Military Cantonments

Defence Ministry denotifies civil areas of 10 cantonments (out of 58 in the country), which will now be merged with state municipalities.

• A cantonment is created as well as administered by the Central government.
• Cantonments are designed as places of residence of both civilians and military personnel.
• Cantonments are different from the Military Stations in that the Military Stations are purely meant for the use and accommodation of the armed forces and these are established under an executive order.
• It is the Entry 3 of Union List (Schedule VII) of the Constitution of India.
• Cantonments are notified under the Cantonments Act, 1924 (succeeded by the Cantonments Act, 2006).
• The overall municipal administration of the notified Cantonments is the function of the Cantonment Boards which are democratic bodies.
• The Station Commander of the Cantonment is the ex-officio President of the Board.

• The Board has equal representation of the elected and nominated/ex-officio members to balance the official representation with the democratic composition.
• There are four categories of Cantonments which depend on the size of population residing inside a Cantonment.
• Directorate General Defence Estates (DGDE) is an Inter Services Organisation of the Ministry of Defence which directly controls the Cantonment Administration.
• The executive officer of the cantonment board is appointed by the President of India.
• He/She implements all the resolutions and decisions of the board and its committees and he/she belongs to the central cadre established for the purpose.

Women Revolutionaries of Bengal

• Labanya Prabha Ghosh – She was born in 1897 in Purulia district, West Bengal.
• Her father Nibaran Chandra Dasgupta was a freedom fighter who along with Labanya’s husband found an organisation called ‘Shilpasharam’ in Telkalpara.
• The organisation served as a meeting place for revolutionaries and members of the Indian National Congress in the region.
• In 1926 Labanya was elected representative of the District Congress Committee from Manbhum district, which Purulia was then part of. 
• Matangini Hazra – She was born in a village named Hogla, West Bengal in 1869.
• By age 18, Matangini Hazra was widowed, without any children.
• According to state government archives, Hazra became so inspired by Gandhi’s beliefs that she became a devoted follower of the leader, earning herself the name, Gandhi buri.
• Suhasini Ganguly – Born on 3 February 1909 in Khulna, now in Bangladesh, Ganguly spent her teens in her hometown and in Dhaka.
• She was a member of the Jugantar revolutionary group in Calcutta.
• She was introduced by the group by Pritilata Waddedar.
• Ganguly also became associated with the Chattri Sangha, a semi-revolutionary student group and began assisting other members with training and enlisting new recruits.
• Sarala Devi – She was born in 1872 in Bengal, and was the niece of Rabindranath Tagore.
• She is also known as Sarala Devi Chaudhurani, was born to Swarnakumari Devi, Tagore’s elder sister, and Janakinath Ghoshal, one of the founding members of the Indian National Congress. 
• Pritilata Waddedar – She was born in Chittagong, now in Bangladesh.
• She developed connections with Leela Nag, an associate of Subhash Chandra Bose.
• Leela Nag established the Deepali Sangha, a revolutionary group that provided combat training to women.
• Annie Mascarene – Kerala
• Moovalur Ramamirtham – Tamil Nadu

Moovalur Ramamirtham (1883-1962)

• She was born in 1883 in Thiruvarur, and was brought up at Moovalur village, Mayiladuthurai, Tamil Nadu.
• Hence, she was called commonly known as Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar.
• She was the author of the 1936 novel Dasigalin Mosavalai, which exposed the plight of the devadasis.
• She died in 1962 and in her memory, the Government of Tamil Nadu has instituted the Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammal Ninaivu Marriage Assistance Scheme.
• The scheme provides financial assistance to poor women.
• Dr. S. Dharmambal, another social reformer from Tamil Nadu, initiated the Elavu Varam agitation.
• Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy was the first women in India to get a degree in medicine.
• She was one of the important leaders who fought vigorously against the Devadasi System.

Penicillin G

India to restart Penicillin G manufacturing.

• Penicillin G (potassium or sodium) is the active pharmaceutical ingredient used in several common antibiotics.
• It is used in the treatment of certain serious bacterial infections, such as pneumonia, meningitis, gonorrhea, syphilis, and others.
• Pneumonia and syphilis can be opportunistic infections (OI) of HIV.
• Benzylpenicillin (Penicillin G) is narrow spectrum antibiotic used to treat infections caused by susceptible bacteria.
• Penicillin G may also be used in some cases as prophylaxis against susceptible organisms. 

Rayleigh scattering

• Rayleigh scattering, dispersion of electromagnetic radiation by particles that have a radius less than approximately 1/10 the wavelength of the radiation.
• The process has been named in honour of Lord Rayleigh, who in 1871 published a paper describing this phenomenon.
• The angle through which sunlight in the atmosphere is scattered by molecules of the constituent gases varies inversely as the fourth power of the wavelength.
• Hence, blue light, which is at the short wavelength end of the visible spectrum, will be scattered much more strongly than will the long wavelength red light.
• This results in the blue colour of the sunlit sky, since, in directions other than toward the Sun, the observer sees only scattered light.
• Rayleigh scattering theory is applicable to scattering of UV and visible radiation by air molecules, infra-red radiation by small aerosols, and microwave radiation by cloud and rain drops.
• Practical applications of Rayleigh scattering include Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR), weather radar, and remote sounding of cloud water.