Current Affairs 7th Class

  Role of the State Government in Health Care   In a democracy, the government needs to look after its people's welfare. This means that the government does not merely collect tax and protect life and property, but also works for the growth of the people by promoting health, education, shelter, food and water. Likewise, India's government too takes care of the welfare of its people. Improved health status of the citizens is of great economic value to a nation.   The word 'health' comes from the old English word 'hale', meaning 'whole' or 'being whole, sound or well'. 'Health' as defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) is being in a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. In order to be called 'healthy', one has to be free from illness, injury, malnutrition and mental stress. In order to achieve health, appropriate health care system needs to be in place which would include people like doctors, surgeons, nursing staff, paramedics and medical attendants; institutions such as hospitals, clinics, laboratories for tests and blood banks; and resources like medicines, drugs and medicinal equipment.   HEALTHCARE IN INDIA   According to the Indian Constitution, 'It is the primary duty of the government in all states and UTs to raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living of its people and improve public health.' In India, the government takes care to improve both public health and personal health. To improve public health, the government's plans include mass immunisation like the Pulse Polio Programme, promoting preventive medicines and improving the health status of rural population. In addition, the government also focuses on programmes of health education   The State Owned Health Facilities:   ?      Regional Cancer Centres Health: Cancer care hospitals and research institutes con-trolled jointly by the central and state governments. ?      Government Medical Colleges: Owned and controlled by the respective state governments. These are referral hospitals. ?      District Hospitals or General Hospitals: Controlled by the respective state governments and serving the respective districts. ?      Taluk level Hospitals: Controlled by the respective state governments and serving the respective taluks.   Community Health Centres are basic health units in the urban areas. They are the units with the most basic facilities, serving rural India, generally at the level of a panchayat. Sub-centres are the most basic units of health in villages; first point of contact between villagers and public health care system in India.   And nutrition, providing safe drinking water, application of sanitary measures, efforts to control communicable diseases such as malaria and dengue, and monitoring environmental hazards. The personal health care facilities can be divided into two categories?(i) Public health services and (ii) Private health facilities. The public health services include primary health more...

  Functioning of State Government   We have already discussed in the previous class that the government in India works at three levels-local, state and national. We have looked at the work of Local Government and read about Panchayats and Municipalities in some detail. In this chapter, we will read about the second level of governance, i.e., government at the State Level.   India is a union of twenty nine States and seven Union Territories including the National Capital Territory of Delhi. There is one Union or Central Government which is at the centre and there is a State Government in each state. The union territories are run by the Union Government. The Government comprises three branches-the Executive, Legislature and the Judiciary. STATE LEGISLATURE   Good governance needs good laws. The legislative bodies in a state are the Legislative Assembly or the Vidhan Sabha and the Legislative Council or the Vidhan Parishad. However, only some states have both the houses and are said to have bicameral legislature. Others have only the Vidhan Sabha and are said to have unicameral legislature. In a bicameral state the Legislative Assembly is known as the Lower House while the Legislative Council is known as the Upper House. Six states-Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh*, Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Jammu and Kashmir have bicameral legislature. The rest have unicameral legislature.   LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY (VIDHAN SABHA)   Every state has a Legislative Assembly or Vidhan Sabha. Its members are called Members of Legislative Assembly or MLAs. They are directly elected by the people of the state. Hence, the Vidhan Sabha represents the people. The size of the Vidhan Sabha depends on the size of the population of the state. Its size as outlined in the Constitution of India, should not be more than 500 members and not less than 60. However, the Vidhan Sabha in small states like Goa, Mizoram and Sikkim has fewer members than 60. Besides the elected members, the Governor of the state has the authority to nominate one member of Anglo-Indian Community.   Unlike the State governments that have their own governments, a union territory has its own elected government ruled directly by the Union Government (Central Government), hence the name "union territory". The Parliament of India can amend the Constitution and provide a Legislature with elected Members and a Chief Minister for a Union Territory, as it has done for Delhi and Puducherry.   Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha Election of MLA Each state is divided into different areas called constituencies. From each constituency, the people elect one representative who then becomes an MLA. A constituency is like a Panchayat ward. The MLAs belong to different political parties. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Janata Dal (JD), Congress, etc. are some political parties of India. The political party whose MLAs get more than 50 per cent of the seats is said to be in majority. The party with majority seats becomes the ruling party and forms the more...

