Banking Awareness: Important Topics Fiscal Policy and FRBM Act, 2003 for IBPS, SBI and Other Bank tests

Fiscal Policy and FRBM Act, 2003

Fiscal Policy
The part of the government policy, which is concerned with raising revenue through taxation and with deciding on the amount and purpose of government spending. Fiscal Policy is the means, by which a government adjust its level of revenue and spending in order to monitor and influence and nation's economy in a mixed economy, a part from the private sector, then is the government, which plays a very important role. The role of the government in promoting economic development came into vogue after "The great depression" and is essentially a Keynesian prescription. Later Dr. Parthsarthi Scheme Committee was appointed in this regard to form various guidelines and recommendations for GAAR Policy.

Fiscal Policy, essentially has a multidimensional role. However, in India, in the centre of indicative planning.It influences growth performance of economy mainly by influencing the resource mobilisation and influencing the efficiency of resources allocation. It has two objectives.

• 1) Improving the growth performance of the economy.
• 2) Ensuring social justice to the people.

FRBM Act, 2003

The Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, 2003 (FRBM Act) has been amended as part of the Finance Bill, 2012. It has introduced two concepts to reform the expenditure aspect of the fiscal policy. FRBM Act was passed by the Union Government to provide a legislative control over the fiscal situation of the country, which had deteriorated earlier. 

The Salient Features of FRBM:

Government to annually reduce revenue deficit by 0.5% and fiscal deficit by 0.3% of GDP starting from 2004-05. Prohibits RBI from printing money to lend to the government. Elimination of revenue deficit and reducing fiscal deficit 3% of GDP by 31st March, 2009. Annually present macro-economic frame work statement, medium term fiscal policy statement and fiscal policy strategy statement. Under exceptional circumstances government may breach the target, but the Finance Minister will be required to make a statement in both houses of Parliament explaining the reasons. While some success was achieved in containing fiscal deficit in the few years after passing this law, as the fiscal deficit came down to 2.5% of GDP by 2008, due to economic slowdown post 2008, deficit have again shot up and the government has been struggling to bring them under control.

Assessment of Government Deficits:

Assessment of Government deficits can be done on following basis

Fiscal Deficit: It is the difference between what the government earns and its total expenditure.

Fiscal Deficit = Revenue receipts (Net tax revenue + Non-tax revenue) + Capital receipts - Total expenditure (Plan and Non-plan)

Revenue Deficit: It is the difference between the revenue receipt on tax and non-tax side and the revenue expenditure. Revenue expenditure is synonymous with consumption and non-development.

Revenue Deficit = Revenue expenditure - Revenue receipts.

Banking Awareness: Important Banking Awareness Topics for IBPS, SBI and Other Bank tests

Important Banking Awareness Topis

Current Account:

Current account is that account, which records imports and exports of goods and services and uni-literal transfers. The current account is used to mark the inflow and outflow of goods and services into a country. Earnings on investments, both public and private, are also put into the current account.

Components of Current Account:

Current Account records the following transactions

• Export and import of goods (or of visible items)
• Export and import of services (or of invisible items)
• Uni-literal transfers from one country to the other.

In the context of current account Balance of Payment following are some important observations:

• All exports are recorded as positive (+) items as these result in the flow of foreign exchange into the country.
• All imports are recorded as negative (-) items as these cause the flow of foreign exchange out of the country.
• Balance occurring on account of export and import of goods is regarded as balance of visible trade.
• Balance occurring on account of export and import of services is recorded as balance of invisible trade.
• Receipts of uni-lateral transfers are recorded as positive items.
• Payments of uni-lateral transfers are recorded as negative items.

Capital Account:

It is that account, which records all such transactions between residents of a country and rest of the world, which causes a change in the asset or liability status of the residents of a country or its government. Investments (FDI and FII) and Borrowings (ECB etc) are part of the capital account.

Foreign Investment:

Foreign investment means a investment into production or business in a country by an individual or company in another country for profit earning. Typically, foreign investment denotes that foreigners take a some what active role in management as a part of their investment. Foreign investment typically works both ways, especially between countries of relatively equal economic stature. Foreign investment on the basis of nature can be categorised into two types

• Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
• Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI)

Foreign Institutional Investment (FII):

These are investments by entities from outside the country into the financial assets like debts and shares of companies from a different country, in which they are incorporated. FIIs (Foreign Institutional Investment) are required to register with SEBI (Security and Exchange Board of India) and any foreign individual wanting to invest into India has to come through one of these FIIs.

Participatory Notes(P-Notes):

These are financial instruments used by investors or hedge funds that are not registered with the securities and exchange board of India to invest in Indian securities. India-based brokerages buy notes to foreign investors. Any dividends or capital gains collected from the underlying securities go back to the investors.

Capital Account Convertibility in India:

Capital account convertibility (CAC) for Indian economy refers to the abolition of all limitations with respect to the movement of capital from India to different countries across the globe. According to the Tarapore Committee, capital account convertibility refers to the freedom to convert local financial assets into foreign financial assets and vice-versa at market determined rates of exchange. It is associated with changes of ownership in foreign/domestic financial assets and liabilities and embodies the creation and liquidation of claims on or by the rest of the world.

