Discovering India: Prominent Figures and Educational Bodies

Vocabulary flashcards covering notable Indian environmentalists, empowering Indian women, and national educational governing bodies.

Environmentalist

A person who is concerned with protecting and preserving the natural environment.

Dashrath Manjhi

Popularly known as the 'Mountain Man of India', he cut through mountains to build roads after his wife fell from a mountain and died.

Sunderlal Bahuguna

An environmentalist who dedicated his life to educating Indian villagers, protecting the Himalayas, and playing an active role in the Chipko and Anti-Tehri Dam movements against government ecological destruction.

Medha Patkar

The founder of the Narmada Bachao Andolan and the National Alliance of People's Movements.

Narmada Bachao Andolan

A movement founded by Medha Patkar that began as a fight for information about the Narmada Valley Development projects.

Vandana Shiva

A physicist, environmental activist, eco-feminist, and author who participated in the Chipko movement during the 1970s and is a leader of the International Forum on Globalisation.

Rajendra Singh

Known as 'The Water Man of India', he is recognized for his water restoration efforts in rural India, beginning in Rajasthan in 1959 by constructing mud dams known as johads.

Johads

Traditional mud dams built to collect rainwater, utilized by Rajendra Singh and Rajasthan villagers for water restoration.

Ravindra Kumar Sinha

An Indian biologist, environmentalist, and former Vice Chancellor of Nalanda Open University, known as the 'Dolphin Man of India' for his 35-year conservation campaign to save Ganges River Dolphins from extinction.

Arundhati Roy

An author and political activist involved in human rights and environmental causes who won the Booker Prize in 1997 for her book 'The God of Small Things'.

Chitra Ramakrishna

The Managing Director and CEO who became the first woman to head the National Stock Exchange.

Norah Jones

An Indian-origin American singer whose debut music album 'Come Away With Me' won 8 Grammy Awards.

Shobhana Bhartia

The Chairperson and Editorial Director of the Hindustan Times Group, one of India's leading newspaper and media houses.

Anny Divya

An aviator who became the world's youngest woman to command a Boeing 777 at the age of 21.

Padmavati Bandopadhyay

The first Indian woman Air Marshal, who assumed office on October 1, 2004.

AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education)

An advisory apex body that maintains the standards of technical institutes in India, such as B.E. and B.Tech.

Medical Council of India

A council that sets standards for higher qualifications in medicine, recognizes medical qualifications in India and abroad, and deals with medical colleges, hospitals, and medical professionals.

Bar Council of India

A statutory body that regulates legal practice and legal education in India.

NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council)

An organization responsible for assessing and accrediting institutions of higher education in India.

UGC (University Grants Commission)

A governing body that coordinates, determines, and maintains standards of university education and teaching, as well as releasing grants for universities in India.

IGNOU (Indira Gandhi National Open University)

An educational body that delivers quality higher education in various disciplines through distance mode, conducting undergraduate, postgraduate, and certificate programmes.

NCTE (National Council for Teacher Education)

An advisory body to the central and state governments on matters related to teacher education.

NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training)

An organization responsible for the improvement of school children's education by promoting research, improving techniques, developing curriculum, teaching methods, and evaluation techniques.