Difference between conventional and non conventional sources of Energy

Conventional Energy Resources:

Convention really means tradition thus conventional resources are those resources which are being used from past by humans. But these resources are not eco friendly and their carbon particles do not combust properly. The conventional sources of Energy includes :

-Coal, petroleum natural gas are the conventional sources for Thermal power in India.

-Water is the conventional source for Hydel Power, etc

Non conventional Energy Resources are those which are recently discovered and their technology was not fully matured and is under research stage of development.

Non-conventional (or unusual) sources of energy include:

• Solar power

• Hydro-electric power (dams in rivers)

• Wind power

• Tidal power

• Ocean wave power

• Geothermal power (heat from deep under the ground)

• Ocean thermal power (the difference in heat between shallow and deep water)

• Biomass (burning of vegetation to stop it producing methane)

• Biofuel (producing ethanol (petroleum) from plants

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Fluorosis - Types - Causes - Impact - Prevention in India

Fluorosis is a disease caused due to excessive ingestion of the trace element, Fluoride through water or food. It not only affects Human but also other aspects of the Ecosystem.

Fluorosis is of two kinds:

1. Dental Fluorosis                                          

2. Skeletal Fluorosis

In Dental Fluorosis, the teeth lose their shining and they gradually get spots of brownish and yellowsih colour. The Fluorine removed teeth enamel coat over the teeth and in a later stage, the teeth get dropped. It mainly occurs in children in the age group of 0-14 years when the children are exposed to a high intake of Fluoride before the teeth fully get mineralized.

The symptoms of Dental Fluorosis are:

•  Chalky White patches on the teeth
• Yellow stained teeth
•  Brown stained teeth
•  Discoloration of teeth
• Weak teeth

In Skeletal Fluorosis, the Skeletal bones are affected. It is caused due to excessive ingestion of Fluoride over a prolonged period of time. This is responsible for disorderly development of the twist of skeletal bones. Skeletal Fluorosis can lead to a crippling stage where the Spinal cord and Spinal nerves are compressed which can eventually lead to Paralysis. This can affect persons in any age group.

 The symptoms of Skeletal Fluorosis are:

•  Pain in the Joints
•  Abnormal growth of bones at the Joints
•   Inactive Movements
•  Respiratory problems

Fluorosis in its severe form (skeletal fluorosis) is a crippling disorder that occurs due to excess intake of fluoride, mainly through drinking water. The effects, being permanent and irreversible in nature, are detrimental to the health of the individual and the community, which in turn has an impact on the growth, development, economy and human resource.

Present Status of Fluorosis in India:

• The permissible fluoride limit, as per BIS is 1 ppm in drinking water. At least 19 States have been identified with fluoride in water level above the safe limit. 
• At least 230 districts in 19 States are affected by fluorosis. 
• These States are Andhra Pardesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Orissa, Punjab, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Kerala, Assam, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.
• The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has initiated a National Programme for Prevention and Control of Fluorosis (NPPCF) in 100 districts of 17 affected-States during the XIth Five Year Plan. 

Fluorosis Prevention in India:

• Fluorosis cannot be cured but it can only be prevented.
• The best and only way to prevent fluorosis is providing safe drinking water to people.
• Nutritional food rich in Vitamin C and D, Calcium, Magnesium  can prevent Fluorosis to some extent. The presence of Calcium in gut directly affects the absorption of Fluoride ions and will also improve serum calcium levels.
•  In highly endemic areas, safe drinking water should be provided either through Pipe line water supply or through other alternative sources.
• Rain water harvesting will help people's problem to a larger extent.

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Public Debt of Andhra Pradesh in 2013

The outstanding public debt of Andhra Pradesh will touch a whopping Rs 1,79,637 crore during 2013-14, much higher than overall State expenditure planned for the fiscal at Rs 1,61,348 crore.

In 2007-08 the total debt of Andhra Pradesh is  Rs 82,478 crore in 2007-08. Presently  the State debt occupies 20.91 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product.

