Most Important World Currencies and Countries

1. Rupee : India, Nepal, Srilanka, Pakistan, Bhutan

2. Dollar : u.s.a, canada, singapore, ecuador,
australia, honkong, taiwan, newzealand, t&t

3. Euro : france, germany, italy, austria, belgium,
cyprus, netherland, portugal, spain, vatican city

4. Pound : u.k, egypt, sudan

5. rial: iran, qutar, saudi arab, yemen, omen, combodia

6. Dinar : Algeria, iraq, kuwait, tunisia

7. Peso : Phillipines, argentina, chile, cuba, mexico,uruguay

8. Franc : cameroon, switzerland

***** ~ ~ Some Basic Facts About India ~ ~ **********

1. Smallest state (Area) = Goa

2. Smallest state (population) = Sikkim

3. Most literate union Territory = Lakshadweep

4. Smallest Union Territory = Lakshadweep

5. Biggest hotel = Oberoi Sheraton (Mumbai)

6. Highest award (civilian) = Bharat Ratna

7. Highest Gallantry award = Param vir chakra

8. Most literate state = Tripura

9. Fastest Train = Shatabdi express

10. Least populated union Territory = Lakshadweep

11. Most populated city = Mumbai

12. Busiest bridge = Howra (Calcutta)

13. Oldest Refinery = Digboi (Assam

******* Important for every competitive Exams ********

1. First Governor of Bengal – Lord Clive ( 1757 – 60)

2. Last Governor of Bengal – Lord Hastings ( 1772 – 74)

3. First Governor Genral of Bengal – Lord Hastings ( 1774 – 75)

4. First British Governor Gerneral of India – Lord Bentinck ( 1833 - 35)

5. First British Viceroy of India – Lord Canning ( 1856 – 62)

6. First President of Indian Rebublic – Dr. Rajendra Prasad

7. First Prime Minister of free India – Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru

8. First Indian to win Nobel Prize – Rabindranath Tagore

9. First Muslim President of Indian National Congress –Baduddin Tyabji

10. First Muslim President of India – Dr. Zakir Hussain

11. First Governor General of free India – Lord Mountbatten

12. First and last Indian Governor General of India – C. Rajgopalachari

13. First man who introduced printing press in India – James Hicky

14. First Indian to join the I.C.S – Satyendra Nath Tagore

15. India’s first Cosmonaut – Rakesh Sharma

16. First Prime Minister of India who resigned without completing the full term – Morarji Desai

17. First Indian Member of the Viceroy’s executive council – S. P. Sinha

18. First President of India who died while in office – Dr. Zakir Hussain

19. First Prime Minister of India who did not face the Parliament – Charan Singh

20. First Field Marshal of India – Field Marshal S.H.F. J. Maneckshaw

21. First Indian to get Nobel Prize in Physics – C.V. Raman

22. First Indian to receive Bharat Ratna award – Dr. S. Radhakrishnan

23. First Indian to cross English Channel – Mihir Sen

24. First Person to receive Jananpith award – G. Shanker Kurup

25. First Speaker of the Lok Sabha – G V Mavalankar

26. First Vice – President of India – Dr. S. Radhakrsihnan

27. First Home Minister Of India – Sardar Vallabhbahi Patel

28. First Person to reach Mt. Everest without oxygen – Sherpa Ang Dorjee

29. First person to reach the South Pole – Col J K Bajaj

30. First Person to get Param Vir Chakra – Major Somnath Sharma

31. First Chief Election Commissioner – Sukumar Sen

32. First Person to receive Magsaysay Award – Vinoba Bhave

33. First Indian Origin person to receive Nobel Prize in Medicine – Hargobind Khurana

34. First Person to receive Nobel Prize in Economics – Amartya Sen

35. First Chief Justice of Supreme Court – Justice H. J. Kania

36. First Indian to win back to back medals in Olympics – Sushil Kumar ( 2008, 2012)

37. First Man to climb Mount Everest Twice – Nwang Gombu

38. First Man to Climb Mt. Everest 19 times – Apa Sherpa

39. First Indian Chess Grandmaster – Vishwanathan Anand ( 1988)

40. First Indian Pilot – J.R. D. Tata ( 1929)

****** Some very Important One Word Substitution *****

• Paper written in one’s own handwriting: Manuscript

• Part of a church in which bells are hung: Belfry

• People in rowdy scene: Rabble

• Person different to pleasure and pain: Stoic

• Person obsessed with one idea or subject :Monomaniac

• Person pretending to be somebody he is not: Imposter

• Person who believes God is everything: Ban theist

• Person who believes others: Credulous

• Person who does not believe in any religion : Pagan

• Person who enjoys sensuous enjoyments: Epicure

• Person who has long experience : Veteran

• Person who hates women : Misogynist

• Person who holds scholarship at a university : Bursar

• Person who is against ordinary society especially dressing: Hippy

• Person who is always dissatisfied: Malcontent

• Person who is made to bear the blame : Scapegoat

• Person who kill others for political reason: Assassin

• Person who lives alone and avoids other people: Recluse

International Women's Day 2014 Theme

