Friday 10 April 2015

Geography for SSC EXAM

India's Forest Policies

  • Bordering Pakistan Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat. 
  • Bordering China Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh. 
  • Bordering Nepal Bihar, Uttaranchal, UP, Sikkim, West Bengal 
  • Bordering Bangladesh West Bengal, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Tripura, Assam 
  • Bordering Bhutan West Bengal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam 
  • Bordering Myanmar Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram 
  • Bordering Afghanistan Jammu and Kashmir (Pakistan-occupied area)
Moon Important Facts
  • Average distance from Earth 3, 84, 365 km 
  • Diameter 3, 476 km 
  • Ratio of diameter of moon to that of earth 1: 3.7 
  • Rotation speed 27 days, 2 hrs, 43 min & 11.47sec. 
  • Revolution Speed 27 days, 7 hrs, 43 min & 11.47 Sec. 
  • Time taken by moonlight to reach earth 1.3 Sec 
  • Percent of surface visible from earth 59% 
  • First man to reach moon Neil Armstrong and Edvin Aldrin on Apollo XI (1969)
Heights of Some Important Indian Peaks
  • SNo Peak Height in metres above mean Sea Level 
  • 1 K2 8, 611 
  • 2 Kanchen Junga 8, 598 
  • 3 Nanga Parvat 8, 126 
  • 4 Gasher Brum 8, 068 
  • 5 Broad Peak 8, 047 
  • 6 Disteghil Sar 7, 885 
  • 7 Masher Brum E7, 821 
  • 8 Nanda Devi 7, 817 
  • 9 Masher Brum W7, 806 
  • 10 Rakaposhi 7, 788 
  • 11 Kamet 7, 756 
  • 12 Saser Kangri 7, 672 
  • 13 Skyang Kangri 7, 544 
  • 14 Sia Kangri 7, 422 
  • 15 Chaukhamba (Badrinath Peak) 7, 138 
  • 16 Trisul West 7, 138 
  • 17 Nunkun 7, 135 
  • 18 Pauhunri 7, 128 
  • 19 Kangto 7, 090 
  • 20 Dunagiri 7, 066

Current Affairs 2015


Arun Kumar Jha appointed CEO of Khadi and Village Industries Commission


Arun Kumar Jha on 10 April 2015 was appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), Mumbai. Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has appointed him to the post of CEO (Joint Secretary level post) in order to balance period of his overall 5 year tenure up to September 2016. Jha is a 1985-batch officer of Indian Economics Service (IES). Presently, he is working as Director General of National Institute of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD).

About Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC)
  • KVIC is a statutory body formed under the Khadi and Village Industries Commission Act, 1956. 
  • It is an apex organization under the aegis of Union Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. 
  • KVIC seeks to establish and develop khadi and village industries in the rural areas by assisting, planning and promoting them.

Veteran Australian Cricket legend and former Captain Richie Benaud passes away

Former Australia captain and legendary cricket commentator Richie Benaud passed away on 10 April 2015. He was 84.

About Richie Benaud

  • Richie Benaud was an Australian Test cricket all-rounder and a pioneering leg-spin bowler.
  • Test career- In his Test cricket career, he had played 63 matches. His debut match was against West Indies in 1952. He had made 2201 runs and had taken 248 wickets.
  • In 1958, he was appointed captain of Australian Test Team. He had led the team in 28 Test matches.
  • First class cricket career- He had played 259 first-class matches and had taken 945 wickets and made 11,719 first-class runs at an average of 36.50.
  • He had scored 23 centuries in first class cricket.
  • Commentary Career- After retiring from cricket he pursued his career in journalism and broadcasting.
  • In 1960, he made first radio cricket commentary for BBC in Britain. His last commentary was in 2005 Ashes series. But till 2013, he continued to work for Channel Nine in Australia.
  • Autobiography- Anything But published in 1998.
  • Awards- Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to cricket (1961), inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame (1985), Australian Cricket Hall of Fame (2007) and ICC Cricket Hall of Fame (2009).


