NATGRID

National Intelligence Grid also known as NATGRID, the idea born in the mind of The Minister of Finance P.Chidambaram after 26/11 attacks took place in 2008.

What is NATGRID?
   There are wide range of terror attacks in our country. There is immense security to protect the innocent lives from these attacks and yet our country lacks some measurable element that tackles with the terrorism.
   First of all let us think of how terror attacks happening in our country?
Say for example, a terrorist 'x' wanted to attack a country. For this he has to do the back ground work. He has to know the details of the country to launch an attack. So at most he can use four components to get the information. They are human material (to carry out the information about the country), finance, communication (it can be any technology), travelling. So these four factors play an important role. After knowing the detailed information he will proceed further. So,this is the way attacks are taking place.
NATGRID is an agency that carries pro-active measurements like checking all kind of information neede to handle the terror attacks and taking appropriate measures. This NATGRID works under the Department of Home Affairs.

What does NATGRID do?
    NATGRID grids or integrates various mechanisms or departments of Center and various States and accumulates the information from these departments. This is a tool more than a department or agency to handle the issues. The Cabinet Committee gave nod for this project. The project is carried in four phases. In the first two phases the information from various departments is integrated and in next two phases various amendments have to carried out in the bills for access to the Confidential information of State and Central Governments.

    It integrates nearly 21 departments of the Government like finance, banking sector, tourism etc., and provides information to 11 agencies like National Investigative agency, Central Bureau of Investigation, Enforcement Directorate, Narcotics agency etc.,

Who is the Chief Executive of this NATGRID?
    Chief Executive Officer of NATGRID is P. Raghu Raman who is proficient in three facets Intelligence, Defense, Security. These qualifications made the selection of P. Raghu Raman as the CEO of NATGRID. The whole work of this project is under the direction of this eminent personality.

What are the critical issues related to NATGRID?
    Many States are opposing the idea of integration of the information into a single entity because the information is sensitive and confidential to share any and it may violate privacy of the individual.

The President

The President of India is also known as the First Citizen Of India. He is the head of the Executive Branch. 

What is the Election process of the President?

    President is a nominal candidate. That is, elected representatives of Parliament(both the houses) and Legislative Assembly elects the President. Nominated members who are elected by President i.e., 2members for Loksabha and 12members for Rajyasabha are not eligible to vote for President. And the election is a single vote process carried in a secret ballet, just like election of a representative. This election process must be carried before the tenure of the present President completes. The oath of Office is administered by the Chief Justice of India.

Qualifications required for a Presidential candidate?

    The members who are contesting for a Presidential candidate should give their nominations to the Returning Officer. The officer checks for the eligibility of these candidates and finalizes the list.

The qualifications required for the Presidential candidate are:

1. He should be the citizen of India.
2. He should complete 35 years by the time of contesting the election.
3. He should not hold any office of any Central or State Government.
4. He should not be the member of any of the Houses or any Legislative Assembly.

Who are the people elected by the President?

    The President has the Powers to nominate or appoint 

1. Prime Minister and other ministers(12ministers for Rajyasabha and 2ministers for Loksabha).
2. Attorney General of India.
3. Chief Election Commissioner.
4. Comptroller and Auditor General.
5. Chief Justice of India.

What is the removal process of the President?

    The President of India can't be removed directly. There are two things to consider the removal of the President.

1. He voluntarily can resign from, by submitting the resignation letter to the Vice-President.
2. Through a process called Impeachment. Impeachment process to be active, should have one-third of the members of the Parliament sign to introduce in the parliament. After this process completes, the Impeachment bill is introduced in the Parliament. With the vote of two-third of members of each House, the bill will be passed and the President is said to be removed.

What after the removal of the President?

    The vacancy for the President office should be filled within 6months of the removal of the President. The process of filling in the vacancy is also carried for the resignation or death of the President.

Regional Administration in India

India is a diverse country with 28 states and 7 union territories. The Administration is managed at various levels in India. But there are three main levels of Government Administration. They are Central, State and Local Bodies. Local level in turn is divided into a number of districts and villages etc., Local level is a transparent than other two levels as it is directed by the people in that region. People in that region participate actively in decision-making.

Regional Administration is a local governing body that lies below the State level and above the District level. The State is divided into number of Divisions or Regions where each region contains a regional headquarter. This type of administration eases the functioning of the Government. These are maintained by regional or divisional officers.

   The regional officers inspects the functioning of the districts under his region. Functions of the regional officers include:

1. undertakes various issues at the regional level and inquire the reports of the districts.
2. instruct the officers at the district level and ensure the proper regulation in the region.
3. giving technical guidance to the district officers in the administration.

Neo-Liberalization

We'll discuss the concept of Neo-Liberalism and its impact on developing countries.

