january (2-25) GK 2013.pdf

GYANM’S GENERAL AWARENESS – JANUARY 2013 2

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GYANM – January 2013

General Awareness

Year: 2012 Vol. 1 Issue 10

CONTENTS

SECTION – A

CURRENT AFFAIRS From September to November

2-25

SECTION – B

BULLET NEWS

From June to August 26-34

ARTICLE OF THE MONTH 35-36

SECTION – C

NOTES ON AGRICULTURE 37-48

SECTION – D

GK MOCK TESTS 49-60

SECTION – E GK BYTES

From June to November 61-88

FIGURES TO REMEMBER

REPO RATE (17-04-2012)

8.00%

REVERSE REPO RATE 7.00%

MARGINAL STANDING FACILITY RATE

9.00%

STATUTORY LIQUIDITY RATIO 23%

CASH RESERVE RATIO 4.25%

BANK RATE 9.00%

BASE RATE (of various banks) 10-10.75%

INDIA’S RANK IN

Economic Freedom 2012 111th h

Global Competitiveness Index 59th

Corruption Perception Index 87th

Global Hunger Index 2010 67th

Food Security 66th

Human Development Index 134th

Global Business Confidence Index 2nd

ICT Performance Index 69th

India’s Rank in IMF 8th

NATIONAL NEWS

NOVEMBER 2012

INDIA 7TH IN GLOBAL SERVICES TRADE India has been ranked by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) as the seventh largest player in the global services trade with value of exports and imports aggregating $ 261 billion in 2011. With exports at $ 137 billion and

imports at $ 124 billion, India is among the five countries among the top ten players which ended the year 2011 with a surplus of trade in commercial services, according to a WTO report.

INDIA RANKED 40TH BY WEF India has been ranked 40th in a survey of 62 countries for financial systems and capital markets by World Economic Forum. It slipped four places from previous ranking because of weak institutional and business environment. The ranking is topped by Hong Kong.

INDIA TOPS IN INWARD REMITTANCES According to World Bank data, India will receive record $70 billion remittances in the year 2012, topping the list of developing countries which

are expected to receive a total of $406 billion this year. After India, China will stand second with $66 billion, followed by Mexico and the Philippines with $24 billion each.

INDIA LIKELY TO JOIN ‘RCEP’ India is set to join talks for creating the world's largest trade bloc, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership or RCEP, comprising Asean members and three manufacturing giants — China , Japan and South Korea, besides Australia and New Zealand. The 16 members account for over a quarter of the world economy.

11 MOUs SIGNED WITH CHINA India and China took the first step towards addressing the severe imbalance in their trade by signing 11 MoUs during the second India-China Strategic Economic Dialogue held at New Delhi. The agreements envisage investments of over $5 billion (about Rs. 28,000 crore). Most MoUs envisage Chinese investment to partly offset the balance of trade currently heavily skewed in China’s favour.

POs IMMUNE TO DEFICIENCY IN SERVICE Section 6 of the Indian Post Office Act provides immunity to Post Offices and their employees against any act of deficiency of service on their part, unless a fraud or willful default is established. Because of this provision, even The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission expressed their inability to proceed against them, even if deficiency in service was established.

KHURSHID ATTENDS ‘ASEM’ India’s External Affairs Minister, Salman Khurshid visited Vientiane, Laos to

participate in the 9th summit of the 48-member Asia-Europe (ASEM) meeting. ASEM is home to 60 percent of the world’s population, 50 percent of global GDP and 60 percent of global trade.


Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Phnom Penh, Cambodia to attend the ASEAN and East Asia Summits.

The first ever World Economic Forum on India meet was held in Gurgaon from Nov. 6to8.

43rd International Film Festival of India – 2012 inaugurated by actor Akshay Kumar at Goa.

First International Textile and Apparel Fair ‘Vastra 2012’ held at Jaipur, Rajasthan.

India and Turkey sign Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA).

India has signed a protocol with the U.K. for amending the Double Taxation Avoidance Convention (DTAC) of 1993.

India and Sweden have signed a social security agreement that will relieve their workers from double taxation and provide for cooperation in areas of labour market expansion and orderly migration.

The government has conferred for the first time, Cabinet rank on Official Languages Commission Chairman.

Italy is offering a single-window clearance for Indian investors with an aim to double bilateral trade between the two countries by 2050.

India presented its low-cost Aakash tablet at the United Nations, highlighting the country’s innovation involved in creating the “most competitively priced” tablet computer.

OCTOBER 2012

INDIA 5TH FOR GROWING BUSINESSES The Grant Thornton Global Dynamism Index indicates that India is the fifth best country in the world for dynamic growing businesses. According to the index, India is ahead of Singapore, and Russia and only four countries - Argentina, China, Uruguay and Chile are ahead of India.

DELHI 10TH IN SHOPPER’s LIST Delhi ranks as 10th most attractive city for international travel shoppers in the Asia-Pacific region, a report says. In the Globe Shopper Index, published by Global Blue, Delhi is behind Seoul and ahead of Manila, while Bangalore ranked fourteenth and Mumbai sixteenth.

INDIA PREFERRED INVESTMENT CHOICE In a survey conducted by the consulting firm BDO Global Market Opportunity Index 2012, India ranked fourth in the top five investment destinations in the world, primarily on account of its large market size and high customer potential. The survey covered more than 1,000 senior finance officers spread across 14 countries.

INDIA TOP EXPORTER OF RICE India has the emerged as the world's largest rice exporter in 2012 beating its Asian counterpart Thailand with shipment of 9.75 million tonnes, according to US Deptt of Agriculture’s latest report. Vietnam shipped 7 million tonnes to claim second position, followed by Thailand (6.5 million tonnes).

BIODIVERSITY MEET HELD AT HYDERABAD 11th Conference of the parties (COP-11) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) held in Hyderabad to discuss

various issues related to conserving the bio resources of the world and to achieve consensus among 170 member countries on the issues related to climate change and

mobilization of financial resources. Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh announced USD 50 million grant to strengthen the institutional mechanism for biodiversity conservation in the country.

WHAT IS BIODIVERSITY Biodiversity, or biological diversity, is the variety of all species on earth. It is the different plants, animals and micro-organisms, their genes, and the terrestrial, marine and freshwater ecosystems of which they are a part. Biodiversity is both essential for our existence and intrinsically valuable in its own right. Biodiversity is the life support system of our planet- we depend on it for the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink. Wetlands filter pollutants from water, trees and plants reduce global warming by absorbing carbon, and bacteria and fungi break down organic material and fertilize the soil. We need to conserve biodiversity as our lives depend on it!

BERNANKE VISITS INDIA, MEETS SUBBARAO US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S Bernanke visited India to discuss global economic situation, monetary policies and some banking issues of mutual interest with RBI Governor D Subbarao and other top officials.

PM RESHUFFLES THE UNION CABINET Seven Cabinet Ministers, two Ministers of State with

Independent Charge and 13 Ministers of State were inducted in the Council of Ministers in reshuffle done by Prime Minister on Oct 28.

PORTFOLIO UPGRADED

Salman Khurshid External Affairs

Pawan Kumar Bansal Railways

Kamal Nath Parliamentary Affairs; Urban Development

M Veerappa Moily Petroleum & Natural Gas

Kumari Selja Social Justice

MINISTERS PROMOTED

M.M. Pallam Raju Human Resource Development

Ajay Maken Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation

Ashwani Kumar Law & Justice

Dinesh J. Patel Mines

Harish Rawat Water Resources

Jyotiraditya Scindia Power*

Sachin Pilot Corporate Affairs*

Jitendra Singh Youth Affairs and Sports *

K.H. Muniappa Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises

Bharatsinh Solanki Drinking water & Sanitation*

* Ministers of State with independent charge


NEW MINISTERS

K. Rahman Khan Minority Affairs

Chandresh Katoch Culture

Manish Tewari Information & Broadcasting*

K. Chiranjeevi Tourism*

NEW MINISTERS OF STATE

Shashi Tharoor HRD

Tariq Anwar Agriculture

Deepa Dasmunsi Urban Development

Kodikunnil Suresh Labour

K.J. Surya Prakash Reddy Railways

Ranee Narah Tribal Affairs

Adhir Ranjan Chaudhury Railways

A.H. Khan Chaudhury Health

S. Sathyanarayana Road Transport

Ninong Ering Minority Affairs

Porika Balram Naik Social Justice

Kruparani Killi Communication & IT

Lalchand Kataria Defence

SHAH GROUP PROPOSES ‘PRIVACY LAW’ A government-appointed expert group under chairmanship of A P Shah has recommended setting up of a regulatory framework comprising of Privacy Commissioners at the Centre and regional levels to deal with privacy issues and mandatory destruction of records of telephone conversations

after a specified period. The group has suggested a comprehensive legislation to protect individuals against misuse of information collected through telephone tapping, videography or any other method.

5 PACTS SIGNED WITH SPAIN India and Spain signed five pacts, including a protocol for amending the over 19-year-old double taxation avoidance pact to check tax evasion. The two countries also signed a defence cooperation pact.

BAN LIFTED FROM TOURISM IN TIGER PARKS The Supreme Court has lifted the ban imposed by it earlier on tourist activities in core areas of tiger reserve forests, in view of the comprehensive guidelines issued by the National Tourism Conservation Authority [NTCA] under the Wildlife Act for tourism in and around tiger reserves.

AWARD FOR PERIYAR TIGER RESERVE The Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR), Kerala, has won the coveted U.N.-India Biodiversity Governance award instituted by the Government of India and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for the best managed protected area of the country.

4000 CRORE FOR JAPANESE ENCEPHALITIS Union Cabinet has approved Rs 4,000 crores proposal for multipronged strategy for the prevention and control of Japanese Encephalitis and Acute Encephalitis Syndrome. The scheme will be implemented in 60 priority districts for a period of 5 years from this year.

217 MN INDIANS ARE ‘HUNGRY’ ‘The State of Food Insecurity in the World’, an annual report brought out jointly by the UN's Food and Agricultural

Organization, the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the World Food Programme has revised the number of hungry people in world in 2010-12 downwards to 870 million, from 1 billion declared earlier. India remains home to the largest number of undernourished people in the world: 217 million (17.5%) as of 2012.

‘GREEN KUMBH YATRA’ FROM HYDERABAD The world’s first Green Kumbh Yatra was launched from the COP-11 conference venue in Hyderabad on Oct. 14. The yatra will culminate at Allahabad, the site of the Maha Kumbh Mela, in January 2013. The United Nation’s Convention on Biodiversity secretariat will officially take part in the yatra. Aimed at mobilising masses and bringing awareness, the yatra is an environmental pilgrimage on foot and non-motorised vehicles traversing 1,125 kilometres through villages. After Allahabad, the yatra will continue across the continent and reach South Korea for COP-12 in 2014.

INDIA APPROVES NAGOYA PROTOCOL The Central government has approved the ratification of the Nagoya Protocol on October 4. The Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefits Sharing (ABS) is a supplementary agreement to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). It provides a transparent legal framework for the effective implementation of one of the three objectives of the CBD:

the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources. The Nagoya Protocol on ABS was adopted on 29 October 2010 in Nagoya, Japan.

FIRST MUSEUM ON INDIAN CINEMA The first-ever museum of Indian cinema will come up in Mumbai in 2013, to mark the occasion of Indian cinema completing its 100 years, having started its journey with the screening of Raja Harishchandra in 1913. The National Museum of Indian Cinema will be set up in the premises of the Films Division.

HOMAGE TO 1962 CHINA WAR MARTYRS For the first time, the country’s defence establishment led by Union Defence Minister A. K. Antony paid homage to those who fought the 1962 war with China and sacrificed their lives. The Minister and the three Service Chiefs, laid wreaths at Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate, New Delhi. More than 3,000 Indian soldiers laid down their lives during the war.

Julia Gillard, Australian Prime Minister visits India.

Juan Carlos I: King of Spain visits India.

Anatoly Serdyukov: Russian Defense Minister visits India.

Kolkata International Film Festival to be held at Kolkata from November 10.

India and New Zealand signed five Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) in different fields of education.

South Asian Film Festival held in Goa from 25th-28th October, for films from SAARC nations.

‘Viswa Malayalee Mahotsavam’ held at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.


SEPTEMBER 2012

INDIA RANKS 111TH IN ECONOMIC FREEDOM India ranks very low at 111th position in terms of economic freedom, behind countries like China, Nepal and Bangladesh, a global study has claimed in a worldwide index of 144 nations. The annual ranking, titled 'Economic Freedom of the World: 2012', is topped by Hong Kong, followed by Singapore, New Zealand, Switzerland and Australia in the top-five. The index by Canada-based Fraser Institute, measure the degree to which the policies and institutions of countries support economic freedom.

