed to hoodwink the British Intelligence Service. They had no trace of his movements and activities. Yet, ultimately he was defeated because of the superior might of the British. In the unequal fight that ensured, hundreds of Jaintias were killed and U Kiang Nongbah was betrayed, captured and hung publicly to strike terror into the hearts of the Jaintias on December 30, 1862. When he was put to the gallows, he said, in a clear voice: “If my face turns eastward when I die on the rope, we shall be free again within a hundred years. If it turns westwards, we shall be enslaved forever”. His prophesy came true as India became free within a hundred years!

2009 IAS Civil Services Mains Essay Question Paper

ESSAY (Compulsory): 2009

Time Allowed: Three Hours Max. Marks: 200

Instruction: The Essay must be written in the medium specified in the admission certificate issued to you. The name of medium must be stated clearly on the cover of the answer-book in the space provided for the purpose. No credit will be given to the essay written in a medium other than that specified in the admission certificate.

(Examiner will pay special attention to the candidate’s grasp of his material, it’s relevance to the subject chosen and to his ability to think constructively and present his ideas concisely, logically and effectively).

Write an Essay on any one of the following topics:

1. Are our traditional handicrafts doomed to a slow death?
2. Are we a ‘Soft’ state?
3. “The focus of health care is increasingly getting skewed towards the ‘haves’ of our society”.
4. “ Good Fences make good neighbors”
5. ‘ Globalization’ vs. ‘ Nationalism’

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2009 – Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Thomas A. Steitz, and Ada E. Yonath

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2009 jointly to

Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge,
United Kingdom

Thomas A. Steitz, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

Ada E. Yonath, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel

“for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome”

The ribosome translates the DNA code into life

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2009 awards studies of one of life’s core processes: the ribosome’s translation of DNA information into life. Ribosomes produce proteins, which in turn control the chemistry in all living organisms. As ribosomes are crucial to life, they are also a major target for new antibiotics.

This year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry awards Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Thomas A. Steitz and Ada E. Yonath for having showed what the ribosome looks like and how it functions at the atomic level. All three have used a method called X-ray crystallography to map the position for each and every one of the hundreds of thousands of atoms that make up the ribosome.

Inside every cell in all organisms, there are DNA molecules. They contain the blueprints for how a human being, a plant or a bacterium, looks and functions. But the DNA molecule is passive. If there was nothing else, there would be no life.

The blueprints become transformed into living matter through the work of ribosomes. Based upon the information in DNA, ribosomes make proteins: oxygen-transporting haemoglobin, antibodies of the immune system, hormones such as insulin, the collagen of the skin, or enzymes that break down sugar. There are tens of thousands of proteins in the body and they all have different forms and functions. They build and control life at the chemical level.

An understanding of the ribosome’s innermost workings is important for a scientific understanding of life. This knowledge can be put to a practical and immediate use; many of today’s antibiotics cure various diseases by blocking the function of bacterial ribosomes. Without functional ribosomes, bacteria cannot survive. This is why ribosomes are such an important target for new antibiotics.

This year’s three Laureates have all generated 3D models that show how different antibiotics bind to the ribosome. These models are now used by scientists in order to develop new antibiotics, directly assisting the saving of lives and decreasing humanity’s suffering.

Source-Nobelprize.org