Evolution of Neo-Liberalism
    Neo-Liberalism is an economic policy adopted by the Developed Countries to improve their profits and to spread their influence throughout world.
  Neo-Liberalization is the thing that is related to the beneficiary of the corporate sector. It came into existence after the second-world war. World economic institutions like WTO, World Bank and IMF being influenced by the corporate regime of mostly developed countries injected this policy into their organization. We know the fact that the developing countries depend on these organizations for economical assistance to meet their county needs because of the lack of sufficient economic inflow in their country.  So, what these economic institutions does is that make compulsion of these regulations in order to provide any assistance in the development of the third world countries.

What is Neo-Liberalism?
    "Neo" means the new and the "Liberalism" term means reforms and these reforms are mostly economical and these economical reforms in turn effect the political system. I'll discuss this shortly. Liberalization means the capitalist regime and privatization of all available resources that are under government sphere. This include removing the barriers to make the trading system free. This system removes the gap between the nations and there will be free import and export of the resources in these nations. The main motto of this policy is to earn more and more profits and this profits limits only to the industries that are leading the corporate sector.

How Neo-Liberalization effects the developing nations?
   As the Neo-Liberalization fills the gap between the nations in trading and the foreign nations establish their industries in the developing countries. While there exist a vast unemployment in these poor and developing nations, the people here will be ready to do or accept the job even under non-safety conditions. Even for low pays they are ready to work. So this attracts the foreign nations to establish their units here. This creates an assumption that the policy will improve employment rate and will benefit the country. What actually the process is the industries employ the workers for low salaries and make these people work for more hours and earn profits.
  And due to the flow of these foreign resources, the domestic and small scale industries are prone to losses as they can't compete with the giant industries and thus leads to the shutting down.

How does Neo-Liberalism in turn effect the political system?
   As the governments of the developing nations depend on the economic support of the World institutions, they are restricted to demolish certain regulations which bars the foreign institutions to trade their resources freely.
  So the government deregulates the policies framed to protect the national institutions from the extraneous forces. This in turn effects the economic growth of the country.

Neo-Liberalism is introduced to introduce the competitive environment in the country but this in turn lead to the  ruining of the country's development. So, this policy is opposed by many countries and still many countries are protesting for the abolition of this policy.

 

National Commission for Protection of Child Rights

What is NCPCR?

   The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights is a commission set up in 2007 under the Commission for Protection of Child Rights,2005.
There are many policies implemented and new policies are emerging to protect the rights of children in the age group between 0-18 years. These policies does not reach to every child in the State or in the Country and these are sometimes being violated without giving proper justice to the children. The children themselves cant fight with these issues as they are not enough to bring these issues into the society and fight for their rights. So NCPCR is introduced to govern these issues and ensure that every child irrespective of his/her background enjoy the rights provided.

What are the functions of the NCPCR?

1. The commission reviews the existing laws and make recommendations of laws that will lead to the effective implementation of the child rights.
2. Submit annual or timely reports to the Central or respective State Governments.
3. Study the factors that effect the children from enjoying their rights. These factors include natural disasters, communal violence, terrorism, domestic violence etc., and the commission recommends for proper measures to protect the child from these social evils.
4. The commission investigates on the violation of the child rights and recommend for the initiation of the proceedings.
5. Create awareness in the people about the rights of the children.

Who are the members of the Commission?

    The Commission constitutes a Chairperson and six members who are prominent in child welfare. Present Chairperson of the commission is Shantha Sinha. She was awarded the Padmasri in 1998 and the Ramon Magsaysay award for Community Leadership in 2003.

Delimitation Commission of India

What is Delimitation Commission of India?
Delimitation Commission or Boundary Commission is set up by the Government of India under the rules of the Constitution. Delimitation Commission is an independent commission that sets the size, boundary of Constituencies in India.

What is Delimitation?
Delimitation means the act or process of fixing limits or modifying the limits of any Constituency.

What is a Constituency? 
Parliament consists of legislative houses. The lower house is called the Lok Sabha. The elections to this house is conducted by Election Commission of India. For this process, the country is divided into nearly equal sized provinces and these provinces are called Constituencies. Our country has 543 constituencies and each of these will have a representative in the Lok Sabha. These members will participate from their respected Constituencies.

When will the Commission conduct the survey?
The Commission takes the step every ten years based on the Census of India which gives result once in every ten years. Under the Delimitation Commission Act, the Commission was set up by Country in 1952, 1963, 1973 and 2002.

What does the Commission do?
The Commission after every ten years conducts the survey and modifies any province if any increase or decrease in the population in that area and submits its report to the legislative assembly. The orders of this Commission are supreme that no one can challenge this order in any court. The orders must be followed by the Executive and accordingly the Constituencies will undergo elections.

