Kasturirangan Panel Report on Western Ghats , Discuss

"A Conservatism lie with the fellow who thinks this world is borrowed from his children rather is given
by his fathers."
How it would be if someone wakes up and find alone someday morning without air to breath, water to drink
and environment to have aesthetic gratification ...?? Seems to be quiet horribleIsn't it?? Human's
unquenching thirst to serve his pocket has led him to be intentionally adopt frivolities steps against the ecology
whose result becomes a nightmare supposed to be without its essential assets. Straightly coming to the point in
the primetime, human has depleted his environment for self motives. Industrially being at apex in terms of
share and money, he has somewhere regretted his ecology. Setting up of infrastructures, he has diverted space,
time, and money not only in ignoring the fruitful establishment of environment but also has intended to modify
the pre-existing one. Since this topic is concerned about the Kasturirangan panel reports on Western Ghats, we
would discuss in salient details.
Entire report at a glanceAround 60,000 sq km of western Ghats ,spread across six states should be turned into a no-go area for
commercial activities like mining, thermal plants, polluting industries and large housing plans, the high level
working group, headed by Dr. Kasturirangan ( Renowned alumini of JNU, New Delhi and winner of
Shantiswarup Bhatnagar award)recommended. The Kasturirangan panel was set up to study the Gadgil
committee report on Western Ghats. The Gadgil panel report had faced unanimous oppositions stating that
almost 3/4th of hills, including plantations, cultivated lands, be turned into restricted zone. The committee has
in contrast advised against bringing habitations outside the ambit of such a restrictive regime called
ecologically sensitive area (ESA) under Environment protection Act, 1976. Instead, it has suggested that 90%
of the natural forests left in the Western Ghats complex adding upto 60,000 sq km and constituting 37% of
entire hilly belt be conserved under provisions of green law. The committee ensured there would be complete
restriction of mining within the period of next 5 years, except the habitations owned by tribal people under
State Tribal Act, 2005 which doesn't permits for bringing any devastation to the area but they could serve in
conserving the same so as with amplifying their livelihood. It has not recommended a ban on hydroelectric
projects in the zone, but put a regime of stricter clearances for dams and other projects. Cumulative studies to
assess impact of dams on a river and ensuring minimum distance at 3kms and that not more than 50% of the
river basin is affected at any time. The report has steered clear from demanding a strict ecological control over
the Western Ghats complex requiring changes and regulations on agricultural practices the way the Gadgil
committee report ought to suggest.
The committee has not recommended an outright rejection of the Athirapally hydroelectric project in Kerala
and Gundhya dam in Karnataka .It has warned that the state govt. must assess if the former is valid with viable
and if the trade off the loss of irreplaceable biodiversity is beneficial. It has strictly said there should not be a
green nod on the existing projects going against the biodiversity, unless all would be proved vague.
"Pros" of Kasturirangan reports over Madhav Gadgil ones-

Gadgil reports were biased towards ecology and its maintenance disrespecting the needs of people in
accordance to their jobs, they acquire from existing projects.

It focused on only the 64% of the entire Ghat to ecologically sensitive which seemed to be practically
impossible.

Kasturirangan reports endured both on ecology diverting 37% of the hill for ecology assessment and
rest along with some part of that for livelihood.

In the primetime the demand should engrave both towards people and ecology, failing anyone to serve
will damage the system.

Basing upon the above points, Kasturirangan reports seems to be more fascinating than that of the
other which tries to cater the needs of both. Strictly speaking, human interventions knows no bound as
far as his needs are concerned ,if he keeps on moving likewise, vis--vis he might suffer in near future.
"If human commits war against the nature, and even though he wins it, he will be the only fellow to
cherish his victory, as he sows, so shall he reap, since everything flows downhill."

