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) |
rawan239
Administrative ideas in Kautilya’s Arthashastra
Kautilya and Arthashastra:
Kautilya was the Prime Minister of Chandragupta Maurya. Chandragupta found the Mauryan Empire with his help. Arthashastra was written by him. It is the most important source for writing the history of the Mauryas and is divided into 15 adhikarnas or sections and 180 Prakaranas or subdivisions. It has about 6,000 slokas. The book was discovered by Shamasastri in 1909 and ably translated by him.
It is a treatise on statecraft and public administration. Despite the controversy over its date and authorship, its importance lies in the fact that it gives a clear and methodological analysis of economic and political conditions of the Mauryan period.
The similarities between the administrative terms used in the Arthashastra and in the Asokan edicts certainly suggests that the Mauryan rulers were acquainted with this work.As such his Arthashastra provides useful and reliable information regarding the social and political conditions as well as the Mauryan administration.
- King:
Kautilya suggests that the king should be an autocrat and he should concentrate all powers into his own hands. He should enjoy unrestricted authority over his realm. But at the same time, he should give honour to the Brahmanas and seek advice from his ministers. Thus the king though autocrat, should exercise his authority wisely.
He should be cultured and wise. He should also be well-read so as to understand all the details of his administration. He says that the chief cause of his fall is that the king is inclined towards evil. He lists six evils that led to a king’s decline. They are haughtiness, lust, anger, greed, vanity and love of pleasures. Kautilya says that the king should live in comfort but he should not indulge in pleasures.
- Ideals of Kingship:
The major ideal of kingship according to Kautilya is that his own well-being lies in the well-being of his people of only the happy subjects ensure the happiness of their sovereign. He also says that the king should be ‘Chakravarti’ or the conqueror of different realms and should win glory by conquering other lands.
He should protect his people from external dangers and ensure internal peace. Kautilya maintained that the soldiers should be imbued with the spirit of a ‘holy war’ before they march to the battlefield. According to him, all is fair in a war waged in the interest of the country.
- About the Ministers:
Kautilya maintains that the king should appoint ministers. King without ministers is like a one-wheeled chariot. According to Kautilya, king’s ministers should be wise and intelligent. But the king should not become a puppet in their hands.
He should discard their improper advise. The ministers should work together as; a team. They should hold meetings in privacy. He says that the king who cannot keep his secrets cannot last long.
- Provincial Administration:
Kautilya tells us that the kingdom was divided into several provinces governed by the members of the royal family. There were some smaller provinces as Saurashtra and Kambhoj etc. administered by other officers called ‘Rashtriyas’. The provinces were divided into districts which were again sub-divided into villages. The chief administrator of the district was called the ‘SthaniK while the village headman was called the ‘Gopa’.
- Civic Administration:
The administration of big cities as well as the capital city of Pataliputra was carried on very efficiently. Pataliputra was divided into four sectors. The officer incharge of each sector was called the ‘Sthanik. He was assisted by junior officers called the ‘Gopas’ who looked after the welfare of 10 to 40 families. The whole city was in the charge of another officer called the ‘Nagrika’. There was a system of regular census.
- Spy Organisation:
Kautilya says that the king should maintain a network of spies who should keep him well informed about the minute details and happenings in the country, the provinces, the districts and the towns. The spies should keep watch on other officials. There should be spies to ensure peace in the land. According to Kautilya, women spies are more efficient than men, so they should, in particular, be recruited as spies. Above all the kings should send his agents in neighbouring countries to gather information of political significance.
- Shipping:
Another significant information that we gather from Kautilya is about shipping under the Mauryas. Each port was supervised by an officer who kept vigil on ships and ferries. Tolls were levied on traders, passengesand fishermen. Almost all ships and boats were owned by the kings.
- Economic Condition:
Kautilya says that poverty is a major cause of rebellions. Hence there should be no shortage of food and money to buy it, as it creates discontent and destroys the king. Kautilya therefore advises the king to take steps to improve the economic condition of his people. Kautilya says that the chief source of income was the land revenue in villages while the tax on the sale of goods was the chief source in the cities.
Political Parties and Pressure Groups.
Political Parties and Elections Political parties are an established part of modern mass democracy, and the conduct of elections in India is largely dependent on the behaviour of political parties. Although many candidates for Indian elections are independent, the winning candidates for Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections usually stand as members of political parties, and opinion polls suggest that people tend to vote for a party rather than a particular candidate.
