Check out my photos on Facebook

facebook Check out my photos on Facebook Hi Sarakishorekumar.sara, I set up a Facebook profile where I can post my pictures, videos and events and I want to add you as a friend so you can see it. First, you need to join Facebook! Once you join, you can also create your own profile. Thanks, Kishore To sign up for Facebook, follow the link below: http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=100001768513758&k=Z6E3Y6P4426DXGLJPB63QUYSVSK1346NUWHYFGPAW2&r Already have an account? Add this email address to your account. sarakishorekumar.sara@blogger.com was invited to join Facebook by Kishore Kumar. If you do not wish to receive this type of email from Facebook in the future, please click here to unsubscribe. Facebook, Inc. P.O. Box 10005, Palo Alto, CA 94303

Allu Arjun to marry Sneha Reddy

Allu Arjun who has great following among youth has fallen in love with a Hyderabad girl Sneha Reddy. He has been dating with her silently and finally told his decision to his parents. Now both the families - Allu Arjun's and Sneha Reddy's - are in talks over the alliance. Buzz is that Allu Aravind is in favor of his son's choice.

Sneha Reddy is daughter of Hyderabad based educationist K C Sekhar Reddy who runs
SCIENT Engineering College in Hyderabad. Sneha Reddy has finished her graduation in Hyderabad and alsodone MS in USA.

A RARE FACT ABOUT INDIAN COINS - Interesting stuff.

I Don't know how many of you know this fact… but I was not knowing...
(Got it as a forwarded)

Indian coins are mainly produced in 4 cities

1. Delhi

2. Mumbai

3. Hyderabad

4. Kolkata

The production in city puts an identification mark under the year of
issue. Coins produced in:

1. Delhi - have a dot

2. Mumbai - have a diamond

3. Hyderabad - have a star

4. Kolkata - Nothing beneath the year

Participating nations for XIX Commonwealth Games

Participating nations

Ø  There are currently 54 members of the Commonwealth of Nations, and 71 teams participate in the Games.

Ø  The four Home Nations of the United Kingdom – England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – send separate teams to the Commonwealth Games, and individual teams are also sent from the British Crown dependencies of Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man (unlike at the Olympic Games, where the combined "Great Britain" team represents all four home nations and the Crown dependencies).

Ø  Many of the British overseas territories also send their own teams.

Ø  The Australian external territory of Norfolk Island also sends its own team, as do the Cook Islands and Niue, two states in free association with New Zealand.

Ø  It was reported that Tokelau, another dependency of New Zealand would be sending a team to the 2010 Games in New Delhi, India. In the end however they did not.

Ø  All member nations of the Commonwealth of Nations participated in the event, except Fiji, which is suspended from the Commonwealth.

Ø  Rwanda fielded a team for the games for the first time after becoming a Commonwealth member in 2009.

 

Numbers of athletes are shown in brackets.

Anguilla (12)

 Antigua and Barbuda (17)

 Australia (377)

 Bahamas (25)

 Bangladesh (70)

 Barbados (39)

 Belize (9)

 Bermuda (14)

 Botswana (49)

 British Virgin Islands (2)

 Brunei (12)

 Cameroon (20)

 Canada (251)

 Cayman Islands (17)

 Cook Islands (31)

 Cyprus (56)

 Dominica (15)

 England (365)

  Falkland Islands (15)

 Gambia (17)

 Ghana (64)

 Gibraltar (15)

 Grenada (10)

 Guernsey (43)

 Guyana (34)

 India (495)

 Isle of Man (33)

 Jamaica (48)

 Jersey (33)

 Kenya (136)

 Kiribati(17)

 Lesotho (10)

 Malawi (43)

 Malaysia (203)

 Maldives (28)

 Malta (22)

  Mauritius (60)

 Montserrat (5)

 Mozambique (10)

 Namibia (30)

 Nauru (6)

 New Zealand (192)

 Nigeria (101) 

 Niue (24)

 Norfolk Island (22)

 Northern Ireland (80)