Fire Control Operator and Functions of Fire Control Operators for CISF (Fire) Aspirants

Fire Control Operator and Functions of Fire Control Operators

Fire Control Operator: 
Fire Control operators work as a team. Each individual, in the team, ensures that all of them work in unison and collaboration. They are prepared to counter any adversity so carefully that the least harm is caused to life and property.

Functions of Fire Control Operators:

A fire controller takes every resident, worker and passenger to secure places. A fire controller acts on emergency calls. He/She rescues those trapped in inflamed houses, traffic accidents, floods etc. Sometimes the emergency callers also need help. A fire control operator assists such callers by instructing them on phone. He has to take necessary information from the caller. Accurate address and nature of accident must be known so that suitable rescue equipments are taken to the spot. Suitable equipments and a team of officers, according to the nature of mishap, must be conducted to the spot. Fire control operators must stay connected, with each other and with fireman, through radio service, so that they, remaining at the centre, may co-ordinate with other agencies, such as, police, ambulance, etc,. The operator contributes in emergency operations by gathering and disseminating special information. He has to record or document all activities and information related to an ongoing emergency operation.

Emergency has several manifestations. Therefore, a fire control operator must maintain balance of mind and respond quickly in case of an accident/mishap. A fire control operator is trained to handle all kinds of mis-happenings, apart from fire. A nervous or an aggressive or a perturbed caller must be handled in a calm and composed manner.

Working Environment:

Fire fighting control room is spacious, well ventilated, air conditioned, secure and equipped with modern computerised communication and radio devices. Here, the control staff is always alert and ready to handle emergency round the clock. Sometimes the nature of work is stressful but they are trained to overcome stress or strain. The stratified system of work is based on 42 hours shift which includes 9 hours duty during the day and 15 hours duty during the night. According to the work cycle, one has to work for 2 days, then 2 nights and then follows 4 day rest (this includes the weekend). Sometimes part-time work is also possible. The Department staff are given a beautiful uniform.

Daily Activities:

Fire Control operators are responsible for protecting a large number of people and on an average, every year thousands of emergency calls are acted upon. Any operator, apart from fireman, may be called to operated equipments. They can be called not only in case of fire, but in cases of road accidents, chemical emission, air, sea or rail accidents, trapped animals. They have to communicate with police, ambulance, life boat team and other officers, almost every day.

Furthermore, the operators are also required to ensure that all information have been transformed into a systematic data and see whether they have been completed. Public relation is also an important ingredient of this services. Operators are expected to participate in exhibitions and keep contact with important persons, native groups and the members of public. They also have to reply to the queries of the press.

Article on Fire Safety and Security by Pratap Singh for Defence, CISF and BSF Aspirants

Article on Fire Safety and Security by Pratap Singh(IPS)

Fire Security and fire fighting is a complex and important service for the society. Actually, fire fighting is a highly competitive field. Initially, those, who aspire to join this service, have to go through rigorous training for 15 to 20 weeks. During this training, they are instructed the fundamental skills of a fireman, e.g., use of fire fighting weapons and equipments, ladder safety, use of respiratory equipments etc. A fireman is also trained in the skill of establishing fire security in the community. In fact, training is a continuous process imparted at relevant intervals, and it includes instructions related to handling of transportation problems and disaster mitigation measures executed by the fire fighting department, provided throughout the tenure of their service.

There are thousands of candidates who apply for the job of fireman, every year. They must pass three tests. A candidate must keep himself physically fir and agile for a long time. In other words, he must have alacrity and physical tenacity so that he is capable of undertaking prolonged rescue operations. If you have the right fire fighting equipments, your team would be safe for long durations. Apart from this, they are also trained in enhancing their efficiency in the profession. If firemen are provided proper fire fighting training facilities, especially, in a controlled environment they get a golden opportunity to hone up their skills. There are a few companies which provided equipments to the fire fighting department. This facilitates the efforts for dealing with precarious situation. Firemen, by engaging in mock-drills, may study the effectiveness of the equipments of the fire fighting department. There is also the need of devising techniques for convenient performance of their tasks.

In a controlled situation you can have the advantage of the training and possibly you may get hold of an advanced device which is popular these days. There are a variety of fire extinguishing devices available in a few shops where they demonstrate how the devices are to be used, so that your fire fighting team accomplishes its task without aggravating the injuries. You have the alternative of fixed or portable fire simulators. You have to decide which one is most suitable for you. If your fire fighting equipments are connected with the L.P.G. technique, fire fighting would become easier and the effectiveness of training will further increase.