INDIA RANKED 59TH IN COMPETITIVENESS India's ranking declined by three places to 59th position in the Global Competitiveness Index 2012-2013, compiled by the World Economic Forum (WEF). India trails behind Brazil

and South Africa by some 10 places and lags behind China by a margin of 30 positions. The global list was topped by Switzerland for the fourth consecutive year, followed by Singapore and Finland. The report noted that India's infrastructure is largely insufficient and ill-adapted to the needs of the economy. Moreover, the country also faces problem areas such as corruption and bureaucracy.

S C RULES AGAINST AUCTION METHOD Supreme Court has ruled that auction cannot be the only method for allocating natural resources. It said, profit maximisation cannot be the only basis for allocating natural resources. The court ruled that policy of auction has not got constitutional mandate. The apex court said that its 2G verdict was confined to allocation of spectrum and has not laid down any rule for other resources. It said, allocation of natural resources is a policy decision which should be backed by social and welfare measures.

GAAR MAY BE POSTPONED BY 3 YEARS The expert committee on GAAR (the General Anti-Avoidance Rules), headed by Parthasarathi Shome to address the concerns of foreign and domestic investors, has recommended postponement of the controversial tax provision by three years and abolition of capital gains tax on transfer of securities.

INDIA GRANTS $10 MN TO PALESTINE India has agreed to extend development assistance of 10 million US dollars to Palestine and to support its bid for a full United Nations membership. Both countries also signed three pacts to enhance bilateral cooperation.

INDIA RANKS 66TH IN FOOD SECURITY A new global food security index shows India as a protein-deficient country and ranks it at 66th position among 105 nations surveyed. India ranked even below Sri Lanka (62).

BURUNDI PRESIDENT VISITS INDIA India and Burundi signed three MOUs for cooperation on in the fields of Education, Health and Medicine and Rural Development. The MOUs were signed by the visiting President of Burundi Pierre Nkurunziza.

KISHENGANGA PROJECT IN ICJ India and Pakistan have concluded their arguments before International Court of Justice in the dispute over the 330-MW

hydro-electric project on Kishenganga, a tributary of the Jhelum, near Bandipur in Jammu & Kashmir.

INDIA TO HELP IN TIPAIMUKH PROJECT India has offered Bangladesh a stake in the Rs.15,000-crore Tipaimukh hydroelectric project on the Barak river in Manipur. Located about 210 km upstream of Bangladesh, the project has become controversial ever since Dhaka raised issues about lean period water discharges and impact on downstream agriculture, fisheries and environment.

$106 MN W B AID FOR NUTRITION The World Bank today approved a $106 million (about Rs 583 crore) credit to the government of India to improve the

nutritional outcomes for children less than six years of age.

‘BARFI’ – INDIA’s ENTRY FOR OSCARS Ranbir Kapoor starrer 'Barfi’ a love story of a deaf and mute boy set in the fairy-tale world of 1970s Darjeeling, has been nominated as Indian's entry to the Oscars next year in the foreign film category. The film has been directed by Anurag Basu.

TEXTILE PACT WITH ISRAEL India and Israel have signed pacts to boost the textiles business against the backdrop of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) being finalised between two nations as they celebrate 20 years of diplomatic relations.

India has announced a contribution of ten billion US dollars to International Monitory Fund.

Ninth World Hindi Conference [WHC] held in Johannesburg, South Africa from 22-24 September, 2012.

Second International Buddhist Conclave held at Varanasi on September 29.

NEWS FROM STATES NOVEMBER 2012

NO DL, PASSPORT TO EVE TEASERS IN MP Madhya Pradesh has decided that those indulging in eve-teasing will not be given driving licence, passport and other government facilities. Soon a toll free telephone number for registering complaints about eve-teasing and misbehaviour would also become operational in the state.

CHENNAI TO IMPORT SAND The scarcity of sand in Chennai has forced construction companies to import sand mined from the Mekong River in Cambodia. Suppliers of sand in Cambodia are able to supply one cubic foot of sand at around Rs. 12.

SEPARATE TRADE ZONES FOR WOMEN The Maharashtra Government has proposed to set up separate trade zones for women in the state, to make women self reliant. Women will now be able to run their own businesses in these specially demarcated zones after availing special licenses and movable stalls.


DELHI FIRST KEROSENE FREE STATE The Delhi Government has decided to provide a free LPG cylinder for the first time to beneficiaries under “Kerosene-

free Delhi” scheme and to subsidise three additional cylinders for all 356,395 beneficiaries under the scheme making Delhi the first kerosene-free State.

WORLD BANK LOAN FOR ICDS & ASSAM An agreement for a loan of US $ 106 million for Phase-I of the World Bank assistance for the “ICDS (Integrated Child Development Services) Systems Strengthening and Nutrition Improvement Project (ISSNIP)” was signed at New Delhi. Another US $ 320 million loan agreement was signed with World Bank for Assam State Roads Project to enhance the road connectivity in Assam.

INTEGRATED CHILD DEVELOPMENT SERVICES (ICDS) ICDS was first launched in 1975 in accordance to the National Policy for Children in India. Government of

India sponsored programme, is India's primary social welfare scheme to tackle malnutrition and health problems in children below 6 years of age and their mothers. The main beneficiaries of the programme were aimed to be the girl child up to her adolescence, all children below 6 years of age, pregnant and lactating mothers. The gender promotion of the girl child by trying to bring her at par with the male child is a key component of the scheme.

Sikkim will soon be the first state in the country to provide 'pucca' houses to all its residents as it has launched a mega social housing mission of quality housing to families living in hutments.

Maharashtra has become the first State in the country to opt for global tenders in micro irrigation projects from this year. It will include both drip and sprinkler irrigation projects for 2012-13.

OCTOBER 2012

GOA TO ASSIST POOR WOMEN Goa government has launched Grih Adhar scheme to provide Rs 1,000 per month to those women whose gross family income is less than Rs 3 lakh. The scheme will cover married women, divorcees and widows.

ELECTIONS IN GUJARAT AND HP Election Commission has announced that assembly elections in Gujarat will be held in two phases on 13th and 17th December while polls in Himachal Pradesh will take place on 4th November. Counting of votes for both States will be held on December 20.

The West Bengal Govt has decided to provide 8 kg of free foodgrains every month to members of the Toto community, one of the country’s oldest tribes, which is facing extinction.

Maharashtra government is planning to set up Spanish language departments in its universities.

The humble house sparrow has been notified as the State bird of Delhi

Jackei Shroff appointed brand ambassador of “Beti Bachao Abhiyan” launched by Bihar government against female foeticide.

Tamilnadu Assembly celebrates its Diamond Jubilee on October 29 when it completes 60 years of its establishment.

SEPTEMBER 2012

The Delhi government has decided to impose a blanket ban on manufacture, sale, storage and use of plastic bags in the national capital.

A model solar farm will be established in Gujarat to manufacture export-grade 99 per cent NaCl (Sodium Chloride) purity salt.

Arunachal Pradesh has launched Rashtriya Aarogya Nidhi scheme to provide financial assistance upto 1.5 lakh rupees to BPL patients suffering from life threatening diseases.

GOVT INITIATIVES

NOVEMBER 2012

NEW RULES FOR CHILD PROTECTION Child victims of sexual offences will now get swift and adequate compensation as well as immediate medical care and rehabilitation with the Government notifying new rules

under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.

As per new rules, any person below the age of 18 years is to be treated as ‘child’.

POSTAL DEPTT LAUNCHES ‘MOBILE MONEY’ Department of Posts has launched a scheme with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd to transfer money through mobile phones. Migrant labourers without a bank account may now use their mobile phones to transfer money to families back home. The beneficiary needs to just walk into a designated post office offering the facility. The pilot project is being launched in the Bihar, Delhi, Punjab, and Kerala

postal circles.

INCOME LIMIT UP FOR HOUSING SCHEMES The Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Ministry has approved the upward revision of norms for annual house hold income for beneficiaries under Government housing schemes as under:

Up to Rs 1 lakh Economically Weaker Section (EWS).

Above Rs 1 lakh and up to 2 lakh

Low Income Group (LIG)

AADHAAR BASED PAYMENTS FROM JAN 1 Govt has announced to start Aadhaar-based direct cash transfer for social benefits from January 1, 2013. It will first start in 51 select districts and then be taken to 18 States from April 1. Finally, the remaining 16 States will be covered by April 1, 2014 or even earlier. The 12-digit unique number will be used for making payments for pension, rural job guarantee, public distribution system, and scholarships.


GUARANTEE SCHEME FOR HOUSING LOANS The Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Ministry has launched a unique Credit Risk Guarantee Fund Scheme

(CRGFS) for promoting funding of housing for low-income people. The Fund will be managed by the National Housing Bank (NHB) on the one side and the HDFC Bank, State Bank of India and Central Bank of India on the other. The trust and the scheme will guarantee housing loans up to Rs. 5 lakh, given without any collateral and/or third party guarantees, made by various lending institutions.

PRASAR BHARATI TIES UP WITH ABC Prasar Bharati has entered into an agreement with Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) which will allow both entities to show each other's content to their audiences and also cooperate in other areas of programming.

'PUBLIC DATA PORTAL' FROM AADHAAR The Unique Identification Authority of India,UIDAI, has launched its 'Public Data Portal' for the Aadhaar project to enable the people to access several anonymised datasets generated in its ecosystem. It is in consonance with the larger vision of the Centre to make data available through www. data.gov.in

STANDARD PACKAGING FOR 19 ITEMS Government has amended the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules 2011 as per which from Nov. 1, manufacturing, packing or import of 19 commodities of daily use, including bread, biscuits and tea, in non-standard sizes will invite penal action. Baby food, weaning food, biscuits, bread, butter, coffee, tea, cereals, pulses, milk powder, salt, edible oils, rice and wheat flour, aerated soft drink, drinking water, cement and paints are the commodities that manufacturers are required to pack and sell in standard sizes. The Controllers of Legal Metrology in all the states and Union Territories have been asked to ensure strict compliance of the order.

GOVT TO INVEST FOR CYBER SECURITY The government proposes to invest around USD 200 million in next four years to strengthen cyber security infrastructure. The statement

was made by the IT Minister on sidelines of 3rd Worldwide Cyber Security Summit held

at New Delhi. The Minister added that priority for India at present is to protect its infrastructure like nuclear, aviation, banking infrastructure, among others.

ID PROOF MANDATORY FOR RAIL TRAVEL From December 1, Railways have made it mandatory for those travelling in sleeper class and second class reserved coaches, economy class and first class to carry identity proof, in an attempt to prevent the touts from getting the tickets and selling them at a premium.

EX-SERVICEMAN STATUS FOR POLICE The Union Cabinet has approved a proposal to give ex-servicemen status to retired personnel of paramilitary and central police forces, thus making them eligible for welfare benefits being availed by retired defence personnel. The decision will benefit more than four lakh personnel.

MSP FOR RABI CROPS RAISED Government has approved marginal hike in the support price of five rabi crops for the next year starting April 2013.

Crop MSP per quintal

Gram and Masur Rs 2,800

Mustard seed Rs 3,000

Safflower Rs 2,800

Barley Rs 1,100

World Bank has sanctioned additional credit of $70 million for the ongoing Karnataka Health System Development and Reform Project.

The government has lifted ban on export of some milk products, including whole milk powder and dairy whitener, in view of surplus availability.

An Advanced Grape Research Station will be established in Uthamapalayam, district Theni, Tamil Nadu, to do research on different varieties of grapes.

OCTOBER 2012

PM LAUNCHES ‘AADHAAR’ BASED SERVICES The much awaited Aadhaar enabled system for direct cash transfer to beneficiaries under social schemes such as MNREGA and pension was launched on Oct. 20, on second anniversary of Aadhaar project by Prime Minister at Dudu, district Jaipur, Rajasthan.

NATIONAL POLICY ON ELECTRONICS 2012 The Cabinet has cleared the National Policy on Electronics 2012, which aims to make the domestic electronic hardware manufacturing segment a $400-billion industry by 2020, involving investment of about $100 billion and employment to around 28 million people at various levels.

NEW ‘LAND BILL’ CLEARED The Group of Ministers has cleared the controversial land bill, ‘The Right to Fair Compensation, Resettlement, Rehabilitation and Transparency in Land Acquisition' Bill,

suggesting that the consent of 66% of the affected people would be required for acquisition of land for private and PPP projects, instead of 80% proposed earlier.

NATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE BOARD The Union Cabinet has approved setting up of a National Automotive Board (NAB), a body that would act as a facilitator between the government and the automobile industry, and promote R&D activities in the sector.