Retired Air Chief Marshal Hrushikesh Moolgaonkar passes away

Retired Air Chief Marshal Hrushikesh Moolgaonkar passed away on 9 April 2015 in Pune, Maharashtra. He was 95.
About Hrushikesh Moolgaonkar

Hrushikesh Moolgaonkar had joined Indian Air Force (then Royal Indian Air Force) in November 1940 as the rank of an acting Pilot Officer. He was appointed Chief of Air Staff in February 1976. He had succeeded then Air Chief Marshal Om Prakash Mehra. During this tenure, one of his major achievements was bring flight safety in the Indian Air Force (IAF). Moolgaonkar had personally implemented the new safety measures and brought down the accident rates at that time. He had led the fly-past of IAF on Independence Day in August 15, 1947 and also on the Republic Day in January 26, 1951 when he was a Squadron Leader. He had served in 38 years in the IAF and had retired in August 1978. He was born on 14 August 1920 in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Awards- He was recipient of the prestigious Param Vishisht Seva medal and Mahaveer Chakra.

Union Government suspends Greenpeace India’s registration for 6 months
Union government has suspended the registration of Greenpeace India, a non-profit environmental organization for six months with immediate effect. Decision in this regard was taken by Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) after Greenpeace India had prejudicially acted against the public interests and economic interests of the country. As per MHA, Greenpeace India has used its funds received from foreign sources for unauthorised purposes and has violated the rules mentioned Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), 2010. If Greenpeace India fails to make a satisfactory presentation to the Union government in this regard, its licence may be cancelled permanently.

India elected to four key bodies of UN ECOSOC
India was elected to four key bodies of the United Nations’ Economic and Social Council (UN ECOSOC). India was elected to these bodies during ECOSOC’s coordination and management meeting held at UN headquarters in New York, United States (US) by acclamation i.e. form of election that does not use a ballot.

Four key subsidiary bodies are 
  • Executive Board of United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) ­­- India is elected for a 3 year term beginning January 2016. It was elected, along with 13 other nations. 
  • Executive Board of World Food Programme (WFP) - India is re-elected to the for a 2 year period starting from January 2016, along with 5 other nations. 
  • Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) – India is elected for a 3 year period starting from January 2016. India was elected along with 19 other nations. Some of them are Iran, Pakistan, Austria, France, Saudi Arabia, Sweden and US. 
  • Governing Council of United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) - India is elected for a 3 year period starting from January 2016 along with 13 other nations. With this, India has created significant 100 percent record of winning the UN ECOSOC elections.




Thursday 9 April 2015

Banking Awareness for Bank Exam

What is meant by Fiscal Policy?
Fiscal Policy is a part of a Government’s economic policy which deals with taxation, expenditure, borrowing, and the management of public debt in the economy. It primarily concerns itself with the flow of funds in the economy.
What is a Hot Money?
Hot Money‘ is the flow of funds (or capital) from one country to another in order to earn a short-term profit on interest rate differences and/or anticipated exchange rate shifts. Hot Money can move very quickly in and out of markets, potentially leading to market instability.
What is Soft Currency?
A currency with a value that fluctuates as a result of the country’s political or economic uncertainty is called Soft Currency. As a result of the of this currency’s instability, foreign exchange dealers tend to avoid it.
What is Hard Currency?
A currency, usually from a highly industrialized country, that is widely accepted around the world as a form of payment for goods and services is called Hard Currency.
A hard currency is expected to remain relatively stable through a short period of time, and to be highly liquid in the FOREX market.
What is meant by Security?
Security refers to a share, bond or Government stock that can be bought and sold, usually on the stock exchange or on a secondary market. The company or entity that issues the security is known as the issuer.
Security is divided into two types.
  •  Debt Security
  •  Equity
A debt security is a type of security that represents money that is borrowed that must be repaid, with terms that define the amount borrowed, interest rate and maturity/renewal date.
Equities represent ownership interest held by shareholders in a corporation, such as a stock. Unlike holders of debt securities who generally receive only interest and the repayment of the principal, holders of equity securities are able to profit from capital gains.
 What is meant by Prime Lending Rate (PLR)?
Prime Lending Rate is the rate of interest at which bank gives loan to its most reliable customers. Generally a bank’s best customers consist of large corporations. It is also known asPrime Interest Rate.
What is Monopoly?
Monopoly refers to a market structure where there is only one seller who controls the entire market and no substitute of that product is available in the market.
What is Monopsony?
Monopsony is also termed as ‘Buyer’s Monopoly‘. It means there is only one buyer of the product in the market.
What is meant by Autarchy?
Autarchy refers to a country which is self sufficient and does not require any kind of imports from other countries to meet the needs of the people.
What is meant by Buoyancy?
When the Government fails to check inflation, it raises the income tax as well as corporate tax to generate revenue. Such a tax is called as Buoyancy. It concerns with the revenue from taxation in the period of inflation.