If you find that fire fighting devices are not available on the market, then you have the option of procuring them on-line. Very often, the manufactures exhibit their fire fighting products and also explain their working. These exhibitions give you opportunities to assess the new technology and training ingredients available on the market. So far as maintenance is concerned, the fire fighting devices are not expensive. They are so manufactured that they are convenient to use. There are various training equipments related to fire fighting, such as, Raben system, Hawk system, Eagle system etc. You have to approach the right place where these new devices are available and also the training facilities are available. Fire fighting devices are so designed that their maintenance cost is very low.
                                                                                                                          by
                                                                                                                     Pratap Singh (IPS)
                                                                                                              Senior Fire safety Officer

General Awareness: Policy's of Navaratna, Miniratna and Maharatnas in India for UPSC, SSC Exams

Policy's of Navaratna, Miniratna and Maharatnas 

1) Policy of Navartnas:
Navaratna was the title given originally to nine Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs), identified by the Government of India in 1997, as its most prestigious, which allowed them greater autonomy to compete in the global market. Navaratna status empowers the PSUs to invest up to Rs. 1000 crore or 15% of their net worth on a single project without seeking government approval. The overall ceiling on such investments in all projects put together is 30%, of the net worth of the company.

Criteria for Navaratna Status for PSUs:

• It should have a composite score of 60 out of 100 marks based on these six criterias-Net Profit to Net Worth, manpower cost to cost of production or services, gross margin as capital employed, gross profit as turnover, earnings per share, inter-sectoral comparison based on Net Profit to Net Worth.
• The company should also have four independent directors on its board. Navaratna companies, subjects to certain guidelines have extra power to incur capital expenditure and decide upon joint ventures.It should have a schedule "A" and Miniratna category-1 status. 
• Set-Up subsidiaries/offices abroad.Enter into technological and strategic alliances.
• It should have at least three "excellent" or 'very good' Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) ratings during the last five years.
• Raise funds from capital markets (international and domestic) enjoy substantial operational and managerial autonomy.

2) Policy of Miniratnas:
The government has also accorded the status of Miniratna to some profit making Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs). There are two categories of Miniratnas.

1) Category I:
These are companies, which have made a profit in each of last three years and earned a profit of Rs. 30 crore in atleast one of the three years. They are allowed to incur capital expenditure without government approval upto 500 crore or equal to their net worth whichever is lower. There are 54 Miniratnas of this category at present.

2) Category II:
These are companies, which have made profits for the last three years continuously and have a positive Net Worth. They can incur capital expenditure upto Rs. 300 crore or 50% of their Net Worth whichever is lower. There are presently 18 such Category-II Miniratnas.

3) Policy of Maharatnas:
Maharatnas Scheme was introduced for Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs), with effect from 19th May, 2010, in order to empower mega CPSEs to expand their operations and emerge as global giants. The objective of the scheme is to delegate enhanced powers to the boards of identified large-sized Navaratna CPSEs, so as to facilitate expansion of their operations, both in domestic as well as global markets. The coveted status empowers the hoards of these firms to lake investment decisions up to Rs.5,000 crore as against the present Rs. 1,000 crore limits for Navaratna without seeking government approval. The Maharatna firms would now be free to decide oil investments up to 15% of their Net Worth in a project, limited to an absolute ceiling of Rs. 50,000 crore.

Computer Knowledge: Types of Internet Connections in Communication for IBPS and SBI Exams

Types of Internet Connections

1) Dial-Up Connection:
A Dial-up is a method of connecting to the Internet using an existing telephone. Dial-up connection uses the telephone lines to connect to the Internet. The modem connects the computer through the standard phone lines, which serve as the data transfer medium. A modem changes the digital data from your computer into analog data, a format that can be carried by telephone lines. Modem stands for Modulator and Demodulator. ISP refers to the company that provides internet connections to the users. Some popular ISP's, are Airtel, MTNL etc. When a user initiates a dial-up connection, the modem dials a phone number of an Internet Service Provider (ISP) that is designated to receive dial-up calls. The ISP then establishes the connection, which usually takes about ten seconds and is accompanied by several beeping and buzzing sounds.

2) Broadband Connection:
The term broadband commonly refers to high speed Internet access that is always on and faster than the traditional dial-up access. It uses a telephone line to connect to the Internet. Broadband access allows users to connect to the Internet at greater speed than a standard 256 KB  modem or dial-up access. Digital Subscriber Line (DSL): Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) is a popular broadband connection. It provides Internet access by transmitting digital data over the wires of a local telephone network. DSL is the most common type of broadband service. DSL uses the existing copper telephone lines. A special modem is necessary in order to be able to use a DSL service over a standard telephone line.

3) Wireless Connection:
Wireless broadband can be mobile or fixed. Unlike DSL and cable, wireless broadband requires neither a modem nor cable and as a result it can be easily established in areas, where it is not feasible to deploy DSL or Cable. It is a universal wireless networking technology that utilises radio frequencies to transfer data.Wireless broadband connects a two or more devices likes home's or business to the Internet using a radio link between the customer's location and the service provider's facility. Wi-Fi allows high speed Internet connections without the use of cables or wires. Wi-Fi networks can be designed for private access within a home or business or be used for public Internet access at "hot spot" such as restaurants, coffee shops, hotels, airports, convention centres and city parks.

4) Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN):
It is a digital telephone service that can transmit voice, data and control information over an existing single telephone line. It was the first high speed alternative to regular analysis phone modems. It is widely used for business purpose.

