Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das addresses a press conference at RBI headquarters, in Mumbai, on June 8, 2022.
“Recognising” the Indian government’s “great efforts” in supporting Sri Lanka, China on Wednesday expressed willingness to work with India and the international community to help Sri Lanka tide over its crushing economic crisis.
The earth is a fascinating place with all kinds of variation and geographical interest. All over the world, wild and wondrous things have happened. These occurrences have created a series of landforms throughout Earth’s lifespan that make each many areas unique.
As defined by National Geographic, a landform is a “feature on the Earth’s surface that is part of the terrain.” The terrain of the land includes all of its topographic features. Whether a formation sticks out of the ground or sinks into it, it has topographic significance.
Endogenic forces and exogenic forces can create a lot of landforms. Mountains, hills, plateaus, and plains are the four major types of landforms. Minor landforms include buttes, canyons, valleys, and basins.
There are four major types of landforms. There are four that are accepted throughout the scientific community. These include mountains, plateaus, hills, and plains. Everything else can fall into these broad and general categories.
There are hundreds of minor landform typologies. Some of them are well known, like valleys. Others you have probably never heard of since they only belong to particular geographic regions.
The mountains, on the basis of their mode of formation, can be classified as:
Examples of mountains:- Himalayas, Andes, Rocky Mountains, Alps, Appalachian Mountains, Ural Mountains, Karakoram
The plateaus can be classified as:
More common examples of plains include:
Some of the more famous hills in the world include:
India is an agriculture dominated country. More than 50% of Indian workforce is employed by the agriculture. Farmers strive hard to produce high yield and quality products but their income is less than expenses. Market price is determined by supply and income demand. When there is large supply of crops but less demand , there is sharp fall in farm prices affecting farmers drastically. There is always price fluctuations in agricultural products while farmers get a decent return when there is shortage of supply,the same products fetch them poor price during bumper harvest season.
The government of India has introduced MSP (Minimum Support Price ) to protect producers against excessive fall in farm prices leading heavy loss suffered by the farmers.MSP is the minimum price a farmer must be paid for their agricultural produce as guaranteed by the government of India. If the market price falls below MSP, the government procures that crop from the farmers at MSP. MSP is announced for 22 major crops along with a Fair Remunerative Prices (FRP) for sugarcane. MSP is recommended by Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) but the final decision is taken by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs(CCEA) of union government.
MSP ensures profit of atleast 50% over the cost of production for the farmers.It includes cost of production, domestic and international prices, demand-supply conditions, inter-crop price parity and the terms of trade between agricultural and non-agricultural sectors.
Farmers are free to sell their products to any non-governmental parties, if they get favorable terms to sell their products or better than MSP. The government mainly buys rice and wheat at guaranteed price.
Benefits of MSP:
• It acts as a surety to farmers so that their crops get the fair amount for their produce and helps them sustain their losses and does not affect them drastically
• It helps to keep a floor price which does not let the prices fall below a certain point.
• The government can use these crops to be sold at government fair price shops at a price lower than market rate that will also help the government recover some amount and reduce the losses of the government.
• It safeguard the interest of the consumer by ensuring supplies at a reasonable price.
• Government manages food scarcity by distribution of stored grains at affordable prices.
Drawback of MSP :
• It doesn’t increase in proportion to the increase in cost of production.
• There are a lot of farmers who don’t have adequate information about MSP and are exploited by middlemen.
• There are several regions in the country where farmers can’t access to the benefits through MSP.
• Open market workings , which works on supply and demand relations is detrimental for farmers , is disrupted by government intervention.
• Maintenance cost of procuring grains is raised by MSP which affects the investment in agri-infrastructure.
The Earth is divided into geological time scales, each denoting events that occurred in Earth’s geological history, by scientists. The scale begins with the formation of the Earth about 4.5 billion years ago, known as “Hadean”. The current geological epoch is known as the “Holocene”, which began approximately 11,700 years ago. The Holocene epoch is characterized by the rapid proliferation and spread of the human species on Earth. The “Anthropocene” is a proposed epoch that follows the Holocene and marks the period when human activity has started to have a significant impact on the planet’s ecosystem. The term “Anthropocene” was first proposed by the Dutch chemist Paul J. Crutzen and American biologist Eugene F. Stoermer (Crutzen & Stoermer 2000) to denote the current period in Earth’s geological history wherein, instead of the environment shaping humans it is the humans who are shaping and drastically altering the environment.