India and USA Relationship on Smart Cities,

Comment
The recently visit of Mr. Barack Obama to India has created history in many senses. Mr. Obama visited India
twice and he was the first president of America came to India on the proposal made by the prime minister of
India. He came to India on 25 Jan to attend the parade of republic day on 26 of jan2015.
There are several important decisions were taken but the most important is smart city development the smart
city project was announced by the prime minister during his election campaign. Mr. Obama has agreed to
provide necessary requirement for the smart city development there are three cities are chosen for the
development namely Ajmer, Vishakapatnam and Allahabad.
These cities were developed with the help of an organization called USTDA (united state trade and
development agency). This USTDA will provide necessary fund for the smart city project and also provide
smart city solutions and also there will be a task force which consist of three member one from the USTDA
two other from the state government and central government. This task force will discuss about the smart city
project requirement and appropriate revenue model for enabling the flow of investment.
First of all we need to know about that what a smart city is.
A smart city is the city that uses the technology efficiently on all the functions of the city including various
sectors like health, energy, infrastructure and many more.
Practically a smart city gives the faster response as compared to that one which is running on the conventional
technology.
There are various definitions have been given about the smart cities some of these are:According the smart city council "A smart city is one that has digital technology embedded across all city
functions".
According to the IEEE smart cities "A smart city brings together technology, government and society to enable
the following characteristics: smart cities, smart economy smart mobility, smart people, smart living and smart
governance."
For the smart city there are some key points to implement that a smart city should economically driven means
the smart city should driven with proper management and future planning before it is practically
implemented .The planning is the first and the foremost requirement of any successful project.
The another thing is that smart city uses the technology that has developed in the respective country so that the
unemployment rate should be reduced and more young professionals use their skills.

The US India relationship has come where both the countries have to look forward for their future planning
and this is the time of rising public and private sector interest in deploying big data, technology and
infrastructure to meet the demands of the future technology.
According to the US estimation there will be the requirement of the 400million additional resident in cities by
2050.To fulfill the requirement of the cities and their needs, cities should be "smarter" and this can be achieved
by only smart cities technology.

H1N1 Virus / Swine Flu Discuss

Swine flu is an infection caused by swine influenza virus. Swine influenza virus is common throughout among
the pig population worldwide. It infects the respiratory tract of the pigs. Transmission of virus from pigs to
humans is not common. Usually, the virus spreads among pigs only. Transmission of the virus from pigs to
human not always causes human flu, but if it causes it is called zoonotic swine flu. People who are in regular
contact with pigs are most vulnerable for this infection.
Swine flu has been declared pandemic by WHO as it has caused millions of deaths worldwide. Swine
influenza was first proposed to be a disease related to human during 1918 pandemic. The first identification of
an influenza virus as a cause of disease in pigs occurred after about 10 years in 1930.
Swine flu is highly contagious. It spreads quickly from one person to another through air, mucus and saliva
particles. The spread of virus is temperature dependent. The number of cases of people getting infected by this
virus increases during the winter season. People who are at most risk include children below 3 years, pregnant
women, people with certain medical conditions such as heart disease, lung disease, asthma, diabetes etc., or the
people with weak immune system.
Early symptoms include cough, fever, headache, sore throat, muscle pain, chills, vomiting or diarrhea. Swine
flu can be diagnosed only through test in a specialized laboratory.
In India, the most recent outbreaks caused by Swine flu occurred in 2009 and in last months of 2014 which is
still going on. Around 2,000 people have died and more 20,000 have been reported to be infected in 2015
alone. It was declared epidemic by Rajasthan government in 2014.
Both of these outbreaks were caused by H1N1 virus. The only known drug to work against H1N1 virus is
Tamiflu. In 2009, Tamiflu was not sold in general medical stores as the government feared that people may
consume it without any reason thereby making virus resistant to only known cure. The generic version of
Tamiflu has also been launched in the market. A bio-technology firm had made an indigenous developed swine
flu vaccine under the brand name HNVAC.

In Delhi, where the toll of infected people were high, the Delhi government fixed the price of flu diagnostic
tests and the labs charging more than that were issued show cause notice asked them why there licenses should
not be cancelled. In February, the district magistrate of Ahmedabad Gujarat banned assembling of people so as
to prevent spread of the disease. The health ministry of India has given special attention to supply of the drug
Tamiflu, N-95 masks and diagnostic kits. Care has been taken by the government to prevent spread of the
disease. Surveillance has been put at airports to identify infected people coming from other countries. The state
government has also played their role by checking people coming from infected zones. By better awareness
and by developed health system, Delhi and Tamil Nadu government was able to reduce the death toll whereas
the number of infected were high in these two states.
As it is well said "Prevention is better than cure". There are some steps by following which we can prevent
spread of this disease. Vaccination to provide immunity against this disease has proved ineffective because of
the evolution of the virus which gets immunized to these vaccines. Focus should be given on prevention of
transmission of virus from pigs to humans. The chance of transmission of virus is highest among the farmers of
swine farms. The swine farmers should use hand gloves and masks while in contact with pigs. These viruses
get transferred when farmers after touching infected pigs touch their eyes, nose or mouth. The infected pigs
should be vaccinated and quarantined.
To prevent human to human transmission, the infected person should be quarantined. Influenza spreads
between people when infected person sneezes and the nearby people inhale the air or touch something with
virus on it and then touch their face. Frequent washing of hands after being out in public, with water or alcohol
based sanitizer helps in controlling infection.
The Indian government should give top priority to the development of indigenous drugs, masks and diagnosis
kits. The treatment of swine flu should be subsidized so that poor people can afford the treatment. The
government should keep an eye on private laboratories to prevent them from taking exorbitant amount from
the patients. Modern laboratories should be set up in every part of the country, so that the infected person will
get treatment as early as possible and it will also help in controlling spread of infection. The war against Swine
flu can be won only by the united efforts of all the countries. If any country is not equipped with modern
facilities and there is shortage of drugs, then other countries must take responsibility to provide the necessary
drugs and equipment.

