Comptroller and Auditor General

Comptroller and Auditor General of India is the Highest Auditing Authority in India, Established by Constitution of India. It Celebrated 150 Years of existence on 16^th November 2010.

Need for Auditing body was first Realized by British way back in 1858 after the transfer of Company rule to the Hands of Crown Rule. Thus an Highest Auditing Authority as  Auditor General was set up in 1860.

In 1950 it was renamed and Accepted as Comptroller and Auditor General of India.

CAG is Also Head of Indian Audits and Accounts Department. Together Both CAG  Audits and accounts department constitute Supreme Audit Institution of India (SAI)

Who Appoints CAG?

President of India based on recommendation by Prime Minister. Current CAG is Vinod Rai.

Constitutional Provision for CAG:

Articles 148 to 151 of Indian Constitution Define the Role of CAG.

Roles and Responsibilities:

Audit all the Expenditures of Union and state Governments along with the Auditing of all the Authorities companies (Like ONGC, SAIL etc) Enterprises etc which receive Finance by Govt.

It has to Probe whether the Expenditures of the Government and other bodies mentioned above are proper.

Recent works of CAG has been Commendable, due to which the series of Scams Like 2G, CWG, till the most recent one Coal Block allocations came to light.

Reports of CAG:

CAG will submit its report to President of India, who in turn Tables the report in Parliament and then the Report goes onto Review by Public accounts committee.

Finally:

The Importance of CAG came to be realized lately after 2G and other scams.The existance of such an High profile Office came to limelight only after these scams.

Being guard of Public funds, not every report of CAG gets publicity.There is a need that Political class improvises its Governance policies based on CAG's reports.
Also They should allow more effective and open debate on C&AG reports, as people have the rights to know, after all its Public fund.

The office of CAG should not be insulted, instead it should be Strengthened further so that Transparency in Governance is ensured.

Prime minister and other Politicians who are criticizing the CAG’s Methods and reports, instead should strive for Encouraging such an esteem body to Work fearlessly and effectively.

Special Status to Hyderabad-Karnataka Region

Hyderabad Karnataka Region is all set to receive special Status

Which is Hyderabad Karnataka Region?

Six backward districts in North Karnataka  — Gulbarga, Yadgir, Raichur, Bidar, Koppal and Bellary    :

 

 

Why a Special Status Now?

The region of Hyderabad – Karnataka Which is most Backward in Karnataka State.

It contains 21 of the 39 Most Backward Taluks in the state, according to D.M Nanjundappa Committee report on development Index.

As per The State Human Development Index, Bidar Koppal,Gulbarga And Raichur are the Most Backward Districts in the state.

Places Like Bidar and Gulbarga were the most important Places during Medieval Times, but During Modern times, the Region lacks the Development Mode.

How a Special Status is Given?

 Will be Done Through an amendment to the Constitution. i.e A New Article 371 J will be inserted and thus Amending the Constitution.

A Bill will be introduced in the parliament - > which was done in this Monsoon session.

Once the Bill is passed by Parliament With two-Thirds of Majority The Celebrated region will get its special Status like The Telengana region in AndraPradesh and Vidharbha Region in Maharashtra.

Since The Monsoon Session was Washed out nicely We may expect this to be Passed only in Winter Session.

Special Status How is it going to be useful for the people?

These Districts will get Special Priority in allocating the State funds in Development Education and Employment Sectors.

Apart from this People of this region will get Reservation in Government Jobs and Admission in Educational Institutions.

Also Constitutional Special Status, will enable the Establishment of a Regional Council or development Boards which will have its own Elected members and Budget and also Region will get more central funds for development and will be on par with the Telananga region of Andhra Pradesh.                 

Yettinahole Project

Yettinahole project is an river diversion project proposed By Karnataka Govt, to resolve the issue of drinking water scarcity in  Kolar,Chikballapur,Tumkur,Bangalore Rural and Ramanagaram Districts.