What happened between the 1973 and 2002? Why no reports are generated during this period?
The Government of India suspended the Delimitation Commission in 1976 keeping in view that the "family planning" program would effect their elections. But some irregularities were developed in the population leading to misleading of the election process. Hence, again under the Chairperson Justice. Kuldip Singh the Commission was again resumed in 2002.

Who are the members of the Commission?
The Commission consists of the Chief Election Commissioner of India and two judges of Supreme Court or any of the High Courts in India.

References: Official Website, Wikipedia

Mars Orbiter Mission India

On the eve of Independence day, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has formally declared the Mars Mission project. This will lead India place itself in the mark of landing on the Red Planet. India will be the sixth country after US, Russia, Europe, Japan and China, and If the mission is successful India will be the first country from Asian region to successfully land on the Mars as missions of Japan and China failed to reach the destination.

    The project is approved by the Cabinet. The mission is likely to be put in space by the next year. For this, a budget of Rs.450 Crore is allocated. The mission will be sent into space with the help of an extended version of ISRO's warhorse rocket, Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle(PSLV) and with a payload of 25kg. This will take place in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. The space craft will take 300 days to reach the orbit of the Mars. The Space Craft will study various factors of the Planet Mars like the geology, climate, sustainability and life etc.,

Reference: The Hindu

PMGSY Scheme

Before discussing the PMGSY scheme, let me go in brief about how this scheme has evolved.

Bharat Nirman: Our former President A.P.J.Abdul Kalam on 25th February 2005 announced a plan for rural hood development programme called Bharat Nirman. The Finance Minister in the Budget session of same year discussed for the development of Rural Roads one of the six components of Bharat Nirman. From this the PMGSY scheme came into action.

What is PMGSY scheme?
    Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadhak Yojana scheme is a 100% Central Sponsered scheme launched on 25th December, 2000. The main aim of the scheme is to provide all-weather roads to rural areas of the country.

What is the target of this scheme?
    The program connects all habitations with a population of 500 and above in plain areas and 250 and above in hilly areas. Recently, Left Wing Extremist affected areas are also included in this scheme. Besides connecting these areas, the Government is intended to develop the socio-economic conditions of these people. The program takes care of Building/Upgradation of the roads in these regions.

Who will handle this scheme?
    National Rural Road Development Agency(NRRDA) is responsible for handling this project and State Rural Road Development Agency(SRRDA) is created as rural road program belongs to the State matter.

Planning Mechanism: 

• Based on guidelines and budget, proper planning has to be made to implement the scheme effectively.
• Discussions with State Governments and other agencies gives a broad view of planning to the scheme and implementing in an effective manner.
• Seek sufficient budgetary.
• Meetings of Performance Review Committee for periodic reviews of the project.

Executive Mechanism:

   This work is carried out in three levels

1. At the Central level (NRRDA)
2. At the State level (SRRDA)
3. At the District level. In this the project is carried out by one or more Programme Implementation Units(PIU)

Information Board:

   State Governments have been advised to provide Citizen Information Boards at the construction areas which gives information about the project in that area to provide transparency in the project implementation. The information is provided in local language.

 
CPGRAMS: Centralized Public Grievance Redressal and Monitoring System handles the grievances that are received and processed and the reports are forwarded to NRRDA and its respective SRRDA.

Reference: PMGSY official website

Advertising Standards Council Of India

What is ASCI?
    Advertising Standards Council Of India is a Non-Governmental Organization and is a self regulatory system. It was established in 1985.

Why the ASCI is self-regulated?

            Due to increasing pseudo advertisements, consumers are losing confidence even in genuine products
      also. ASCI ensures that the advertisements are

1. Truthful and fair to customers and competitors.
2. Bound to the rules and standards of ASCI that render decency and propriety.

What is the goal of ASCI?
    The main aim of the ASCI is to provide protection for enhancing the public confidence in advertising. The ASCI maintains and ensures that all advertising content is truthful, legal and honest and depersonalize women.

What are the components of ASCI?
        ASCI is a body of four organs viz Advertisers, Advertising Agencies, the Media and other agencies like
        rating agencies, marketing agencies etc.

Who are the members of the organization?
    >  Advertising Standards Council of India is comprised of Board of Governors and Consumer Complaint
        Council.
   > There are 16 members in the Board of Governors representing Advertisers, Advertising Agencies,
         Media and other bodies.
   >  The Consumer Complaint Council consists of 21 members representing various subjects. These are
        appointed by Board of Governors. Out of 21, twelve are non-advertising civil society members such as
        doctors, lawyers, teachers etc., and nine members represent the advertising firms. The Consumer
        Complaint Council examines and investigates the complaints received from the consumers, members of
        the group.

What is the role of the consumer in ASCI?
    > Consumer plays an important role in ASCI functioning. He/She is the main theme upon which the ASCI
         frames guidelines to the advertisements and ensures consumer's satisfaction.
    >  If the consumer feels any advertisement evokes obscenity or he/she finds any false report in the
        advertisement, he/she has the right to complaint to the Consumer Complaint Council which probes and
         takes action against it.