Political parties are an established part of modern mass democracy, and the conduct of elections in India is largely dependent on the behaviour of political parties. Although many candidates for Indian elections are independent, the winning candidates for Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections usually stand as members of political parties, and opinion polls suggest that people tend to vote for a party rather than a particular candidate. Parties offer candidates organisational support, and by offering a broader election campaign, looking at the record of government and putting forward alternative proposals for government, help voters make a choice about how the government is run.
Political parties have to be registered with the Election Commission. The Commission determines whether the party is structured and committed to principles of democracy, secularism and socialism in accordance with the Indian Constitution and would uphold the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India. Parties are expected to hold organisational elections and have a written constitution.
According to certain criteria, set by the Election Commission regarding the length of political activity and success in elections, parties are categorised by the Commission as National or State parties, or simply declared registered-unrecognised parties. How a party is classified determines a party’s right to certain privileges, such as access to electoral rolls and provision of time for political broadcasts on the state-owned television and radio stations – All India Radio and Doordarshan – and also the important question of the allocation of the party symbol. Party symbols enable illiterate voters to identify the candidate of the party they wish to vote for. National parties are given a symbol that is for their use only, throughout the country. State parties have the sole use of a symbol in the state in which they are recognised as such Registered-unrecognised parties can choose a symbol from a selection of ‘free’ symbols.
Pressure groups are those informal organisations that come into existence for the protection of special interests and influence the activities of the government by different methods.
Pressure groups are not primarily political in nature. For example, although Rashtriya Swayamak Sangh (RSS) supports the Bharatiya Janata Party, it is, by and large, a cultural organization. The political parties are basically political. Pressure groups do not seek direct power; they only influence those who are in power for moulding decisions in their favour. The political parties seek power to form the government. Pressure groups do not contest elections; they only support political parties of their choice. Political parties nominate candidates, contest elections, and participate in election campaigns. Pressure groups do not necessarily have political ideologies. Political parties are always wedded to their ideologies. For example, the Congress party is wedded to the ideologies of socialism, secularism and democracy; the Communists advocate the interests of workers, peasants and other weaker sections. The interests of the pressure groups are usually specific and particular, whereas the political parties have policies and programmes with national and international ramifications.
POULTRY FARMING and SILVER REVOLUTION IN INDIA
POULTRY FARMING (SILVER REVOLUTION) IN INDIA
- practice of raising poultry, such as chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, as a subcategory of animal husbandry, for the purpose of farming meat or eggs for food.
- requires small capital and provides additional income and job opportunities to a large number of rural population in the shortest possible time.
- The vast majority of poultry are farmed using factory farming techniques.
- The contrasting method of poultry farming in free range and friction between the two main methods, has led to long term issues of ethical consumerism.
- Opponents of the factory farming argue that it harms the environment and creates health risks, as well as abuses animals.
- In contrast, proponents of factory farming highlight its increased productivity, stating that the animals are looked after in state-of-the art confinement facilities and are happy; that it is needed to feed the growing global human population; and that it protects the environment.
Poultry Farming in India
- Poultry farming in India is quite old.
- At present, more than three million people are directly or indirectly employed in poultry farming.
- Further, landless labourers derive more than 50 per cent of their income from livestock, especially poultry.
- Uninterrupted supplies of feed as well as avian influenza are critical for the continued robust growth of the poultry sector.
- The first outbreak of avian influenza occurred in India in the state of Maharashtra in the Nandurbar district on 18th Feb. 2006.
- The Central Poultry Development Organisation has been playing a pivotal role in the implementation of the policies of the Government with respect to poultry as a tool for alleviating nutritional hunger and palliating the impecuniosity’s of the resource-poor farmers, especially the women.
- The mandate of the Central Poultry Development Organisation has been specifically revised, by restructuring all poultry units of this Department to focus on improved indigenous birds, which lay on an average 180-200 eggs per annum and have a vastly improved FCR ratio in terms of feed consumption and weight gain.
- The Central Poultry Development Organisations have been entrusted with the responsibility of producing excellent germplasm in the form of day-old chicks and hatching eggs of these varieties like Nierbheek, Hitkari, Vanaraja, Shyama, Cari, Chabro, etc.
