GLOBAL CRUDE OIL TACTICS

GLOBAL CRUDE OIL TACTICS

All over the world oil crude oil prices are falling and keep falling. It seems that acchhe din have been started all over the world. People are very happy specially in India(ACCHHE DIN). But it is a serious matter for global oil producers. Despite of their will they are not able to curb the falling oil prices. We will now see what are the cause of the sharp decline in oil prices

• First and very simple reason is the demand for crude oil is low because of poor and weak global economic activities
• There is an increase in efficiency in economic activities all over the world which results in less wastage. Believe it or not but it is one of the reasons of fall in oil prices
• A movement all over the world to switch over to non conventional sources of energy like solar, biogas and wind energy.
• United states of America which was the biggest importer of the world, now has become the biggest producer of Oil, which resulted in decline in demand of oil
• Shale gas production in United states of America has made it less dependent on Oil.
• Due to decline in the demand, OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries), Countries considered the option of lowering the production, but it will result in the further loss of revenue. It will also benefit the countries like Russia, Iran and Venezuela which will not subsequently lower the production in lure of selling at lower prices. Specially Saudi Arab is against the lowering of production.

Oil market was funded by Federal Reserves cheap money in Quantitative Easing program, with zero rate of interest. which may have resulted in an upward trend of oil prices. But after winding up the Quantitative Easing Program, interest rates started increasing which may have resulted in falling in oil prices.

Experts have predicted that the oil prices will be at lower side for one year or more and it may decline further. +OPEC Multimedia 

   

Civilian Awards of India

Civilian Awards of India

Bharat Ratna:

• It is the highest civilian award in India.
• This award was instituted on 2nd January 1954.
• This award is conferred in recognition of exceptional service of highest order without distinction of race, occupation, position or sex.
• Initially the award was restricted to achievements in art, science and public services, but government expanded the criteria to include any human endeavor. (Sachhhhiinnnnn... sachin)
• Prime Minister of Republic of India recommends nominees to President. He can only suggest maximum three names every year.
• Recipients get a certificate signed by President and a peepal leaf shaped Medallion.
• There is no monetary grant given.
• The recipient is ranked seventh in the Indian order of Precedence.
• Article 18 of Constitution of India does not allow recipients to use the award as title.
• The first recipient of Bharat Ratna was C.Rajgopalachari.
• The latest recipients are former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Freedom Fighter  Madan Mohan Malviya.

Padma Vibhushan:

• It is the second highest civilian award in India
• It was also instituted at the same time and also given by president on the recommendation of Prime Minister
• It is given in recognition of exceptional and distinguished service to the nation in any field, including government services.
• First year's recipients were Dr. Satyendranath bose, Zakir Hussain, Balasaheb Gangadhar kher, Jigme dorji Wangchuk, Nandalal Bose, V K Krishna Menon.
• Latest recipients are, L K Advani, Amitabh Bachchan, Prakash Sigh Badal, Virendra Hegde, Dilip Kumar, Rambhadracharya, M R Srinivasan, KK Venugopal, Aga Khan.

Padma Bhushan:

• It is third highest civilian award
• It is announced on Republic day every year
• It is coffered by President at Rastrapati Bhavan.
• It is awarded in recognition of distinguished service of high order to the nation in any field.
• This year more than 1000 people received this award.

Padma Shri:

• It is fourth highest civilian award in India.
• It is announced every year on Republic Day.
• It is given by President of India.
• It is awarded in recognition of contribution in various spheres of activities including Art, Industry, Education, Literature, Science, Sports, Medicine, Social Service and Public Affairs.
• It is also awarded to individual who are not citizen of India, but served in various ways to India.

Celebrate Earth Hour

Celebrate Earth Hour

Dear Rising Youth of India, Please celebrate earth hour today by switching off electricity for one hour. For more details please visit https://www.earthhour.org.

NITI AAYOG

NITI AAYOG

NITI Aayog which is National Institute for Transforming India which is a think tank or forum with states having bigger role in National development.

• It will include political heads (Chief Ministers) of 29 states.
• Lieutenant Governors of Union territories
• Prime Minister will be the Chairman, 
• A full time Vice-chairman, who will be the de facto executive head
• There will be a CEO and experts from various fields
• Four Cabinet ministers will be ex-officio members. Finance minister will be one among them.
• Some part time members will also be there.