Marketing Knowledge: New Industry Policy for IBPS and SBI Interviews

Marketing Knowledge: Industries and Industrial Policy

Definition of Industry:
Industry refers to an economic activity concerned with the processing of raw materials and manufacture of goods in factories are often classified based on their principal product Ex:- steel industry, auto-mobile industry, textile industry etc. The product of industries can be consumer goods (Goods, which finally consumed by consumers) like textiles, cosmetics etc or producer goods (Goods used by manufacturers for producing some other goods) like machinery, tools, equipment etc.

Importance of Industry's:
The industry sector of the economy is important for a country for many reason like. Rapid growth of national income is possible only through industrialisation as growth in agriculture is limited by factors including natural factors. Industries can provide better quality and more employment than the agriculture sector. Value addition in the industrial sector can earn more foreign exchange than simply exporting raw materials. The industrial sector provides goods for the development of basic infrastructure of the country like power, telecom etc, which then provides the basis for the growth of other sectors like agriculture and services. National security requires that products for defence and other strategic sectors be produced within the country itself, so as to guard against adverse eventualities like sanctions, wars etc.

The concept of "Industrial Policy" is comprehensive and it covers all those producers, principles, policies rules and regulations which control the industrial undertakings of a country and shape the pattern of industrialisation. It incorporate fiscal and monetary policies, the tariff policy, Labour policy and Government's attitude not only towards external assistance, but the public and private sectors also.


New Industrial Policy (NIP), 1991

The Government of India announced the New Industrial Policy on 24th July, 1991. The main objective of this policy is to unshackle the Indian industrial economy from administrative and legal controls. Its main aim is to raise industrial efficiency to the international level through substantial deregulation of the industrial sector of the country. An industrial policy provides guidelines for the effective co-ordination of the activities of various sectors of the economy. When India achieved independence in 1947, the national consensus was in favour of rapid industrialisation of the economy, which was seen not only as the key to economic development, but also economic sovereignty. The industrial licensing was abolished irrespective of the level of investment, except for 18 specified industries like defence, atomic energy etc. Since then, most of these industries were de-licensed and now only three industries fall under the purview of industrial licensing.

In the subsequent years, India's Industrial Policy evolved through successive Industrial Policy Resolutions and Industrial Policy Statements. Specialise priorities for industrial development were also laid down in the successive five year plans.

Banking Awareness: Expected Interview Topics Insurance and Banking for IBPS and SBI Interviews

Corporate Governance Guidelines for Insurance Companies

Corporate Government guidelines have been rolled out for insurance companies which are effective from 1st April, 2010.The guidelines broadly cover major structural elements of Corporate Governance in insurance companies. According to the same, a minimum lock-in period of 5 years from the date of certificate of commencement of business of an insurer is laid down on the promoters of the insurance company and no transfer of shares of the promoters would be permitted within this period. Guidelines further stipulates that the Board of the insurer should have practices in place for succession planning for the key senior functionaries through a process of proper identification and nurturing of individuals for taking over senior management positions.

Insurance are required to have a minimum of two independent directors on their Board as long as they are unlisted. Where the Chairmen of the Board is non-executive, the Chief Executive Officer should be a whole time director of the Board. Not more than one member of a family or a close relative as defined in the Companies Act or an associate (partner, director etc.,) should be on the Board of an Insurer. Directors of insurance companies have to meet the "fit and proper" criteria. Guidelines further stipulates formation of the following committees mandatory: Audit, investment, Risk Management, Asset Liability Management (in case of Life Insurance companies), Policyholder Protection, Optional committees to be formed are Remuneration, Nomination and Ethics.

Insurance and Banking:

The insurance companies in India are constantly collaborating with the banking institutions on the pattern of foreign countries to impart more efficiency in the entire venture insurance sector. More and more insurance companies are signing MoUs with the Indian banks in order to carry on their marketing activities through the branches of the banks, the prominent Indian banks that have already signed such Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) include the Vysya Bank, the State Bank of India and the Jammu and Kashmir Bank.

In 2008, its wholly owned subsidiary was opened in Singapore. It also extends assistance for development of infrastructure facilities like housing, rural electrification, water supply, sewerage etc. In addition, it extends resource support to other " financial institutions through subscription to their shares and bonds" etc. In making investments, the major consideration is the protection of the interests of policy holders and the aim is to secure the highest possible yield consistent with the safety of capital. It is the single largest investor in the country. It subscribes to and underwrites the shares, bonds and debentures of various financial corporations and companies and provides term loans.

Banking Awareness: Agricultural Insurance Company of India Limited (AICIL) and Its Schemes for IBPS Interviews

Agricultural Insurance Company of India Limited (AICIL)

Agricultural Insurance Company of India Limited (AICIL) was established on 20th December, 2002 to promote crop insurance in order to protect the farmers against the crop losses suffers due to natural calamities. The GIC, NABARD and four public sector general insurance companies have contributed Rs. 200 crore towards the paid-up share capital out of the authorized capital of Rs. 1500 crore. The AICIL having received approval from IRDA commenced its business operations w.e.f 1st April, 2003. The total number of employees as on date is 198 all over the country. It has its Head Office in New Delhi and 17 Regional Offices in various State Capitals.

