Karnataka PDO cheat sheet

Karnataka enacted the Karnataka Panchayat Raj Act in 1993, replacing the 1983 Act, to give effect to the 73rd Constitutional Amendment; it came into force on 30 April 1993.

Three-tier structure: Grama Panchayat at village level, Taluk Panchayat at taluk level, and Zilla Panchayat at district level; elections to all three tiers are held simultaneously every five years.

Grama Panchayat seats are reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in proportion to population, and not less than one-third of total seats (including SC/ST seats) for women; Karnataka raised the OBC reservation in Panchayats to 33 percent.

Grama Sabha consists of all persons registered in the electoral roll of the village; it must meet at least once in three months (minimum four times a year) and approves the annual plan and budget of the Grama Panchayat.

The Adhyaksha (President) and Upadhyaksha (Vice-President) of a Grama Panchayat are elected by its members from among themselves; a no-confidence motion requires a notice of one-third of members and passes with a majority of the total membership.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is the administrative head of the Zilla Panchayat, appointed by the State Government; the Chief Planning Officer assists in plan formulation, and the Executive Officer heads Taluk Panchayat administration.

A Grama Panchayat may be dissolved by the State Government before its term for specified reasons, but fresh elections must be held within six months of dissolution.

Karnataka introduced a separate State Election Commission (constituted under Article 243K) and a State Finance Commission every five years to review and recommend devolution of funds to Panchayats.

Grama Panchayat sources of revenue include house tax, profession tax, water and drainage charges, market fees, and grants-in-aid from the State Finance Commission and Central Finance Commission.

The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 added Part IX (Articles 243 to 243O) and the Eleventh Schedule listing 29 subjects for Panchayats; it came into force on 24 April 1993.

The 74th Amendment Act, 1992 added Part IXA (Articles 243P to 243ZG) and the Twelfth Schedule with 18 subjects for Urban Local Bodies.

Article 243E fixes a five-year term for Panchayats; Article 243K provides for a State Election Commission; Article 243I provides for a State Finance Commission every five years.

The Constitution's Fundamental Rights are in Part III (Articles 12-35); Directive Principles of State Policy are in Part IV (Articles 36-51); Fundamental Duties in Part IVA (Article 51A, added by the 42nd Amendment, 1976).

The Preamble was amended once, by the 42nd Amendment Act, 1976, which added the words 'Socialist', 'Secular' and 'Integrity'.

Article 356 provides for President's Rule in a State; Article 360 deals with Financial Emergency; Article 352 covers National Emergency.

The Governor is appointed by the President and holds office during the pleasure of the President; the Chief Minister is appointed by the Governor, and the Governor administers the oath of office to the CM and Ministers.

The 42nd Amendment (1976) added Article 51A and the 44th Amendment (1978) removed the right to property as a Fundamental Right, making it a legal right under Article 300A.

Public administration principles: hierarchy, unity of command, span of control, delegation of authority, and the line-and-staff concept; the 'spoils system' refers to political appointments, while the 'merit system' is recruitment by examination.

MGNREGA (2005) guarantees 100 days of unskilled wage employment per rural household per year; wages must be paid within 15 days of work completion, and unemployment allowance is payable if work is not provided within 15 days of demand.

PMAY-Gramin (Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Gramin) provides financial assistance for construction of pucca houses for houseless and kutcha-house rural families, with unit assistance shared between Centre and State in a 60:40 ratio.

Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) organises rural poor women into Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and provides them with revolving funds and bank credit.

The National Rural Drinking Water Programme (now part of Jal Jeevan Mission) aims to provide functional household tap connections in rural areas.

Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) targets open-defecation-free villages and solid and liquid waste management in rural areas.

Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), launched in 2000, provides all-weather road connectivity to unconnected rural habitations.

The 15th Finance Commission recommended grants to Panchayats, including tied grants for drinking water, sanitation and maintenance of rural infrastructure.

Antyodaya Anna Yojana provides highly subsidised food grains to the poorest households under the National Food Security Act, 2013; the Public Distribution System uses Aadhaar-linked ration cards in Karnataka.

Karnataka-specific schemes include the Karnataka Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme aligned with MGNREGA and the 'Krishi Bhagya' scheme for rainfed agriculture and farm ponds.

Karnataka has 31 districts; Bengaluru is the capital, and the state was formed on 1 November 1956 under the States Reorganisation Act, initially named Mysore State and renamed Karnataka on 1 November 1973.

The Karnataka Legislative Assembly has 224 elected members; the Legislative Council has 75 members, with a term of six years for one-third retiring every two years.

Karnataka is bordered by Maharashtra to the north, Goa to the northwest, Kerala to the southwest, Tamil Nadu to the southeast, Telangana to the northeast and Andhra Pradesh to the east.

Major rivers: Krishna and its tributaries (Bhima, Tungabhadra, Ghataprabha, Malaprabha), Cauvery (with Hemavathi, Kabini, Shimsha), and west-flowing Sharavathi, Kali and Netravathi.

