Renewed interest of Bengal students in the civil services

He graduated in zoology, followed it up with a master's and took up research work at the Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (IICB) in Jadavpur, Calcutta. After he qualified the National Eligibility Test (NET) for college teaching, he joined Sarojini Naidu College for Women in Dum Dum, Calcutta, as an assistant professor. In the meantime, he had started appearing for the UPSC exams.According to Ghosh, it's difficult to prepare for such an exam from Bengal. He says, "Getting coaching or information is very difficult in the state. I had to depend on material accessed from online sources."Often, a candidate has to sit for this highly competitive exam year after year with unwavering motivation to achieve success. "It appears that some of the brightest students in Bengal, unlike in Delhi and many other states, do not have such long-term focus and perseverance nowadays," rues Bhattacharya."If such a small state [Haryana] can do it, why can't West Bengal?" wonders Debjyoti Barman, a doctor (MBBS) who ranked 647 in the UPSC-CSE 2018-19. "Not only Delhi, states such as Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha too have grown a civil services culture," he adds.If you are a working professional who's aspiring to crack the UPSC-CSE, you can carry on your preparation alongside your job. Many of those who bested the CSE 2018-19 did so. Rajarshi Dasgupta from Asansol did his BTech in electronics and telecommunication from Asansol Engineering College in 2006. Then he qualified in GATE and joined the Bhaba Atomic Research Centre as nuclear scientist at Kalpakkam, 80km from Chennai. There, he made up his mind to become a civil servant. "I started preparation through 'postal test series' from Delhi. After clearing the written exams, I took a coaching for mock interview for free in Chennai. Finally, in 2014, I cracked the UPSC-CSE with a rank of 169," he says. Dasgupta is currently posted as a deputy commissioner in the income tax department in Calcutta. He says, "Within one-and-a-half years of joining the civil services, you can get charge of a territory as big as a European country."Ranabir Bhaumik of West Midnapore came back from Germany to become a civil servant. After getting his bachelor's and master's degrees in physics from Jadavpur University, Calcutta, he joined the Max Planck Institute in Germany for a PhD in condensed matter physics. But he felt so isolated from society and his country that within a year, in 2012, he decided to abandon his quest for the PhD and sit for the UPSC exams. "I came to Delhi, rented a shared room with my college friends and started preparing for the civil services exams in a coaching centre." Eventually, he opted for self-study. He met with success (rank 157) after three consecutive attempts. According to him, mock tests and mock interviews are necessary to overcome nervousness and for application of presence of mind. He too joined the IRS and is posted as an assistant commissioner in the income tax department in Calcutta.If you are an aspiring civil servant, there is no need to shift to Delhi to prepare. You can stay in the city and ace the exam with a little help from online resources. After a long hiatus, eight aspirants from West Bengal have qualified in the Union Public Service Commission's (UPSC) prestigious Civil Services Examination (CSE) in 2018-19. Although Bengal is home to seven per cent of India's population, its current representation in the Indian Civil Services is only one per cent. Over 50 candidates from Haryana cracked the UPSC civil services exam in 2018. There was a time when Bengal too was well-represented in the civil services. But after the 1970s, the wave of civil service aspirants from the state turned into a trickle. "The number of IAS aspirants from West Bengal started declining in the 1970s as a consequence of the deterioration in academic environment and campus indiscipline," says Amitabha Bhattacharya, a former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, who retired as the principal advisor of the Planning Commission of India. A graduate of the then Bengal Engineering College in Shibpur, Howrah, he cracked the Civil Services exams in 1974. The 70s was marked by the Naxalite movement and many brilliant students were lost to the "revolution". The movement left a deep impression on the psyche of the youth, who started shying away from entrance exams for civil services. The ecosystem for grooming students for the CSE died out and the few aspirants had to shift to New Delhi for preparation. That trend seems to be gradually reversing in the last few years as more and more aspirants try to crack the CSE. Recently, some successful candidates of 2018 congregated at the ICCR auditorium in Calcutta to share their chemistry of success and encourage youngsters to take up a career in the civil services. DailyhuntDisclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: The Telegraphhttp://www.hetronic.com/Activity-Feed/My-Profile/UserId/7318