The United Nations has announced the theme for International Women's Day 2014 (IWD), which falls on 8 March.
Observed every year on 8 March by UN since 1975, the International Women's Day marks the celebration of achievements of women across fields.
According to the UN, the day "is a time to reflect on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities."
This year, the day will be commemorated at the UN headquarters in New York from 12-1pm ET on 7 March.

IWD 2014 theme
This year's Women's Day theme says: "Equality for women is progress for all."
"This International Women's Day, we are highlighting the importance of achieving equality for women and girls not simply because it is a matter of fairness and fundamental human rights, but because progress in so many other areas depends on it," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement.

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• International Women's Day 2014: Every Second Woman in EU Sexually Harassed

"Countries with more gender equality have better economic growth. Companies with more women leaders perform better. Peace agreements that include women are more durable. Parliaments with more women enact more legislation on key social issues such as health, education, anti-discrimination and child support."
"The evidence is clear: equality for women means progress for all," he added.

How equality for women is progress for all
Several UN associates also spoke on how equality for women would be the headway to solving many of the world's problems such as poverty.
"Women spend the majority of their income on the well-being of their children and family. Raising women's labour force participation increases economic growth," UN Women executive director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said.
"By ending women's poverty, we will sustainably and significantly reduce extreme poverty worldwide." 
Equality for women can also help combat global environmental challenges, including land degradation and climate change, according to UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
"Today, more than 2 billion people depend on small scale farmers, and women play a pivotal role. They make up nearly half of the agricultural labor force," UNCCD executive secretary Monique Barbut said.
"Securing their equality would not only benefit them, but everyone as well."
"If we want to increase, our productivity, our food security and improve our resilience to climate change, if we want to reverse outmigration, water conflicts, civil wars and state failure, we need policy incentives that, at the very least, place female land users, farmers and producers on par with males in their access to resources, knowledge and decision-making," she added.

Indian-American scientist creates world’s first 3D fingerprint

A team of Michigan State University computer scientists led by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur alum Anil Jain have built the first three-dimensional model of a human fingerprint. This development will not only help today's fingerprint-matching technology do its job better, but could eventually lead to improvements in security, according to information posted on MSU website. What Jain, a University Distinguished Professor of computer science and engineering, and his team did was develop a method that takes a two-dimensional image of a fingerprint and maps it to a 3-D finger surface.

The 3-D finger surface, complete with all the ridges and valleys that make up the human fingerprint, is made using a 3-D printer. It creates what Jain's team called a fingerprint "phantom." Imaging phantoms are common in the world of medical imaging.

For example, to make sure an MRI machine or a CT scanner is working properly, it needs to first image an object of known dimensions and material properties. "In health care, a 3-D heart or kidney can be created," Jain said. "Because the dimensions are known, they can be put into a scanner and the imaging system can be calibrated." In this case, the ultimate goal is to have a precise fingerprint model with known properties and features that can be used to calibrate existing technology used to match fingerprints. "When I have this 3-D fingerprint phantom, I know its precise measurements," said Jain. "And because I know the true dimensions of the fingerprint features on this phantom, I can better evaluate fingerprint readers." While the 3-D model doesn't yet have the exact texture or feel of a real finger, it could advance fingerprint sensing and matching technology. "Tools like this would help improve the overall accuracy of fingerprint-matching systems, which eventually leads to better security in applications ranging from law enforcement to mobile phone unlock," Jain said.

