Pangong Lake
1.Pangong Lake in Ladakh
- It is one of the largest Saline lakes in Asia. Pangong Tso is a blue crystal clear lake in the barren land of Ladakh.
- It is situated at a height of 4,250 metres and covers an area of about 134 km, extending from India to Tibet. However, almost 60 per cent of the lake is located in Tibet, and the rest in India.
- In winters, despite the saline nature of the waters, the lake freezes completely.
Wular Lake
2. Wular Lake in Jammu and Kashmir
- Wular lake is one of the largest fresh water lakes in Asia and largest in India.
- Located in Jammu & Kashmir, the lake has an altitude of around 1570 metres and holds an importance for the State on basis of its biological, hydrological and socio-economic value.
- Wular was declared a Ramsar site in 1990.
- It is important for the abundant fish available and the population around it is dependent on it for food.
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Dal Lake
3. Dal Lake in Jammu and Kashmir
- Known as the jewel in the crown of Kashmir, Dal lake is one of the most famous lakes in India.
- It is located in Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir and attracts tourists from around the world.
- Shaped like a kidney, it covers an area of 7.44 km with an average depth of 1.5 metres and is also a popular bird watching site.
Chilka
4. Chilika Lake in Odisha
- It is known to be Asia’s largest saline water lake covering an area of 1165 sq km.
- Because of the biodiversity and socio-economic value it has, Chilika was designated as a Ramsar site in 1981 to afford better protection.
- It is home to a wide variety of birds with a lot of birds migrating from different parts of the world – making it a spectacular bird watching site.
Lake Pichola
5. Lake Pichola in Rajasthan
- Lake Pichola, located in the city of Udaipur, Rajasthan is named after nearby Picholi Village.
- The lake is an artificial formation, and was formed in the year 1362.
- There are some islands on the lake with palaces which provide a picturesque view of the Lake.
Sambhar Lake
6. Sambhar Salt Lake in Rajasthan
- Sambhar is also known as the “Salt Lake of Rajasthan” and is the largest inland salt lake in the country.
- The saline lake is divided by a dam to help make salt and is spread in an area of 22.5 square km
- It is a treat for bird watchers.
Loktak Lake
7. Loktak Lake in Manipur
- Loktak Lake is the largest freshwater lake in Northeast India and is located in Manipur.
- What makes this Lake different from many others is that it has floating circular swamps, known as Phumdis.
- The Lake is a lifeline for people living nearby as a source of fresh water. The Lake is home to 233 species of aquatic plants, more than 100 species of birds, and 425 species of animals, including the Indian python and sambhar.
Pushkar Lake
8. Pushkar Lake in Rajasthan
- A sacred lake of the Hindus, Pushkar Lake is of the five most sacred pilgrimage destinations for the Hindus in India. It is located in the town of Pushkar in Ajmer district of the Rajasthan
- The Pushkar Lake is semi-circular in shape and about 8-10 meters deep.
- Over 500 Hindu temples are situated around the lake precincts.
Vembanad Lake
9. Vembanad Lake in Kerala
- With 96 km in length and 14 km in width, Vembanad Lake is recognized as the longest lake in India and largest water reservoir in Kerala and the largest lake in the state of Kerala.
- A lake spanning several districts in Kerala, is known by different names in different localities viz. Punnamada Lake in Kuttanad, Kochi Lake in Kochi.
- Vembanad Lake is the place known for its serenity, peace and the aquatic animals that breed here. Houseboat ride in Vembanad Lake will take tourist to the Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary and small islands around it.
Bhimtal
10. Bhimtal Lake in Uttarakhand
- Bhimtal lake is 1701 meter in length, 451 meter in width and has a depth of 18 meters.
- It is located at a distance of 22 km from Nainital at an altitude of 1370 meters.
- The Lake is spread across 63.25 hectares of area with an island at the centre of the lake.
- It is a perennial lake which not only supports a large variety of aquatic life but is a winter stopover for Trans Himalayan birds.
Recent Posts
Petrol in India is cheaper than in countries like Hong Kong, Germany and the UK but costlier than in China, Brazil, Japan, the US, Russia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, a Bank of Baroda Economics Research report showed.
Rising fuel prices in India have led to considerable debate on which government, state or central, should be lowering their taxes to keep prices under control.
The rise in fuel prices is mainly due to the global price of crude oil (raw material for making petrol and diesel) going up. Further, a stronger dollar has added to the cost of crude oil.
Amongst comparable countries (per capita wise), prices in India are higher than those in Vietnam, Kenya, Ukraine, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Venezuela. Countries that are major oil producers have much lower prices.
In the report, the Philippines has a comparable petrol price but has a per capita income higher than India by over 50 per cent.
Countries which have a lower per capita income like Kenya, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Venezuela have much lower prices of petrol and hence are impacted less than India.
“Therefore there is still a strong case for the government to consider lowering the taxes on fuel to protect the interest of the people,” the report argued.
India is the world’s third-biggest oil consuming and importing nation. It imports 85 per cent of its oil needs and so prices retail fuel at import parity rates.
With the global surge in energy prices, the cost of producing petrol, diesel and other petroleum products also went up for oil companies in India.
They raised petrol and diesel prices by Rs 10 a litre in just over a fortnight beginning March 22 but hit a pause button soon after as the move faced criticism and the opposition parties asked the government to cut taxes instead.
India imports most of its oil from a group of countries called the ‘OPEC +’ (i.e, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Russia, etc), which produces 40% of the world’s crude oil.
As they have the power to dictate fuel supply and prices, their decision of limiting the global supply reduces supply in India, thus raising prices
The government charges about 167% tax (excise) on petrol and 129% on diesel as compared to US (20%), UK (62%), Italy and Germany (65%).
The abominable excise duty is 2/3rd of the cost, and the base price, dealer commission and freight form the rest.
Here is an approximate break-up (in Rs):
a)Base Price | 39 |
b)Freight | 0.34 |
c) Price Charged to Dealers = (a+b) | 39.34 |
d) Excise Duty | 40.17 |
e) Dealer Commission | 4.68 |
f) VAT | 25.35 |
g) Retail Selling Price | 109.54 |
Looked closely, much of the cost of petrol and diesel is due to higher tax rate by govt, specifically excise duty.
So the question is why government is not reducing the prices ?
India, being a developing country, it does require gigantic amount of funding for its infrastructure projects as well as welfare schemes.
However, we as a society is yet to be tax-compliant. Many people evade the direct tax and that’s the reason why govt’s hands are tied. Govt. needs the money to fund various programs and at the same time it is not generating enough revenue from direct taxes.
That’s the reason why, govt is bumping up its revenue through higher indirect taxes such as GST or excise duty as in the case of petrol and diesel.
Direct taxes are progressive as it taxes according to an individuals’ income however indirect tax such as excise duty or GST are regressive in the sense that the poorest of the poor and richest of the rich have to pay the same amount.
Does not matter, if you are an auto-driver or owner of a Mercedes, end of the day both pay the same price for petrol/diesel-that’s why it is regressive in nature.
But unlike direct tax where tax evasion is rampant, indirect tax can not be evaded due to their very nature and as long as huge no of Indians keep evading direct taxes, indirect tax such as excise duty will be difficult for the govt to reduce, because it may reduce the revenue and hamper may programs of the govt.