General Awareness for Bank Po/Clerk

Maharatna CPSEs

The following are the criteria required to procure a Maharatna status for CPSEs.
  • The company should possess Navratna status.
  • Its should be listed on Indian stock exchange with minimum prescription of public shareholding under SEBI regulations.
  • Average annual turnover of more than Rs. 25,000 crore, during the last 3 years.
  • Average annual net worth of more than Rs. 15,000 crore, during the last 3 years.
  • Average annual net profit after tax of more than Rs. 5,000 crore, during the last 3 years.
  • The entity should have significant global presence/international operations.
Seven CPSEs possess Maharatna status which are as follows
  1. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited
  2. Coal India Limited
  3. GAIL (India) Limited
  4. Indian Oil Corporation Limited
  5. NTPC Limited
  6. Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Limited
  7. Steel Authority of India Limited

Navratna CPSEs

  • The following are the criteria required to procure a Navaratna status for CPSEs.
  • And a composite score of 60 or above out of possible 100 marks in the six selected performance parameters which are as follows

  • At least three ‘Excellent’ or ‘Very Good’ Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) ratings during the last five years.
  • The entity must have Miniratna Category – I status alongwith Schedule ‘A’ listing.

  1. Net Profit to Net Worth 
  2. Manpower cost to cost of production or services 
  3. Gross margin as capital employed 
  4. Gross profit as Turnover 
  5. Earnings per Share 
  6. Inter-Sectoral comparison based on Net profit to net worth.
Seventeen CPSEs possess Navratna status which are as follows
  1. Bharat Electronics Limited
  2. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited
  3. Container Corporation of India Limited
  4. Engineers India Limited
  5. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
  6. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited
  7. Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited
  8. National Aluminium Company Limited
  9. National Buildings Construction Corporation Limited
  10. NMDC Limited
  11. Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited
  12. Oil India Limited
  13. Power Finance Corporation Limited
  14. Power Grid Corporation of India Limited
  15. Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited
  16. Rural Electrification Corporation Limited
  17. Shipping Corporation of India Limited