Difference with Planning Commission

• State governments did not have participation in Planning Commission. So NITI aayog is more federal in its approach, having shared vision of national development priorities and fosters cooperative federalism, recognizing that strong states make strong nation
•  Planning Commission was having TOP-DOWN approach. Which means that policies were made at the national level. But in NITI Aayog plans will be made at the village level and aggregated at the higher levels of government. This will ensure specific attention to all sections of society.
• NITI aayog will provide a platform for resolving the interdepartmental and intrasectoral differences, which was not possible in Planning Commission.
• The planning commission used the approach of one formula fits for all. But in NITI aayog the plans will be made at grass root levels, so region specific plans will be made according to the needs of the region.
• Unlike the Planning Commission, NITI Aayog will not have the powers to allocate the funds.

Criticism:

Many scholars are of the view that NITI aayog is just a political move to replace a body of Nehruvian era. NITI aayog is nothing but an old thing in a new package. National Development Council is having the same composition, so what is the need of NITI Aayog.

Whatever may be the criticism, but the main thing is to be noted is that NITI aayog is more Federal, Region specific and a Decentralized approach.

+NITI Aayog
+PMO India

Something about section 66A

Something about section 66A

66A. Punishment for sending offensive messages through communication service, etc.
Any person who sends, by means of a computer resource or a communication device,—

(a) any information that is grossly offensive or has menacing character; or
(b) any information which he knows to be false, but for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience, danger, obstruction, insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred or ill will, persistently by making use of such computer resource or a communication device,
(c) any electronic mail or electronic mail message for the purpose of causing annoyance or inconvenience or to deceive or to mislead the addressee or recipient about the origin of such messages,
shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and with fine.

Explanation.— For the purpose of this section, terms “electronic mail” and “electronic mail message” means a message or information created or transmitted or received on a computer, computer system, computer resource or communication device including attachments in text, images, audio, video and any other electronic record, which may be transmitted with the message.

When was the first PIL filed? 

The first PIL on the issue was filed in 2012 by a law student Shreya Singhal, who sought amendment in Section 66A of the Act, after two girls -- Shaheen Dhada and Rinu Shrinivasan -- were arrested in Palghar in Thane district as one of them posted a comment against the shutdown in Mumbai following Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray's death and the other 'liked' it.

Some prominent cases where 66A has been used 

• JU professor Ambikesh Mahapatra was arrested by West Bengal police for sharing cartoons on Mamata Banerjee. Subsequently HC asked the state government to give 50 thousand rupees compensation to Mahapatra. 
• Activist Aseem Trivedi was arrested for drawing cartoons which were critical of the Parliament and constitution.  Businessman Ravi Srinivasan was booked for allegedly tweeting offesive remarks against son of a prominent politician. 
• The apex court had on May 16, 2013, come out with an advisory that a person, accused of posting objectionable comments on social networking sites, cannot be arrested without police getting permission from senior officers like IG or DCP.
• The direction had come in the wake of numerous complaints of harassment and arrests, sparking public outrage. It had, however, refused to pass an interim order for a blanket ban on the arrest of such persons across the country.
• The court asked centre in December last year to clarify stand on the provisions that ensues arrest or be ready for such laws to be stayed. 
• At a later date, Apex Court said the Information Technology Act provision, which gives power to arrest a person for posting objectionable comments on social websites, cannot be quashed on the ground that it does not have 'mens rea' (motive or knowledge of wrongdoing) as one of the pre-requisites to constitute an offence.

The court's observation came when a lawyer said Section 66A of the IT Act deserves to be quashed as it creates a situation where a person can be arrested and jailed despite the fact that he neither intended nor had the knowledge that he was committing an offence.

Source: DNA and TOI

important news

http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/upsc-results-to-be-delayed-after-scrapping-of-jat-quota-749856

Why there is no cyclone at the equator

WHY THERE IS NO CYCLONE AT THE EQUATOR

The Coriolis force acts perpendicular to the Pressure gradient force. The Pressure gradient force is perpendicular to the Isobars. The higher the Pressure gradient force, the more is the Velocity of the wind and larger will be the deflection due to Coriolis force in the direction of the wind. As a result of these two forces operating perpendicular to each other, in low pressure areas, the wind blows around the low pressure, and cyclones are created. But at the Equator, Coriolis force is zero and wind blows perpendicular to the Isobars. The low pressure zone gets filled instead of getting intensified. That is why there is no cyclone at the Equator.

Source: NCERT: Fundamentals of Physical Geography.  11th class

WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME

WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME

OBJECTIVE:

The UN World Food Programme was established in 1960 with objectives of Preparation for emergencies, restoration and rebuilding of lives after emergencies, reduction of chronic hunger and malnutrition and help countries reduce hunger by capacity building.