Components of Public debt:

• the market borrowings constitute about 55.35 per cent.
• Central loan component as against total debt is about 13 per cent

The interest payment against Government debt has shot up from Rs 9675 crore in 2011-12 to Rs 10,561 crore in 2011-12.

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Demographic features of Andhra Pradesh - Group 1 Mains

Demographic features of Andhra Pradesh with a view into Natural and Social Advantages

Andhra Pradesh Population Census 2011 - Urban Population Overview

Census 2011 Rank:

• Fourth largest state by area
• fifth largest by population
• Total polpulation of 8.47 crore inhabitants.
• The State accounts for 7% of the country’s population.
• Rate of Growth of population during 2001-11 which has come down to 11.1 percent compared to 14.6 percent in the previous decade 1991-2001.
• 66.5% of the total population lives in rural areas while 33.5% live in urban areas.
• The Sex Ratio in the State, up from 978 in 2001 to 992 in 2011, is higher than All India ratio of 940 in 2011.
• Child Sex Ratio (CSR) remains a concern as the state has registered a decline by 18 points in CSR from 943 in the 2011 Census from 961 in 2001 Census

AP Census 2011

Literacy rates of Andhra Pradesh:

Literacy Rate in Andhra Pradesh has witnessed upward trend and is 67.66 percent as per 2011 population census. Of that, male literacy stands at 75.56 percent while female literacy is at 59.74 percent. In actual numbers, total literates in Andhra Pradesh stands at 51,438,510 of which 28,759,782 were male were and 22,678,728 female.

 Literacy rate in Andhra Pradesh stood at  60.47 percent of which male and female were 71.16 percent and 50.29 percent literate respectively in 2001.

The geographical area of the AP

• Area: 275,045 sq km
•  5 categories of soils spread across 9 Agro-Climatic zones.
• 2nd longest coastline in the country with a length of 974 km.
• The State has a Forest area of 63,814 Sq.Kms as per the Forest records, which accounts for 23.2% the total geographical area.

Socio-economic and demographic advantages of Andhra Pradesh:

• Andhra Pradesh historically called as the "Rice Bowl of India" and continues to be the largest producer of Rice in the country.
• Leading producer of cash crops like Tobacco, Groundnut, Chillies, Turmeric, Oilseeds, Cotton, Sugar and Jute.
• Horticulture outputs like finest varieties of fruit like mango, grapes, guava, sapota, papaya and bananas.
• Has witnessed development in sectors like IT and Telecom and continues to be a preferred destination in the country.
• The State is an important tourist hub both for national and international travelers with several holy pilgrim centres, ports, rivers, beaches and hill stations.

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Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System - Indian GPS Overview - Mains

Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System: Overview

• The IRNSS will have a constellation of seven satellites
• the IRNSS-1A is the first of the seven regional, satellite-aided navigation systems built by ISRO.
• The satellite will be kept in geosynchronous Orbit at a height of 36000kms.
• The System is intended to provide an absolute position accuracy of better than 20 meters throughout India and within a region extending approximately 2,000 km around it.

Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System

• The IRNSS-1A will provide accurate information on the position of cars/trucks, ships and aircraft vis-à-vis their destination, with the help of a receiver.
• It could be an independent receiver, or built into a mobile phone, a car or a ship. The satellite can provide precise information when the aircraft is about to land on the runway.
• The pilot will know how far he is from the runway or at what height he is above the runway, with an accuracy of 20 metres.
• Unlike the Global Positioning System (GPS) which can be used anywhere, this is called a regional navigation system because it is available to users in India and the surrounding region. A highly accurate atomic clock is part of the navigation payload of the satellite.
• Thus, the IRNSS applications include terrestrial, aerial and marine navigation, disaster management, tracking of vehicles, guiding hikers and travellers, and visual and voice navigation for drivers.

Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System

The ground segment of IRNSS constellation would consist of a

• Master Control Center (MCC),
• ground stations to track and estimate the satellites' orbits and ensure the integrity of the network (IRIM), and
• additional ground stations to monitor the health of the satellites with the capability of issuing radio commands to the satellites (TT&C stations). 

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Tags: explanation and working of Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System, India's GPS system, Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System, ISRO Navigation Centre (INC), sattelite navigation system of india, what is Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System

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Growth of Communalism

Communalism is a belief that all those who have a common religion also have, as a result, common social, political, cultural and economic interests and identities. It is a notion that religion forms the base of the society and a basic unit of division and that it is religion which determines all other interests of its adherents.

The genesis of communalism in India can be found in the British conquest of India and its impact on the people. The British conquest marked the decline of upper class Muslims, particularly in Bengal where they lost their preeminence in employment in army, judiciary and administration. Slowly with the Permanent Settlement of 1793 along with the making of English the official court language in 1833 the upper class Muslims began to lose their power and influence. In the Indian situation, the loss of Muslims was the gain of Hindus as they had responded more positively to education and other modernizing forces.

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The highlights of the Disaster Management Act, 2005

1. Creation of new institutions at National level, State level and District level as follows:

i) National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)

ii) State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA)

iii) District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA)

 2. Constitution of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF)

3. Setting up of National Disaster Reserve funds and State Disaster Reserve Fund for immediate response
work

4. Formation of National Institute of Disaster Mitigation (NIDM) for building the capacities of various stake
holders involved in Disaster Mitigation and Response programs

5, Multi-stakeholder participation of Corporates and NGOs in the Disaster Relief, Rehabilitation, Mitigation
and Risk Reduction work

6. A National Executive Committee (NEC) was constituted under the NDMA with Union Home Secretary as
the Chairperson to monitor, co-ordinate and oversee the functions of the Departments concerned with
respect to Disaster Mitigation

7. The State level Relief and Rehabilitation Departments were renamed as Department of Disaster
Management and held responsible for Disaster Mitigation, Risk Reduction, Preparedness and early
Response

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Calamities included under National Disaster Management Act - First Schedule List & Second Schedule for Nodal Ministries to various types of Disasters

“Disaster” means a catastrophe or calamity, resulting from natural or man made causes or by accident or negligence, which results in substantial loss of life or property, or human suffering or degradation of environment and shall include the calamities referred to in the First Schedule and does not include incidents  like riots, wars, terrorist activities, etc.

The First Schedule

CALAMITIES

Water and Climate Related Calamities

1. Flood or drainage

2. Cyclone

3. Hurricane

4. Hailstorm

5. Cloud burst

6. Heat wave

7. Cold wave

8. Drought

9. Crop failure

10. Famines

11. Sea erosion

12. Snow storm

13. Blizzard

14. Sand storm

15. Thunder or lightning

Geologically Related Calamities

16. Landslides, rock-slides or mudflows

17. Earthquakes

18. Avalanche

19. Volcanic eruptions

20. Rivers changing path

Chemical, Industrial and Nuclear Related

Calamities

21. Chemical and industrial disasters

22. Nuclear disasters

Accident Related Calamities

23. Forest fires

24. Urban fires

25. Mine flooding or mine fires or mine collapse

26. Oil spill

27. Building collapse

28. Dam failures/dam bursts

29. Festival related disasters

30. Fire and electrical disasters

31. Air, road and train accidents

32. Boat capsizing

33. Village fire

Biologically Related Calamities

34. Biological disasters and epidemics

35. Pest attacks

36. Cattle epidemics

37. Food poisoning

The Second Schedule -NODAL MINISTRIES

Drought	Ministry of Agriculture
Epidemics & Biological Disasters	Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
Chemical Disasters	Ministry of Environment & Forests
Nuclear Disasters	Ministry of Atomic Energy
Air Accidents	Ministry of Civil Aviation
Railway Accidents	Ministry of Railways

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Susceptibility of India to Natural Disasters in India based on types of disasters

Earthquakes: During the last 20 years, India has experienced 10 major earthquakes that have claimed more than 35,000 lives. Almost 58% of our total land mass is prone to earthquakes of moderate to very high intensity. The Himalayan mountain range is undergoing constant geological changes (crustal movements) resulting in frequent earthquakes and landslides.