HARSHER PENALTY FOR PORN MMS The Cabinet has approved amendments to the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986 as per

which sending a pornographic multimedia message and emails may land you in jail for up to three years. It may also attract a fine between Rs.50,000 and Rs.100,000 for first conviction. A second conviction will invite an imprisonment of not less than two years, but which may extend to seven years, and a fine between Rs.100,000 and Rs.500,000.


‘NIRMAL BHARAT YATRA’ LAUNCHED Govt. has launched a 2000 kms ‘Nirmal Bharat Yatra’ from October 3 from the Gandhi Ashram located in Sevagram in

Wardha (Maharashtra) to promote the message of making the country open defecation-free and ensuring proper sanitation in rural areas. Actor Vidya Balan has been made the brand ambassador of the campaign which will end on November 17 in Bettiah, Bihar.

49% FDI IN PENSION/INSURANCE The Union Cabinet has approved allowing 49% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in insurance and pension funds. The two proposals have evoked wide spread protest from various political parties.

Government proposes to launch data portal data.gov.in which will be used to share official data with the public.

SEPTEMBER 2012

MANY 'RIDERS’ IN MULTI-BRAND RETAIL

The 51% FDI in multi-brand retail notification has set a number of conditions aimed at securing the interest of common man. Major stipulations include:

A minimum investment of $100 million, 50 per cent of which should be invested in back-end infrastructure.

30 per cent of the products must be procured from small scale industries which have a total investment in plant and machinery not exceeding $1 million.

Fresh agricultural produce, including fruits, vegetables, flowers, grains, pulses, fresh poultry, fishery and meat products, may be unbranded.

Retail chains will be allowed only in cities with a population of more than 10 lakh as per 2011 Census.

State governments/Union Territories (UTs) would be free to take their own decisions in regard to implementation of the policy.

GOVT OPENS DOORS TO FDI To fight out the allegation of the “policy paralysis,” the government unleashed big-ticket reforms in the FDI sector to

attract foreign investment to heal ailing economy. Main proposals approved by Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs included:

allowing 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail,

100 per cent FDI in single brand retail

49 per cent FDI in civil aviation to help domestic carriers

to allow 49 per cent FDI in two power exchanges

Increase the limit from 49 per cent to 74 per cent in the broadcasting sector.

100 per cent FDI in single brand retail would be notified soon.

The Cabinet also announced disinvestment of its equity in four public sector companies to raise Rs. 15,000 crore.

ONLY 6 SUBSIDISED LPG CYLIDERS The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs has decided to restrict the supply of subsidised LPG cylinders to six for each household annually to reduce losses of oil marketing companies. During the fiscal, even after this measure, the companies are estimated to lose above Rs 32,000 crore on domestic LPG.

‘SAKSHAM’ TO FOCUS ON ADOLESCENT BOYS The Centre has decided to launch a scheme to empower adolescent boys by educating them on gender sensitivity and moral behaviour. Launched by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, the scheme known as Saksham aims to target young boys in the age group 10-18 years for their holistic development by giving lessons in gender sensitivity and inculcating in them respect for women.

TRC MUST FOR FOREIGN INVESTORS India has made it mandatory for all foreign investors to

furnish a tax residency certificate of their home country to claim benefits under the double taxation avoidance agreement.

I T POLICY ANNOUNCED The government has approved the National Policy on Information Technology, which aims to make at least one individual in every household e-literate among other objectives. The industry’s goal is to reach USD 100 billion turnover and USD 200 billion of exports by 2020.

MILLETS IN MID DAY MEAL SCHEME The Centre has asked states to introduce millets in mid-day meal schemes in schools to boost demand for the nutritious

grain. The mid-day meal, which is the largest government school feeding programme, has a food grain requirement of 28.50 lakh tonnes in 2012-13, which includes 23.8 lakh tonnes of rice and 4.7 lakh tonnes of wheat.

NREGA FOR 150 DAYS IN DROUGHT AREAS Govt has decided to increase the number of guaranteed work days under MGNREGA to 150 days (only in drought affected areas) and cut interest rates on crop loans to 7 per cent for one year in such areas.

COMMITTEE TO IMPROVE PANCHAYATS Govt has set up a committee under chairmanship of

Congress MP Mani Shankar Aiyar to examine how panchayats can be leveraged for more efficient delivery of public goods and services. The committee will also suggest ways to encourage States to devolve the three Fs — funds, functions and functionaries — to panchayats.


NEW RADIATION NORMS FOR MOBILE TOWERS New norms for mobile towers, in which the Electromagnetic Frequency (EMF) exposure limit from Base Station Emission

is lowered to one-tenth of the existing level, became effective from Sep. 1, 2012. Non-compliance of EMF standards will attract a penalty of Rs 5 lakh per tower.

The government has made electronic payment of customs duty mandatory in order to further reduce transaction cost of the importers.

The govt is negotiating with the World Bank to set up a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Institute in the country.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

NOVEMBER 2012

INDIA TO GROW BY 6.1% : MORGAN STANLEY

India is expected to register a gradual recovery in the growth rate to 6.1 per cent in 2013 driven by positive impact from policy actions and acceleration in farm output growth, says a report by Morgan Stanley. The country’s growth rate would witness gradual recovery considering the “challenging” environment due to high fiscal deficit, high rural wage growth and declining private investments amid a still lacklustre external demand, the report said.

INDIA MAY GROW AT 5.5 TO 6% - MOODY’s Rating company Moody's has said that Indian economy is

likely to grow in the range of 5.5% to 6% this year but is hopeful that the growth will improve thereafter. "Like much of Asia, the Indian economy is near the bottom of the current cycle and it expects steady acceleration from the first quarter of 2013 on account of rising business confidence and as demand improve due to stable global outlook” observed Moody’s.

INDIA TO GROW BY 4.4% - OECD Indian economy is projected to grow by just 4.4 per cent in the current fiscal, as the country has experienced “broad—based slowdown”, according to Paris based think tank OECD - Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

IIP SHRINKS BY 0.4% Industrial output as measured by the Index for Industrial Production (IIP) fell 0.4% in September from a year ago, led by the manufacturing sector that slipped 1.5%. Among the worst was the capital goods sector, whose output slumped 12%, offering a grim reminder of the challenge to ramp up the investment rate.

CORE SECTOR UP BY 5.1%

The combined output of eight key infrastructure industries rose 5.1% in September, raising hopes of a positive knock-on impact on

industrial production for the month and spreading some cheer in an economy. The growth in the core sector index, comprising industries such as coal, crude oil,

natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and

electricity, in September was higher than the 2.3% in the preceding month and 2.5% in the same month a year earlier.

TRADE GAP WIDENS TO $21 BILLION India's exports fell for the sixth straight month in October while imports rose marginally, pushing the trade deficit to a 12-month high. A jump in imports of gold and petroleum products has pushed up imorts. October exports fell 1.63% from a year ago to $23.24 billion, while imports rose 7.37% to $44.20 billion. India's trade gap widened to $20.96 billion from $18.1 billion in September.

FDI SLIPS DOWN Foreign direct investment (FDI) in India declined by about 20 per cent to $ 2.26 billion in August compared to same month in the previous year, after registering increase in the inflows in the previous month.

OCTOBER 2012

WB LOWERS GROWTH RATE TO 6% The World Bank lowered India's growth projection for the current fiscal to 6% from 6.9% estimated in June this year, and warned that the possibilities of a worse performance are high.

FITCH LOWERS GROWTH RATE TO 6% International ratings firm Fitch lowered India’s growth projection for the current fiscal to 6 per cent from 6.5 per cent estimated earlier citing challenging economic outlook.

UN ESACP PEGS GROWTH AT 5.9% The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) said India’s growth has been slowing down since 2011, mainly on account of "severe" monetary tightening by the Reserve Bank of India.

ADB SLASHES GROWTH RATE TO 5.6% The Asian Development Bank has slashed its growth forecast for India to 5.6% for current fiscal compared to 7% reported earlier, citing sluggish global demand and low agricultural production due to weak monsoon.

SEPTEMBER 2012

Q1 GDP VALUED AT Rs 21.79 TRILLION As per latest data from CSO, India’s GDP at factor cost at current prices in first quarter of 2012-13, is estimated at Rs 21,78,778 crore, as against Rs 19,19,286 crore in Q1, 2011-12, showing an increase of 13.5 per cent. The economic activities which registered significant growth in Q1 of 2012-13 over Q1 of 2011-12 are 'construction' at 10.9 per cent, 'financing, insurance, real estate and business services' at 10.8 per cent and 'community, social and personal services' at 7.9 per cent.

IMF CUTS GROWTH RATE TO 6.1% In its latest World Economic Outlook projections, the IMF has cut its 2012 growth estimate for the Indian economy by 0.7 percentage points to 6.1 per cent. In 2010, the Indian economy grew by 10.8 per cent, but slowed down to 7.1 per cent in 2011, according to the IMF.


S&P CUTS INDIA’s GROWTH PROJECTION Credit rating agency Standard & Poor's has slashed India's growth forecast for the current fiscal by a percentage point

to 5.5 per cent from 6.5 per cent, in line with the April-June quarter growth of 5.5 per cent.

TARGET FOR 12TH FYP LOWERED TO 8.2%

In view of fragile economic recovery, Plan panel has decided to lower annual average economic growth rate to 8.2 per cent in the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) from 9 per cent envisaged earlier.

ECONOMY

NOVEMBER 2012

BSE TOPS IN WORLD IN LISTINGS Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has emerged as the world’s top exchange in terms of the number of listed companies, outpacing major global peers such as NYSE, Nasdaq and London Stock Exchange by almost 100 per cent. The BSE had a total of 5,174 companies listed on its platform at the end of last month, outpacing its close rival Canadian bourse TMX Group by more than 1,000 firms or over 20 per cent, as per the latest data available with the World Federation of Exchange (WFE).

NSE RECORDS HIGHEST TRANSACTIONS In terms of the number of trades in equity segment during September, National Stock Exchange (NSE) has emerged as the world's largest bourse, having done a total of 11.64 crore trades in the month, as per data released by World Federation of Exchange (WFE). NSE was followed by Korea Exchange (11.18crore) and NYSE Euronext of USA (9.64crore).

JAPAN TO FINANCE MEGA PROJECTS Japan has agreed to part finance the multi-billion dollar Chennai-Bangalore Industrial Corridor (CBIC), the third mega project that will be backed by it. The other two projects that Japan is backing are the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC- 1,500km) and the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) of Indian Railways comprising of the Eastern DFC between Ludhiana in Punjab and Dankuni in West Bengal (1,839km) and the Western DFC between Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) in Mumbai and Dadri in Uttar Pradesh (1,500km). MUTUAL FUNDS ALLOWED BROKERAGE Market regulator SEBI has allowed mutual fund houses to

levy certain amount of brokerage and transaction costs on investors with regard to execution of trades. The fund houses can levy brokerage and transaction costs, with a ceiling of 0.12 percent for cash market transactions and 0.05 percent for derivatives dealings.

DISINVESTMENT IN HAL The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved to divest 10 per cent equity in HAL (Hindustan

Aeronautics Ltd., Bangaluru) out of its holding of 100 per cent. CCEA has already approved to divest 10% equity stake in four public units (Nalco, Oil India, Hindustan Copper and MMTC).

SHOME COMMITTEE SUBMITS ITS REPORT The Parthasarathi Shome committee, originally constituted to frame guidelines for General Anti Avoidance Rules (GAAR), has submitted its report to Finance Minister. The Committee was given the additional mandate of examining the taxation principles on transfer of shares in a foreign company with underlying assets in India. The immediate provocation for this was the furore over the retrospective amendment to tax laws in the last Budget that rendered Vodafone liable to pay a tax of Rs. 11,200 crore despite the Supreme Court ruling in its favour early this year.

TELCOS TO PAY Rs. 31,000 CRORE The Cabinet approved levy of about Rs 31,000 crore as one-time fee on spectrum held by incumbent telecom firms such as Bharti Airtel and Vodafone in an attempt to create level playing field between old and new operators.

INDIA TOPS IN GOLD JEWELLERY EXPORTS India and USA have replaced Italy as the world's premier gold jewellery exporter. Italy slipped due to its high cost base and tariff barriers. Manufacturers in India and the United States have benefited from greater economies of

scale compared to the fragmented nature of the Italian goldsmiths' industry, as well.

GOVT EXPENDITURE SHOOTS UP Spending by the Indian Government outpaced revenue receipts by 2.1 lakh crore in the first half of 2012-13. This was equivalent to 65.6 per cent of the Budget estimates for the full fiscal. The revenue deficit, on the other hand, was Rs 2.6 lakh crore, equivalent to 75.1 per cent of the Budget estimate.

