The official website of Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi is

http://www.cwgdelhi2010.org

The official Song of  Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi’s theme song, Jiyo Utho Bado Jeeto (Which Means Live, Rise, Ascend, Win), music was compiled by  A. R. Rahman.

You can hear/download it from here:

http://www.cwgdelhi2010.org/theme_song

The official inauguration of Commonwealth Games,Delhi -2010

Prince Charles will open the Commonwealth Games on Sunday evening.

There was  a  question regarding who should do the  inauguration of the games at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi,whether  the  Indian President Pratibha Patil  or  Prince Charles should  open the Games.

The Jnanpith Award is given for the best creative literary writing by any Indian citizens in any of the languages included in the VIII Schedule of the Indian Constitution. The award carries a cash price of Rs.2.5 lakh, a citation and a bronze replica of Vagdevi.

The Jnanpith Award was instituted on May 22, 1961 The first award was given in 1965. So far, 40 eminent writers have received the award in 32 years. On two occasions, the award was given to Kannada writers six times, five times each to Hindi and Bengali writers, four times to Malayalam, thrice to Oriya, twice each to Gujarati, Marathi, Telugu and Urdu, and one each to Assamese, Punjabi and Tamil writers.

Jnanpith Award -  Recent News

Eminent Malayalam litterateur ONV Kurup and noted Urdu poet Akhlaq Khan Shahryar have been chosen for the Jnanpith Award for the year 2007 and 2008 respectively for their contribution to literature.

The list of award winners so far

Year

Author (Language)
1965

G.Shankara Kurup (Malayalam) for his poems Odakkuzhal
1966

Tarashankar Bandopadhyaya (Bengali) for the novel Ganadevta
1967

Dr K.V Puttappa (Kannada) for Sri Ramayana Darshanam
1967

Uma Shankar Joshi (Gujarati) for Nishitha
1968

Sumitra Nandan Pant (Hindi) for Chidambara
1969

Firaq Gorakpuri (Urdu) for Gul-e-Naghma
1970

Viswanatha Satyanarayana (Telugu) for Ramayana Kalpavrikshamu
1971

Bishnu Dey (Bengali) for Smriti Satta Bhavishyat
1972

Ramdhari Singh Dinkar (Hindi) for Urvashi
1973

Dattareya Ramachandra Bendre (Kannada) for Nakutanti
1973

Gopinath Mohanty (Oriya) for Mattimatal
1974

Vishnu Sakaram Khandekar (Marathi) for Yayati
1975

P.V Akilandam (Tamil) for his novel Chittirappavai
1976

Asha Purna Devi (Bengali) for Pratham Pratisruti
1977

K Shivaram Karnath (Kannada) for Mukajjiya Kanasugalu
1978

S.H.V.Ajneya (Hindi) for his novel Kitni Navon men Kitni Bar
1979

Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya (Assamese) for his novel Mrityunjay
1980

S.K Pottekkatt (Malayalam) for his novel Oru Desattinte Katha
1981

Amrita Pritam (Punjabi) for her literary collection Kagaz te Canvas in Punjabi

From 1982, the award was given for overall contribution to literature
1982

Mahadevi Varma (Hindi)
1983

Masti Venkatesh Ayengar (Kannada)
1984

Takazhi Sivashankar Pillai (Malayalam)
1985

Pannalal Patel (Gujarati)
1986

Sachidanand Rout Roy (Oriya)
1987

Vishnu Vaman Shirwadkar Kusumagraj (Marathi)
1988

Dr C Narayanan Reddy (Telugu)
1989

Qurratulain Hyder (Urdu)
1990

V.K Gokak (Kannada)
1991

Subhash Mukhopadhyay (Bengali)
1992

Naresh Mehta (Hindi)
1993

Sitakant Mahapatra (Oriya)
1994

U R Anantha Murthy (Kannada)
1995

M T Vasudevan Nair (Malayalam)
1996

Mahasweta Devi (Bengali)
1997

Ali Sardar Jafri (Urdu)
1998

Girish Karnad (Kannada)
1999

Nirmal Verma (Hindi)

Gurdial Singh (Punjabi)
2000

Indira Goswami (Assamese)
2001

Rajendra Keshavlal Shah (Gujarati)

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak nominated the head of the state audit agency to be his new prime minister, the Yonhap news agency reported .