The AICIL is implementing National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS), a central sector crop insurance programme of Government of India and also implementing the Pilot Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (WBCIS) throughout the country along with its other commercial crop insurance products. A Pilot on Modified NAIS has also been started by AICL initially covering 50 districts.

The objectives of MNAIS are as under:

• Actual rate-marketing, with district level crop insurance premium rates.
• Probable yield based on moving average of last 7 years.
• Reduction of the insurance unit to the Gram Panchayat level, where feasible.
• Partial on-account settlement of claims during cropping season.
• Up-front partial premium subsidies based on commercial premium rate slabs for both food and commercial crop paid by the centre and respective State Government.

1) AICIL's own Commercial Insurance Products:

Beside the above Government supported crop insurance schemes, AIC has designed and is implementing a few crop specific products to cater to the needs of diverse farming community of India to meet their diversified risks. These products are supplementing the coverage already available for the crops covered under NAIS and WBCIS. These are Varsa Bima, Rainfall Insurance, Wheat Insurance, Rabi Weather Insurance, Mango Weather Insurance, Rainfall Insurance Scheme-Coffee (RISC), Bio-Fuel Insurance, Potato Contract Farming Insurance, Cardamom Insurance etc.

2) National Agricultural Insurance Scheme(NAIS):

The Government of India introduced the scheme from 1999-2000 seasons to protect the farmers against  to crop failure losses on account of all natural calamities so as to restore the credit worthiness of loaned farmers. The scheme is available to non-loaned farmers as well. The scheme, at present covers 73 different crops during the year which includes food crops cereals, millets and pulses and oilseed etc.

3) Pilot Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (WBCIS): 

WBCIS aims to mitigate the hardship of the insured farmers against the likelihood of financial loss on account of anticipated crop loss resulting from incidence of adverse conditions of weather parameters like rainfall, temperature, forest, humidity etc. It is started form 2007-2008 Union Budget. While NAIS specifically indemnifies the cultivator against shortfall in crop yield, WBCIS is built upon the fact that weather conditions affect crop production even when a cultivator has taken all the care to ensure good harvest.

Marketing Knowledge: Branding and Packaging for IBPS, SBI and Other Bank Tests

Marketing Topics: Branding and Packaging

Branding:

Branding is the management process by which a product is branded. It is a general term covering various activities like giving a brand name to a product, designing a brand mark and enforcing it. Brand is a perceptual entity rooted in reality which ultimately resides in the minds of consumers. Branding is all about creating difference between products.

It creates mental structure that help consumers to organise their knowledge about products and services in a way that clarifies their decision making which also provides value to the firm. Marketers can apply branding virtually anywhere a consumer has a choice. It is possible to brand a physical good (Maggi noodles, Lux soap) a service, (ICICI's banking service) a stores like Bigbazar, West side an organisation (UNICEF) or an Idea (Family Planing). Brand often relate to attributes or benefits of the product itself.


Functions of Branding

• Branding helps in product identification and gives distinctiveness to a product.
• It indirectly, it denotes the quality or standard of a product.
• It eliminates imitation of products.
• Branding helps in legal right on the product.
• It helps in advertising and packaging activities.
• It is also helps to create and sustain brand loyalty to particular products.
• Branding helps in price differentiation of products.

Advantages of Branding:

The advantages of using brand names could be easily recognised for each group of participants in the marketing via manufacturers, consumers, distributors as follows.

1) To the Manufacturer: It identifies the product and distinguishes it from other competing products. Thus, it protects the interests of the manufacturers. It saves advertising cost if the brand name is popular. If properly promoted, brand name creates confidence and goodwill for the products.

2) To the Consumers: It provides an easy way for purchase by easy identification of a product. The branding name indirectly assures certain quality by identifying the manufacturer with the product.

3) To the Distributors: Widely popular brands ease the selling process and lead to large sales. It helps in advertising and sales promotion programmes. The distributor can easily find out quick moving products. Branding reduces price flexibility. Thus, in turn, reduces the risk in business. Special selling efforts need not be undertaken. This reduces the cost of distribution and thus, the final price.

Packaging

Packaging is the technology of enclosing or protecting products for distribution, storage, sale and use. It means putting the products in suitable containers or packets such as tin, plastic jar or card board box etc. Packaging should be such that product is protected and can be easily handled. It should be attractive and eye-catching and as far as a eco-friendly.

Functions of Packaging: First, packaging must protect the product it also has a promotional role which has become more important. It helps to identify the contents, the brand and the maker. To facilitate transporting, storing and warehouse handling. It helps to encourage repurchase. Packaging helps to assemble and arrange the contents in the desired form.

Geography Topic: Important Points about Earthquakes for Competitive Exams

Geography-Earthquakes

It refers to the vibration of the Earth's surface caused by the endogenetic forces of Earth. The magnitude or intensity of energy released by an earthquake is measured by the Richter Scale, whereas the damage caused is measured by modified Mercalli Intensity Scale. The place of origin of earthquake is called focus. The place on the ground surface, which is perpendicular to the focus or hypocentre is called epicentre. Seismology is the special branch of geology that deals with the study of earthquake.