 Pakistan (54)

 Papua New Guinea (79)

 Rwanda (22)

 Saint Helena (4)

 Saint Kitts and Nevis (7)

 Saint Lucia (13)

 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines(14)

 Samoa (53)

  Scotland (191)

 Seychelles (26)

 Sierra Leone (31)

 Singapore (68)

 Solomon Islands (12)

 South Africa (113)

 Sri Lanka (93)

 Swaziland (11)

 Tanzania (40)

 Tonga (22)

 Trinidad and Tobago (82)

 Turks and Caicos Islands (8)

 Tuvalu (3)

 Uganda (65) 

 Vanuatu (14)

 Wales (175)

 Zambia (22)

 

Special investigation committee to probe the allegations of corruption and mismanagement

Ø  The day after the conclusion of the Games, the Indian Government announced the formation of a special investigation committee to probe the allegations of corruption and mismanagement that had marred the buildup to the Games.

Ø  The probe committee will be led by former Comptroller and Auditor General of India VK Shungloo. This probe will be in addition to the Central Bureau of Investigation, Enforcement Directorate, and Central Vigilance Commission investigations already underway.

About XIX Commonwealth Games

XIX Commonwealth Games

Ø  The 2010 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games, were held in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 2010.

Ø  A total of 6,081 athletes from 71 Commonwealth nations and dependencies competed in 17 sports and 272 events.

Ø  It was the largest international multi-sport event to be staged in Delhi and India, eclipsing the Asian Games in 1951 and 1982.

Ø  The opening and closing ceremonies were held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the main stadium of the event. It was the first time that the Commonwealth Games were held in India and the second time it was held in Asia after Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 1998.

Ø  All member nations of the Commonwealth of Nations participated in the event, except Fiji, which is suspended from the Commonwealth. and Tokelau, which didn't send a team.

Ø  The final medal tally was led by Australia. The host nation India gave its strongest performance yet to emerge second, while England placed third.

Ø  The games closed on 14th October in a colorful and appreciated closing ceremony featuring both Indian and Scottish performers.The Commonwealth Games flag was handed over to representatives of Glasgow, Scotland, which will host the XX Commonwealth Games in 2014.

 

Bids

Ø  The two principal bids for the 2010 Commonwealth Games were from Delhi, India and Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. A ballot of members was held in November 2003 at the Commonwealth Games Federation General Assembly in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Delhi bid won by a margin of 46 votes to 22, confirming India's first successful bid for the Games. The bid was Canada's attempt to hold the games for the fifth time.

Ø  India also thanked Latif Butt, former vice president of the Olympic Council of Asia, for his support in the winning bid.

 

Organising Committee

Ø  The Organising Committee Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi  (OC CWG Delhi 2010) came into being on 10 February 2005, as a registered society under the Societies Registration Act 1860.

Ø  It was resolved by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) in the General Assembly held in Jamaica on 13 November 2003 to entrust the organising and hosting of the XIX Commonwealth Games to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).

Ø  Jarnail Singh, a former Secretary of the Government of India, was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer and Indian Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi was appointed as head of the committee.

Ø  At the launch of the Queen's Baton Relay in October 2009, the Business Club of India (BCI) was formed through the partnership of the organising committee, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). The BCI was formed to both market the Games and promote Indian business interests internationally.

 

Logo

Ø  The logo of the XIX Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi is inspired by the Chakra, the national symbol of freedom, unity and power. Spiralling upwards, it depicts the growth of India into a proud, vibrant nation. Her billion people coming together to fulfil their true destinies. India`s journey from tradition to modernity, her economic transformation into a super power… reaching out to the world and leading the way, even as she enthusiastically embraces all the 71 CGA nations and territories of the Commonwealth to become one and host the best ever Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

 

Opening ceremony

Ø  The opening ceremony of the 2010 Commonwealth Games was held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the main stadium of the event, in New Delhi, India. It began at 7:00 PM (IST) on 3 October 2010 ending at 11:00 PM (IST) displaying India's varied culture in a plethora of cultural showcases. It was watched live by a global audience of around three billion.