Reference: ASCI official website

Ramon Magsaysay Award

Ramon Magsaysay Award was created in 1957 in memory of Ramon Magsaysay, the then President of Philippines who was well known for humanity and justice particularly for the poor sections in the Country. This award is presented irrespective of religion, gender, race etc., It is considered as the "Nobel Prize Award of Asia".

What the award is intended for?

   Ramon Magsaysay award is presented for the selfless services provided by the individuals or organizations to the social welfare. It is given in six exclusive categories.
      1. Government Service
      2. Public Service
      3. Community Leadership
      4. Literature and Creative Communication Arts
      5. Peace and International Understanding
   The sixth category is added in 2000, "Emergent Leadership", which is given for the youth i.e., less then forty years of age who contribute their efforts and talents to selfless and innovative service for Asia Development.

Who will handle this foundation?

   Since its foundation, this award is run annually by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) in collaboration with Philippine Government. Now it is handled by Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation (RMAF). There will be four Filipinos for handling this organizational functions for four years and a Chairman who heads the foundation.

When will be the award presentation held?

   Presentation Ceremonies are held annually on August 31st on the Birth Anniversary of the President Ramon Magsaysay.

Who are the 2012 nominees to this award?

   1.Chen Shu-Ziu of Taiwan
   2. Romulo Davide of Philippines
   3. Kulandei Francis of India
   4.Syeda Rizwan Hasan of Bangladesh
   5. Ambrosius Ruwindrijato of Indonesia
   6. Yang Saing Koma of Cambodia

Indian Penal Code and brief note on Sedition Law

So far, we've heard and studied of sections and codes of Indian Penal Code through media and newspapers but is not aware of what is IPC. I'll give a glance about it.

what is Indian Penal Code?
    Indian Penal Code is a document that describes the criminal laws which comes in action when any anti societal activities takes place like murder, family disputes etc., For any offense, Justice is given after having strong discussions based on the sections and rules by the jurists who argue in account of the persons who approached for Justice .

When did it come into act?
    Indian Penal Code has its history during British regimen. British Government established a Law Commission to make a draft about how a society must run and how it should be controlled from social evils. It brought into act during 1860s after referencing many countries law procedures. The credit of drafting the penal code goes to the first law commission head Macaulay.

What is Law Commission?
   Law Commission is an executive body that works as an advisory body to the Ministry of Law and Justice. It is an ad-hoc body.  It works for legal reforms in the laws i.e., to restructure or to update or to bring new laws into the system to promote good governance under the rule of law. To do this task the Government of India appoints legal experts. Present 19th Law Commission chairman is P.V.Reddy.

What does Indian Penal Code contain?
   Indian Penal Code, 1860 contains 23 chapters and five hundred and eleven sections. It is a reference to laws relating to various offences depending on its ambit. It covers all areas of criminal law. Constitution Of India(COI) is a strong base on which the laws are made in the IPC. The laws are made respecting the COI guide lines.

What if Laws are made against human rights?
  India is a democratic country where we have a right to expression. So, if any law is made against beliefs of the society, then people can strongly demand for repeal or modification of the law. Hence changes can be made to it.

Sedition Law:
  Some laws in India dates back to the British implemented laws and those are still in use. Among them is the Sedition Law.

What does Sedition Law say?
  We feel proud of  our Constitution that it gives the citizen freedom of speech i.e., freedom of expression. But a law in Indian Penal Code breaks this right because the law says that any expression that ill-uses against and shows alienation towards the Government is treated as an offense and shall be punished with imprisonment.
  It came recently into light years after in the case of Dr. Binayak Sen, a social activist who was accused for supporting naxalism activities as he opposed the government for anti-Naxalist operations.

Rocket and its working system

What is a rocket?

   1) A rocket is an engine or a vehicle that uses some form of energy to carry the   payload to the destination
        whether it is a space or the surface of the earth.
   2) Rocket itself is a engine that works with the help of another engine.

How does a rocket work?

  1) A rocket works on the principle of Newton’s third law of motion.
  2) That is the rocket burns the fuel and produces the gas which is pushed backward.   This gas pushes the  
       rocket forward. i.e., the law of action and reaction.
  3) Rocket working similar to jet engine has a difference where a jet cannot travel   in space and it can travel
      only where the air is present. But a rocket can travel   in space where there is no atmosphere.
  4) Rockets use different types of fuels like solid rocket boosters, liquid fuel   etc., and these fuels are filled
      in the chambers which are burnt in the presence   of an oxidized agent that produces hot gas.

