28 February observed as National Science Day

very year February 28 is celebrated as the National Science Day i.e. Rashtriya Vigyan Diwas (राष्ट्रीय विज्ञान दिवस). In 2015, the theme of the day is “Science for Nation Building”. This year’s theme has been chosen for the purpose of raising public appreciation on scientific issues for the development of nation. Why National Science Day is celebrated? This day marks the epoch-making discovery of Raman Effect by Indian physicist Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman (CV Raman) on February 28, 1928. In 1930, for this discovery he was awarded with the Nobel Prize in Physics. In 1986, National Council for Science and Technology Communication (NCSTC) demanded the Union Government to assign February 28 every year as the ‘National Science Day’ for India. In 2000, the first National Science Day was celebrated on February 28, 2000. In 2013, the American Chemical Society designated the ‘Raman Effect’ as an International Historic Chemical Landmark. Theme for the National Science Day 2013 – “Genetically Modified Crops and Food Security”. Theme for the National Science Day 2014 – “Fostering Scientific Temper and Energy conservation”.

Lok Sabha passes Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2015

The Lok Sabha on 2 March 2015 passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2015 by voice vote. This bill will replace an ordinance promulgated in this regard and amend the Citizenship Act, 1955. Key provisions of the Bill It merges Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) and Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders. In cases related to citizenship by registration and naturalization, this amendment bill relaxes the requirement of 12 months. In this case, 30 days break will be provided if the central government is satisfied in special circumstances with a written record. On additional grounds, person may register for overseas citizenship card (OCC) such as Minor children whose parent or parents are Indian citizens. Spouse of an Indian citizen or OCI/ PIO cardholder subjected to certain conditions. Person who is a citizen of another country, meets one of several conditions of Citizenship Act, 1955 then his great grandchild may register. It also gives powers to Central government, to terminate OCC obtained by the spouse of an Indian citizen or OCI/PIO cardholder in case The court dissolves the marriage or Even after the first marriage has not been dissolved, the spouse enters into another marriage.

Positive signals for business

There are several features of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s first full-year Budget presented in Parliament on Saturday that are notable, such as the effort to widen the social security and pension net, the plan to severely penalise those holding illegal foreign accounts and assets, and the proposals to monetise idle gold holdings in the country. Yet, what stands out the most is the structural shift in the government’s attitude and approach to the business and corporate sector. This is evident from proposals such as the cut in corporate tax by a significant 5 percentage points, putting off the implementation of General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR) by two more years, a sharp increase in allocation to infrastructure, a proposed Bankruptcy Code, an electronic billdiscounting scheme to help the smallest of businesses to tide over cash flow problems, and even a new law to handle disputes involving public contracts. Not since P. Chidambaram’s ‘dream budget’ of 1997, which slashed corporate tax rates and taxes on royalties among other things, have we seen such a business-friendly budget. Successive governments and Finance Ministers have considered business and industry as a sector that needed to be kept on a tight leash using the instrument of taxation. In that sense, the biggest reform measure that Mr. Jaitley has unleashed lies not in any of the budget proposals but in the changed mindset towards business — the recognition that it is a major stakeholder in the economy and that its growth needs to be fostered.

So, what explains this change? The obvious answer is that the BJP has always been known to be pro-business, especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi. So a business-friendly budget is nothing surprising. But that would only be a broad explanation of the change. The more immediate explanation, though, is that the Budget had to support the Make in India theme of the Prime Minister, and what better way to attract capital and investors than by reducing taxes and easing means to do business in India. The Budget goes a long way in supporting the pet theme of Mr. Modi, whose imprint is visible in other proposals too. With an estimated 12 to 14 million people joining the workforce every year, the importance of increasing jobs, especially in manufacturing, cannot be overemphasised. It does not matter whether Make in India is aimed at exports or at the domestic market; the bottom line is investment and jobs. The Budget is the reiteration of the Modi Government’s conscious shift towards supporting industry and business. Mr. Jaitley had said earlier the Budget is but one day in a year and reforms are possible in the remaining 364 days as well. If that is any indication, then more reforms lie ahead for business and industry.