Yettinahole is a tributary of Netravathi River.

It is to divert the west flowing river Netravathi and other tributaries in the Palar-Pennar basin.
As per the Project 24 tmcft of water will be drawn from Yettinahole and will be pumped to the beneficiary districts.

Project involves Constructing of water reservoirs, dams and pumping of water , Flowing of water by Gravitational force and then filling of lakes with an estimated Cost of 7300 Cr.

Note: Source: The Hindu

Western Ghats a Heritage site

Western Ghats has made it to the list of the World Heritage sites now. Western ghats a mountain range which runs along the western side of India , Approximately 1600Km runs north south from below the river Tapti, and spread across the states of Maharashtra,Goa,Karnataka,Tamilnadu and Kerla ending at Kanyakumari.

The World Heritage Committee observed that the “site’s high montane forest ecosystems influence the Indian monsoon weather pattern. Moderating the tropical climate of the region, it presents one of the best examples of the monsoon system in the planet.”

It is recognised as one of world's 8 Hottest hotspots of Biodiversity.

Totally 39 Spots from western ghats have been inscribed into the list of Heritage, out of which Kerla having 19, Karnataka 10 , Maharashtra 6 and Tamilnadu 4 sites.

The 10 Karnataka sites are: Kudremukh National Park, four wildlife sanctuaries (Someshwara, Pushpagiri, Brahmagiri, and Talacauvery), and five reserve forests (Padinalknad, Kerti, Someshwara, Agumbe, and Balahalli).

But some people in Karnataka Govt  like Forest Minister and others Opposed the Heritage tag given to Western ghats on grounds that it will increase the Naxal activity in the area and also hurt the developmental works.

On the other hand Environmentalists and Scientists reject such words and say that Heritage should be seen as means to save and protect it from negative development.

People should understand and respond to the global issues and look at things with scientific temperament.

What is world Heritage Site?

It is the designation given to Places on earth which are of Outstanding value for Humanity, such places are to be protected for future generations to enjoy.

Whats the Need for Heritage List?

Natural resources and places flora fauna should be made available for our future generations as well.Eg:  i.e before 1990's and may be till recently Sparrow birds which were abundant, are not available mostly n the cities where the Mobile towers are raised. I enjoyed mostly listening to sounds of sparrows in my school hours more than the lessons by teachers. Now they are to be seen mostly in rural areas where much of mobile communications have not grown. There is a need for protection of the sparrows now.

What happens when it is inscribed in the Heritage List?

Now that It has been recognised by an international Community, It will help in creating greater awareness among people and Govts to save and protect the Natural Properties. and the County may also receive Financial assistance and Expert advice from the Heritage community for activities on protection of such sites.

 

Who and how is it done?

Its done by the Convention by UNESCO signed in 1972 for conservation of places on earth which are of outstanding value and important for the humankind as a whole.

187 countries have signed the convention. Once the country signs the convention , it belongs to international community united for the purpose of protecting important places on earth.

Country has to nominate the places to the Heritage Committee and the committee will decide with the Help of advisory bodies and if he nominated place meets at least one of the 10 Necessary criteria by Heritage community, then the place will be inscribed into the Heritage List.

Source for the above notes: Hindu News paper

Independence day wishes

I would like to wish a very happy Independence day to all of you .It should become a day for further strengthening of your national conciousness and patriotism.
I wish that every one of you, when become a Civil servant, will work for the betterment of the nation.

I wish you to achieve your goal by becoming an Honest Civil Servant. Serve and Save the nation... If you want to see the changes in the world, then you start with yourself.......

KAS Mains Exam Date for 2011-2012 Postponed

KPSC has postponed the KAS mains Exam based on the orders of High court.
Exam was supposed to be held from August 25th 2012. But it will rescheduled and a new time table will be put on their website. So all those who are preparing have some more time for your revision...

I have deleted the Time table based on KPSC's Press note.

   

What is Sakala by Karnataka Govt?