Members of Jain's team include Sunpreet Arora, a computer science doctoral student, Kai Cao, a research associate in computer science and engineering and research collaborator Nick Paulter at the National Institute of Standards and Technology Jain, who has a B.Tech degree from IIT Kanpur and MS and PhD degrees from Ohio State University, has six US patents on fingerprint matching and has written a number of books on biometrics and fingerprint/facial recognition. Additionally, Jain has also received a number of prestigious awards for contributions to pattern recognition and biometrics. This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.

an-American scientist creates world’s first 3D fingerprint

Read more at: http://www.firstpost.com/fwire/indian-american-scientist-creates-worlds-first-3d-fingerprint-1423019.html?utm_source=ref_article

A team of Michigan State University computer scientists led by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur alum Anil Jain have built the first three-dimensional model of a human fingerprint. This development will not only help today's fingerprint-matching technology do its job better, but could eventually lead to improvements in security, according to information posted on MSU website. What Jain, a University Distinguished Professor of computer science and engineering, and his team did was develop a method that takes a two-dimensional image of a fingerprint and maps it to a 3-D finger surface. The 3-D finger surface, complete with all the ridges and valleys that make up the human fingerprint, is made using a 3-D printer. It creates what Jain's team called a fingerprint "phantom." Imaging phantoms are common in the world of medical imaging. For example, to make sure an MRI machine or a CT scanner is working properly, it needs to first image an object of known dimensions and material properties. "In health care, a 3-D heart or kidney can be created," Jain said. "Because the dimensions are known, they can be put into a scanner and the imaging system can be calibrated." In this case, the ultimate goal is to have a precise fingerprint model with known properties and features that can be used to calibrate existing technology used to match fingerprints. "When I have this 3-D fingerprint phantom, I know its precise measurements," said Jain. "And because I know the true dimensions of the fingerprint features on this phantom, I can better evaluate fingerprint readers." While the 3-D model doesn't yet have the exact texture or feel of a real finger, it could advance fingerprint sensing and matching technology. "Tools like this would help improve the overall accuracy of fingerprint-matching systems, which eventually leads to better security in applications ranging from law enforcement to mobile phone unlock," Jain said. Members of Jain's team include Sunpreet Arora, a computer science doctoral student, Kai Cao, a research associate in computer science and engineering and research collaborator Nick Paulter at the National Institute of Standards and Technology Jain, who has a B.Tech degree from IIT Kanpur and MS and PhD degrees from Ohio State University, has six US patents on fingerprint matching and has written a number of books on biometrics and fingerprint/facial recognition. Additionally, Jain has also received a number of prestigious awards for contributions to pattern recognition and biometrics. This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.

Read more at: http://www.firstpost.com/fwire/indian-american-scientist-creates-worlds-first-3d-fingerprint-1423019.html?utm_source=ref_article

A team of Michigan State University computer scientists led by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur alum Anil Jain have built the first three-dimensional model of a human fingerprint. This development will not only help today's fingerprint-matching technology do its job better, but could eventually lead to improvements in security, according to information posted on MSU website. What Jain, a University Distinguished Professor of computer science and engineering, and his team did was develop a method that takes a two-dimensional image of a fingerprint and maps it to a 3-D finger surface. The 3-D finger surface, complete with all the ridges and valleys that make up the human fingerprint, is made using a 3-D printer. It creates what Jain's team called a fingerprint "phantom." Imaging phantoms are common in the world of medical imaging. For example, to make sure an MRI machine or a CT scanner is working properly, it needs to first image an object of known dimensions and material properties. "In health care, a 3-D heart or kidney can be created," Jain said. "Because the dimensions are known, they can be put into a scanner and the imaging system can be calibrated." In this case, the ultimate goal is to have a precise fingerprint model with known properties and features that can be used to calibrate existing technology used to match fingerprints. "When I have this 3-D fingerprint phantom, I know its precise measurements," said Jain. "And because I know the true dimensions of the fingerprint features on this phantom, I can better evaluate fingerprint readers." While the 3-D model doesn't yet have the exact texture or feel of a real finger, it could advance fingerprint sensing and matching technology. "Tools like this would help improve the overall accuracy of fingerprint-matching systems, which eventually leads to better security in applications ranging from law enforcement to mobile phone unlock," Jain said. Members of Jain's team include Sunpreet Arora, a computer science doctoral student, Kai Cao, a research associate in computer science and engineering and research collaborator Nick Paulter at the National Institute of Standards and Technology Jain, who has a B.Tech degree from IIT Kanpur and MS and PhD degrees from Ohio State University, has six US patents on fingerprint matching and has written a number of books on biometrics and fingerprint/facial recognition. Additionally, Jain has also received a number of prestigious awards for contributions to pattern recognition and biometrics. This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.