Uses of Rockets:
 
  1)  Military – The rockets were first used in military to carry warheads to the   destination and in wars.
  2)  Science and Research – Rockets are used as space probes, missiles etc., in this   field
  3)  Space Flights
  4)  Technology

EL-NINO

El-Nino is a global weather phenomenon. It occurs in the Eastern and Central Pacific ocean. Due to this, the seasonal monsoons get disturbed and natural disasters like droughts and floods take place.

First I'll explain the normal conditions in the Pacific region and then explain the El-nino effect.

Normal Conditions: The process takes place between the oceans and the atmosphere. Winds flow from East to West from the surface of the water. Surface waters of ocean are very warm and the water under oceanic beds is cold and contains various types of nutrients which is helpful for aquatic life and to the soil when it reaches the land through rains. So, when the wind flows from East-West, the it displaces the surface water to the west side causing the cold water to move upward. There is a divide called "Thermocline" that divides the warm waters from the cold water. Due to the displacement of the water thermocline moves up to the Eastward. And the warm water will be collected in the western side and then moves into the atmosphere. This process repeats which is the process for rainfall occur.

El-Nino conditions: Now what happens when El-Nino condition occurs is, eastern winds become weaker resulting in carrying of little amounts of water to western side. As a result, the surface warm waters remain in the same position and cold water circulation will not come into act. And therefore, the thermocline is flat resulting in warming the atmosphere and shortage of rainfall. This is the position where the monsoons are effected.

Note: Date Line mentioned in the diagram is the longitudinal line that passes through the center of the Pacific ocean. This is the longitudinal line that is opposite to 0 degrees longitude.

Reference:airsea-www.jpl.nasa.gov

Selection process of Supreme Court Judges

In India, there are three constitutional branches to rule the democracy. Among them Judiciary plays an important role in discharging its duties for a layman. Its verdict is the superior that even the legislature and the executive must respect it.
Supreme Court is the highest honorable Judiciary in India and the High Court in respective states.

Since the judgement of the Supreme Court cant be ruled out, the judges must take into notice the truth and deliver the justice in favor of the victim. So appointment of these judges must be taken care of. Let us now discuss the selection process of the appointment of SC judges.

Till 1993, appointment of the Judges is done by the Executive (The President) in consultation with the Chief Justice as per the Constitution. But during 1993 and 1998 two judgments were given by the bench saying that in the former case, the selection process lies with the Chief Justice assisted by two other Judges and the latter case deals with the selection procedure to be in the hands of a Collegium which is formed with Chief Justice of SC and four more Judges without any involvement of the President in the decision. This judgments breached the rules of the Constitution framed by our national leaders who had reduced the powers of the Judiciary in the appointment process while writing the Constitution. There is no particular procedure followed by the Collegium in selection. All they consider is the assessments of the merits of the person. Hardly the legislature had the power to reject of the person but it can be ignored by the Collegium by reconsidering the person. The President has only given the power to approve the person.
There is no protocol to be followed by the Collegium nor does it has any Secretariat to take appropriate decisions when appointing the persons.
The solution to this is the establishment of National Commission to appoint the Judges. This procedure is followed in other countries.

Reference: The Hindu

Life cycle of a Star

Life Cycle means the phases from birth of an object or a living being to the death or demise of it.
When we see the luminous objects (Stars) in the sky, some stars will be near that it appears bigger than the others that are farther. Sometimes we think of how the light is given by stars to the earth and the like questions run in our mind. Now, let me explain you how a Star like every object goes through a life cycle.

Life Cycle: A Star passes through some phases. In each phase nuclear reactions takes place between the gas molecules under immense pressure. Different types of gas molecules undergo nuclear reaction as the Star shifts from one phase to other phase. The phases are as follows:

1. Birth of a Star: Stars have their birth in a special region of space called Nebula which is filled with gases and dust. A part of nebula begins to shrink due to the pull of its own gravity. This is where the Star is born. As the temperature grows nuclear reaction begins to take place. This nuclear reaction is nuclear fusion where the lightest gaseous molecules participate in this process. why the hydrogen molecules are fused because these are of less dense and are easily fused. This process is called "main sequence".
2. Red Giant: For fusion of every four hydrogen molecules, a helium gas molecule is formed. There comes a stage where the star starts to run out its hydrogen molecules and enough pressure is not available for the fusion of these helium elements. So, the Star begins to shrink in order to get the required pressure. This stage is called Red Giant. At this stage it appears brighter as some hydrogen molecules in the outer surface undergoes fusion and release light energy. If the star mass is less than that of the Sun then it continues to remain in this stage ceasing all nuclear reactions.
3. Red Dwarf: As the Red Giant contrasts further a Red Dwarf is formed which is a small and cool phase of the star. Since it is small in size it is less visible than its predecessors. In this stage helium burns and produces both carbon and oxygen.
4. White Dwarf: It is composed of both oxygen and carbon. The carbon crushes into neon and magnesium and the oxygen burns into silicon and sulfur. This silicon and sulfur further forms into an iron core which does not undergo any reaction as it wont release any energy. So tremendous pressure is needed to fuse the iron which leads to the collapse of the star. Due to this Supernova is formed.
5. Supernova: It is the death stage of the star where it explodes to form a Neutron star by forcing electrons and protons to produce neutrons. Nuclear stars are very dense which further explode to form a Black Hole.
6. Black Hole: Black hole is the last phase of Star which has infinite gravitational force that even don't allow the light to escape from it.