General knowledge for competitive Exam

What is a Bank? 
A bank is an institution that accepts deposits of money from the public, which are repayable on demand and withdrawable by cheque. Such deposits are used for lending to others and not for financing it ...
What is Bitcoin? 
Bitcoin is an experimental, decentralized digital currency that enables instant payments to anyone, anywhere in the world. Bitcoin uses peer-to-peer technology to operate with no central authority: ma ...
What is Aadhaar? 
Aadhaar is a 12 digit individual identification number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India on behalf of the Government of India. This number will serve as a proof of identity and ad ...
What is ISO (International Organization for Standardization)? 
ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is the world’s largest developer of voluntary International Standards. International Standards give state of the art specifications for products, s ...
What is Family Farming? 
Family farming includes all family-based agricultural activities, and it is linked to several areas of rural development. Family farming is a means of organizing agricultural, forestry, fisheries, pas ...
What is Basel III? 
"Basel III" is a comprehensive set of reform measures, developed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, to strengthen theregulation, supervision and risk management of the banking sector. The ...
What is North East Council? 
The North Eastern Council is the nodal agency for the economic and social development of the North Eastern Region which consists of the eight States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mi ...
What is NASSCOM? 
National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) is the India's premier trade body and the chamber of commerce of the IT software and services industry in India. NASSCOM is a global t ...
What is Kyoto Protocol? 
The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The major feature of the Kyoto Protocol is that it sets binding targets for 37 ind ...
What is credit rating? 
A credit rating assesses the credit worthiness of an individual, corporation, or even a country. Credit ratings are calculated from financial history and current assets and liabilities. Typically, a c ...
What are the Child Rights? 
Who is a Child? Article 1 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child says, a child means every human being below the age of eighteen years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority ...
What is the Indo-US Civilian Nuclear Deal? 
India and the United States signed a landmark deal in October 2008, which allows India access to US civil nuclear fuel and technology. What is it that makes this deal so significant? How does India st ...
What is Higgs boson? 
The Higgs boson is a particle in the standard model of particle physics. Its existence was postulated in 1960s, to explain why the tiny particles that make up atoms have mass. Physicist Peter Higgs an ...
What is Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)? 
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is an international body, which comprehensively assesses increasing levels of greenhouse gases in the worlds and passes that information on to poli ...
What is Micro Credit & Self-Help Group? 
Micro Credit is defined as provision of thrift, credit and other financial services and products of very small amount to the poor in rural, semi-urban and urban areas for enabling them to raise their ...
Where is world largest solar telescope developed? 
India's remotely controlled terrestrial solar telescope, which will be the largest of its kind in the world will be operational by 2013. A high-resolution two-metre class solar telescope be placed so ...
What is London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR)? 
London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) is an interest rate at which banks can borrow funds from other banks in the London interbank market. One of the world’s most widely used benchmarks for short-term ...
What is Budget? 
Budget is also called the Annual Financial Statement. This is the main budget document. Under Article 112 of the Constitution, a statement of estimated receipts and expenditure of the government of In ...
What is the Global Slavery Index? 
The Global Slavery Index 2013 measures the size of the modern slavery problem, country by country. The Index provides aquantitative ranking of 162 countries around the world according to the estimate ...
What is polio? 
Poliomyelitis is a highly infectious disease caused by the polio virus. It invades the nervous system, and can cause paralysis or even death in a matter of hours. 

Wednesday 8 April 2015

Current Affairs April 2015


PM Narendra Modi launches MUDRA Bank to provide credit to small entrepreneurs


Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 8 April 2015 launched Micro Units Development Re-finance Agency (MUDRA) Bank in New Delhi. MUDRA Bank will act as a regulator for ‘Micro-Finance Institutions’ (MFIs) involved in manufacturing, trading and service activities to promote their growth. The Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana will be the main support system for the bank and will be the part of Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI). The MUDRA bank was proposed in Budget 2015-16 by Union Government with an initial corpus of 20,000 crore rupees. Apart from this, 3,000 crore rupees also has been earmarked as credit guarantee corpus.

The envisaged roles for MUDRA Bank include
  • Formulate policy guidelines for micro-enterprise financing business and registration of MFI entities. 
  • Undertake rating and accreditation of MFI entities. 
  • Develope standardized set of guidelines in order to govern last-mile lending to micro enterprises. 
  • Promote appropriate technology solutions for the last mile. Formulate and operate a credit guarantee schemes in order to provide guarantees to loans and portfolios that are extended to micro enterprises. 
  • Support promotional and development activities in the sector and create a good architecture for last-mile credit delivery.