Sakala is nothing but the Karnataka Guarantee of Services to Citizens Act 2011.

Implemented by Department of Personnel and administrative reforms Karnataka With the support of National informatics centre.

With the help of Sakala Every citizen of Karnataka has the Right to obtain the service within the stipulated time limit specified by the Provisions of the Act.

As of now 151 Subjects have been covered under this scheme included in some of the following major departments such as
Commercial Taxes, Education, Food and Civil Supplies, Health and Family Welfare, Home, Labour, Revenue , Transport and Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, women and Child welfare department etc.


Provisions that if a person requests for a particular service and is not provided by the respective officer within the Stipulated time for that service, then the Officer is to provide a compensation to the applicant.
There are provisions to check the status of applications online.

Right to Education Act

Indian Govt Passed the right education Act in 2009 and it came to force from April 2010 and India is now among the 135 countries which Education is made the fundamental right of every child.

Back in 1950 also India was committed to provide free and compulsory education to all children between the age of 6 and 14 i.e the provisions of Article 45 Directive principles of state policy.

With the 86th amendment in 2002 Article 21A was amended and Education became the fundamental right.

Some of the Imp Provisions of this act are:

• All children between the age of 6 and 14 shall have the right to free and compulsory education from a school in neighbourhood till the completion of elementary education.
• For this purpose the child is not required to pay any kind of fees, charges or expenses which may prevent them from pursuing and completing Elementary education.
• When a child above 6 years is not admitted to any school or though admitted and could not complete the elementary education, should be entitled to get admitted in a class appropriate to his or her age.
• To carry out the provisions of this act the govt or local authority should establish a school within a given area within a period of 3 years from commencement of this act.
• Both Centre and state Govts are concurrently responsible for Funds to implement the provisions of this act.

With the enforcement of this act India is moving closer to achieve the objectives of the Millennium development Goals .......

We will discuss about Millennium development goals in the next post......

I recieved this useful info from Chisty, am just copy pasting it here. hope it helps you all.

" Hi, I would like to bring to your notice that Planning Department of Karnataka is giving away free Economic Survey Reports to those selected for KPSC Gazetted Probationers Mains Exam. All you need to do is give a copy of your Mains application form and a letter requesting for a copy of the Economic Survey Report. The Letter is to be addressed to The Director, ADB Division, Planning Department, MS Buildings, Bangalore. It is suggested that a personal visit may be better than a communication by mail. Please bring this to the attention of your readers. This book is expected to be of major help for the upcoming KPSC Mains exams.
"

Thank you so much Chisty

Regards,
AshviniSekar

Rural Development Optional books

I came to know through internet that these are the books for rural development optional Subject.I have not gone through any of these books Except Yojana and Kurukshetra , but over internet these were the mostly mentioned ones for RD.

Rural Sociology - K.singh
Rural Development in India - Vasanth Desai
Rural Development in India - Venkata Reddy
Agricultural Economics and Rural Development - B.P Tyagi
Cooperation theory and Practice - B.S.Mathur
Karnataka Panchayath Raj Manual
Karnataka Economy
Some selected topics from IGNOU Booklets/Study material for Rural Development.
Yojana and Kurukshetra periodicals should be referred.

Note: Yojana is available in kannada also. You can subscribe for the same from Bangalore regional Office(Kannada Yojana only) For English you have to approach Delhi Off.

Buy Books of Rural Development at Flipkart.com!

KPSC KAS Prelims 2011 Results are out

List   of  the  candidates  eligible for  Main examination for recruitment to Gazetted Probationers Group 'A' & 'B' services, 2011 for which the Preliminary examination was conducted by KPSC on 22-04-2012
is available now at:

http://kpsc.kar.nic.in/ELGLIST%20GP2011.HTM

Wish you all the best for results.

Foreign Direct investment:

Foreign direct investment is investing by buying a company in another country or extending its operations in other country's.

More simply we can say Investing in another country for profit reasons. FDI in India has played an important role in developing our economy to a great extent.