The waves generated by earthquake are called seismic waves and they are classified into three types such as

• Primary Waves( P Waves): These are the waves of short wavelength and high frequency. They are longitudinal waves and can travel through solid liquid and gases.
• Secondary Wave( S Waves): These are the waves of short wave length and high frequency. They are transverse waves, which travel through all solid particles.
• Surface Waves or Long Waves ( L Waves): They are the waves of long wavelength, confined to the skin of the Earth's crust. It causes most of the earthquake's structural damage.

The Earthquake Zones, in India:

The Indian plate is moving from South to North at the speed of 5 cm/year and the Eurasian Plate is static on its own position, so there is a collision between Indian Plate and Eurasian Plates. Due to this collision, the earthquakes occurs in the Himalayan regions of India. The collision also results in the increase of the height of Himalayas at the speed of 1 cm/year. The second most important earthquake zone is Parallel to Punjab and Rann of Kutch. It occurs due to the movement between the transform boundaries of Eurasian and Indian Plates. Earthquakes occur in Asom, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Tripura, Mizoram, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Jammu and Kashmir, the North-Western region of Uttar Pradesh and the Northern region of Bihar etc.

Distribution of Earthquakes:

Most of the world earthquake occur in

• The zones of young fold mountain
• The zones of folding and faulting
• The zones of junction of continental and oceanic margin
• The zone of active volcanoes
• Along different plate boundaries

The Traditional Zones of Earthquakes

• Circum Pacific belt
• Mid Continental belt
• Mid Atlantic belt

Computer Knowledge: Importance of Internet and Its Services for IBPS, SBI and Other Competitive Exams

Importance of Internet and Its Services

The Internet has gained popularity and emerged as an important and efficient means of communication. The idea of introducing the internet was to allow millions of people to share information and ideas, sound, video clips using their computers across the world. The internet is a world wide network of networked computers those are able to exchange information with each other. It consists of thousands of separately administered network of various sizes and type.

Internet:
Internet stands for International Network, which began in 1950's by Vinit Curf known as the Father of the Internet. The term Internet is derived from two words-Interconnection and networks, also referred to as "Net". Internet is a "network of networks" that consists millions of private and public network of local to global scope. Basically, network is a group of two or more computer systems linked together.

Uses and Working of Internet:
Internet has been the most useful  technology of the modern time which helps us not only in our daily lives but also our personal and professional lives developments. Internet helps us in communication, information, business, social networking, shopping, entertainment, job searching and E-commerce.

The computers on the Internet are connected to each other through the small networks.These networks connected through the gateways to the Internet backbone. The data move around the Internet is controlled by protocols. Under TCP/IP protocol (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol), a file is broken into smaller parts by the file server called packets. All computers on the Internet, communicate with one another using TCP/IP, which is a basic protocol of the Internet.

History of Internet:
In 1969, the university of California at Los Angels. the University of Utah were connected as the beginning of the ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network) using 50 kbits circuits. It was the world's first operational packet switching network. The goal of this project was to connect computers at different universities and U.S defence.

In mid 80's another federal agency, the National Science Foundation, created a new high capacity network called NSF net, which was more capable than ARPNET. The only drawback of NSF net was that it allowed only academic research on its network and not any kind of private business on it. So, private organisations and people started working to build their own networks, which were later interconnected with ARPNET and NSF net to form the Internet.

Marketing Knowledge: Marketing Distribution Channel and Marketing Middlemen for Competitive Exams

Marketing Distribution Channel and Marketing Middlemen

Most producers do not sell their goods directly to the final users, between them stands a set of intermediaries performing a variety of functions. These intermediaries constitute a marketing channel. A channel of distribution is the path a product takes from the producer or manufacturer to the final user. So, marketing channels are a set of interdependent organisations (intermediaries) involved in the process of making a product or service available for use or consumption by the consumer or business user.

Importance of Distribution Channel:

• They act as communication agent which often guide the consumers in right direction to fulfil their wants.
• A distribution channel is important for understanding the logistics of the business.
• It helps in managing, planning, producing, transporting and storage of products.
• They help to reduce the storage cost.

Types of Marketing Middlemen

Middlemen are broadly classified into two groups

• 1) Merchant Middlemen
• 2) Agent Middlemen

1) Merchant Middlemen: Merchant middlemen normally take title to, and therefore own, the product they handle. The buy and sell for their own gain and derive their income from the margins arising from the sales. i.e., difference between buying price and selling price.There are two categories of merchant middlemen and they are:

i) Wholesalers: They deal with goods in bulk and reap the benefit of economies of sales. They provide goods in relatively small quantities to retailers and provide them with facility of credit purchase. Wholesalers may be defined as the middlemen who operates between the producers (from whom they purchase goods) and the retailers (to whom they sell goods).

ii) Retailers: Retailers are middlemen who procure goods from the wholesalers and sell the product to the end-users or the consumers. They cater to the demand of the customers by providing a variety of products of different companies at one place. They also offer pre and after sales services and communicate to consumers the feature, discount retailer, vending machine and super market are types of retailer.