Comptroller and Auditor General Of India

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India(CAG) is appointed by the President of India on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. CAG is an independent body established by the Constitution of India. The Salaries and Other related issues are determined by Parliament Of India.The current CAG is Vinod Rai who is the eleventh CAG of India.

Duties and responsibilities of the CAG:

1. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India inspects the receipts and expenditures of the Government of India.
2. Also, the CAG authority checks for the accounts of State Governments too.
3. He is the head of Indian Audit and Accounts Department.
4. CAG acts as an external auditor for many government recognized institutions and organizations. An external auditor is one who audits the organization but is an independent authority.
5. CAG also works as external auditor for three of UN organizations. They are IAEA(International Atomic Energy Agency), WIPO(World Intellectual Property Organization), WFO(World Food Organization).
6. The CAG must not work in any government organization whether in Central Government or State Government after he ceases to hold the office as per Constitution Of India.

Note: Present CAG has been appointed as the Chairman of UN panel of External Auditors.

Reports of CAG:

1. The audits of Central Government related are submitted to the President who lays them before each House of  the Parliament.
2. The audits related to State Governments are submitted to the Governor of the State who lays them before the Legislative Assembly.

Removal of the CAG: The auditor general faces an impeachment motion for his removal. This motion is applicable to Judge of Supreme Court of India.

CELAC

Q.What is CELAC?
A. CELAC is the community formed by the states of Latin America and Caribbean region. It is "Community Of Latin American and Caribbean States". It is formed on February 23, 2010 at Rio summit. It consists of 33 nations speaking five different languages. It is a successor of Rio group + Latin America and Caribbean Summit on Integration and Development(CALC).

Q.Why it was formed?
A. The Community is formed to reduce the influence of United States and Canada in their political and economic affairs as the States thought that regions which are prone to the political influence of US and their constraints will have no economic development and thus they wanted to avoid the external interruptions of US. This community is formed to countermeasure the Organization of American States(OAS) by Washington in 1948.

Q.Who are its members?
A. The community is a representation of 33 nations of combined Latin America and Caribbean regions speaking five different languages. The Co-Chairs of the CELAC are Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela and Sebastian Pinera, President of Chile.

Q.Where was the first summit held?
A. First summit was held on December2, 2010 in Caracas, Venezuela. It focused on the primary issue, Global Economic Crisis and its impact on the region.
    The next two summits are scheduled to be held in Chile in 2012 and Cuba in 2013.

Q. What is the relation between the India and the CELAC?
A. Recently, both India and CELAC  had their meeting in New Delhi on August 7 and discussed various measures the countries had to develop to strengthen their relationship. The External Affairs minister S.M.Krishna headed the meet and other side is headed by Afredo Moreno Charme, minister of Foreign Affairs of Chile. The issues they concentrated are the trade and investment, Energy, Agriculture, minerals, science and technology, and international issues UN reforms, global financial crisis and terrorism. 

How a Bill becomes an Act

Numerous laws are present in our country. We'll just go through how a bill becomes an act or a law.

First of all let me tell u what is a bill....

For example consider Foreign Direct Investment, it is a proposal introduced by the Congress Govt. in the Parliament. It is a bill because it is in initial stage and is yet to be passed by the Parliament.
Now, a Bill is defined as a proposal which is introduced for the consideration of the members of the Parliament.

Any member of the Parliament can introduce a bill. Not only an MP, any person in the society can introduce the bill in the Parliament.

Types of Bills: 

Bills are of two types based on the purpose it's been introduced.

1. Public Bills: Which is framed for general public.
2. Private Bills: framed which is confined only to an individual or a group or community. 

A Bill is framed as a Draft in the Parliament. A Bill becomes an Act or a Law when it is successfully passed through the following steps.

Process of Bill into an Act:

1. First Reading: In this stage, the Bill or Draft is introduced in the Parliament. The member who is to introduce this in one of the Houses (Lok Sabha/Rajya Sabha) ask for a leave. If the leave is accepted by the House then the bill is introduced. If the leave is not granted, then the member of the House who is opposed and the member who supports for the leave has to be answerable to the speaker. This is called First Reading where the bill is introduced in the House.
2. Second Reading: In this stage there are two sub stages.
1. In this stage, general discussion is held in the House. i.e., the purpose of the Bill is discussed. At this stage, the Bill may be passed to the next sub-stage or it can be sent to refer to the Selection Committee or to Joint Committee.
2. In the second sub-stage the Bill is discussed clause-by-clause and amendments for the clauses are made at this stage.