Keywords: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Union Budget 2015

Managing Boards and JEE

Two exams that can shape your future. How do you ensure you do well in both?

Juggling the Board exams and the JEE is quite a task. With almost all exams having a cutoff on your percentage, the Board exams can’t be underestimated anymore. Almost all Board exams start in March while JEE (mains) starts in April, which means you have to plan your board and JEE preparation extremely meticulously. Here are some tips which you should keep in mind before you get started:

Concepts and theory

While JEE is about practice, Board exams are about theory. You have to be proficient at articulating the theory and concepts you have learnt rather than applying them across many questions. You would be tested heavily on theory, and, hence, this provides a great opportunity for you to master it and brush up some concepts in more detail.

In the Board exams, revision is the key to scoring marks. There are some aspects to each subject that need to be learnt by heart, and revising them thoroughly can help you fetch easy marks. If you have a time constraint, prioritise the chapters with maximum weightage, which you have already covered, and make sure that you revise them.

Have a plan

Before you put pen to paper, have a goal and plan in your mind. Use the time for preparing for board exams to optimise your JEE preparation. A structured and detailed plan will not just help you focus, but will also enable you to see the entire syllabus at one go and then break it down piece by piece. Here, you should be extremely careful not to exaggerate your abilities to complete topics. Be practical and create a plan that satisfies the Boards as well as JEE preparations. Trying to do too much will be stressful and disappointing because it is not possible to work all day continuously without rest.

Include breaks, naps and snacks in your plan as well, so that you replenish your body from time to time. Make it a point to go through the entire syllabus thoroughly without missing out on any topic. Many students tend to leave out topics because they think they are too easy or too difficult or because they barely have time. Start your preparation early so that you have enough time to complete the syllabus. Make sure you touch every aspect of the syllabus regardless of what you think about it (easy or difficult). This approach will help you ace your Boards as well as your JEE exam because you will have studied everything clearly.

Understand the pattern

Having a thorough understanding of the question paper pattern is a must. This will help you prepare more efficiently because you will know how much time you can spend on each question or section. Note the differences between the board exam paper pattern and the IIT pattern. Do not get confused between the two. Do not compare your Board exam preparation with your JEE exam preparation. In fact, you shouldn’t compare any aspect of these exams. Use the time during board exam preparation to optimise your JEE preparation but do not keep comparing the exams at every step. This will lead to confusion. Practise working out papers from previous years. This will help you polish concepts that you are not confident about and get into the real groove of the IIT-JEE examination. Based on the results, enhance your study process. Also, do not miss out on previous years’ Board exam papers.

Take up a test series

Studying with the help of a test series will also help you focus, understand your weak points and augment your studying methodology accordingly. Many test series are available on the Internet that you can make use of for the Board and IIT-JEE preparation.

Studying for both exams hand-in-hand will give you ample time to prepare for JEE (mains) once the board exams are over and ensure that you do well in boards as well.