  Institutional Representation of Democracy   Representation and participation are cornerstones of representative democracy. At the heart of the system is a commitment to hold regular, free and fair elections. People participate through elections and select representatives to govern them. The representation comes from political parties who, with their various ideologies fight the election. The elected party forms the government while the next in majority forms the opposition which checks every step of the government. Universal Adult Franchise, elections, political parties and coalition governments-are some terms you are already familiar with. These are the institutions that represent democracy. Now let us delve into the whole process.   Maya, the domestic help at Rohini's house has taken the day off to go to vote. Rohini's parents are also going to the voting booth to cast their votes. The next day, Rohini overhears her mother talk to Maya. "Maya/1 saw you and your husband at the booth, yesterday. You both were standing right in front of us." Rohini sees pride on Maya's face. She has got an opportunity to cast her vote as an equal to her sahib and memsahib by standing in the same queue at the polling booth. Maya wants to tell the name of the candidate for whom she has cast her vote but Rohini stops her. "You are not supposed to reveal the name of the person for whom you have voted and the political party he belongs to" says Rohini. ?      Why do you think Maya feels proud? ?      Why does Rohini ask Maya not to reveal the name of the person for whom she has voted?   Q. In the school elections, the girls opt to vote for the Girl candidate and the boys opt to vote for the Boy candidate. How will this affect the election? What must the teacher advise?   ELECTIONS   Elections in India take place every five years by Universal Adult Franchise. These elections are held to choose and elect representatives who will form the government. Representatives that form the government are elected at the centre, state and local levels.   LEVELS OF ELECTIONS   General Elections At the central level, members of Parliament (MPs) are elected directly by the people, through a General Election. The party with majority votes becomes the ruling party and forms the government and its leader becomes the Prime Minister. To secure majority in the parliament, a party needs to win over half the seats in the parliament. All the other MPs form the opposition. Our country is divided into parliamentary constituencies. A constituency is the area from which a representative fights the election. People elect one representative from each constituency who then becomes an MP. The number of parliamentary constituencies in a state depends upon the size and population of the state.   There are currently more...

  Democracy   Democracy is a kind of governance in which all citizens have a say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passing of laws in a country. This can be done by the people directly or through representation where people choose their leaders. Leaders of a democracy are answerable to the people. In Class 6, we have already read about this and looked into the key elements of democracy. In this chapter, you will learn about why democracy was chosen at the end by most nations of the world and how it evolved. We will also discuss the elements of democracy in detail and understand our involvement with the law and the Constitution.   Given that democracy privileges some values -equality, dignity, tolerance and justice-today, it is the most popular form of government. India is also a democracy. How it evolved into its present form and where it was born is an interesting story. The term 'democracy' was coined as early as the 5th or the 4th century BCE to denote the political system that existed in some Greek city-states, notably Athens. It comes from the Greek word, demokratia which means 'rule by the people'. But the early form of democracy was far from being based on equality. The European Renaissance1, and the American and French Revolutions brought us closer to the modem concept of democracy that is based on equality. Democracy in the contemporary world implies equality in the eyes of the law bringing in universal suffrage, freedom of speech and the rule of law.   EVOLUTION OF DEMOCRACY?THE HISTORICAL PROSPECT   Thousands of years ago, when man wore no clothes and hunted for food, there were simple ways of resolving disputes. Gradually, man became civilised and the need to have a ruler arose. In Greece and most other nations, powerful kings who ruled the area were the richest. There are many tales of such kings and their bravery in Indian literature as well. This system of government where a king or monarch rules is known as monarchy, or 'rule by one'. In monarchy, the king alone controls all the land and natural resources of the region, and is responsible for all decisions pertaining to his people. When the king dies, the power gets handed down to his eldest son, thereby keeping the power in the family. When you read Indian History, you will know that India had monarchy throughout its Ancient and Middle Ages.   During AD 476 - AD 800 in Western European history, many city-states in Greece were governed by small groups of nobles who shared equal power. The system in which a few people govern over a larger group of people is known as oligarchy, or 'rule by a few'. In Greece, a council made up of aristocrats carried out the policies. This form of government also existed in France and Poland where only the nobility could vote. However, this also more...

