PSC Notes

Height and Distance

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This topic has many practical application in day to day life. In engineering stage it is used in surveying. The basic purpose is to find the unknown variables by observing the angle of the line of sight. This is done by using some the fact that in a right angled triangle the ratio of any two sides is a function of the angle between them. From exam point of view this is one of the more tough sections and tedious to some extent. So an aspirant must thoroughly solve all the questions given here.

Important Formulas

  1. Trigonometric Basics

sinθ=oppositeside/hypotenuse=y/r

cosθ=adjacentside/hypotenuse=x/r

tanθ=oppositeside/adjacentside=y/x

cosecθ=hypotenuse/oppositeside=r/y

secθ=hypotenuse/adjacentside=r/x

cotθ=adjacentside/oppositeside=x/y

From Pythagorean theorem, x2+y2=r2 for the right angled triangle mentioned above

 

  1. Basic Trigonometric Values

 

θ
in degrees		 θ
in radians		 sinθ cosθ tanθ
0° 0 0 1 0
30° π/6 1/2 3/√2 1/√3
45° π/4 1/√2 1/√2 1
60° π/3 3/√2 1/2 √3
90° π/2 1 0 Not defined

 

  1. Trigonometric Formulas

Degrees to Radians and vice versa

360°=2π radian

 

Trigonometry – Quotient Formulas

tanθ=sinθ/cosθ

cotθ=cosθ/sinθ

 

Trigonometry – Reciprocal Formulas

cosecθ=1/sinθ

secθ=1/cosθ

cotθ=1/tanθ

 

Trigonometry – Pythagorean Formulas

sin2θ+cos2θ=1

sec2θ−tan2θ=1

cosec2θ−cot2θ=1

 

  1. Angle of Elevation

Suppose a man from a point O looks up at an object P, placed above the level of his eye. Then, angle of elevation is the angle between the horizontal and the line from the object to the observer’s eye (the line of sight).

i.e., angle of elevation =  AOP

  1. Angle of Depression

Suppose a man from a point O looks down at an object P, placed below the level of his eye. Then, angle of depression is the angle between the horizontal and the observer’s line of sight

i.e., angle of depression =  AOP

  1. Angle Bisector Theorem

Consider a triangle ABC as shown above. Let the angle bisector of angle A intersect side BC at a point D. Then BD/DC=AB/AC

(Note that an angle bisector divides the angle into two angles with equal measures.
i.e., BAD = CAD in the above diagram)

  1. Few Important Values to memorize

√2=1.414, √3=1.732, √5=2.236

 

Solved Examples

Level 1

1.The angle of elevation of a ladder leaning against a wall is 60º and the foot of the ladder is 12.4 m away from the wall. The length of the ladder is:
A. 14.8 m B. 6.2 m
C. 12.4 m D. 24.8 m

 

 

Answer : Option D

Explanation :

Consider the diagram shown above where PR represents the ladder and RQ represents the wall.

cos 60° = PQ/PR

1/2=12.4/PR

PR=2×12.4=24.8 m

2.From a point P on a level ground, the angle of elevation of the top tower is 30º. If the tower is 200 m high, the distance of point P from the foot of the tower is:
A. 346 m B. 400 m
C. 312 m D. 298 m

 

 

Answer : Option A

Explanation :

tan 30°=RQ/PQ

1/√3=200/PQ

PQ=200√3=200×1.73=346 m

3.The angle of elevation of the sun, when the length of the shadow of a tree is equal to the height of the tree, is:
A. None of these B. 60°
C. 45° D. 30°

 

 

Answer : Option C

Explanation :

Consider the diagram shown above where QR represents the tree and PQ represents its shadow

We have, QR = PQ
Let QPR = θ

tan θ = QR/PQ=1 (since QR = PQ)

=> θ = 45°

i.e., required angle of elevation = 45°

4.An observer 2 m tall is 103√ m away from a tower. The angle of elevation from his eye to the top of the tower is 30º. The height of the tower is:
A. None of these B. 12 m
C. 14 m D. 10 m

 

 

Answer : Option B

Explanation :

SR = PQ = 2 m

PS = QR = 10√3m

tan 30°=TS/PS

1/3=TS/10√3

TS=10√3/√3=10 m

TR = TS + SR = 10 + 2 = 12 m

5.From a tower of 80 m high, the angle of depression of a bus is 30°. How far is the bus from the tower?
A. 40 m B. 138.4 m
C. 46.24 m D. 160 m

 

 

Answer : Option B

Explanation :

Let AC be the tower and B be the position of the bus.

Then BC = the distance of the bus from the foot of the tower.

Given that height of the tower, AC = 80 m and the angle of depression, DAB = 30°

ABC = DAB = 30° (Because DA || BC)

tan 30°=AC/BC=>tan 30°=80/BC=>BC = 80/tan 30°=80/(1/√3)=80×1.73=138.4 m

i.e., Distance of the bus from the foot of the tower = 138.4 m

6.Find the angle of elevation of the sun when the shadow of a pole of 18 m height is 6√3 m long?
A. 30° B. 60°
C. 45° D. None of these

 

 

Answer : Option B

Explanation :

Let RQ be the pole and PQ be the shadow

Given that RQ = 18 m and PQ = 6√3 m

Let the angle of elevation, RPQ = θ

From the right  PQR,

tanθ=RQ/PQ=18/6√3=3/√3=(3×√3)/( √3×√3)=3√3/3=√3

θ=tan−1(3√)=60°

 

Level 2

1.A man on the top of a vertical observation tower observers a car moving at a uniform speed coming directly towards it. If it takes 8 minutes for the angle of depression to change from 30° to 45°, how soon after this will the car reach the observation tower?
A. 8 min 17 second B. 10 min 57 second
C. 14 min 34 second D. 12 min 23 second

 

 

Answer : Option B

Explanation :

Consider the diagram shown above. Let AB be the tower. Let D and C be the positions of the car

Then, ADC = 30° , ACB = 45°

Let AB = h, BC = x, CD = y

tan 45°=AB/BC=h/x

=>1=h/x=>h=x——(1)

tan 30°=AB/BD=AB/(BC + CD)=h/(x+y)

=>1/√3=h/(x+y)

=>x + y = √3h

=>y = √3h – x

=>y = √3h−h(∵ Substituted the value of x from equation 1 )

=>y = h(√3−1)

Given that distance y is covered in 8 minutes
i.e, distance h(√3−1) is covered in 8 minutes

Time to travel distance x
= Time to travel distance h (∵ Since x = h as per equation 1).

Let distance h is covered in t minutes

since distance is proportional to the time when the speed is constant, we have

h(√3−1)∝8—(A)

h∝t—(B)

(A)/(B)=>h(√3−1)/h=8/t

=>(√3−1)=8/t

=>t=8/(√3−1)=8/(1.73−1)=8/.73=800/73minutes ≈10 minutes 57 seconds

2.The top of a 15 metre high tower makes an angle of elevation of 60° with the bottom of an electronic pole and angle of elevation of 30° with the top of the pole. What is the height of the electric pole?
A. 5 metres B. 8 metres
C. 10 metres D. 12 metres

 

 

Answer : Option C

Explanation :

Consider the diagram shown above. AC represents the tower and DE represents the pole

Given that AC = 15 m , ADB = 30°, AEC = 60°

Let DE = h

Then, BC = DE = h, AB = (15-h) (∵ AC=15 and BC = h), BD = CE

tan 60°=AC/CE=>√3=15/CE=>CE = 15√3— (1)

tan 30°=AB/BD=>1/√3=(15−h)/BD

=>1/√3=(15−h)/(15/√3)(∵ BD = CE and Substituted the value of CE from equation 1)

=>(15−h)=(1/√3)×(15/√3)=15/3=5

=>h=15−5=10 m

i.e., height of the electric pole = 10 m

 

3.Two ships are sailing in the sea on the two sides of a lighthouse. The angle of elevation of the top of the lighthouse is observed from the ships are 30º and 45º respectively. If the lighthouse is 100 m high, the distance between the two ships is:
A. 300 m B. 173 m
C. 273 m D. 200 m

 

 

Answer : Option C

Explanation :

Let BD be the lighthouse and A and C be the positions of the ships.
Then, BD = 100 m,  BAD = 30° ,  BCD = 45°

tan 30° = BD/BA⇒1/√3=100/BA

⇒BA=100√3

tan 45° = BD/BC

⇒1=100/BC

⇒BC=100

Distance between the two ships = AC = BA + BC
=100√3+100=100(√3+1)=100(1.73+1)=100×2.73=273 m

4.From the top of a hill 100 m high, the angles of depression of the top and bottom of a pole are 30° and 60° respectively. What is the height of the pole?
A. 52 m B. 50 m
C. 66.67 m D. 33.33 m

 

Answer : Option C

Explanation :

Consider the diagram shown above. AC represents the hill and DE represents the pole

Given that AC = 100 m

XAD = ADB = 30° (∵ AX || BD )
XAE = AEC = 60° (∵ AX || CE)

Let DE = h

Then, BC = DE = h, AB = (100-h) (∵ AC=100 and BC = h), BD = CE

tan 60°=AC/CE

=>√3=100/CE=>CE = 100/√3— (1)

tan 30°=AB/BD=>1/√3=(100−h)/BD

=>1/√3=(100−h)/(100/√3)(∵ BD = CE and Substituted the value of CE from equation 1 )

=>(100−h)=1/√3×100/√3=100/3=33.33=>h=100−33.33=66.67 m

i.e., the height of the pole = 66.67 m

5.A vertical tower stands on ground and is surmounted by a vertical flagpole of height 18 m. At a point on the ground, the angle of elevation of the bottom and the top of the flagpole are 30° and 60° respectively. What is the height of the tower?
A. 9 m B. 10.40 m
C. 15.57 m D. 12 m

 

 

Answer : Option A

Explanation :

Let DC be the vertical tower and AD be the vertical flagpole. Let B be the point of observation.

