News Letter-8

In Focus

THE LEGISLATIVE BODY OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDIA

India, also known as Bharat, is a Union of States. It is a Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic with a Parliamentary system of Government. The Republic is governed in terms of the Constitution of India which came into force on 26th January, 1950. The Constitution provides for a Parliamentary form of government which is federal in structure with certain unitary features.

Very often we come across such news wherein the members of the parliament have taken some decisions for the country. But, have you ever wondered what gives parliament the power to do so? Who elects this body and what powers does it have?

Parliament of India And Its Houses

In India, Parliament is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature (i.e. consisting of two Houses) composed of the President of India and the two houses. The upper house is called Rajya Sabha or House of States, while lower house is called Lok Sabha or House of People. The Members of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha are known as MP (Member of Parliament).

The President of the Republic of India (currently, Ram Nath Kovind) is the ceremonial head of the State of India and the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Armed Forces. He is indirectly elected by an electoral college of members comprising the Parliament of India (both houses) and the State Legislative assemblies.

The members of the Lok Sabha (House of the People) are directly elected by the people. The political party which has majority of members in Lok Sabha forms the Government (known as the Ruling party). Leader of majority/ruling party is the Prime minister (currently, Narendra Modi). The Speaker of the Lok Sabha (currently, Sumitra Mahajan) is the presiding officer of the Lok Sabha (House of the People).

The Rajya Sabha members are elected indirectly by the people, that is, by the MLAs. MLAs are the representatives elected by the people for state Legislative Assembly - the Lower House of the State Legislature. The Vice President of India (currently, Venkaiah Naidu) is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, who presides over its sessions.

The Parliament is the final authority for making laws in the country. It can change the existing laws or abolish existing laws. It has some control over those who run the government. In India, the control of the parliament is direct and full. A government is empowered to take a decision only till it enjoys the support of the Parliament.

In Story

BUTTERFLY

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and it could go no further.

So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to support the body, which would contract in time. But neither happened!

In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.

What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God’s way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If God allowed us to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. We could never fly!

By Penny J. Gilmer

UNSUNG HEROES

Meet the Man who Designed the Indian Rupee Symbol- Dr. Udaya Kumar Dharmalingam

Udaya Kumar was born in Chennai on 10 October, 1978, and his family hails from Thanjavur. He pursued architecture from Anna University in Chennai. Subsequently, he did his masters in architecture from IIT, Mumbai.

When the industrial design centre in the campus started offering a PhD, Udaya Kumar enrolled, and started work on the evolution of the Tamil script, which dates back to 2nd century AD. He pursued a little-known art called typography. He took up this specialised subject despite opposition from his parents, who wanted to him to become a doctor or an IAS officer.

Dharmalingam Udaya Kumar won a nationwide contest run by the government to design a symbol for the Indian rupee. The symbol he designed had been chosen to represent India’s growing economy and its currency. It would be incorporated in Unicode, computer keyboards will have a dedicated key for the symbol and it will come to be seen and recognized around the world.

The new sign is a combination of the Devanagari letter "र" ("ra") and the Latin capital letter "R" without its vertical bar (similar to the R rotunda). The parallel lines at the top (with white space between them) are said to make an allusion to the tricolor Indian flag and also depict an equality sign that symbolizes the nation's desire to reduce economic disparity. As of January 2012, the new Indian rupee sign has been incorporated in the currency notes in the denominations of ₹10, ₹100, ₹500 and ₹2000.

INTER ACTIVITY

GUESS THE GREAT PERSONALITIES OF INDIA

FIND THE DIFFERENCES

Spot 6 Differences in This Picture

BRAIN TEASERS

In Formation

HIDDEN GEMS OF INDIA

BAILEY BRIDGE - WORLD'S HIGHEST BRIDGE

Ladakh is home to the world's highest bridge the 'Bailey Bridge'. It is located in the Ladakh valley between the Dras and Suru rivers in the Himalayan Mountains. Built at an altitude of 5,602 meters (18,379 ft) above sea level, this 30 meter (98 ft) long bridge was constructed by Indian Army in August 1982.

