Chennai (25000) is the densest metropolitan followed by Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai (24250) Titagarh (38000) and Baranagar

(35000) are the top two densest cities in India World No Tobacco Day Nicotine

Nicotine is a stimulant drug It is made in the roots and accumulates in the leaves of the plants. It constitutes approximately 0.63.0% of the dry weight of tobacco It functions as an ant herbivore chemical; consequently, nicotine was widely used as an insecticide in the past In smaller doses (an average cigarette yields about 1 mg of absorbed nicotine), the substance acts as a stimulant in mammals, while high amounts (5001000 mg) can be fatal. This stimulant effect is likely a major contributing factor to the dependence-forming properties of tobacco smoking. First causing a release of glucose from the liver and epinephrine (adrenaline) from the adrenal medulla, it causes stimulation. Users report feelings of relaxation, sharpness, calmness, and alertness. By reducing the appetite and raising the metabolism, some smokers may lose weight as a consequence. When a cigarette is smoked, nicotine-rich blood passes from the lungs to the brain within seven seconds and immediately stimulates the release of many chemical messengers Nicotine appears to enhance concentration and memory due to the increase of acetylcholine. It also appears to enhance alertness due to the increases of acetylcholine and norepinephrine. Arousal is increased by the increase of norepinephrine. Pain is reduced by the increases of acetylcholine and beta-endorphin. Anxiety is reduced by the increase of beta-endorphin. arecanut Project Ananta gets green signal

Anantapur district is all set for the launch of a new pilot project aimed at development of the drought-prone districts with the Planning Commission giving its in principle approval to the Project Ananta

The project would be the biggest ever aimed at tackling the problems of the district after the Desert Development Programme The Swiss-made Pilatus PC-7 planes are greeted with a water spray before they were inducted into the Indian Air Force at the Air Force Academy at Dundigal on Friday. Ten such aircraft were inducted into the IAF as the basic trainer for new pilots Bhutan land of the thunder dragon Bhutan is the only country in the world to pursue Gross National Happiness, a development model that measures the mental as well as material well-being of citizens. Other policies that have set the country apart include: banning television until 1999, keeping out mass tourism to shield its Buddhist culture and aiming to makeall of its farming 100 percent organic. While the electorate comprises fewer than 400,000 four lakh people, voting is a huge logistical challenge across the rugged country, where democracy was ushered in just five years ago after Bhutans dragon kings ceded absolute power. Giving a boost to the Indian Air Forces training capacity, Pilatus PC -7 Mk-II, Swiss-manufactured basic trainer aircraft, was inducted into IAF capable of all basic training functions including aerobatics, tactical and night flying Indian-American wins spelling bee contest Thirteen-year-old Indian-American Arvind Mahankali on Friday won the Scripps National Spelling Bee contest This is the sixth consecutive year that an Indian-American has won the contest, which was watched live by millions of people in the United States won the contest by correctly spelling the German word knaidel France hopes Jaitapur will power Indian ties France is pursuing cooperation with India to facilitate its companies in such key sectors as nuclear power, transport, water and waste treatment. President Francois Hollande, who visited India in February, has taken special care to develop relations with India, treating it as a strategic country, along with China and Brazil. The most prominent and controversial aspect of the techno-economic cooperation is the proposal to put up a European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) nuclear plant supplied by the Areva Group at Jaitapur, Maharashtra, with six units, and a unit design of 1,650 Megawatt electric (MWe) output. Other items on the bilateral agenda are high-speed trains derived from