Given that AD = 18 m, ABC = 60°, DBC = 30°

Let DC be h.

tan 30°=DC/BC

1/√3=h/BC

h=BC√3—— (1)

tan 60°=AC/BC

√3=(18+h)/BC

18+h=BC×√3—— (2)

(1)/(2)=>h/(18+h)=(BC/√3)/(BC×√3)=1/3

=>3h=18+h=>2h=18=>h=9 m

i.e., the height of the tower = 9 m

6.A balloon leaves the earth at a point A and rises vertically at uniform speed. At the end of 2 minutes, John finds the angular elevation of the balloon as 60°. If the point at which John is standing is 150 m away from point A, what is the speed of the balloon?
A. 0.63 meter/sec B. 2.16 meter/sec
C. 3.87 meter/sec D. 0.72 meter/sec

 

 

Answer : Option B

Explanation :

Let C be the position of John. Let A be the position at which balloon leaves the earth and B be the position of the balloon after 2 minutes.

Given that CA = 150 m, BCA = 60°

tan 60°=BA/CA

√3=BA/150

BA=150√3

i.e, the distance travelled by the balloon = 150√3meters

time taken = 2 min = 2 × 60 = 120 seconds

Speed = Distance/Time=150√3/120=1.25√3=1.25×1.73=2.16 meter/second

7. The angles of depression and elevation of the top of a wall 11 m high from top and bottom of a tree are 60° and 30° respectively. What is the height of the tree?
A. 22 m B. 44 m
C. 33 m D. None of these

 

 

Answer : Option B

Explanation :

Let DC be the wall, AB be the tree.

Given that DBC = 30°, DAE = 60°, DC = 11 m

tan 30°=DC/BC

1/√3=11/BC

BC = 11√3 m

AE = BC =11√3 m—— (1)

tan 60°=ED/AE

√3=ED/11√3[∵ Substituted the value of AE from (1)]

ED =11√3×√3=11×3=33

Height of the tree = AB = EC = (ED + DC) = (33 + 11) = 44 m

 

8. Two vertical poles are 200 m apart and the height of one is double that of the other. From the middle point of the line joining their feet, an observer finds the angular elevations of their tops to be complementary. Find the heights of the poles.
A. 141 m and 282 m B. 70.5 m and 141 m
C. 65 m and 130 m D. 130 m and 260 m

 

 

Answer : Option B

Explanation :

Let AB and CD be the poles with heights h and 2h respectively

Given that distance between the poles, BD = 200 m

Let E be the middle point of BD.

Let AEB = θ and CED = (90-θ) (∵ given that angular elevations are complementary)

Since E is the middle point of BD, we have BE = ED = 100 m

From the right  ABE,
tanθ=AB/BE and tanθ=h/100

h = 100tanθ—— (1)

From the right  EDC,

tan(90−θ)=CD/ED

cotθ=2h/100[∵tan(90−θ)=cotθ]

2h =100cotθ—— (2)

(1) × (2) => 2h2=1002[∵tanθ×cotθ=tanθ×1/tanθ=1]

=>√2h=100

=>h=100/√2=(100×√2)/( √2×√2)=50√2=50×1.41=70.5

2h=2×70.5=141

i.e., the height of the poles are 70.5 m and 141 m.

9. To a man standing outside his house, the angles of elevation of the top and bottom of a window are 60° and 45° respectively. If the height of the man is 180 cm and he is 5 m away from the wall, what is the length of the window?
A. 8.65 m B. 2 m
C. 2.5 m D. 3.65 m

 

 

Answer : Option D

Explanation :

Let AB be the man and CD be the window

Given that the height of the man, AB = 180 cm, the distance between the man and the wall, BE = 5 m,
DAF = 45° , CAF = 60°

From the diagram, AF = BE = 5 m

From the right  AFD, tan45°=DF/AF

1=DF/5

DF = 5—— (1)From the right  AFC, tan60°=CF/AF

√3=CF/5

CF=5√3—— (2)

Length of the window = CD = (CF – DF)

=5√3−5[∵ Substitued the value of CF and DF from (1) and (2)]=5(√3−1)=5(1.73−1)=5×0.73=3.65 m

10.The elevation of the summit of a mountain from its foot is 45°. After ascending 2 km towards the mountain upon an incline of 30°, the elevation changes to 60°. What is the approximate height of the mountain?
A. 1.2 km B. 0.6 km
C. 1.4 km D. 2.7 km

 

 

Answer : Option D

Explanation :

Let A be the foot and C be the summit of a mountain.

Given that CAB = 45°

From the diagram, CB is the height of the mountain. Let CB = x

Let D be the point after ascending 2 km towards the mountain such that
AD = 2 km and given that DAY = 30°

It is also given that from the point D, the elevation is 60°

i.e., CDE = 60°

From the right  ABC,

tan45°=CB/AB

=>1=x/AB[∵ CB = x (the height of the mountain)]

=>AB = x—— (eq:1)

From the right  AYD,

sin30°=DY/AD

=>1/2=DY/2(∵ Given that AD = 2)

=> DY=1—— (eq:2)

cos30°=AY/AD=>√3/2=AY/2(∵ Given that AD = 2)=> AY=√3—— (eq:3)

From the right  CED, tan60°=CE/DE=>tan60°=(CB – EB)/YB∵ [CE = (CB – EB) and DE = YB)]

=>tan60°=(CB – DY)/(AB – AY)[ ∵ EB = DY and YB = (AB – AY)]

=>tan60°=(x – 1)/(x -√3)∵ [CB = x, DY = 1(eq:2), AB=x (eq:1) and AY = 3√(eq:3)]

=>√3=(x – 1)/(x -√3)=>x√3−3=x−1=>x(√3−1)=2=>0.73x=2=>x=2/0.73=2.7

i.e., the height of the mountain = 2.7 km

vardhan empire

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Harsh Vardhan

Emperor Harshavardhana, better known as Harsha, lived from 590 to 647 CE and was the third ruler of the Vardhana Empire, the last great empire in ancient India before the Islamic Invasion. He ruled from 606 CE to 647 CE. After Harshavardhana’s death, however, the Vardhana dynasty came to an end and its empire dissolved.

India, the land beyond the Indus river, has seen many rulers who dreamt of conquering the vast country and rule from the Himalayas in the north to Deccan in south, from the mountains of Kandhar in the west to Assam in the east, yet very few have been able to subdue history according to their will. Harshavardhana was one such ruler. His empire may not be as large as the great Mauryan’s, yet he deserves special mention. After the fall of great Gupta Empire in the middle of the 6th century CE, under whom India saw its own golden age, it was Harshavardhana who unified most of northern India and ruled for four decades from his capital Kannauj.

RISE TO POWER & MILITARY CAMPAIGNS

The Vardhana dynasty was started by Prabhakarana Vardhana who ruled the kingdom of Thaneshwar, modern-day Haryana. Prabhakarana’s queen Yasovati gave birth to two sons Rajyavardhana and Harshawardhana and a daughter named Rajyashri who was later married to king Grahvarmana of Kanyakubja, modern-day Kannauj. This was a period of tension as India had to frequently deal with the invasion of the Huns of Central Asia. Once, emperor Skandagupta of the Gupta Empire laid a crushing defeat on these barbaric tribes, yet these constant fights were so costly that they weakened the empire to the core, and this eventually led to the downfall of the Gupta Empire. As the western frontiers of India and areas adjoining the Indus river were under the occupation of Huns, skirmishes between Huns and Thaneshwar were regular. While Harsha and his brother were busy dealing with the Huns in the west, king Prabhakarana died in Thaneshwar. He was succeeded by his elder son, Rajyavardhana.

AFTER HIS BROTHER’S DEATH, AT THE AGE OF 16, HARSHAVARDHANA BECAME THE UNDISPUTED RULER OF THANESHWAR AND DECLARED WAR ON SASAKA TO AVENGE HIS BROTHER AND EMBARKED UPON A CAMPAIGN OF DIGVIJAY, I.E. TO CONQUER THE WORLD.

Meanwhile, in the east far greater events were happening which altered the course of history. Sasaka, king of Gauda, modern-day Bengal, marched and killed king Grahvarmana, Rajyashri’s husband, and then kidnapped her. The kidnapping of his sister forced the elder Vardhana brother to march east and confront Sasaka. Sasaka then invited Rajyavardhana for a meeting and treacherously killed him. After his brother’s death, at the age of 16, Harshavardhana became the undisputed ruler of Thaneshwar and declared war on Sasaka to avenge his brother and embarked upon a campaign of Digvijay, i.e. to conquer the world (which in this context means conquering whole India). Yet, his foremost enemy was now Sasaka who had to face an angry brother’s wrath. Harsha issued a proclamation to all kings known to either declare allegiance to him or face him on the battlefield. As Sasaka’s enemies responded to Harsha’s call, he marched on to Kannuaj.

Although there is no evidence, a story in Harshacharitra claims that Rajyashri, when released from prison, took refuge in the forest of Vindhyas. Hearing this, Harsha hurriedly went into the forest to save her and found her just when she was about to commit suicide by throwing herself in a fire. Rescuing his sister, he rejoined his army at the bank of Ganges. After this, Harsha easily conquered Kannauj as Sasaka went back to Bengal, and thus began a long enmity. It was only after Sasaka’s death that Harsha was able to control entire eastern India including Magadha, Bengal and Kalinga.

Harsha’s Digvijay, or the conquest of the world had now begun. After Kannauj, he turned his attention towards Gujarat. He defeated the local Valabhi kingdom and expanded his empire. Yet, this rapid expansion led to tensions between him and the Chalukya king Pulakesin II. It was now that the most powerful kingdoms of northern and southern India came face-to-face on the battlefield on the banks of river Narmada. In the end, the southerners under the able leadership of Pulakesin II prevailed leaving the ambitious northern ruler, Harsha, defeated. They say Harsha lost his cheer when he saw his elephants dying in the battle.

Harsha entered a peace treaty with the Chalukya king, which established Narmada river as the southern boundary of his empire and after that he never advanced south again. Yet, this did not halt his conquest of the north. He took the title of sakal uttara patha natha (lord of northern India). Hieun Tsang tells us that:

He waged incessant warfare, until in six years he had fought thr five Indians(referring to  five largest kingdoms). Then, having enlarges his territory, he increased his army, bringing the elephant corps upto 60,000 and the cavalry upto 100,000, and reigned in peace for thirty years without raising a weapon (Majumdar, 252).

Yet many historians believe his claim may be exaggerated. Still, this gives a glimpse of his military prowess.