  Life In The Hot And Cold Deserts   A desert no matter hot or cold, has very small amount of precipitation throughout the year usually less than 25 cm a year and almost no vegetation. Deserts cover about one-fifth of the earth's surface. Most deserts, such as the Sahara of North Africa and the deserts of the south-western US, Mexico and Australia; that occur near the Tropic of Cancer or the Tropic of Capricorn are hot. Cold deserts, occur near the Arctic and in Antarctica or in the high mountainous areas. Let us learn about the Sahara, a hot desert and Ladakh which is a cold desert.   HOT DESERT REGION THE SAHARA Location   Map No. 11.1 the Sahara Deserts in Africa   The Sahara (Africa) is the largest hot desert of the world. In the physical map of Africa, we will find that the Sahara Desert covers a very large part of this continent in the north, an area of about 8.5 million sq. km. It extends from the shores of Atlantic Ocean in the west to Red Sea in the east. To its north, are the Atlas Mountains? The desert covers parts of eleven countries of Africa that include Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Tunisia, Sudan, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and West Sahara.   Only one-fourth of the Sahara is sandy; the rest is made of gravel plains/ plateaus and bare rocky surfaces. The Sahara at some places, is more than 2,000 metre high. Towards the south, it merges into the Savanna tropica grasslands.   Climate The Sahara is one of the world's driest deserts. Almost all areas of the Sahara receive less   The Sahara landscape with sand dunes and carvan   Geography Reveals Once, this area was lush green with flowing rivers. The cave paintings in the mountainous region of Gilf Kebir in the Sahara Desert which are about 10,000 years old contain images of people swimming. The engravings and paintings on the Tassili Plateau in Algeria describe the region as the Savannah Grasslands where large animals (land and water) like crocodiles were found.     Pictures of Gilf Kebir wall painting showing people swimming and Giraffe like animals   Than 250 millimetres of rainfall; temperature is exceedingly high due to low humidity and low cloud cover. The maximum temperature of 58°C has been recorded in Al Aziziyah that lies in the Sahara Desert in Libya. The Sahara Desert has scorching days; however, the nights are cooler due to rapid radiation of heat. The temperature may fall as low as -17°C. June, July and August are the hottest months. The winter months are cooler due to the bursts of dust laden winds that     Geography Reveals There are places in desert where underground water reaches the surface level and farming can be carried on. Such water sources, around which crops can be more...

  Life In The Temperate Grasslands   Large rolling terrains of grasses, flowers, shrubs and herbs cover almost one-fourth of the total land area of the earth. There are two different kinds of grasslands: tropical and temperate. The Tropical grasslands are found in the warm climate where the annual rainfall is about 50 to 127 cm. The Savanna in Africa are such grasslands. The Temperate grasslands are found in the drier zones and have shorter grasses. Grasslands go by many names. In this chapter, we will study about the Prairies and the Velds.   TEMPERATE GRASSLANDS THE PRAIRIES Location and extent Prairie is a French word. It means 'a meadow' or "a grassland'. The Prairies of North America are found both in USA and Canada. They stretch from Texas (USA) in the south to Alberta (Canada) and Saskatchewan (Canada) in the north. The Canadian Prairies extend over the provinces of Manitoba, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario. While in the USA, they cover the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Iowa and Texas. In the USA, the Prairies are drained by the tributaries of the Mississippi river and in Canada by the tributaries' of the Saskatchewan River. These areas have flat to gently rolling hilly land. They are treeless areas except for poplars and willows in river valleys or at places where water is found in abundance. The Prairies are regions of long grasses. The grasses vary in height according to rainfall and soil, reaching up to more or less 2 metres.   Climate The Prairies are located in the interior of the continent of North America and thus experience a continental type of climate. The summer temperature varies from 19°C to 28°C. The rainfall varies too, i.e. from 50 mm to 500 mm in the west to 1000 mm in the east. In winter, temperature goes down well below freezing point; a major part of the Prairies is covered in a thick blanket of snow. In early spring, the warm Chinook winds blow down the leeward side of the Rockies (Rocky Mountains) and help in the melting of snow as well as in the growth of spring wheat and other crops.   z Mop No.10.1 the Prairies in North America   Flora and Fauna Flora is basically grass. The Prairies are treeless but near the valleys woodlands can be found, such as willows, alders and poplars. Tall grasses unto two metres high dominate the landscape. It is actually a 'sea of grass'. Soil found in the Prairies has a high humus content. It is dark, fertile and is known as chemozem soil. This soil is most suitable for the growth of grasses.   It is believed that before the arrival of the Europeans, the Prairies were home to bisons (American buffaloes). The Europeans started hunting them and the number of bisons dropped to more...