There are 2 ways through which others can invest in India.

1.Automatic Route & 2.Govt Route

Automatic route:

Investment in these areas do not require prior approval either by the Government or RBI.

Govt Route:

FDI in activities not covered under the automatic route requires prior approval of the Government which are considered by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance.

Sectors Prohibited for FDI in India:

FDI is prohibited under the Government Route as well as the Automatic Route in the following sectors:
i)  Retail Trading (except single brand product retailing)

ii) Atomic Energy

iii) Lottery Business

iv) Gambling and Betting

v) Business of Chit Fund

vi) Nidhi Company

vii) Agricultural (excluding Floriculture, Horticulture, Development of seeds, Animal Husbandry, Pisciculture and cultivation of vegetables, mushrooms, etc. under controlled conditions and services related to agro and allied sectors) and Plantations activities (other than Tea Plantations)

viii) Housing and Real Estate business (except development of townships, construction of residen­tial/commercial premises, roads or bridges to the  extent specified by Govt.

ix) Trading in Transferable Development Rights (TDRs).

x ) Manufacture  of cigars , cheroots, cigarillos and cigarettes , of tobacco or of tobacco substitutes.

Rural Development Initiatives

Rural Development Programmes by Govt of India comprises :

Rural Infrastructure Development
Increaseing Agricultural Productivity
Providing Social Services like Health, Education and Emplyment opportunities.Various schemes in this Direction are as listed below.

Rural Infrastructure development Schemes:

• Bharath Nirman
• Pradan mantri Gram Sadak Yojna
• Rural Housing
• Rural Water Supply Programme
• Central Rural Sanitation Programme
• National Institue of Rural Development
• Indira Awas Yojana

Rural Employment Schemes:

• National Rural Employment Guarantee Act
• Sampoorna Grameen Rojgar Yojna
• National Food for Work Programme
• Swarna Jayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojna
• National Social Assistance Programme(NSAP)

River Systems of Karnataka

There are seven river systems in Karnataka which with their tributaries, drain the state. The names of these river systems are:

Godavari
Krishna
Cauvery
North Pennar
South Pennar
Palar And
West Flowing rivers
　
Godavari River System:

The river Godavari rises in the Nasik district of Maharashtra about 80km from the shore of Arabian sea, at an elevation of 1067m , after flowing for about 1465km in a general south-easterly direction, through Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, Godavari falls into the Bay of Bengal above Rajamundry. The Godavari has a drainage area of about 3,12,813 sq.kmsThe principal tributaries of Godavari are the Pravara, the Purna, the Manjra, the Pranahita, the Indravathy and the Sabari, Manjra River is having its partial catchment area in Karnataka

Krishna River System:The river Krishna is an Inter-State river in Southern India. It is the second largest river in Peninsular India, rises in the Western Ghats at an altitude of 1337 m. near Mahabaleshwar in Maharashtra State. It flows across the whole width of the peninsula, from west to east, for a length of about 1400 km, through Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The entire catchment area of Krishna basin is 2,58,948 sq km. including the other basin states

The principal tributaries of Krishna in Karnataka are Ghataprabha, Malaprabha, Bhima and Tungabhadra. All these rivers except the Malaprabha River having their catchment area both in Karnataka and Maharashtra

1.Ghataprabha raises at a height of 884 Mtrs in western ghats and flows through Maharashtra and Karnataka
2.MalaPrabha raises at a height of 792.48 Mtrs in western ghats and flows in Karnataka.
3.Bhima Nadi Raises at 945 Mtrs in western ghats and flows through Maharashtra and Karnataka.
4.Tungabhadra 1198 Mtrs western ghats at Gangamula and drains Karnataka and Andrapradesh.


CAUVERY RIVER SYSTEM:

The river Cauvery is an Inter-State river in Southern India. It is one of the major rivers of the Peninsular flowing east and running into the Bay of Bengal.