RUSSIA WARNS INDIA ON SISTEMA ISSUE Russia has warned India that it will go for international

arbitration if the issue of cancellation of 2G licence involving Russian telecom giant Sistema was not resolved in Indian courts. Sistema holds 56.68 per cent stake in Sistema Shyam Teleservices Ltd (SSTL) whose 21 out of 22 licences were cancelled by the Supreme Court in February on the grounds that the 122 permits issued by the then Telecom Minister A Raja were “arbitrary and unconstitutional”. The Russian government holds 17.14 per cent stake in SSTL.

In a first of its kind in the country, Vodafone India has launched ‘Angel Stores’, retail outlets run only by women employees, in Ahmedabad and Vadodara(Gujarat).

The government has allowed state-run Life Insurance Corp to hold up to 30 percent in companies, from 10 percent currently,

The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) has cleared Swedish furniture major IKEA’s Rs.10,500-crore project, the largest foreign direct investment (FDI) in single-brand retail so far.


Indian cashew companies are looking to set up processing factories in Vietnam and Africa, because of cheaper availability of raw materials and labour and incentives offered by the respective countries.

The Union Cabinet has approved an expenditure of USD one trillion in the next five years on Infrastructure Development and 40 per cent of this would come from private sector.

The government has approved 9.5 per cent stake sale in state-run power producer NTPC, hoping to garner around Rs.13,000 crore.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has offered $315 million loan to fund 450-megawatt Shongtong Karcham Hydroelectric Project in Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh.

Maldives govt has terminated the contract given to GMR Group of India for developing Male Airport.

OCTOBER 2012

FM PRESENTS 5 YR FISCAL ROADMAP Finance Minister presented a five-year plan on Oct. 29 to repair government finances that targets a sustainable fiscal deficit of 3% of GDP by 2016-17 and promises to keep the fiscal slippage this year to the minimal. Picture below explains the plan:

DISINVESTMENT APPROVED IN NDMC The government has approved 10 per cent stake sale in the iron ore mining major NMDC (National Mineral Development Corporation) that could fetch over Rs 7,000 crore.

TIME EXTENDED FOR XBRL The Corporate Affairs Ministry has extended the deadline for companies for making filings in the new reporting format, XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language), to December 15, as per International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)

FOODGRAIN STORAGE CAPACITY TO GO UP The country's total covered storage capacity for foodgrains is likely to increase to about 71 million tonnes in the next two

years on the back of construction of godowns in 19 states by FCI. In addition, the Food Ministry has approved construction of modern silos with a total capacity of 2 million tonnes, which will commence in the next two years.

14TH FINANCE COMMISSION APPROVED The Union Cabinet has approved constitution of the 14th Finance Commission for five-year period beginning April 1, 2015. Former Reserve Bank Governor Y V Reddy is tipped to be appointed as chairman thereof. The finance commission suggests formula for sharing of tax proceeds between Centre and states. The 13th Finance Commission was headed by former Finance Secretary Vijay Kelkar.

ECONOMIC PACKAGE FOR BACKWARD REGIONS

The government has approved a Rs 3,150 crore package for development of backward regions in Bihar, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

SMS SERVICE FROM BSE AND NSE To enhance transparency in stock market tradings, the Bombay Stock Exchange has decided to provide SMS of transaction details to mobile phones and Email accounts of investors.

AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN EXPORTS The President gave away 46 Niryat Shree Awards to exporters for their excellent performance and 6 Niryat Bandhu Awards to Export Promotion Councils and Banks for their support to the exporting community.

KELKAR COMMITTEE SUBMITS ITS REPORT The Vijay Kelkar Committee on Fiscal Consolidation has recommended four pillars under which the government can lower its fiscal deficit to 5.2% of GDP in FY13, and further to 4.6% and 3.9% in FY14 and FY15, respectively.


12TH FIVE YEAR PLAN APPROVED The govt has approved the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) document that seeks to achieve annual average economic

growth rate of 8.2 percent. Now it will be put up before the National Development Council (NDC) for approval. The projected average rate of gross capital formation in the 12th Plan is 37 per cent of GDP. The projected gross domestic savings rate is 34.2 per cent of GDP.

Improve Tax measures and administration: penalize non-compliance on tax payments, review commodities that attract excise tax duty of 6% or lower and prune the negative list on services tax.

Increase disinvestment proceeds and consider monetizing govt’s land resources.

Cut subsidies on diesel, LPG cylinder and kerosene. Economise on Plan Expenditure: The increase

should not be more than 15% and 18% year on year (y-o-y) in FY14 and FY15 respectively.

SEBI APPROVES ELECTRONIC IPO The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has decided to introduce electronic IPOs from January 1, 2013. The facility to submit the application forms would be available in more than 1000 locations which are part of the nationwide broker network of the stock exchanges.

PAREKH FOR 100% FDI IN TELECOM The high-level committee on financing of infrastructure, headed by HDFC Chairman Deepak Parekh, has

recommended for 100 percent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the telecom sector. The limit at present is 74 percent.

SEBI approves MCX Stock Exchange Ltd (MCX-SX) to deal in shares and related instruments

SEPTEMBER 2012

LIC LAUNCHES ‘JEEVAN DEEP’

Life Insurance Corporation of India has launched a micro insurance product, Jeevan Deep. This product, which commemorates the Corporation’s 56th anniversary, is its third after Jeevan Madhu and Jeevan Mangal, targeted at the economically weaker section. Under the scheme, the minimum sum assured is Rs 5,000 and the maximum is Rs 30,000.

NSE LAUNCHES ‘EMERGE’ Top stock exchange NSE has launched operations of its new trading platform for SMEs, ‘Emerge’, in Delhi to provide the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) a much-needed avenue to raise capital from the equity market.

IRDA REVISES IPO GUIDELINES Insurance regulator, IRDA, has stipulated that a company can come out with a public issue only on completion of 10

years from the date of commencement of business.

Large uranium deposits have been discovered at Rohil in Rajasthan’s Sikar district.

BANKING

NOVEMBER 2012

MORE BANKING THROUGH MOBILE PHONES Very soon, bank account holders will be able to access their accounts, transfer

funds, check balances and request cheque books by simply punching in *99# from their mobile phones, including the most basic GSM handsets. The proposed connectivity is under the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data

(USSD) platform where each dial-in results in a live connection with the bank's server. Some banks have already rolled out similar services.

BANKS TO SHIFT TO IPv6 PROTOCOL The RBI has asked the banks to migrate to the latest version of

Internet Protocol IPv6 from IPv4, preferably by December 2012. Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) is the latest Internet Protocol (IP), the primary communications protocol

upon which the entire Internet is built. It is intended to replace the older IPv4, which is still employed for the vast majority of Internet traffic as of 2012.

BRANCH OPENING POLICY RELAXED The RBI has given a free hand to domestic scheduled commercial banks to open offices exclusively for performing administrative and controlling functions in tier-1 centres (population of 1 lakh and above), without prior permission from RBI. Currently, domestic scheduled commercial banks (excluding RRBs) are allowed to open branches, including regional and zonal offices in tier-2 to tier-6 centres without seeking RBI’s permission in each case, subject to reporting.

REPORTING OF HIGH VALUE FRAUDS The Reserve Bank has asked banks to discontinue the practice of reporting attempted fraud cases involving Rs 1 crore or above to its Fraud Monitoring Cell. However, they would continue to place the individual cases involving Rs 1 crore and above before the Audit Committee of their Board.

KCCs TO BE CONVERTED IN TO ATM CARDS Govt has asked public sector banks to strictly adhere to the

March, 2014 dead line for converting all Kisan Credit Cards (KCCs) to ATM cards. Banks will have to convert more than 11.39 crore KCCs to ATM cards by March, 2014.


RBI SAYS ‘NO’ TO GOLD LOANS

The Reserve Bank has directed banks not to give

loans for purchase of gold in any form, including primary gold, bullion and jewellery, to dissuade people from indulging in speculative activity. Banks can provide finance for genuine working capital requirements of jewellers. The decision was taken in view of significant rise in imports of gold in recent years putting pressure on current account deficit. In the 2011-12, India's gold imports stood at USD 60 billion, forming around 20% of total imports.

BANKS TO HIRE OVER 63000 PEOPLE Government-owned banks will hire over 63,000 people, including officers and clerical staff, during the current year. As on September 30, all Government-owned banks had a total vacancy (officers, clerks and sub-staff combined) of 84,489. Of this, banks plan to recruit 63,200 during the current financial year. As on March-end 2012, the total workforce of public sector banks (including nationalised banks, SBI and its associate banks) was 8,01,509.

BANKS TO TRAIN YOUTH IN NAXALITE AREAS Govt has asked seven public sector banks to provide coaching to the youth to become bankers in the nine disturbed States. The project will not only wean the youth away from anti-national influences but also help banks get over the problem of finding staff to work in these nine

States. A total of 66 districts in nine States have been identified as affected by naxalite sponsored militancy.

NEW RULES FOR EDUCATION LOANS The Reserve Bank has asked banks not to reject any educational loan application even if the residence of the borrower does not fall under their service area. The apex bank issued the notification in view of number of complaints where students were refused educational loan as the residence of the student does not fall under the bank's service area.

NEW GUIDELINES FOR SICK UNITS As per the new RBI guidelines, a Micro and Small enterprise would be considered sick if any of the loan account of the enterprise remains non-performing asset (NPA) for three months or more. Earlier, a unit was considered sick if its borrowal account remained sub-standard for more than six months. However, the RBI asked banks not to classify units as sick if they reach such a situation on account of “wilful mismanagement, wilful default, unauthorised diversion of funds, disputes among partners.” The new guidelines will be applicable for the year ending March, 2013.

SBI LEADS IN FOREIGN OFFICES State Bank of India has taken the leadership position in overseas presence with 52 offices as on March 2012, ahead of Bank of Baroda's 47. . Indian banks collectively have 165 offices overseas. The UK is the most preferred destination for Indian banks with 30 offices, followed by Hong Kong (18) and Singapore (17).

ICICI BANK TO LAUNCH MOBILE WALLET ICICI Bank and Vodafone India through its 100 percent subsidiary Mobile Commerce Solutions have finalised plans to

launch mobile payment services this year, under the brand name `m-pesa'. The offering will comprise a mobile money account with ICICI Bank and a Mobile Wallet issued by MCSL.

BANK NPAs REGISTER SHARP GROWTH Non-performing assets of public sector banks rose to Rs 1,43,765 as on 30th Sep. 2012 from Rs 1,12,489 crore on March 31, 2012. Of this, roughly 41% belonged to SBI group while remaining 59% were with other public sector banks. Gross NPAs of all public sector banks including SBI and its associates from the priority sector stood at Rs 56,201 crore as of March 31, 2012. RBI said the spurt in NPAs could be attributed to deterioration in asset quality of the banks, the slowdown prevailing in the domestic economy as well as inadequate appraisal and monitoring of credit proposals. The asset quality of banks is an important indicator of their financial health and it reflects the efficacy of banks' credit risk management and the recovery environment.

BANK ATMs CROSS ONE LAKH MARK The National Payments Corporation (NPCI) has said that the banking system has reached a landmark of 1 lakh ATMs (automated teller machines) at the end of October, 2012. The NPCI operates the National Financial Switch which ensures inter-connectivity between banks for their 1,04,500 ATMs. SBI group has 59% of these ATMs.

BANKS ALLOWED PROPRIETARY TRANSACTIONS The RBI has decided to permit scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) to become members of SEBI approved stock exchanges for the purpose of undertaking proprietary transactions in the corporate bond market. The size of the Indian corporate bond market at 11.8 per cent of GDP is lower than the average for Emerging East Asia and for Japan at 17.2 and 19.8 per cent, respectively. Proprietary transactions refer to transactions made by financial institutions in financial markets with a view to make profits for itself, e.g. speculative transactions in share market.

PNB LAUNCHES ‘REMIT PRE PAID CARD’ Punjab National Bank in tie up arrangement with Xpress Money has launched the PNB Remit Pre Paid Card to facilitate 24X7 receipt of foreign inward remittances under the money transfer

service scheme (MTSS). Using the card, the receiver can withdraw the remittance money from any ATM.

SBI CHAIRMAN STILL AGAINST CRR SBI Chairman Pratip Chaudhuri has once again expressed his open disagreement with the RBI on CRR saying it is a "waste" for the economy and successive interest rate cuts by central bank have failed to contain inflation.