- Besides, these organisations are also playing a crucial role in analysing feed samples.
- A new Centrally-sponsored scheme called Assistance to State Poultry, is being implemented during the Tenth Plan where one time assistance is provided to suitably strengthen the farms in terms of hatching, brooding, and rearing of birds with provision for feed mill and their quality monitoring and in-house disease diagnostic facilities.
- A new scheme, Dairy/Poultry Venture Capital Fund, has been launched during the 2004-05, wherein there is a provision to grant subsidy on interest payment.
- The nodal agency for the implementation of this scheme is NABARD through nationalized commercial bank.
Inter-governmental action
- IPCC
- UN Conference on Environment and Development (Earth Summit), 1992
- Agenda 21
- An action plan of UN relating to sustainable development adopted at the Earth Summit, 1992
- UNFCCC
- Kyoto Protocol
IPCC
- 1988 by World Meteorological Organisation and UNEP
- tasked with reviewing and assessing the most recent scientific, technical and socio-economic information produced worldwide relevant to the understanding of climate change
- Nobel Prize in 2007
- The IPCC does not carry out its own original research, nor does it do the work of monitoring climate or related phenomena itself.
- A main activity of the IPCC is publishing special reports on topics relevant to the implementation of the (UNFCCC)
- Till now, it has released four assessment reports (1990, 1995, 2001, 2007)
- Fifth assessment report is due in 2014
UNFCCC
1992 at the Rio Summit.
194 members. Secretariat at Bonn.
Parties to UNFCCC are classified as:
- Annex I countries – industrialized countries and economies in transition
- Annex II countries – developed countries which pay for costs of developing countries
- Developing countries.
Conference | Place | Outcome |
1995 COP1 | Berlin | The Berlin Mandate |
1996 COP2 | Geneva | |
1997 COP3 | Kyoto | Kyoto Protocol |
1998 COP4 | Buenos Aires | |
1999 COP5 | Bonn | |
2000 COP6 /2001 COP6 | The Hague/Bonn | CDM and Joint Implementation adopted at Bonn |
2001 COP7 | Marrakesh | |
2002 COP8 | New Delhi | Delhi Declaration: Calls for efforts by developed countries to transfer technology and minimize the impact of climate change on developing countries |
2003 COP9 | Milan | |
2004 COP10 | Buenos Aires | |
2005 COP11/MOP1 | Montreal | |
2006 COP12/MOP2 | Nairobi | |
2007 COP13/MOP3 | Bali | Bali Action Plan |
2008 COP14/MOP4 | Poznan, Poland | |
2009 COP15/MOP5 | Copenhagen | |
2010 COP16/MOP6 | Cancun | |
2011 COP17/MOP7 | Durban, South Africa |
Tarawa Climate Change Conference
- In the lead up to COP16, the leaders of the world’s most climate-change vulnerable countries met in Kiribati in November 2010
- Ambo Declaration was adopted
- It calls for more and immediate action to be undertaken to address the causes and adverse impacts of climate change.
CoP-16/CMP-6, Cancun
COP-16 President: Patricia Espinosa, Mexico’s foreign secretary
COP-17 will be held in Durban
Issues
- Forestry issues and reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) plus
- The developed countries are pushing for transparency from countries where they will fund climate change mitigation.
- The assessment of carbon emission mitigation for developing countries is right now through domestic communication but is subject to international consultation and analysis. This push for transparency is a major contentious issue.
- Fast-track finance: $ 30 bn had been committed at CoP-15. A large part of this funding is yet to come through.
Goals
Agreements Reached
- The outcome of the summit was an agreement, not a binding treaty, which calls on rich countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions as pledged in the Copenhagen Accord, and for developing countries to plan to reduce their emissions, to limit global warming to less than 2 degrees celsius above pre-industrial levels.
- There should be no gap between the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in December 2012, and the second phase.
- The agreement calls on the developed countries to “raise the level of ambition of the emission reductions to be achieved by them individually or jointly, with a view to reducing their aggregate level of emission of green house gases”
- Allows flexibility in choosing the base year for setting emission reduction targets
- Emissions trading and the project based mechanism under the KP shall continue to be available to Annex 1 parties as a means to meet their quantified emission limitation and reduction objectives.
