railway bridges

About 40 per cent of the country's railway bridges are more than 100 years old, the Rajya Sabha was told.Indian Railways has approximately 127,000 railway bridges of which about 51,000 are more than 100 years old.The life of a bridge is not based on its age but on physical condition as ascertained by inspections. The railways have a well laid down system of multi-tier inspection of bridges. Bridges showing signs of deterioration of physical condition indicate need for repair and are classified as distressed bridges. These are neither unsafe nor dilapidated bridges. In 2001-02, the railways identified 2,370 bridges as distressed for which Rs15,300 million was given under Special Railway Safety Fund (SRSF) for their repair. During the five-year period 2001-02 to 2006-07, Rs8,758.4 million was given under the SRSF for repair of 2,087 bridges. Under the Depreciation Reserve Fund (DRF) Rs6,758.7 million was given for 5,476 bridges to be repaired.During the current 2007-08, the railways had identified 190 bridges for repair under SRSF, for which Rs4,455 million has been given, while for repair of 1,254 bridges under DRF, Rs15,710 million has been given.

World Junior Tennis

The Indian girls’ under-14 team made it to the World Junior Tennis Finals in the Czech Republic, winning both singles as well as doubles matches in straight sets to send seventh seeds Uzbekistan back home. Rishika Sunkara faltered while serving for the match, but got back on track to defeat Alisa Ogorodova 6-2, 7-5 in the first singles match. Aishwarya Aggarwal, playing next against Karolina Chernaya, clinched the semi-final berth for her team with a 6-3, 6-1 win. The home team, fielding Nova Patel and Rishika Sunkara for doubles, underlined their dominance with a 6-4, 6-3 result against Nigina Abduraimova and Chernaya. In the semis, India play Thailand.

india,s GDP

India’s GDP crossed the $1 trillion mark at current market prices becoming the world’s 12th economy to surge past that defining milestone. The historic moment was orchestrated when the rupee rose over the 41 level in relation to the US dollar, touching its highest value in nine years.The RBI had reported that India’s GDP at current market prices was Rs41,00,636 crore, or just a shade over Rs41 trillion. On that count, when the rupee closed at 40.94 on Wednesday, India’s GDP, at current market prices, edged just a notch above the $1 trillion mark for the first time.

mineral

Scientists have discovered a new mineral that matches the composition of kryptonite, the mythical rock that could sap Superman's strength in comic books.The rock — named jadarite — was discovered in a mine in Jadar, Serbia, by the Rio Tinto company and identified by London's Natural History Museum.Though the white rock didn't resemble anything known to real-life man, it did match the one substance known to destroy Superman's power.The new mineral does not contain fluorine and is white rather than green, but in all other respects the chemistry matches that for the rock containing kryptonite.The mineral is sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide, which "probably won't do Superman or us any harm whatsoever.

National Tobacco Regulatory Body

The Health Ministry is setting up a National Tobacco Regulatory Body under the 11th five year plan to enforce the anti-tobacco Act strictly.It will be an independent body and will coordinate between states and the industry.Bhutan is the only nation where no tobacco products are found. a survey showed in the Bollywood movies of the 1950s, fifty per cent of heroes smoked, which grew to 71 per cent in the 1990s and 86 per cent currently

Award

Recognising the innovative works done by civil servants, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today presented the first-ever Award of Excellence in Public Administration to two senior IAS officers - Rajeev Chawla, Secretary to Government of Karnataka and R.S. Pandey, Secretary in the Ministry of Steel.The awards, which comprised a medal, scroll and cash of Rs. one lakh, were given to them on the second Civil Service Day.Forty five-year old Chawla, a 1987 batch IAS officer of Karnataka cadre, has been chosen for the award for implementing 'Bhoomi', a computerised system for delivery, updating and safe storing of land records in Karnataka.A 1972 batch officer of Nagaland cadre, 57-year old Pandey won the award for his initiative in enabling participation of the user community in the management of public institutions and services in the northeastern state.Pandey, a former Chief Secretary of Nagaland, conceptualised and implemented the programme to involve user communities in fields like education, health and power.The Prime Minister also inaugurated an exhibition on "Best Practices" and released a book compiled by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances.

