Map showing the literacy rate of each district in India. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Do we know that in terms of Women Literacy BIHAR ranks at Bottom with 53% as per Statistical Year Book 2012. Find other fact about Indian Literacy rates(85% Male & 65% for Female)…
Find further details in link below
Literacy Rate in India
Alexander and Hephaistion (Photo credit: █ Slices of Light █▀ ▀ ▀)
By about 380 BC the Persian hold on Indian regions slackened and many small local kingdoms arose. In 327 BC Alexander the Great overran the Persian Empire and located small political entities within these territories. The next year, Alexander fought a difficult battle against the Indian monarch Porus near the modern Jhelum River. East of Porus’ kingdom, near the Ganges River, was the powerful kingdom of Magadha, under the Nanda Dynasty.
Plutarch (AD 46 – 120) was a Greek historian, biographer and essayist, known primarily for his Parallel Livesand Moralia. He gives an interesting description of the situation:
As for the Macedonians, however, their struggle with Porus blunted their courage and stayed their further advance into India. For having had all they could do to repulse an enemy who mustered only twenty thousand infantry and two thousand horse, they violently opposed Alexander when he insisted on crossing the river Ganges also, the width of which, as they learned, was thirty-two furlongs, its depth a hundred fathoms, while its banks on the further side were covered with multitudes of men-at arms and horsemen and elephants.
Exhausted and frightened by the prospect of facing another giant Indian army at the Ganges River, his army mutinied at the Hyphasis (modern Beas River), refusing to march further East. Alexander left behind Greek forces which established themselves in the City of Taxila, now in Pakistan.
After the death of Alexander in 323 BC, Seleucus was nominated as the satrap of Babylon in 320 BC.Antigonus forced Seleucus to flee from Babylon, but, supported by Ptolemy, he was able to return in 312 BC. Seleucus’ later conquests include Persia and Media. He invaded what is now Punjab in northern India and Pakistan in 305 BC.
Further reading as published by Sanujit
published on 12 February 2011, 12:51
Can be downloaded here: Indo-greek connection
Troy: Definition
English: Hectōr (Ἕκτωρ), or Hektōr, is a Trojan prince and the greatest fighter for Troy in the Trojan War. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Troy is the name of the Bronze Age City featured in theTrojan War of ancient Greek oral and literary tradition and the name given to the archaeological site in the north west of Asia Minor (now Turkey) which has revealed a large and prosperous city occupied over millennia. There has been much scholarly debate as to whether mythical Troy actually existed and if so whether the archaeological site was the same city, however, it is now almost universally accepted that the archaeological excavations have revealed the city of Homer’s Iliad. Other names for Troy include Hisarlik (Turkish), Ilios (Homer), Ilion (Greek) and Ilium (Roman).
Mythological Troy
Troy is the setting for Homer’s Iliad in which he recounts the final year of the Trojan War some time in the thirteenth century BC. The war was in fact a ten-year siege of the city by a coalition of Greek forces led by King Agamemnon of Mycenae. The purpose of the expedition was to reclaim Helen, wife of Menelaos, king of Argos and brother of Agamemnon. Helen was abducted by the Trojan prince Paris and taken as his prize for choosing Aphrodite as the most beautiful goddess in a competition with Athena and Hera. The Trojan War is also told in other sources such as the Epic Cycle poems (of which only fragments survive) and is also briefly mentioned in Homer’s Odyssey. Troy and the Trojan War later became a staple myth of Classical Greek and Roman literature. Futher Readings……………….. click below and download
Troy
India: Classification, Geographical Spread – For GS Mains Paper I (Culture + Human Geography)
This article is important for GS (Mains) Paper I .
Courtsey: Pasha notes
Cropped from an icon of Saint Charalampus, Greek – Central School, early 17th century Χαραλάμπος is variously transliterated as Charalampus, Charalampos, Charalambos, Haralampus, Haralampos or Haralambos. Source http://www.templegallery.com/getfullpage.php?stockno=322 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Sociology Paper – 1 by Kshitij Tyagi (AIR 148/2011) as published by_Mrunal
Kshitij Tyagi got 293/600 in Sociology papers in 2011’s UPSC (Mains) exam. I’m merely copy pasting his study plan here:
For initiation into the subject, NCERTs and Haralambos are good enough. I also watched a few videos of IGNOU uploaded on the net for some of the topics.