- The agreements recognize that in all climate change related action, human rights must be respected. They also recognise the need to engage with a broad range of stakeholders, including youth and persons with disability, and call for gender equality and effective participation of women and indigenous people in effective action on all aspects of climate change.
- The BASIC group softened the three demands it had before the talks began
- Necessity of a second commitment period to the Kyoto Protocol
- Need to accelerate disbursement under the fast start finance in the form of new and additional resources through a multilaterally supervised mechanism
- Continued dialogue on IPRs as part of the technology development and transfer issues.
- REDD is a part of the package and proposed mitigation actions include conservation and enhancement of forest carbon stocks and sustainable management of forests.
- REDD is a set of steps designed to use market/financial incentives in order to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases from deforestation and forest degradation. Its original objective is to reduce GHGs but it can deliver ‘co-benefits’ such as biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation
- REDD+ calls for activities with serious implication directed towards the local communities, indigenous people and forests which relate to reducing emission from deforestation and forest degradation. It goes beyond deforestation and forest degradation and includes the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks
- A Cancun Adaptation Framework has been proposed to strengthen and address implementation of action, and various kinds of assessments, apart from R&D and host of other issues.
- Green Climate Fund The fund will be designed by a transitional committee, with 15 members from the developed countries and 25 from the developing nations.
- Pledge by the developed countries to provide $100 bn annually till 2020.
Conclusion
- UNFCCC secretary-general Christian Figueres emphasised that the main achievement of the Cancun meet has been to restore some degree of faith in the multilateral process.
- The agreements don’t mention any reduction targets.
- Though the agreements recognize the need to reduce the GHG emissions and curb the increase in global average temperatures below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, in the absence of any firm target, this could be an inadequate and vague provision
- Bolivia has rejected the agreement, saying that it won’t support agreement without binding emission cuts.
- In a sense, the summit was both a major step forward as well as a failure
- It was a step forward because in recent years climate change negotiations had stumbled and this meeting helped overcome that
- It was a failure because it failed to reach an agreement for binding restrictions that are required to avert global warming.
- There was no agreement on how to extend the Kyoto Protocol, or how the $100 billion a year for the Green Climate Fund will be raised or whether developing countries should have binding emissions reductions.
Under the Cancun Agreements, the targets set by industrialised countries for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions are recognised as part of the multilateral process. They must now draw up low-carbon development plans and strategies and also report their inventories annually. In the case of developing countries, actions for emissions reduction will be recognised officially; a registry will record and match their mitigation actions to finance and technology support from rich countries; and they will report their progress every two years. These form a good preamble for target-setting for all member-countries under an agreed framework at Durban next year.
Trivia
- A large amount of energy used during the conference came from renewable sources
- Around 10000 trees and bushes will be planted in Cancun
Role of India and its relevance
- India can act as a mediator between the developing and developed countries
- India’s approach to climate change negotiations has been governed by three factors – how to protect the country’s economic interest and environment agenda, to use climate change as a tool of global diplomacy and consolidate its position on world forums.
- At Cancun, India was responsible for having made five insertions into the Agreement
- In the section on shared vision, the figure of 50 pc has been dropped from identifying a global goal for substantially reducing emissions by 2050
- The phrase access to sustainable development has been introduced in the context of working towards identifying a time-frame for global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions based on the best available scientific knowledge
- International Consultation and Analysis (ICA) finds mention the agreements. It proposes to enhance the reporting for the non-Annex 1 parties or developing countries on mitigation action and its effects and support received
- At Cancun, India also proposed legally binding emission cuts.
POLLUTANTS AND TROPHIC LEVEL
Movement of these pollutants involves two main processes:
- Bioaccumulation
refers to how pollutants enter a food chain. there is an increase in concentration of a pollutant from the environment to the first organism in a food chain.
- Biomagnification
refers to the tendency of pollutants to concentrate as they move from one trophic level to the next. there is an increase in concentration of a pollutant from one link in a food chain to another.
In order for biomagnification to occur, the pollutant must be: long-lived, mobile, soluble in fats, biologically active.
If a pollutant is not active biologically, it may biomagnify, but we really don’t worry about it much, since it probably won’t cause any problems Examples : DDT.