Frances famed 300-plus-km-per-hour TGVs, solutions for the upcoming Metro rail projects from companies such as Alstom, and technologies to improve the quality of urban life. The most prominent and controversial aspect of the techno-economic cooperation is the proposal to put up a European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) nuclear plant supplied by the Areva Group at Jaitapur, Maharashtra, with six units, and a unit design of 1,650 Megawatt electric (MWe) output. Other items on the bilateral agenda are high-speed trains derived from Frances famed 300-plus-km-per-hour TGVs, solutions for the upcoming Metro rail projects from companies such as Alstom, and technologies to improve the quality of urban life. Cauvery Supervisory Committee Cauvery Supervisory Committee to hold its first meeting today Rounded pebbles on Mars point to water flow scientists have been able to collect unequivocal evidence that water had once flowed on Mars some three billion years ago. Observations by NASAs Mars rover Curiosity have revealed pebble -rich rock exposures that are so very characteristic of a riverbed. The round-shaped pebbles embedded in a matrix of coarse-grained sand are a telltale sign of fluvial transportation. Importantly, pebbles with a long axis of 10-40 mm can be rounded only when transported by river. They were discovered between the north rim of the Gale Crater and the base of Mount Sharp, a mountain inside the crater Slower abrasion Considering the fact that Mars has reduced gravity, the pebbles would have been abraded at a slower rate. I It will hit traditional food system, affect crop diversity bulk of small and marginal farmers will quit paddy cultivation. Since rice will be made available to them through the public distribution system, it will supplant the millet-based dietary pattern as well The common refrain is that 30 kg of rice at Rs. 30 per family is more than sufficient to make ends meet and there is no need to cultivate paddy or cereals for sustenance; hence the argument in favour of cultivating commercial crops to earn extra income. The cascading impact of such a shift in cropping pattern will affect livestock the most as there will be a scarcity of fodder such schemes will harm paddy cultivation and farmers interests in the long run as the bulk of subsidised rice will enter the PDS through the back door and will be made available to the general public at a slightly higher rate and keep the price of rice depressed. holistic World No Tobacco Day

Nile Water conflicts Ethiopias move to control the flow of the Blue Nile has unsettled Egypt, which relies on the river for almost all its fresh water needs and consumes two-thirds of the water under a colonial treaty first signed in 1929. The treaty divides the water between Sudan and Egypt consumer price index Direct selling industry Fiscal deficit Growth in core industries Growth in core industries Growth in core industries Prison camp at Guantnamo Bay controversy 2006 war in Nepal and democracy unfathomable Nepali Maoists had a clear objective. Their tactical moves were meant to achieve the strategic goal of creating a new political mainstream, holding elections for a Constituent Assembly, and abolishing the monarchy. The Indian Maoists may score temporary victories; they may shake local power structures; they may push the state to adopt welfare programmes and win concessions for their social base. But they do not have an attainable political goal which could serve as a meeting point with the Indian state in the existing balance of power, and give them space in the state structure. Ministry of Women and Child Development appointed Kushal Singh, former Chief Secretary of Rajasthan, as the Chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) Her appointment to the Commission is in blatant disregard of the qualifications stated in the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005 (CPCR Act) which requires that the Chairperson be a person of eminence who has done outstanding work for promoting the welfare of children. By appointing a retired bureaucrat, the Ministry has, in one stroke, undermined the independence of a statutory institution that is vested with the responsibility of monitoring the protection and promotion of child rights in India, particularly recent legislation such as the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012. Broken promises In 2010, in Association for Development v. Union of India, a writ petition challenging the appointments of two members of the NCPCR, the Delhi High Court provided certain guidelines for future appointments. It recommended a broad-based Selection Committee which could include independent experts in the field, the Chairperson of the UPSC and/or the Leader of the Opposition. Ministry appears to have gone back on its word as no prior information about the Selection Committee or Ms. Singh is available on its website. The stipulated 30 days period for inviting objections to candidates short-listed for the positions of Member was not followed in the case of this appointment. PIL challenging the appointment of two Members of the NCPCR on the grounds of their lack of experience in child rights is pending in the Delhi High Court since 2011. The appointment of NCPCR