The nomination comes weeks after his previous nominee pulled out of the running amid corruption allegations that surfaced during his confirmation hearing.

Former Prime Minister Chung Un-chan resigned in July.

1. Area wise, which one of the following is the largest Lok Sabha constituency?
a. Kutch
b. Kangra
c. Ladakh
d. Patna sahib
2. Indian Military Training Team (IMTRAT) imparts training to army officers of
a. Nepal
b. Bangladesh
c. Maldives
d. Bhutan

3. The tourism phrase Paradise Unexplored refers to
a. Jammu and Kashmir
b. North-east India
c. Chhattishgarh
d. Uttarakhand
4. The speaker of the Lok Sabha can resign his office by addressing his resignation to
a. the President
b. the Prime Minister
c. the Deputy speaker of the Lok Sabha
d. the Chief Justice of India

5. Who can initiate impeachment proceedings against the President of India?
a. only Lok Sabha
b. only Rajya Sabha
c. either House of the Parliament
d. any Legislative Assembly

6. The highest body that approves Five Year Plans in India is
a. Planning commission
b. National development council
c. Interstate council
d. Union cabinet

7. Which among the following is the exclusive jurisdiction of the state government?
a. Corporation tax
b. Customs duty
c. Sales tax
d. Income tax

8. Which one of the following theories of communism is not a doctrine of Karl Marx?
a. Dialectical Materialism
b. Historical Materialism
c. Class Struggle
d. Theory of new Democracy

9. Which among the following is an extra constitutional growth in Indian democracy?
a. Attorney General of India
b. Autonomous Districts
c. Political Parties
d. Deputy Chairman of the Council of States

10. Socialism is opposed to
a. social security scheme
b. equal distribution of wealth
c. unrestricted competition
d. collective ownership and management

11. Who among the following was the first muslim Military Commander who annexed Bihar and Bengal by overthrowing the Sena dynasty?
a. Mahmud Gawan
b. Bakhtiyar Khilji
c. Adil Shahis
D. Shams-ud-Din

12. Which one of the following was the official language of Gupta period?
a. Pali
b. Magadhi
c. Prakrit
d. Sanskrit

13. Tropical cyclone of Philippines is termed as
a. Typhoon
b. Willy-willy
c. Hurricane
d. Baguio

14. Chambal river is a part of
a. Sabarmati basin
b. Ganga basin
c. Narmada basin
d. Gogavari basin

15. What is the reason for India being a major producer of different varieties of fruits and vegetables?
a. Its large populations size
b. Its large land area
c. Variation in its agro-climatic conditions
d. Diversity in socio-cultural phenomenon

16. What is the process that tends to build up the land surface by deposition of solid material in its lower areas, known as?
a. Abrasion
b. Agglomeration
c. Aggradation
d. Attrition

17. Which one of the following African countries is not land-locked?
a. Benin
b. Chad
c. Lesotho
d. Mali

18. The Tropic of Cancer does not pass through
a. Orissa
b. Tripura
c. Chhattisgarh
d. Rajasthan

19. Which of the following crops would be preferred for sowing in order to enrich the soil with nitrogen?
a. Wheat
b. Mustard
c. Sunflower
d. Gram

20. Which of the following plants is referred to as a living fossil?
a. Ephedra
b. Cycas
c. Gingko
d. Adiantum

Answers to the above questions

1.  C    2.  D    3.  B    4.  C   5.  C    6.  B    7.  C    8.  D    9.  C    10.  C    11.  B    12.  D    13.  A    14.  B    15.  C    16.  C    17.  A   18.  A   19.  D   20.  C

Windows Management Shortcuts

* Win+Home: Clear all but the active window.
* Win+Space: All windows become transparent so you can see through to the desktop.
* Win+Up arrow: Maximize the active window.
* Shift+Win+Up arrow: Maximize the active window vertically.
* Win+Down arrow: Minimize the window/Restore the window if it’s maximized.
* Win+Left/Right arrows: Dock the window to each side of the monitor.
* Shift+Win+Left/Right arrows: Move the window to the monitor on the left or right.