GPS Aided Geo Augmentation Navigation (GAGAN)
It is a planned implementation of Satellite Based Navigation System (SBNS) developed by Airports Authority of India (AAI) and ISRO. GAGAN is expected to provide a civil aeronautical navigation signal consistent with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Standards and Recommended Practices as established by the Global Navigation Satellite System Panel. GAGAN was launched in August 2010. With this India has become the 4th Country in the World to have satellite based navigation system. It is a system to improve the accuracy of a GNSS receiver by providing reference signals.
Components of Ecosystem
The components of the ecosystem is categorised into abiotic of non-living and biotic of living components. Both the components of ecosystem and environment are same.
- Abiotic Components
the inorganic and non-living parts of the world. consists of soil, water, air, and light energy etc. involves a ,large number of chemicals like oxygen, nitrogen-, etc. and physical processes including volcanoes, earthquakes, floods, forest fires, climates, and weather conditions.
Abiotic factors are the most important determinants of where and how well an organism exists in its environment. Although these factors interact with each other, one single factor can-limit the range of an organism.
- a) Energy
Energy from the sun is essential for maintenance of life. Energy determines the distribution of organisms in the environment.
- b) Rainfall
- c) Temperature :-Temperature is a critical factor of the environment which greatly influences survival of organisms. Organisms can tolerate only a certain range of temperature and humidity.
- d) Atmosphere :It is made up of 21% oxygen, 78% nitrogen , 0.038% carbon dioxide and other inert gases (0.93% Argon, Neon etc).
- e) Substratum :Land is covered by soil and a wide variety of microbes, protozoa, fungi and small animals (invertebrates) thrive in it
- f) Materials:
(i) Organic compound
Such as proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, humic substances are formed from inorganic compound on decomposition.
(ii) Inorganic compound
Such as carbon, carbon dioxide, water, sulphur, nitrates, phosphates, and ions of various metals are essential for organisms to survive.
- g) Latitude and altitude
Latitude has a strong influence on an area’s temperature, resulting in change of climates such as polar, tropical, and temperate. These climates determine different natural biomes. From sea level to highest peaks, wild life is influenced by altitude. As the altitude increases, the air becomes colder and drier, affecting wild life accordingly.( wild life decrease as altitude increase)
- Biotic Components :Biotic components include living organisms comprising plants, animals and microbes and are classified according to their functional attributes into producers and consumers.
Primary producers – Autotrophs (self-nourishing) Primary producers are basically green plants (and certain bacteria and algae). They synthesise carbohydrate from simple inorganic raw materials like carbon dioxide and water in the presence of sunlight by the process of photosynthesis for themselves, and supply indirectly to other non- producers.
In terrestrial ecosystem, producers are basically herbaceous and woody plants, while in aquatic ecosystem producers are various species of microscopic algae.
- b) Consumers — Heterotrophs or phagotrophs (other nourishing)
Consumers are incapable of producing their own food (photosynthesis).
They depend on organic food derived from plants, animals or both.
Consumers can be divided into two broad groups
(i) Macro consumers- They feed on plants or animals or both and are categorised on the basis of their food sources.
Herbivores are primary consumers which feed mainly on plants e.g. cow, rabbit.
Secondary consumers feed on primary consumers e.g. wolves.
Carnivores which feed on secondary consumers are called tertiary consumers e.g. lions which can eat wolves.
Omnivores are organisms which consume both plants and animals e.g. man.
(ii) Micro consumers – Saprotrophs (decomposers or osmotrophs)
They are bacteria and fungi which obtain energy and nutrients by decomposing dead organic substances (detritus) of plant and animal origin.
The products of decomposition such as inorganic nutrients which are released in the ecosystem are reused by producers and thus recycled.
Earthworm and certain soil organisms (such as nematodes, and arthropods) are detritus feeders and help in the decomposition of organic matter and are called detrivores.
BT Brinjal & Risk assessment
BT Brinjal
- In 2006, Maharashtra Hybird Seeds Company submitted biosafety and efficacy data to the GEAC and applied for permission to conduct large-scale trials
- At the same time SC imposed a ban on the on-going field trials
- An expert committee was constituted by GEAC to look into the concerns raised by several civil society actors
- SC later lifted the ban on field trials
- After a series of reviews the environment ministry declared a moratorium on Bt Brinjal in Feb 2010
Risk assessment
- Civil society has demanded that the science of risk assessment be made rigourous, independent and peer-reviewed