Penguin Parade and peach melba await visitors in Victoria

Fun on Phillip Island Ride in a Steam Train Puffing Billy is Australia's favourite steam train and one of the finest preserved steam railways in the world. This century-old steam train continues to run on its original mountain track in the magnificent Dandenong Ranges 40kms east of Melbourne. Puffing Billy was built to serve at the turn of the century and is a genuine relic of the more leisurely days. Puffing Billy Railway is now a major tourist attraction and operates every day except Christmas Day, thanks to the tireless efforts of more than 900 dedicated volunteers. Learn about chocolates and eat them too!! Panny's has a range of chocolate treats that cannot be found anywhere else. The chocolate fondue experience is a constant favourite and has been joined by an extensive range of over a dozen chocolate sensations. With an assortment of cakes, pastries and truffles and superb coffee, there are more than enough reasons to drop by here. A Maze'N Things It is a magical world of illusions, puzzles, mazes and mini golf that provides hours of fun for the whole family. Easily one of the most entertaining family attractions Phillip Island has to offer. In one location you can be shrunk in their shrinking room, become lost in one of the mazes or fall down the "Look Out" slide. There are lots of activities to test your motor skills, perception and memory. It is a riot of laughter all the way. Phillip Island Nature Park Experience close koala encounters among the treetops on the elevated boardwalk. Learn about the koalas in the visitor centre where colourful displays tell the koala story. This unique setting will let you experience koalas in an environment representing their natural bushland habitat. Eco Adventure Boat Tour Experience the thrills of a one-hour high-speed tour along Phillip Island's rugged and spectacular coastline to the local Australian fur seal colony. the antics of playful seals as they surround the boat, ducking their heads in and out of the water. Penguin Parade The Phillip Island Penguin Parade, the star attraction of the Phillip Island Nature Park, attracts visitors from across the globe when little penguins make their way up Summerland Beach each night at sunset as they waddle past to their sand dune burrows. Over 500,000 visitors make the Phillip Island Penguin Parade the third-largest visited natural attraction in Australia. Eat, drink and make merry in Yarra Valley Wine Tasting Located only 50 minutes from Melbourne's CBD, the Yarra Valley feels a million miles away, with vast rows of vines and mountain ash forests. Indulge in some of the best cool-climate wines Australia has to offer with a tasting at one of over 50 cellar doors. Domaine Chandon offers some of the country's finest sparkling wines in the Green Point room. Soak up the sun and view the picturesque scenery while tasting the unique flavors produced in the vineyards. Cheese Tasting Producers of fine farm cheeses, the Yarra Valley Dairy specialises in both cow's milk cheeses and goat's milk cheeses, which are sold throughout Australia. Taste fresh cheese and get hooked! Garden Tour and Lunch "Coombe - The Melba Estate" was the former home of Dame Nellie Melba and is set across seven stunning acres of manicured gardens. The property includes the main formal private garden, a heritage-listed converted clock tower restaurant, with seating for 150 people, and offers exquisite seasonal and predominantly estate-grown produce in a beautiful setting. It is worth trying the famous Peach Melba here: Peach Melba is a dessert of peaches and raspberry sauce with vanilla ice cream. It was invented at the fag end of the 19th century by the French chef Auguste Excoffier at the Savoy Hotel, London to honour the Australian Soprano, Nellie Melba. The celebrated soprano is immortalised through this dessert. After the ultimate dining experience at the estate, Peach Melba would be a fitting finale to the memorable tour!! Fact File: www.puffingbilly.com.au www.phillipislandchocolatefactory.com.au www.amazenthings.com.au www.penguins.org.au www.coombeyarravalley.com.au (The author is a documentary filmmaker and travel writer; she blogs at vijayaprataptravelandbeyond.com) DailyhuntDisclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: The New Indian Expresshttps://wanelo.co/ubeedbeeebu