RRBs TO FOCUS ON UNBANKED AREAS RBI has asked regional rural banks (RRBs) to open at least one-fourth of their proposed branches in unbanked parts of

the country. The move is aimed at increasing financial inclusion. RRBs can open branches in Tier 2 to Tier 6 centres (population up to 99, 999 as per Census 2001) without prior permission of the RBI. However, opening of branches in Tier 1 centres (population of 1,00,000 and above) require prior permission of the Reserve Bank. As per 2011 census, banking facilities were available to only about 58.7 per cent households.

EXPORTS BILL REALIZATION TIME EXTENDED The Reserve bank has extended the period of realisation and repatriation of proceeds of export bills for exporters of goods and software, to 12 months, from 6 months at present. This has been done in the wake of global economic slowdown leading to payment delay by the buyers abroad.

RBI DEFINES INFRASTRUCTURE LENDING The RBI has revised the definition of ‘infrastructure lending’, for the purpose of financing by banks and financial institutions. Banks can cover five areas under infrastructure lending - Transport, Energy, Water and sanitation, Communication, Social and commercial infrastructure (education and medical care)

OCTOBER 2012

CRR CUT DOWN TO 4.25% Reserve Bank of India (RBI) slashed the CRR by 25 bps to 4.25% but kept the other key policy rates unchanged in its Second Quarter Review of Monetary Policy for 2012-13 on Oct. 30. The CRR cut is meant to inject Rs 17500 crore into the banking system. The FY13 growth forecast has been cut to 5.8% from 6.5%. The bank sees a reasonable likelihood of easing in the fourth quarter of the current financial year.

MORE PROVISONING FOR RESTRUCTURED A/Cs RBI has raised the provisioning norms for restructured standard accounts (bad loans that have been converted to regular by restructuring their repayment schedules) from 2% to 2.75%.

2% SUBVENTION ON BANK CROP LOANS The Reserve Bank has advised that all public sector banks will get an interest subsidy (subvention) of 2 per cent per annum against short term production loan (crop loan) up to Rs 3 lakh for the year 2012-13. This subvention will be available on the condition that banks do not charge more than 7% interest on short-term production credit up to Rs 3 lakh.

PRIORITY SECTOR LENDING NORMS REVISED The Reserve Bank of India has revised the definition of priority sector to include corporates and firms engaged in agriculture and allied activities in direct finance to

agriculture, up to a limit of Rs 2 crore. Further, RBI has also raised the priority-sector lending limit for medium and small enterprises in the service sector to Rs 2 crore from Rs 1

crore. The per unit housing cost limit for housing projects for construction of homes exclusively for weaker section has been raised from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh per unit.

HDFC ROPES IN IOC- KSKs AS BC HDFC Bank has announced a tie-up with Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. as per which its rural petrol pump outlets- Kisan Seva Kendras (KSKs) will act as the Bank's Business Correspondents (BCs) to make modern banking services available to the people residing in semi-urban and rural India.

The RBI sets up Financial Inclusion Advisory Committee headed by its Deputy Governor K. C. Chakrabarty to push up efforts to promote financial inclusion.

SBI has opened two new branches in Chatsworth and Laudium (Pretoria), South Africa.

SEPTEMBER 2012

BANKS NEED 5 LAC CR FOR CAPITAL The Reserve Bank of India has estimated that the Indian banks will require an additional capital of Rs 5 lakh crore to meet the new global banking norms, Basel III. Out of this, Rs 1,75,000 crore will be core capital (tier-I) and Rs. 3,75,000 in non equity capital (tier-II). The new norms are to be implemented from January 1, 2013 in a phased manner and should be in place by banks by March 2018.

STANDARDISATION OF CHEQUES The Reserve Bank has directed all banks to issue cheques with uniform features conforming to Cheque Truncation System (CTS) 2010 standard by end September.

ATMs DROP ‘CASH RETRACTION SYSTEM’ Reserve Bank has agreed to National Payments Corporation of India's proposal for removing the

‘cash retraction system’ from all ATMs to deal with the increasing number of fraudulent claims about non-receipt of cash. Accordingly, the banks have done away with

this system in all the ATMs. This system enables the ATM to take back the currency if it is not removed within a certain time.

‘NO’ FEE FOR NEFT UP TO Rs. 1 LAKH To promote cashless transactions, the Finance Ministry has asked public sector banks to take steps to reduce the fee to zero for electronic transfer of funds up to Rs one lakh. Currently, most banks charge a maximum fee of Rs 5 per transfer of funds up to Rs 1 lakh from one account to another through National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) system.


3 TIER SYSTEM FOR EDUCATION LOANS The Finance Ministry has asked public sector banks to put in place a three-tier grievance redressal mechanism to sort out

problems being faced by students in obtaining education loans. Applicants should be advised of the mechanism — at the branch, zonal office and head-office levels — at the time of submission of loan application. Besides, the banks should introduce a system of review by the next higher authority where application for education loan is rejected.

SBI TO INCREASE PoS TERMINALS State Bank of India is targeting to massively increase its point of sale (PoS) terminals to one lakh by next March from the current 18,500. Private sector Axis Bank is the market leader in the merchant acquisition business with nearly 2.30 lakh PoS terminals.

SIDBI LAUNCHES ‘SMALLB.IN’ The Finance Ministry, in association with the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), has launched an online portal ‘smallB.in’ to support the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector.

AXIS BANK TO WAIVE EMIs Axis Bank has launched a home loan product with a built-in equated monthly installment waiver scheme. The bank has decided to waive off the last 12 EMIs of customers with good credit history and pays his EMI on time.

The Finance Ministry has declined permission to Iran's Parsian Bank to open a branch in India apparently due to security concerns and threat of money laundering.

Reserve Bank has permitted Indians to invest in Pakistan to promote bilateral trade and investment.

NABARD to offer free SMS-based weather and crop advisory services to over 50,000 farmers in 10 districts in Maharashtra on a pilot project.

DEFENCE

NOVEMBER 2012

NEW MISSILE LAUNCH SITE IN ANDHRA

The Defence Research and Development Organisation is

setting up a new missile launch site at Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh at an estimated investment of Rs 1,000 crore. The defence organisation currently has launch facilities at the Chandipur and Wheeler Island locations in Balasore in Odisha, from where the long-range Agni series of missiles as well as the Prithvi and other shorter range missiles are test-fired.

INDIA TEST FIRES INTERCEPTOR MISSILE India successfully test fired its home-made supersonic Advanced Air Defense (AAD) interceptor missile from a defense base off the coast of Odisha. The testfiring was part of India's efforts to create a missile defense shield against incoming enemy missiles.

INS TARKASH JOINS INDIAN NAVY India has taken delivery of the INS Tarkash, a Russia-built

multirole stealth frigate, at the Yantar Shipyard, Kaliningrad, Russia. Tarkash belongs to the second batch of three modified Krivak-III (Talwar) class frigates India ordered from Russia. The first frigate of the batch, INS Teg, was delivered in April and the third one, INS Trikand, is undergoing dock trials. Each of the new frigates is armed with eight BrahMos supersonic anti-ship missiles.

OCTOBER 2012

Rs 8000 CRORE APPROVED FOR MISSILES Govt has cleared proposals of over Rs. 8,000 crore for procuring around 10,000 ‘Invar’ missiles from Russia for the

Army’s T-90 tanks and over 200 air-launched versions of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles for the IAF.

INDIA FIRES PRITHVI - II India has successfully test-fired its nuclear- capable surface to surface Prithvi-II ballistic missile with a strike range of 350 km from a test range near Balasore in Odisha.

‘DHANUSH’ TESTED SUCCESSFULLY India successfully test-fired its nuclear-capable ballistic missile Dhanush from the naval ship INS Subhadra in the Bay of Bengal off the Odisha coast.

Indian Air Force celebrated its 80th anniversary on 8th October.

SEPTEMBER 2012

‘SAMUDRA PAHEREDAR’ FOR COAST GUARD The Indian Coast Guard has commissioned the Samudra Paheredar, the indigenously built pollution control vessel, specially designed to mitigate any marine oil spill

AGNI II TEST FIRED SUCCESSFULLY India successfully test-fired Agni-II, its nuclear capable Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) with a strike

range of 2000 km, from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at the Wheeler Island off Odisha coast.

ARMY TEST FIRES AGNI-I MISSILE India has successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear-capable Agni-I ballistic missile, with a strike range of 700 km, as part of the Army’s user trial from a test range at Wheeler Island off Odisha coast. The surface-to-surface, single-stage missile, powered by solid propellants, was test-fired from a mobile launcher. NAVY GETS INS SAHYADRI INS 'Sahyadri', a stealth warship armed with an array of missiles, commissioned by Indian Navy's for enhancing its anti-submarine capabilities. It is the last of the Shivalik Class Project-17 warships, after INS Shivalik and Satpura.


SCIENCE AND

TECHNOLOGY

NOVEMBER 2012

SCIENTISTS DISCOVER FARTHEST GALAXY In a breakthrough, Astronomers have discovered the most distant Galaxy ever seen in the Universe. Named MACS0647-JD, the Galaxy was observed 420 million years after the big bang, the theorised beginning of the universe. Its light has travelled 13.3 billion years to reach Earth.

A NEW ‘FREE’ PLANET FOUND Astronomers for the first time have discovered a young

“homeless planet”, up to seven times the size of Jupiter and with no gravitational ties. The lonely planet, called CFBDSIR2149 at the moment does not orbit a star. It is the first isolated planet of its kind ever to be discovered by scientists, after more than a decade of searching in a process described as looking for a single needle in amongst thousands of haystacks.

‘APPLE’ TOPS IN INNOVATION ‘Apple’ has been declared as the most innovative company in the world in 2011 by a survey conducted on innovation and R&D spends of 1,000 companies of world, by the consultancy firm, Booz & Co.. Google and 3M got ranked second and third.

WORLD’S FASTEST COMPUTER A supercomputer named ‘Titan’ at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, USA has been named the fastest in the world. Titan, a Cray XK7 system occupying 200 cabinets, achieved a top speed of 17.59 petaflops -- 17.59 quadrillion calculations per second. One quadrillion is equal to 1000 trillion.

PETAFLOPS is a unit of measurement used for measuring the performance of a processor's floating point unit, or FPU. It may also be written "petaFLOPS" or "PFLOPS." Since FLOPS stands for "Floating Point Operations per Second," the term "petaflops" may be either singular (one petaflops) or plural (two or more petaflops). One petaflops is equal to 1,000 teraflops, or 1,000,000,000,000,000 FLOPS.

Sri Lanka’s first satellite was launched into space from western China on Nov. 27 by a state-run Chinese firm.

OCTOBER 2012

‘GAGAN’ TO BE OPERATIONAL BY JULY, 2013 The GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (Gagan) system is a part of the modernisation plan for air traffic management and communication-navigation-surveillance system as mandated by the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

GSAT – 10 LAUNCHED BY ARIANE-5 India has launched its heaviest ever satellite (3400kg)- GSAT-10, on board Ariane-5 rocket from Europe's spaceport in French Guiana. The satellite will be controlled from the Master Control Facility of ISRO in Hassan, Karnataka.

AUSTRALIA SETS UP HUGE RADIO TELESCOPE

Australia has set up a colossal radio telescope that will allow astronomers to detect distant galaxies and explore the

depths of the universe with unprecedented precision.

RAILRADAR: A new online application launched by the Railways, where one can find the exact location of 6,500 trains on a Google map on a real-time basis.

Microsoft has launched its latest computer operating system ‘Windows 8’ in 37 languages in 140 worldwide markets.

SEPTEMBER 2012

‘GISAT’ – AN EYE IN THE SKY

Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad is developing a satellite called the Geo-Imaging Satellite or GISAT that will keep an eye on the country from a height of 36,000 kms. to alert authorities of trouble spots, natural disasters, floods and forest fires within, say, five minutes of the event.

100TH SATELLITE FROM ISRO

ISRO launched its 100th satellite on 9th September when the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-C21 (PSLV-C21) blasted off from Sriharikota. It carried two satellites - French earth observation satellite SPOT 6 along with a micro-satellite Proiteres from Japan into a 635-km polar orbit. With a weight of 712 kg, SPOT 6 is the heaviest satellite to be launched by PSLV for an international customer. First satellite from ISRO was ‘Aryabhatta’ launched in 1975 by a Russian rocket.

INTERNATIONAL

NOVEMBER 2012

OBAMA TO RULE AGAIN

Barack Obama (Democratic Party) won a historic election to get a second term as US President, overcoming a stiff challenge from Republican Mitt Romney defying concerns over his handling of economy and anxiety over the future. Disproving predictions of a narrow victory in a very tight race, Obama won the election getting 303 electoral votes against 206 of Romney in a college of 535 votes. A votary of strong ties with India, 51-year-old Obama is the first black American to occupy the White House for a second time.

