OBC Creamy and non creamy layer -How to get OBC certificate ?

What is OBC?

Other Backward Class (OBC) is a collective term used by the Government of India to classify castes which are socially and educationally disadvantaged. It is one of several official classifications of the population of India, along with Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SCs and STs). 

How do I know if I belong to OBC or not  ?

http://www.ncbc.nic.in/User_Panel/CentralListStateView.aspx

The above link will help you decide if you belong to BC (Backward class) community. Further ,BC is classified into creamy layer and non creamy layer. If you belong to Non creamy layer ,then you belong to OBC.

What is Creamy layer ?

The term creamy layer was first coined by Justice Krishna Iyer in 1975 in State of Kerala vs NM Thomas case, wherein he observed that the benefits of reservation are snatched away by the top creamy layer of the 'backward' caste or class, thus keeping the weakest among the weak always weak.

They are not eligible for government sponsored benefits in education and employment.

In UPSC, there are separate cutoffs for the General category and OBC category .The cutoff of the OBC category is slightly lower than the General Cutoff.

The  candidates belonging to creamy layer are taken under “General Category’

Please Note -The creamy layer is only applicable in the case of Other Backward Castes and not applicable on other group like SC or ST. 

Who belongs to Creamy layer ?

For children of persons in civil services, please note that the below list belongs to creamy layer

Important Note –

1.         If you belong to creamy layer because of the above conditions ,you will continue to fall in creamy layer even after your parents retire from service.
2. .       YOUR INCOME/STATUS DOES NOT MATTER.  Creamy layer is based on the status of your parents and has nothing to do with your income/status nor the status/income of your spouse.
3. .       Eligibility regarding  government employee is based upon his level, and not his salary. Example –If your parents are earning 7 lakhs and they are below group B officers ,you will still come under ‘NON CREAMY LAYER.’

For children of PUBLIC SECTOR UNDERTAKINGS/PRIVATE SECTOR

If you  are not able to establish equivalence vis-à-vis government jobs,then

Compute the income of your parents from salaries and income from other sources separately.(Income from other sources excludes salaries and agricultural land)

Income from Salaries(FOR 3 CONSECUTIVE YEARS)	Income from other sources(FOR 3 CONSECUTIVE YEARS)	STATUS
More than 6 lakhs	More than 6 lakhs	CREAMY LAYER
Less than 6 lakhs	More than 6 lakhs	CREAMY LAYER
More than 6 lakhs	Less than 6lakhs	CREAMY LAYER
Less than 6 lakhs	Less than 6 lakhs	NON CREAMY LAYER

FOR CHILDREN OF  “PROFESSIONAL CLASS AND THOSE ENGAGED IN TRADE AND INDUSTRY “

Professional class means doctor, lawyer, management consultant , artist, film actor, engineer, architect, sportsperson, media professional , etc.

If the Gross annual income is less than 6 lakhs and wealth is above exemption limit , you shall be treated as “CREAMY LAYER”.

Note -For computation of gross annual income, do not include ‘Income from salaries and income from agricultural land’

I belong to non creamy layer .How do I get certicate for the UPSC exam ?

OBC certificate along with ‘non creamy layer’ mention has to be obtained from the local Tahsildar.

What is the validity period of my OBC certificate ?

IF YOU HAVE FURTHER QUERIES ,PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS BELOW.

CONCEPT OF ISOSTASY

  

·        The term “Isostasy” is derived from “Isostasios”, a word of Greek language meaning the state of being in balance.

·        You already know and must have seen that the mountain have many peaks and relatively great heights.

·        Similarly plateau and plain have flat surfaces. They have moderate and lower height, respectively.

·        On the contrary oceanic beds and trenches have greater depths. There is a great difference in height among these features.

·        You also know that the earth is rotating while keeping perfect balance among its various features.

·        Thus, our earth is considered to be in isostatic equilibrium.