https://challenges.openideo.com/profiles/yozk.elvozk.eeneen.s

Assam: Flood water recedes in Kaziranga, Pobitora

Almost 95 per cent of the Kaziranga park was flooded due to incessant rains. On July 22, Environment Minister Parimal Shukla had said about 162 wild animals have lost their lives in the floods. "About 12 rhinos lost their lives out of which three were adults. Apart from this, eight lion cubs died. Other animals that died in floods were bears, buffalos, etc," he said. The Rhino Protection Force was deployed in the national park to monitor the situation at the National Highway 37, which is used by the animals to reach highland. Meanwhile, flood-affected people of Bandhara village in Bongaigaon district have installed makeshift houses on a bridge as their residences have completely submerged in water. According to them, around 100 houses were destroyed in floods. "It has been around 1.5 months here. We are getting ration and medical treatment. But employment and education have been affected adversely," they said. As of July 31, a total of 12 districts and 26 revenue circles of Assam are reeling under floods. Currently, 436 relief camps are operational in Baksa, Nalbari, Barpeta, Chirang, Bongaigaon, Kokrajhar, Dhubri, Kamrup, Morigaon, Nagaon, Golaghat, and Jorhat districts. Several rivers are flowing above the danger mark like the Brahmaputra river at Neamatighat in Jorhat and Dhubri, Jia Bharali in Sonitpur district, Puthimari in Kamrup district and Beki and Kushiara rivers in Barpeta and Karimganj districts, respectively. ... DailyhuntDisclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: Deccan Chroniclehttps://wanelo.co/humyunkeun

http://danmooredesigns.com/UserProfile/tabid/61/userId/414400/Default.aspx

Losing fat, and not weight, must be the goal

This number is the sum total of everything our body consists of, right from head to toe. When we say weight loss, we are just being generic and are looking forward to losing the water weight that our body carries on day-to-day basis. Losing water weight is very easy and takes fairly about four to five weeks. A person who loses this weight thinks that he/she has lost weight. But this weight will always come back once you get back to a regular routine. The capacity of our body to retain water differs daily. Our food, daily schedule, routine and the hormones are the major factors which influence this. Now how can one lose weight in the real sense? What should one try to lose if they are looking to lead fit lives? So many questions and the answer to it is really simple - fat loss and muscle gain! The healthy range for an adult man is to maintain himself at 15 - 20 % body fat and for a female it is 20 - 25% of body fat. When we eat a lot, but fail to covert this food into energy due to a sedentary life style, our body stores up all the metabolised food in form of fat. In simple words the calorie intake must be on a lower side when compared to the energy expenditure. Body fat is also of two kinds. One is the subcutaneous fat which is present right below our skin and is fairly easy to lose and not harmful. The second is the visceral fat which accumulates around our organs and is very visible on the stomach and thighs. This fat is dangerous as it inhibits the functioning of our organs and hormones. It is known to induce the lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, chronic heart disease, thyroid and PCOD. Now that we know what body fat is, the best way to stay healthy is to lose it if we are overweight. A structured diet which is carefully customised to person's metabolism, lifestyle habits and routine will be the best approach. Body fat metabolism depends on A wholesome diet of regular home-cooked meals is the key to losing body fat and keeping it at bay. To enhance this process of metabolising fat, we need to add in progressive strength and resistance training. This kind of training helps us build our lean muscle mass, improve stamina, improve our metabolic rate and increase our overall energy expenditure. And this just how I simplify fat loss. It is not rocket science, but just depends on cleverly your diet and workout schedules are structured to suit your body and lifestyle. (The writer is a dietician and a fitness expert) DailyhuntDisclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: The New Indian Expresshttps://www.intensedebate.com/people/keroonsherry

'Oh my god! This is in my pool': Woman wakes up to an 7-foot alligator in her backyard