Why should a Public Servant not be Corrupt?.

A service that is provided by the government to its citizens living under its jurisdiction is known as Public
Service. Therefore, the person who is employed by the government to help and provide of the basic public
services to the people is known as Public Servant. A public servant is not just a part of the regular public, intact
his/her job is to effectively and efficiently perform his duties for the benefit of the people of the country. A
public servant has a three dimensional image, one as the provider of the public goods to the citizens, two to act
as a protector of the people and their rights and third, to build a society that is free of corruption and runs on
the morals of fairness and justice for all.
Over the years, the role of public servants has come under a lot of scrutiny. What role do they play in good
governance, how effectively do they run implement the values of integrity and honesty and quickly and
efficiently do they approach the problems are just some of the questions that have been raised in time. While
the answers to all these fundamental questions remain a matter of subject, the basic doctrine undermining all
these queries lie in the ethical conduct of the public servant. In order to do his or her job efficiently, a public
servant must be an embodiment of universal values such as Honesty, Loyalty, Courage, Self Discipline, Truth
and Dedication. But these are values that are universally in nature. In order for the public servants to carry out
their work effectively, they need to inculcate the values of integrity, honesty, justice and fairness. A public
servant must at all times, maintain high standard of conduct in order to provided efficient and friendly
governance to its citizens.
Along with effective implementation of laws, rules and regulations, one of the most important factors to ensure
probity in governance is the absence of corruption. But sadly today, our Indian society is plagued with
corruption and corrupt officers. It is sad to know that because of the few corrupt officials in the government,
the entire society suffers. After all, the way a public servant conduct his/her duties will have a direct impact on
the citizens and society. An epidemic, Corruption can break the balance between economic and social well

being of the people as it leads to malpractices, dishonesty and red tapeism. Is that a healthy sign for a large and
diverse democracy like India? Are public servants alone responsible for creating an environment where 'under
the table' or 'bribery' form of functioning of the system is preferred over the attitude of truth and honesty in our
work culture? in the recent past, India was shaken up by surfacing of the some of the major corruptions
scandals in the field of coal mining and telecom industry, all thanks to corrupt bureaucrats, politicians and as
well as businessmen who filled their pockets with money as the nation suffered from low economic growth.
When Nepotism overpower the larger good of the society and people, that's where the need arises for public
servants to act as men and women of moral/ethical conduct. A corrupt public servant is likely to abuse the
public resources for his own personal motives. It should be noted that act of corruption is a threat not only to
effective governance but it also shakes the building stones of the society we live in. Often, corruption is
directly linked to lack of administrative will. Government officials often display delay in action and citizens
have to resort to the means of dishonest approach such as bribery. A responsible public servant must be aware
that his job is to service the public interest and not his personal interest and must be accountable for his
actions.
It is also true that people who raise their voice against corruption, many a times, their views are either brought
to silent or simply go unheard. Just by naming corrupt officials or divulging scams will not help curb
corruption. It is equally important for government to launch reforms that can establish the motto of good
governance. A public servant must be transparent in his actions and must perform his duties with utmost
integrity. Implementation of strategic anti corruption laws must be adhered for responsible governance. Lastly,
in order to uphold the trust and respect of the people, it is important that a public servant performs his duties
with trust and honestly only then can the ethical values of a public servant can be preserved.

ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, Comment

People in world are separated by culture, language, place, race, religion etc. But there was one word that unites
the entire world. Its name is called "Cricket". Cricket the game that boosts energy in millions of hearts, the
game that makes pride of one's country. Cricket is one of the oldest games in the world. It is called as
"Creckett" in earlier days. The name is derived from Middle Dutch krick meaning stick. Earlier it was started
in 16th century and it passed through all parts of world in 18th century. Today cricket is a major sport that
attracts millions of people in world.
ICC (International Cricket Council) world cup is an international championship of One Day International
(ODI). This tournament is one of the most viewed sports in the world. It is said to be festival for cricket lovers
across world. The first world cup was organized at England in June 1975. From then, ICC had successfully
hosted 10 world cups in different countries for every 4 years. The 2015 world cup is the 11th cricket world
cup, jointly hosted by Australia and Newzealand, starting from 14th February to 29th March 2015. This is the
second time that the tournament will be held in Australia and Newzealand. Total of 14 teams are participating
and will play 49 matches with Australia playing 26 games and Newzealand playing 23 games. The final match
taken place at Melbourne Cricket ground which is world largest cricket stadium. Mr. Sachin Tendulkar who
was called as God of Cricket for millions of hearts across the world was appointed as ambassador for 2015
world cup for the 2nd time after 2011 world cup.
The ICC had sold the broadcasting rights to ESPN and Star Spots. The tournament is divided into two pools
namely Pool A and Pool B compromising of 7 countries in Pool A and 7 countries in Pool B. India is
participating in Pool B along with Pakistan, UAE, Ireland, Zimbabwe, West Indies and South Africa. Among
these UAE is the new team.

India is playing with good young squad this time under the captaincy of Mahendra Singh Dhoni who was well
experienced captain and gave India World cup in two formats in both T20 and ODI. The Opening match of
India is with Pakistan on February 15th, at Adelaide make million people across the world to see with anxiety.
India has never lost Pakistan in world cup match and same scenario repeats in Adelaide match too. Young
Indian players like Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan and our captain MS Dhoni showed their best in match and
proved again that they won't give up whatever the situation is. The bowlers too had proved their best. India has
won this historic match by 76 runs and player of the match goes to Virat Kohli for his extraordinary
performance of scoring 107 runs which crucially help India to score 300 runs for 50 overs. The whole India
has celebrated this event as a festival after the result. The next historical match was held on 22nd February
2015, against South Africa. South Africa is one of the favorite team because they have good players and key
player was A B De Villiers who hit the world's fastest century against West Indies. And the major point is that
India had not won one match against South Africa in world cup. These points make our Indians to have less
hope in success of India winning against South Africa. But, the young charms of India created a history by
winning against South Africa for the first time in World cup history. India won the match by 130 runs at
Melbourne Cricket Ground and player of the match was given to Shikhar Dhawan for his good batting in the
match. These two match results show that our players have learned lessons from previous defeats from past
few months. This success boosts the people of India to have more confidence on our team and eagerly waiting
for next 4 matches.
I finally conclude that there was no doubt our players show the best in the remaining matches too and make
people of India pride once again. Millions of hearts are waiting for the day which we celebrated 4 years back.
"Come on team India, Give your best". Just remember millions of hearts are waiting for your victory on 29th
march with thousands of feelings.

Indian Awards System, like Padma Award and Bharat Ratna

Award. Discuss
The Indian Award System/Indian Honor System is a primary recognition from the government of the Republic
of India. It is an honorary declaration to the personalities who have contributed to the progress, achievements,
and human endeavor for the nation or the community. The Indian award system is broadly categorized into 5
categories, they are; Leadership, Literature, Civilian, Patriotic and particular. No prize of money is associated
with these awards.
Let's discuss about civilian awards which honor civilians of India for their prowess, achievement, and inspiring
millions of others to walk in their path; there are two types awards that are awarded; they are; Bharat Ratna
and Padma Awards.
Bharat Ratna Award:
Bharat Ratna Award is the highest civilian award in the Republic of India; it was instituted in the year 1954 on
2nd January. The award is conferred "in recognition of exceptional service of the highest order", it is
considered without the distinction of race, occupation, position, sex, and nationality. This award was originally
limited to the arts, literature, science and public services but the government had broadened the criteria to
encompass "any field of human endeavor" in December 2011. Recommendations for Bharat Ratna are made by
the Prime minister to the President. Only 3 recipients are nominated for Bharat Ratna award every year.
Recipients receive a certificate signed by the President called Sanad and a Peepal leaf shaped medallion made
of gold with 35mm in diameter of a circle, with the design of bursting sun in the center of the obverse side of
the medallion. Also, the words Bharat Ratna are inscribed in silver tilt in the bottom of sun design written in
Devanagiri script; this was an old design the new design is also of Peepal leaf made of gold about 59mm in