Floods: Floods in the Indo-Gangetic – Brahmaputra plains are an annual feature.  Several thousands of lives have been lost, millions have been rendered homeless and 8 million hectares of crops are damaged every year.  India receives 75% of rains during the monsoon season (June – September). As a result almost all the rivers carry heavy waters during this time resulting in sediment deposition, drainage congestion, invading into the main land. 40 million hectares of land is vulnerable to floods with about 30 million people affected by flood every year.  Floods brought severe drought in arid and semi arid areas. About 12% of the total land mass is flood prone.

Cyclones: India has a long coastline running 7,516 km long and the entire coastal stretch is exposed to Tsunami, cyclone, Tidal waves and storm surges. On an average, five to six tropical cyclones strike every year, of which two or three are very severe. More cyclones occur in the Bay of Bengal than in the Arabian Sea and the ratio is approximately 4:1. Every year the eastern coast is affected by cyclones and Tsunami. The Orissa Super Cyclone (1999) and the India Tsunami 2004 claimed thousands and thousands of human lives devastating agricultural crops and rendering lakhs and lakhs of people homeless.

Drought: The Desert which is located in the western region of the country and the Deccan Plateau face recurring droughts due to acute shortage of rainfall. About 50 million people are affected annually by drought and 40 million hectares of land are prone to scanty or no rain.

Landslides: Landslides are yet another recurrent phenomenon in the hilly regions of India such as Himalayas, North-East India and Eastern and Western Ghat regions. The major Landslide disaster that took place was at Malpa Uttarkhand (UP) in the year 1998 when nearly 380 people were killed when massive landslides washed away the entire village. The 2010 Leh cloudburst led to flash mudslides and flash floods that killed 196 people swept away a number of houses and public buildings.

Cold waves: Cold waves are common and recurrent disaster in North India. During the winter season due to extreme cold climates, hundreds of people die of cold bites and related diseases every year. The impact is more on the urban poor.

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Total Loss dues to Natural disasters in India

Natural Disasters from 1980 – 2010   -    An Overview

Over View
No of events	431
No of people killed:	143,039
Average killed per year:	4,614
No of people affected:	1,521,726,127
Average affected per year:	49,087,940
Economic Damage (US$ X 1,000):	48,063,830
Economic Damage per year (US$ X 1,000):	1,550,446

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Major Disasters that struck India in the recent decades

1. Uttarkashi Earthquake in  1991

2. Killani Earthquake in 1993

3. Latur Earthquake in Maharashtra  in 1993

4. Koyama Earthquake in 1997

5. Chamoli Earthquake in Uttarakhand in 1999

6. Super Cyclone in Orissa in 1999

7. Bhuj Earthquake in 2001

8. Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004

9. Kashmir Earthquake in 2005

10. Barmer Floods in Rajasthan in 2006

11. Kosi Floods in Bihar in 2008

12. Cyclone Aila in West Bengal in 2009

13. Cyclone Laila in Andhra Pradesh in  2009

11. Cloudburst in Leh in 2010

12. Thane Cyclone in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry 2011

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Biodiesel Compared to Petroleum Diesel

Advantages	Disadvantages
Domestically produced from non-petroluem, renewable resources Can be used in most diesel engines, especially newer ones Less air pollutants (other than nitrogen oxides) Less greenhouse gas emissions (e.g., B20 reduces CO2 by 15%) Biodegradable Non-toxic Safer to handle	Use of blends above B5 not yet approved by many auto makers Lower fuel economy and power (10% lower for B100, 2% for B20) Currently more expensive B100 generally not suitable for use in low temperatures Concerns about B100's impact on engine durability Slight increase in nitrogen oxide emissions possible in some circumstances

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Uses of Genetically modified animals

GM farm animals to:

• increase meat production through rapid growth or leaner animals
• improve the amount and quality of wool
• alter the composition of milk to make better cheese, to reduce intolerance to milk or to produce medicines and neutraceuticals
• increase disease resistance
• reduce pollution from pig manure
• produce strong, spider-silk fibres in goat milk for military use.
  