·        Example:- Suppose you are holding one stick each in your both hands vertically with varying heights, say 5’ and 15’ and you are moving in a particular direction.

·        Do you have any difficulty in maintaining a balance in congruence with your body as well as two sticks together? Definitely, smaller stick will be easy to make a balance than the longer one. It is just because of the centre of gravity.

·        The centre of gravity with smaller stick will be nearer to your holding hand in comparasion to the longer stick. In the same way smaller surface features like plains are more stable than the tall mountains.

A. Isosatic Balance: views of Airy

·        Airy, a geologist, considered the density of different columns (plains, plateaus, mountains, etc.) to be the same. Hence, he proposed the idea of ‘uniform density with varying thickness’.

·        We know that the upper crust of the earth is made up of lighter material. In this layer, silica and aluminium are found in abundance, hence it is known as ‘Sial’.

·        It is less denser than the lower one. Airy assumed that the Sialic crust is floating over the Sima (silica and magnesium, lower denser layer).

·        Crustal layer is uniform in terms of density with varying length of columns. Therefore, those columns are projecting down into the asthenosphere depending upon the proportions of the column.

·        It is due to this reason that the root has developed or the sima has been displaced from below.

·        To prove this concept, Airy took an example of wooden blocks of various sizes and immersed them into water .

·        All blocks are of same density. They get immersed differently in proportion to their sizes.

·        In the same way higher features with great height seen on the surface of the earth have deeper roots whereas short in length has shorter roots beneath.

·        It is the concept of root which is sustaining the higher elevation. He is of the openion that the landmasses are floating like a boat in the substratum (magmatic asthenosphere).

·        According to this concept, the root beneath the Mt. Everest would be 8848X8 = 70784 metre below the sea level.

·        On this bases Airy has been criticized that the root is not possible to be at such a great depth. Because the root material will melt due to higher temperature found at that depth.

B. Isostatic Balance: views of Pratt

·        Pratt considered land blocks of various heights to be different in terms of their density.

·        The taller landmass has lesser density and smaller height features to be denser. In other words, there is an inverse relationship between height and density.

·        If there is a higher column, density will be lesser and if there is a shorter column, density will be higher.

·        Assuming this to be true, he accepted that all blocks of different height get compensated at a certain depth into the substratum.

·        In this way a line is being demarcated above which there is equal pressure with varying heights.

·        Thus, he denounced the root concept of Airy and accepted the ‘concept of a level of compensation’.

·        For proving his concept he took a number of metal bars of varying density with same weight and put them into mercury .

·        In this way they form a line by all those bars, which he regarded to be the level of compensation.

Differences between the views of Airy and Pratt :

Views of Airy	Views of Pratt
Uniform density of crustal material.	Varying density of crustal  material.
Varying depth upto which root penetrates. crustal material reaches.	Uniform depth upto which crustal material reaches.
Deeper root below the mountain  and smaller beneath plain.	No root formation, but a  level of Compensation.

C. Global Isostatic Adjustment :

·        It is quite apparent that there is no complete isostatic balance over the globe. The earth is unstable.

·        Endogenetic forces often disturb the crustal balance.

·        The regular earthquakes and volcanic eruptions along a particular belt do not signify any balance but a sort of adjustment is needed continuously.

·        Endogenetic forces and their tectonic effects are the causes of imbalance on the surface but nature always tries to make an isostatic adjustment with itself.

·        Exogenetic forces are trying to eliminate the differences on the surface of the earth and in this process they are peeling off, transporting down to far flung places, and depositing them.

·        In this process, isostatic balance is maintained by the underneath flowage of material by subsidence at the place of deposition and upliftment at the peeling of place in their proportion to the denudation ..

PLATEAUS

·        The plateaus cover about 18% of the earth’s surface.

·        This landform has a large elevated area on its top unlike a mountain and has nearly even surface out there.

·        Very often rivers or streams cut out deep valleys and gorges in a plateau region.

·        In place of its original smooth topography, it then changes into a disected plateau.