The Bailey bridge is a type of bridge rather is a type of portable, pre-fabricated, truss bridge. It was developed by the British military engineering units to bridge up to 60 m (200 ft) gaps, during World War II. It requires no special tools or heavy equipment for construction, the bridge elements are small enough to be carried in trucks, and the bridge is strong enough to carry tanks.

A large part of what made Bailey bridge as successful and unique is their modular design, and the fact that it could be assembled with minimal aid from heavy equipment. The wood and steel bridge elements were small and light enough to be carried in trucks and lifted into place by hand, without requiring the use of a crane. An astonishing feature of the Bailey bridge is its ability to be "launched" from one side of a gap.

RECIPE

Date and Chikoo Smoothie

Preparation Time: 15 Minutes

INGRIDIENTS:

1/2 cup chikoos (sapota), sliced (if using fresh)
1/2 cup dates (seeds removed)
1 -1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup ice cubes

PREPARATION:

Step 1:-Firstly, peel the sapota well and remove the seeds from inside the fruit

Step 2:-Add the peeled sapota and the de-seeded dates into the blender

Step 3:-Then pour chilled milk into it

Step 4:-Add sugar as required

Step 5:-After that, add some ice cubes

Step 6:-Blend all the ingredients for a minute or two until a smooth shake is obtained

Step 7:-Take a glass and pour the blended smoothie

Step 8:-Garnish with chikoo pieces/ice cream/chopped dry fruits

Step 9:-Serve chilled

FRUIT

Chikoo OR Sapota

The heady sweet aroma of sapota is unmistakable, with its fleshy brown skin and grainy sweetness in the inside. It's quite easy to either love the sapota or hate it. But taking the middle path, we're not quite sure.

We have something to thank the Spanish for. Had it not been for them, the chickoo, chikoo or sapota would have perhaps never come to India. With its roots in Mexico, Easter Guatemala and Belize (on the eastern coast of central America), the Colonisers took it to the Philippines from where it travelled to the rest of Asia, making its way into India only in the late nineteenth century.

In India, the sapota is grown in many states - Karnataka, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh, with Karnataka as the highest grower of the fruit, followed by Maharashtra. Due its supremely dominating flavours, the fruit isn't really cooked, or even used in salads (except for maybe fruit salads), the sapota can be blended into milk or yogurt and had as a smoothie. Or you could make a jam out of it too.

HEALTH BENIFITS:

Helps in digestion
Provides relief from Inflammation
Strengthens bones
Destroys free radicals and boosts immune system
Promotes weight loss
Prevents Anemia
Provides relief from constipation

IN ENGLISH

IDIOMS

An idiom is a phrase or an expression that has a figurative, or sometimes literal, meaning. An idiom's figurative meaning is different from the literal meaning. Here are 15 common English idioms and phrases that will enrich your English vocabulary and make you sound like a native speaker in no time.

'The best of both worlds' - means you can enjoy two different opportunities at the same time.
"You can get this item for cheap, but you'll have to compromise on quality. You cannot have the best of both worlds."
'See eye to eye' - this means agreeing with someone.
"I'm glad that we see eye to eye on the project's details."
'Once in a blue moon' - an event that happens infrequently.
"The earthquakes hits once in a blue moon in this part of the earth, we never felt it."
'A piece of cake' - something that is very easy.
They said the test would be difficult, but it was a piece of cake - I'll pass with no problem at all.
'Let the cat out of the bag' - to accidentally reveal a secret.
"My boss did not let the cat out of the bag about the deal until all the relevant contracts were signed."
'To kill two birds with one stone' - to solve two problems at once.
"He had gone to Mumbai on a business trip, while there; he killed two birds with one stone and visited his relatives also."

ANSWERS

GREAT PERSONALITIES OF INDIA

Dr S Radhakrishnan
Sardar Patel
Dr APJ Abdul Kalam
Dr Rajendra Prasad
Dr BR Ambedkar
Mother Teresa
Sarojini Naidu
Kiran Bedi

FIND THE DIFFERENCES

BRAIN TEASERS

Savvy:

India will be celebrating its 70th Republic Day on January 26, 2019

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