MUDRA Bank will provide financing on 3 stages- Shishu, Kishore and Tarun.

  • Shishu is first stage in which loan cover upto Rs 50,000 will be given to a business entity at start of business. Kishore is second stage in which loan cover ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 5 lakh will be given. 
  • Tarun is the third stage in which loan cover up to Rs. 10 lakh will be given.

Snapdeal acquires FreeCharge

Online marketplace Snapdeal on 8 April 2015 acquired India’s fastest growing mobile transaction platform FreeCharge. With this acquisition, Snapdeal has become India’s largest mobile commerce firm with 40 million users and the largest mobile transactions base for any company. Now Snapdeal can offer wide range of services and products including financial services, mobile recharge and utility payments to its growing user base.

About FreeCharge
  • FreeCharge is a mobile commerce platform where users can recharge any prepaid mobile phone, postpaid mobile, DTH & Data Cards in India. 
  • Founded in 2010 by Kunal Shah and Sandeep Tandon. 
  • It is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Since 2011, it had raised over $120 million in financing backed by top tier institutional investors.


Gujarat wins Syed Mushtaq Ali T-20 trophy 2014-15

Gujarat won the Syed Mushtaq Ali T-20 cricket trophy for the tournament season 2014-15. In the final match played at KIIT Stadium, Odisha they defeated Punjab by two wickets. Punjab by batting first had scored 117 for 9 wickets in 20 overs. Gujarat by chasing the target had scored 123 in 19.5 overs for 8 wickets. With this win, Gujarat has won this trophy for second, earlier they won in 2012-13 season.

About Syed Mushtaq Ali T-20 Trophy
  • Syed Mushtaq Ali T-20 Trophy is a Twenty20 cricket domestic championship in India named after famous Indian cricketer, Syed Mushtaq Ali. 
  • Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) organizes the tournament and played among the teams from Ranji Trophy. 
  • Inaugural season of tournament was 2008-09 and was won by Maharashtra cricket team.


TRAI recommends 112 as single emergency number for India

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on 7 April 2015 has proposed ‘112’ as a single emergency number that can be used all across the country including for police, fire and ambulance departments. This emergency number will be similar to the ‘911’ an all-in-one emergency service in the United States.

At present, for emergency disaster management different numbers for different emergencies such as 100 for police, 101 for fire and 102 for ambulance are in existence. TRAI has suggested that existing emergency numbers can be retained as secondary numbers and the calls made to them be re-routed to ‘112’. 
After time being, once a call to the secondary numbers significantly reduces, they can be withdrawn gradually. Callers seeking help in emergency can dial ‘112’ from mobile or landline phones even when outgoing facility has been debarred or the service temporarily suspended. 

TRAI also has proposed SMS-based access for the emergency services. The regulator also has recommended setting up of Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) – a call centre through which all calls to ‘112’ will be routed. Depending upon type of emergency, PSAPs will send police, fire, medical and other emergency response servieces.








Tuesday 7 April 2015

Current Affairs April 2015

National Green Tribunal bans diesel vehicles older than 10 years in Delhi

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on 7 April 2015 held that all diesel vehicles heavy or light which are more than 10 years old will not be permitted to ply in Delhi and NCR. The judgment was given by bench headed by NGT Chairman Justice Swatanter Kumar on a petition filed by Vardhaman Kaushik who had contended that the level of particulates in Delhi is raising manifold.

NGT bench held that 

  • Diesel is prime source of air pollution in Delhi. 
  • The current situation is so alarming that people have been advised to leave Delhi due to adverse effects on health. 
  • Numbers of countries like Brazil, China, and Denmark etc are in the process or have prohibited diesel vehicles. They have achieved it by imposing stringent taxes on the vehicles. 
  • Certain stringent measures need to be taken to ensure that residents of Delhi do not travel closer to ill-health with each breath they take. 
  • In this regard, tribunal bench directed the Transport department of Delhi government and other concerned authorities to prepare a comprehensive data of registration of all such vehicles which are 10 or more years old. Earlier in November 2014, NGT had banned all the petrol vehicles over 15-year old in Delhi and NCR.