You can also interact with windows by dragging them with the mouse:

* Drag window to the top: Maximize
* Drag window left/right: Dock the window to fill half of the screen.
* Shake window back/forth: Minimize everything but the current window.
* Double-Click Top Window Border (edge).

Taskbar Shortcuts

You can use any of these shortcut combinations to launch the applications in their respective position on the taskbar, or more:

* Win+number (1-9): Starts the application pinned to the taskbar in that position, or switches to that program.
* Shift+Win+number (1-9): Starts a new instance of the application pinned to the taskbar in that position.
* Ctrl+Win+number (1-9): Cycles through open windows for the application pinned to the taskbar is that position.
* Alt+Win+number (1-9): Opens the Jump List for the application pinned to the taskbar.
* Win+T: Focus and scroll through items on the taskbar.
* Win+B: Focuses the System Tray icons

In addition, you can interact with the taskbar using your mouse and a modifier key:

* Shift+Click on a taskbar button: Open a program or quickly open another instance of a program.
* Ctrl+Shift+Click on a taskbar button: Open a program as an administrator.
* Shift+Right-click on a taskbar button: Show the window menu for the program (like XP does).
* Shift+Right-click on a grouped taskbar button: Show the window menu for the group.
* Ctrl+Click on a grouped taskbar button: Cycle through the windows of the group.

Here’s a few more interesting hotkeys for you:

* Ctrl+Shift+N: Creates a new folder in Windows Explorer.
* Alt+Up: Goes up a folder level in Windows Explorer.
* Alt+P: Toggles the preview pane in Windows Explorer.
* Shift+Right-Click on a file: Adds Copy as Path, which copies the path of a file to the clipboard.
* Shift+Right-Click on a file: Adds extra hidden items to the Send To menu.
* Shift+Right-Click on a folder: Adds Command Prompt Here, which lets you easily open a command prompt in that folder.
* Win+P: Adjust presentation settings for your display.
* Win+(+/-): Zoom in/out.
* Win+G: Cycle between the Windows Gadgets on your screen.

* Union Public Service Commission : www.upsc.gov.in
* Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission : www.apspsc.gov.in
* Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission : www.apspsc.gov.in
* Assam Public Service Commission : www.apsc.nic.in
* Bihar Public Service Commission: www.bpsc.bih.nic.in
* Chhattisgarh public service commission : www.psc.cg.gov.in
* Goa Public Service Commission : www.goapsc.gov.in
* Gujarat public service commission : www.gpsc.gujarat.gov.in
* Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission : www.hp.gov.in
* Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission :www.jkpsc.org
* Jharkhand Public Service Commission : www.jharkhandjpsc.org
* Karnataka public service commission : www.kpsc.kar.nic.in
* Kerala Public Service Commission : www.keralapsc.org
* Madhya Public Service Commission : www.mppsc.nic.in
* Maharashtra Public Service Commission : www.mpsc.maharashtra.gov.in
* Manipur Public Service Commission : www.mpscmanipur.gov.in
* Nagaland Public Service Commission : www.nagaland.nic.in
* Orissa Public Service Commission : www.opsc.nic.in
* Punjab public service commission : www.ppsc.gop.pk
* Rajasthan Public Service Commission : www.rpsc.gov.in
* Sikkim Public Service Commission : www.rpsc.gov.in
* Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission : www.tnpsc.gov.in
* Tripura public service commission : www.tripura.nic.in
* Uttarakhand Public Service Commission : www.gov.ua.nic.in/ukpsc
* U.P. Public Service Commission : www.uppsc.org.in
* West Bengal public service commission : www.pscwb.org.in

Magazine of Kerala PSC Students http://pscbulletin.com

Parliament is the supreme legislative body of a country. Our Parliament comprises of the President and the two Houses-Lok Sabha (House of the People) and Rajya Sabha (Council of States). The President has the power to summon and prorogue either House of Parliament or to dissolve Lok Sabha.