CHANGE OF GUARD IN CHINA

Hu Jintao, China’s President for a decade, has stepped down from power, leaving a stamp of his own on the ruling Communist Party which incorporated his theory of “Scientific Outlook” in its constitution. China's vice president Xi Jinping has been crowned the new head of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) and the powerful military in a smooth transition to steer the world's second largest economy over the next decade, ending the 10-year reign of President Hu Jintao. The 59-year-old Xi, will replace Hu as President in March, while Li Keqiang, 57, will succeed Prime Minister Wen Jiabao.


US ON THE VERGE OF ‘FISCAL

CLIFF’’

Curtains have fallen down on the high voltage drama of Presidential elections in USA. Stage is ready for another higher voltage drama that may not be as pleasant as the earlier one. The unfolding of the new drama named “fiscal cliff” in the United States will hit the American – and global – economy like a devastating financial hurricane. The term ‘cliff’ is used in Geography to describe a landscape in which an area rises abruptly and steeply from the adjoining area. (see above image) The term “fiscal cliff” has been coined to describe several big fiscal events that are scheduled to happen in the US economy at the end of this year and in early 2013. Some such important events are:

A number of tax cuts such as lower tax rates on capital gains, dividends, income, and estates etc, introduced by

the Bush regime are going to expire by the end of 2012. Similarly, some fiscal stimulus measures, such as the payroll tax cut and extended unemployment benefits are also nearing their end.

January 2013 will also witness automatic introduction of various spending cuts as a result of the failure of the deficit reduction super committee last year.

Lack of consensus among Republican and Democrat lawmakers on various fiscal issues will add fuel to the fire.

Combined impact of all these events could lead to as much as a four to six per cent decline in the GDP of the U.S., according to some estimates, which put simply, is like falling off a “fiscal cliff.”

At present, the U.S. economy is growing roughly at two per cent per annum. A four to six per cent contraction in GDP caused by the “fiscal cliff” would push the world’s largest economy into a recession. Coupled with the sagging European economies and a slowdown in China’s growth, a recession in U.S. could be really bad for the world. Markets have been working on the assumption that the U.S. is going to address the fiscal cliff challenge with a more gradual adjustment.

DHAKA FACES HIGHEST CLIMATE CHANGE RISK Bangladeshi capital Dhaka has topped a global list of cities facing the highest climate change risks in the coming decades, while Indian metropolis Kolkata is ranked seventh, Mumbai eighth and Delhi at 20th. Manila, the capital city of the Philippines, was ranked second in the British risk consultancy Maplecroft’s fifth annual “Climate Change and Environmental Risk Atlas 2013.”

D-8 NATIONS MEET AT ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN

D-8, also known as Developing-8, is an organization for better cooperation among the 8 Muslim countries: Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey. It was established through the Istanbul Declaration on June 15, 1997. The objectives of D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation are to improve member states’ position in the global economy, diversify and create new opportunities in trade relations, enhance participation in decision-making at international level, and improve standards of living.

SUNITA WILLIAMS RETURNS TO EARTH

Indian-American Sunita Williams along with two fellow astronauts safely returned to Earth on Nov. 17 from the International Space Station. Williams and two astronauts, Flight Engineers Yuri Malenchenko and Aki Hoshide, landed in the town of Arkalyk in central Kazakhstan on board a Russian Soyuz capsule, ending a 127-day space journey since their launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on July 15, this year. Williams now also holds the record for longest spacewalking time for female astronauts - of 50 hours and 40 minutes, over seven spacewalks.

UN DECLARES NOV 10 AS MALALA DAY

The United Nations has declared November 10 as ‘Malala Day’ in honour of Pakistani teeenage rights activist Malala Yousufzai, who was shot in the head by the Taliban last month for campaigning for girls’ education. Malala has become a global icon of hope, an international symbol of courage, a schoolgirl who has won the hearts of millions through her bravery.

PAK TO EDUCATE POOR GIRLS

To show Pakistan’s commitment to Ms. Yousafzai Malala’s dream of educating the 32 million out-of-school girls across the world, the Pakistan government has launched the Waseela-e-Taleem programme to educate three million children, especially girls, from the poorest of poor families.

AFGHANISTAN TO INTENSIFY COOPERATION

India and Afghanistan have decided to intensify their cooperation, especially in the economic sector as they inked four pacts, including one on cooperation in development of coal and mineral resources and Indian aid for implementation of small development projects. The pacts were signed by the visiting Afghanistan’s President, Hamid Karzai.

JAPAN MOVING TOWARDS RECESSION Japan, the world’s third-largest economy contracted 0.9 per cent between July and September from the previous three months, equivalent to an annualised drop of 3.5 per cent. The slippage has raised the fears that Japan could slip into recession due to financial turmoil in Europe, a strong yen and a painful diplomatic row with China.


ETHNIC VIOLENCE ERUPTS IN SITTWE A state of emergency has been declared in Burma's western Rakhine state since deadly communal clashes in June. In

October, violence erupted with renewed ferocity resulting in displacement of thousands of persons from both the communities. Areas around state capital town Sittwe saw widespread ethnic violence.

BACKGROUND OF RAKHINE – ROHINGYA CLASHES State of Rakhine in Myanmar has been facing long-standing tensions between Rakhine people, who are local ethnic Buddhist and make up the majority of the state's population, and Rohingya Muslims, a group that originated in parts of Bangladesh. In the towns bordering Bangladesh, where the violence has taken place, the majority of the population is Muslim. The Burmese government says that Rohingyas are relatively recent migrants from the Indian sub-continent. As a result, the country's constitution does not include them among indigenous groups qualifying for citizenship. Historically, the Rakhine majority has resented the presence of Rohingyas, who they view as Muslim people from another country. There is widespread public hostility towards the Rohingya in Burma.

CONFERENCE ON RAMANUJAN A three-day international conference, ‘Ramanujan 125,’ to mark the 125th birth anniversary celebration of Srinivasa Ramanujan, began at the University of Florida in the U.S. A. on 5th November.

Srinivasa Ramanujan was an Indian mathematician who, with almost no formal training in pure mathematics, made extraordinary contributions to mathematical analysis, number theory, infinite series, and continued fractions. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society and a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. He died of illness, malnutrition and possibly liver infection in 1920 at the age of 32.

ISRAEL TESTS ‘IRON DOME’ The Israeli air force has successfully tested an upgraded version of its “Iron Dome” missile defence system designed to intercept and destroy short-range rockets and artillery shells fired from distances of 4 to 70 kilometers away.

GET READY FOR ‘ONE BILLION RISING’ Preparations started at Jaipur for the “One Billion Rising”

campaign against violence perpetrated against women and girls, as part of which thousands of women across the world will leave their daily routine behind on February 14, 2013 to dance together and rise up to demand an immediate end to gender-based cruelty.

One Billion Rising is an international coalition of campaigners speaking out for action to tackle violence against girls and women across the world. Over 160 countries and over 27,000 individuals have signed it. It is taking place on 14 February 2013 to celebrate the 15th Anniversary of V-day, the global movement to end violence against women and girls.

An international conference on Hydro-Diplomacy was held at Chiang Rai, Thailand to discuss the formation of River Basin Organisations (RBOs) between basin sharing countries to resolve various issues involving sharing of river waters.

Oman has barred import of poultry and poultry products from India for a second time this year following an outbreak of bird flu virus in Karnataka.

A fiery armed conflict erupted between Israel and Palestine influenced Gaza strip controlled by militant group Hamas, killing several people on both sides.

Next summit of the BRICS nations will take place in Durban, South Africa from 25 to 27 March next year.

Pakistan has test fired Hatf V (Ghauri), its ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear warhead with a range of 1,300km.

The British Government has announced that UK will stop giving aid to India by 2015.

Russian President dismissed the country's chief of armed forces just three days after the sacking of its Defence Minister over a corruption scandal.

OCTOBER 2012

SRI LANKA QUIZZED ON HUMAN RIGHTS Ninety nine countries have posed questions to Sri Lanka on the country’s Human Rights record that will be reviewed at United Nations Human Rights Commission headquarters in Geneva.

GOOGLE LAUNCHES TABLET ‘NEXUS 10’ Google has unveiled a large-format tablet computer ‘Nexus 10’ to compete against the original iPad as part of a revamped line of its Nexus devices.

JAPAN LAUNCHES MICRO SATELLITE ‘NIWAKA’ A palm-sized Japanese satellite – Niwaka, in orbit around Earth will flash a Morse code message that will be visible around the world from next month.

RUSSIAN ARMY TO STAY IN TAJIKISTAN Russia and Tajikistan have signed an agreement allowing Russian troops to stay at a military base in Tajikistan until 2042. In return, Russia will engage more Tajik labourers to boost financial health of Tajikistan.

BANGLADESH HONOURS 52 INDIANS Bangladesh has honoured foreign friends who contributed to achieve the nation’s independence from Pakistan in 1971. Of the 61 recipients of the award, 52 are from India.

‘BOND-007’ CELEBRATES 50 YEARS James Bond – 007, the suave British spy on the silver screen celebrated 50 years of its creation on October 5. First Bond film Dr. No was released on October 5, 1962. Skyfall, the 23rd and latest Bond film, was released on October 23.

Rs. 7800CR LOAN FROM JAPAN The government has signed a loan agreement of Rs 7,802.17 crore with Japan to fund four projects related to infrastructure and water. Japan has committed loan of Rs

313.62 crore for campus development project of IIT, Hyderabad, Rs 3,572.73 crore for Tamil Nadu transmission system improvement project, Rs 2,211.52 crore for Rajasthan rural water supply and fluorosis mitigation project (Nagpur) and Rs 1,704.30 crore to fund Delhi water supply management project.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artillery_shells

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Australia proposes to teach Hindi in its schools.

Hurricane ‘Sandy’ lashes NE USA, causing widespread devastation around New York, affecting over 5 crore people.

Lahore city officials have decided to rename the Shadman Chowk in Lahore after the heroic Indian revolutionary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, on his 105th birth day.

SEPTEMBER 2012

JAPAN TO QUIT NUCLEAR POWER Japan has unveiled a plan to phase out nuclear power by 2030 and the reactors would be shut down completely by the year 2040.

ANTI JAPAN PROTESTS IN CHINA Tension between Tokyo and Beijing on the issue of disputed island in East China Sea has lead to wide spread anti Japan protests taking place in China. The protests started after Japan said it had agreed a deal to buy a chain of disputed islands in East China Sea from their private Japanese owner.

A weeklong film festival to mark 100 years of Indian Cinema was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

China launches its first aircraft carrier - Liaoning

The fifth meeting of the SAARC Home Ministers held in Male, Maldives.

Pakistan has successfully test-fired its nuclear cruise missile - the Babur (Hatf-VII), having a range of 700 km.

PERSONS IN NEWS

NOVEMBER 2012

MUKESH AMBANI: For the fifth year in a row, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) chairman Mukesh Ambani retained the top spot as India’s wealthiest man with a net worth of $21 billion, according to global business magazine Forbes.

ANAND KUMAR: Founder of Super 30 institute, which provides free residential coaching to students from underprivileged families for IIT-JEE exams, was in news as he was named as the ‘People’s Hero’ by the People magazine, a popular international magazine of the Time group. A. P. J. ABDUL KALAM: India’s “missile man” and former President was invited by China to teach at the prestigious Peking University.

ARVIND KEJRIWAL: has launched a new political party named ‘Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’.

KAVERY KALANITHI: Executive Director of Sun TV Network and wife of Kalanithi Maran, was named as India’s top paid business woman, earning a pay package of Rs 57 crore in 2011-12, according to Fortune magazine.

CHANDA KOCHHAR: ICICI Bank MD and CEO has been named as the most powerful woman in Indian business for the second consecutive term by Fortune Magazine.

AJMAL KASAB: The lone Pakistani gunman caught alive after the Mumbai terror attack, was hanged to death at the Yerawada central prison at Pune in Maharashtra, in a top-secret operation named OPERATION ‘X’ on 21 Nov., less than a week before the fourth anniversary of the carnage.

IROM SHARMILA CHANU, Manipur's Iron Lady, completed 12 years of indefinite fast on 5th Nov., demanding repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). Ms Sharmila, who is force-fed through the nose to keep her alive, began her fast till death after ten persons, including a boy who received the national bravery award, were shot dead in an alleged encounter with Assam Rifles personnel at Malom near Imphal airport on November 2, 2000.