Retail Sector

Indian retail, with the coming in of conglomerates like Bharti Enterprises, Reliance and some foreign players, is set to generate business worth $430 billion by 2010, says a report by a leading industry lobby.The share of organised retail is estimated to go up to 20-22 percent to become a $90 billion industry while the unorganised sector is set to touch $340 billion in the next three years, according to the Federation of India Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). This exponential growth is expected to generate 18 million jobs, thereby becoming the second largest employment-generating sector after agriculture. However, according to FICCI, the retail sector is currently reeling under the pressure of human resource crunch. Currently none of the educational institutions in India offer a comprehensive course on retail. FICCI has suggested measures such as introduction of retail as a curriculum subject in schools and universities. It has also asked for simpler tax laws with a tax holiday .

Lakshmi Mittal

Only one of Britain's five wealthiest people was born in the UK, according to the Sunday Times Rich List 2007.The £19bn fortune of Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal ensured he kept his title as Britain's richest person.Analysts said a growing number of mega-rich foreigners are attracted to the UK by a generous tax regime. As well as Russia and India, the wealthy from Scandinavia and France are also looking to base themselves in the UK. The continuing high steel price has helped Mr Mittal, whose Mittal Steel bought rival Arcelor last year boost his wealth from the $14.8bn he had last year.

sporting record

Sunita Williams set a new sporting record running the 26.2 mile Boston Marathon in space. Sunita got into the spirit of the 111-year-old race by following the progress of the earth marathon on her laptop. The space station was salubrious at 78 degrees Fahrenheit.Her unofficial completion time was four hours and 24 minutes as she completed the race at 2:24 p.m. EDT. Sunita, 41, an accomplished marathoner, attempted something no other astronaut has ever done. She is now the first astronaut in space to have ran a marathon while in orbit.Sunita started the race on time at 10 a.m. EDT with race No. 14,000 taped to the front of the treadmill. She had placed two laptop computers on either side of the treadmill and was closely watching a live feed of the race from Boston and keep track of where the ISS was flying

Entrance Examination

The Central Board of Secondary Education conducts the All India Pre-Medical/Dental Entrance Examination for the all-India seats in all medical colleges of the country except in Jammu & Kashmir in May. The notification is issued around December/January.
Eligibility: 10+2 examination with 50 per cent marks in Physics, Chemistry and Biology. Selection procedure: A merit waiting list from number 1 to 2000 is made on the basis of marks obtained in the competition. The candidates are assigned their merit list and choice. Results are announced in July.

physiotherapy

Among disciplines within the domain of paramedical sciences, physiotherapy seems to have acquired a new status. Far from its image of a supplementary science, a technician's domain, it is increasingly being recognised as a discipline in its own right. The undergraduate programmes cover subjects including Sociology, Psychology, Human Anatomy and Physiology. Students would be introduced to subjects such as Microbiology, General Medicine, Pharmacology and Biochemistry in the second year. Core areas of physiotherapy such as therapeutic exercises, biomechanics, and massage would be covered in the third and fourth year. The content in some of the universities including deemed universities provide students opportunities to learn Orthopaedics, Neurology, Cardiology, and Sports therapy in the final year. The students then do internship for six months to be eligible for the degree. At the postgraduation level, students can choose from a range of electives and specialise in their area of interest.

MBA

A postgraduate degree in management is considered a prestigious one and it opens up various career opportunities that are satisfying both in terms of remuneration as well as professional livelihood. The postgraduate degree also offers better insight into diversified aspects of business such as marketing, human resources, finance, systems and production. The Masters in Business Administration (MBA) course offered by various universities provides students an overall approach to a business and its management, which most of the companies expect in an aspiring candidate. Today's industries require skilled professionals, so an MBA degree from a reputed university has become a norm. From the student's point of view, there are various fields of specialisation available in the industry today. This article attempts to highlight certain aspects that a student considers while choosing his specialisation.Students choose their specialisation based on their interest and, have the drive to become entrepreneurs after gaining some professional experience. Students select their specialisation under the influence of market demand, job scenario and the influence of their parents. Students select their specialisation keeping in mind his/her degree in the undergraduate level. The first category decides their career mainly based on their attitude and the people belonging to this category are keen to start an industry of their own after gaining some experience. The second category decides a career mainly under the influence of their parents, market demand, job profile and attractive pay packets. The people belonging to this category overweigh the other two categories; and the third category decides the career based on their undergraduation.