The Anthropocene, according to Steffen et al. is divided into three periods (616). It begins with the industrial revolution, wherein man first harnessed the energy of fossil fuels, coal, and oil and gas. The extensive use of the newfound wealth of energy in the form of fossil fuels stamped a significant imprint on Earth’s environment, evident in the increase in deforestation and rise in the concentration of methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide in Earth’s atmosphere (616). The second period, from 1945-to 2015, is known as the “great acceleration”. This period is characterized by an exponential increase in the impact of humans on the Earth system. An increase in the population of humans and an increase in industrialization resulted in a substantial increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere (618). The third period, from 2015 onwards, is known as “stewards of Earth’s system”. This period is marked by the recognition of Anthropogenic influences on the Earth system and the subsequent filtration of this growing awareness on decision-making processes (618).
The major problem represented by the Anthropocene is the radical shifts in Earth’s temperature and biodiversity. These shift include global warming, extinction of species, habitat loss, and changes in the chemical composition of oceans and soils. Other probelms inlclude sustenance of human vices like greed, indifference, and intemperance.
There are, according to Steffen et al., three philosophical approaches to dealing with these problems. Firstly, is the business-as-usual philosophy (619), which employs a laissez-faire mindset when dealing with the changing global environment. The second is mitigation which is “based on the recognition that the threat of further global change is serious enough that it must be dealt with proactively” (619). And the third option is geoengineering (619), which attempts to solve the problem of climate change with technology.
Crutzen, Paul J. and Eugene F. Stoermer 2000. The “Anthropocene.” Global Change Newsletter (41): 17–18.
Steffen, Will, et al. “The Anthropocene: Conceptual and Historical Perspectives.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, vol. 369, no. 1938, 2011, 842–67. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2010.0327.
Steffen, Will, Paul J. Crutzen, et al. “The Anthropocene: Are Humans Now Overwhelming the Great Forces of Nature.” AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment, vol. 36, no. 8, 2007, 614–21. Crossref. https://doi.org/10.1579/0044-7447(2007)36[614:taahno]2.0.co;2
This year ganga dussehra will be celebrated on 9 June Thursday till 10 june Friday 2022.On this day devotees of godness ganga worship her holy incarnation and presence on earth. It is believed that a holy dip in ganga is equal to hundred Mahayagnas. Traditionally, this festival is also known as Gangavataran or Ganga Dashara. According to the books of Hindu mythology, it is believed that on this day Goddess Ganga descended on the planet earth. As per ancient beliefs, King Bhagirath from the Sagara Dynasty once worshiped Lord Brahma for purifying the souls of his ancestors and relive them of the curse, so that they can attain salvation. Lord Brahma asked the king to worship Lord Shiva as it was difficult for Lord Brahma to bring Goddess Ganga to earth for her rage and only Lord Shiva had the power to control it.Pleased by his prayers and dedication, Lord Shiva gave him a vardan (blessing) and he asked Lord Shiva to control the rage of Goddes Open App olding her in his Jata (hair) to save the earth from destruction. This festival is usually celebrated during Summers and it is believed that after worshiping and taking a holy dip in Ganga, donating food, fruits, vegetables, rice, flour, ghee, money, water containers etc can bring prosperity and happiness in life. It is believed that a person who stands in the holy Ganga, worships her and recites Ganga Strotam on this day finds a place in Baikunth after death. If you are unable to reach the river ghat, mixing a few drops of holy Gangajal gives the same virtue of Like any other occasion in Hindu mythology, the Ganga Dussehra festival has its own significance, values, and importance. The following blog will lead you through the journey of this auspicious event. Why ganga dussehra is celebrated? The legend has it that the king named Sagara had 60,000 sons searching for a lost horse for the Ashwamedha Yagya tied near the Ashram of Sage Kapil by God Indra. The 60,000 sons said to possess created tons of commotion that disturbed the meditating Sage Kapila and anger when the sage opened his eyes. So he burned them to ashes. He told them the touch of the water Ganga would only give them the Moksha. As per the legend, one among the descendants of King Sagara named Bhagiratha performed austerity to gratify Brahma and send Ganga on earth.Goddess Ganga then descended to earth in seven streams and washed down all the ashes of Bhagiratha ancestors, and thus, Ganga Dusshera is widely known because of the day when the river . King Sagara of the Suryavansha dynasty had decided to perform the Ashwamedha Yajna (horse sacrifice) to prove his supremacy. However, Lord Indra, considering the sacrifice results, stole the horse enlisted to perform the yajna and delivered it to the ashram of Kapila, a sage immersed in meditation.King Sagara’s 60,000 sons began to seek out the horse. Kapila snapped out of his meditation before they might do him any harm. As a consequence of their disrespect towards a venerated sage, the sons were burnt to ashes.While returning the horse to King Sagara’s grandson, Kapila revealed that the sons might be redeemed if the Ganga descended on earth and purified their souls with its water.King Sagara’s great-grandson, Bhagiratha, wished to free his ancestors from the curse. So, after much penance, he pleased the Ganges to descend from heaven, but not without a caveat: her currents would destroy the world.Anxious to deliver his ancestors, Bhagiratha prayed to Lord Shiva, who, impressed by his determination, agreed to interrupt the Ganga’s fall .