SAVITA HALAPPANAVAR: The 31 year old dentist of Indian origin was 17 weeks pregnant when she died from septicaemia, as she was refused abortion even on medical grounds due to anti abortion rules of Ireland. The death sparked widespread outrage and renewed calls for immediate reforms to the Irish law to allow termination of pregnancy if the life of the mother is at risk.

AMI BERA: Physician of Indo American origin created history by becoming only the third Indian-American ever to have been elected to the US House of Representatives. He contested on Democratic ticket from Californea.

BABASAHEB N. KALYANI: Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Forge, which has manufacturing operations across 5 countries, including Germany, was in news as he was decorated with the ‘CROSS OF ORDER OF MERIT’ the highest civilian honour of Germany, awarded to individuals for their services to the country.

PSY – (Park Jae-Sang): South Korean pop sensation was in news as video of his horse riding dance became YouTube’s most-watched video of all time, registering more than 805 million views, overtaking the video “Baby” by Canadian heartthrob Justin Bieber. AUNG SAN SUU KYI: Myanmar’s opposition leader visited

India, after a gap of nearly four decades as part of India’s ongoing engagement with the democratic and multi-party polity in Myanmar. Ms. Suu Kyi, delivered the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Lecture at New Delhi. WEN JIABAO: The Chinese Prime Minister was in news as a leading news paper of USA, the New York Times reported that Mr Wen's close relatives had become enormously wealthy during his ten-year tenure. GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS: One of the top generals of US army was in news as he resigned from the post of the Chief of Central Intelligence Agency of USA due to his alleged involvement in an extra-marital affair.

SHIRANI BANDARANAYAKE: Ex Chief Justice of Sri Lanka was news as she is facing an impeachment motion against her


SILVIO BERLUSCONI: Former Prime Minister of Italy was in news as he was awarded a four year jail term for a tax related fraud.

STEPHEN HARPER: Canadian Prime Minister visited India

WILLIAM HAGUE: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of United Kingdom visited India.

M23: the rebel group of Congo was in news as it launched an armed attack against army of Congo and took control of city of Goma.

OCTOBER 2012

FELIX BAUMGARTNER: Supersonic skydiver from Austria was in news for his death-defying, record-breaking leap from the edge of space at about 39 kms, breaking the sound barrier at a sky diving speed of 1,342-kmph on October 14, landing in a desert in New Mexico.

DIEGO MARADONA: Football legend from Argentina visited Kannur, Kerala on a private tour.

AISHWARYA RAI: Appointed International Goodwill Ambassador for UNAIDS, the joint UN programme on AIDS and HIV.

LT. GEN. K S BRAR (RETD.): was in news as he was attacked by alleged militants in Central London. He had led Operation Blue Star in 1984 to flush out pro Khalistani militants from the Golden Temple, Amritsar.

MALALA YOUSAFZAI: She is the 14-year-old peace activist

who became the ‘voice of girls in Swat’ in Afghanistan when the Taliban controlled the valley in 2008. She was recently shot at and seriously injured by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), triggering a nationwide wave of revulsion at not just terrorists but also their supporters.

SEPTEMBER 2012

AISHWARYA RAI BACHCHAN: has been appointed

the UN Goodwill Ambassador for UNAIDS to raise awareness on issues related to new HIV infections in children.

ASEEM TRIVEDI: 25 years old cartoonist from Kanpur

was in news as he was charged with sedition for putting up

banners mocking the Constitution during a rally in Mumbai.

MAMATA BANERJEE: West Bengal Chief Minister figures

in the list of 50 most influential people in the world of finance as rated by Bloomberg Markets magazine.

SMITA SHAH: The first Indian-American business women

selected as a Democratic National Convention parliamentarian in USA.

CHRISTOPHER STEVENS The US envoy to Libya was in news as he was killed by violent protesters in Benghazi, Libya. The protest was against a US film – ‘Innocence of Muslims’ which allegedly

portrayed Prophet Mohammed in an insulting manner.

Innocence of Muslims: A US film produced recently evoked wide spread violent protests for its anti Muslim contents, causing insult to Prophet Mohammed, in a number of Muslim countries like Libya, Egypt, Yemen.

STEPHEN HAWKING: Britain’s scientist universally

admired for his courage in overcoming a potentially

debilitating disability was in news as he inaugurated the London paralympics. He is now almost entirely paralysed and communicates through a speech generating device.

GENERAL LIANG GUANGLIE: Chinese Defence

Minister who visited India recently.

MAHMOUD ABBAS: The President of Palestine who

visited New Delhi recently.

MAHINDA RAJAPAKSA: Sri Lankan President visited

India on an official tour.

APPOINTMENTS

NOVEMBER 2012

SYED ASIF IBRAHIM: Director, Intelligence Bureau ALOK JOSHI: Director, Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) RANJIT SINHA: Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation VIJAYALAKSHMI R. IYER: Chairperson and Managing Director of Bank of India.

RAKESH MOHAN: Executive Director at IMF Board. He will also be representing three other countries — Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan — on the IMF Board.

ERNEST BAI KOROMA: President of Sierra Leone, Africa

OCTOBER 2012

PRANAY SAHAY, IPS: Director General, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) SHUBHALAKSHMI PANSE: Chairperson and Managing

Director of Allahabad bank. HUGO CHAVEZ: President of Venezuela (re-elected)

SEPTEMBER 2012

ALTAMAS KABIR: appointed 39th Chief Justice of India RAMESH ABHISHEK: Chairman of commodity markets regulator Forward Markets Commission (FMC). KAUSHIK BASU: Chief economist and Senior Vice-President of the World Bank

JOSE EDUARDO DOS SANTOS: President of Angola (re elected)

HASSAN SHEIKH: President of Somalia


AWARDS & HONOURS

NOVEMBER 2012

Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development (2010): Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, former President of Brazil.

This prize for 2012 has been awarded to Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

Kyoto Prize: Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Renowned literary critic and educator (Given by Kyoto City in Japan)

Knight of the Order: (of Arts and Letters), by French Govt to Aishwarya Rai Bachchan for the contributions made by her to Indian and World Cinema and the developments in Indo-French cooperation in art, culture and Cinema.

National Book Award: (of USA) Katherine Boo for her

book ‘Behind the Beautiful Forevers’ about the life in Mumbai slums.

OCTOBER 2012

NOBEL PRIZES FOR 2012 DECLARED

Nobel prize for Winner Work done

Chemistry Robert Lefkowitz, USA and Brian Kobilka, USA

for studies of proteins that let body cells respond to signals from the outside.

Physics Serge Haroche, France and David Wineland, USA

for work in quantum physics that could one day open the way to revolutionary computers.

Medicine (Physiology)

John Gurdon, Britain and Shinya Yamanaka, Japan

for the 'reprogramming' of the fate of cells,

Literature Mo Yan, China For his hallucinatory realism with which he merges folk tales, history and the contemporary.

Peace prize European Union for over six decades contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe.

Economics Alvin Roth, USA and Llyod Shapley, USA

for studies on the match-making that takes place when doctors are coupled up with hospitals; students with schools; and human organs with transplant recipients.

STORY OF NOBEL PRIZES The Nobel Prize is an international award of highest level given annually since 1901 for outstanding achievements in six fields - Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, Literature, Economics and Peace the prizes were started by Nobel Academy set up by great Sweedish scientist Alfred Nobel. The prize consists of a medal, a personal diploma, and a prize amount (reduced recently by 20%) of Swedish Kroner 8 million (roughly $ 1.1 million). In 1968, the Sveriges Riksbank (Bank of Sweden) instituted the prize in Economic Sciences in memory of Alfred Nobel, founder of the Nobel Prize. The peace prize is decided by the Parliament of Norway. These awards are announced every year in the month of October.

MAN BOOKER PRIZE FOR FICTION: Hilary Mantel for her book 'Bring up the Bodies'. She made history by becoming the first woman and first British author to become a two-time

winner of this prestigious award. SHARMILA TAGORE: Awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Arts by the Edinburgh Napier University for her outstanding contribution to Indian cinema. GOLDEN PEACOCK AWARD: Analjit Singh, Max India founder and Vodafone Chairman, for personal leadership and his contribution to society. 27TH INDIRA GANDHI AWARD FOR NATIONAL INTEGRATION: Gulzar, the noted poet, lyricist and film-maker "for his yeoman work in promoting and preserving the spirit of National Integration."

11TH ECONOMIST CROSSWORD BOOK AWARD – 2012: To Aman Sethi for his book “A Free Man”

SEPTEMBER 2012

Moorti Devi Award-2010*: Prof. Gopi Chand Narang for the book ‘Urdu ghazal aur Hinduatani jehan-o-tehzib’. (also awarded Pakistan’s top civilian award ‘Sitara e Imtiaz’)

Moorti Devi Award-2011*: Dr. Gulab Kothari for his book ‘Main hi Radha, Main hi Krishna”.

*This award is given by Bhartiya Jnanpith Trust for

recognising a person’s contribution to Indian philosophy and cultural heritage in any language

GOLDEN LION for best film at the 69th Venice Film Festival: Korean film ‘Pieta’ directed by Kim Ki-duk.

BOOKS & AUTHORS

NOVEMBER 2012

Burma and India: Some aspects of Intellectual Life under Colonialism by Aung San Suu Kyi The Freethinker’s Prayer Book by Khushwant Singh

Playing to win, an autobiography of Saina Nehwal India: A Wounded Civilisation by V S Naipaul Macaulay: A Pioneer of India’s Modernisation, by Zareer Masani Patriots and Partisans by Ramachandra Guha First Book Award: Breakout Nations by Ruchir Sharma India Grows at Night by Gurucharan Das, Jinnah vs Gandhi by Roddy Matthews

OCTOBER 2012

India Grows at Night – by Gurucharan Das Ad katha: The story of Indian Advertising – by Anand Halve and Anita Sarkar

Sethji – by Shobhaa De London Company –by Farukh Dhondy India’s Tryst with Destiny –by Jagdish Bhagwati &Arvind Panagariya Joseph Anton - by Salman Rushdie The Garden of Evening Mists –by Tan Twan Eng


Swimming Home –by Deborah Levy The Lighthouse –by Alison Moore The Casual Vacancy – by J K Rowlings

Ending Corruption? — How to Clean up India – by N. Vittal, Former CVC of India Fifty Shades of Grey – by EL James What Young India Wants – by Chetan Bhagat No Easy Day – by Mark Owen, Kevin Maurer Ministry of Hurt Sentiments – by Altaf Tyerwala A Free Man – by Aman Sethi

OBITUARY

NOVEMBER 2012

BAL THAKREY: 23-01-1926– 17-11-2012

A mascot of Marathi pride and Hindutva, the 86-year-old Shiv Sena supremo was idolised with almost God-like devotion by his frenzied Sainiks and demonised in

equal measure by detractors. Popular as the Tiger of Maharashtra, he started his career as a cartoonist and shot to popularity with his concept of “Marathi manoos” in 1960. He launched Shiv Sena on June 19, 1966 to champion the cause of Marathi ‘sons-of-the-soil’. He also started the newspaper ‘Saamna’ which becames mouthpiesce of Shiv Sena. Struck an alliance with BJP in 1995 and formed the government in Maharashtra but never occupied the post of Chief Minister. His residence named ‘Matoshri’ was very popular amongst his followers. K.C. PANT: Former Planning Commission Deputy Chairman and ex-Defence Minister. DR. JOSEPH MURRAY: Renowned scientist from USA who won the Nobel Prize in 1990 for the first successful organ transplant.

OCTOBER 2012

YASH CHOPRA: Legendary film producer and director, known as ‘King of Romance’. His last film “Jab Tak Hai Jaan” will be released on Diwali, Nov. 13.

SUNIL GANGOPADHYAY: Noted Bengali littérateur and Sahitya Akademi President

JASPAL BHATTI: Popular satirist and film-maker from Punjab, the man behind hit comedy shows like Ulta Pulta and Flop Show.

DINESH THAKUR: Renowned theatre and film artist

BRAJESH MISHRA: India’s first National Security Adviser and ambassador to UNO.

ERIC HOBSBAWM: One of Britain's leading historians and most significant Marxist intellectual of the past half century.

PRINCE NORODOM SIHANOUK: Former king of Cambodia

SEPTEMBER 2012

DR VERGHESE KURIEN: Architect of the ‘Operation Flood’, fondly known as the Milkman of India, father of White

Revolution which made India the leading producer of milk in the world, accounting for 17% of total production. He formed Anand Milk Union Ltd (Amul), one of the top Asian brands with a turnover of nearly Rs 13,000 crore. He was also founder of National Dairy Development Board.