The Cauvery rises at Talakaveri on the Brahmagiri Range of Hill in the Western Ghats, presently in the Coorg district of the State of Karnataka, at an elevation of 1.341m (4,400 ft.) above mean sea level.

The catchment area of entire Cauvery Basin is 81,155 sq. km. including the other basin states of Cauvery River System i.e it flows and covers Karnataka,Kerla,Tamilnadu and Karaikal region of Pondicherry with hieghest catchment area in Tamilnadu and Karnataka Next to it.

The principal tributaries of Cauvery in Karnataka are the Harangi, the Hemavathy, the Lakshmanathirtha, the Kabini, the Shimsha, the Arkavathi and the Suvarnavathy. All these rivers except the Kabini River, Arkavathy River and Suvarnavathy River rise and flow fully in Karnataka.

1. Harangi River 1067 mtrs above Pushpagiri Hills of western ghats and drains only Karnataka.
2.Hemavathy 1219 Mtrs high, at Bellarayana Durga in western ghats and draining area is karnataka.
3.Kabini 2140 Mtrs High, Western ghats in kerla, and drains Karnataka Kerla and Tamilnadu
4.Suvarnavathy originates at Nasrur Ghat range and drains karnataka and Tamilnadu
5.Lakshmanathirtha raises at 1950 Mtrs Height in Western Ghats and drains Karnataka.
6.Shimsha 914 Mtrs height at Tumkur District and drains Karnataka
7.Arkavathy raises at a height of 1480 Mtrs in Nandidurga and drains Karnataka and Tamilnadu

NORTH PENNAR RIVER SYSTEM :

Originates from Nandi hills of Kolar ->Uttara Pinakini (North Pennar River ) It is an inter state river covering Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh

SOUTH PENNAR RIVER SYSTEM
 Raises from Nandi hills of Kolar also an inter state river of Karnataka and Tamilnadu

PALAR RIVER SYSTEM :Origin at Talagavara village in Kolar, 900 meters, Palar is also an interstate river i.e Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh Tamil Nadu

WEST FLOWING RIVER SYSTEM :

The Western Ghats provides a principal geographical barrier in the path of the Arabian Sea branch of the Southwest monsoon, and is principally responsible for the heavy rainfall over the western coastal belt. The Southwest monsoon season (june to september) is the principal rainy season, over 90 % of annual rainfall is realised in this period.

The rivers in the Western Ghats region generally originate at an elevation ranging from 400 meters to 1,600 meters above the mean sea level, close to the Western Ghats ridge. The rivers generally flow westward and meet the Arabian Sea after a short run varying from 50 kms to 300 kms. the rivers are very steep in the upper reaches and fairly steep in the middle reaches. It is only near the sea that they have relatively flat gradients and some sort of flood plain.

1. Mahadayi/Mandavi Raises above 600mtrs in Western Ghats, Belgaum District and an inter state river of Karnataka and Goa
2.Kaali nadi Raises above 600 mtrs in Bidi Village Western ghats and drains Karnataka
3.Gangavalli raises 700 mtrs above in western ghats south of Dharwad and drain Karnataka
4.Aghanashini raises above 500 metres in western ghats near Sirsi and drains karnataka alone
5.Sharavathi raises at 700 mtrs height in western ghats Humacha in shimoga distrrict and drains Karnataka
6.Chakra Nadi 600 mtrs Height, East of kodachadri in shimoga District and drainage area is karnataka
7.Varahi nadi (Haladi) originiates at 600 Height Kavaledurga in Shimoga District and drainage area is karnataka
8.Nethravathy Nadi, 1000Mtrs height, At Bellarayanadurga in Dakshina Kannada Distrrict and drains karnataka
9.Barpole (Valapattanam) above 900 Mtrs in Brhamagiri ghat reserve forest in Coorg and drains Karnataka and Kerla.

KAS Prelims Question papers 2012

KAS prelims question papers of the exam conducted on 22nd April 2012 available online at the following link
http://kpsc.kar.nic.in/GP%202011%20PRELIMS%20QUESTION%20PAPERS.htm

Key ansers are also provided in the website.