            Selection Committee/Joint Committee: Select(confined only to that House)/Joint(belongs to the
            combined Houses) Committee refers the Bill clause-by-clause and suggests for any amendments to
            the Bill and Submits its report to the House/s.

      3. Third Reading: After the Bill is passed without any objection in the Second Reading, then third stage
          comes into existence. In this stage, the discussion whether to accept or reject the Bill is discussed. If
          the Bill is accepted in this stage, then it is passed to the other House and the same process is repeated.

If the Bill is passed in both the Houses, then it is sent for the assent of the President. The President may give his assent or he may send back to Houses for reconsideration or may hold the draft with him for some time. If for the second time, the Bill is passed in both the Houses and sent for the assent to the President then there is no choice for him to again the Bill back to Houses but have to give his assent. The Bill comes into Act when the President gives his accent.

Q.What happens if the Bill is not accepted by both the Houses or any?

A. The President heads for the Joint Sitting of the Houses, discusses the Bill and if any amendments are required, makes them and passes the Bill. Joint Sitting is not applicable to any Constitutional Amendment Bills

Note: If a Bill has to be passed in a House, a majority of 2/3rd of the members must accept it.

Money Bills: Money Bills are introduced only in the Lok Sabha. They are sent for Rajya Sabha for any modifications or amendments, but this House has no right to vote. If the Bill is not returned to the Lok Sabha within 14days, then the Bill is said to be passed. If the Rajya Sabha suggests any amendments, the Lok Sabha may or may not consider the amendments but passes the Bill.

Sikhs in Brief

I wanted to share some information about Sikhs which is unknown to you guys.

Origin: The Sikhism has its origin in India, mostly in the Western India. It was Guru Nanak  Dev who found the religion in fifteenth century AD. 

Who are Sikhs: As I already said that Sikhism has its roots in India, it was Hindus and Muslims who were converted to Sikhs due to the prevailing Hindu Caste System and its beliefs. Guru Nanak Dev was a great devotee of Goddess Durga. He was born in a family of Bedi clan who knew the Vedas. 
        Sikhs are 2% in India's population. They are spread all over the world. And 80% of the Sikhs in India reside in North East region.

Sacred Truths of Sikhs: 

1. Sikhs follow a Sacred Book called "Guru Granth Sahib" which is compilation of hymns composed by great saints of India that include both Hindus and Muslims.
2. There is an Act for Sikhs called Sikh Gurudwaras Act which defines Sikh as a person one who believes in "ten gurus and Granth Sahib".
3. The Ten Gurus of the Sikhs are sacred ones where the Guru Nanak was the first guru of the Sikhs.
4. The fifth guru "Guru Arjan" was the one who wrote the Sacred Book "Adi Granth".
5. It was the tenth Guru "Guru Gobind" who introduced the "Khalsa" which means the people who were baptized into Sikh religion were given the Holy water called "Amrita". This was first taken place on a day of Bhaisakhi which is the Hindu's starting day of the year.
6. Sikhs tag a name "Singh" at the end of their names as it gives the meaning "Lion" in Sanskrit.
7. Among the ten gurus most of the Gurus were martyred by the Mughals in condition whether to convert to Islam religion or to die. The Gurus preferred to die rather than giving up their religion.
8. The sacred place of Sikhs is Amritsar Golden Temple which was built by the fifth guru "Guru Arjan".
9. Sikhs follow five vows:    

                     a)to wear their hair and beard unshorn 

                     b)to carry a comb to keep them tidy                                                                                        

                     c) to wear the soldier's breeches     

                     d)to wear a silver bracelet on their right wrist   

                     e)to carry a cavalry sword with them.

                                                                                                                                                                                 

Facts about Sikhs:

1. There is no person in Sikh religion who is a clergy.
2. Unlike other religions that are spread all over the country, Sikhs are the only people who are confined only to a specific area.
3. They are bound to speak only a single language called Punjabi which unites them in a linguistic manner.
4. Since Sikhs practiced military from past, their role is major in defense services. Most of the Soldiers found in Northern region are Sikhs.
5. Sikhs play an important role in building the nation and actively participate in political affairs.              Ex: Manmohan Singh, Montek Singh Ahluwalia etc.
6.  Unlike other religions Sikhs treat every other religion with harmony. 

The Preamble Of Indian Constitution

The Preamble of Indian Constitution represents the whole structure and the fundamental values of the Constitution, also the aims and objectives of the founding fathers of the nation.