The Constitution of India came into force on January 26, 1950. The first general elections under the new Constitution were held during the year 1951-52 and the first elected Parliament came into being in April, 1952, the Second Lok Sabha in April, 1957, the Third Lok Sabha in April, 1962, the Fourth Lok Sabha in March, 1967, the Fifth Lok Sabha in March, 1971, the Sixth Lok Sabha in March, 1977, the Seventh Lok Sabha in January, 1980, the Eighth Lok Sabha in December, 1984, the Ninth Lok Sabha in December, 1989, the Tenth Lok Sabha in June, 1991, the Eleventh Lok Sabha in May, 1996, the Twelfth Lok Sabha in March, 1998, the Thirteenth Lok Sabha in October, 1999, the Fourteenth Lok Sabha in May, 2004 and the Fifteenth Lok Sabha in May, 2009.

LOK SABHA

Lok Sabha, as the name itself signifies, is the body of representatives of the people. Its members are directly elected, normally once in every five years by the adult population who are eligible to vote. The minimum qualifying age for membership of the House is 25 years. The present membership of Lok Sabha is 545. The number is divided among the different States and Union Territories as follows:

(1) Andhra Pradesh 42

(2) Arunachal Pradesh 2

(3) Assam 14

(4) Bihar 40

(5) Chhattisgarh 11

(6) Goa 2

(7) Gujarat 26

(8) Haryana 10

(9) Himachal Pradesh 4

(10) Jammu & Kashmir 6

(11) Jharkhand 14

(12) Karnataka 28

(13) Kerala 20

(14) Madhya Pradesh 29

(15) Maharashtra 48

(16) Manipur 2

(17) Meghalaya 2

(18) Mizoram 1

(19) Nagaland 1

(20) Orissa 21

(21) Punjab 13

(22) Rajasthan 25

(23) Sikkim 1

(24) Tamil Nadu 39

(25) Tripura 2

(26) Uttarakhand 5

(27) Uttar Pradesh 80

(28) West Bengal 42

(29) Andaman & Nicobar Islands 1

(30) Chandigarh 1

(31) Dadra & Nagar Haveli 1

(32) Daman & Diu 1

(33) NCT of Delhi 7

(34) Lakshadweep 1

(35) Pondicherry 1

(36) Anglo-Indians (if nominated 2 by the President under Article 331 of the Constitution)

RAJYA SABHA

Rajya Sabha is the Upper House of Parliament. It has not more than 250 members. Members of Rajya Sabha are not elected by the people directly but indirectly by the Legislative Assemblies of the various States. Every State is allotted a certain number of members. No member of Rajya Sabha can be under 30 years of age.

Twelve of Rajya Sabha members are nominated by the President from persons who have earned distinction in the fields of literature, art, science and social service.

Rajya Sabha is a permanent body. It is not subject to dissolution but one-third of its members retire every two years. Rajya Sabha was duly constituted for the first time on April 3, 1952 and it held its first sitting on May 13, that year.

There are at present 245 members in Rajya Sabha, distributed among different States and Union Territories as follows:

(1) Andhra Pradesh 18

(2) Arunachal Pradesh 1

(3) Assam 7

(4) Bihar 16

(5) Chhattisgarh 5

(6) Goa 1

(7) Gujarat 11

(8) Haryana 5

(9) Himachal Pradesh 3

(10) Jammu & Kashmir 4

(11) Jharkhand 6

(12) Karnataka 12

(13) Kerala 9

(14) Madhya Pradesh 11

(15) Maharashtra 19

(16) Manipur 1

(17) Meghalaya 1

(18) Mizoram 1

(19) Nagaland 1

(20) Orissa 10

(21) Punjab 7

(22) Rajasthan 10

(23) Sikkim 1

(24) Tamil Nadu 18

(25) Tripura 1

(26) Uttarakhand 3

(27) Uttar Pradesh 31

(28) West Bengal 16

(29) NCT of Delhi 3

(30) Pondicherry 1

(31) Nominated by the President under 12 Article 80(1)(a) of the Constitution

Presiding Officers

Lok Sabha elects one of its own members as its Presiding Officer and he is called the Speaker. He is assisted by the  Deputy Speaker who is also elected by Lok Sabha. The conduct of business in Lok Sabha is the responsibility of the Speaker.