"Compass"

China has commissioned a new "Compass" navigation satellite, rivalling the Global Positioning System (GPS) of the United States.it is part of the country's ambitious "Compass" navigational system, which is expected to provide services to customers all over China and neighbouring countries by 2008. It will be expanded to become a global navigation and positioning network. The "Compass" navigational system is mainly designed for the country's economic development, providing navigation and positioning services in transportation, meteorology, petroleum prospecting, forest fire monitoring, disaster forecast, telecommunications and public security, among others.

NET

Applications have been invited for the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) and National Eligibility Tests (NETs) for lectureship in science and humanities subjects. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the University Grant Commission (UGC) will jointly hold the test for science subjects on June 17. The examination fee for general students is Rs. 400, OBC Rs. 200 and SC, ST, PH and VH Rs. 100. Application forms and information bulletins can be obtained up to April 12 from select branches of Indian Bank. The completed application forms, with requisite enclosures, should be sent under certificate of posting to the Controller of Examinations, Examination Unit, HRS Group, CSIR Complex, Pusa, New Delhi - 110 012, to reach the addressee on or before April 19. For details, visit www.csirhrdg.res.in

Infosys

Beating market expectations, information technology major Infosys closed the last quarter of 2006-07 on a high, registering a 56.9 per cent growth in profit for the year at Rs 3,856 crore. The total income rose to Rs 13,893 crore for 2006-07, a 45.9 per cent increase over the previous year. For the quarter ended March 2007 alone, the company’s profits jumped by 70 per cent, year-on-year, notching Rs 1,144 crore. Though anticipating no downturn in business in the 2007-08 fiscal, on account of a US economy slowdown, the company has provided a conservative outlook, projecting a 23 to 25 per cent growth for revenues in the range of Rs 17,038 crore and Rs 17,308 crore.

ASIAN GAMES

The Union Cabinet on gave a call to other countries in the Asian region to support India's bid to host the 2014 Asian Games here. In a straight contest, New Delhi is taking on the South Korean city of Incheon in its bid to host the Games. The call comes even as a delegation of the Indian Olympic Association is on its way to present New Delhi's bid for the Games in Kuwait City on April 17.

iPod

Apple said it has sold its 100 millionth iPod -- the fastest selling music player in history. The first iPod was sold five-and-a-half-years ago, in November 2001 and since then Apple has introduced more than 10 new iPod models, including five generations of iPod, two generations of iPod mini, iPod nano and iPod shuffle.

IMF

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has forecast continued impressive growth in emerging markets and developing countries led by India and China in 2007, even with global growth slowing mildly to 4.9 percent. However, the United States may witness somewhat slower growth, while Europe and Japan would have continued solid growth, he said describing 2006 as "another robust year for the global economy.While the US economy has slowed, the rest of the world has remained on track. The euro area grew at its fastest pace in six years in 2006, and the economy's forward momentum looks solid. Turning to emerging market and developing countries IMF expects them to continue to grow strongly this year albeit at a somewhat less brisk pace than 2006, drawing continuous support from favourable financial conditions and in many cases from strong commodity prices. China and India continue to lead the way, he said. India's broad-based expansion gathered momentum in the course of last year, running at around 9 percent, but growth should moderate some in 2007. However, spare capacity in the Indian economy remains very low, and overheating remains a risk, despite monetary policy tightening.Elsewhere in emerging Asia, the near-term outlook remains very positive, partly reflecting intraregional trade linkages and China's strong economy as well as prudent macroeconomic managementIn China, growth moderated slightly in the second half of 2006 partly reflecting measures to cool fixed asset investment from its recent rapid pace. But nevertheless, the economy is expected to grow by around 10 percent in 2007, and IMF sees risks in China to be on the upside. In recent years, the combination of technological progress and increasingly open global trading and financial systems and more resilient macroeconomic policy frameworks have laid the foundation for superlative growth.

Agni 3

India tested its most powerful nuclear-capable ballistic missile, which can hit targets as far away as China, from a military range off the country's eastern coast, media reports said. The indigenously-made Agni III, which is India's longest-range missile - covering distances up to 3,500 kilometres - was test fired from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in the eastern Orissa.This was the second launch of the Agni III after an unsuccessful test on July 9, 2006 from the same range. The test had come as a big disappointment for the defence establishment as the projectile failed to separate in its second stage and fell into the Bay of Bengal over 2,000 kilometres short of its designated 3,500 kilometre target. Scientists from the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) had since then reconfigured the missile - rectifying a flaw which was found in a defective shield that failed to withstand the heat generated due to friction with air during the flight. Named after the Hindu god of fire, Agni III is a surface-to-surface missile which can take a payload upto 1.8 tonnes and is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.

