Chhattisgarh /ˈtʃætɨsɡər/^{[citation needed]} (Chhattisgarhi/Hindi: छत्तीसगढ़, pronounced [tʃʰət̪ˈt̪iːsɡəɽʱ] ( listen)) is a state in Central India. The state was formed on November 1, 2000 by partitioning 16 Chhattisgarhi-speaking southeastern districts of Madhya Pradesh.

Raipur is the capital of the state of Chhattisgarh, which is the 10th-largest state in India, with an area of 135,190 km² (52,200 sq mi). By population, it ranks as the 16th-largest state of the nation. It is an important electrical power and steel-producing state of India. Chhattisgarh produces 15% of the steel made in the country.

Chhattisgarh borders the states of Madhya Pradesh on the northwest, Maharashtra on the west, Andhra Pradesh on the south, Orissa on the east, Jharkhand on the northeast, and Uttar Pradesh on the north.

There are a wide array of opinions on the origin of the word Chhattisgarh. The name is not a very old one and has come into popular usage in the last few centuries. In ancient times, the region was called Dakshin Kosala (South Kosala). The name Chhattisgarh was popularized during the Maratha period and was first used in an official document in 1795.

Karishma Kotak is a London and Indian – based model best known for her work as the Kingfisher Girl. She has also appeared in a number of other commercials.

Karishma Kotak is a London/Mumbai – based model and actress. She was born in London and has been modelling since the age of 16 for magazines such as Just Seventeen, Asian Woman, and Asiana. She also modelled for designers Ralph Lauren and FCUK.^{[citation needed]}

She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in advertising and marketing.^{[citation needed]}

She moved to India in October 2005^{[citation needed]} where, within two months, she got herself onto the prestigious Kingfisher Swimsuit calendar. In 2006, Karishma took part in the "Lakme Fashion Week". She has also done music videos for artists such as Jay Sean, Sonu Nigam and Apache Indian.^{[citation needed]}

She has now become the brand ambassador for Dove (shampoo) in India. She remains best known for her work as the Kingfisher Girl. She has also appeared in a number of other commercials.

In April 2008 Karishma has started to host a show for an international luxury channel, called the "Spa Diaries", which involves her travelling all over India.^{[citation needed]}

Raman Singh (born 15 October 1952) is an Indian politician who as of March 2012^[update] is the Chief Minister of Chhatisgarh and has been so since 7 December 2003. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Raman Singh was born on 15 October 1952. He comes from a farming family, his father being Vighnaharan Singh Thakur and his mother, Sudha Singh. He is a doctor of Ayurvedic Medicine and is married to Veena Singh.

Singh joined the Bharatiya Jan Sangh as a youth member and progressed to become a councilor.^{[citation needed]}

He was elected to Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly in 1990 and 1998. In 1999 he was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Rajnandgaon constituency in Chhattisgarh. In the government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, Singh became the Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry. He was later named as President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the new state of Chhattisgarh, and led the party to a victory in the 2003 state Assembly elections. With the other main contender for the Chief Minister's post, Dilip Singh Judeo, caught in the midst of a scam, the BJP leadership named Raman Singh as Chattisgarh's second Chief Minister, and the first person to be elected to that post.

Narendra Damodardas Modi (Gujarati: નરેન્દ્ર મોદી; born 17 September 1950) is the current Chief Minister of the Indian state of Gujarat. Born in a middle class family in Vadnagar, he was the third of six children born to Damodardas Mulchand Modi and his wife Heeraben. He has been a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) since childhood also having interest in politics since adolescence. He holds a master's degree in political science. In 1998, he was chosen by L. K. Advani, the leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), to direct the election campaign in Gujarat as well as Himachal Pradesh.

He became Chief Minister of Gujarat in October 2001, promoted to the office at a time when his predecessor Keshubhai Patel had resigned, following the defeat of BJP in the by-elections. His tenure as chief minister of Gujarat began on 7 October 2001, and he is the longest serving Chief Minister of the state of Gujarat. In July 2007 he became the longest serving Chief Minister in Gujarat's history when he had been in power for 2063 days continuously. He was elected again for a third term on 23 December 2007 in the state elections, which he had cast as a "referendum on his rule".

Ravi Shankar Prasad (Hindi: रवि शंकर प्रसाद, b. August 30, 1954) is an Indian lawyer and politician belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He represents Bihar in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India. He held the position of Minister of State in the Ministry of Coal and Mines, the Ministry of Law and Justice, and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting during the National Democratic Alliance government.

Prasad was born into a prominent family of Patna, Bihar. His father Thakur Prasad was a Senior Advocate at the Patna High Court and one of the founders of the Jan Sangh, which is now the BJP. Ravi Prasad earned BA Hons, MA (Political Science) and LLB degrees from Patna University. He married Maya Shankar on February 3, 1982. Maya is a professor of history at Patna University.

Prasad began his political career as a student leader in the 1970s organising protests against Indira Gandhi's government. He worked in the student movement in Bihar under the leadership of Jayaprakash Narayan and was imprisoned during the Emergency. He was associated with Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad for many years and held various posts in the organisation. During his college days he was Assistant General Secretary of the Patna University Students Union and member of the Senate, Finance Committee, Arts and Law Faculties of the University.