Ø  Prince Charles, Prince of Wales (representing Queen Elizabeth II as Head of the Commonwealth) and President of India Pratibha Patil officially declared the Games open. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of the host nation, India, attended the opening ceremony as well.

Ø  A total of three heads of state from outside India attended the opening ceremony; two from Commonwealth nations and one from a non-Commonwealth nation. The three head of states are Mohamed Nasheed, President of the Maldives, Marcus Stephen, President of Nauru and a multiple Commonwealth gold medallist, and Prince Albert II of Monaco, whose country Monaco is not a member of the Commonwealth. As well, Sir Anand Satyanand, the Governor General of New Zealand (the first of Indian descent), attended the ceremony.

 

Theme song

Ø  The XIX Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi's theme song, Jiyo Utho Bado Jeeto (Live, Rise, Ascend, Win), music maestro A. R. Rahman's call to the people and athletes of India and the Commonwealth to come out and play was launched on 28 August 2010.

 

Official mascot

Ø  The official mascot for the 2010 Commonwealth Games is Shera, an anthropomorphised tiger.

Ø  The song 'Shera' was conceived and produced by Vikramjit Sahney. The music composer is Jeetu J. The song has been sung in Hindi and English by Vikramjit Sahney, Shibani Kashyap and Millind. It reflects the spirit of Shera, representing majesty, power, charisma and grace.

 

Green Commonwealth Games

Ø  Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games being recognised as the first ever "Green Commonwealth Games"

Ø  The organisers signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United Nations Environment Programme to show the intention to host a "sustainable games" and to take the environment into consideration when constructing and renovating venues. Thyagaraj Stadium is intended to be a key example of environmentally considered construction.

 

Queen's Baton Relay

Ø  The Queen's Baton Relay began when the baton, which contains Queen Elizabeth II's message to the athletes, left Buckingham Palace on 29 October 2009.

Ø  The baton arrived at the 2010 Games opening ceremony on 3 October 2010, after visiting the other 54 nations of the Commonwealth and travelling throughout India, reaching millions of people to join in the celebrations for the Games.The baton arrived in India on 25 June 2010 through the Wagah Border crossing from Pakistan.

Ø  The baton was designed by Michael Foley, a graduate of the National Institute of Design. It is a triangular section of aluminium twisted into a helix shape and then coated with coloured soils collected from all the regions of India. The coloured soils are a first for the styling of a Queen's Baton. A jewel-encrusted box was used to house the Queen's message, which was laser-engraved onto a miniature 18 carat gold leaf—representative of the ancient Indian 'patras.

Ø  The Queen's baton is ergonomically contoured for ease of use. It is 664 millimetres (26.1 in) high, 34 millimetres (1.3 in) wide at the base, and 86 millimetres (3.4 in) wide at the top and weighs 1,900 grams (67 oz).

Ø  The Queen's baton has a number of technological features including: a) The ability to capture images and sound. b) Global positioning system (GPS) technology so the baton's location can be tracked  c) Embedded light emitting diodes (LEDs) which will change into the colours of a country's flag whilst in that country

Ø  A text messaging capability so that people can send messages of congratulations and encouragement to the baton bearers throughout the relay

 

Sports for the 2010 Commonwealth Games

There were 17 sports for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

1. Aquatics :  Diving,  Swimming,  Synchronised swimming.

2. Archery (8)             3. Athletics (46)          4. Badminton (6)         5. Boxing (11) 

6. Cycling  : Road,  Track.

7. Gymnastics : Artistic gymnastics,  Rhythmic gymnastics.

8. Hockey (2)              9. Lawn bowls (6)       10. Netball (1)             11. Rugby sevens (1)              12. Shooting (44)              13. Squash (5) 

14. Table tennis (7)  15. Tennis (5)                16. Weightlifting (15)             17. Wrestling (21) 

Ø  Kabaddi was a demonstration sport at the Games.