length, 49mm in width, and has 3.9mm of thickness which is rimmed with Platinum. The inscription on the
obverse side remained the same but made with Platinum; reverse side of the medallion has Indian emblem
engraved in burnished Bronze tilt and Indian motto "Satyameva Jayate" is inscribed below Indian emblem. All
the design of the medallion remained same except a few changes discussed above it has a 59mm wide ribbon
attached to it so it can be worn around the neck.
Its first recipients were politician C.Rajagopalachari, scientist C.V.Raman, and philosopher Sarvepalli
Radhakrishnan who were honored in 1954. Since then, the award was bestowed to 45 individuals including 11
who were awarded posthumously. The recent recipients were sportsman Sachin Tendulkar, Indian
independence activist and the president of INC(Indian National Congress) in 1909-18 Madan Mohan
Malaviya(posthumously), and former Prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee; among these recipients Sachin
Tendulkar was the youngest recipient and the only sportsman to ever receive this award at the age 40 and the
eldest recipient was social reformer Dhondo Keshav Karve awarded on his 100th birthday. In 1966, former
Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri was the first to be awarded posthumously. There is no monetary grant
associated with this award and the recipients are ranked 7th in the Indian order of precedence; although the
recipients are forbidden constitutionally to use the name of the award as title in suffix or prefix to the
recipient's name. It was also awarded to the natural Indian Mother Teresa in 1980 though she wasn't born in
India; also former South African President Nelson Mandela received one in 1990.
As with many official announcements, recipients are announced and registered in The Gazette of India, a
publication released by the Department of Publication, Ministry of Urban Development used for official
government notices; without publication in the Gazette, conferral of the award is not considered official.
Recipients whose awards have been revoked or restored, both of which require the authority of the President,
are also registered in the Gazette. Recipients whose awards have been revoked are required to surrender their
medal, and their name to be struck from the register.
The Bharat Ratna along with other civil honors were briefly suspended in total for 2 times since they were
institutioned; once was during the period 1977-80 because of the change in national government and other
when Public Interest Litigation(PIL) challenged constitutional validity of the awards. In 1992, the
government's decision to confer the award posthumously for Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose met with
controversy. The PIL, lasted from 1992-95 and the following 1997 Supreme Court decision to lapse the press
communiqu announcing Bose's award; it was the only time when an award was conferred but cancelled.
The Bharat Ratna award had spurred many criticisms since it was instituted in 1954. They were regarded as
"political awards" by many; as the Prime minister of India was the one to recommend the nominees for the
awards to President, but then Prime ministers Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru(1947-64) and Indira Gandhi(1966-77,
1980-84) honored themselves in the years 1955 and 1977, respectively. Many Prime Ministers over the years
have used these awards to placate voters to vote for their government by honoring regional idols; Indira
Gandhi's one such decision met with criticism for posthumously honoring K.Kamaraj in an attempt to placate
Tamil Voters for the Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections in 1977. When Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi (1984-89)
conferred the award posthumously to the Tamil actor and former chief minister of Tamil Nadu
M.G.Ramachandran in 1988; in a bid to influence the Tamil Voters for the Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections in
1989. This decision was much criticized for awarding Ramachandran before the freedom activists