  Life In The Tropical And Sub-Tropical Regions   You have studied about the realms of our earth i.e., the lithosphere, atmosphere and hydrosphere which together provide a platform for the origin, development and growth of the biosphere. Have you ever noticed how we adjust, adapt and modify our physical surroundings within the limits of nature? Our economic, social and cultural practices are by and large governed by our physical environment. Through the interactions, of man with the three realms, a distinct kind of human environment develops in each region. These regions are termed as Natural Regions as they follow the boundaries of the natural features.   Natural regions are broadly classified on the basis of temperature belts and rainfall distribution pattern of the world. These are classified into six major categories: i) Tropical equatorial region, ii) Sub tropical region, iii) West tropical desert region, iv) Warm temperate region, v) Cool temperate region and vi) Polar region.   In this chapter, we will learn about the life in two regions?one, the Amazon Basin of South America under the tropical region; and the other is the Ganga-Brahmaputra Basin of the Indian subcontinent under sub the tropical region.   The tropical regions near the equator are covered by tropical rainforests that are characterised by dense vegetation, seasonally warm temperature and abundant rainfall. These locations include Africa-Zaire basin and Madagascar, Central America and Amazon River basin. Sub-tropical climate refers to the zones between 10° and 30° latitudes in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The sub-tropical climate can be found in the south-eastern United States, south- eastern South America, coastal southeast South Africa, eastern Australia, and eastern Asia from northern India through south China to Japan.   EQUATORIAL TROPICAL REGION THE AMAZON BASIN Location   The Amazon Basin in South America is the largest river basin in the world and is a typical tropical or equatorial region as it lies between 10°N and 10°S. A network of nearly 500 tributaries form the river basin. Mop. No. 9.1 Amazon Basin in South America   Geography Reveals The Amazon Rainforest is thought to be the oldest tropical forest in the world, perhaps as old as 10,00,00,000 years. ·      It covers five million sq. kms.-the largest in the world and nine countries. ·      It is home to two and a half million different species of insects, more than forty thousands varieties of plants and one and a half thousand bird species and over two thousand fish species. ·      Foods like bananas, chocolate, coffee, pineapple, rice and tomatoes come originally from here. ·      The Toucan, the loudest creature in the Amazon rainforest can be heard half a mile away! ·      Only more...

  Human Environment - Settlements, Transport and Communication   We have learned about the environment in the first chapter followed by four realms of the physical environment in subsequent chapters. After discussing the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere in detail, we need to learn about the human environment as well because man is responsible for many changes on the earth. In the process of fulfilling his basic and higher needs, man has changed the face of the earth and what we see today around us is all, the man-made environment.   The settlements, transport mediums and the communication system together build up a complete human environment for the people living therein to turn into a civilization.   SETTLEMENTS   Human Environment as we discussed in the initial chapters, refers to the man-made surroundings that include the Physical, social and economic components that determine the state, condition and quality of living of a person. These components vary from one place to another and have evolved overtime with the advancements and changes in the society.   Early humans lived on trees and in caves. When they began to grow crops, they started settling at one place and these settlements grew near the river valleys. With the development of trade and commerce human settlements became larger. A settlement is a place where people live and they are of various types.   TYPES OF SETTLEMENTS   On the basis of stability, a settlement can either be temporary type or permanent type. Nomadic people usually build temporary settlements. These settlements include tents or temporary huts. In fact, nomads have to build settlements in deserts or in areas where there is shortage of food, water and fuel supply. Therefore, they have to shift their settlements from time to time. Such lifestyle, in which people keep migrating from one place to another in search of food and water, is called transhumance.     However, more and more people today live in permanent settlements. Villages, towns and cities are the permanent settlements. On the basis of lifestyle and other prominent features, permanent settlements can be divided into two categories: (i) Rural settlement, and (ii) Urban settlement. We can get a brief idea of them from the pictures given above.   A view of the rural settlement in India     Rural settlement Rural settlements are the settlements where people are occupied with primary activities such as agriculture, fishing, forestry, rearing of animals, weaving, pottery and mining, etc. A village is an example of rural settlement. Large open spaces and pasture lands are the usual characteristics of such settlement.   Urban settlement Urban   settlements   are   compact   and comparatively larger (in area) than the rural ones. Towns and cities come under this category of settlement. Urban settlements can be classified on the basis of size of population, density of population, administrative status, land-use pattern and economic activities.   People of the urban settlements are usually more...

