AK Srivastava (SriAKS)

. SOS, code letters of the international distress signal. The signal is expressed in International Morse code as ...———... (three dots, three dashes, three dots). This combination was established by the International Radiotelegraphic Convention at Berlin in 1906. The letters (SOS) do not refer to any words but were selected because they are easy to transmit. The use of Morse code for sending distress calls is now superseded by automated systems using satellite relay; the U.S. Coast Guard no longer monitors Morse code transmissions. The distress code by radiotelephony is MAY DAY, which corresponds to the French “m'aider.” The signal NC, not followed by a message, also has the same meaning. SOS: S ave O ur S ouls .

. With the rising inflation and the global recession in the last year, the Common Man was certainly looking up to Budget 2010 and hoping for reasonable tax reliefs. The Finance Minister (FM) had the daunting task of balancing the fiscal deficit. He has definitely made an attempt by making some changes to the existing individual tax regime. The FM acknowledged that the globally accepted phenomenon of increase in tax compliance being directly proportional to reduction of tax rates is true for India as well. With an intention to provide the common man with more net disposable income to combat the inflationary trends, the existing income slabs subject to tax have been modified. Without changing the tax rates or the minimum annual threshold not taxable, the FM has increased the income threshold at which the higher rates of tax apply. This can be tabulated as under: NIL   -  CURRENT Up to 1,60,000          -           PROPOSED   Up to 1,60,000*   -  10%  -  CURRENT 160,001- 3,00,000   

. Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee began presenting the Union Budget 2010-11 in the Lok Sabha today at 11 am. Here are the key highlights of the Budget: •Business sentiment weak at the time of last Budget •Averted crisis, Indian economy far better situation •Southwest monsoon undermined kharif crop •Short-term global outlook bleak during FY10 Budget •First challenge is to quickly revert to high GDP growth •Confident now economy in far better position •GDP growth hitting double-digit remains 1st challenge •Thrust for infrastructure in rural areas •Budget cannot be a mere statement of government account •First challenge is to return to high GDP growth of 9% •Second challenge is to make development more inclusive •Budget will also signal policy for future •State of the economy better •FY10 was a challenging year for the economy •Budget realises the need to strengthen food security •Some sectors have helped improve economic condition •Focus of economic

. Attack of the really quite likeable tomatoes The success of Genetically Modified Crops ( Advantages & Disadvantages ) provides opportunities to win over their critics.   IN THE 14 years since the first genetically modified crops were planted commercially, their descendants, relatives and remixes have gone forth and multiplied like profitable, high-tech pondweed. A new report shows that 25 countries now grow GM crops, with the total area under cultivation now larger than Peru. Three-quarters of the farmland used to grow soya is now sown with a genetically modified variant, and the figures for cotton are not that far behind, thanks to its success in India. China recently gave the safety go-ahead to its first GM rice variety and a new GM maize that should make better pig feed. More and more plants are having their genomes sequenced: a full sequence for maize was published late last year, the soya genome in January. Techniques for altering genomes are moving ahead almost as fas

. The main highlights of the 2010-11 railway budget include: -- No increase in passenger fares -- Rs.100 reduction in freight per wagon for fertilisers and kerosene -- Free travel for cancer patients in 3rd AC classes -- Cost-sharing in public-private-partnership (PPP) mode in some gauge-conversion projects -- Further extension of Kolkata Metro on priority basis; stations to be named after Bahadur Shah Zafar, Tagore family -- Karmabhoomi trains to be introduced for migrant labour -- New Janmabhoomi train between Ahmedabad and Udhampur -- Special "Bharat Teertha" train to be run around India to commemorate Rabindranath Tagore's 150th birth anniversary -- Railway line to be extended from Bilaspur in Himachal Pradesh to Leh in Jammu and Kashmir -- Andaman and Nicobar Islands to get railway line from Port Blair to Diglipur -- Sikkim capital Gangtok to be connected by rail from Rangpo -- 2011 being 150th anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore, special train to

. With just around a month to go for the re-launch of the East India Company - the world's first multinational whose forces once ruled much of the globe - its new Indian owner says he is overwhelmed by "a huge feeling of redemption". It's been a long, emotional and personal journey for Sanjiv Mehta, a Mumbai-born entrepreneur who completed the process of buying the East India Company (EIC) in 2005 from the "30 or 40" people who owned it. Acutely aware that he owned a piece of history - at its height the company generated half of world trade and employed a third of the British workforce - Mehta, now the sole owner, dived into the company's rich and ruthless past in order to give it a new direction for the future. With a $15-million investment and inputs from a range of experts - from designers and brand researchers to historians - Mehta is today poised to open the first East India Company store in London's upmarket Mayfair neighbourhood in Marc

. Nanjing to host 2nd Summer Youth Olympic Games in 2014 The International Olympic Committee (IOC) today elected Nanjing, People's Republic of China, as the host city of the 2nd Summer Youth Olympic Games in 2014 during the 122nd IOC Session in Vancouver, Canada. Nanjing received 47 votes to edge out runner-up Poznan, Poland, which received 42 votes. “We had two outstanding candidatures from two fantastic cities. Both expressed the spirit of the Youth Olympic Games and both were capable of staging the event,” said IOC President Jacques Rogge. “We are looking forward to working with Nanjing, and are confident the Youth Olympic Games in 2014 will be a success.” Some 3,600 athletes ranging in ages from 15 to 18 are expected to compete at the 2nd Summer Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing in 2014, which will feature ........ MORE .

. China's dashing new trains China already has the world's fastest long-range passenger train, and it will soon have the largest high-speed rail network as well. With rail services already capturing passengers who might otherwise have flown, even the airline bosses are talking up their potential. It just goes to show what you can do with some Herculean stimulus spending ........ MORE

Conversion of units From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation , search Conversion of units refers to conversion factors between different units of measurement for the same quantity . Contents 1 Techniques 1.1 Process 1.2 Multiplication Factors 1.3 Table Ordering 2 Tables of conversion factors 2.1 Length 2.2 Area 2.3 Volume 2.4 Plane angle 2.5 Solid angle 2.6 Mass 2.7 Density 2.8 Time 2.9 Frequency 2.10 Speed or velocity 2.11 Flow (volume) 2.12 Acceleration 2.13 Force 2.14 Pressure or mechanical stress 2.15 Torque or moment of force 2.16 Energy, work, or amount of heat 2.17 Power or heat flow rate 2.18 Action 2.19 Dy