Read more at: http://www.firstpost.com/fwire/indian-american-scientist-creates-worlds-first-3d-fingerprint-1423019.html?utm_source=ref_article

A team of Michigan State University computer scientists led by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur alum Anil Jain have built the first three-dimensional model of a human fingerprint. This development will not only help today's fingerprint-matching technology do its job better, but could eventually lead to improvements in security, according to information posted on MSU website. What Jain, a University Distinguished Professor of computer science and engineering, and his team did was develop a method that takes a two-dimensional image of a fingerprint and maps it to a 3-D finger surface. The 3-D finger surface, complete with all the ridges and valleys that make up the human fingerprint, is made using a 3-D printer. It creates what Jain's team called a fingerprint "phantom." Imaging phantoms are common in the world of medical imaging. For example, to make sure an MRI machine or a CT scanner is working properly, it needs to first image an object of known dimensions and material properties. "In health care, a 3-D heart or kidney can be created," Jain said. "Because the dimensions are known, they can be put into a scanner and the imaging system can be calibrated." In this case, the ultimate goal is to have a precise fingerprint model with known properties and features that can be used to calibrate existing technology used to match fingerprints. "When I have this 3-D fingerprint phantom, I know its precise measurements," said Jain. "And because I know the true dimensions of the fingerprint features on this phantom, I can better evaluate fingerprint readers." While the 3-D model doesn't yet have the exact texture or feel of a real finger, it could advance fingerprint sensing and matching technology. "Tools like this would help improve the overall accuracy of fingerprint-matching systems, which eventually leads to better security in applications ranging from law enforcement to mobile phone unlock," Jain said. Members of Jain's team include Sunpreet Arora, a computer science doctoral student, Kai Cao, a research associate in computer science and engineering and research collaborator Nick Paulter at the National Institute of Standards and Technology Jain, who has a B.Tech degree from IIT Kanpur and MS and PhD degrees from Ohio State University, has six US patents on fingerprint matching and has written a number of books on biometrics and fingerprint/facial recognition. Additionally, Jain has also received a number of prestigious awards for contributions to pattern recognition and biometrics. This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.

Read more at: http://www.firstpost.com/fwire/indian-american-scientist-creates-worlds-first-3d-fingerprint-1423019.html?utm_source=ref_article

Robotic Refuelling Of Spacecraft To Be A Reality Soon

The advanced robotic satellite refuelling and maintenance technologies are not a wild dream of the future any more, Indo-Asian News Service reported.

Empowering future space robots to transfer hazardous oxidizer - a type of propellant - into the tanks of satellites in space, NASA has successfully concluded a remotely-controlled test of the new technology.
The robotic refuelling technologies would equip robots and humans with the tools and capabilities needed for spacecraft maintenance and repair, the assembly of large space telescopes and extended human exploration, NASA said.

In this direction, the Satellite Servicing Capabilities Office (SSCO) at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, has completed Remote Robotic Oxidizer Transfer Test (RROxiTT), according to IANS.

"This is the first time that anyone has tested this type of technology, and we have proven that it works. It is ready for the next step to flight," said Frank Cepollina, associate director of SSCO.
To test how robots can transfer hazardous oxidizer at flight-like pressures and flow rates, the SSCO team devised the ground-based RROxiTT through the propellant valve and into the mock tank of a satellite.
Oxidizer - namely nitrogen tetroxide - is a chemical that when mixed with satellite fuel causes instant combustion that provides thrust (motion) for a satellite, IANS reported.

"The liquid is contained within a satellite tank at intense pressures. Toxic, extremely corrosive and compressed, it requires special handling," IANS reported. "While this capability could be applied to spacecraft in multiple orbits, SSCO focused RROxiTT specifically on technologies that could help satellites traveling the busy space highway of geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO)."

Home to more than 400 satellites, many of which beam communications, television and weather data to customers worldwide, this orbital path is located about 35,200 km above earth, a NASA release said.
According to IANS, the team is also gearing up for the next phase of the robotic refueling mission on the International Space Station (ISS).

"By developing robotic capabilities to repair and refuel GEO satellites, NASA hopes to add precious years of functional life to satellites and expand options for operators who face unexpected emergencies, tougher economic demands and aging fleets," explained Benjamin Reed, deputy project manager of SSCO.
NASA also hopes these new technologies would help boost the commercial satellite-servicing industry that is rapidly gaining momentum.

"Sustainable space development is not only good stewardship of the shared resource of outer space but it also makes sense as we develop the skill set to embark humans deeper into our solar system," concluded Reed.