Pranab MukherjeePranab Mukherjee (11 December 1935 – 31 August 2020) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the 13th President of India from 2012 until 2017. In a political career spanning five decades, Mukherjee was a senior leader in the Indian National Congress and occupied several ministerial portfolios in the Government of India. Prior to his election as President, Mukherjee was Finance Minister from 2009 to 2012. He was awarded India's highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 2019, by his successor as president, Ram Nath Kovind.
Education in IndiaEducation in India is primarily managed by the state-run public education system, which falls under the command of the government at three levels: central, state and local. Under various articles of the Indian Constitution and the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, free and compulsory education is provided as a fundamental right to children aged 6 to 14. The approximate ratio of the total number of public schools to private schools in India is 10:3.
DalitDalit (from dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the castes in the Indian subcontinent. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming a fifth varna, also known by the name of Panchama. Dalits predominantly follow Hinduism, with significant populations of the adherents of Buddhism, Sikhism, Christianity, and Islam. Scheduled Castes is the official term for Dalits, who get reservation under Positive discrimination, as per the constitution of India.
Great RecessionThe Great Recession was a period of marked general decline observed in national economies globally, i.e. a recession, that occurred from late 2007 to 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At the time, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded that it was the most severe economic and financial meltdown since the Great Depression. One result was a serious disruption of normal international relations.
Khushwant SinghKhushwant Singh (born Khushal Singh, 2 February 1915 – 20 March 2014) was an Indian author, lawyer, diplomat, journalist and politician. His experience in the 1947 Partition of India inspired him to write Train to Pakistan in 1956 (made into film in 1998), which became his most well-known novel. Born in Punjab, Khushwant Singh was educated in Modern School, New Delhi, St. Stephen's College, and graduated from Government College, Lahore. He studied at King's College London and was awarded an LL.B.
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear WeaponsThe Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament. Between 1965 and 1968, the treaty was negotiated by the Eighteen Nation Committee on Disarmament, a United Nations-sponsored organization based in Geneva, Switzerland.
Civil Services of IndiaThe Civil Services refers to the services performed by government civil servants who constitute the permanent executive branch of the Republic of India. Elected cabinet ministers determine policy, and civil servants carry it out. Central Civil Servants are employees of the Government of India or of the states, but not all employees of the Government are civil servants. As of 2010, there were 6.4 million government employees in India but fewer than 50,000 civil servants to administer them.
Delhi MetroThe Delhi Metro is a mass rapid transit (MRT) system serving Delhi and its adjoining satellite cities such as Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Gurugram, Noida and Bahadurgarh, in the National Capital Region of India. The Delhi Metro network consists of 12 colour-coded lines serving 287 stations with a total length of . It is the largest and busiest metro rail system in India, and the second oldest after the Kolkata Metro. The system has a mix of underground, at-grade, and elevated stations using both broad-gauge and standard-gauge tracks.
Khalistan movementThe Khalistan movement is a separatist movement seeking to create a homeland for Sikhs by establishing an ethno‐religious sovereign state called Khalistan (ਖ਼ਾਲਿਸਤਾਨ) in the Punjab region. The proposed boundaries of Khalistan vary between different groups; some suggest the entirety of the Indian state of Punjab, while larger claims include Pakistani Punjab and other parts of North India such as Chandigarh, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh. Shimla and Lahore have been proposed as the capital of Khalistan.