The Vardhana Empire consisted of two distinctive types of territories: areas directly under Harsha’s rule such as Central Provinces, Gujarat, Bengal, Kalinga, Rajputana, and the states and kingdoms which had become feudatories under him including Jalandhar, Kashmir, Nepal, Sind, Kamarupa (modern-day Assam). Thus, many historians do not find the title justified as he was never able to bring the entire north under a single command. Yet, this does not mean his power was not felt beyond the limits of his direct rule. His writ ran across entire north India. Under his command, King of Jalandhar escorted the Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang to the frontiers of India. Another time, king of Kashmir had to submit a tooth relic of Buddha to Harsha. The Chinese source suggests that the King of Kamarupa could not dare to detain a Chinese pilgrim in his capital against the wishes of Harsha.

ART & EDUCATION

Harsha was a patron of both art and education. He himself was an author and wrote three Sanskrit plays, Nagananda, Ratnavali, Priyadarshika. One-fourth of his revenue went for patronizing scholars. Hiuen Tsang gives a quite vivid description of the famous Nalanda University which was at its zenith during Harsha’s reign. He described how the regularly laid-out towers, forests of pavilions, temples seemed to “soar above the mists in the sky” so that from their cells the monks “might witness the birth of the winds and clouds”.
The pilgrim states:

An azure pool winds around the monasteries, adorned with the full-blown cups of the blue lotus; the dazzling red flowers of the lovely kanaka hang here and there, and outside groves of mango trees offer the inhabitants their dense and protective shade (Grousset,158,159).

In its heyday, Nalanda had around 10,000 students and 2,000 teachers. The admission process was very strict. Records say there was a rigorous oral examination conducted by gatekeepers, and many used to be rejected. The curriculum included Vedas, Buddhism, philosophy, logic, urban planning, medicine, law, astronomy, etc.

SOCIETY & RELIGION

Caste system was prevalent among Hindus. They were divided into four castes or varna: Brahmana, Vaishya,Kshariya and Shudra, which among them had their own subcastes. The untouchables, who came at the lowest in the hierarchy, led a miserable life. The status of women declined as compared to the liberal era of earlier times. Satipratha (widow immolation) was common, and widow remarriage was not allowed in higher castes.

Harsha was a worshiper of Shiva in the beginning but later became a Mahayana Buddhist. Yet, he was tolerant of other faiths. With a view to popularize and propagate the doctrines of Mahayana Buddhism, Harsha arranged at Kannauj a great assembly which was presided over by Hiuen Tsang. Hiuen Tsang took a lot of manuscripts to China and translated more than 600 of them from Sanskrit. Another great ceremony was held for 75 days at Prayag (Allahabad). The images of Buddha, Sun and Siva were worshiped, and gifts of valuable articles and clothing were distributed in charity. Every five years religious ceremonies were celebrated at the ancient city of Allahabad. Here, he held the ceremony of Dana, or giving, which lasted for three months. During this, most of the wealth accumulated in the last five years was exhausted. Once, he even gave his clothes and jewellery and begged his sister for an ordinary garment to wear.

DEATH & LEGACY

Harsha’s empire marked the beginning of feudalism in India. Land was granted in villages, which made the local landlords powerful. This led to the weakening of the empire and gave rise to local feuds. Harsha had to be in constant movement to keep things in order.

Harsha died in 647 AD, and the empire with him. The death of Harshavardhana is not well documented. It is said that he was married to Durgavati and had two sons named Vagyavardhana and Kalyanvardhana. The story goes that they were killed by a minister in his court, even before the death of Harsha himself. Therefore, Harsha died without any heir. As a result, Arjuna, one of the chief ministers took up the thrones. Later in 648 CE, Arjuna was captured and held prisoner in an attack by the Tibetians.

FUNCTIONS OF MANAGEMENT

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Functions of Management:-

Planning

Organizing

Staffing

Direction

Coordination and control

Decision making

OUTPUT

Attainment goals effectively & efficiently

 

 

 
INPUTS/RESOURCES

Human

Finance

 
CONTROLLING

Measuring performance with standards & taking corrective actions
PLANNING

Setting of objects & selecting ways
ORGANIZING

Establishing relationships,

Delagting authority & assign tasks
DIRECTING

Leading & motivating employees to attain objectives

 

FUNCTIONS OF MANAGEMENT

 

PLANNING

Planning is a process of determination of organization’s objectives and selecting the courses of actions. i.e. Plans for attaining them.

Planning is the primary or basic management function.

 

Planning Process

Environmental scanning
Setting Objectives
Establishing Planning Premises
Searching alternatives
Evaluating alternatives
Selecting the most appropriate alternative
Formulating derivative plans
Budgeting i.e. Committing Resources
Implementing Plans
Follow – up actions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Types/Dimensions of Planning

 

  • Corporate Planning : Business product line

 

  • Long term Planning : > 5years

 

  • Short term Planning : 1 year

 

  • Medium term Planning : 2-5 years

 

  • Strategic planning : Long term, corporate planning for dealing with the organization Competitive environment.

 

  • Operational or Tactical Planning : Plans that specified detail operations needed to achieve The overall organizational goals. (Short range planning)

(Administrative Plans)

 

  • Functional Planning : Production, Marketing, Personnel, Finance.

 

 

Components/Elements of Planning

 

Objectives :    The basic tools that underline all planning and strategic activities.

 

Strategy:         The Long term action plan to attain objectives.

 

Policies:           These are general statements or understanding that guide or channel thinking in decision making.

 

Procedure:      A Chronological Sequence of steps or actions to be taken to accomplish a  Specific task or job.

 

Method:          It is a prescribed way of completing a step in a procedure.

 

Rules:            Specific recored statements that direct what must or must not be done in a Given situation.

 

Standards:      It is a measure against whuch the level of performance is measured or  Evaluated.

 

Programmes: An action plan consisting sequence and timing of steps necessary to achieve Objectives.

 

Schedules:        A plan which indicates the time of commencement of task, passing through Different stages or process and finalising the task.

 

Budgets:        Numerical Plan containing expected result in quantative way.

 

Project:          It is smaller action plan and a distinct part of a programme.

Tactics:          Short term action plan for implementing strategy.

 Horizontal and vertical distribution of temperature, inversion of temperature

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The temperature is the measurement in degrees of how hot (or cold) a thing (or a place) is.
The temperature of the atmosphere is not same across the Earth. It varies in spatial and temporal dimensions. The temperature of a place depends largely on the insolation received by that place. The interaction of insolation with the atmosphere and the earth’s surface creates heat which is measured in terms of temperature. It is important to know about the temperature distribution over the surface of the earth to understand the weather, climate, vegetation zones, animal and human life etc. following factors determine the temperature of air at any place.

  1. The latitude of the place – Intensity of insolation depends on the latitude. The amount of insolation depends on the inclination of sun rays, which is further depends upon the latitude of the place. At the equator sun’s rays fall directly overhead throughout the year. Away from the equator towards poles, the inclination of the Sun’s rays increases. In conclusion, if other things remain the same, the temperature of air goes on decreasing from the equator towards poles.
  2. The altitude of the place – the atmosphere is largely heated indirectly by re-radiated terrestrial radiation from the earth’s surface. Therefore, the lower layers of the atmosphere are comparatively warmer than the upper layers, even in the same latitudes. For example, Ambala (30 21’ N) and Shimla (31 6’) are almost at the same latitude. But the average temperature of shimla is much lower than the Ambala. It is because Ambala is located in plain at an altitude of 272 m above sea level whereas Shimla is located at an altitude of 2202 m above sea level. In other words, the temperature generally decreases with increasing height (figure 6(a)). The rate of decrease of temperature with height is termed as the normal lapse rate. It is 6.5°C per 1,000 m. That’s why, the mountains, even in the equatorial region, have snow covered peaks, like Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa.
  3. Distance from the Sea – the land surface is heated at a faster rate than the water N surface. Thus the temperature of the air over land and water surfaces is not the same Student Notes: at a given time. In summers, the sea water is cooler than the land and in winters, land is much colder than the sea water. The coastal areas experience the sea breezes during the daytime and the land breezes during the night time. This has a moderating influence on the temperature of the coastal areas. Against this the places in the interior, far away from the sea, have extreme climate. The daily range of temperature is less near the coastal area and it increases with increase in distance from the sea coast (figure 6(b)). The low daily range of temperature is the characteristic of marine climate. That’s why, the people of Mumbai have hardly any idea of extremes of temperature.

(a) Horizontal Distribution of Temperature
Distribution of temperature across the latitudes over the surface of the earth is called its horizontal distribution. On maps, the horizontal distribution of temperature is commonly shown by “Isotherms”, lines connecting points that have equal temperatures. An isotherm is made of two words ‘iso’ and ‘therm’, ‘Iso’ means equal and ‘therm’ means” temperature. If you study an isotherm map you will find that the distribution of temperature is uneven. The factors responsible for the uneven distribution of temperature are as follows:
(i) Latitude
(ii) Land and Sea Contrast
(iii) Relief and Altitude
(iv) Ocean Currents
(v) Winds
(vi) Vegetation Cover
(vii) Nature of the soil
(viii) Slope and Aspect

(b) Vertical Distribution of Temperature
The permanent snow on high mountains, even in the tropics, indicate the decrease of temperature with altitute. Observations reveals that there is a fairly regular decrease in temperature with an increase in altitude. The average rate of temperature decrease upward in the troposphere is about 6 C per km, extending to the tropopause. This vertical gradient of temperature is commonly referred to as the standard atmosphere or normal lapse rate, but is varies with height, season, latitude and other factors. Indeed the actual lapse rate of temperature does not always show a decrease with altitude.

Temperature Inversion

Temperature decreases with increase in altitude. In normal conditions, as we go up, temperature decreases with normal lapse rate. It is 6.5°C per 1,000 m. Against this normal rule sometimes, instead of decreasing, temperature may rise with the height gained. The cooler air is nearer the earth and the warmer air is aloft. This rise of temperature with height is known as Temperature inversion. Temperature inversion takes place under certain specific conditions. These are discussed below:

  •  Long winter nights – if in winters the sky is clear during long nights, the terrestrial radiation is accelerated. The reason is that the land surface gets cooled fairly quickly. The bottom layer of atmosphere in contact with the ground is also cooled and the upper layer remains relatively warm.
  • Cloudless clear sky – The clouds obstruct the terrestrial radiation. But this radiation does not face any obstacles for being reflected into space when the sky is clear. Therefore the ground is cooled quickly and so is the air in contact with it cooled.
  • Dry air – humid air absorbs the terrestrial radiation but dry air is no obstruction to terrestrial radiation and allows the radiation to escape into space.
  • Calm atmosphere – the blowing of winds bring warm and cold air into contact. Under conditions of calm atmosphere the cold air stays put near the ground.
  • Ice covered surface – in ice covered areas due to high albedo less insolation is received. During night due to terrestrial radiation most of the heat is lost to atmosphere and the surface is cooled. The air in contact with it is also cooled but the upper layer remains warm.