Dr.B.R.Ambedkar and Vallabhbhai Patel who were bestowed the honor in 1990 and 1991 respectively. Other
major criticism was that, the awards were only conferred to the personalities only after they have received
global recognition such cases happened when Mother Teresa received Bharat Ratna a year after she received
Nobel Peace Prize; also the same happened with acclaimed filmmaker Satyajit Ray who was conferred Bharat
Ratna the same year he received Academy Award ; this same repeated again in the case of Economist Amartya
Sen who received Bharat Ratna an year after he became a Nobel Laureate economist in 1998.
Bharat Ratna was also surrounded with many controversies one of them occurred on 23rd January 1992, when
a press communiqu was published by the President's Secretariat conferring to posthumously honor Subhash
Chandra Bose ; which led to led to the first PIL(Public Interest Litigation) filed over Bharat Ratna award in
Calcutta High Court to revoke the award .The petitioner took objection to the conferral of the award and its
posthumous mention of Bose saying that honoring a personality higher than the award is "ridiculous" and was
an act of "carelessness" to classify such a person with past and future recipients. It also said that the award
cannot be conferred to Bose posthumously as the Government of India had not officially accepted his death on
18 August 1945. The petitioner also requested the whereabouts of Bose from 18 August 1945 till date, based
on the information collected by the 1956 Shah Nawaz Committee and the 1970 Khosla Commission. The
family members of Bose also expressed their unwillingness to accept the award. Also, two PILs were filed in
the High Courts of India; one in the Kerala High Court on 13 February 1992 by Balaji Raghavan and another
in the Madhya Pradesh High Court (Indore Bench) on 24 August 1992 by Satya Pal Anand. Both petitioners
raised a question about the civilian awards being "Titles" per an interpretation of Article 18 (1) of the
Constitution of India. On 25 August 1992, the Madhya Pradesh High Court issued a notice temporarily
suspending all civilian awards. A Special Division Bench of the Supreme Court of India was formed
comprising five judges; A. M. Ahmadi C. J., Kuldip Singh, B. P. Jeevan Reddy, N. P. Singh, and S. Saghir
Ahmad. On 15 December 1995, the Special Division Bench restored the awards and delivered a judgment that
the "Bharat Ratna and Padma awards are not titles under Article 18 of the Constitution of India". Another
controversy was made upon the announcement made in November 2013, that C.N.R.Rao and Sachin Tendulkar
were to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, and multiple PILs were filed challenging the conferring of the awards.
The PIL filed against Rao declared that other Indian scientists, such as Homi Bhabha and Vikram Sarabhai, had
contributed more than Rao and his claim of publishing 1400 research papers was "physically impossible". The
suit also stated that as Rao had proven cases of plagiarism, he should not be presented with the award but
rather should be annulled. The PIL filed against Tendulkar to the Election Commission of India under the Right
to Information Act indicated that the awarding him the Bharat Ratna was a violation of the model code of
conduct. The petitioner noted that as Tendulkar was an Indian National Congress nominated Member of Rajya
Sabha, the decision to award him the Bharat Ratna would influence the voters of Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya
Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram where the election process was underway at the time. Another PIL was
filed against Tendulkar and a few ministers, "alleging a conspiracy to ignore" an Indian field hockey player
Dhyan Chand."
PADMA AWARDS:
Padma awards are the second highest honors awarded to the civilians of the Republic of India honoring their
prowess and contribution to the progress of their field of work; these awards are mainly classified into 3

classes or known as Vargh; namely Padma Vibhushan(Pehla Vargh), Padma Bhushan(Doosra Vargh), Padma
Shri(Teesra Vargh).
o

Padma Vibhushan for 'exceptional and distinguished service'.

Padma Bhushan for 'distinguished service of a high order'.

Padma Shri is awarded for 'distinguished service'.

These awards were instituted in the same year as Bharat Ratna in 1954; these awards are awarded on the
Republic day that on 26th January of every year. These awards seek to recognize work of any distinction
ranging from Sports, Literature, Arts, Scientific research etc.., including government service; regardless of the
recipients' age, race, position or sex. This award is not conferred posthumously to the recipients. However,
exceptions can be made in a highly deserving case where if the recipient meets demise after conferring the
award but prior to the Republic Day event. These awards were established by Presidential Decree on 2nd
January 1954. It's first recipients were Satyendra Nath Bose, Nand Lal Bose, Zakir Hussain, Balasaheb
Gangadhar Kher, Jigme Dorji Wangchuk, and V. K. Krishna Menon in the year 1954.
In contrast with Bharat Ratna where only 3 nominees were given each year, Padma awards can be bestowed to
any number of nominees who showed exceptional and distinguished service in their field of profession. As of
2015, only 303 people thus have been awarded these awards and there are 105 living recipients in 2015 and the
oldest living recipient as of 2015 is S.I.Padmavati (97-98) years old; the youngest recipient as of 2015 is
Sachin Tendulkar (41).
The design of medallion of Padma award had gone through several changes over the course of time. During
1954-55, the first medallion was a circular Gold medal with 35mm diameter, with an embossed lotus flower in
the center and the legend "Padma Vibhushan" above and a floral wreath below. The obverse side had the Indian
state emblem with the legend Desh Seva (National Service) above and a lotus wreath below. No record exists
to show whether this design was used to present a medal to the awardees; in 1955, the badge design was
altered to be a "mainly circular" 28.5mm toned bronze badge with geometrical patterns. The center had a lotus
flower with four major petals embossed in white gold. Above and below this flower, the name of the
decoration Padma Vibhushan was embossed in silver-gilt; the third design in 1957 retained the same design but
the material was changed from toned Bronze to burnished Bronze. This design for the medal was same for all
the other Padma awards namely Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri the only distinction is the color of the ribbon
attached to the medal where; Padma Vibhushan has a solid Purple ribbon; Padma Bhushan has a White striped
Purple ribbon attached to the medal, and Padma Shri has a dual white grey Striped Purple ribbon attached to
the medal.
Padma Awards order of precedence puts Padma Vibhushan in the highest order; Padma Bhushan in second and
Padma Shri in the third position. Over the years many recipients have refused to accept these awards due
various reasons including personal pride and what is construed as 'national interest'. Some of the famous
refusals were S Janaki, Ustad Vilayat Khan, Romila Thapar, Sitara Devi, Phanishwarnath Renu and Salim
Khan .