The Vice-President of India is the ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha. He is elected by the members of an electoral college consisting of members of both Houses of Parliament. Rajya Sabha also elects one of its members to be the Deputy Chairman.

Functions of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha

The main function of both the Houses is to pass laws. Every Bill has to be passed by both the Houses and assented to by the President before it becomes law. The subjects over which Parliament can legislate are the subjects mentioned under the Union List in the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. Broadly speaking, Union subjects are those important subjects which for reasons of convenience, efficiency and security are administered on all-India basis. The principal Union subjects are Defence, Foreign Affairs, Railways, Transport and Communications, Currency and Coinage, Banking, Customs and Excise Duties. There are numerous other subjects on which both Parliament and State Legislatures can legislate.

Under this category mention may be made of economic and social planning, social security and insurance, labour welfare, price control and vital statistics.

Besides passing laws, Parliament can by means of resolutions, motions for adjournment, discussions and questions addressed by members to Ministers exercise control over the administration of the country and safeguard people’s liberties.

Difference between Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha

(1) Members of Lok Sabha are directly elected by the eligible voters. Members of Rajya Sabha are elected by the elected members of State Legislative Assemblies in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote.

(2) The normal life of every Lok Sabha is 5 years only while Rajya Sabha is a permanent body.

(3) Lok Sabha is the House to which the Council of Ministers is responsible under the Constitution. Money Bills can only be introduced in Lok Sabha. Also it is Lok Sabha which grants the money for running the administration of the country.

(4) Rajya Sabha has special powers to declare that it is necessary and expedient in the national interest that Parliament may make laws with respect to a matter in the State List or to create by law one or more all-India services common to the Union and the States.

Source and courtesy ,National Portal of India

Rajasthan

Particulars	Description
Area	3,42,239 sq. km
Population	56,473,122
Capital	Jaipur
Principal Languages	Hindi and Rajasthani

History and Geography

Rajasthan, the largest State in India in terms of area, prior to independence, was known as Rajputana or the home of Rajputs – a martial community who ruled over this area for centuries.

The history of Rajasthan dates back to the pre-historic times. Around 3,000 and 1,000 B.C., it had a culture akin to that of the Indus Valley Civilisation. It was the Chauhans who dominated Rajput affairs from seventh century and by 12^th century, they had become an imperial power. After the Chauhans, it was the Guhilots of Mewar who controlled the destiny of the warring tribes. Besides Mewar, the other historically prominent states were Marwar, Jaipur, Bundi, Kota, Bharatpur and Alwar, while the other states were only offshoots of these. All these states accepted the British Treaty of Subordinate Alliance in 1818, protecting the interest of the princes. This naturally left the people discontented.

After the revolt of 1857, the people united themselves under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi to contribute to the freedom movement. With the introduction of provincial autonomy in1935 in British India, agitation for civil liberties and political rights became stronger in Rajasthan. The process of uniting the scattered states commenced from 1948 to 1956, when the States Reorganisation Act was promulgated. First came Matsya Union (1948), consisting of a fraction of states. Slowly and gradually, other states merged with this Union. By 1949, major states like Bikaner, Jaipur, Jodhpur and Jaislmer joined this Union, making it the United State of Greater Rajasthan. Ultimately in 1958, the present state of Rajasthan formally came into being, with Ajmer state, the Abu Road Taluka, and Sunel Tappa joining it.

The entire western flank of the state borders with Pakistan, while Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh bind Rajasthan in north, north-east, south-east and Gujarat in south-west.