  World Vegetation Distribution of Natural Vegetation and Wildlife   If you visit a desert area, you will see camels, palm trees and cacti all around; while a hilly region will have plenty of oaks, pines, deodars and yaks, bears, leopards, etc. Similarly, a river or a pond or an ocean house fish of various kinds and plankton. Plants and animals are adapted to the environment in which they live. Here in this chapter, we will learn about the distribution of natural vegetation and wildlife.   The earth's environment provides suitable conditions for all forms of life to exist. Plants, animals and micro-organisms are the different forms of life on the earth. We often use the term vegetation for natural vegetation, but, in fact, there is a difference between the two. We know that plants grow where there is sufficient water, sunlight, soil and air. Plants which grow on their own without any human intervention are categorised as natural vegetation. Vegetation on the other hand, is the growth of plants controlled by humans. Natural vegetation depends largely on the climatic conditions of a region.   NATURAL VEGETATION AND WILDLIFE   Classification of natural vegetation   Climate determines the type of natural vegetation growing in a region. Latitude and altitude of a place determine the climate of a place. Hence, natural vegetation of a place also depends on the latitude and altitude of the place.   The surroundings in which an organism lives has both the living and non-living elements, and these surroundings constitute their environment. Our environment has two components?biotic and abiotic. All living beings, whether plants or animals, are affected by the air, temperature, water, light and soil. Each region consists of different set of plants, animals and microorganisms. Thus, each region has specific of plants and wildlife, which differ in size and type. The dwelling place of organisms, which provides them with suitable conditions To live, breed and flourish is called the habitat. All animals need a particular habitat for their development and growth. Natural vegetation can be broadly grouped into three categories:                                     i.    Forests                                  ii.    Grasslands                                 iii.    Desert Vegetation or Shrubs     FORESTS   The forest is a complex ecosystem consisting mainly of trees that offer the earth with many kinds of life forms. Forests are found in areas where there is high rainfall over 500 millimetres. Forests are divided into Tropical and Temperate Forests. These two are further subdivided: Tropical forest   1. Tropical Rainforests or Tropical Evergreen 2. Tropical or Deciduous Monsoon Forests   Temperate forest 1.   Temperate Deciduous Forests 2.   Temperate Coniferous Forests (Taiga) 3.   Mediterranean Vegetation   Tropical Rainforests more...

  The Hydrosphere     When ten year old Ranjit and his sister returned from school, they were in a thoughtful mood. Their Social Studies teacher had said that 70 per cent of the earth's surface is covered with water. Yet their mother asks them not to waste water. They asked their mother 'why??  Their mother explained that 97 per cent of the water is present in oceans and seas which is too salty to drink or to be used for farming. Only 3 per cent is fresh water in rivers, lakes and under the ground which is about a spoonful in a bucket full of water. Their mother then explained in detail about the Hydrosphere.   The earth is the only planet in our solar system that has the necessary elements to sustain life. These are air, water and soil. Each of these elements forms its own realm, in which it is found. The realm in which water is found is called the hydrosphere. It covers nearly 71 per cent of the earth's surface. It consists of seas, oceans and other water bodies. Thus, the hydrosphere is all the water on or near the earth's surface. Most of it is sea water which is salty. Most of the water required by plants and animals is supplied from the oceans. Do you know how? A vast quantity of water evaporates from the oceans into the atmosphere, then circulates over the land in the form of clouds, and falls on the ground in the form of rain, snow, hail or sleet. This never-ending circulation of the earth's water is called the water or hydrological cycle, which involves evaporation, transpiration, condensation, precipitation and surface runoff.   THE WATER CYCLE   The conversion of water from one form to another brings about circulation of water in nature. Along the way the water may become liquid, gas or even solid. This continuous movement of water from oceans, seas, rivers and other water bodies to the atmosphere, to the land and back to the oceans is known as the hydrological cycle or the water cycle.   HOW THE WATER CYCLE WORKS   Water in oceans, seas, lakes, ponds, rivers and soil gets heated up by the Sun and turns to water vapour through evaporation. The leaves in plants also lose water through the process of transpiration. Water vapour being lighter, on reaching the higher altitudes cools down and condenses to form clouds. The clouds when loaded with water vapour change to water droplets. In other words, condensation takes place and water comes down on the earth in various forms of precipitation like rain, snow, hail, fog, mist, dew, etc. When rain falls, water that reaches the earth's surface may seep into the ground replenishing groundwater. Some of it may run off the land filling up rivers and streams, thus bringing back the lost water from the water bodies. This is how circulation of water continues in nature forming the water cycle.   more...