CONCLUSION:
Though, Indian Awards System has recognized a great many of personalities to bestow their work with awards
and as such titles. It is always to be remembered that an award is just a compliment to the persons' work but
shouldn't be taken as the absolute reason behind the work and remember that in the grand scheme of things it is
the persons' virtue and services are remembered the most than the awards they received.

Social Networking Site: Its Advantages and

Disadvantages
Yes, there you see a crowd barge in and shoot out the most fancied and frequently asked question of the
century.. Is there anyone without a Facebook Account? You are sure to be insulted, with not a single person
would raise his hand indicative of the fact that either all of them possess accounts or that the handful of them
without such Accounts are holding back out of sheer feeling of shame and embarrassment. This is the scenario
faced by the world today. "The World dominated by Social Networking Sites". Facebook, Twitter, What's App
and its other counterparts have become the favorite abode for the world at large. They have become a part and
parcel of our lives as it takes not more than a fraction of a second for anything good or bad to go VIRAL!!!!
In today's busy world where all of us are striving to earn a livelihood, life has become extremely mechanical
and utmost hectic. With the tremendous advancement in IT sector, the primary respite to the so called "
Mechanical Men" from their daily chores lies in Social Media and Social Media in its various manifestations
like Facebook, Twitter and What's App have not failed to engulf the whole world into its ambit, so much so
that people everywhere are glued on to the platform provided to them, each one of them busy creating a niche
for themselves in the virtual media, where they portray their unique identity, their views and opinions.
Social Networking sites have brought about a dramatic change in our outlook today. People feel free to voice
out their opinion and lend their ears to others as they are sure that there would be supporters for their views as

well. These sites aptly replicate the mass media, several times more powerful than the third estate as all our
views may not be acceptable to the print media. They can also be regarded as the storehouse of knowledge as
people come to know about all that is going on around them, keeping them adequately updated with current
affairs. Social media has laid open the windows for the users to soar high with the power of their views,
imagination, ideas and opinions. It has become the most effective tool for initiating a social cause, be it for
lending alms to the poor or for anything relating to our immediate surroundings. The strength that such
campaigns imbibe when presented in the social media is sure to move mountains and is worth emulating. The
users of social media have gained something more.. yes their old friends and acquaintances that they have
left out long ago amidst their haste to get settled in life. They get to know about the whereabouts of their
friends and have a look at their photos and videos real time.
But of course, we shouldn't forget that every sunny day has within its fold, a dreary and dreadful night and so it
is in the case of social networking sites.. Yes all is not well with social networking sites. This recent entrant
is sometimes referred to as the Weapon of Mass Destruction.. for their dynamic power to destroy anything
good on their way, be it the valuable time or relationship between near and dear ones. The productive time that
is wasted by people, especially youth in surfing such sites have nothing to be compensated with and it for this
simple reason that many corporate have banned such sites during office hours. These sites offer a fertile ground
for cyber fraud and cyber evils threatening the community to be staged. There are infinite number of fake
accounts floated on such sites and people fall mercilessly into such traps almost unabated which is evident
from the numerous instances blared out by newspapers every single day. Above all social networking sites lack
the personal touch that is inherent while receiving a phone call or a message from your dearest friend. It is
often said that "As you get closer to your far away friends through Facebook, you get farther away from those
who are close to you." Think of the duration of the joy that you get when you receive a like on face book for
any of your comments/Photos. It is truly not more than a minute . And what is the whole point in making
thousands of friends on Facebook when in reality you don't have any intimacy with them and you are sure that
they won't turn up when you are in trouble. Such sites don't forget to send you intimation about your friend's
birthday.. but do you really need the help of such sites to remember your friend's birthday??? The latest
trend witnessed in society today is among school children opening Facebook Accounts and chatting with
friends whom they meet every day at schools. The whole idea of using social networking sites in such
disastrous ways has contributed to its disadvantages.
It is high time for us to realize that whether social networking sites are a boon or a bane depends on how
effectively and efficiently it is made use of by people at large. However it would not be proper to end without
proclaiming that they have truly helped people overcome the geographical barriers and have transformed the
whole world into a GLOBAL VILLAGE.