The Preamble was adopted on twenty-six November, 1949.When the Preamble was designed, it described the State as "Sovereign, Democratic, Republic". In 1976 when Emergency was active in the Country, the forty-second amendment described the State as the "Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic, Republic". 

Description of The Preamble:

Every word and Every statement in the Preamble was defined which we see in the following.

A)  We The People Of India: Describes that all the power lies in the People Of India and the political system will be responsible and accountable to the people. This statement is derived from the US Constitution with a little change in the name of the Country. 

B)  Sovereign: It is an essential attribute of the State and is termed as "an absolute power which is not subject to any internal or external control". The State takes decision on its own and without any interference from outside.

As already stated, "We the People" is derived from US Constitution "We the People of United States" which means it is applicable to several independent States/Countries which are part of United States. But India represented the whole people of the country not individual or separate states. This defines that whole people adopted the Constitution and not people of individual states which is Sovereign in nature. 

Note: No State or Country is said to be Sovereign officially because this is an era where all the countries are dependent on each other say in Security issues, Peace, Trade etc.,

C)  Socialism: Socialist is he who is "free from all kinds of exploitation - social, economic and political". Socialism means elimination of inequality in income, status and standard of living. It also means that more power vests in Government or Public. But due to privatization, globalization and liberalization the role of Government has been reduced gradually after 1990s and the power is transferred to private ownership which made the State imbalanced and lead to inequality and discrimination.

D)  Secularism: The Secular State is one which gives individual and corporate freedom of religion, and is not constitutionally connected to a particular religion nor does it seek either to promote or interfere with the religion. The Secular State has nothing to do with the religion i.e., it is not in favor of any religion nor does it oppose any.

E)  Democracy: Means Government by people as against to monarchy or dictatorship which are ruled by a single person, oligarchy or aristocracy which are ruled by few persons. In a democratic government, whole power rests in the people irrespective of status, religion, caste, gender etc., every one are equal before the government. Our country is an indirect representative democratic country where people elect their representatives who will form a government and rule the people. This form of indirect government best suits when the domain of the region is so large and with more population to rule. Direct Government also exist in our country in the form of gram sabhas, gram panchayats etc., where people are the decision makers. This form of government is good for small regions and with less population.

F) Republic: Republic is a concept that defines the supreme are none other than the people and there is no privileged class and public offices are open to every citizen without any discrimination. In a Republic State, there is no hereditary ruler and the head of the State is elected by the people for a fixed term and he is the President of the Republic.

G) Justice: Justice means harmonization of interests between individuals, between groups, between individuals and groups on the one hand and interests of community on the other. Preamble applies the Justice in terms of social, economic and politic more concentrating on both social and economic.Social Justice is that all citizens are treated equal irrespective of their status in the society as a result of birth, race, caste, religion etc., Economic Justice is that rich and poor are treated alike in front of Justice and that efforts are made to bridge gap between them. Political Justice is every citizen has the right to participate in political process irrespective of religion, caste, race etc.,

H) Equality: Equality applies to status and opportunity in the Preamble. i.e., there is no discrimination between one person and other.

I) Fraternity: It promotes the idea of Brotherhood. The fundamental rights and the directive principles which are introduced in the Constitution to achieve social and economic equality also promotes fraternity

Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems(CCTNS)

what is the purpose of the system?

The Police Stations in the country though working efficiently and effectively to their strength, lack of      technological implementation in this system betrays its functioning abilities.
Though Telephones and Wireless are available these days, are not sufficient in tracking and dealing with inter-system affairs.
These inter-system affairs include cases related to local police stations, local-remote stations, state-state affairs, state-country related etc.,
There is not enough  mechanism to handle issues like data storage, data access, data transfer and data sharing with till now, though there are manual record entries which will be limited to that area only.

   So, What the CCTNS does is, it makes connectivity among the stations by improving the technology through adopting the principle of E-governance and this facilitates the collection, storage, retrieval, transfer and sharing of information in various levels.

About:

Crime and Criminal Tracking Network System works under the   Department of Ministry of Home Affairs for the sole purpose of "Investigation of Crime and Detection of Criminals".An amount of 2000crores has been allocated to this scheme. Under this project, approximately 14000 Police Stations will be automated besides 6000 higher offices in Police Hierarchy.

Objectives of the System:

1) Functioning of the police to be made citizen friendly and made more transparent by automating the  system.

2) For effective investigation, officers are provided with tools, technology and    information for Crime Tracking and Criminal Detection.

3) Improving police functioning in various areas like Law and Order, Traffic    Management etc.,

4) Facilitate interactive information sharing among the Police Agencies.

5) Keep track of  the progress of cases, including the courts.

6) The changes in the Police System in Technological point of view might bring the    changes in the   functioning of the System in a fast mode and it leads to the    efficient working of its related functionaries like Investigative Departments, Courts etc.,