  
  
  
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Genetically Modified Animals and Issues

Animal welfare issues associated with GM animals:

• Only 1–3% of experiments to genetically modify animals are successful.
• Cloning is often used with the genetic modification, which increases losses of embryos and offspring at around the time of birth. GM and cloned animals are often oversized, weak and susceptible to disease. In experiments, 50% of calves died before weaning, and mice had greater than normal illness in later life plus abnormalities in future generations. There is no information for GM farm animals on what might happen in the future.
• Belgian Blue beef cattle have double-muscling genes producing muscles that bodybuilders would envy. This may be good for beef production but not for reproduction. As calves are so big, births are painful and most are by (repeated) caesarian section.
• GM of gut microbes could make fodder more digestible for farm animals. However, the GM microbes could unbalance the gut, cause disease to the animals and contaminate food.
• Developing GM (transgenic) pigs to produce donor organs for humans causes public concern but this is mostly about the ethics of human use, rather than about the welfare of the pigs. Research in GM mice with a gene involved in organ rejection has shown vision impairment and increased susceptibility to blood infections.
  
  
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Ethical issues of transgenic animals

Transgenic animals raise several particular moral issues (quite apart from any damage they might do to the environment):

• Are animals that combine species an unethical alteration of the natural order of the universe?
• Is it unethical to modify an animal's genetic make-up for a specific purpose, without knowing in advance if there will be any side-effects that will cause suffering to the animal?
• Does 'creating' animals by genetic engineering amount to treat the animals entirely as commodities?
• Is it unethical to create 'diseased' animals that are very likely to suffer?
• Suffering may last for a long time in these animals as researchers want to conduct long-term investigations into the development of diseases

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Benefits of Cloning

• Human cloning technology could be used to reverse heart attacks.  Scientists believe that they may be able to treat heart attack victims by cloning their healthy heart cells and injecting them into the areas of the heart that have been damaged.  Heart disease is the number one killer in the United States and several other industrialized countries.
• There has been a breakthrough with human stem cells.  Embryonic stem cells can be grown to produce organs or tissues to repair or replace damaged ones.  Skin for burn victims, brain cells for the brain damaged, spinal cord cells for quadriplegics and paraplegics, hearts, lungs, livers, and kidneys could be produced.  By combining this technology with human cloning technology it may be possible to produce needed tissue for suffering people that will be free of rejection by their immune systems.  Conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, diabetes, heart failure, degenerative joint disease, and other problems may be made curable if human cloning and its technology are not banned.
• Infertility.  With cloning, infertile couples could have children.  Despite getting a fair amount of publicity in the news current treatments for infertility, in terms of percentages, are not very successful.  One estimate is that current infertility treatments are less than 10 percent successful.  Couples go through physically and emotionally painful procedures for a small chance of having children.  Many couples run out of time and money without successfully having children.  Human cloning could make it possible for many more infertile couples to have children than ever before possible.
• Plastic, reconstructive, and cosmetic surgery.  Because of human cloning and its technology the days of silicone breast implants and other cosmetic procedures that may cause immune disease should soon be over. With the new technology, instead of using materials foreign to the body for such procedures, doctors will be able to manufacture bone, fat, connective tissue, or cartilage that matches the patients tissues exactly.  Anyone will able to have their appearance altered to their satisfaction without the leaking of silicone gel into their bodies or the other problems that occur with present day plastic surgery. Victims of terrible accidents that deform the face should now be able to have their features repaired with new, safer, technology. Limbs for amputees may be able to be regenerated.
• Breast implants.  Most people are aware of the breast implant fiasco in which hundreds of thousands of women received silicone breast implants for cosmetic reasons.  Many came to believe that the implants were making them ill with diseases of their immune systems.  With human cloning and its technology breast augmentation and other forms of cosmetic surgery could be done with implants that would not be any different from the person's normal tissues.
• Defective genes.  The average person carries 8 defective genes inside them.  These defective genes allow people to become sick when they would otherwise remain healthy.  With human cloning and its technology it may be possible to ensure that we no longer suffer because of our defective genes.
• Down's syndrome. Those women at high risk for Down's syndrome can avoid that risk by cloning.
• Tay-Sachs disease. This is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder could be prevented by using cloning to ensure that a child does not express the gene for the disorder
• Liver failure. We may be able to clone livers for liver transplants
• Kidney failure. We may be able to clone kidneys for kidney transplants
• Leukemia.  We should be able to clone the bone marrow for children and adults suffering from leukemia.  This is expected to be one of the first benefits to come from cloning technology.
• Cancer.  We may learn how to switch cells on and off through cloning and thus be able to cure cancer.  Scientists still do not know exactly how cells differentiate into specific kinds of tissue, nor to they understand why cancerous cells lose their differentiation.  Cloning, at long last, may be the key to understanding differentiation and cancer.
• Cystic fibrosis.  We may be able to produce effective genetic therapy against cystic fibrosis.  Ian Wilmut and colleagues are already working on this problem.
• Spinal cord injury. We may learn to grow nerves or the spinal cord back again when they are injured.  Quadriplegics might be able to get out of their wheelchairs and walk again.  Christopher Reeves, the man who played Superman, might be able to walk again.
• Testing for genetic disease.  Cloning technology can be used to test for and perhaps cure genetic diseases.

