The Competition World

Image Source: im.rediff.com Special Feature - Sardar Patel-National Unity Day Whenever we utter or hear the name of Mahatma Gandhi, the first word comes to mind is ‘Non-violence’. Similarly, when we take the name of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, what we recall is the word ‘Iron Man’. The project of building world’s tallest statue of the ‘Iron Man’ in Gujarat has been declared a ‘National Project’ in the union budget 2014-15 for which the centre has allocated Rs. 200 crores. The Gujarat government has already given Rs. 500 crores in its budget to construct this iconic structure which will stand tall in the waters of river Narmada to represent the oneness of Indians despite the long standing socio-cultural diversity that exist in India and commemorate the man behind this unity and oneness of the nation. That’s why Government of India has decided to celebrate Vallabhbhai Patel's birth anniversary on October 31 as 'National Unity Day'. "Statue of Unity: an Icon ...

Wetlands are complex ecosystems and encompass a wide range of inland, coastal and marine habitats. They share the characteristics of both wet and dry environments and show immense diversity based on their genesis, geographical location, hydrological regimes and substrate factors. They include flood plains, swamps, marshes, fishponds, tidal marshes natural and man-made wetlands. Among the most productive life support, wetlands have immense socio-economic and ecological importance for mankind. They are crucial to the survival of natural biodiversity. They provide suitable habitats for endangered and rare species of birds and animals, endemic plants, insects besides sustaining migratory birds. India has a wealth of wetland ecosystems distributed in different geographical regions. Most of the wetlands in India are directly or indirectly linked with major river systems such as the Ganges, Cauvery, Krishna, Godavari and Tapti. India has totally 27, 403 wetlands, of which 23,444 are inl...

An ecosystem has a broad, vast and complex dynamic system function. It can be studied under the following three heads - 1. Energy Flow 2. Nutrient Cycling / Biogeochemical Cycling (Bio-geo-chemical Cycles) 3. Ecological Succession and Ecosystem Development 1. Energy Flow Energy is the basic force responsible for all metabolic activities. The flow of energy from producer to consumer is called energy flow which is unidirectional. Here  trophic (originated from trophe, means nourishment) level interaction  gives an idea about the flow of energy through the ecosystem. Trophic level interaction deals with how the members of an ecosystem are connected based on nutritional needs.  This energy always flows from lower (producer) to higher (herbivore, carnivore etc.) trophic level. lt never flows in the reverse direction. I'm working on it >>

#1.   “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” – Mahatma Gandhi #2.   “There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.” – Epictetus #3.   “Rules for Happiness: Something to do, Someone to love, Something to hope for.” ―  Immanuel Kant #4.   “The secret of happiness is to admire without desiring.” – Carl Sandburg #5.   “Happiness is not a state to arrive at, but a manner of traveling.” – Margaret Lee Runbeck #6.   “My happiness grows in direct proportion to my acceptance, and in inverse proportion to my expectations.”  - Michael J. Fox #7.   “Satisfaction of one’s curiosity is one of the greatest sources of happiness in life.” – Linus Pauling #8.   “Happiness exists on earth, and it is won through prudent exercise of reason, knowledge of the harmony of the universe, and constant prac...

Fact #1: Man's  psychology of pregnancy -  Expectant fathers can sometimes experience a sympathetic pregnancy where they have symptoms like back ache, weight gain, strange food cravings and nausea. This has also been found to happen in some species of monkey. Fact #2: Psychology of eye contact -  If someone makes eye contact with you for 60% of a conversation they’re bored, 80% and they’re attracted to you and 100% of the time then they are threatening you. Fact #3: Psychology of attraction -  The pupil of your eye expands up to 45% when you look at someone you love. Fact #4: Psychology of crying -  When crying from happiness the first tear will come from the right eye but if you are crying from sadness it will come from the left. Fact #5:  Psychology of motivation -  Usually thinking of a successful outcome will reduce our motivation rather than increase it. Fact #6: Psychology of discipline - Negative reinforcement works better than punishment as a d...

Click Here to Listen This Article in Audio Format - Its an Audio Article! PIB Features: Health Articles Ebola virus disease (EVD), formerly known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever, is a severe, often fatal illness in humans. EVD outbreaks have a case fatality rate of up to 90%.EVD outbreaks occur primarily in remote villages in Central and West Africa, near tropical rainforests. The virus is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission. Fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family are considered to be the natural host of the Ebola virus. Ebola first appeared in 1976 in two simultaneous outbreaks, in Nzara, Sudan, and in Yambuku, Democratic Republic of Congo. The latter was in a village situated near the Ebola River, from which the disease takes its name. Although non-human primates have been a source of infection for humans, they are not thought to be the reservoir but rather an accidental host like human beings. Transmission Ebola i...

Click Here to Listen This Article in Audio Format - Its an Audio Article! “Let food be thy medicine; and medicine be thy food” Hippocrates (431 BC) PIB Features -  Nutrition Week: 1st – 7th September 2014 Food intake – both in terms of quantity and quality influence the nutrition/health status as well as overall wellbeing of the individuals. Therefore, for maintaining physical and mental health, adequate amounts of all essential nutrients must be included in our diet right from infancy until old age. The phrase ‘we are what we eat’ aptly signifies that our body composition largely depends on our diet. No single food is able to meet all our nutritional needs. Our diet should be nutritionally well balanced and it should be able to provide adequate amounts of energy, protein, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, dietary fibre and water. Nutrition plays an important role in our health and well-being. Apart from the already known dietary constituents; in the recen...

Rule 01. When train passes a pole or a stationary man it should travel the length equal to the length of the train. Rule 02.  When a train passes a platform it should travel the length equal to the sum of the lengths of train and platform. Rule 03.  When two trains are moving in opposite directions their speeds should be added to find the relative speed. Rule 04.  When two trains are moving in the same direction the relative speed will be the difference of their speeds. Rule 05.  Two trains are moving in the same direction at x km/hr and y km/hr (where x > y). If the faster train crosses the slower trains in ‘t’ seconds, then the length of the faster train is given by - [5/18(x-y)*t] metres. Rule 06.  A train running at x km/hr takes t1 seconds to pass a platform. Next it takes t2 seconds to pass a man walking at y km/hr in the opposite direction, then the length of the train is - [5/18(x+y)t2] metres and that of the platform is -...