I began with the old edition of Haralambos. It is a fantastic book for understanding the subject and its scope. I did not read the book from cover to cover and confined myself strictly to the syllabus. This initiated me into the realm of sociology. I then moved on to IGNOU’s BA notes which are an extremely useful compilation of sociological knowledge.
I also scanned through a few chapters of Giddens to get a hang of the subject. Before Prelims, I had made some notes for the first 3 chapters of paper 1 and had read some of the thinkers. I had by then acclimatized myself with the subject and also understood that the old edition of Haralambos was necessary but insufficient.
American Journal of Physical Anthropology (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Anthropology Study-plan and Booklist by Dr.Vijay (IAS) for UPSC Civil Service (Mains) Exam
This article, is a compilation of gems given by Dr. K.Vijayakarthikeyan (AIR 22 / CSE 2010) on the IOforum. At present, He is an IAS officer in Tamilnadu cadre.
Disclaimer
Disclaimer
It’s completely based on my anthro strategy which helped me (Dr. Vijay) get 375 marks in Anthropology, in 1st attempt in cse 2010, it worked wonders with me, it may or may not work with you
Getting started with Anthropology
Entire syllabus of Anthropology can be seen on my other blogpost
Correction: UPSC 25 years paper
Dear Aspirant,
Recently, we have observed many of you, are asking questions on how to prepare for upcoming prelim exams for BPSC and JPSC prelims. unfortunately, we are not yet completed earlier PSC exam cycle(BPSC mains is still to happen in May/June and for JPSC mains, no news yet).
Never mind, we will be writing whole new article, once our anonymous get any lead to format of examination. meanwhile, who are serious for upcoming CSAT/BPSC/JPSC exams may download last 25 years question paper as attached and start solving it.
I hope this will help you big way.
General Studies UPSC (Mains) Paper I 1987 to 2011 (Last 25 Years).
All rumour of postponement has been proven untrue, here is admit card downloading link. All BPSC aspirant shall be warned to pursue such prep disrupting rumours!
http://www.biharonline.gov.in/BPSC/dashboard.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1
or go to http://bpsc.bih.nic.in/
Also, here i would like personally thanks everyone who liked this website and pouring your queries. THANK YOU
regards and cheers!
ADMIN
Vivek
Once again, our discussion with Anonymous is proven to be true. Mains exams are getting conducted in May and June.
Here are details of exam centre, subject papers and dates as disclosed on BPSC website.
Lipotes vexillifer (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
After Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary is located in Bhagalpur District of Bihar, India. Bihar is planning to have its first Dolphin Research centre, which will be another first in Asia.
The Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary is a 50 km stretch of the Ganges River from Sultanganj to Kahalgaon. Designated in 1991, it is the only protected area for the endangered Gangetic dolphins in Asia. Once found in abundance, only a few hundred remain, of which half are found here.
With only about 2,000 Gangetic river dolphins left in India, down from tens of thousands just a few decades ago, the Bihar government is planning to set up Asia’s first research centre to strengthen conservation efforts to save the endangered mammal.
An official in the chief minister’s office said the Gangetic dolphin research centre would be set up in Patna, where dozens of dolphins can still be seen in the stretch of the river near the state capital.
The man behind the proposal is RK Sinha, an expert on Gangetic river dolphins and chairperson of the working group for dolphin conservation set up by the central government. He said the centre was suggested by the Planning Commission and subsequently received “in principle” approval by the state government.
“A final decision in this regard is likely soon,” said Sinha, popularly known as the dolphin man.
Gopal Sharma, a scientist with the Zoological Survey of India here, said the centre would carry out research activities on the dolphin and also conduct a census in rivers in Bihar.
The Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary, India’s only dolphin sanctuary, spread over 50 km along the Ganges, is located in Bihar’s Bhagalpur district.
The Gangetic river dolphin is India’s national aquatic animal but frequently falls prey to poachers. Their carcasses are found regularly on river banks.
The mammals are killed at an alarming rate with wildlife officials saying poachers kill them for their flesh and oil, which is used as an ointment and aphrodisiac.
Gangetic river dolphins fall under Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act and have been declared an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Last year, the Bihar government decided to set up a task force for the conservation of endangered species.
The Gangetic river dolphin is one of the four freshwater dolphin species in the world. The other three are found in the Yangtze river in China, the Indus river in Pakistan and the Amazon river in South America.
The Gangetic river species – found in India, Bangladesh and Nepal – is blind and finds its way and prey in the river waters through ‘echoes’.
reference: TOI online
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who appealed to celebrate the centenary as a festival, will formally inaugurate the function at Patna‘s Gandhi maidan. M I Khan reports
Bihar, which has been centre of knowledge and power over the centuries, on Thursday completed 100 years of its existence.
Three-day centenary celebrations have been planned to commemorate the founding of the state. Read the rest of this entry »
Image via Wikipedia
Dear Aspirant,
I know most of us are fed-up with goof up with this BPSC 2011-2012(whatever!) main exam date.
According to sources at BPSC given us some scoops on why this delay and when you can see some PR (press release).
Anoyn: “Why this delay source”:
Oh let me not tell you political scene and the turmoil happening all across the India. Anyon, look real cause was related to budget submission from BPS commission to government, so that Mr Modi can finish his agenda to state and preparing ourselves for a full-proof exam conducting modality(procedures) at least for mains.” said the Source
“we were waiting on brainstorming session and how to go about, we do not want to repeat history our neighbourly states.” said the really red-faced source
Anoyn: “So when you think dates will be announced”:
Source surges his shoulders and indicated with his figure:
“May be 2-4 weeks, after budget session mostly”
So guys brace you seat belt and lace your shoes, Mains exam dates are just next corner.
Thank you all for valuable comment and encouragement, nevertheless best of luck and hope you preparation must be rocking….
Vivek
For students who’ve been studying for the past year or more to gain entry into India’s prestigious Civil Services, the results for the Main exam are out. The Civil Service exam takes place in three parts, the Preliminary, the Main and the final Interview/Personality Tests. The selected candidates are chosen for Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and other Central Services (Group ‘A’ and Group ‘B’).
The most coveted service is the IAS. The entire process is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
Representational Image. AFP
The results are available on the UPSC website. You can view them by clicking here.
The candidates who have cleared the Mains Results are now eligible for the final round of the selection process, which is the Interview. The UPSC website has a list of the roll numbers of the successful candidates, who’ve cleared the Main. The Interviews will begin on 19 March at the UPSC office in New Delhi.
The press note also includes a list of numbers that students can call if they don’t receive details of their personality tests. These numbers are 011-23385271, 011-23381125, 011-23098543 or Fax Nos. 011-23387310, 011-23384472, said a press note.
The results of the Civil Services exams are the most eagerly awaited ones in the entire year as a large number of students prepare for these exams hoping to gain entry into what is still regarded as the number one job in the country.
Courtesy: Firstpost
Category Code Written Exam
General 1 100
SC 2 83
ST 3 83
EBC 4 89
BC 5 96
BCL 6 87
New year gift from BPSC to few more students who are qualified due to additional corrected answer sheet are displayed below.
Press Release and Application Proforma for 53rd-55th Common Combined (Mains) Competitive Exam.
you may download from here or go to official website bpsc.bih.nic.in
Finally BPSC decided to release results for additional qualified aspirants.