 

Drainage Systems Himalayan and the Peninsular

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Drainage: Flow of water through well-defined channels. Network of such channels is called a drainage system .

Drainage basin: An area drained by a river and its tributaries.

Watershed: Boundary line separating one drainage basin from other.

River basins are larger watersheds.

Drainage pattern of an area depends on the geological time period, nature and structure of rocks, topography, rocks, slope, amount of water and periodicity of flow.

Important drainage patterns:

  1. Dendritic: Resembling the branches of a tree. Eg. Northern Plain rivers
  2. Radial: Originate from a hill and flow in all directions. Eg. Rivers in Amarkantak
  3. Trellis: Primary tributaries parallel to each other and secondary tributaries join them at right angles.
  4. Centripetal: Rivers discharge waters from all directions in a lake or depression

A river drains the water collected from a specific area, which is called its catchment area.

Nearly 77 pc of drainage is towards the Bay of Bengal while about 23 pc is towards the Arabian Sea.

The Himalayan Drainage System

Mainly includes the Ganga, Indus and Brahmaputra river basins.

Over the plains, rivers of this system change the course often. River Kosi is also known as the ‘sorrow of Bihar’ due to flooding by its frequent change of course by deposition of sediments.

Evolution

Geologists believe that a mighty river called Shivalik or Indo-Brahma traversed the entire length of the Himalayas some 5-24 million years ago. Over time this got dismembered into the present three major river systems.

The Indus System

Indus river originates from a glacier near Bokhar Chu in Tibet in the Kailash Mountain range. Known as Singi Khamban (Lion’s mouth) in Tibet. It forms a spectacular gorge near Gilgit in J&K. Enters Pakistan near Chillar in the Dardistan region. Flows only through the Leh distt of J&K.

Smaller tributaries: Shyok, Gilgit, Zaskar, Nubra, Hunza, Shigar, Gasting, Dras. On right bank: Kabul river, Khurram, Tochi, Gomal, Viboa and hte Sangar.

Major tributaries: Satluj, Beas, Ravi, Chenab, Jhelum

Jhelum Origin: Verinag at foot of Pir Pinjal.

Flows through Srinagar and the Wular lake. Joins Chenab near Jhang in Pakistan
Chenab Origin: Two streams (Chandra and Bhaga) which join at Tandi near Keylong in HP.

Largest tributary of Indus. Aka Chandrabhaga. Flows for 1180 KM before entering Pakistan
Ravi Origin: Kullu hills of HP near Rohtang Pass. Enters Pakistan and joins Chenab near Sarai Sidhu
Beas Origin: Beas Kund near Rohtang pass.

Forms gorges at Kati and Largi in the Dhaoladhar range. Meets Satluj near Harike.
Satluj Origin: Rakas lake near Mansarowar in Tibet. Known as Langchen Khambab in Tibet.

Enters India at Ropar. Antecedent river. Bhakra Nangal Project is on this river.

 

The Ganga System

It is the largest river system in India.

Ganga rises in the Gangotri glacier near Gaumukh in the Uttarkashi district. Here it is known as the Bhagirathi. At Devprayag, Bhagirathi meets Alaknanda and is known as Ganga hereafter.

Panchprayag

Vishnu Ganga Joshimath

Dhauli and Vishnu Ganga meet to form Alaknanda
   
   
   
   

 

Alaknanda Origin: Satopanth glacier above Badrinath. Consists of Dhauli and Vishnu Ganga.
Yamuna Origin: Yamnotri glacier on Banderpunch range. Joins Ganga at Prayag (Allahabad).

RBT: Chambal, Sind, Betwa, Ken

LBT: Hindan, Rind, Sengar, Varuna.

Agra canal
Chambal Origin: Mhow in Malwa plateau.

Gandhi Sagar dam, Rana Pratap Sagar dam and Jawahar Sagar dam.

Famour for Chambal ravines.
Gandak Origin: In Nepal between Dhaulgiri and Mt. Everest. Enters Ganga plain in Champaran and joins Ganga at Sonpur near Patna.

Two streams: Kaliganfak and Trishulganga.

 
Ghaghra Origin: Glaciers of Mapchachungo

Tributaries: Tila, Seti and Beri

Deep gorge at Shishpani

Sarda (Kali) joint it and meet Ganga at Chhapra.
Kosi Origin: North of Mt. Everest in Tibet.

Tributaties: Son Kosi, Tamur Kosi, Arun

Changes course often. Sorrow of Bihar.
   

 

Ganga enters the plains at Haridwar.

Left Bank tributaries (LBT): Ramganga, Gomati, Ghaghara, Gandak, Kosi and Mahananda.

Right Bank tributaries (RBT): Son

Discharges into Bay of Bengal near Sagar island.

SOURCE OF FINANCE

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Sources of finance are the most explored area especially for the entrepreneurs about to start a new business. It is perhaps the toughest part of all the efforts. There are various sources of finance classified based on time period, ownership and control, and source of generation of finance.

 

The process of selecting right source of finance involves in-depth analysis of each and every source of finance. For analyzing and comparing the sources of finance, it is required to understand all characteristics of the financing sources. There are many characteristics on the basis of which sources of finance are classified.

On the basis of a time period, sources are classified into long term, medium term, and short term. Ownership and control classify sources of finance into owned capital and borrowed capital. Internal sources and external sources are the two sources of generation of capital. All the sources of capital have different characteristics to suit different types of requirements. Let’s understand them in a little depth.

 

ACCORDING TO TIME-PERIOD:

 

Sources of financing a business are classified based on the time period for which the money is required. Time period is commonly classified into following three:

  • Long Term Sources of Finance:

 

Long-term financing means capital requirements for a period of more than 5 years to 10, 15, 20 years or maybe more depending on other factors. Capital expenditures in fixed assets like plant and machinery, land and building etc of a business are funded using long-term sources of finance. Part of working capital which permanently stays with the business is also financed with long-term sources of finance. Long term financing sources can be in form of any of them:

 

  • Share Capital or Equity Shares
  • Preference Capital or Preference Shares
  • Retained Earnings or Internal Accruals
  • Debenture / Bonds
  • Term Loans from Financial Institutes, Government, and Commercial Banks
  • Venture Funding
  • Asset Securitization
  • International Financing by way of Euro Issue, Foreign Currency Loans, ADR, GDR etc.

 

  • Medium Term Sources of Finance:

 

Medium term financing means financing for a period of 3 to 5 years. Medium term financing is used generally for two reasons. One, when long-term capital is not available for the time being and second, when deferred revenue expenditures like advertisements are made which are to be written off over a period of 3 to 5 years. Medium term financing sources can in the form of one of them:

 

  • Preference Capital or Preference Shares
  • Debenture / Bonds
  • Medium Term Loans from
    • Financial Institutes
    • Government, and
    • Commercial Banks
  • Lease Finance
  • Hire Purchase Finance.

 

  • Short Term Sources of Finance: Short term financing means financing for a period of less than 1 year. Need for short term finance arises to finance the current assets of a business like an inventory of raw material and finished goods, debtors, minimum cash and bank balance etc. Short term financing is also named as working capital financing. Short term finances are available in the form of:

 

  • Trade Credit
  • Short Term Loans like Working Capital Loans from Commercial Banks
  • Fixed Deposits for a period of 1 year or less
  • Advances received from customers
  • Creditors
  • Payables
  • Factoring Services
  • Bill Discounting etc.

 

There are two main categories of sources from which the firm can get the required funds for their business. These are:

 

 (1) Internal sources; and

(2) External sources.

When the businessman invests his own money (called owner’s capital), and retains a part of the profits earned in the business it constitute the internal sources of finance. It is an integral part of every business organisation and it is cost effective. But, this source has its own limitations. Hence the business houses have to resort to the external sources of finance. The various external sources from where businessmen can get the finance include, friends and relatives, banks and other financial institutions, moneylenders, capital market, manufacturers and producers, customers, foreign financial institutions and agencies, etc. It is observed that the scope of raising funds also depends upon the nature and form of business organisation.

 

The following are the usual sources of finance. (a) Capital Market (b) Financial Institutions (c) Public Deposits (d) Commercial Banks (e) Leasing Companies (f) Investment Trusts (g) Retained Profits

 Air masses and fronts

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Airmasses

 

An airmass is a large body of air with relatively uniform thermal and moisture characteristics. Airmasses cover large regions of the earth, typically several hundred thousand square kilometers. Airmasses can be as deep as the depth of the troposphere or as shallow as 1 to 2 km.
Airmasses form when air remains over a relatively flat region of the earth* with homogeneous surface characteristics for an extended period of time. ( Canadian and Siberian plains, cool oceanic regions such as the North Atlantic and Pacific, deserts, such as the Sahara and the American southwest, and tropical oceanic regions including the equatorial Atlantic and Pacific, and smaller water bodies such as the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico).

Polar air masses, containing little moisture and low temperatures move downward from the poles.  Air masses that form over water are generally moist, and those that form over the tropical oceans are both moist and warm. Because of the Coriolis effect due to the Earth’s rotation, air masses generally move across North America from west to east.  But, because of the differences in moisture and heat, the collision of these air masses can cause instability in the atmosphere.

Polar air mass is cold and tropical air mass is warm. When cold air mass and warm air mass blow against each other, the boundary line of convergence separating the two air masses is termed as front. When the warm air mass, moves upward over the cold air mass the front formed in such a situation is called warm front. On the contrary, when the cold air mass advances faster and undercuts the warm air mass and forces the warm air upwards, the front so formed is called cold front. The frontal surface of cold front is steeper than that of a warm front . A prevailing air mass in any region – polar, tropical, maritime or continental largely controls the regions general weather.

Different air masses are:-

  1. Maritime tropical (mT)
    ii. Continental tropical (cT)
    iii. Maritime polar (mP)
    iv. Continental polar (cP)
    v. Continental arctic (cA).