The area in the immediate vicinity of the transit station, i.e. within a walking distance, having high density compact development with mixed land use to support all basic needs of the residents is called the influence zone of a transit station/corridor. Influence zone is either established at a transit stations or along the transit corridors. It is generally up to a radius of nearly 500-800m of the transit station. Where the distance between the transit stations is less than 1 km and there is overlap in the influence area, it can be identified as a delineated zone (around 500m) on either side of the transit corridor within 10 – 12 minutes walking distance.
TOD promotes densification in the influence area by providing higher Floor Area Ratio (FAR)/ Floor Space Index (FSI) and higher population and job density as compared to the area around and beyond the influence areas. To ensure sustainable development, the minimum FAR should be 300 – 500%, and can be higher, depending on the city size. This will promote higher concentration of people within the walking distances of transit station, thereby increasing the ridership of the public transport and resulting in increased fare revenue, pollution and congestion reduction.
Mixed land use should be stipulated for development/redevelopment in the TOD zone as it would reduce the need for travel by providing most of the activities such as shopping, entertainment and public amenities such as schools, parks, playgrounds, hospitals etc. within the walking distance of the residents. It would also improve the accessibility of the transit facilities and at the same time link origins and destinations, i.e. residences with work places or activity nodes. This would ensure better utilization of transit fleet by distributing loads in both directions, rather than creating unidirectional peak hour flows.
The cities should fix a minimum percentage (30% or higher) of allowed FAR for affordable housing (for example up to 60 sq.mt. area) in all development/redevelopment in the influence zones. Housing in the influence zone should have a mix of all economic groups/sections. The development control regulation should stipulate housing for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in the influence area to give an opportunity to the people who depend on public transport for daily commuting to live in walkable neighborhoods.
The influence area should have high quality integrated multimodal transport system for the optimum use of the facilities by the residents/users. The system should have seamless physical connectivity, information integration and fare integration across modes so that the first and last mile connectivity does not become a bottleneck in the use of public transit systems by the citizens. The transit system, including its stations, should be designed to provide high quality services that assure user satisfaction in terms of safety and comfort. The citizens should have barrier free access to all the required amenities in the transit system as well as around the transit centers.
The streets should be designed for users of all age groups and for all types of commuters including pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and transit riders. They should be safe and accessible by all. The influence zone should have development in smaller blocks with a finer street network having provision for pedestrians, bicyclists and NMT (Non-Motorised Transport) users. This will create a grid of small, traversable blocks which has sidewalks and amenities like lighting and information signage etc. and ensure accessibility of the transit stations by pedestrians and cyclist.
Retail and other ‘active uses’ should be supported on the ground floor along the main streets, key intersections, stations and parking garages to ensure high quality pedestrian environments. To promote natural surveillance of public spaces, all boundary walls and setbacks should be removed and buildings should be permitted up to the edge of the street. Also, the orientation of the buildings should be such so as to face the pedestrian facilities. The streets should have a natural surveillance system by providing mixed use active frontage, vending zones and avoiding opaque wall, which would ensure a safe environment for pedestrians, especially women, children and elderly.
To discourage the use of private vehicles and to manage parking in TOD, it is essential that the supply of the parking is reduced and made expensive within the influence zone. On street parking should be prohibited within 100 m of the transit station, except for freight delivery and pickup or drop off of the differently abled. The use of parking spaces within the influence zone can be maximized by sharing of spaces between uses that have demand during different times of the day. For example parking requirements for office/work can be shared with the parking spaces for residences as their hours for demands do not coincide with each other.
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