Politicians granted Bail even after conviction - does

it leave a good impact?
Justice is not a prosecuted output of cases in courts, it's a unsubdued persuasion to hit your
self-conscience for accepting the truth
Jurisdiction is one of the trusted and seek upon authorities which lays down the foundation of a
successful democracy. Be it corporation or issues relevant to state or central government, legal
resolution becomes an unavoidable necessity. This leads to queries about it being unbiased and
transparent enough to not get succinct to complacency of evidences or witnesses which may
maneuver it to biased conclusionary decisions.
Considering the example of bail in the justice system, we are used to news where politicians
getting bail even after getting convicted for certain offences. These scenarios lead us to doubting
the very notion of unprejudiced functionality of such legal systems. We start questioning, Are our
courts losing objectivity in the long term?, The complete idea of jurisprudence has failed in
running a successful democracy due to factors which has made it amenable to favoritism?

But let's not be swayed by pessimism without delving into the facet of a legal system. The Legal
system as we know is in itself highly complex and is limited in its decisions by the nitty-gritty
details and unfathomable causal relationships between various aspects of cases. It is as
ambiguously defined under laws with repetitive amendments, as with any language limited to its
exact expression. These laws and rules evolve overtime but the essence of integrity and truth
remains constant. Thus this temporal and lexical dependency leaves any authentic explanation of
different legal cases and its aspects to a debatable point.
Bail as defined in common literature means procuring the release of a person found under trial or
guilty for any offence. It is classified into bailable and non-bailable offence. There are 4 sections
provided by IPC for bail. Section- 436 for bailable offences. Sec- 437 for non bailable offences.
Sec-438 for a pre arrest direction (anticipatory bail) and Sec 439 for non bailable offences before
Sessions Judge or High Court. In the case of non-bailable offence or conviction, the sole
discretion of court is considered under the convicts' plea.
Most of the times in such high profile cases involving politicians or other such power holders,
there are classified information regarding these cases which can easily mislead or effect
directly/indirectly the court case. It also becomes easy to taint the reputation of a public figure.
For the general public it may seem like courts are at politicians whims and they can easily get
bails even after found guilty, but there is a need for more tolerance in terms of acceptance and
honoring courts decisions.
The question that strikes now is how to monitor legal flaws i.e. if a system works on the premise
of inscrutable subjects, Is there a possibility to get proper feedback in terms which appear
satisfying that since such a big personality found convicted in an offence is released on bail is a
legally justifiable decision which is at par with court and fit with the public.
There are authorities for providing cross-check over the decisions that court cases make.
Supreme Court is the ultimate decisive authority in any criminal/non-criminal offence. And
under the scanner of Right to Information, public can seek any such information to particular
cases. Public Interest Litigation can also be helpful tool in this scenario. Central Bureau of
Investigation is also one of such discreet authorities not persuaded by changing governments and
whose investigation has shown commendable results. In a democracy where two more parties are
involved in decision making, there are chances to stigmatize opposite party members holding
politically sensitive positions, called criminal defamation in legal terms. But the discretionary
powers of our high court and Supreme Court are not impregnated by political interference.
Combined with that our rights and litigations are the powerful tools which should be exclusively
used by public for scrutinizing decisions or court orders.

The high profile convict was bailed leaves a impression of anarchy wins over authority, but
Justice is the undefiable truth and nothing is more true that truth itself.