Sanjaya Malakar

A website known as VoteAgainstTheWorst.com is pushing an elaborate plan to eliminate Malakar by having millions of people place additional votes for the seven other contestants: "If we can spread the word to organize our voting, we just might be able to make this American Idol results show fi lled with a little more integrity. Imagine the joy you'll feel knowing that the right people are going home each week!" The campaign is a direct response to the massive campaign led by shock jock Howard Stern and the website VoteForTheWorst.com that is working to keep Malakar on the hit show, which tops the ratings in both Canada and the United States. The No. 1 show in television and it's getting ruined." So far, Malakar has proven immune to tough criticism from all of the show's judges, even the usually kind Paula Abdul. Judge Simon Cowell has quipped he will quit the show if Malakar wins the competition.VoteAgainstTheWorst.com's campaign involves splitting up America into seven large sections, with each section assigned to vote for one of seven other remaining contestants, but not for Malakar.For instance, the website says people in Alaska, Colorado, California and Delaware (total population, 42.3 million) should vote for Melinda Doolittle, while voters in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Maryland and New Mexico should vote for LaKisha Jones (42.7 million).While many want him off the show, Malakar got a boost from an unlikely source, singer Gina Glocksen, who was voted off last week instead of Malakar.

Space Tourist

A Russian spacecraft carrying two crew and billionaire space tourist Charles Simonyi has docked with the International Space Station (ISS).The three men transferred to the ISS after a two-day flight from Earth. Mr Simonyi, 58, paid $25m (£12.7m) for the trip. He is the fifth space tourist and will spend 10 days aboard the ISS. The Hungarian-born US software engineer is the 450th person to enter orbit.

Aral sea

The Kazakhstan government has secured a multi-million dollar loan from the World Bank to help save the Aral Sea. The money will be used to implement the second stage of a project aimed at saving the northern part of the sea. The United Nations has said the disappearance of the Aral is the worst man-made environmental disaster. this new project could mean that at least part of the Aral - once the world's fourth largest inland body of water - will be saved.

child abuse

Two out of every three children in India are physically abused, according to a landmark government study. Commissioned by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, the study says 53% of the surveyed children reported one or more forms of sexual abuse. This is the first time the government has done such an exhaustive survey on the controversial issue of child abuse. Abuse of children, particularly sexual abuse, is rarely admitted in India and activists have welcomed the study.

miss india

Delhi girl Puja Gupta was crowned Pantaloons Femina Miss India Universe, Mumbai's Sarah Jane Dias Miss India World and New Zealand's Pooja Chitgopekar Miss India Earth here amid much razzle-dazzle and suspense.Millions witnessed the trio's triumphs Sunday night.Puja dazzled renowned filmmaker and one of the pageant judges Madhur Bhandarkar with her wit and confidence in the semi-final round when he asked:" What matters to you - style or fashion and why?" Puja answered: "I think they both go hand in hand. Style is created by fashion and fashion makes you comfortable in your own skin."When the jury asked Sarah Jane, "If you had to convince a rural woman to compete in the Miss India pageant, what would you tell her?" she said: "I would prompt her that she possesses every quality to be Miss India. And if she wins, she would bring numerous improvements in her village that will make her win indispensable."Singer Adnan Sami's question - 'What is the one invention that has changed the face of the world?" - brought on Pooja's reply: "Electricity, as it has brought the industrial revolution. Today we depend on electricity for everything."

The panel of judges included Rohit Bal, Subhash Ghai, Rathi Vinay Jha, Malvinder Singer, Priyanka Chopra, Sanjay Dutt and Ujwala Raut.