Where ‘m’ stands for Maritime; ‘c’ stands for continental; ‘T’ stands for tropical; ‘P’ stands for polar and ‘A’ stands for arctic region.

Fronts

An important properties of air is that it is a poor conductor of energy. This means that when two different bodies of air come together, they do not readily mix. Rather, each body of air will retain its individual properties, and a boundary forms between them. When two large air masses meet, the boundary that separates them is called a front. Fronts represent fairly abrupt transitions between two large air masses. The warm, moist air might dominate an area hundreds of miles across, while in another part of the continent a cold, dry air mass holds sway over an equally large region. However, where the two air masses meet, the transition layer between them may be only a few tens of miles across, clearly a sharp transition between two massive bodies of air.

Fronts are recognized by the following properties:-

  • Sharp temperature changes over a relatively short distance. Sometimes change of 10 to 20 C may be observed.
  • Change in moisture content
  • Rapid shifts in wind direction
  • Pressure changes
  • Clouds and precipitation patterns

Types of Fronts:-

Warm Fronts: A warm front occurs when a warm air mass advances and replaces a cold air mass. On a weather map, a warm front is depicted as a red arc, with red semicircles pointing in the direction of the advancing warm air.

Cold Fronts :-A cold front occurs when a mass of cold air advances into a region of warmer air.

Stationary Fronts:- A stationary front forms when a cold front or warm front stops moving. This happens when two masses of air are pushing against each other but neither is powerful enough to move the other. Winds blowing parallel to the front instead of perpendicular can help it stay in place.

Occluded Fronts:- Sometimes a cold front follows right behind a warm front. A warm air mass pushes into a colder air mass (the warm front) and then another cold air mass pushes into the warm air mass (the cold front). Because cold fronts move faster, the cold front is likely to overtake the warm front. This is known as an occluded front

 

 

Role of Commercial Banks

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Role of Commercial Banks

A Commercial bank is a type of financial institution that provides services such as accepting deposits, making business loans, and offering basic investment products

There is acute shortage of capital. People lack initiative and enterprise. Means of transport are undeveloped. Industry is depressed. The commercial banks help in overcoming these obstacles and promoting economic development. The role of a commercial bank in a developing country is discussed as under.

  1. Mobilising Saving for Capital Formation:

The commercial banks help in mobilising savings through network of branch banking. People in developing countries have low incomes but the banks induce them to save by introducing variety of deposit schemes to suit the needs of individual depositors. They also mobilise idle savings of the few rich. By mobilising savings, the banks channelize them into productive investments. Thus they help in the capital formation of a developing country.

  1. Financing Industry:

The commercial banks finance the industrial sector in a number of ways. They provide short-term, medium-term and long-term loans to industry.

  1. Financing Trade:

The commercial banks help in financing both internal and external trade. The banks provide loans to retailers and wholesalers to stock goods in which they deal. They also help in the movement of goods from one place to another by providing all types of facilities such as discounting and accepting bills of exchange, providing overdraft facilities, issuing drafts, etc. Moreover, they finance both exports and imports of developing countries by providing foreign exchange facilities to importers and exporters of goods.

  1. Financing Agriculture:

The commercial banks help the large agricultural sector in developing countries in a number of ways. They provide loans to traders in agricultural commodities. They open a network of branches in rural areas to provide agricultural credit. They provide finance directly to agriculturists for the marketing of their produce, for the modernisation and mechanisation of their farms, for providing irrigation facilities, for developing land, etc.

They also provide financial assistance for animal husbandry, dairy farming, sheep breeding, poultry farming, pisciculture and horticulture. The small and marginal farmers and landless agricultural workers, artisans and petty shopkeepers in rural areas are provided financial assistance through the regional rural banks in India. These regional rural banks operate under a commercial bank. Thus the commercial banks meet the credit requirements of all types of rural people. In India agricultural loans are kept in priority sector landing.

  1. Financing Consumer Activities:

People in underdeveloped countries being poor and having low incomes do not possess sufficient financial resources to buy durable consumer goods. The commercial banks advance loans to consumers for the purchase of such items as houses, scooters, fans, refrigerators, etc. In this way, they also help in raising the standard of living of the people in developing countries by providing loans for consumptive activities and also increase the demand in the economy.

  1. Financing Employment Generating Activities:

The commercial banks finance employment generating activities in developing countries. They provide loans for the education of young person’s studying in engineering, medical and other vocational institutes of higher learning. They advance loans to young entrepreneurs, medical and engineering graduates, and other technically trained persons in establishing their own business. Such loan facilities are being provided by a number of commercial banks in India. Thus the banks not only help inhuman capital formation but also in increasing entrepreneurial activities in developing countries.

  1. Help in Monetary Policy:

The commercial banks help the economic development of a country by faithfully following the monetary policy of the central bank. In fact, the central bank depends upon the commercial banks for the success of its policy of monetary management in keeping with requirements of a developing economy.

Issue of NPA

A non performing asset (NPA) is a loan or advance for which the principal or interest payment remained overdue for a period of 90 days.According to RBI, terms loans on which interest or installment of principal remain overdue for a period of more than 90 days from the end of a particular quarter is called a Non-performing Asset.

However, in terms of Agriculture / Farm Loans; the NPA is defined as under:

  • For short duration crop agriculture loans such as paddy, Jowar, Bajra etc. if the loan (installment / interest) is not paid for 2 crop seasons , it would be termed as a NPA.
  • For Long Duration Crops, the above would be 1 Crop season from the due date.

The Securitization and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (SARFAESI) Act has provisions for the banks to take legal recourse to recover their dues. When a borrower makes any default in repayment and his account is classified as NPA; the secured creditor has to issue notice to the borrower giving him 60 days to pay his dues. If the dues are not paid, the bank can take possession of the assets and can also give it on lease or sell it; as per provisions of the SAFAESI Act.

Reselling of NPAs :- If a bad loan remains NPA for at least two years, the bank can also resale the same to the Asset Reconstruction Companies such as Asset Reconstruction Company (India) (ARCIL).  These sales are only on Cash Basis and the purchasing bank/ company would have to keep the accounts for at least 15 months before it sells to other bank. They purchase such loans on low amounts and try to recover as much as possible from the defaulters. Their revenue is difference between the purchased amount and recovered amount

 

Commodity Exchanges in India

Though there are about 25 commodity exchanges in India, the following are the major ones:

 

Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) – 2003 – Mumbai – MCX COMDEX index

National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) – 2003 – Mumbai

National Multi-commodity Exchange (NCME) – 2001 – Ahmedabad – first

Food scarcity

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According to FAO Food Security  is “a situation in which all people at all times have access to adequate quantities of safe and nutritious food to lead a healthy and active life”.

This definition requires three basic conditions to be met:

1) adequacy, i.e. supplies from domestic production, stocks and imports are sufficient to meet the nation’s needs,

2) availability i.e. stability of supply both spatially and temporally throughout the year and

3) access, i.e. the population has sufficient purchasing power to gain access to its food needs.

India is one of the few countries which have experimented with a broad spectrum of programmes for improving food security. It has already made substantial progress in terms of overcoming transient food insecurity by giving priority to self-sufficiency in foodgrains and through procurement and public distribution of foodgrains, employment programmes, etc. However, despite a significant reduction in the incidence of poverty chronic food insecurity persists in a large proportion of India’s population.

The range of adverse events, including reduced freshwater availability and more frequent extreme weather events, will considerably increase the risks for more efficient crop production and livestock management. Climate change is also likely to affect soil quality by depleting organic matter – a major contributor to soil fertility. In extreme cases, the degradation of the agricultural ecosystems could mean desertification, resulting in a total loss of the productive capacity of the land in question.

Food security is a multidimensional concept covering even the  micro level household food security,energy intakes and indicators of malnutrition.

Major components of food security are:-

  1. Production and Procurement
  2. Storage
  3. Distribution

Indian Agriculture is rightly called as a gamble with Monsoon, variability in food production and rising population creates food insecurity in the nation and worst effected are the downtrodden section of the society.

While India has seen impressive economic growth in recent years, the country still struggles with widespread poverty and hunger. India’s poor population amounts to more than 300 million people, with almost 30 percent of India’s rural population living in poverty. The good news is, poverty has been on the decline in recent years. According to official government of India estimates, poverty declined from 37.2% in 2004-05 to 29.8% in 2009-10.

Need for Self-Sufficiency:

India suffered two very severe droughts in 1965 and 1966. Food Aid to India was restricted to a monthly basis by USA under the P.L. 480 programme.  The Green Revolution made a significant change in the scene. India achieved self-sufficiency in food grains by the year 1976 through the implementation of the seed- water-fertilizer policy adopted by the Government of India.

Food grain production increased four-fold during 1950-51 and 2001-2002 from 51 million tons to 212 million tones. The country is no longer exposed to real famines. But the regional variation in the success of Green Revolution which was chiefly limited to northern- Western states has lead to the divide in the nation. Evergreen revoloution and Bringing green revolution to eastern India is the need of the hour.

Green revolution was focused on wheat and rice and thus the production of pulses was stagnant.

National Food Security Mission comprising rice, wheat and pulses to increase the production of rice by 10 million tons, wheat by 8 million tons and pulses by 2 million tons by the end of the Eleventh Plan (2011-12). The Mission is being continued during 12th Five Year Plan with new targets of additional production of food grains of 25 million tons of food grains comprising of 10 million tons rice, 8 million tons of wheat, 4 million tons of pulses and 3 million tons of coarse cereals by the end of 12th Five Year Plan.
The National Food Security Mission (NFSM) during the 12th Five Year Plan will have five components

(i) NFSM- Rice;

(ii) NFSM-Wheat;

(iii) NFSM-Pulses,

(iv) NFSM-Coarse cereals and

(v) NFSM-Commercial Crops.

Government through Public Distribution System has tried to counter the problem of food insecurity by providing the food grains through fair price shops.

The central Government through Food Corporation of India has assumed the responsibilities of  procurement,storage,transfer and bulk allocation of food grains to state governments.

The public distribution system (PDS) has played an important role in attaining higher levels of the household food security and completely eliminating the threats of famines from the face of the country, it will be in the fitness of things that its evolution, working and efficacy are examined in some details.