·        Though normally 600 metres above sea level, there are plateau of Tibet and Bolivia, more than 3600 metres above sea level.

CLASSIFICATION OF PLATEAUS :

 On the basis of their geographical location and structure of rocks, the plateaus can be classified as:

(a) Intermontane Plateaus

(b) Piedmont Plateaus

(c) Continental Plateaus

(a) Intermontane Plateau :

·        The plateau which are bordering the fold mountain range or are partly or fully enclosed within them are the intermontane plateaus .

·        Vertical movements raise this extensive landforms of nearly horizontal rocks to thousands of metres above sea level.

·        The extensive and over 4500 metres high plateau of Tibet is one such example.

·        It is surrounded by folded mountains like Himalaya, Karakoram, Kunlun, Tien Shah on its two sides.

·        The plateau of Colorado is another well known example, over one km high into which rivers have cut the Grand Canyon and a series of gorges.

·        The plateau of Mexico, Bolivia and Iran are all other examples of this type.

(b) Piedmont Plateau :

·        The plateaus that are situated at the foot of the mountains and are bounded on other sides by a plain or an ocean are called piedmount plateau.

·        The plateau of Malwa in India, those of Patagonia facing the Atlantic ocean and the Appallachian situated between the Appalachian Mountain and the Atlantic Coastal Plain in U.S.A are their examples.

·        In their case, the areas once high have now been reduced by various agents of erosion.

·        For this reason, these are also called the plateaus of denudation.

(c) Continental plateau :

·        These are formed either by an extensive continental uplift or by the spread of horizontal basic lava sheets completely covering the original topography to a great depth.

·        The volcanic lava covered plateau of Maharashtra in India, Snake River Plateau in North West USA are the examples of this type.

·        These are also, called the ptateau of accumulation.

·        All continental plateaus show an abrupt elevation in contrast to the nearby lowland or the sea .

·        As compared to other, these plateaus, cover a vast area like the Great Indian Plateau and those of Arabia, Spain, Greenland, Africa and Australia.

·        They may be tilted on one side without any disturbance in the horizontal nature of underlying rock strata as in the case of Great Indian plateau.

·        Due to continuous erosion of their surface, we observe the prevalence of a patchy or the slow development of agriculture and building of roads on the plateaus.

 Nevertheless plateaus are extremely useful to mankind in the following ways:

(1) Storehouse of Minerals  :

·        Most of the minerals in the world are found in the plateaus.

·        Besides, the extraction of minerals is relatively easier on plateaus.

·        We get gold from the Plateau of Western Australia; copper, diamonds and gold from the Plateaus of Africa and coal, iron, manganese and mica from the Chota Nagpur Plateau in India.

 (2) Generation of Hydel-power :

·        Rivers falling down the edges of plateaus form water-falls.

·        These waterfalls provide ideal sites for generating hydel-power.

     

(3) Cool Climate :

·        The higher parts of the plateaus even in tropical and sub-tropical regions have cool climate.

·        Hence they have attracted Europeans to settle there and develop their economy e.g. South and East Africa.

     

(4) Useful for Animal-rearing and Agriculture :

·        Plateaus have large grassland areas suitable for animal-rearing specially sheep, goat and cattle.

·        They provide a veriety of products such as wool, milk, meat and hides and skin.

·        The lava plateaus as compared to all other plateau are richer in agriculture since their soil is very fertile.

Water: Ocean

Water: Ocean

Learning Goals:

• Ocean Waves
• Tsunami
• Tides

Ocean circulation: 

Unlike the calm waters of a pond or lakes, ocean water keeps moving continuously. These movements can be classified into:

·        Waves

·        Currents

·        Tides

Wave :

·        When the water on the surface of the ocean rises and falls alternately, they are called waves.

·        They are formed when winds scrape the ocean floor.

·        When we throw a ball in the ocean, it gets washed back to the shore by the waves.

·        The stronger the wind blows, the bigger the wave becomes.