2) Agent Middlemen: All Agent Middlemen of marketing don't own what they handle i.e., not take title to the goods. They derive their income from the fees they are paid by their client or commissions given. There are three categories of Agent Middlemen they are:

i) Broker: He brings the buyers and sellers together and negotiate between them. He generally specialises in a narrow range of products and posses in-depth knowledge of market condition in his area of specialisation. A broker does not receive payment until the product is sold and has to ensure the best deal for the customer.

ii) Commission Agent: They procure goods on consignment and transport them to bigger markets to sell them for the best price in the market. They deduct the commission and the transportation costs and pay the rest of the money earned to the producer. They generally deal with agricultural products, sea foods, etc.

iii) Auctioneer: An auctioneer is an agent who sells goods by auction i.e., to the highest bidder in public competition. He has no authority to hold the goods sold and can deliver the goods only on receipt of price. He is the agent of the vendor.

Computer Knowledge: About Network Topology's in Computers for Competitive Exams

Network Topology's ( Mesh, Star and Tree Topology's)

Mesh Topology: 
It is also known as completely interconnected topology. In mesh topology, every node has a dedicated point to point link to every other node. It provides a bi-directional link between each possible node. This type of network topology contains at least two nodes with two or more paths between them. Mesh topology is robust because the failure of any one computer does not bring down the entire network.

Advantages of Mesh Topology are:

• Excellent for long distance networking.
• Communication possible through the alternate route, if one path is busy.

Disadvantage of Mesh Topology are:

• Long wire or cable length, hence increase in the cost of installation and maintenance.

Star Topology:
In this network topology, the peripheral nodes are connected to a central node, which rebroadcasts all transmissions received from any peripheral node to all peripheral nodes across the network, including the originating node.If the central hub fails, then whole network fails. The protocols used in star topology are Ethernet, Token Ring and Local Talk. A star network can be expanded by placing another star hub.

Advantages of Star Topology are:

• Installation of star topology is very easy as all the nodes are directly connected to the central node or server.
• Easy to detect faults and remove it.
• Failure of single system will not bring down the entire network.
• Allows several types of cables in same network.

Disadvantages of Star Topology are:

• Requires more cable length than bus topology.
• If hub or server fails, the entire network will be disabled.
• Difficult to expand, as the new node has to connect all the way to central node.

Tree Topology: 
This is a network topology in which nodes are arranged as a tree. The function of the central node in this topology may be distributed. A tree topology is an extension and variation of star topology. Its basic structure is like an inverted tree, where the root acts as a server. It allows more devices to be attached to a single hub.

Advantages of Tree Topology are:

• The tree topology simulates hierarchical flow of data. So, it is suitable for applications where hierarchical flow of data and control is required.
• We can easily extend the network.

Disadvantages of Tree Topology are:

• Long cable are required.
• There are dependencies on the root node.
• If the central hub fails, the entire system breaks down.

Computer Knowledge: Network Topology's for Competitive Exams

Network Topology's ( Bus - Ring)

Network Topology: The term "Topology" refers to the way a network is laid out, either physically or logically. Topology can be referred as the geometric arrangement of a computer system. Each computer system in a topology is known as node. Network topology is determined only by the configuration of connections between nodes. In a fully connected network with n nodes, there are n(n-1)/2 direct links.

Bus Topology:

A bus topology is such that there is a single line to which all nodes connected. It is usually used when a network installation is small, simple or temporary. In bus topology, all the network components are connected with a same (single) line. Ethernet is commonly well protocol in networks connected by bus topology.

Advantages of Bus topology are:

• All the nodes are connected directly, so very short cable length is required.
• The architecture is very simple and linear.
• Bus topology can be extended easily on either sides.
• The cabling cost of bus topology is less and requires the least amount of cable to connect computers.

Disadvantages of Bus topology are:

• Diagnosis of fault is difficult. It is difficult to find the problem, if any of the node is facing problem in data communication.
• In case of any fault in data transmission, fault isolation is very difficult. We have check the entire network to find the fault.
• Becomes slow which increase in number of nodes.
• The entire network shuts down if there is an error occurs in the main cable.

Ring or Circular Topology

Ring topology is used in high-performance network where large band with is necessary. The protocols used to implement ring topology are Token Ring and Fibre Distributed Data Interface (FDDI). In ring topology, data is transmitted in form of Token over a network. After passing through each node, the data returns to the sending node.

Advantages of ring or circular topology are:

• Short cable length is required.
• Suitable for optical fibre as the data flow in one direction.

Disadvantages of ring or circular topology are;

• In ring topology, each node is connected in a circular way, with its two neighbouring nodes, so when there is transmission problem anywhere in the network, entire network stops functioning.
• Fault diagnosis is very difficult in a network formed using ring topology.
• In ring topology, every node has exactly two branches connected to it, the ring is broken and cannot work if one of the nodes on the ring fails.
• Failure of single computer affects the whole network.
• Adding or removing the computer disturbs whole network activity.

Note:- We will discuss remaining Three Topology's in coming posts. Happy Reading.....

Computer Knowledge: All about Network Devices for Competitive Exams

Comnputer Knowledge: Network Devices

Network devices are required to amplify the signal to restore the original strength of signal and to provide an interface to connect multiple computers in a network. There are many types of network devices used in networking. Some of them are described below.