Chairperson also fails to meet the international standards pertaining to national human rights institutions (NHRI) that contain stipulations on composition and appointment processes. The Principles relating to the status of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, 1993, (Paris Principles), a set of internationally accepted minimum standards that states should aim to comply with while establishing a NHRI emphasise that a NHRI should be functionally and financially independent and should not be controlled by the government. However, the provision in the CPCR Act on appointments is glaringly opposed to these standards. It equips the Central government with an absolute authority to determine the composition of the NCPCR. All it must do is constitute a Selection Committee headed by the Minister for Women and Child Development and two other members of its own choice. Unlike the Chairperson and Members of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), who must be appointed based on the recommendations of a high-powered Selection Committee comprising the Prime Minister, Lok Sabha Speaker, Minister in-charge of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, and Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha, the composition of the NCPCR is entirely at the whims and fancy of the government. Similar disregard for the autonomy of human rights institutions has been evinced by the government in the case of the National Commission for Women (NCW) where political appointments have accommodated erstwhile and current politicians. For instance, Mamta Sharma, the current Chairperson of the NCW, has been an elected member of a State Assembly and has even held the position of General Secretary of the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee. Given the severe accountability crisis, the need for strong and independent watchdogs cannot be overemphasized. conflagration

Keeping the markets clean The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is celebrating its silver jubilee this year. lackadaisical Set up in 1988, the Board remained a toothless body until April 1992 when the SEBI Act was passed. The stock market scam of 1992, attributed to lax regulations, hastened the conferment of legal status on the regulator. Right from that initial act of empowerment, the governments support to the new regulator has always come in reaction to a crisis or the emergence of new scams. the SEBI chairman sought jurisdiction over multilevel financial conglomerates and other deposit-gathering entities whose failure has wrought havoc in Bengal and a few other States. gov ernments support to SEBI has been found wanting when it is crucially needed. This is spectacularly demonstrated by the failure of the government and all political parties to support the regulator, even after it had scored a major victory in the Supreme Court over the Sahara Pariwar. SEBI has also been handicapped in not having a strong middle management cadre, the backbone of any regulator. Despite all these hurdles, SEBIs performance deserves appreciation: its oversight has contributed to the exponential growth of the stock market, faster settlements, and extensive use of technology, encouraging disclosures and, above all, in extending regulation for the first time over capital market intermediaries through a well designed licensing process. As important as the new bilateral treaty on extradition with Thailand, the progress made in finalising the trilateral highway through Myanmar marks an important milestone in Indias relations with its eastern neighbours. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has promised to expedite the process of extraditing those wanted in India, including Sayed Ahmed Ali Kari alias Munna, alleged to be involved in major cases in Mumbai. Apart from making it easier for India to get hold of fugitives, the treaty will give a boost to intelligence sharing and wider bilateral cooperation against terrorism, money laundering, organised crime, drug trafficking and counterfeiting. Equally significant on Indias borders with Southeast Asia is the trilateral highway that will connect Manipur and other northeastern States with Thailand through Myanmar. Also hanging fire since the first decade of this century is the proposal for a trans-Asian railway line that will allow the movement of goods and people from Camranh Bay to the Caspian. India has already extended a $500 million loan to

Myanmar, which will also fund the trilateral highway. This project should substantially increase border trade with Myanmar, which has not picked up the way it should have because of infrastructure bottlenecks on both sides of the border but especially inside Myanmar. India and ASEAN have become such close partners that the highway project assumes greater significance. Thailand is already well linked to Malaysia and Singapore, which means that the trilateral highway to Mae Sot in Thailand could in effect connect India with four of its Southeast Asian friends. Connectivity through Myanmar is the bottleneck. New Delhi and Bangkok should work together with Nay Pyi Taw to ensure rapid completion of the missing link. Asphyxiation: Asphyxiate: kill or be killed by asphyxia Asphyxia: a condition arising when the body is deprived of oxygen, causing unconsciousness or death Buoyed by the positive response to its programmes and policies Buoy: keep afloat Frightening them out of their wits. Omer suddenly wriggled out his hand from mine Wriggle: twist and turn with quick writhing movements But dropped the plan on seeing Richa lying in a pool of blood on the ground and writhing in pain. Writhe: twist or squirm in pain or as if in pain not to take any hasty step haste: excessive speed or urgency in action