The crown designed by Tanishq contained a special spring mechanism to fit any head shape

petrochemical project

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh laid the foundation stone of a Rs.54-billion integrated Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will lay the foundation stone of a Rs.54-billion integrated petrochemical project in Assam in Assam. The gas cracker project was proposed as a part of the implementation of the historic Assam accord signed in 1985. The project was gathering dust since 1991 when the central government issued a letter of intent (LoI) to the Assam Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC), an Assam government undertaking.In February 1997, the LoI was transferred to the Reliance Assam Petrochemicals Limited (RAPL) - a joint venture company of AIDC and Reliance Industries Limited.RAPL was granted various concessions by the government for implementation of the project. But the deal with RAPL was shelved in 2005 with Reliance virtually backing out of the project, citing technical reasons like non-availability of sufficient feedstock.The petrochemical complex would comprise a cracker unit, downstream polymer and integrated off-site utilities plants. The products from the proposed project would be 2,20,000 tonnes of polythene, 60,000 tonnes of polypropylene, 55,000 tonnes of raw pyrolysis gasoline and 12,500 tonnes of fuel oil per year.The project, popularly referred to as the Assam gas cracker project but christened the Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Ltd, is to be implemented by the Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) with 70 percent equity participation in five years' time.

catalog

A 6-year-old worldwide effort to catalog every living species has topped 1 million, researchers report. They hope to complete the listing by 2011, reaching an expected total of about 1.75 million species. Thomas M. Orrell, a biologist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, said the finished catalog would include all known living organisms — not just plants and animals but fungi and microorganisms such as bacteria and viruses.

Adolescence Education

The Adolescence Education Programme (APE) designed to impart life skills like self awareness, coping with stress, understanding the mental health, peer pressure, anxiety personal fears was launched by the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry.The APE will be started in all secondary and higher secondary classes. The schools will be monitored By National Council of Education Research and Training NCERT). The programme will be supported by United Nations Population Fund
(UNFPA) and would be carried out by Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS) and Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS).

Source: Indiaedunews.net

Global warming

Global warming could be heating Mars four times faster than Earth due to a mutually reinforcing interplay of wind-swept dust and changes in reflected heat from the Sun, according to a study released .Scientsts have long observed a correlation on Mars between its fluctuating temperatures — which range from -87 C to -5 C depending on the season and the location — and the darkening or lightening of swathes of the planet’s surface

unemployment rate

The US unemployment rate fell to an historic low last month, according to government figures, triggering a plunge in bond prices during a holiday-shortened trading session on Wall Street.Investors abandoned bets that the Federal Reserve would be forced to cut interest rates after figures showed employers created far more jobs than Wall Street expected last month, while the unemployment rate fell to 4.4 per cent – the lowest level in nearly six years.

Agni-III

homegrown nuclear capable long ranged ballistic missile Agni-III from Chandipur Testing Range in Orissa next week.The missile, having a range of over 3,000 km, is expected to be test-fired from launching complex No. 4 of Inner Wheeler Island, a new launch site of the integrated test range (ITR) at the Chandipur defence base.Agni-III was last tested on July 9, 2006 from the same base. After the launch, it was reported that the second stage of the rocket had failed to separate from the missile quickly and had fallen short of its target.The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) had attributed the failure to 'material-related fault', besides problems with the protective heat shield, design and propulsion

Aeronautical Engineer

Aerospace Engineers who work specifically with aircraft are known as Aeronautical Engineers and those working with Spacecraft are known as Astronautical Engineers. Aeronautical Engineering is not a very big field in India as there is only one aircraft manufacturer in the country namely HAL. However, many Aeronautical Engineers get jobs in Airlines for aircraft maintenance and overhauling.
There are two ways to became an Aeronautical Engineer after 10+2 with PCM. Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, Kanpur, Kharagpur and Chennai offer 4 years B.Tech course. Otherwise one become an associate member of the “Aeronautical Society of India” after passing Part A & Part B examination conducted by the society which is equivalent to a Bachelor’s Degree in Aeronautics. This certificate course is a correspondence course but one will have to undergo practical training through some affiliated institutes like.
Indian Institute of Aeronautical Engineering, Kalidas Road, Dehradun.
National Institute of Aeronautical Engineering, Ballapur, Dehradun.
Delhi Institute of Aeronautical Studies, Chirag Delhi, Delhi.
For more details of correspondence courses, you may get in touch with Aeronautical Society of India,
13 B Indraprastha Estate, New Delhi 110-002, Website: aesi.org

Animation Engineering

The current demand for a good animator is very high. It is estimated that within the next three years, this requirement shall grow up to five times as of today. Cartoon films are in great demand, more and more advertisements are using animation and video games which are very popular amongst young people, but there still exists a huge shortage of trained animators. Training in computer animation can be undertaken even after 10+2 if you have a creative mind, artistic skill, patience and willingness to work very hard. There are many institutes where one can get this training in computer animation can be undertaken even after 10+2 if you have a creative mind, artistic skill, patience and willingness to work very hard. There are many institutes where one can get this training in Animation like:
National Institute of Design - Ahmedabad
JNT University - Hyderabad
Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar University - Agra.
In Kolkata one can receive training at:
Arena Multimedia (An Aptech associate institute).
ZED - CA (A Zee Education associate institute).