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Biotechnology in Environmental clean up processes -

Environmental biotechnology is the used in waste treatment and pollution prevention. Environmental biotechnology can more efficiently clean up many wastes than conventional methods and greatly reduce our dependence on methods for land-based disposal.

Every organism ingests nutrients to live and produces by-products as a result. Different organisms need different types of nutrients. Some bacteria thrive on the chemical components of waste products. Environmental engineers use bioremediation, the broadest application of environmental biotechnology, in two basic ways. They introduce nutrients to stimulate the activity of bacteria already present in the soil at a waste site, or add new bacteria to the soil. The bacteria digest the waste at the site and turn it into harmless byproducts. After the bacteria consume the waste materials, they die off or return to their normal population levels in the environment.

Bioremediation, is an area of increasing interest. Through application of biotechnical methods, enzyme bioreactors are being developed that will pretreat some industrial waste and food waste components and allow their removal through the sewage system rather than through solid waste disposal mechanisms.  Waste can also be converted to biofuel to run generators. Microbes can be induced to produce enzymes needed to convert plant and vegetable materials into building blocks for biodegradable plastics (7).

In some cases, the byproducts of the pollution-fighting microorganisms are themselves useful. For example, methane can be derived from a form of bacteria that degrades sulfur liquor, a waste product of paper manufacturing. This methane can then be used as a fuel or in other industrial processes. 

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Plant nutrients - Primary nutrients, Secondary Nutrients and Micro nutrients

16 nutrients are essential for proper crop development. Each is equally important to the plant, yet each is required in vastly different amounts. These differences have led to the grouping of these essential elements into three categories; primary (macro) nutrients, secondary nutrients, and micronutrients.

PRIMARY (MACRO) NUTRIENTS

Primary (macro) nutrients are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. They are the most frequently required in a crop fertilization program. Also, they are need in the greatest total quantity by plants as fertilizer.