PDS was initiated as a deliberate social policy of the government with the objectives of:

  1. i) Providing foodgrains and other essential items to vulnerable sections of the society at resonable (subsidised) prices;
  2. ii) to have a moderating influence on the open market prices of cereals, the distribution of which constitutes a fairly big share of the total marketable surplus; and

iii) to attempt socialisation in the matter of distribution of essential commodities.

The focus of the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) is on “poor in all areas” and TPDS involves issue of     35 Kg of food grains per family per month for the population Below Poverty Line (BPL) at specially subsidized prices. The TPDS requires the states to Formulate and implement :-

  1. foolproof arrangements for identification of poor,
  2. Effective delivery of food grains to Fair Price Shops (FPSs)

Its distribution in a transparent and accountable manner at the FPS level

Ancient Indian History(Quick Revision)

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Pre-Harappan Period

    Lower Paleolithic   Hand axe & cleaver industries Pahalgam, Belan valley (U.P),  
    (600,000 – 60,000 BC)     Bhimbetka, Adamgarh, 16 R Singi Talav  
    Middle Paleolithic   Tools made on flakes Bhimbetka, Nevasa, Pushkar, Rohiri  
    (150,000 – 40,000 BC)     hills of upper sind  
    Upper Paleolithic   Tools made on flakes & blades Rajasthan, Parts of Belan & Ganga  
    (45,000 – 10,000 BC)     Valley (U.P).  
    Mesolithic/ Microlithic   Parallel sided blades of chert, Bagor (Raj), Langhnaj (Guj), Sarai  
    (10,000 – 7000 BC)   chalcedony, jasper, agate Nahar Rai, Chaopani Mando, Mahdaha,  
              Damdama (U.P), Bhimbetka, Adamgarh.  
    Neolithic   Earthern pots Mehrgarh (Pak) Gufkral & Burzahom  
    (8000 BC – 2000 BC)     (J&K), Mahgara, Chopani Mando,  
              Kodihwa in Belan Valley (U.P.) Chirand  
              (Bihar).  
    Chalcolithic   Distinct painted pottery Cultures: Ahar culture (oldest), Kayatha,  
    (3000-900 B.C.)   Fire worship widespread. Malwa culture, Salvada culture, ,  
              Prabhas culture, Rangpur culture &  
              Jorwe culture (newest).  
    Copper Hoard Culture   Harpoons, Antennae swords, Gungeria (M.P-largest)  
            Anthromorphs    
    OCP Culture   Pottery with bright red slip & All over gangetic plain with same  
    (Ochre coloured pottery)   painted in black. regions as that of copper hoard culture.  
    •Ahar people (Aravalli region) – distinctive black & red ware decorated with white designs.  
    •Prabhas & Rangpur wares have a glossy suface due to which they are called lusturous red ware.  
    •Jorwe culture (Maharashtra) – painted black on red but has a matt surface treated with a wash.  
            Select Harrapan Cities (Chalcolithic Age)  
1.   Harappa   Great granary, 40 % of total seals found here; Seals usually made of steatite  
      [Dayaram Sahni]   depicting elephant, bull, unicorn, rhinoceros; figurines – torso  
2.   Mohenjodaro   “Mound of the dead”; largest of all cities; Great Bath; granary; city was  
      [R.D Banerjee]   flooded occasionally, figurines of yogi, bronze dancing girl, seal bearing  
          Pashupati.    
3.   Lothal   [S.R. Rao]. Earliest cultivation of rice; Fire altars  
           
4.   Kalibangan   [A. Ghosh]. Fire Altars showing cult sacrifice;  
             
5.   Dholavira,   [R.S. Bisht]    
6.   Banwali   [R.S. Bisht] Fire Altars;    
7.   Mehrgarh   Evidences of cotton;    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Indian Religious Books
Puranas Divided into sarga, pratisarga, manvantantar, vamsa (genealogical list of kings) &
  vamsanucharita. 18 main puranas & 18 subsidiary puranas.
Vedas Meaning “knowledge”. Rigveda (hymns), Yajurveda (sacrificial formulae), Atharvaveda
  (magical charms & spell), Samveda. Vedas are called aparusheya (not created by man) &
  nity
Upanishads About 200 in number. Deal with philosophy. Oldest & most important are Chhandogya &
  Brihadranyaka. Other important are Kathak, Isa, Mundaka, Prasna etc. Do not believe in
  sacrificial ceremonies.
Brahmanas Talks about vedic hymns, their application, stories of their origin. Each Brahmana is
  associated with one of the four VedasAitareya brahmana is associated with Rig Veda &
  Satapatha Brahmana with Yajur veda.
Aranyakas Meaning ‘the forest books’. They discuss philosophical meditation  & sacrifice.
Vedangas Evolved for proper understanding of the Vedas. Six in all: Siksha (phonetics), Kalpa
  (rituals), Vyakarna, Nirukta (Etymology) Chhanda (metrics) & Jyotisha.
Vedanta Advaita Vedanta of Adi Sankara.

 

 

 

 

Ancient Books & Authors

1. Mudrakshasha (Chandragupta Maurya defeating the Nandas); Vishakhadatta
  Devichandraguptam  
2. Malavikagnimitram (Pushyamitra Sunga) Kalidas
3. Gudavaho (Yasovarman of Kannauj) Vakpati
4. Vikramanakadevacharita (Chalukya king Vikramaditya) Bilhana
5. Kumarapalacharita Jayasimha
6. Hammirakavya Nyayachandra
7. Dvayashraya Mahakavya; Sapta Sadhana Hemchandra
8. Navashasankacharita Padmagupta
9. Bhojaprabandha Billal
10. Prithvirajcharita Chandrabardai
11. Meghaduta; Raghuvamsa; Kumarasambhava; Vikramorvasiyam Kalidas
  Abhijnanashakuntalam (Drama);  
12. Mrichakatika Sudraka
13. Uttarama-Charita; Malati Madhava Bhavbhuti
14. Amarakosha Amarasimha
15. Si-yu-Ki Hiuen Tsang
16. Brahmasiddhanta; Khandakhadya Brahmagupta
17. Dasakumaracharita Dandin
18. Astanga-Sangraha; Astanga-Hirdaya-Samhita Vagabhatta
19. Panchsiddhantika; Suryasiddhanta; Brihatsamhita Varahamihira
20. Karpuramanjari; Bala Ramayana; Bala Bharata; Kavyamimamsa; Rajshekhara
  Bhuvana Kosha; Haravilasa  
21. Adinathacharita (Jaina Narrative) Vardhamana
22. Shantinathacharita (Jaina Narrative) Devachandra
23. Parsvanathacharita (Jaina Narrative) Devabhadra
24. Prithviraja Vijay Jayanka
25. Karnasundari Bilhana
26. Saraswati Kanthabharana Bhoja
27. Dasharupa Dhananjaya
28. Harikeli Nataka Visaladeva
29. Prasannaraghava Jayadeva
30. Siddhanta Shiromani [4 parts – Lilavati, Bijaganita, Grahaganita & Bhaskaracharya
  Gola (on Astronomy)]  
31. Rajmariganka (On Astronomy) King Bhoja
32. Chikitsakalika or Yogamala Tisata-Vagbhatta’s Son
33. Mitakasara Vijnanaeshvara
34. Nitishastra (On Polity) Mathara
35. Nitisara  (On Polity) Kamandaka
36. Sushruta Samhita (encyclopedia on surgery) Sushruta
37. Charaka Samhita (Teachings of Atreya) Charaka
38. Buddhacharita, Vajrasuchi, Suandarananda Asvaghosha
39. Mahabhasya Patanjali
40. Harshacharita, Kadambari Banabhatta
41. Ravan Vadha Bhattin

 

 

 

 

 

Famous Inscriptions

Inscription King     Aspect
Junagarh Rock Rudradaman (Saka)   Sanskrit. Says that a dam on the sudarshana lake
            was constructed by Pushyagupta a governor of
            Chandragupta Maurya
Allahabad Pillar Samudragupta   Sanskrit. Composed by Harisena
Aihole Inscription Pulakeshin II   Mentions Harsha defeat by Pulakeshin II.
            Composed by Ravikriti Vishnuvardan son of King.
Gwalior Inscription Bhoja     Most famous Pratihara king.
Hathigumpha Kharvela        
Boghaz koi Proves Rig Veda to be   Indra, Varuna, Mitra, two Nasatyas mentioned
[1400 B.C.] more than 1400 BC old.      
Nanaghat Inscription Satkarni I     Achievements of the king
    [Satvahana king]      
Nasik Inscription Gautamiputra Satkarni   Achievements of the king.
Mehrauli Iron Pillar Chandragupta II      
Mandsor Inscription Kumaragupta I   Composed by Vatsabhatti.
Bhitari Stone pillar Skandagupta        
Tiruvalangadu Rajendra I (Chola)   His conquests (annexed whole of SriLanka)
Uttaramerur Cholar Period   Chola village assemblies
Besnagar Inscription Near Vidisa (MP). Mentions Heliodorus the ambassador of king Antialcidas
    called himself Bhagvata & erected garudadhvaja in his honour of Vasudev.
        Buddhist Councils
I Buddhist Council   500 BC at   Ajatsataru .   Record the Buddha’s sayings (sutra) and codify
    Rajgaha   Presided by   monastic rules (vinaya). Rajgaha is today’s
        Mahakasyapa   Rajgir
II Buddhist Council   383 BC at   Kalasoka   The conservative schools insisted on monastic
    Vaishali         rules (vinaya). The secessionist Mahasangikas
              argued for more relaxed monastic
              rules.Rejection of the Mahasanghikas
III Buddhist Council   250 BC   Ashoka..   Purpose was to reconcile the different schools of
    Pataliputra         Buddhism. Presided by Moggaliputta Tissa
IV Buddhist Council   100 AD   Kanishka   Division into Hinayana & Mahayana. Theravada
    Kashmir   Presided by   Buddhism does not recognize the authenticity of
        Vasumitra &   this council, and it is sometimes called the
        Asvaghosha   “council of heretical monks”.
V Buddhist Council   1871   King Mindon   recite all the teachings of the Buddha and
    Myanmar         examine them in minute detail to see if any of
              them had been altered
VI Buddhist Council   1954   P.M. U Nu    
    Yangoon          

 