Indian Police Service

The Indian Police Service (IPS) : The IPS is responsible for public safety and internal security (Home affairs). The IPS mainly takes care of law and order and at the district level, it is a shared responsibility with the IAS. Crime prevention and detection, traffic management and accident prevention are the main jobs of the IPS. In order to fulfil these functions with greater efficiency, this service is divided into various functional departments. Crime branch, Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Home Guards, Traffic Bureau are the main departments of the IPS.
A number of Central Policing Agencies like Intelligence Bureau (IB), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Border Security Force (BSF) Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) are headed by IPS officers. On completion of probation an IPS begins his career as an Assistant Superintendent of Police of a sub-division and can hope to go up to the level of Director General of Police in the State.

Civil Service examination

Civil Service Examination is divided into Preliminary and Mains. In the Preliminary the candidate has to appear for two objective papers, one in general studies and the other is a subject of candidate’s choice. One clearing the Preliminary, candidates are eligible for the Main Examination which has a total of nine papers. The Preliminary papers are of the Degree level and Main papers are of the Masters level.After the Mains, candidates go for the Personality test which is in the form of an interview. The interviewer quizzes the candidate on matters of general interest in an effort to assess the suitability of the candidate for a career in Public Service. After successful completion of the Mains and the interview, the selected candidates are sent to the Lal Bahadur National Academy of Administration, Moussourie, for a four months foundation course, following which IAS, IPS and IFS trainees undergo a specialised training programme, before getting a final posting. The notification of the preliminary examination is made in December. The Preliminary Examination is held in the month of May. The Main Examination and personal interview is held in the month of Oct/ Nov every year. The marks obtained in Main Examination and Interview, determine the final ranking. The candidates are the allotted the various services on the basis of their ranks and preference expressed by them. Details of Preliminary and Main Examination are as follows.
CS (Preliminary) Examination
The preliminary examination consists of two papers of objective type (Multiple-choice questions) carrying a maximum of 450 marks.
Paper - I General Studies : 150 marks
Paper - II One of the following 23 subjects : 300 marks
Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Service, Botany, Chemistry, Civil Engineering, Commerce, Economics, Electrical Engineering, Geography, Geology, Indian History, Law, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Medical Science, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science, Psychology, Public Administration, Sociology, Statistics, Zoology.
CS (Main) Examination
The main examination consists of 9 papers carrying a maximum 2000 marks.
Paper - I : One of the 18 Indian languages - 300
(Qualifying Papers)
Paper - II : English
(Qualifying Papers) - 300
These two papers are qualifying in Nature. The minimum standard for qualifying are fixed by the UPSC at the their discretion. Marks obtained in these papers are not counted for ranking.
Paper III: Essay -200
Paper IV and V: General Studies - 600 (300 each)
Paper VI, VIII: Any two out of 25 subjects*
Paper VIII, IX each having 2 papers - 1200
Interview - 300
* All subjects mentioned in Preliminary plus Anthropology & Management.
Educational Qualification and age
Graduate in any discipline, within 21 years to 30 years of age are eligible for Civil Service Examination.
Training Institutes
There are no organised training courses available for CSE. However, there are many training institutes which conduct special courses and train candidates for CSE.

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Governor

Former IAS officer Tejendra Khanna was today appointed as Lieutenant Governor of the national capital replacing B L Joshi who has been moved as Khanna, a 1961 batch IAS officer, retired as Commerce Secretary and served as Lieutenant Governor of Delhi from January 4, 1997 to April 14, 1998. He also headed a committee that went into the violation of building laws in the capital. Khanna was a part of the WTO negotiations team during the United Front Government in the late 1990s. The 73-year-old Joshi, who was appointed Lt Governor on June 9, 2004, has been appointed as Governor of Meghalaya with effect from the date he assumes the post. Governor of Nagaland K Sankaranarayanan has been asked to assume the additional charge of Arunachal Pradesh in addition to his own duties during the absence on leave of S K Singh.