NITROGEN

· Necessary for formation of amino acids, the building blocks of protein 
· Essential for plant cell division, vital for plant growth 
· Directly involved in photosynthesis 
· Necessary component of vitamins 
· Aids in production and use of carbohydrates 
· Affects energy reactions in the plant

PHOSPHORUS

· Involved in photosynthesis, respiration, energy storage and transfer, cell division, and enlargement 
· Promotes early root formation and growth 
· Improves quality of fruits, vegetables, and grains 
· Vital to seed formation 
· Helps plants survive harsh winter conditions 
· Increases water-use efficiency 
· Hastens maturity

POTASSIUM

  
· Carbohydrate metabolism and the break down and translocation of starches 
· Increases photosynthesis 
· Increases water-use efficiency 
· Essential to protein synthesis 
· Important in fruit formation 
· Activates enzymes and controls their reaction rates 
· Improves quality of seeds and fruit 
· Improves winter hardiness 
· Increases disease resistance

SECONDARY NUTRIENTS 
 

The secondary nutrients are calcium, magnesium, and sulphur. For most crops, these three are needed in lesser amounts that the primary nutrients. They are growing in importance in crop fertilization programs due to more stringent clean air standards and efforts to improve the environment.

CALCIUM

  
· Utilized for Continuous cell division and formation 
· Involved in nitrogen metabolism 
· Reduces plant respiration 
· Aids translocation of photosynthesis from leaves to fruiting organs 
· Increases fruit set 
· Essential for nut development in peanuts 
· Stimulates microbial activity

MAGNESIUM

  
· Key element of chlorophyll production 
· Improves utilization and mobility of phosphorus 
· Activator and component of many plant enzymes 
· Directly related to grass tetany 
· Increases iron utilization in plants 
· Influences earliness and uniformity of maturity

SULPHUR

  
· Integral part of amino acids 
· Helps develop enzymes and vitamins 
· Promotes nodule formation on legumes 
· Aids in seed production 
· Necessary in chlorophyll formation (though it isn't one of the constituents)

MICRONUTRIENTS

The micronutrients are boron, chlorine, cooper, iron, manganese, molybdenum, and zinc. These plant food elements are used in very small amounts, but they are just as important to plant development and profitable crop production as the major nutrients. Especially, they work "behind the scene" as activators of many plant functions.

BORON

· Essential of germination of pollon grains and growth of pollen tubes 
· Essential for seed and cell wall formation 
· Promotes maturity 
· Necessary for sugar translocation 
· Affects nitrogen and carbohydrate

CHLORINE

· Not much information about its functions 
· Interferes with P uptake 
· Enhances maturity of small grains on some soils

COPPER

· Catalyzes several plant processes 
· Major function in photosynthesis 
· Major function in reproductive stages 
· Indirect role in chlorophyll production 
· Increases sugar content 
· Intensifies color 
· Improves flavor of fruits and vegetables

IRON

· Promotes formation of chlorophyll 
· Acts as an oxygen carrier 
· Reactions involving cell division and growth

MAGANESE

· Functions as a part of certain enzyme systems 
· Aids in chlorophyll synthesis 
· Increases the availability of P and CA

MOLYBDENUM

· Required to form the enzyme "nitrate reductas" which reduces nitrates to ammonium in plant 
· Aids in the formation of legume nodules 
· Needed to convert inorganic phosphates to organic forms in the plant

ZINC

· Aids plant growth hormones and enzyme system 
· Necessary for chlorophyll production 
· Necessary for carbohydrate formation 
· Necessary for starch formation 
· Aids in seed formation

In addition to the 13 nutrients listed above, plants require carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, which are extracted from air and water to make up the bulk of plant weight.

 

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(Useful for UPSC General Studies, APPSC Group 1 Group 2 , Mains Material, Paper 1, Paper 4 Section 1 Section 2 Section 3, ROLE AND IMPACT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF INDIA, GENERAL AWARENESS WITH THE MODERN TRENDS IN LIFE SCIENCES, DEVELOPMENT & ENVIRONMENT PROBLEMS) 

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Exploitation of Animals

(1) For Commercial Purposes : Millions of animals are killed annually for skin, fur, ivory, horns and other parts. Some animals like foxes, ferrets, lemming bears, mink etc. are reared in fur forms where they lead a life of misery and pain in small cages. The passenger pigeons were killed because their meat was good to eat, their feazther4s could be used to make comfortable pillows. Similarly, blue whale, the world's largest animal has been hunted to near extinction for its oil, meat and bones.

(2) Illegal Trade in Animals : The illegal world trade in rare and endangered species of birds and animals is estimated to be US $ 8 billion per year. Most of the poachers in the developing countries are poor and illiterate and depend on this trade for their livelihood. They kill animals indiscriminately.

(3) For Entertainment : A number of animals like elephants, lions, bears, horses, dogs, cats, some birds like pigeons, hens, etc. are trained to perform in the circus, TV shows, on the streets, etc. during their training period, they are chained, whipped and tortured to perform and act as per the wishes their masters.

(4) For Experimentation : The severest form of cruelty is inflicted on the animals when they are captured and kept in the laboratories for testing new medicines, cosmetics, etc. All new medicines and cosmetics are first tested on the poor animals that are made to suffer the pain and side-effects on these tests. 

(5) For Domestic Needs : Some of the animals like bulls, Oscan, horses, etc. have to perform various duties for their master. Bulls, horses and camels are used in the carts to carry people and load. They are often made to perform tasks which are beyond their capacity.

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(Useful for UPSC General Studies, APPSC Group 1 Group 2 , Mains Material, Paper 1, Paper 4 Section 1 Section 2 Section 3, ROLE AND IMPACT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF INDIA, GENERAL AWARENESS WITH THE MODERN TRENDS IN LIFE SCIENCES, DEVELOPMENT & ENVIRONMENT PROBLEMS) 

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Specific Immunity

Specific immunity may be either genetic - an inherited ability to resist certain diseases because of one's species, race, sex, or individual genetics - or acquired. Specific immunity is dependent on the body's ability to identify a pathogen and prepare a specific response (antibody) to only that invader (antigen). antibodies are also referred to as immunoglobulins (lg). The acquired form can be further divided into natural and artificial forms, which in turn can each be either active or passive. After a description of the specific immune process, each of the four types is discussed. Did You Know?

Specific immunity is dependent on the agraulocytes (lymphocytes and monocytes) for its function. The monocytes metamorphose into macrophages, which dispose of foreign substances. The lymphocytes differentiate into either T lymphocytes (they mature in the thymus) or B lymphocytes (they mature in the bone marrow or fetal liver). Although both types of lympocytes take part in specific immunity, they do it in different ways.

The T cells neutralize their enemies through a process of cell-mediated immunity. This means that they attack antigens directly. They are effective against fungi, cancer cells, protozoa, and unfortunately, organ transplants. B cells use a process of humoral immunity (also called antibody-mediated immunity). This means that they secrete antibodies to "poison" their enemies.

Types of Acquired Immunity

Acquired immunity is categorized as active or passive and then is further subcategorized as natural or artificial. All describe ways that the body has acquired antibodies to specific diseases.

Active acquired immunity can take either of the following two forms:

1. Natural: Development of memory cells to protect the individual from a second exposure.
2. Artificial: Vaccination (immunization) that uses a greatly weakened form of the antigen, thus enabling the body to develop antibodies in response to this intentional exposure. Examples are the DTP and MMR vaccines.

Passive acquired immunity can take either of the following two forms:

1. Natural: Passage of antibodies through the placenta or breast milk.
2. Artificial: Use of immunoglobulins harvested from a donor who developed resistance against specific antigens

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(Useful for UPSC General Studies, APPSC Group 1 Group 2 , Mains Material, Paper 1, Paper 4 Section 1 Section 2 Section 3, ROLE AND IMPACT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF INDIA, GENERAL AWARENESS WITH THE MODERN TRENDS IN LIFE SCIENCES, DEVELOPMENT & ENVIRONMENT PROBLEMS) 

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