Agriculture

Total cultivable area in the State is 217 lakh hectares (2006-2007). The estimated food grain production is 155.10 lakh tonnes (2007-08). Principal crops cultivated in the State are rice, barley, jowar, millet, maize, gram, wheat, oilseeds, pulses, cotton and tobacco. Cultivation of vegetable and citrus fruits such as orange and malta has also picked up over last few years. Other crops are red chillies, mustard, cumin seeds, fenugreek methi and asafoetida hing.

Industry and Minerals

Endowed with a rich culture, Rajasthan is also rich in minerals and is fast emerging on the industrial scenario of the country. Some of the important Central undertakings are Zinc Smelter Plant at Devari (Udaipur), Copper Plant at Khetri Nagar (Jhunjhunu) and Precision Instrument Factory at Kota. Major industries are textiles and woollens, sugar, cement, glass, sodium plants, oxygen, vegetable dyes, pesticides, zinc, fertilizers, railway wagons, ball bearings, water and electricity metres, sulphuric acid, television sets, synthetic yarn and insulating bricks. Besides precious and semi-precious stones, caustic soda, calcium carbide, nylon and tyres, etc., are other important industrial units.

Rajasthan has rich deposits of zinc concentrates, emerald, garnet, gypsum, silver ore, asbestos, felspar and mica. The State also abounds in salt, rock phosphate, marble and red stone deposits. The first Export Promotion Industrial Park of the country has been established and made operational at Sitapura (Jaipur).

Irrigation and Power

By the end of March 2007 irrigation potential of 34.85 lakh hectares was created in the state through various major, medium and minor irrigation projects (2007-08) and additional irrigation potential of 92,200 hectares ( excluding IGNP & CAD) had been created upto March 2007. The installed power capacity in the State has become 6335.33Mw upto December 2007 of which 4000 Mw is produced from State- owned projects, 521.85 Mw from collaboration projects and 1813.18 Mw from the allocation from Central power generating stations.

Transport

Roads: The total length of roads in the State is around 1,58,250 km.

Railways: Jodhpur, Jaipur, Bikaner, Kota, Sawai Madhopur and Bharatpur are some of the main railway junctions.

Aviation: Regular air services connect Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur with Delhi and Mumbai.

Festivals

Rajasthan is a land of festivals and fairs. Besides the national festivals of Holi, Deepawali, Vijayadashmi, Christmas, etc. birth anniversaries of Gods and Goddesses, saintly figures, folk heroes and heroines are celebrated. Important fairs are Teej, Gangaur (Jaipur), annual Urs of Ajmer Sherif and Galiakot, tribal Kumbh of Beneshwar (Dungarpur), Mahaveer fair at Shri Mahavirji in Swai Madhopur, Ramdeora (Jaisalmer), Janbheshwari Fair (Mukam-Bikaner), Kartik Poornima and Cattle Fair (Pushkar-Ajmer) and Shyamji Fair (Sikar), etc.

Tourist Centres

Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Bikaner, Mount Abu, Sariska Tiger Sanctuary in Alwar, Keoladeo National Park at Bharatpur, Ajmer, Jaisalmer, Pali and Chittorgarh are important places of tourist interest in the state.

Source: India 2010 – A Reference Annual

and National Portal of India

To Know more about Rajasthan, Please see the official website of  Rajasthan

http://www.rajasthan.gov.in/

Gujarat

Gujarat at a Glance

Particulars	Description
Area	1,96,024 sq. km
Population	50,671,017
Capital	Gandhinagar
Principal Languages	Gujarati