Karnataka's state animal is the elephant, state bird is the Indian roller (Neelakanta), state tree is sandalwood, and state flower is the lotus.

Karnataka is India's largest producer of coffee and a leading producer of sandalwood, arecanut, sunflower and raw silk; the Kolar Gold Fields were historically major gold mines.

The Jog Falls on the Sharavathi River in Shivamogga district is one of India's highest plunge waterfalls; Bandipur and Nagarhole are well-known tiger reserves.

Karnataka's IT hub is Bengaluru, known as the 'Silicon Valley of India'; the state has the headquarters of ISRO and major public sector units such as HAL and BEML.

Karnataka's Chief Minister heads the state executive; the Governor is the constitutional head, and the state's High Court is in Bengaluru with a bench at Dharwad.

Ancient Karnataka: the Mauryas, Satavahanas, Kadambas of Banavasi (first Kannada kingdom), Gangas of Talakad, Chalukyas of Badami, Rashtrakutas of Manyakheta, Hoysalas of Halebidu and Vijayanagara Empire ruled the region.

The Battle of Talikota (1565) ended Vijayanagara dominance; the Bahmani Sultanate and later Bijapur and Mysore kingdoms rose in the Deccan.

Indian economy sectors: primary (agriculture, mining), secondary (manufacturing, construction), tertiary (services); GDP contribution of services is the largest in India.

Inflation measures: Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Wholesale Price Index (WPI); the Reserve Bank of India uses CPI for inflation targeting, with a target of 4 percent plus or minus 2 percent.

Basic science: Newton's three laws of motion; Ohm's law V = IR; photosynthesis converts carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen using chlorophyll and sunlight.

Human body: the heart has four chambers; blood groups follow the ABO and Rh systems; the normal human body temperature is about 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit).

Geography terms: latitude lines run east-west and measure north-south position; longitude lines run north-south and measure east-west position; the Tropic of Cancer passes through 8 Indian states but not Karnataka.

Indian history periods: Indus Valley Civilisation (c. 2500 BCE), Vedic period, Mauryan Empire (321 BCE), Gupta Empire, Delhi Sultanate, Mughal Empire, British colonial rule, and independence in 1947.

Percentage change = (new value minus old value) divided by old value, multiplied by 100; successive percentage changes of a% and b% give a net change of a + b + ab/100 percent.

Simple Interest = P x R x T / 100; Compound Interest amount = P x (1 + R/100)^T, and CI = Amount minus Principal.

Speed = Distance / Time; to convert km/h to m/s multiply by 5/18; to convert m/s to km/h multiply by 18/5.

Average = Sum of observations / Number of observations; if a train of length L crosses a platform of length P at speed S, time = (L + P) / S.

Profit percentage = (Selling Price minus Cost Price) / Cost Price x 100; if two articles are sold at the same price with equal percentage profit and loss, the net result is always a loss of (common percent squared / 100) percent.

Ratio and proportion: if a:b = c:d then ad = bc; partnership profit shares are proportional to capital multiplied by time invested.

Reasoning: in a series with a constant difference it is arithmetic; with a constant ratio it is geometric; odd-one-out questions test category membership, not numerical pattern.

Coding-decoding: letter positions A=1 to Z=26; reverse position = 27 minus forward position; in blood relations, draw a family tree and mark gender and generation explicitly.

Permutation vs combination: arrangements where order matters use nPr = n!/(n-r)!; selections where order does not matter use nCr = n!/(r!(n-r)!).

Kannada is a Dravidian language written in the Kannada script, which evolved from the ancient Kadamba script; the earliest available Kannada inscription is the Halmidi inscription (c. 450 CE).

Kannada has three genders (masculine, feminine, neuter) and two numbers (singular, plural); case is shown by suffixes called vibhaktis.

The Kannada alphabet has 49 letters in the standard classification: 14 vowels (swaragalu), 34 consonants (vyanjanagalu) and one anusvara (sunna), though yogavahaka and other classifications vary.

Kannada words are classified as tatsama (Sanskrit loanwords unchanged), tadbhava (Sanskrit-derived but modified), desya (native Kannada) and anyadesya (borrowed from other languages).

Sandhi is the joining of two words with sound changes; examples include vowel sandhi (svara sandhi) and consonant sandhi (vyanjana sandhi).

Samasa is compound formation; important types are dwandva, dwigu, karmadharaya, bahuvrihi, tatpurusha and avyayibhava.

Kannada literary periods: Old Kannada (Halegannada), Middle Kannada (Nadugannada) and Modern Kannada (Hosagannada); Pampa, Ranna, Ponna and Janna are the 'Ratnatraya' plus Janna of Old Kannada literature.

Modern Kannada writers include Kuvempu (Jnanpith awardee, author of 'Sri Ramayana Darshanam'), D.R. Bendre, Shivaram Karanth and Girish Karnad.

Comprehension strategy: identify the main idea (pradhana bhavane), then distinguish stated facts from inference; in grammar questions, check subject-verb agreement and case suffix agreement.