I have Deleted the post Prelim Calculation and Analysis, Since came to know through Manjunath's Comment that they are providing OMR sheets and there is no chance that the Prelims marks calculation can go wrong. Manjunath thanks for that.
I do not Have any problem in Publishing your Scores anywhere outside This Blog, It is just my opinion that you will not gain much by comparing yourself with 100 or few more scores, the truth is Competing group is little huge than you see on Internet. and i just want to say that Concentrate on future studies not on past.

Once Again My humble Request, Do no Send Cut off Queres here.

Five year plans

Jaikumar sent a very useful link on Five year plans of India long time back. Thanks a lot Jaykumar.

From Comments section
"
Find short notes on Five year Plans here : http://www.scribd.com/doc/82248848/Five-Year-Plans

By Jaikumar. on General Studies on 21/02/12 "

KAS Prelims 2012 Over what Next?

Karnataka Administrative services Preliminary examination was held on April 22nd by KPSC.

What Next ???

For those who did well in the exam and confident you would crack prelims without doubt... Please relax and start Preparing for mains without any long delay, you can take a break of 3 days... and start your work again...

Those who feel "I may pass or may not pass" ... just stop worrying about the results... take a small break and Start preparing for mains as if you have already passed Prelims... Tell me one thing What is the use of worrying that i did not do well, and wait till the results announced, By chance if you pass, you might regret that you wasted a lot of time... Anyways Your preparation will not go waste, there is always a next Great Chance...It is NOT The End, "Picture abhi Baaki hai Dost... "

For those Who wrote the exam without preparation just to check how the paper will be...
There are 2 possibilities - Might feel Paper is OK If I study then can pass , or else Feel that There is so much to study i think it is very tough
In Any of the above 2 cases if you are serious about the exam Want to succeed Then Just thinking about the paper will not help, Leave it aside, now you know the main theme and the style of KPSC. Prepare yourself in that respect.

Do's and Dont's:


First  of All.... Do not calculate the no of correct and wrong answers you attempted... this may reduce your confidence. Lot of people Enter Group discussions on Cut off Marks the no of people wrote etc etc... and Statistics on Cut off and results.... Before you talk about this... just Answer yourself " What is the big deal out of this? "
Whatever happened is gone... cant change... By the way Just because some one said Cut off will be around 250 300...Will you not eat sleep study??? Please don't waste your precious time in such things ... KPSC is the only person who can decide on cut off and correct answers...

Collect all old Mains Question papers, you will get to know the Pattern of Questions and then Prepare answers if you have not done it previously, You can also frame new questions and have answers for the same. 
Avoid Negative thoughts whether i will pass or not, Also avoid people who are Opportunists and who may discourage you in any ways...

Do not share your style of writing with others and at the same time don't copy others way of writing if you are a huge group and  lot of friends. Just be Unique. That Doesn't mean You should not Help others or discuss with others, Am talking about sharing the style of writing...

Check your speed of writing and Handwriting also...

Prelims is just a Small Step for your success Mains is a Bigger Stepping Stone... Total marks is the major Deciding Factor. Hence Give importance your writing... not just reading...

Wish you all the luck for Mains........:)

Geography some topics

I will keep updating the topic headings which i feel are important for mains as well as Prelims. Prepare notes on them, and don't go through the factual things understand thoroughly so that u can answer any direct or indirect Question.

Earthquake , Plate tectonics, P waves S waves and Surface Waves, Tsunami, Continental drift theory..........

----will be continued

Biodiversity

Bio diversity is all those different forms of life on earth

The United nations held Summit for Biodiversity in Rio de Janerio in 1992 also called as the Earth Summit,  you can even call it Rio summit as it was held in place called Rio de Janerio
UN declared the year 2010 as international year for bio diversity


Coming up next ----> India's contribution to biodiversity and other important topics