·        During a storm, the wind blows at a very high speed forming huge waves.

·        These may cause tremendous destruction.\

·        The following can shift large amounts of ocean water:

• An earthquake
• A volcanic eruption
• Underwater landslide

Due to the above, a huge tidal wave called tsunami is formed. It may be as high as 15 metres. The highest tsunami ever measured was 150 m high. These waves travel at a speed of 700 km/h.

Tides : (prlms 2015)

·        The rhythmic rise and fall of water twice in a day is called a tide.

High Tide: 

·        This occurs when water covers much of the shore by rising to its highest level.

Low Tide:

·        There is a low tide when water falls to its lowest level and recedes from the shore.

·        Tides are caused by the strong gravitational pull exerted by the sun and the moon on the earth’s surface.

·        The rise and fall of water due to tides is used for generating electricity in some places.

·        The water of the earth closer to the moon gets pulled under the moon’s gravitational force and causes a high tide.

Types of Tides:

Spring Tides: 

·        During the full moon and new moon days, the sun, the earth and the moon are in the same line and the tides are the highest.

·        These tides are called spring tides.

Neap Tide: 

·        When the moon is in its first and third quarters, the ocean waters get drawn in diagonally opposite directions by the gravitational pull of the sun and the earth.

·        This results in low tides; called neap tides.

Advantages of High Tide:

·        They help in navigation. They raise the water level close to the shores and help the ships to arrive at the harbor more easily.

·        They help in fishing. More fish come closer to the shore during high tides. This helps the fishermen to have a good catch and earn more.

Ocean Current

·        They are streams of water flowing continuously on the ocean’s surface in definite directions.

·        They influence the temperature conditions of the area. They may be warm or cold.

Warm Current: 

·        They originate near the equator and move towards the poles. The Gulf Stream is a warm current.

·        They bring warm temperature over land surface.

Cold Current: 

·        They carry water from polar or higher latitudes to tropical or lower latitudes. For example; the Labrador Ocean Current.

·         They result in cold temperature over the land surface.

Effect of the meeting of warm and cold currents: (prlms 2013)

• They provide the best fishing grounds of the world.
•  Some example of these are: Seas around Japan and Seas around the eastern coast of North America.
• They lead to foggy weather which makes navigation difficult.

Tsunami

·        Tsunami or the harbor wave brought large scale destruction in the Indian Ocean on 26 December 2004.

·        It was due to an earthquake of magnitude 9.0 on the Richter scale.

·        The epicenter of this earthquake was near the western boundary of Sumatra.

·        There was a sudden movement of sea floor causing earthquake, as the Indian plate went under the Burma plate.

·        The ocean floor was displaced by about 10 to 20 m and huge mass of ocean water filled the gap that was created by the displacement.

·        Tsunami travelled at a high speed of about 800 km/h.

·        The Indira Point in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands got submerged after the tsunami.

·        Some of the islands in the Indian Ocean got completely washed away.

·        The destruction killed more than 10000 people and affected more than one lakh houses.

·         Coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands were the worst affected areas in India.

·        Early warning systems are in place which can give a warning of tsunami three to four hour in advance.

·        Such warning systems were in place in the Pacific Ocean but not in the Indian Ocean because tsunamis are rare in the Indian Ocean.

·        The first indication that tsunami is approaching is the rapid withdrawal of water from the coastal region, followed by a destructive wave.

Keywords

Terrarium: It is the artificial enclosure for keeping small house plants.

Salinity: It is the amount of salt in grams present in 1000 grams of water.

Do You Know?

• The average salinity of the ocean is 35 parts per thousand. Dead Sea in Israel has salinity of 45 parts per thousand. Swimmers can float in it because the increased salt content makes it dense.
• World Water Day is celebrated on March 22. On this day the need for conservation of water is reinforced.
• Tsunami is a Japanese word. It means the ‘harbor waves’ as the harbors get destroyed whenever there is a tsunami.