G. KASTURI: Former Editor of The Hindu and former Managing Director of The Hindu Group.

RANGANATH MISRA: The former Chief Justice of India

K S SUDARSHAN: Ex chief of Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS)

SYED MUSTAFA SIRAJ: Veteran Bengali writer from Kolkata, West Bengal ANIL BORDIA: Eminent educationist, activist and former civil servant from Rajasthan

PLACES IN NEWS

NOVEMBER 2012

PATNA: The city was in news as at least 17 people were killed in a major tragedy during the Chhat Puja on the banks

of river Ganga on Nov. 19. The mishap occured after stampede on a make shift bridge at the Adalatganj ghat on the banks of Ganga. TEHATTA: A small town in Nadia district of West Bengal was in news due to violent clashes between the villagers and the police that took place on November 14 at Haulia, a village near Tehatta. CYCLONE NILAM swept across north Tamil Nadu coast near Mahabalipuram, about 55 km from Chennai, on Oct. 31, causing widespread damage.

ASHULIA, DHAKA (BANGLA DESH): The place was in news as over 110 people were killed and scores injured in a fire — believed to be the most devastating in the country’s

industrial history — that gutted a garment factory.

OCTOBER 2012

MINBYAR TOWNSHIP: A town near Sittwe in border state of Rakhine, Myanmar was in news due to violent clashes there between Rohingya Muslims and ethnic Rakhine Buddhists. ABYEI: a 10,000 sq km oil-rich territory on Sudan and South Sudan border which is claimed by both sides, was in news due to frequent violent skirmishes there between the two communities - Misseriya tribes allied to the North and Ngok Dinka people who consider themselves South Sudanese. NEW YORK: The city and areas around it were lashed by the devastating hurricane ‘Sandy’ causing widespread damage.


SEPTEMBER 2012

GHOGALGAON: A small village in Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh was in news as scores of villagers launched

a ‘jal satyagraha’ there by standing in neck deep waters of Narmada river for 17days, demanding reduction in the water level of Omkareshwar dam. Ultimately, State govt acceded to their demand. MUDALPATTI: Place near Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu was in news as over 38 persons were killed in a fire accident at a cracker factory. ALLAHABAD UNIVERSITY: known as the “Oxford of the East”, the fourth-oldest university in the country turned 125 on September 23, 1887. KARACHI: Port town of Pakistan was in news as around

300 people were killed in a fire that broke out in a local garment factory.

FEUGO VOLCANO: in Guatemala was in news due to its sudden eruptions.

SPORTS WORLD

NOVEMBER 2012

BCCI ANNUAL AWARDS - 2012 Board of Control for cricket honoured Sachin Tendulkar for completing his 100th international century.

Poly Umrigar Award Virat Kohli

Col CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award

Sunil Gavaskar

India beats Pakistan to lift inaugural Asian Cricket Council's Women’s Twenty20 Asia Cup in Guangzhou, China. The team was lead by skipper Mithali Raj. India came runners up in the Asian Kabbadi Championship, staged in Lahore, while hosts Pakistan emerged Champions. Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna clinched the Paris Master, their second title of the year, defeating Aisam-ul-haq Qureshi and Jean-Julien Rojer in Paris. Pankaj Advani won the World Billiards Championship (time format) beating defending champion Mike Russell of Qatar at Leeds, England. Rupesh Shah won the World Billiards Championship (point format) beating Australia's Matthew Bolton at Leeds, England. M.S. Dhoni’s superbike championship team has been renamed as Mahi Racing Team India. It will also be the

factory team of the Kawasaki. Sun TV network has purchased the Hyderabad franchise of ‘Deccan Chargers’ team of the Indian Premier Legue

Japanese Minatsu Mitani beats Saina Nehwal to win the French Open Super Series (badminton) at Paris.

The third kabaddi World Cup will be held in Punjab from December 1-15. The Sidvin Festival of Speed to be held at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida (UP) on December 1 and 2. International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) declares ‘ATHLETES OF THE YEAR” MEN - Usain Bolt, sprinter from Jamaica WOMEN - Allyson Felix, sprinter from USA

ASEAN INDIA CAR RALLY The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) India

Car Rally 2012, organised by the Ministry of External Affairs and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), kicked off on Nov. 26 from Yogyakarta, Indonesia with a ceremonial flag-off at Singapore. The rally will formally end in Guwahati on December 17. The car rally marks the twentieth commemorative year of ASEAN–India relations and the tenth year of the summit level engagement. Kimi Raikkonen of Finland won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix for Lotus team, racing ahead of Fernando Alonso (Spain) of Ferrari. GOLDEN BOOT AWARD: Lionel Messi, Forward player of Barcelona, in recognition for scoring the most goals (50) in Europe’s domestic football leagues last season. Rory MclIroy of North Ireland, the reigning World Champion, won the Dubai World Tour Golf Championship to retain his number one title at the end of the season in 2012. SEBASTIAN VETTEL (GERMANY) OF RED BULL team became the only third person in the history of F-I racing to have won the three world championships in a row. He became the youngest triple world champion in history at age 25, winning the season with 281 points, against 278 of Fernando Alonso (Spain) of Ferrari team. CHRIS GAYLE: The West Indian opener became the first

player in Test cricket to slam a six off the very first ball in a match. It took a good 135 years since the first ball was bowled in Test cricket for this record to be created. Gayle smashed debutant Sohag Gazi of Bangla Desh at Dhaka, taking 18 from the first over but the 21-year-old off-spinner took revenge by having the opener caught for 24. The first officially recognised test match commenced on March 15, 1877 and was contested by England and Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). World Women's Chess Championship held in Khanty Mansiysk, Russia. Novak Djokovic of Serbia beats Roger Federer (Swiss) to win ATP World Tours Final (Tennis) Championship at London. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has approved day-night format for the Test matches. It has left the


decision on the type and colour of the ball to be used on the member boards.

Judd Trump of England won the World Snooker International championships at Chengdu, China, beating Neil Robertson of Australia. FULECO: It is the name of the mascot of the 2014 Football World Cup to be played in Brazil.

OCTOBER 2012

Saina Nehwal beats Juliane Schenk of Germany to win the Denmark Open Super Series Premier Trophy (badminton) at Odense, Denmark.

Pankaj Advani won his seventh World Billiards title when he outclassed defending champion Mike

Russell in the finals at Leeds in UK

Sachin Tendulkar: has been honoured by the Australian government with the membership of the Order of Australia, an honour rarely awarded to non-Australians.

Anil Kumble: Former Indian cricket captain appointed chairman of ICC's Cricket Committee.

Saina Nehwal: The London Olympics bronze medallist in badminton was in news as she flew in a Kiran aircraft of the Indian Air Force from an airbase near Hyderabad.

Babita Kumari: She is the third Indian woman wrestler to grab a medal at any International Wrestling meet when she clinched a bronze in World Wrestling Championship held at Edmonton, Canada. First Indian women to win an international medal in wrestling was Alka Tomar and second, Geeta Phogat, elder sister of Babita.

West Indies won the ICC T-20 Cricket World Cup captained by Darren Sammy, after defeating host Sri Lanka at Colombo, Sri Lanka. Marlon Samuels of West Indies was declared Man of the Match.

Australia beats England to lift ICC T-20 Cricket World Cup for women at Colombo, Sri Lanka.

East Zone lifts Duleep Trophy (cricket) defeating Central Zone at Chennai.

East Bengal won the Federation Cup (Football) beating the Dempo SC at Siliguri, West Bengal.

Rest of India beat Rajasthan to lift Irani Cup 2012(of cricket) at Bangalore.

Team India ‘B’ beat India ‘A’ to win the N.K.P. Salve Challenger Trophy of cricket at Rajkot, Gujarat.

The 28th National junior athletics championships held at Lucknow, UP.

Sebastian Vettel: The German Champion of Red Bull team recorded a stupendous victory in the Indian Grand Prix for the second successive year, at the Buddh International Circuit, Noida, UP.

Michael Schumacher: Legendary F-1 champion (43) from Germany, arguably the most successful driver in Formula One car races (91 wins), announced his retirement from the sports.

Tony Greig: Former England captain was in news as he has been diagnosed with lung cancer.

SEPTEMBER 2012

GIRISHA WINS ‘SILVER’ IN PARALYMPICS H N Girisha of Karnataka gave India its first medal at the London Paralympic Games after bagging silver in the Men's High Jump event. Girisha with impairment in his left leg, sailed over a height of 1.74m using scissors technique.

ICC ANNOUNCES 2012 AWARDS: VIRAT KOHLI:

Cricketer of the Year - ODI, KUMAR SANGAKARA: Cricketer of the Year, ICC Test Cricketer of the Year, the People's Choice Award. SANDEEP PATIL selected as Chairman of the National Selection Committee of BCCI RONJAN SODHI: India's ace double trap shooter won a

silver medal at the ISSF World Cup in Slovania. DEEPIKA KUMARI: India's top archer won the silver medal at Archery World Cup at Tokyo, Japan. MATTHEW HAYDEN: Former Australia Test opener has decided to retire from all forms of cricket. MAHESH BHUPATHI AND ROHAN BOPANNA have been banned by the All India Tennis Association (AITA) from representing India in international events till June 2014. India beats New Zealand in the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania group ‘I’ in tennis at Chandigarh. India beats Cameroon to win Nehru Cup of Football at New Delhi. ANDY MURRAY of UK won US open tennis grand slam defeating defending champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia. SERENA WILLIAMS of USA captured her 15th Grand Slam title and fourth career US Open Tennis crown at Flushing Meadows, New York, by beating World No 1 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus. TIGER WOODS: Became the first golfer to make more than $100 million in earnings on the PGA Tour in USA.

DAYS & DATES

World Service Day 9th November

Children's Day, World Diabetes Day

14th November

World Students Day 17th November

National Integration Day*, Water Conservation Day

19th November

Universal Children's Day 20th November

World Environment Protection Day

26th November

National Law Day** 26th November

* Birth day of Late Indira Gandhi ** The Constitution of India was adopted on this day in 1949.


ABBREVIATIONS

AYUSH Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha

and Homoeopathy

AERB Atomic Energy Regulatory Board

AICTE All-India Council for Technical Education

APDRP Accelerated Power Development and Reform

Programme (meant for improving commercial

viability of electricity power distribution).

APEC Adsia-Pacific Economic Cooperation – A forum

for 21 Pacific Rim countries (styled "member

economies”) that seeks to promote free trade

and economic cooperation.

ASEAN The Association of Southeast Asian Nations

BASIC Group of Brazil, South Africa, India and China

for the purpose of safeguarding their interests

under Kyoto protocol

BIKRA Banking Industry Country Risk Assessment

CAGR Compounded Annual Growth Rate

CAPART Council for Advancement of People's Action and

Rural Technology

CBMs Confidence-Building Measures

CCTNS Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and

Systems

CIRP Committee for Internet-Related Policies (at

UNO).

CPSU Central Public Sector Units

DARE Defence Avionics and Research Establishment

DDS Duty Drawback Scheme for exporters (in place

of DEPB)

DEPB Duty Entitlement Pass Book for exporters (since

withdrawn)

DGCA Directorate General of Civil Aviation

DRDO Defence Research and Development Org.

EAS East Asia Summit

EPFO Employees' Provident Fund Organisation

ETC Electronic Toll Collection (at toll plaza)

FIEO Federation of Indian Export Organisations

FINO Financial Inclusion & Network Organisation

FMCG Fast Moving Consumer Goods

GSLV Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle

IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency

ICDS Integrated Child Development Service

IDFC Infrastructure Development Finance Company

IIFCL India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd.

IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature

MCOCA Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act

MICE Business referring to Meetings, Incentives,

Conferences and Exhibitions

NADA National Anti Doping Agency

NCDEX National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange

NCTC National Counter-Terrorism Centre

NELP New Exploration Licensing Policy

NSSF National Small Savings Fund

NPCIL Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited

NSSF National Small Savings Fund

NSSO National Sample Survey Organisation

PSLV Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle

PTCT Parent to Child-Transmission (of HIV)

RFID Radio Frequency Identification

RISAT Radar Imaging Satellite

RINL Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd

RKVY Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna

SAARC South Asian Association for Regional

Cooperation

SAFTA South Asian Free Trade Agreement

SAI Sports Authority of India

SFIO Serious Fraud Investigation Office

TDSAT Telecom Disputes Settlement & Appellate

Tribunal.

TRIPS (Agreement on) Trade-Related Aspects of

UDRS Umpire Decision Review System

UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

UNRWA UN Relief and Works Agency

USB Ultra Small Branch (of a Bank)

VLSI Very Large Scale Integration (process of

creating integrated circuits-ICs e.g. micro

processor)

WADA World Anti Doping Agency

WANA West Asia and North Africa (the countries here are facing civil war)

WiMAX Wireless Interoperability for Microwave Access

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