Revised Additional Results of 53rd to 55th Common Combined (Pre) Competitive Examination, 2011 in compliance of Patna High Court‘s order passed on 4th January, 2012. Read the rest of this entry »
Public Service Commission preparation
Social media in the Arab Spring, Japanese megaquake and nuclear disaster, orgasms in the brain, HIV drugs, faster-than-light neutrinos, Higgs and more
Read more: “Smart Guide 2012: 10 ideas you’ll want to understand”
JANUARY
• Egypt cuts its people off from the internet as the “Arab Spring” begins. In Syria, Tunisia and elsewhere citizens use social media to organise street protests
FEBRUARY
• IBM‘s supercomputer Watson takes on, and beats, two former winners of the US gameshow Jeopardy! Despite a few mistakes it easily wins the $1 million prize
MARCH
• Magnitude 9.0 earthquake rocks Japan, followed by a tsunami that devastates towns and leaves 20,000 dead or missing. Explosions at Fukushima nuclear plant lead to meltdown when the cooling system fails
APRIL
• A software bot called LIDA shows the first hints of consciousness by reacting just like a human when carrying out simple tasks
• Personal details of 77 million users are stolen after Sony’s PlayStation Network is hacked – forcing the firm to take it offline
MAY
• Author Kayt Sukel stimulates herself to climax in an fMRI scanner to learn more about the female orgasm, brains and the control of pain
JUNE
• Physicists at CERN manage to bottle atoms of anti-hydrogen for 1000 seconds – about 10,000 times longer than before
• Infamous “hacktivist” group LulzSec announces it is disbanding after “50 days of lulz”, during which it attacked a number of corporate targets, including Fox News
JULY
• Space shuttle Atlantis lands at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for the last time, bringing the curtain down on the shuttle era after 135 missions
• Antiretroviral drugs shown to not only help those with HIV stay alive but also greatly reduce transmission of the virus to others
AUGUST
• World’s first 3D-printed aircraft makes its maiden flight in the UK. The parts took just two days to design and five to print
SEPTEMBER
• Shock at claims that neutrinos have travelled faster than the speed of light – apparently breaking the existing laws of physics
OCTOBER
• First analysis of network of 43,000 companies shows a minority – mainly banks – hold a disproportionate amount of power over the global economy
NOVEMBER
• Breakthrough in Alzheimer’s research as cognitive decline is reduced in two people – by jolting brain tissue with electrical impulses
• Launch of NASA’s Martian rover, Curiosity, as part of the Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft. It is due to arrive at the Red Planet in August 2012
DECEMBER
• Two teams at the Large Hadron Collider announce they have found hints of a lightweight Higgs boson
• Climate change conference in Durban, South Africa, ends with agreement to accept targets on emissions in 2020
Public Service Commission preparationImage via Wikipedia
In 2011 New Scientist saw genetic engineering on fast forward, foxes zeroing in on their prey using Earth’s magnetic field, and a game of primordial Pac-Man.
We also discovered that the key to humanity may be in our missing DNA, lab yeast can make the evolutionary leap to multicellularity, and one vertebrate can eat with its mouth shut.
Meanwhile, our understanding of human evolution took a sharp left turn. In the wake of the 2010 discovery that humans and Neanderthals interbred, it emerged that our ancestors interbred with several other hominin species – and that the interbreeding may have helped us go global.
Here are our 10 favourite stories from 2011, from the earliest life on Earth to Egyptian archaeology and the latest developments in synthetic biology.
Life began with a planetary mega-organism
The last universal common ancestor may have filled the planet’s oceans before giving birth to the ancestors of all living things on Earth today Read the rest of this entry »
Image via Wikipedia
In a joint excavation carried out by the Department of Archaeology of Pune’s Deccan College and Gujarat’s archaeology department, a new Harappan site has been discovered at Kotada Bhadali village area in Nakhatrana taluka of Kutch district. The site dates back to 3000 BC.
The state’s archaeology department and Deccan College have planned a detailed excavation in January to gather more information related to the site.
Y S Rawat, the state’s director of archaeology, said, “Primary excavations have showed that the site probably belongs to late Harappan period around 3000 BC, but the data available from the excavation is too little to determine the exact period. We will carry out more studies to confirm the period and other facts.” Read the rest of this entry »
Civil Services Exam Help 