CCEA approves strengthening and widening of three sections of highways connecting Varanasi and Madurai

Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 7 April 2015 approved strengthening and widening of three sections connecting the two temple towns of Varanasi and Madurai.
CCEA approved four laning of Sultanpur-Varanasi section of National Highway-56 in Uttar Pradesh- This project will upgrade 138 km long stretch NH-56 at the cost of 3,800 crore rupees. It will substantially upgrade Varanasi’s connectivity to Lucknow and other parts of Central UP.
  • Varanasi to Ghazipur, Gorakhpur and Nepal section of NH- 29 in UP- This project will upgrade 200 km long stretch NH- 29 at the cost of 4,400 crore rupees. It will improve regional connectivity and facilitate improved movement of people and goods in the region and across the border. 
  • Madurai-Ramanathapuram section of NH- 49 in Tamil Nadu- This project will upgrade 115 km long stretch NH- 49 at the cost of 1,400 crore rupees. It will be undertaken under the National Highways Development Project (NHDP) Phase-III.

April 7: World Health Day

World health Day was observed all over the world on April 7, 2015. Theme for year 2015 was “food safety” with the slogan from farm to plate, make food safe. The theme highlights

  • Need to make food free from viruses, microbes and chemicals substances that are responsible for more than 200 diseases. Indirectly unsafe food is linked to the annual deaths of some 2 million people, mostly children. 
  • Need to create awareness about food safety as it possesses challenges from the changes in food production, distribution and consumption. Changes in the environment and new emerging pathogens and antimicrobial resistance are also challenge to food safety.
In this regard, WHO is also working with countries to strengthen efforts to detect, prevent and respond to foodborne disease outbreaks in line with the Codex Alimentarius

About World Health Day
  • Every year on April 7, World Health Day is celebrated under the sponsorship of the World Health Organization (WHO). Purpose: To focus on increasing the life expectancy by adding good health to the lives of people and promoting healthier living habits. 
  • This day marks the WHO’s founding and is observed since 1950, Since then April 7 every year is seen as an opportunity by the WHO to draw worldwide attention to a subject of major importance to global health each year.

Dr. Mayilsamy Annadura took charge as Director of ISRO satellite centre

Dr Mayilsamy Annadurai has assumed the office of Director, ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC) in Bengaluru, Karnataka. He replaced Dr. S.K. Shivakumar, who had retired on 31 March 2015.
About Dr Mayilsamy Annadurai
  • Annadurai had joined ISRO in 1982. He had started his career at ISAC as the team leader to design and develop Software Satellite Simulator. 
  • He was Mission Director of ISRO’s INSAT Missions from 1992 to 2005. 
  • He was also lead member of ISRO’s satellite mission team and brought about the efficient ground automation for satellite operations. 
  • Annadura also had served as Project Director of India’s first Lunar Mission, Chandrayaan-1 and Chandrayaan-2. In 2011, he was Programme Director of Indian Remote Sensing Satellites and Small Satellite Systems (IRS&SSS). 
  • He also had served as Programme Director of India’s first interplanetary mission- Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), also called Mangalyaan. Annadura has authored 3 books and has 75 papers to his credit.




Monday 6 April 2015

History For SSC Exam

National Movement of India: 1941 to 1950

The Cripps Mission 1942

  • In Dec. 1941, Japan entered the World War II and advanced towards Indian borders. By March 7, 1942, Rangoon fell and Japan occupied the entire S E Asia.
  • The British govt. With a view to getting co-operation from Indians sent Sir Stafford Cripps, leader of the House of Commons to settle terms with the Indian leaders.
  • He offered a draft which proposed dominion status to be granted after the war.
  • Rejected by the Congress as it didn't want to rely upon future promises.
  • Gandhiji termed it as a post dated cheque in a crashing bank.