The post, which went viral, triggered many reactions, with some requesting an update on the rescue of the alligator. Alligator mauls python in an epic battle in Florida; video goes viral Describing the incident as 'unnatural', Kibbe told CNN that she was worried that if the reptile came out of the pool, she would not know where it would go. As her children were asleep, Kibbe waited for a couple of hours before calling the police, informing it about the intruder at her place. While she informed the police that the alligator was around 3-4 feet long, she was later told by the trapper who came to take the reptile away that it was around 7-feet long. The trapper dragged the alligator to the front yard and took it to a farm ro release it for mating, the news website reported. Spooked by the incident, Kibbe said even though gator sighting was quite common in Florida, no one in her neighbourhood had spotted one. However, this is not the first time an incident like this has happened in Florida. Earlier this June, a woman had reported an alligator breaking into her kitchen and shared a video of the incident that had gone viral online. DailyhuntDisclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: The Indian Expresshttps://anotepad.com/notes/g3smqc

https://www.tuugo.us/userProfile/yozkelvo.zk.eene.en.s/1926632

What is Article 356?

In view of such turn of events in Karnataka, which were initially triggered by the resignation of 15 MLAs of the ruling Congress-JD(S) and two independents, talks of President's Rule being imposed on the state are doing the rounds. Article 356 of the Constitution of India empowers the President to withdraw from the Union the executive and legislative powers of any state 'if he is satisfied that a situation has arisen in which the government of the state cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution'. The determination of the breakdown of constitutional machinery may be done by the President at any time, either upon receipt of a report from the Governor, or suo motu. If approved by both the houses, the President's Rule, as it is most-commonly called, can continue for 6 months. It can be extended for a maximum of 3 months with the approval of the Parliament. Recent instances where Article 356 has been imposed Since the formation of the Republic, President's Rule under Article 356 has been imposed in states in over 100 occasions. The latest being in Jammu and Kashmir . After completion of six months of Governor's rule, President Ram Nath Kovind on December 19, 2018, imposed President's rule in the state, which had plunged into a political crisis after the Mehbooba Mufti-led coalition government collapsed. On June 12 this year, the Union Cabinet approved the extension of President's rule in Jammu and Kashmir for another six months, beginning from July 3. Arunachal Pradesh came under President's Rule from December 16, 2015, to February 19, 2016 , after Congress MLAs approached Governor JP Rajkhowa seeking to impeach Speaker Nabam Rebia. The Governor agreed and called for an emergency session to take up the impeachment motion. Congress protested the Governor's action, but the Centre went ahead and imposed President's Rule in the state invoking Article 356. President's Rule was also in force in Delhi with the Assembly in suspended animation from February 14, 2014, to February 11, 2015, when Arvind Kejriwal resigned as the chief minister after his move to introduce the Jan Lokpal Bill fell through in the Assembly. Follow Karnataka Crisis LIVE Updates here Article 356 was also imposed in Maharashtra from September 28, 2014, to October 31, 2014, after chief minister Prithviraj Chavan resigned following the collapse of the 15-year-old Congress-NCP alliance in the state. Andhra Pradesh faced the President's Rule from February 28, 2014, to June 8, 2014, due to a political crisis caused by the resignation of CM N Kiran Kumar Reddy and other Congress legislators on February 19, protesting against the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill that bifurcated the state and created a separate state of Telangana. President's Rule was declared in Jharkhand from January 18, 2013, to July 12, 2013, as the Arjun Munda-led BJP government was reduced to a minority after the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) withdrew support. Munda resigned and sought dissolution of the state Assembly. DailyhuntDisclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: The Indian Expresshttps://vimeo.com/user94595697/about

https://justpaste.it/42qcu

With 35 mm rainfall, Chennai's deficit drops to 6%

Most parts of central and north Chennai have received good rains ranging from 15 mm to even 50 mm. Weather blogger Pradeep John said this was purely convective rainfall. "If Chennaites are lucky and conditions fall perfectly, as was the case on Tuesday, we will witness a few more of these rainy days," he said. DailyhuntDisclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: The New Indian Expresshttp://www.penninetroutfarmandfishery.co.uk/UserProfile/tabid/61/userId/2088181/Default.aspx

https://www.elta.gr/UserProfile/tabid/80/userId/44173/language/en-US/Default.aspx