Indian origin scientist Rasik Ravindra has been elected as member of theUnited Nations Commissionon the Limits of Continental Shelf (CLCS) asIndia’s candidate for member of the Commission. 

Rasik, an alumnus of the Jammu and Kashmir University, is one of India’s eminent scientists. He has a rich experience of over four decades in different spheres of geosciences that include geological studies in Antarctica, India andBhutan.  He has been honored with many prestigious awards including the National Award for Polar Sciences and Cryosphere in the year 2013 and National Mineral Award in the year 1990. He has wide global experience and has also held coveted positions that included negotiations in policy, technical and scientific issues.

United Nations Commission on the Limits of Continental Shelf (CLCS):

• The CLCS has 21 members, who are experts in the domains of geophysics, geology, or hydrography, and are elected for a term of 5 years by the nations who are party to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) among their nationals. It is the UN body that is empowered to allocate new seabed territory to countries

Lt Gen Amit Sharma (58) has been appointed as the new Commander-in-Chief of Strategic Forces Command (SFC) which guards the nuclear weapon store of the country. He takes charge from Vice Admiral S P S Cheema as the latter has moved to Kochi to head the Navy’s Southern Command based there. Previously, Sharma was the Chief of Staff of Japiur-based South Western Command of the army and had headed its elite 21 Strike Corps.

The SFC is responsible to implement the directives of the Nuclear Command Authority (NCA). It has the sole responsibility of starting the process of delivering nuclear arsenal after receiving approval from NCA.

Government-owned power equipment manufacturer Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) commissioned 68 MW Unit at the Rampur Hydro Electric Project in Himachal Pradesh. With this, BHEL has commissioned four units of the 412 MW hydro power plant of SJVN Limited.

Rampur hydel project has been built on River Satluj in Himachal Pradesh – 120 km from Shimla. In this project BHEL contributed in supply, construction and commissioning of turbines, generators, Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition system (SCADA), associated station auxiliaries, Gas Insulated Switchgear (GIS) and other electrical and mechanical machinery.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) released the Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2014. As of now, the Red List has 73,686 assessed species, of which 22,103 are threatened with extinction. The release includes lemurs, Japanese eels, slipper orchids.

The Brazilian three-banded Armadillo (Tolypeutes tricinctus) which is FIFA World Cup 2014 mascot has been enlisted asVulnerable as its population has decreased by more than a third in the past 10 due to destruction of half its shrubland habitat.

The Brazilian 3-banded armadillo (Tolypeutes tricinctus) is an armadillo species endemic to Brazil. In Brazil it is locally known as “tatu-bola” as it can roll itself into a ball. 

Lemurs are one of the most threatened groups of vertebrates on the planet as more than 90% of lemurs are now threatened with extinction.

Some of the facts about Lemurs:

• Of the 99 known species, which live on the island of Madagascar 22 species are critically endangered, including the Indri, the largest living lemur.
• 48 species of lemur are endangered, including Madame Berthe’s mouse lemur, the world smallest primate.
• 20 lemur species are vulnerable.
• Lemurs are threatened by the loss of their tropical forest habitat due to rise in illegal logging on account of political instability and surging levels of poverty in the past 20 years.

Japanese eel:

It is a traditional food in Japan and the country’s most expensive food fish. It is endangered due to:

• Habitat loss
• Unsustainable fishing
• Obstructions to migration
• Pollution
• Changes in oceanic currents

The assessment of species is done using the Species Information Service Toolkit, an application developed in partnership with Solertium and IUCN.

Modi lays foundation stone for Kholongchu hydro-power project

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday laid the foundation stone of the 600MW Kholongchu Hydro-electric project, a joint venture between India and Bhutan.

The project’s foundation stone was laid by Mr. Modi electronically from the courtyard of Bhutan’s Parliament building after addressing a joint session.

Three Hydro-electric projects (HEPs) totalling 1416 MW (Chukha, Tala and Kurichu) are already operational.

Three more HEPs [Punatsangchu I (1200 MW), Punatsangchu II (1020 MW) and Mangdechu (720 MW)] are under construction.

They are scheduled to be commissioned in 2017-18.

In April, 2014, the two countries had signed a framework agreement on four more JV-model HEPs totalling 2120MW. Of these, pre-construction activities for the 600MW Kholongchu HEP as a JV-model HEP between Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) and Druk Green Power Corporation (DGPC) will commence soon.

“Our hydropower cooperation with Bhutan is a classic example of win-win cooperation,” an Indian official said, adding that “the hydropower projects generate export revenues for Bhutan, cement our economic partnership and provide clean and low-cost electricity to India.”

comparison of cut off of last three year

out of 400 2011 2012 2013
GEN 198 209 241
OBC 175 190 222
SC 165 185 207
ST 161 181 200
PH1- Ortho 135 160 199
PH2-Visual 124 164 184
PH3-Hearing 96 111 163

UPSC has declared the official cutoff marks for Civil service exam 2013 (Prelims, mains and interview stage).

From the above * and # , now we know UPSC’s official system of “minimum passing marks” (this was never disclosed in RTIs so far).
it implies that if you failed to reach minimum passing marks in any one paper then they won’t select you for next stage, even if you get best marks in other papers.
BUT overall merit list prepared by combing scores of both GS + Aptitue paper.