1) Repeater: A repeater is a device that operates only on the physical layer of OSI model. Repeaters have two ports and can connect two segments of a LAN. It amplifies the fable signals when they are transported over a long distance so that the signal can be as strong as the original signal. A repeater boosts the signal back to its correct level.

2) Gateway: A gateway is an interconnecting device, which joins two different network protocols together. It holds the information from a website temporarily, so that the repeated access to same website or web page could be directed to the proxy server instead of actual web server. Thus helps in reducing the traffic load.The gateway is a node in a network which serves as a proxy server and a firewall system and prevents the unauthorised access. They are also known as protocol converters. It accepts packet formatted for one protocol and converts the formatted packet into another protocol.


3) Hub: Hub is like a repeater with multiple ports used to connect the network channels. It acts as a centralised connection to several computers with the central node or sever. When a hub receives a packet of data at one of its ports from a network channel, it transmits the packet to all of its ports to all other network channel.


4) Switch: Switch forwards a data packet to a specific route by establishing a temporary connection between the source and the destination. It is a small hardware device that joins multiple computer together within one LAN. Switches work on the data link layer of the OSI model. It helps to reduce overall network traffic. There is a vast difference between switch and a hub. A hub forwards each information packet (data) to all the hub ports, while a switch forwards each incoming packet to the specified recipient.

5) Router: Router is a hardware device which is designed to take incoming packets, analyse the packets, moving the packets to another network, converting the packets to another network interface, dropping the packets, directing packets to the appropriate locations etc.

6) Modem: Modem is a device that converts digital signal to analog signal (modulator) at the sender's site and converts back analog signal to digital signal (demoulator) at the receiver's end, in order to make communication possible via telephone lines. A MODEM is always placed between a telephone line and a computer.

7) RJ11 Connector: RJ11 connector is the typical connector used on two pair, four wire handset wiring. RJ means "Registered Jack", the physical connector interface that is most often utilised for handset wire terminals. RJ11 connector wiring comes in two standard assortments -UTP or Unshielded Twisted Pair and flat-satin cable or the untwisted. RJ11 connectors are used to terminate phone lines, and are typically deployed with single line POTS (Plain Old Telephone Services) telephone jacks.

Computer Knowledge: About Wireless Technology in Data Communication for IBPS, SBI and Other Competitive Exams

Unguided Media ( Wireless Technology)

It is the transfer of information over a distance without the use of enhanced electrical conductors or wires. When the computers in a network are interconnected and data is transmitted through waves, then they are said to be connected through unguided media. Some commonly used unguided media of transmission are;

1) Radiowave Transmission:
When two terminals communicate by using radio frequencies then such type of communication is known as radio-wave transmission. This transmission is also known as Radio Frequency (RF) transmission. These are omnidirectional. Radiowaves are propagate in the sky mode, can travel long distances. Each computer attaches to an antenna that can both send and receive radio transmission.

Radiowave transmission setup has two parts:

• Transmitter: The devices which transmit signals, are termed as transmitter.
• Receiver: The devices which received signals, are termed as receiver.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Radiowaves
Advantages		Disadvantages
1	Cheaper than wired network	Insecure communication can be easily taped.
2	Provides Mobility	It is affected by the weather conditions such as rain, storms, thunder, etc.
3	Easy to use over difficult terrain.

2) Microwave Transmission:

Microwaves are electromagnetic waves having frequencies range from 0.3 to 300 GHz. Microwaves are unidirectional. Microwaves have a higher frequency than that of radiowaves. Microwaves is one of the fastest media for data transmission over communication channel. They can be aimed at a single direction instead of broadcasting in all direction. Microwaves antenna placed on the top of buildings. It consists series of stations approx 30 miles apart. It is used in cellular network and television broadcasting.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Microwaves
Advantages		Disadvantages
1	Cheaper than digging trenches for laying cables and using repeaters.	Insecure communication, as the taping of microwaves is easy.
2	Using microwaves, communication is possible even in difficult terrains.	It is affected by the weather conditions such as rain, thunder, storm etc.,
3		Cost of maintenance, implementation and design is high.

3) Satellite Communication:

The communication across longer distances can be provided by combining radio frequency transmission with satellites. It works over a long distance and fast communication. Satellite communication amplifies signal received from one Earth station, which can be located many thousand of miles away. It is used for communications to ships, vehicles, planes and handheld terminals.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Satellite   Communication
Advantages		Disadvantages
1	It covers a vast range of area.	It is very costly. So, it is preferred to use personal or low budget communication.
2	The wired communication is almost impossible and too costly to use across the continents where the satellite communication proves to be the best alternative.	There is atmospheric loss of transmitted signals.
3	It is very useful in television transmission.

4) Infrared Wave Transmission:

Infra red waves are the high frequency waves used for short-range communication. These waves do not pass through the solid-objects. They are mainly used in TV remote, wireless speakers.

5) Bluetooth

It is a wireless technology used for exchanging data over short distance to create a Personal Area Network (PAN) or piconet invented by Erreiscon in 1994.