The Revolt of 1942 & The Quit India Movement

  • Called the Vardha Proposal and Leaderless Revolt.
  • The resolution was passed on Aug. 8, 1942, at Bombay. Gandhiji gave the slogan ‘Do or Die’
  • On Aug 9, the Congress was banned and its important leaders were arrested.
  • The arrests provoked indignation among the masses and, there being no program of action, the movement became spontaneous and violent. Violence spread throughout the country.
  • The movement was however crushed.

The Indian National Army

Founded by Rasbehari Bose with Captain Mohan Singh.
  • S. C. Bose secretly escaped from India in Jain 1941, and reached Berlin. In July 1943, he joined the INA at Singapore. There, Rasbehari Bose handed over the leadership to him.
  • The soldiers were mostly raised from Indian soldiers of the British army who had been taken prisoners by the Japanese after they conquered S. E. Asia.
  • Two INA head quarters were Rangoon and Singapore (formed in Singapore).
  • INA had three fighting brigades named after Gandhiji, Azad and Nehru. Rani Jhansi Brigade was an exclusive women force.

The Cabinet Mission Plan (1946)

  • The struggle for freedom entered a decisive phase in the year 1945 − 46. The new Labour Party PM. Lord Attlee, made a declaration on March 15, 1946, that British Cabinet Mission (comprising of Lord Pethick Lawrence as Chairman, Sir Stafford Cripps and A. V. Alexander) will visit India.
  • The mission held talks with the INC and ML to bring about acceptance of their proposals.
  • On May 16, 1946, the mission put towards its proposals. It rejected the demand for separate Pakistan and instead a federal union consisting of British India and the Princely States was suggested.
  • Both Congress and Muslims League accepted it.

Formation of Interim Government (Sept 2, 1946)

  • Based on Cabinet Mission Plan, an interim government consisting of Congress nominees was formed on Sept. 2, 1946. J. L. Nehru was its Vice-President and the Governor-General remained as its President.

Jinnah's Direct Action Resolution (Aug 16, 1946)

  • Jinnah was alarmed at the results of the elections because the Muslim League was in danger of being totally eclipsed in the constituent assembly.
  • Therefore, Muslim League withdrew its acceptance of the Cabinet Mission Plan on July 29, 1946.
  • It passed a ‘Direct action’ resolution, which condemned both the British Government and the Congress (Aug 16, 1946). It resulted in heavy communal riots.
  • Jinnah celebrated Pakistan Day on Mar 27, 1947.

Formation of Constituent Assembly (Dec 9, 1946)

  • The Constituent assembly met on Dec 9, 1946 and Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected as its president.

Mountbatten Plan (June 3, 1947)

  • On June 3, 1947, Lord Mountbatten put forward his plan which outlined the steps for the solution of India's political problem. The outlines of the Plan were:
  • India to be divided into India and Pakistan.
  • Bengal and Punjab will be partitioned and a referendum in NEFP and Sylhet district of Assam would be held.
  • There would be a separate constitutional assembly for Pakistan to frame its constitution.
  • The Princely states would enjoy the liberty to join either India or Pakistan or even remain independent.
  • Aug. 15, 1947 was the date fixed for handing over power to India and Pakistan.
  • The British govt. Passed the Indian Independence Act of 1947 in July 1947, which contained the major provisions put forward by the Mountbatten plan.

Partition and Independence (Aug 1947)

  • All political parties accepted the Mountbatten plan.
  • At the time of independence, there were 562 small and big Princely States in India.
  • Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, the first home minister, used iron hand in this regard. By August 15, 1947, all the States, with a few exceptions like Kashmir, Hyderabad and Junagarh had signed the Instrument of Accession. Goa was with the Portuguese and Pondicherry with the French.