Ø  Triathlon was excluded from the games as there was no suitable location for the swimming stage.

Ø  The organisers have also removed basketball, but included archery, tennis and wrestling.

Ø  Cricket, although in strong demand, did not make a come-back as the Board of Control for Cricket in India were not keen on a Twenty20 tournament, and the organisers did not want a one day tournament.

 

CSAT (Civil Services Aptitude Test) 2011 Syllabus

CSAT (Civil Services Aptitude Test) 2011 Syllabus

CSAT (Civil Services Aptitude Test) 2011 Syllabus

 

From Civil Service Examination 2011, Preliminary Examination would consist of two papers- Paper I and Paper II. The syllabus and pattern of the Preliminary Examination would be as under :

 

 

 

(Paper 1) (200 marks) - Duration : Two hrs.

 

 

 

· Current events of national and international importance

 

· History of India and Indian national movement

 

· Indian and World Geography- physical, social, economic geography of India and the world

 

· Indian Polity and governance – constitution, political system, panchayati raj, public policy, Rights issues, etc.

 

· Economic and social development – sustainable development, poverty, inclusion, demographics, social sector initiatives etc.

 

· General issues on environmental ecology, bio-diversity and climate change-that donot require subject specialization

 

· General science.

 

 

 

(Paper II) (200 marks) – Duration : Two hrs

 

· Comprehension

 

· Interpersonal skills including communication skills

 

· Logical reasoning and analytical ability

 

· Decision making and problem solving

 

· General mental ability

 

· Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude etc. (Class X level),  Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. –Class X level)

 

· English language comprehension skills (Class X level)

The Nobel Prize in Literature 2010

The Nobel Prize in Literature 2010

Mario Vargas Llosa

Mario Vargas Llosa

The Nobel Prize in Literature 2010 was awarded to Mario Vargas Llosa "for his cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual's resistance, revolt, and defeat".

The Nobel Prize in Physics 2010 Andre Geim, Konstantin Novoselov

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Physics for 2010 to

Andre Geim
University of Manchester, UK

and

Konstantin Novoselov
University of Manchester, UK

"for groundbreaking experiments regarding the two-dimensional material graphene"

 

Graphene – the perfect atomic lattice

A thin flake of ordinary carbon, just one atom thick, lies behind this year's Nobel Prize in Physics. Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov have shown that carbon in such a flat form has exceptional properties that originate from the remarkable world of quantum physics.

Graphene is a form of carbon. As a material it is completely new – not only the thinnest ever but also the strongest. As a conductor of electricity it performs as well as copper. As a conductor of heat it outperforms all other known materials. It is almost completely transparent, yet so dense that not even helium, the smallest gas atom, can pass through it. Carbon, the basis of all known life on earth, has surprised us once again.

Geim and Novoselov extracted the graphene from a piece of graphite such as is found in ordinary pencils. Using regular adhesive tape they managed to obtain a flake of carbon with a thickness of just one atom. This at a time when many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable.

However, with graphene, physicists can now study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties. Graphene makes experiments possible that give new twists to the phenomena in quantum physics. Also a vast variety of practical applications now appear possible including the creation of new materials and the manufacture of innovative electronics. Graphene transistors are predicted to be substantially faster than today's silicon transistors and result in more efficient computers.

Since it is practically transparent and a good conductor, graphene is suitable for producing transparent touch screens, light panels, and maybe even solar cells.

When mixed into plastics, graphene can turn them into conductors of electricity while making them more heat resistant and mechanically robust. This resilience can be utilised in new super strong materials, which are also thin, elastic and lightweight. In the future, satellites, airplanes, and cars could be manufactured out of the new composite materials.

This year's Laureates have been working together for a long time now. Konstantin Novoselov, 36, first worked with Andre Geim, 51, as a PhD-student in the Netherlands. He subsequently followed Geim to the United Kingdom. Both of them originally studied and began their careers as physicists in Russia. Now they are both professors at the University of Manchester.