THREATS ASSESSED BY WFP:

Poverty, uneven food distribution, natural disaster, deforestation and low education levels are listed among the threats to food security by WFP.

FOCUS AREAS:

Reduction of Child Mortality, Improvement of maternal health, control and eradication of diseases and enabling environment stability in agricultural operations.

WORKING MECHANISM:

The programme uses food as an incentive to help the poor to gain education, provide healthcare and work to build assets.

WFP IN INDIA:

In India WFP aims to combat malnutrition and invest in human resources, help improve immediate food security for selected target groups, maximize the active participation of women, advocate joint forest management, help strengthen distribution channel for local food grain, increase agriculture production and create employment

INDIAN GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL

INDIAN GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL

Definition of Green Building:

"A green building is one which uses less water, optimises energy efficiency, conserves natural resources, generates less waste and provides healthier spaces for occupants, as compared to a conventional building."

Vision

To enable a sustainable built environment for all and facilitate India to be one of the global leaders in sustainable built environment by 2025.

Concept of Green Homes

Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) Green Homes is the first rating programme developed in India, exclusively for the residential sector. It is based on accepted energy and environmental principles and strikes a balance between known established practices and emerging concepts. The system is designed to be comprehensive in scope, yet simple in operation. 

Benefits

• Energy saving 20 to 30%
• Water Saving 30-50%
• Enhanced air quality
• Excellent day lighting
• Health and Wellbeing of occupants
• Conservation of scare natural resources

Eligibility

IGBC Green Homes Rating System is a measurement system designed for rating new residential buildings which include construction categories such as 

• Individual Homes
• High rise residential apartments
• Gated Communities
• Row Houses
• Existing residential buildings which retrofit and redesigned in accordance with the 
• IGBC Green Homes criteria

The project team can evaluate all the possible points to apply under the rating system using a suitable checklist. The project can apply for IGBC Green Homes certification if it can meet all mandatory requirements and achieve the minimum required points. 

Concept of Green Building Townships

IGBC continuously works to provide tools that facilitate the adoption of green building practices in India. The development of 'IGBC Green Townships Rating System' is another important step in this direction.

The rating system is designed to address large developments and it is mandatory to include residential development as part of the township. Some typical examples of large scale developments are integrated townships, satellite cities, gated communities, campuses with multiple buildings etc.

Concept of Green Building SEZ

Indian Green Building Council(IGBC) has developed green building rating programmes to cover commercial, residential, factory buildings, etc., Rating programmes would help projects to address all aspects related to environment and is an effective tool to measure the performance of the building/ project.

IGBC along with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) has prepared the Green SEZ guidelines. IGBC has further developed IGBC Green SEZ Rating System as an extension of the Green SEZ guidelines which encourages the projects to exceed the requirements of many codes and standards. IGBC Green SEZ Rating System is a voluntary and consensus based programme. 

The rating system has been developed based on materials and technologies that are presently available. The objective of IGBC Green SEZ is to facilitate the creation of energy efficient, water efficient, healthy, comfortable and environmentally friendly SEZ. 

The rating system evaluates certain credit points using a prescriptive approach and other credits on a performance based approach. The rating system is evolved so as to be comprehensive and at the same time user-friendly. 

Something About Tamil Nadu

Something About Tamil Nadu

Rivers

Arani, Palar, Penniyar, Manimukta, Vaigai (This River is Eastern Extension of Periyar river), Cauvery, Chittar, 

Lakes:

Pulicut Lake( share with Andhra),  Kilvelli lake, Kollidam, Stanley Res., Krishnaraj Sagar Res,, Bhavani Sagar Res., Shatnur Res.

Eastern Ghat:

Javedi Hills, Shevaroy Hills, Panchamalai Hills

Western Ghat:

Palani Hills, Sirumalai Hills, Varushnad Hills

Agriculture:

Rice, Cotton Yarn, Sugarcane, Tea and Coffee

Industry:

• Siriculture in Kanchipuram, Vellore and Pallavaram Districts
• Automobile and Pharma industries in Ennore
• Aluminium and Iron industries in Salem
• Automobile industry in Coimbatore
• Textile Industry in Erode
• Cement Industry in Dindigul
• Madurai is called Coffee Capital of India
• Cement and Cotton Industries in Virudhnagar
• Firework industries in Shivkashi
• Artificial port in Chennai
• Coal and Iron is imported from Indonesia and Australia through Ennore Port
• Thoothukkudi: Important port for export

Wildlife:

• Vedanthangal: Bird Sanctuary
• Mudumalai: Tiger Reserve
• Kalkad: Tiger Reserve
• Neyyar: Wildlife Sanctuary