            Nastika Shools of Indian System of Philosophy
Charvaka   Believes only in materialism. No life beyond death, no soul no god.
Jaina     The names of two tirthankaras, Rishabhanath & Aristhanemia finds mention in Rig Veda.
540 BC   Twenty third was Parsva, son of Ishvaku king Asvasena. Said to have flourished 300 yrs
          before Mahavira. Mahavira, the last Tirthankara  born in Kundagrama near Vaisali. His
          father Siddhartha was the head of Jnatrika clan & mother Trisala was the sister of Chetaka,
          a Lichchhavi noble. Chetaka’s dauthter was married to Bimbisara the king of Magadha.
          Mahavira was married to Yasoda. Left home at 30 & attained Kaivalya at 42.  He accepted
          4 doctrines of Parsava & added celibacy to it.  Chandragupta Maurya patronized it. Passed
          away at Pawapuri.
Buddha   Gautama (known as Siddhartha as prince) was born in Lumbini near Kapilvastu to
566 B.C.   Suddhodhana, the king of Sakya republic & Mayadevi who died seven days after his birth.
          Gautama was married to Yasodhara from whom he had a son Rahul. 6 years of meditation
          led to enlightenment. First sermon in Sarnath known as ‘Set in motion the wheel of law’.
          Eight fold paths. Buddhism denies efficacy of vedic rituals & superiority of brahmanas.
          Followers were upasakas & bhikshus. Died at the age of 80 in Kushinagar.
            Astika Schools of Indian System of Philosophy
  Vaisesika       Five elements – Earth, water, air, fire, Ether.  
  Nyaya       Accepts all categories of Vaisesika & adds one Abhava (negation).  
  Samkhya       Oldest of all. Twenty five basic principles first being ‘Prakriti’. Gives  
                doctrine of 3 qualities – virtue (sattva), passion (rajas) & dullness (tamas)  
  Yoga           Salvation through: Yama (self control), Niyama, Asanas, Pranayama,  
                Pratyahara (restrain), Dharana (steady mind), Dhyana & Samadhi.  
  Mimamsa       Recognises Vedas as final authority.  
  Vedanta       Adi Sankara is protagonist. Ultimate reality ‘Brahma’ is one. Highest  
                level of truth is that the whole world that exists is Maya. Ramanuja  
                (founder of Sri Vaishnavism) differed from Sankara on his commentaries  
                on Upanishads & Gita.  
                Forms of Marriage
  1.   Brahma     Duly dowered girl to a man of the same class    
  2.   Daiva     Father gives daughter to a sacrificial priest as a part of his fee    
  3.   Arsa       A token bride price of a cow & a bull is given in place of the dowry    
  4.   Prajapatya     Father gives girl without dowry & without demanding the bride price    
  5.   Gandharva     Love Marriage    
  6.   Asura     In which bride was bought from her father    
  7.   Rakshasa     Marriage by capture, practiced especially by warriors.    
  8.   Paishacha     Marriage by seduction    
  Daiva marriage was considered ideal 7 paisacha the worst.    

 

    Dynasties of Ancient Northern India
Dynasty King   Description
Haryanka Bimbisara*   Founded after overthrowing the Brihadrathas. He also annexed
      Anga
  Ajatasatru   Conquered Lichhavis of Vaisali. Also defeated Prasenajit of
      Kosala. Succeded by Udayani who founded Pataliputra.
Sisunga Sisunga   People elected Sisunga as Udayani & his 3 successors were
      unworthy
Nanda Mahapadma   Barber but a great military genius. Defeated many dynasties.
  Nanda*    
Alexander’s Alexander   Defeated Persian King Darius III & marched to India through
Campaign     Khyber pass. King of Taxila offered help.
Mauryas Chandragupta   Educated by Chanakya at Taxila. ‘Parisistha Parvam’ a jain text
  Maurya*   describes that he defeated the Nanda king & became ruler of
  [324-300 BC]   Magadha empire. Defeated Greek, Selecus who had succeded
      Alexander in the eastern part. Selecus sent Megasthenes to his
      court.
  Bindusara   He appointed his two sons, Sumana at Taxila & Ashoka at Ujjain.
  [300-273 BC]   Ptolemy Philadelphous of Egypt sent Dionysius to his court.
  Ashoka   Known as devanampiya & piyadasi. Edicts were in Greek &
      Aramaic in Afghanistan, Prakrit language & Kharosthi script in
      Pakistan. Prakrit language & Brahmi script in other areas. Rock
      Edict XIII (Kalinga war) Bhabru Edict (Buddhism as his religion)
      VII (all sects desire self control & purity) XII (equal respect to all
      religion) II (Dhamma – Common code of conduct). Succeded by 6
      Mauryan kings from Dasaratha to Brihadratha.
Sunga Pushyamitra   Army chief of Maurya king Brihadratha killed him while he was
  Sunga   reviewing the army. Succeded by Agnimitra, Jethmitra &
      Vasumitra. Last king was Devabhuiti.
Meghavahanas Kharavela   Hathigumpha inscription on Udaigiri hills near Bhubneshwar
      refers his achievement till 13th year. Ruled Kalinga.
Satvahanas of Simuka*   Satvahanas also known as Andhras. Succeeded by Krishna,
Deccan [235-213 BC]   Satkarni I, Satakarni II, Gautamiputra Satakarni, Pulmavi II, Sri
      Yajna Satakarni.
Indo Greeks Menander   Ruled in Pakistan region. Converted to Buddhism by Nagasena.
      Milindapanho is related to their conversation.
Sakas Nahapana   Sakas also known as Scythians were driven out of their original
      home land by Yueh Chi who later came to be known as Kushanas.
      Nahapana ruled in western India.
  Rudradaman   Junagarh Rock Inscription talks about him. He undertook the
  130-150 AD   repairs of the Sudarsan dam built by Pushyagupta, governor of
      Chandra Gupta Maurya. Ujjaynii was capital. Dynasty came to an
      end with the last king being defeated by Chandragupta II in 390
      AD
Kushanas Kadphises I   Also called Kujula Kadphises.  Kadphises I was succeded by his
      son Wema Kadphises or Kadphises II – devotee of Shiva.
  Kanishka   Succeded Kadphises II. Capital of his vast empire was Purushapur
  73 – 101 AD   or modern Peshawar.

 

    The Guptas & Later Period
Guptas Chandragupta I Sri Gupta was the first Gupta king followed by Ghatotkacha.
  AD 320 AD Chadragupta I was Ghatotkacha’s son.
  Samudragupta Son of Chandragupta I. Undertook south India campaign.
    Meghavarna, King of Srilanka sent an embassy to his court to
    build a monastery at Bodh Gaya.
  Chandragupta II Son of Samudtragupta & Duttadevi. Married his daughter
  380-413 AD Prabhavatigupta to Rudrasena II of Vataka dynasty. Defeated
    Sakas & took the title of Vikramaditya.
  Later Guptas Kumaragupta I, Skandagupta (Inflicted a crushing defeat on the
    Hunas; repair of the dam on Sudarsana lake built by chandragupta
    maurya & earlier repared by Rudradaman I.
Post Gupta From the decline of Gupta & the rise of Harsha there flourished four major kingdoms
Peiod in north India: Guptas of Magadha, Maukharis (around Kanauj), Maitrakas
  (Saurashtra – Vallabhi as capital), Pushyabhutis of Thaneshwar (Uttaranchal).
Pushyabhuti Harshavardhana Son of Prabhakarvardhana of Pushyabhuti of Thaneshwar. Brother
  606 – 647 AD of Rajyavardhana & Rajyasri (sister married to Maukhari king,
    Grahavarman of Kanauj, later killed by Sasanka of Gauda). Also
    known as Siladitya. Gauda was later divided between him &
    Bhaskarvarman, the king of Kamarupa.
Deccan & Vatakas (Deccan) – Vindhyasakti*, *Pravarasena*. Replaced by Chalukyas.
South India Rashtrakutas – Dantidurga I*. They succeded Chalukyas of Badami.
  Western Gangas (Mysore) – Konkanivarman Dharmamahadhiraja*
  Kadamba Dynasty of Banavasi – Mayursarman*, *Kakusthavarman*
  Pallavas of Kanchipuram – Simhavishnu, Mahendravarman , *Narsimhavarman*
  Later Kanauj was ruled by Yashovarman (discussed in Vakpati’s Gaudavaho)
Gurjara Nagabhatta I* After Nagabhatta I came Vatsaraja who defeated Dharmapala but
Pratiharas   was in turn defeated by Rashtrakuta king Dhruva. Dhramapala
    taking advantage installed his nominee chakrayudha at Kanauj
  Nagabhatta II Defeated Chakrayudha & captured Kanuaj & defeated
    Dharmapala. Ramabhadra succeded him
  Bhoja Succeded his father Ramabhadra. Defeated Rashtrakuta king
    Krishna II. He was devotee of Vishnu & took the title of
    Adivaraha.  He was followed by great ruler Mahendrapala I
Palas Gopala* Elected by people to end Matsyanyaya (internal disorder). Next
    was Dharmapala who installed Chakrayudha at Kanauj but was
    defeated by Dhruva.
  Devapala Most mighty pala king.
Rashtrakutas Dantidurga* Dantidurga was succeded by his uncle Krishna I (built Kailasha)
  Dhruva Defeated both the Pratihara king Vatsaraja &Pala  Dharampala.
    Was succeded by Govinda III & later Amoghavarsha I. Later
    came Indra III (defeated pratihara Mahipala I) & Krishna III
Kamarupa Bhaskarvarama Ruled by single dynasty from the time of Mahabharata upto middle
    7th century till Bhaskaravarma (ally of Harsha). Dynasty came to
    an end after his death.