The writer is the co-founder of toppr.com

AIR POLLUTION - Behaviour Change as Important as Technology





Advanced technology can clean up the air, but only when coupled with change in people's behaviourDelhi tops the charts in the world in terms of air pollution, but the city has good compa ny. Out of the 20 most polluted cities in the world, 13 are in North India, many of them not far from Delhi. Vehicular traffic is considered the main reason behind air pollution in Delhi, but are there other equally important factors as well?
Look at a completely different set of data: Cancer rates in Punjab. At 90 patients for every 1 lakh people, this state has higher cancer rates than the national average. Pesticide exposure is often blamed as the primary cause, but there are other hidden factors as well. For example, in the past few decades, Punjab farmers have been burning crop residue like never before. This increases the amount of particles and carcinogens in the atmosphere, and they travel long distances. “We have found high concentrations of carcinogens like benzene,“ says Vinayak Sinha, assistant professor of earth sciences at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research in Mohali.
Vehicular pollution is high enough in Indian cities, but burning of waste -crop residue as well as municipal solid waste -is another important factor behind the high levels of pollution in Delhi and other nearby cities. And neither shows any signs of abating. Emission norms for vehicles are im rms for vehicles are im proving rapidly , and Bharat V norms are quite stringent even by developed country standards. And yet, they would do little to reduce pollution un less other factors im prove simultaneously: phasing out of old ve hicles, improving traf fic flow, and stopping of burning waste.
Burning of waste is a national problem.
As the accompanying article shows, there are no easy solutions to solid waste accumu lation. Poor traffic flow contributes to pollution in cities. In a study at the Indian Institute of Technology in Guwahati, professor of Civil Engineering Sharad Gokhale found significant improvements in pollution during free flowing traffic, and also significant differences depending on the proportion of petrol and diesel vehicles. “We can reduce 15-20% of pollution in cities by mere traffic flow management,“ says Gokhale.
As far as emissions from cars are concerned, improving fuel and vehicle emission standards will reduce pollution significantly . There is a big leap technologically from Bharat IV to Bharat V , and vehicles are improving their performance not just through engine improvements. It may take some time for Bharat V norms to be implemented, but they are a considerable advance over Bharat IV , which itself has not been implemented throughout the country . For example, Bharat V norms demand the use of diesel particulate matter filters and require the use of direct injection of diesel.
Cars are in any case becoming lighter and thus more fuel efficient. The current Budget has some measures encouraging electric vehicles, but the country's electric grid may not be able to handle a large population of electric cars. Fuel cell cars might come one day , but not in the foreseeable future. “Unless there is a breakthrough soon, the internal combustion engine will be predominant for another 15 years,“ says CV Raman, executive director of engineering and R&D for Maruti Suzuki.

Vedanta - You Need a New Mind

J KRISHNAMURTI





The companions, the relationships, work, ideas, beliefs and dogmas that we hold have produced a monstrous world of conflict, misery and perpetual sorrow. We accept it as normal condition, we put up with it day after day; we never inquire into the necessity , the urgency of a revolution that is neither economical nor political but much more fundamental.No inquiry is ever possible when the mind is tethered to any kind of dogma, tradition or belief. The difficulty is not that we are not capable of inquiring, not that we are incapable of investigating, but we are apparently totally incapable of letting things go, putting things aside and, therefore, with a fresh mind, with a you ng, innocent mind, looking at the world and all the ap palling things that are tak ing place in it.
Only when you can destroy completely everything that you have held sacred or right or virtuous that you can find out what is truth.
Society controls our minds, shapes our hearts, our actions, whether you live in a communist, Hindu or Christian world. Society , with its structure, shapes the mind of every human being, consciously or unconsciously . The culture in which we live -the traditions, religions, politics and education -past and present, shapes our thought. And to bring about a complete revolution -a crisis in consciousness -you must question the structure of society .
You need a new mind because a new world has to be created -not by politicians, but by you and me who are just ordinary average persons, because it is we that have to change completely .

Pollution kills half a million people a year in China'

Beijing: PTI





A documentary highlighting China's air pollution woes with claims that annually over half a million people die prematurely due to burning of coal has won praise after it went viral evoking mixed reactions.The video by former China Central Television presenter Chai Jing went viral after it was released online, with critics questioning the scientific basis of her claims and supporters applauding her for shining a light on the issue.
Pictures of withered trees, murky skies and lifeless rivers appear but the film also shows a scientific perspective backed by data, field investigations and interviews with officials, scientists and public.
Beijing had 175 polluted days in 2014, eclipsed by neighboring Tianjin with 197 and Shijiazhuang with 264 days, official media reported on the video today . The video shows satellite images from NASA demonstrating worsening air quality in north China in past 10 years.
Citing former health minister Chen Zhu, the video claimed that an estimated half a million people die prematurely in China every year because of air pollution.