History and Geography

The history of Gujarat goes back to 2000 B.C. It is believed that Lord Krishna left Mathura to settle on the west coast of Saurashtra, which later came to be known as Dwarka, the gateway. Later, it saw various kingdoms: Mauryas, Guptas, Pratiharas and others. It was with Chalukya (Solankis) that Gujarat witnessed progress and prosperity. In spite of the plundering of Mahmud Ghazni, the Chalukya kings were able to maintain general prosperity and well-being of the State. After this glorious respite, Gujarat faced troubled times under the Muslims, Marathas and the British rule. Before Independence, the present territories of Gujarat used to be in two parts, the British and the Princely territories. With the re-organisation of the States, the Union of the States of Saurashtra and the Union Territory of Kachchh along with the former British, Gujarat became a part of the biggest bilingual State of Bombay. The present State of Gujarat came into being on May, 1960. It is situated on the west coast of India. The state is bounded by the Arabian Sea on the west, Pakistan and Rajasthan in the north and north-east respectively, Madhya Pradesh in the south-east and Maharashtra in the south.

Agriculture

Gujarat is the main producer of tobacco, cotton and groundnut in the country and provides inputs for important industries like textiles, oil and soap. Other important cash crops are isabgol, paddy, wheat and bajra. Forest species available in Gujarat are teak, khair, sadad, haldariyo and manual bamboos.

Industry

The industrial structure in the State has been gradually diversifying with the development of industries like chemicals, petrochemicals, fertilizers, engineering, electronics, etc. The number of registered working factories in the State were 21,536 (Provisional) at the end of 2004 with the average daily employment to 9.27 lakh. The number of Small-Scale industrial units in the State was 2.99 lakh at the end of March 2005. GIDC has been assigned the role of developing industrial estates with infrastructure facilities. At the end of December 2005 GIDC had set up 237 industrial estates.

Irrigation and Power

The total irrigation potential through surface water as well as ground water has been assessed at 64.88 lakh hectares including 17.92 lakh hectares through Sardar Sarovar (Narmada) Project. The total irrigation potential created up to June 2007 is worked out to 42.26 lakh hectares. The maximum utilisation has been estimated at 37.33 lakh hectares up to June 2007.

Transport

Roads: The total length of roads (except Non-plan, Community, Urban and Project roads) was 74,038 km by the end of 2005-06.

Aviation: The main airport of Gujarat at Ahmedabad is connected with Mumbai, Delhi and other cities by daily services. Ahmedabad airport has now got the status of an International Airport. Other airports are Vadodara, Bhavnagar, Bhuj, Surat, Jamnagar, Kandla, Keshod, Porbandar and Rajkot.

Ports: Gujarat has 40 ports of which Kandla is a major port. The intermediate and minor ports of Gujarat handled a total cargo of 971.28 lakh tonnes whereas Kandla port handled cargo of 415.51 lakh tonnes during 2004-05.

Festivals

Tarnetar fair is held at village Tarnetar in the honour of Lord Shiva on the 4^th, 5^th and 6^th days of the bright half of the month of Bhadrapada (August/September). Madhavrai fair at Madhavpur near Porbandar is, held to celebrate the marriage by elopement of Lord Krishna and Rukmani, on the ninth day of the bright half of the month of Chaitra (March/April). Ambaji fair dedicated to Amba, mother goddess is held in Banaskantha district. The biggest annual fair, Janmashtami the birthday of Lord Krishna is celebrated at Dwarka and Dakor with great enthusiasm. Other festivals are Makar-Sankranti, Navratri, Dangi darbar, Shamlaji fair, Bhavnath fair, etc.

Tourist Centres

Religious spots like Dwarka, Somnath, Palitana, Pavagadh, Ambaji, Bhadreshwar, Shamlaji, Taranga and Girnar; Porbandar, birth place of Mahatma Gandhi, places of memorable monuments of architectural and, archaeological surprises like Patan, Siddhpur Ghurnli, Dabhoi, Vadnagar, Modhera, Lothal and Ahmedabad; beautiful beaches like Ahmadpur-Mandvi, Chorwad, Ubharat and Tithal; the hill station Saputara; lion sanctuary of Gir Forest and wild ass sanctuary in Kachchh area are major tourist attractions in the State.

Source: India 2010 – A Reference Annual

and National Portal of India

To know more about Gujarat Please see the official portal of Gujarat:

http://www.gujaratindia.com/