IAS probationers

A group of 90 A group of 90 IAS probationers will criss-cross Uttar Pradesh during the upcoming Assembly elections to gain first-hand experience in conducting polls. The Election Commission has agreed to a request in this regard from the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, which imparts training to IAS probationers, poll panel sources said. The young probationers will tour several districts that will go to polls in the first phase of the assembly elections on April seven to get experience in the management of elections. The Election Commission is deploying over 500 senior IAS officers as observers for the conduct of elections to the 403-member House.

SEZ

After months of controversy, the empowered group of Union ministers (EGoM) lifted the political freeze on special economic zones permitting the commerce ministry to approve and notify more zones.However, while doing this, the government imposed a cap of 5,000 hectares on the maximum permissible land size of a zone, directly impacting the plans of four large developers – Reliance Industries, Gujarat Positra and real estate firms DLF and Omaxe.The state governments have also been given the flexibility to reduce the land size from the new limit.

IIM-A

The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A) has launched a new post-graduate programme in Public Management and Policy (PGP-PMP) for mid-career managers, administrators and professionals.The annual fee for the first year will be Rs 1.90 lakh, while for the second year of the course it will be Rs 1.95 lakh, IIM-K director Prof Krishna Kumar said. The fee for the first year currently is Rs 1.5 lakh and second year Rs 1.65 lakh.

Ahmad Shah Massoud

India on named a road in the national capital after the slain Afghan war hero, Ahmad Shah Massoud, the first such honour extended to a leader from that country.The road, near the Afghanistan embassy in the diplomatic enclave of Chanakyapuri.Massoud joins world leaders like Uruguay's national hero Jose Artigas, Kazakh poet Abai Kunanbaiuly, Irish leader Eamon De Valera, novelist Andre Malraux and Argentinian icon Jose De San Martin who have roads named after them in Delhi.

medical university

The Haryana government proposed a medical university in the state to provide better healthcare to its people.

Quality of Living Survey

Cities in Australia and New Zealand rank among the best in the world for quality of life, a new global survey has found.The Worldwide Quality of Living Survey, conducted by human resources consultancy firm Mercer, is based on an evaluation of 39 criteria contributing to the overall livability of each city.Sydney ranks ninth on the list, ahead of Melbourne at 17, Perth at 21, Brisbane at 31 and Adelaide at 32.In what may spark trans-Tasman envy, the New Zealand city of Auckland ranks as the fifth best city in the world, behind Zurich, Geneva, Vancouver and Vienna.Wellington is also in the top 20.

Solomons Islands (GEOGRAPHY)

The archipelago comprises six main islands and more than 950 smaller ones, an area of around 27,500 square kilometres (11,600 square miles) of generally rugged mountain terrain but also some low-lying coral atolls.Its population of a little over 500,000 is overwhelmingly Christian and ethnic Melanesian. English is the official language, but most people speak one of the more than 100 local dialectsIts main island Guadalcanal was a strategic military prize, notably because of its airstrip, and after months of bitter combat US and allied troops drove off the Japanese forces.The Solomons Islands gained independence in 1978. Although Britain's Queen Elizabeth II remains its head of state the country is run by a prime minister who is elected by parliament.Recent years have seen bloody ethnic strife however. Fighting broke out in 1998 and led to a coup two years later. The unrest continued despite a peace agreement and has crippled the country economically.In mid-2003 Australia led in an armed intervention force that has restored some stability. It is still involved although Solomons Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has been seeking to reduce Canberra's leading role.Most people rely on agriculture, fishing and forestry for their livelihoods, although there are undeveloped mineral resources such as lead, zinc, nickel and gold. The major exports are timber, fish and palm oil.
China is the Solomons' biggest export market while Australia and Singapore supply much of its imports. In 2005, economic growth was 4.7 per cent and gross domestic product per person was just $600.The Solomons' early history indicates hunter-gatherers living on the large islands as early as 1,000 BC. Some islanders are descendants of peoples who migrated from Southeast Asia.The European discoverer of the islands was a Spanish explorer in the 16th century .

DNA fingerprint

A bill providing for creation of a database of DNA fingerprints of criminals is likely to be tabled in parliament soon.The Hyderabad-based Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD) and the National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (Nalsar) have together drafted the bill.The bill facilitates creation of a database of DNA fingerprints of convicts and provides for quality control and quality assurance in DNA fingerprinting and diagnostics