Mahoran status referendum, 2009

In a referendum, Mayotte chooses to become an overseas department of France.

A referendum on becoming an overseas department of France was held in Mayotte on 29 March 2009. In contrast to the four other similar regions (Guadeloupe, Martinique, Réunion and French Guiana), Mayotte would not have become a DOM/ROM but would only have had a single assembly; the four DOM/ROM will have the option of changing their status to this format, as well.

Mayotte will become the 101st French department and the first with a 95% Muslim population in 2011 as a result of the "yes" vote.

Thousands of video lectures from the world's top scholars.

http://www.academicearth.org/

Human Development Index

The Human Development Index (HDI) is an index used to rank countries by level of "human development", which usually also implies to determine whether a country is a developed, developing, or underdeveloped country.

The HDI combines three basic dimensions:

• Life expectancy at birth, as an index of population health and longevity
• Knowledge and education, as measured by the adult literacy rate (with two-thirds weighting) and the combined primary, secondary, and tertiary gross enrollment ratio (with one-third weighting).
• Standard of living, as measured by the natural logarithm of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita at purchasing power parity (PPP) in United States dollars.

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Development_Index

Nathu La Pass

Nathu La is a mountain pass in the Himalayas. It is located on the Indo-China border connecting the Indian state of Sikkim with the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. The pass, at 4,310 m (14,140 ft) above mean sea level, forms part of an offshoot of the ancient Silk Road. Nathu means "listening ears" and La means "pass" in Tibetan.

Nathu La is one of the three trading border posts between China and India; the other two are Shipkila in Himachal Pradesh and Lipulekh (or Lipulech) in Uttarakhand.

Sealed by India after the 1962 Sino-Indian War, it was re-opened in 2006 following numerous bilateral trade agreements. The opening of the pass is expected to bolster the economy of the region and play a key role in the growing Sino-Indian trade.

Mount Redoubt (Alaska)

Mount Redoubt, or Redoubt Volcano, is an active and currently erupting stratovolcano in the largely volcanic Aleutian Range of Alaska.

A stratovolcano, sometimes called a composite volcano, is a tall, conical volcano with many layers (strata) of hardened lava, tephra, and volcanic ash. Stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile and periodic, explosive eruptions. The lava that flows from stratovolcanoes tends to be viscous; it cools and hardens before spreading far. The magma forming this lava is often felsic, having high-to-intermediate levels of silica (as in rhyolite, dacite, or andesite), with lesser amounts of less-viscous mafic magma.

Stratovolcanoes are sometimes called composite volcanoes because of their composite layered structure built up from sequential outpourings of eruptive materials. Stratovolcanoes are one of the most common types of volcanoes.

source :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Redoubt_(Alaska)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratovolcano

LED lamp

A LED lamp (also called LED bar or Illuminator) is a type of solid state lighting (SSL) that uses light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as the source of light.

• High efficiency - LEDs are now available that reliably offer over 100 lumens from a one-watt device, or much higher outputs at higher drive currents
• Small size - provides design flexibility, arranged in rows, rings, clusters, or individual points
• High durability - no filament or tube to break
• Life span - in properly engineered lamps, LEDs can last 50,000 - 60,000 hours
• Full dimmability – unlike fluorescent lamps, LEDs can be dimmed using pulse-width modulation (PWM - turning the light on and off very quickly at varying intervals). This also allows full color mixing in lamps with LEDs of different colors.
• Mercury-free - unlike fluorescent and most HID technologies, LEDs contain no hazardous mercury or halogen gases

Used in

• Traffic lights
• Automotive lighting
• Stage lighting
• Bicycle lighting
• Flashlight (Electric torches)
• Domestic lighting
• Public Transit Vehicle Destination signs
• Billboard displays
• Floodlighting of buildings
• Display lighting in art galleries to achieve a low heating effect on pictures etc.
• Train lights
• Railway signals

source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LED_lamp

Basic Structure of Indian Constitution

http://www.scribd.com/doc/12095796/Besic-Structure-of-Indian-Constitution

Portal:Current events/Science and technology

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Current_events/Science_and_technology

Salaries of President of India, Vice President etc

the President of India : Rs 1.5 lakh
the Vice President : Rs 1.25 lakh
state governors : Rs 1.10 lakh

source : http://ibnlive.in.com/news/president-gets-richer-gets-300-pc-salary-hike/73365-3.html?from=rssfeed

The Chief Justice of India : Rs. 1,00,000 p.m. plus Dearness Allowance (DA)
The Judges of the Supreme Court and the Chief Justices of the High Courts : Rs. 90,000 p.m. plus DA
the Judges of the High Court : Rs. 80,000 p.m. plus DA

source : http://www.andhranews.net/India/2008/November/28-Supreme-Court-76423.asp