 

                      South India  
    Cholas Karikala   Defeated joint forces of Chera & Pandyas. Also conquered Sri  
                  Lanka. Capital was at Puhar (Kaveripattanam)  
    Pandyas Nedunjeliyan   Capital at Madurai & port at Korkai. Defeated Cholas & Cheras  
    Cheras Nedunjeral   Cheras are also known as Keralaputras. Nedunjeral Adan &  
            Adan   Sengutturan were the greatest king.  
                    Kings & their Court Jewels  
    1.   Pushyamitra Sunga   Patanjali    
    2.   Mahendrapala I (Pratihara)   Rajshekhara    
    3.   Kanishka         Parsva, Vasumitra, Ashvaghosha, Charaka, Sushruta, Nagarjuna    
    4.   Chandragupta II   Kalidas, Fa-Hien, Varahamihira    
                    Monuments of Ancient Period  
  1.   Udaygiri Caves     During Chandragupta’s reign at Vidisha, M.P.  
  2.   Angorwatt Temples     Suryavarman Ii  
  3.   Vikramashila University     Pala King Dharampala  
  4.   Kailash Temple (Ellora)     Rashtrakuta king Krishna I  
  5.   Dilwara Temple     Tejapala  
  6.   Rathas of Mamallapuram     Mahendravarman I (Pallava King)  
  7.   Khajuraho temples     Chandelas  
  8.   Martanda temple (Kashmir)     Lalitaditya Muktapida  
  9.   Gommateswara  (Son of Rishabnath) Chamundaraya, Minister of the Ganga King, Rajamalla  
                      (Sravanbelagola, Karnataka)  
  10. Hoysalesvara Temple (at Halebid) Ketamalla, a minister of KingVishnuvardhana (Karnataka)  
                      Mahajanapadas  
              Kasi       Varanasi    
              Kosala       Sravasti    
              Kuru       Indraprashta    
              Kamboja       Rajput    
              Anga       Champa    
              Avanti       Ujjayini & Mahishmati    
              Ashmaka       Potana    
              Malla       Kusinagar & Pawa    
              Magadha       Rajgriha or Giriraj    
              Matsya       Virat Nagari    
              Vajji       Vaisali    
              Vatsa       Kausambhi    
              Surasena       Mathura    
              Panchala       Aichhatra    
              Chhedi       Shuktimati    
              Gandhara   Taxila & Pushkalavati    

Administrative Units & Their Ancient Names

S Administrative Part North India South India
1. Provinces Bhukti Mandalam
2. Divisions Vishaya or Bhoga Kottams or Vallandadu
3. District Adhistana/Pattana Nadu
4. Tehsil Vihtis Pattala/Kurram

 

Jargon of Ancient Period

Lohit Ayas Copper Pradeshika Head of district Administration
Syam Ayas Iron Nagarka City administration
Vanik Traders Jesthaka Chief of a Guild
Gramini Village Head Prathamakulika Chief of artisans
Bhagadugha Tax collector Uparika Governor of Bhukti
Sthapati Chief Judge Didishu Remarried woman
Takshan Carpenter Amatya High official
Niska Unit of currency Dvija Initiation into education
Satamana Unit of currency Yukta Revenue officer in the Mauryan period.
Pana Term used for coin Rajjukas Land measurement & fixing land revenue
Shresthi Guilds Sabha Assembly of few select ones
Vihara Buddhist Monastery Samiti Larger Assembly
Chaitya Sacred Enclosure Dharamamahamatya Most important post created by Asoka.

 

 

 

 

Miscellaneous Facts:

 

  1. The Sangama literature [0-400AD] consists of 30,000 lines of poetry divided into two main groups, Patinenkilkanakku (older) & Pattupattu (newer). Established by Pandyan kings of Tamil region.

 

  1. The credit to complete the chart of Ashokan alphabets goes to James Prinsep.

 

  1. Most of the modern scripts of India including Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Nagari, Gujarati, Bangla have developed from Brahmi script. Ashokan inscription of Shahbazgari & Manashera are written in Kharoshthi.

 

  1. The earliest coins were punch marked silver & copper coins. They bear only symbol & no inscription or legend. Kushanas (Vima Kadphises – figure of Siva standing beside a bull) issued mostly gold coins.

 

  1. Buddha did not visit Taxila in his life.

 

  1. Some of the important rock painting sites are Murhana Pahar (U.P), Bhimbetka, Adamgarh, Lakha Juar (M.P.) & Kapagallu (Karnatka).

 

  1. The extent of Indus valley civilization was Sutkagendor (Baluchistan), Alamgirpur (Meerut), Daimabad (N. Maharashtra) & Manda (J & K). Harrapan civilization is often referred to as Bronze Age civilization. No unambiguous depiction of horse found on any seal. The largest number of seals depict unicorn.

 

  1. Inscription was from right to left but if more than one line than alternated to left to right & vice versa.

 

  1. Yoga was in vogue in Indus civilization. Shiva, Mother goddess, trees, linga, yoni were worshiped. Chanhudaro is the only city without a citadel & Surkotada is the only site where the actual remains of a horse have been found.

 

  1. Decline of Harrapa: Wheeler (Barbarian Aryans attack), John Marshall (environment degradation).

 

  1. The Nadisukta hymn of Rig Veda mentions 21 rivers which include Ganga in the east & the Kubha (Kabul) in the west. Saraswati is considered to be the most important. Zero was known in rig vedic times

 

  1. In the vedic age the varnas were not rigid but they became so in the later vedic period & became birth based rather than profession based. Untouchability had not yet reared its ugly head. Jati had not become a rigid system. Bali which was a voluntary gift to chief earlier became a regular tax in the later vedic age.

 

  1. Moksha can be acquired by Gyan, Bhakti & Karma. Four dynasties stand out prominently in the sixth century B.C are Haryankas of Magadha, Ishvakus of Kosala, the Pauravas of Vatsa & the Pradyotas of Avanti.

 

  1. During the time of Ashoka, Pataliputra was administered by a city council of 30 members divided into a board of 5 members each. Sales tax on goods was 10 %. The Ashokan Pilar with Lion Capital is located at Lauriya Nandangarh, Pillar capital from Rampurva & Capital from Sarnath. Seven rock cut chaitya

 

 

 

caves in the Barabar & Nagarjuni hill show that the tradition of rock cut caves in India began with the

 

Mauryas.

 

  1. The indo-Greeks were the first whose coins carried the portraits of kings & their names. Also they were the first rulers to issue gold coins.

 

  1. In the south the old phase is known as the megalithic phase with the burials being marked by abundance of iron tools & a Black & red pottery. It appears there was an abrupt change from Neolithic to iron age, without any significant Chalcolithic or Bronze age.

 

  1. Anuloma (marriage between male of higher varna& female of lower varna) was considered better than Pratiloma (vv). Grihasta ashram had the duties of yajna, adhyayana &dana.

 

  1. Hinayana was the old order. Mahayana introduced concept of Bodhisttavas, worship of Buddha as god (Hinayanists considered him just a great teacher), salvation of all beings, Sanskrit as new language. The development of Mahayana philosophy is ascribed to Nagarjuna who propounded Madhyamika school of Buddhist philosophy popularly known as Sunyavada.

 

  1. The Mathura & Gandhara schools of art flourished during Kushana period. Mathura school had the distinction of producing the first image of Buddha & Gandhara school was a hybrid of Indo-Greek form.

 

  1. The Stupas as Sanchi, Sarnatha, Amaravati, Bharhut are the best examples. I-tsing came to India in 7th century after spending several years in Sumatra & Sri Vijaya learning Buddhism.

 

  1. In south India, among the Nayannar saints, Tirumular’s Tirmurais are prominent. Saiva saints (Nayannars) were 63 in number. Lingayat (founded by Basava – Kalachuri) was other important sect of Saivism in south India influenced by both Sankara & Ramanuja. Vaishnave saints known as Alvars are traditionally 12 in number. Collection of their work is known as Nalayiraprabandham.

 

  1. The first Jaina council was held at Pataliputra by Sthulabahu in the beginning of third century BC & resulted in compilation of 12 Angas to replace the lost 14 Purvas. In the sixth century A.D. the second Jaina council was held at Valabhi under Devaradhi Kshamasramana & Jain canon was defined.

 

  1. The avatars of Vishnu are matsya, kurma (tortoise), varah (boar), narasimha, vaman (dwarf), parasurama, rama, Krishna, Buddha (the enlightened one) & kalki (to appear).

 

  1. West Bengal was known as Gauda & East Bengal as Vanga. Utkala (Orissa), Pragjotishpur (Assam).

 

  1. The king of Suvarnadwipa (modern Malaya), Balaputradeva erected a monastery at Nalanda & requested Devapala to donate five villages for the maintenance.

 

  1. The philosophy of Sankaracharya (Adi Sankara) is known as Advaita meaning ‘non dual’. He believed that absolute reality called ‘Brahma’ is non dual. Jyotirmatha at Badrinath, Sharadapitha at Dwakra,

 

 

 

 

 

Govardhanamatha at Puri & Shringerimatha in south. He organized Ascetics in ten orders – Giri, Puri (city), Bharati (learning), Vana (wood), Aranya (forest), Parvata, Sagara, Tirtha, Ashrama& Saraswati.

 

  1. Angkorvat temple dedicated to Vishnu & the famous Borobudur stupa in Java. The Sailendra dynasty ruled over SE Asia & followed Mahayana Buddhism.

 

  1. Eastern King (Samrat), Western King (Suvrat), Northern king (Virat), Southern King (Bhoja). After partition of India the largest number of Harappan settlements have been found in Gujarat.

 

  1. The utensils of the Harappan people were made of clay. Lead was not known to the Indus valley people. The Aryans came from Central Asia is widely accepted. The Vedic Aryans first settled in the region of Sapta Sindhu.

 

  1. The Gayatri Mantra is addressed to Savitri (associated with sun god). Two highest gods in the Vedic religion were Indra (war god) & Varuna (ocean god). Division of vedic society The oldest mention of varna system (four classes) is in the Purusha sukta of Rigveda. The dasas & dasyus mentioned in the Rig Veda refer to non-Aryans.

 

  1. The Hindu social sacraments such as marriage are performed on the basis of ritual described in the Grihyasutras. The symbols associated with the five great events of the Buddha are birth (lotus & lion), great renunciation (horse), attainment of knowledge (banyan tree), first sermon (wheel), death (stupa & foot prints). According to Buddha the cause of all sorrows is Trishna (attachment).

 

  1. Vinayak Pitaka, Sutta Pitaka, Abhidhamma Pitaka contain teachings of the Buddha. Jatakas are stories of Buddhas previous life. Outside India, Buddhism was first accepted in Sri Lanka.

 

  1. The Mauryan sculptors had gained highest perfection in the carving of Pillars & the most striking feature is their polish. Two great Buddhist stupas rebuilt during the Sunga (were Brahmanas) Period were Dhammekh stupa at Sarnath & the stupa at Sanghot.