Playfulness is one of their hallmarks, one always learns something in the process and, who knows, you may even hit the jackpot. Like now when they, with graphene, write themselves into the annals of science.

source:http://nobelprize.org/

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2010

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences  has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2010 to

Richard F. Heck
University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA,

Ei-ichi Negishi
Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA

and

Akira Suzuki
Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan

"for palladium-catalyzed cross couplings in organic synthesis"

 

Great art in a test tube

Organic chemistry has developed into an art form where scientists produce marvelous chemical creations in their test tubes. Mankind benefits from this in the form of medicines, ever-more precise electronics and advanced technological materials. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2010 awards one of the most sophisticated tools available to chemists today.

This year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded to Richard F. Heck, Ei-ichi Negishi and Akira Suzuki for the development of palladium-catalyzed cross coupling. This chemical tool has vastly improved the possibilities for chemists to create sophisticated chemicals, for example carbon-based molecules as complex as those created by nature itself.

Carbon-based (organic) chemistry is the basis of life and is responsible for numerous fascinating natural phenomena: colour in flowers, snake poison and bacteria killing substances such as penicillin. Organic chemistry has allowed man to build on nature's chemistry; making use of carbon's ability to provide a stable skeleton for functional molecules. This has given mankind new medicines and revolutionary materials such as plastics.

In order to create these complex chemicals, chemists need to be able to join carbon atoms together. However, carbon is stable and carbon atoms do not easily react with one another. The first methods used by chemists to bind carbon atoms together were therefore based upon various techniques for rendering carbon more reactive. Such methods worked when creating simple molecules, but when synthesizing more complex molecules chemists ended up with too many unwanted by-products in their test tubes.

Palladium-catalyzed cross coupling solved that problem and provided chemists with a more precise and efficient tool to work with. In the Heck reaction, Negishi reaction and Suzuki reaction, carbon atoms meet on a palladium atom, whereupon their proximity to one another kick-starts the chemical reaction.

Palladium-catalyzed cross coupling is used in research worldwide, as well as in the commercial production of for example pharmaceuticals and molecules used in the electronics industry.

source:http://nobelprize.org/

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Tendulkar takes top honours at glittering ICC Awards night............

ndia's cricketing icon Sachin Tendulkar was tonight named Cricketer of the Year at the prestigious LG ICC Awards, held at a glittering ceremony in Bengaluru.

Tendulkar was also named as the first recipient of the inaugural LG People's Choice Award and was named in both the Test and ODI Teams of the Year.

Tendulkar was joined on the winners' list by team-mate Virender Sehwag, who took the Test Player of the Year award while South Africa batsman AB de Villiers was named ODI Player of the Year. England's Steven Finn claimed his first ever ICC award when he was named Emerging Player of the Year.

Meanwhile, Australia's Shelley Nitschke became the second Australian to win the Women's Cricketer of the Year Award (former captain Karen Rolton took the prize in 2006) and Netherlands' Ryan ten Doeschate was named the Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year gong, an award recognising the contribution of the teams below Full Member status are making in the world of cricket.

In total there were nine individual awards handed out, as well as the Spirit of Cricket Award and the two ICC Teams of the Year - for Tests and ODIs.

Aleem Dar of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires won the Umpire of the Year Award for the second year in a row, while New Zealand took the Spirit of Cricket Award as it did in 2004 and in 2009.

The Twenty20 International Performance of the Year was won by New Zealand's Brendon McCullum who became the third-ever recipient of the honour. McCullum took the trophy following his spectacular 116 not out off 56 balls against Australia in Christchurch in February of this year.

ICC President Sharad Pawar said: "This past year of cricket has been another exciting one for players and supporters around the world in a time that included the ICC Champions Trophy 2009, the Men's and Women's ICC World Twenty20 2010 and ICC World Cricket League Division 1 and plenty of competitive Test and ODI cricket.

"These players have contributed hugely to our enjoyment and this night is all about recognising that excellence and talent."

The full list of winners is:

Cricketer of the Year (winning the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy) - Sachin Tendulkar (Ind)

- Women's Cricketer of the Year - Shelley Nitschke (Aus)

- Test Player of the Year - Virender Sehwag (Ind)

- ODI Player of the Year - AB de Villiers (SA)

- Emerging Player of the Year - Steven Finn (Eng)

- Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year - Ryan ten Doeschate (Ned)

- Twenty20 International Performance of the Year - Brendon McCullum (NZ)

- Spirit of Cricket - New Zealand

- Umpire of the Year (winning the David Shepherd Trophy) - Aleem Dar

ICC Test Team of the Year is as follows (in batting order):

- Virender Sehwag (Ind)

- Simon Katich (Aus)

- Sachin Tendulkar (Ind)

- Hashim Amla (SA)

- Kumar Sangakkara (SL)

- Jacques Kallis (SA)

- Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Ind, captain and wicketkeeper)

- Graeme Swann (Eng)

- James Anderson (Eng)

- Dale Steyn (SA)

- Doug Bollinger (Aus)

ICC ODI Team of the Year is as follows (in batting order):

- Sachin Tendulkar (Ind)

- Shane Watson (Aus)

- Michael Hussey (Aus)

- AB de Villiers (SA)

- Paul Collingwood (Eng)

- Ricky Ponting (Aus, captain)

- MS Dhoni (Ind, wicketkeeper)

- Daniel Vettori (NZ)

- Stuart Broad (Eng)

- Doug Bollinger (Aus)

- Ryan Harris (Aus)

CWG Day 2: Medal splurge for India at CW

India moved a step further to winning gold medals on the second day of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi. Abhinav Bindra and Gagan Narang won gold medal in Pairs 10m air rifle and created Commonwealth Games record.

Bindra and Gagan Narang's combine score was 1193, which they bettered from the combined score of 1189 four years ago.

Soon after, Anisa Sayeed and Rahi Sarnobat won a gold medal in the 25m pistol pairs event.

Deepak Sharma and Omkar Singh won silver in 50 m pistol pairs event.

On Day 1, women lifters Soniya Chanu and Sandhya Devi Rani opened the medal chest for India by grabbing the silver and bronze in the 48 kg class.

Chanu, favourite for the 48 kg gold medal, could not justify her billing and settled for silver by clearing 167 kg which was eight kg below Nwaokolo"s total clearance. Sandya Rani took the bronze with a total clearance of 165 kg.

Delhi CWG biggest in terms of participation

NEW DELHI: After a controversy-marred build-up and negative publicity, the Commonwealth Games set a historic landmark of being the biggest-ever in terms of participation with more than 6700 athletes and officials confirming their entries for the event here on Friday.

With just one day left for the opening ceremony, Delhi will now be known to have hosted the biggest Games surpassing participation in Melbourne four years ago which stood at 5766 athletes and officials.

As the organisers, who were drawing flak for the shoddy preparations and an under-prepared Games Village, raced against time to provide the finishing touches, New Zealand tennis player Ellen Barry became the latest to pull out citing security concerns.

"After the completion of the Delegation Registration Meetings, we can say that more than 6700 athletes and team officials will be taking part in Delhi 2010," Organising Committee Secretary-General Lalit K Bhanot said.

"More than 5800 athletes and officials have already arrived in Delhi. With more arrivals scheduled in the coming days, Delhi 2010 is well on the way to becoming the biggest in history," Bhanot said.

"We are now looking forward to the successful and smooth delivery of the Games."

Over 1300 of these checked into the Games Village today. The Games will further get a boost with the scheduled arrival of International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge later tonight along with a host of other top officials and dignitaries.

The Indian contingent was in the spotlight at the Games Village where they hoisted the tri-colour amid cheers from scores of volunteers and athletes.

Olympic gold-medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra was named the host country's flagbearer for the opening ceremony. The 28-year-old rifle marksman will lead a jumbo 619-member contingent -- 379 men and 240 women -- in the grand ceremony scheduled to be held at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium.