YEAR BOOK 2011

GENERAL AWARENESS SOCIO-ECONOMIC & BANKING AWARENESS

First Edition : 2011 Publisher & Chief Editor D.V. RAGHURAM Executive editor P. SUBHASHINI

LAXMAN KUMAR D

CONTENTS
AWARDS / PRIZES PERSONS APPOINTMENTS DEATHS PLACES SPORTS SPORTS AND THE TERMS ASSOCIATED WITH THEM TROPHIES ASSOCIATED WITH VARIOUS SPORTS & GAMES SUMMITS / CONFERENCES COMMITTEES SCHEMES VISITS / TOURS FINANCE & ECONOMY CAPSULE ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES SPACE RESEARCH DEFENCE NEWS 5-26 27-40 41-46 47-50 51-56 57-76 77-79 80-82 83-90 91-93 94 95-106 107-126 127-133 134-138 139-143

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY POLITICAL AFFAIRS INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS NATIONAL AFFAIRS BOOKS - AUTHORS IMPORTANT DAYS IMPORTANT YEARS ABBREVIATIONS

144-151 152-154 155-164 165-178 179-188 189-194 194-196 197-212

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A WARDS / P RIZES

Environment award for Indian

Rajesh Shah of Bangalore has been honoured with the prestigious 2010 Intel Environment Award for his efforts to solve global safe drinking water and sanitation crises.

Indira Gandhi Peace Prize, 2010

Outgoing Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was on 19th November selected for the prestigious Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2010. Lula has been selected by an international jury chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The prestigious prize was given to Lula for his outstanding contribution to the cause of eliminating hunger and promoting inclusive growth in his country, his advocacy for strong ties among the developing countries and for his significant contribution to the cause of India-Brazil partnership, a statement from Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust said. Indira Gandhi Peace Prize: The Indira Gandhi Peace Prize or the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development is the prestigious award accorded annually by India to individuals or organizations in recognition of creative efforts toward promoting international peace, development and a new international economic order; ensuring that scientific discoveries are used for the larger good of humanity, and enlarging the scope of freedom. The prize carries a cash award of 25 lakh Indian rupees and a citation. A written work, in order to be eligible for consideration, should have been published. The panel constituted by the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust consists of prominent national and international personalities including previous recipients. The recipients are chosen from a pool of national and international nominees. Recipients of Indira Gandhi Peace Prize Year 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2008 2010 Name of Recipient Year Name of Recipient Jimmy Carter 1998 Muhammad Yunus M S Swaminathan 2000 Mary Robinson Sadako Ogata 2002 Shridath Ramphal Kofi Annan 2004 Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Hamid Karzai 2006 Wangari Maathai Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Mohamed ElBaradei 2009 Sheikh Hasina Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva

Appleby Award
Vice-President Hamid Ansari will give away the prestigious Paul H. Appleby Award for distinguished service to public administration for 2010 to Jaipur-based academician and management expert Ramesh K. Arora at the Indian Institute of Public Administration's annual general meeting in New Delhi.

CNN-IBN Lifetime Achievement Award

Veteran agricultural scientist M. S. Swaminathan has been conferred the CNN-IBN Indian of the Year 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding leadership in the field of agriculture that has contributed to ensuring food security for millions of Indians. Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presented the award to Dr. Swaminathan at a function here. Dr. Swaminathan, a statement from CNN-IBN noted, has worked consistently towards the actualisation of his dream of a hunger-free world with the help of his innovative concepts of sustainable development, especially with eco-friendly techniques of agriculture, food availability, and biodiversity conservation.

Man Booker Prize

British writer and journalist Howard Jacobson's novel The Finkler Question, a semi-autobiographical comic take on Jewish identity, is the surprise winner of this year's Man Booker Prize. It was not the unanimous choice of the jury and, in the end, two of the five judges voted against it. Manchester born Mr. Jacobson, who lives in London, beat two of the bookies' favourites Tom McCarthy's C and Emma Donoghue's Room to win the 50,000 prize. Critics were disappointed to see Australian writer Peter Carey miss out on Parrot and Olivier in America. Had Mr. Carey won, he would have become the first ever writer to win a Booker three times. Mr. Jacobson's previously longlisted novels are Kalooki Nights and Who's Sorry Now?

Nobel Prizes, 2010

Physiology or Medicine: Robert G. Edwards "for the development of in vitro fertilization". Physics: Awarded jointly to Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov "for ground-breaking experiments regarding the twodimensional material graphene" Chemistry: Awarded jointly to Richard F. Heck, Ei-ichi Negishi and Akira Suzuki "for palladium-catalyzed cross couplings in organic synthesis". Economic Sciences: The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel was awarded jointly to Peter A. Diamond, Dale T. Mortensen and Christopher A. Pissarides "for their analysis of markets with search frictions". Literature: Mario Vargas Llosa "for his cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual's resistance, revolt, and defeat". Nobel Peace Prize: Awarded to Liu Xiaobo "for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China". Nobel Prize Winner - 2010
Winner's Name Konstantin Novoselov Andre Geim Liu Xiaobo Field Physics Peace Country Russia China Work For groundbreaking experi ments regarding the twodimensional material graphene. The Nobel Peace Prize 2010 was awarded to Liu Xiaobo "for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China". For his cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual's resistance, revolt, and defeat. For the development of in vitro fertilization. For palladium-catalyzed cross couplings in organic synthesis. For their analysis of markets with search frictions.

India Science Award

World renowned statistician C.R. Rao received the India Science Prize in recognition of his outstanding work in statistics from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Singh presented the award to Rao, his friend, at the inaugural ceremony of the 21st general meeting of the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World, formerly known as Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS). India Science Prize, which carries a reward of Rs.25 lakh and a 200-gram gold medal, was presented on behalf of the Indian National Science Academy. It is the highest professional recognition that the country offers to outstanding Indian scientist for the work done in India.

Honorary Doctorate
Bollywood actor Preity Zinta, known for her performances in films like Kal Ho Naa Ho and Veer Zaara, will be conferred a doctorate by a leading U.K. university. Zinta, who has the unique distinction of addressing the Oxford Union on Wednesday, will receive the doctorate from the University of East London. A versatile actor, Zinta has acted in over 30 films in Hindi, Telugu, Punjabi and English. The 35-year-old star made her acting debut with Mani Ratnams Dil Se in 1998 followed by a role in Soldier the same year. These performances earned her a Filmfare Best Female Debut Award, and she was later recognised for her role as a teenage single mother in Kya Kehna (2000). Her first International film role was in the Canadian film Heaven on Earth, for which she was awarded the Silver Hugo Award for Best Actress at the 2008 Chicago International Film Festival.

Mario Vargas Llosa Literature

Peru

Leelavathi Award
Well-known physicist-turned author, journalist and television producer of Indian origin Simon Lehna Singh has been selected by the International Mathematical Union for the Leelavathi Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to public outreach in mathematics. Named after the immortal mathematical treatise of the great Indian mathematician Bhaskaracharya, the award carries a cash prize of Rs.10 lakh and a citation. It will be presented at the closing ceremony of the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM), which will be held in Hyderabad from August 19 to 27. As of

Robert G. Edwards Medicine Richard F. Heck Chemistry Ei-ichi Negishi Akira Suzuki Peter A. Diamond Economics Dale T. Mortensen Christopher A. Pissarides

UK USA USA Japan USA USA UK

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now, the award is a one-time prize. Efforts are under way to make it a regular feature at the future sessions of the ICM. Dr. Singh was selected by a committee of five eminent mathematicians, led by M.S. Narasimhan of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.

have made significant contribution in the field of leadership in education and management.

Mercy Ravi award

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has been selected for the first Mercy Ravi award for exemplary contribution to public life by a woman. The award, instituted by the Mercy Ravi Foundation, carries a purse of Rs.1 lakh and citation. Making the declaration at a public function organised on the occasion of the first death anniversary of the former Congress leader here on Sunday, foundation chairman P.V. Chandran said the date for presentation of the award would be finalised in consultation with Ms. Dikshit later.

David Dixon award

Triple Jumper from Jamaica Trecia Kaye Smith was conferred with the prestigious David Dixon award. Bestowed to the best athlete of the Games and named after the former honorary secretary of the Commonwealth Games Federation, the award was introduced in the Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games. Trecia Kaye Smith is the third winner of the award which in earlier additions went to Natalie Du Toit (RSA) in 2002 and Samresh Jung (IND) in 2006.

Tagore award
Irom Sharmila who has been observing a fast-unto-death since November 4, 2000, demanding the repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act was given the Rabindranath Tagore Award2010 on September 11. The award, instituted by the Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM), carries Rs.51 lakh in cash, a gold medal, a citation and a shawl. The IIPM conferred the award on 16 people at a function in Kolkata on August 30. As the bed-ridden Sharmila could not go there, IIPM chairman M.K. Choudhury, Registrar Ratna Choudhury and Dean Tarun Bose came to the J.N. Hospital here to hand over the award to Ms. Sharmila.

Indira Gandhi Award

Noted music composer A R Rahman and Ramkrishna Mission Ashram Narainpur were on Sunday jointly honoured with the 25th Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration. Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh gave the award. Swami Vyaptanand received the award on behalf of the Ashram. The award carries a cash prize of Rs. five lakh and a citation. The Ramkrishna Mission Ashram in Narainpur in Bastar region of Chhattisgarh was selected for the award for its work among the Pahadi Madia tribals, while Rahman was honoured for bringing together people of all ages and all lands on the uniform platform of melody, rhythm and song.

Sahitya Akademi awards

Eight books of poetry, four novels, three collections of short stories, four works of criticism, one travelogue, an autobiography and a play were among the literary works in 22 languages that have won the Sahitya Akademi Awards for 2010. The awards announced here on Monday were recommended by jury members representing 22 languages, and approved by the Executive Board of Sahitya Akademi which met under the chairmanship of its president Sunil Gangopadhyay. The poets honoured are Aurobindo Uzir (Bodo), Arun Sakhardande (Konkani), Gopi Narayan Pradhan (Nepali), Vanita (Punjabi), Mangat Badal (Rajasthani), Mithila Prasad Tripathi (Sanskrit), Laxman Dubey (Sindhi) and Sheen Kaaf Nizam (Urdu). The novelists who have won the award are Bani Basu

Bihari Puruskar
Poet Hemant Shesh has been given the award for his collection of poetry Jagah Jaisi Jagah. The award has been instituted by the K.K. Birla foundation and is given to only Rajasthani writers.

Dewang Mehta Award

Lt-Gen Dr D.D.S. Sandhu, Vice-Chancellor of Kurukshetra University, has been selected for the Dewang Mehta Award for his outstanding contribution to education. The Dewang Mehta Award is conferred upon outstanding educationists and administrators who

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(Bengali), Esther David (English), Dhirendra Mehta (Gujarati) and M. Borkanya (Manipuri). Uday Prakash (Hindi), Nanjil Nadan (Tamil) and Manoj (Dogri) have won the awards for their short story collections. Keshada Mahanta (Assamese), Rahamath Tarikere (Kannada), Basher Bashir (Kashmiri) and Ashok R. Kelkar (Marathi) won the awards for their books of criticism. The other winners are the former Union Minister M.P. Veerendra Kumar (Malayalam) for his travelogue, Pathani Pattnaik (Oriya) for his autobiography and playwright Bhogla Soren (Santhali). Sahitya Akademi secretary Agrahara Krishna Murthy said the awards for Telugu and Maithili would be announced in a few weeks. He said the books were selected on the basis of recommendations made by a three-member jury in the respective languages. The awards, which include a cash prize of Rs.1 lakh, will be presented to the winners on February 15 next year during the Festival of Letters in the capital. The festival will also include a seminar on the works of Rabindranath Tagore. Akademi is instituting the Yuva Sahitya Puraskar for debutant writers in Indian languages under the age of 35 from next year. Earlier this year, the Akademi had instituted the Bala Sahitya Puraskar for writers of children's literature.

outstanding contribution to Indian cinema. The award comprises of a Swarn Kamal, a cash prize of Rs one million and a shawl. The industry veteran, who entered the film world in 1963 with "Anuragam", is listed as the most prolific producer with 110 films by the Guinness Book of Records. He has the distinction of producing movies in Hindi, Bengali, Oriya, Assamese, Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, Gujarati, Marathi and Bhojpuri. Some of his well-known films are Premanagar, Dildar and Bandish in Hindi, Srikrishna Tulabharam, Preminchu and Ramudu Bheemudu in Telugu and Asukh and Sudhu Ekbar Bolo in Bengali.

57th National Film Awards

Best feature film: Kutty Srank (Malayalam). Best Director: Rituparno Ghosh for Abohoman (Bengali). Best Actor: Amitabh Bachchan for Paa (Hindi). Best Actress: Ananya Chatterjee for Lahore (Hindi). Best supporting actor: Farooque Sheikh for Lahore (Hindi). Best supporting actress: Arundhati Naag for Paa (Hindi). Indira Gandhi award for best debut film of a director: Lahore (Hindi) by Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan. Best popular film providing wholesome entertainment: 3 Idiots (Hindi). Nargis Dutt award for best feature film on national integration: Delhi 6 (Hindi). Best film on social issues: Well Done Abba (Hindi). Best Music Director: Amit Trivedi for Anurag Kashyap's Dev-D. Best Lyrics: Behti hawa sa tha woh from 3 Idiots, written by Swanand Kirkere. Best playback singer (male): Rupam Islam, for his rendering of Kolakata in the Bengali film Mahanagar. Best playback singer (female): Nilanjana Sarkar, for Bengali movie Houseful. Best childrens film: Shared by Putaani Party in Kannada and Keshu in Malayalam. Best child actor: Jeeva and Anba Karaus share the award.

Jnanpith Award, 2007 and 2008

Eminent Malayalam litterateur O.N.V. Kurup has been chosen for the 2007 Jnanpith award. Noted Urdu poet Akhlaq Khan Shahryar has been chosen for the 2008 award. Born in 1931 in Keralas Kollam district, Kurup is a leading voice among the contemporary Malayalam poets. He has reinvented the narrative transition of Malayalam poetry through his long poems like Ujjayini and Swayamvaram. Born in 1936 in a Muslim Rajput family in Uttar Pradeshs Bareilly district, Shahryar shaped himself as an intellectual poet, whose poetry strongly expresses an ideological non-commitment. His roots lie in his desire for self-realisation and his attempt to understand modern problems. Among his famous compositions is: Seene Mein Jalan, Akhon Mein Toofan Sa Kyon Hai.

Dada Saheb Phalke Award, 2009

Telugu film actor-producer D. Ramanaidu has been selected for the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke Award for 2009 for his

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy for Sports

The Punjabi University and Guru Nanak Dev University have been awarded the trophy for academic session 2008-09 and 200910, respectively.

Gallantry Awards, 2010

Ashok Chakra: Major Laishram Jyotin Singh, an unarmed army doctor serving in Kabul, who took on a suicide bomber and killed him, has been awarded Ashok Chakra (posthumously), the highest peacetime gallantry award. Kirti Chakra: Captain Davinder Singh Juss of the Parachute Regiment and Vinod Kumar Choubey, SP, Chhattisgarh, have been awarded Indias second highest peace time gallantry award. Juss killed a foreign terrorist in February 2010 during an encounter in J&K and Choubey fought against more than 300 naxalites.

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, 2009

India's ace shuttler Saina Nehwal has been selected for the prestigious award, for her outstanding achievements on the badminton court. The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna is Indias highest honour given for achievement in sports. The award carries a medal, a scroll of honour and a cash component of Rs. 500,000. The award was instituted in the year 1991-92 to supply the lack of a supreme national accolade in the field of sports.

Dronacharya Awards, 2009

This award is given by the government of India for excellence in sports coaching. The award comprises a bronze statuette of Dronacharya, a scroll of honour and a cash component of Rs.500,000 each. The award was instituted in 1985. As the best sports-person award is named Arjuna Award, it is appropriate that the coaching award is named after Dronacharya, as he was the Guru ofArjuna. Among the winners of 2009 award were: Subhash B. Aggarwal (Billiards & Snooker), L. Ibomcha Singh (Boxing) and Ajay Kumar Bansal (Hockey). Captain Roop Chand (Wrestling) and A.K. Kutty (Athletics) were awarded for lifetime achievement.

Cancer centre chosen for Abu Dhabi forums award

Regional Cancer Centre(RCC) here has been selected for the Chirayinkil Ansar Memorial award instituted by Friends Abu Dhabi Malayali Samajam. The award, carrying Rs. 1 lakh, was announced at a press meet here today by the fourms office-bearers. A major cancer treatment centre in India, RCC was chosen for the award in recognition of its services and track record in a critical area of medicare, they said. The selection was made by jury comprising Kerala Press Akademy Chairman S R Sakthidharan, senior journalist T N Gopakumar, Gulf-based entreprenuer Thomas John and social worker Kaniyapuram Sainuddeen. The award was instituted in memory of Chirayinkil Ansar, who lived many years in Abu Dhabi and left a mark as writer, journalist and charity organiser.

Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize

For the first time three women figure in the list of nine scientists chosen for the prestigious Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize 2010. The awards were announced at a function to mark the foundation day of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research at New Delhi on 2010 September 26th. The award for S&T Innovations for Rural Development 2009 will go to the Indian Oil Corporation's Research and Development Centre in Faridabad. Award carries a cash prize of Rs. 5 lakh, a citation and a plaque and will be presented. The awardees for Biological Sciences are Sanjeev Galande of the National Centre for Cell Science, Pune and Shubha Tole of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai. The others are Swapan K. Pati, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore; Sandeep Verma, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur ; G.K. Ananthasuresh, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore; Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay, Indian St

Arjuna Awards, 2009

Indian womens cricket team captain, Jhulan Goswami, who won the ICC Women's Player of The Year Award in 2007, is among those named for the Arjuna Award for the year 2009 by the committee headed by former track queen P.T. Usha. Other winners are: Joseph Abraham (Athletics), Krishna Poonia (Athletics), Dinesh Kumar(Boxing), Parimrajan Negi (Chess), Deepak Kumar Mandal (Football), Sandeep Singh (Hockey (Men)), Jasjeet Kaur Handa (Hockey (Women)), Dinesh Kumar (Kabaddi), Sanjeev Rajput (Shooting), Rehan Jehangir Poncha (Swimming), Kapil Dev K.J. (Volleyball), Rajeev Tomar (Wrestling), Rajesh Chaudhary (Yachting), Jagseer Singh (Paralympic (Athletics)). Awardees will receive statuettes, citations and cash prize of Rs.5 lakh each.

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Best Supporting Actor (Motion Picture): Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds Best Supporting Actress (Motion Picture): Monique for Precious. Best Screenplay: Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner for Up In The Air Best Original Score: Michael Giacchino for Up Best Original Song: The Weary Kind from Crazy Heart Best Foreign Language Film: The White Ribbon (Das Weisse Band - Eine Deutsche Kindergeschichte) from Germany Best Animated Film: Up

Dada Saheb Phalke Award, 2008

V.K. Murthy, the ace cinematographer of Guru Dutts films who is best known for his camera work in Chaudvin ka Chand and Pakeezah, has been honoured with the award. He is the first cinematographer to get the award.

Best Music Direction: Ajay Atul for Jogwa (Marathi) Best Lyrics: Antaheen (Bengali) Best Male Playback Singer: Hariharan for Jogwa (Marathi) Best Female Playback Singer: Shreya Ghoshal for Antaheen (Bengali) Best Choreography: Chinni Prakash and Rekha Prakash for Jodha Akbar Best Audiography: Pramod J. Thomas for Gandha (Marathi) Best Editing: A. Sreekar Prasad for Firaaq (Hindi) Best Special Effects: Govardhan (Tata Elxsi) Mumbai Meri Jaan (Hindi) Special Jury Award/Special Mention (Feature Film): Bioscope

Republic Day Awards, 2010

Padma Vibhushan: Nobel laureate of Indian origin Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Apollo Hospitals chief Pratap Reddy, former RBI Governor Y.V. Reddy, Zohra Segal, Ebrahim Alkazi and noted Mridangam Carnatic artist Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman. Padma Bhushan: Music maestro A.R. Rahman, Music maestro Illaiyaraaja, Bollywood actor Aamir Khan and controversial Indian origin businessman Sant Singh Chatwal, Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs cardiac surgeon R.M. Panda, eminent neurosurgeon Satya Paul Agarwal, prominent industrialist from Punjab S.P. Oswal, Manvinder Singh Banga, eminent journalist Fareed Zakaria and real estate czar K.P. Singh were among the 43 winners. Padma Shri: Cricketer Virendra Sehwag, hockey player Ignace Tirkey, Formula One driver Narain Kartikeyan, badminton star Saina Nehwal, boxer Vijender Singh, Sachin Tendulkar's 'guru' Ramakant Achrekar, Yesteryear Bollywood diva Rekha, Oscar winner sound recordist Resul Pokutty and actor Saif Ali Khan were among 83 winners.

56th National Film Awards

Best Film: Antaheen (Bengali) Best Direction: Bala for Naan Kadavul (Tamil) Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment: Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! Best Childrens Film: Gubbachigalu (Kannada) Best Film on Family Welfare: Little Zizou (English, Gujarati) Best Actor: Upendra Limaye for Jogwa (Marathi) Best Actress: Priyanka Chopra for Fashion (Hindi) Best Supporting Actor: Arjun Rampal for Rock On!! (Hindi) Best Supporting Actress: Kangana Ranaut for Fashion (Hindi) Indira Gandhi Award for Best First Film of a Director:A Wednesday (Hindi) Nargis Dutt Award (for Best Feature Film on National Integration): Aai Kot Nai (Assamese) Best Child Artist: Shams Patel Best Cinematography: Avik Mukhopadhyay for Antaheen (Bengali) Best Screenplay: Sachin Kundalkar for Gandha (Marathi) Best Art Direction: Gautam Sen for Firaaq Best Make-up Artist: V. Moorthy for Naan Kadauul (Tamil) Best Costume Design: Neeta Lulla for Jodhaa Akbar

Bravery Awards, 2010

Kirti Chakra: Rukhsana Kausar and her brother Aijaz Ahmad have been awarded the second highest gallantry award in peacetime, for their act of bravery in killing a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander in their Morha Kalsi village in Jammu and Kashmir in 2009.

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Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize, 2009

Mridula Koshy's If It is Sweet, a collection of short stories, has bagged the award. The New Delhi-based author will get Rs 1 lakh and a citation. In 2008, Pakistani author Mohammed Hanif's A Case of Exploding Mangoes had won the award. The Shakti Bhatt Foundation is a non-profit trust set up by the late writer/editor's family to keep her memory alive.

China-India Friendship Award

Professor Manoranjan Mohanty and Professor Tan Chung and senior Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sitaram Yechury, for their invaluable contributions towards strengthening cooperation between the two neighbours. Professor Sreemati Chakrabarti, G. Viswanathan, founder-Chancellor of the VIT University, Vellore, Tamil Nadu; Chandrajit Banerjee, Director-General of the Confederation of Indian Industry; V. Bhaskaran, general secretary of the India-China Friendship Association, Karnataka, and Editor of India-China People's View; educationist B.S. Shergill, who is also president of the Friends of China Association, Chandigarh; and Pallavi Aiyar, who worked for two years as The-Hindu's correspondent in Beijing.

Lokmanya Tilak National Journalist Award, 2010

N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief of the Hindu newspaper, has received the prestigious award, which is conferred for excellence in journalism on a personality making important contribution to the field of journalism at national level. Vir Sanghvi of Hindustan Times was the recipient of the Tilak Award in 2009.

Golden Peacock Award

IBM India has been conferred with The Golden Peacock award 2010 for its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives in India on Oct 7. IBM India is the first IT Company to win this award since its incep5on in 2002. The company was also been rated as the first among equals for its CSR practices amongst other recipients of the award 2010.

The Asian Television award

The Asian Television award for the Best Current Affairs Presenter was presented to Karan Thapar of the CNN-IBN. This is the fifth time that Mr. Thapar is winning the Best Current Affairs Presenter Award in the 15-year history of the Asian Television awards. He won the award in 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007. 2010 year Mr. Thapar won the award for his Devil's Advocate interview programme. The winning interview with Ram Jethmalani was conducted in June. The subject was Mr. Jethmalani's controversial decision to rejoin the Bharatiya Janata Party. The interview ended abruptly when Mr. Jethmalani walked out in anger over questions that explored allegations of opportunism surrounding his return to the BJP.

Business Indias Best Bank Award

Bank of Baroda (BOB) was presented the 'Business India Best Bank 2010' award by Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Kamal Nath at a function in the Mumbai on Oct 7. M D Mallya, Chairman and Managing Director, Bank of Baroda, accepted the Award on behalf of the bank.

Sarkozy honours two Indians

Remembering two French citizens who lost their lives in the November 26, 2008 terror attack in Mumbai, French President Nicolas Sarkozy honoured two Indians (M. Devendra Bharma, executive vice-president of Hotel Oberoi-Trident and M. Karambir Kang, former director-general of Hotel Taj Mahal ) by conferring d'Officier de l'Ordre national du Merite' on them for being efficient, attentive, courageous and taking decisions by risking their lives to save hundreds of lives.

Finance Minister of the Year for Asia award

Finance Minister of India, Pranab Mukherjee has won 2010 Finance Minister of the Year for Asia award, conferred by Emerging Markets, part of Euromoney Institutional Investor Plc.

Green Apple award

Uttarkhand based NGO Himalayan Chipko Foundation has been awarded the Green Apple award at the House of Commons, London, for exposing the Hak Hakook scam in which timber meant for villagers in the State was sold to the timber mafia.

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P ERSONS

Nicole Faria
India's Nicole Faria has been crowned Miss Earth Talent 2010 after beating 17 other contestants at a talent competition in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. Ms. Faria, a 20-year-old girl from Bangalore, won the title at the talent show with a scintillating belly dance that combines Oriental and Middle Eastern style. Vietnam's representative Luu Thi Diem Huong was voted among the top five contestants with her performance of folk dances that are inspired by traditional dances in the northern, central and southern region of the country.

round were from China, USA, Botswana, Venezuela and Ireland. First runner up was Miss Botswana Emma Wareus followed by Miss Venezuela Adriana Vasini. The 18-year-old Mills described herself as a positive, spontaneous, open minded and outgoing person on the official Miss World website. The Miss World contestants spent a month in China, travelling to both Beijing and Shanghai before reaching Sanya on the southern Chinese island of Hainan. It was the fifth time in eight years that the beauty contest was held on the popular holiday island. The final marked 60 years since the first Miss World competition was first held in 1951.

Title Holders
Year 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 Miss World Alexandria Mills Kaiane Aldorino Ksenia Sukhinova Zhang Zilin Tat(na Kuchar(ova Unnur Birna Vilhjalmsdottir Mara Julia Mantilla Country Location

Title Holders
Year 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 Country India Brazil Philippines Canada Chile Miss Earth Nicole Faria Larissa Ramos Karla Henry National title Location Nha Trang, Vietnam Boracay, Philippines Angeles City , Philippines Quezon City, Philippines Manila, Philippines Quezon City, Philippines Quezon City, Philippines Quezon City, Philippines Femina Miss India - Earth Beleza Brasil Miss Philippines Earth Miss Earth Canada Miss Earth Chile Miss Earth Venezuela Beleza Brasil Miss Earth Honduras

Jessica Trisko Hil Hernndez

Venezuela Brazil Honduras

E RE S

A DI E M

Alexandra Braun Priscilla Meirelles

A DI E Rosanna Davison M Azra Akin Agbani Darego EE Chopra Priyanka SR

UN M M CO
Peru Ireland Turkey Nigeria India

United States Sanya, China Gibraltar Johannesburg, SouthAfrica Russia Johannesburg, SouthAfrica China Sanya, China Czech Republic Warsaw, Poland Iceland Sanya, China Sanya, China Sanya, China London, United Kingdom Sun City, South Africa London, United Kingdom

Jimena Navarrete
Miss Mexico Jimena Navarrete, 22, was crowned Miss Universe 2010 beating off competition from 82 contestants. Navarrete, dressed in a red gown with a flowing train, impressed judges by highlighting the importance of teaching children about family values. She was followed by Miss Jamaica Yendi Philipps while Miss Australia Jenista Campbell was the second runner-up at the 59th annual pageant held in Las Vegas.

Dania Prince

Alexandria Mills
Miss United States of America Alexandria Mills was crowned Miss World 2010 in Chinas island province Hainan on October 30, beating more than 100 other contestants in the competition which

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Title Holders
Year 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 Country Mexico Venezuela Venezuela Japan Puerto Rico Canada Australia Dominican Republic Miss Universe Location

First woman:
Born and raised in the East Bay, Ms. Harris was elected as the first woman District Attorney in San Francisco's history in December 2003, and as the first African-American woman and South Asian American woman in California to hold the office. She was reelected for a second term in November 2007. Ms. Harris is the daughter of Dr. Shyamala Gopalan, a breast cancer specialist from Tamil Nadu who travelled to the United States from Chennai to pursue her graduate studies at UC Berkeley.

Ximena Navarrete Las Vegas, U.S. Stefania Fernandez Nassau, Bahamas Dayana Mendoza Nha Trang, Vietnam Riyo Mori Mexico City, Mexico Zuleyka Rivera Los Angeles, U.S. Natalie Glebova Bangkok, Thailand Jennifer Hawkins Quito, Ecuador Amelia Vega Panama City, Panama

NS O TI

Hu Jintao
Chinese President Hu Jintao has been named the most powerful person in the world by Forbes, ahead of U.S. President Barack Obama who is ranked second among 68 people who matter, a list that also includes Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Ms. Gandhi ranks 9th on the Forbes 2010 list of the Worlds Most Powerful People. Dr. Manmohan Singh comes in at number 18. Indias business tycoons Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani, Tata Sons Chairman Ratan Tata and head of ArcelorMittal, Lakshmi Mittal also make the list. Of the 6.8 billion people on the planet, Forbes list comprises the 68 who matter. Jintao, occupies the top slot for being the paramount political leader of more people than anyone else on the planet and one who exercises near dictatorial control over 1.3 billion people, one-fifth of worlds population.

Kyi, Aung San Suu

Myanmars iconic opposition leader, she was released on November 13, 2010, after spending 15 years in house arrest. In Myanmar, she is simply known as The Lady. She was born in Yangon in June, 1945 (known as Rangoon then). Her father, General Aung San, is a national hero who was on the verge of wresting independence from the British rule when he was assassinated in 1947. She was educated in Delhi and Oxford. Her mother was Ambassador to India. She married Michael Aris, an academic, in Oxford and raised two sons. She returned to Myanmar in 1988 to take care of her ailing mother and stayed back. The last elections in 1990 were won by Suu Kyis National League for Democracy party, but the military refused to hand over power. She refused to leave Myanmar even when her husband died in 1999.

Time readers choose Assange Person of The Year

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is in custody in London on rape charges, has won an online vote to be Time magazines Person of the Year, amid continuous leak of thousands of confidential U.S. diplomatic cables by his whistle-blower website. The 39-year-old Australian secured 382,020 votes, which gave him an easy first place, while U.S. President Barack Obama was in the sixth position with 27,478 votes. Mr. Assange received 148,383 votes more than Recep Tayyip Ergodan, Prime Minister of Turkey, who stood second with a score of 233,638. Pop star Lady Gaga was third with 146,378 votes, according to the magazine, which said that its editors, who choose the actual Person of the Year, reserve the right to disagree with the results of the online poll.

Kamala Harris
Indian-American Kamala Harris won the election for AttorneyGeneral of California. Ms. Harris will be the first woman to hold the office. Daughter of an Indian mother and African-American father, Ms. Harris is the District Attorney for San Francisco. She will replace Democrat Jerry Brown who won the election for Governor of California on November 02. Ms. Harris, who was the only Indian-American candidate publicly endorsed by President Barack Obama, defeated Steve Cooley of the Republican Party in a tough fight.

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Nikki Haley
Having gone from state legislature to Governor of South Carolina in a span of just six years, Nikki Randhawa Haley is being hailed as a rising star on the American political horizon. Daughter of Punjabi Sikh immigrants from Amritsar, Nimrata Nikki Randhawa Haley has become the first Indian-origin woman, and second IndianAmerican after Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, to become the Governor of a U.S. state. Another Indian-American Kamala Harris won the election for Attorney-General of California. Five other IndianAmericans, all Democrats, bit the dust in the face of an antiestablishment vote.

subversion of State power, a year after being arrested as lead author of Charter 08, a manifesto issued by Chinese intellectuals and activists, calling for free speech and multi-party elections. Liu, a former literature professor, had risen to prominence as a strike leader during the protests at Tiananmen Square in 1989. He was later jailed for 20 months and then spent three years in a labour reeducation camp during the 1990s, as well as months under virtual house arrest.

Ed Miliband
Ed Miliband has won the Labour leadership in England after narrowly beating Brother David in a dramatic run-off vote ahead of the party's conference. Ed won by just over 1% from former foreign secretary David after second, third and fourth preference votes came into play. Mr Miliband, replaces acting leader Harriet Harman in the contest triggered by the resignation of Gordon Brown. The former energy secretary appears to have benefited from a last-minute surge of support.

Mario Vargas Llosa

Peruvian Mario Vargas Llosa, one of the most acclaimed writers in the Spanish-speaking world who once ran for President in his homeland, has won the 2010 Nobel Prize in literature. He has written more than 30 novels, plays and essays, including Conversation in the Cathedral and The Green House. In 1995, he was awarded the Cervantes Prize, the Spanish-speaking worlds most distinguished literary honour. His international breakthrough came with the 1960s novel The Time of The Hero, which builds on his experiences from the Peruvian military academy Leoncio Prado. The book was considered controversial in his homeland and a thousand copies were burnt publicly by officers from the academy. Vargas Llosa is the first South American winner of the prestigious prize since it was awarded to Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez in 1982. Born in Arequipa, Peru, Vargas Llosa grew up with his grandparents in Bolivia after his parents divorced. The family moved back to Peru in 1946 and he later went to military school before studying literature and law in Lima and Madrid. In 1959, he moved to Paris where he worked as a language teacher and as a journalist for Agence France-Presse and the national television service of France. He has lectured and taught at a number of universities in the US, South America and Europe.

Nitish Kumar
Nitish Kumar led NDA alliance has won 206 seats to form the government in Bihar. Nithish's triumph in 2010 Assembly polls was the biggest victory for any political leader in the state. Out of 243 Assembly seats, Janata Dal (United) has bagged 115 seats and its ally Bharatiya Janatha Party (BJP) has won 91 seats. Party JDU BJP RJD LJP CONG OTHERS

RE S

2005 88 55 54 10 9 27

Bihar Assembly Polls 2010 GAIN/LOSS 115 +27 91 +36 22 -32 3 -7 4 -5 8 -19

Liu Xiaobo
Jailed Chinese pro-democracy activist Liu Xiaobo has won the Nobel Peace Prize, 2010, for decades of non-violent struggle for human rights. Liu was jailed for 11 years in December 2009, for

Dilip Donde
On May 22, 2010, Commander Dilip Donde of the Indian Navy became the first Indian ever to circumnavigate the globe solo on a sail-boat when he steered into the Mumbai harbour after his arduous effort spanning a little over nine months. Commander Dilip

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Donde, who started the voyage on August 19 2009 on INSV Mhadei, touched base back in India at the Sunk Rock Light House in Mumbai. His boat was ceremonially escorted by a fast attack craft of the Indian Navy, along with speedboats and two tugs operating their water cannons. Vice-President Hamid Ansari, along with Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Nirmal Kumar Verma and Dondes family members, who were on board INS Delhi, anchored at the finish line, witnessed the historic moment and gave him a rousing reception. The 56-foot-long Mhadei, with 23-tonne displacement, is the first fibre glass yacht constructed entirely in India and boasts of state-of-the-art navigation and communication equipment. The 276day voyage was part of the Navy's daunting Sagar Parikrama project, which aims to revive the old tradition of sea faring. The world record for the fastest solo circumnavigation was set in January 2008 by Frenchman Francis Joyon, at 67 days, 13 hours, 34 minutes and 6 seconds.

Wellington-based Defence Services Staff College as well as the Rangers Course at Fort Benning, USA and the US Army War College, Carlisle. He was commissioned into 2 Rajput Regiment in June 1970 and commanded the same unit when it was positioned along the Line of Control with Pakistan. Experienced in counter insurgency operations, Line of Control and high altitude operations, Gen Singh was awarded the Yudh Sena Medal for his distinguished service during 'Operation Pawan' against the LTTE in Sri Lanka.

Girija Prasad Koirala

Veteran democratic leader of Nepal politics and former Prime Minister of Nepal, he died on March 20, 2010. He was 87. He had the distinction of becoming the Prime Minister of Nepal five times. He had led the peaceful April Uprising in 2006 and abolished the 239-year-old authoritarian royal regime of Nepal.

C.K. Prahalad
Dr C.K. Prahalad, a globally known influential management thinker, died on April 19, 2010. He shook the corporate world in the US and elsewhere during the past two decades with his offbeat but radical strategies for managing corporations. The most notable among them was his The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid through which he urged MNCs to evolve a business model that would cater to the huge market of worlds four billion poor. He firmly believed that such an approach would help eradicate the scourge of poverty. He stole the limelight with his best seller book The Future of Competition. He stressed that it would not be worthwhile for the companies to foray into unrelated diversifications. The book is widely acknowledged as one of the world's most significant forces in corporate thinking. He was a member of the Blue Ribbon Commission of the United Nations on private sector and development. He was also the first recipient of the Lal Bahadur Shastri Award for contributions to management and public administration, presented by the President of India in 2000.

Sachin is Indian Air Force group captain

Indian sports icon Sachin Tendulkar conferred the honorary rank of group captain by the Indian Air Force (IAF) for services the cricketer has rendered to the nation through the sport. The cricketer was presented his rank by Air Chief Marshal P V Naik.

Mukesh Ambani
Reliance Industries' Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani has been elected Member to the Board of World Economic Forum. Others elected to the Board are: Alcatel-Lucent's CEO Ben J. Verwaayen and Special Adviser, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and a former Deputy Governor, People's Bank of China, Zhu Min. Mukesh Ambani will bring an extraordinary level of business acumen and his commitment to the ideals of the Forum. He has played a key role, especially related to the integration of India into all our activities.

V.K. Murthy
V. K. Murthy is the first cinematographer, and second Kannadiga after Kannada movie icon Dr Raj Kumar, to get the Dada Saheb Phalke award for his contribution to the film industry. He is known for his work in most Guru Dutt films like Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam, Kaagaz Ke Phool and Pyaasa. Besides Guru Dutt, Murthy also worked with Pramod Chakravarthy (Naya Zamana, Jugnu),

Gen. Vijay Kumar Singh

Gen V.K. Singh is the Chief of Indian army. A third generation officer from the Rajput regiment, Gen Singh is a graduate of the

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Kamal Amrohi (Pakeezah) and Shyam Benegal (Bharat Ke Khoj, a television series). He also shot Indias first cinema-scope movies, Kagaz ke Phool and is also one of the pioneers of colour cinematography.

Simon Lehna Singh

Famousphysicist-turned author, journalist and television producer of Indian origin Simon Lehna Singh has been selected by the International Mathematical Union for the Leelavathi Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to public outreach in mathematics.Named after the mathematical treatise of the great Indian mathematician Bhaskaracharya, the award carries a cash prize of Rs.10 lakh and a citation and will be presented by the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM).

was actively involved in the freedom struggle and the Goa liberation movement. Though he also wrote in Marathi and Hindi, his contributions to the growth of Konkani were immense. Always at the forefront of the Konkani movement, he struggled to seek recognition for the Konkani language.

Mukesh Ambani
RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani has topped Forbes magazine's list of the 100 richest Indians for the third year in-a-row, pipping billionaires like L N Mittal and Azim Premji with a net worth of USD 27 billion.

O. P. Bhatt
State Bank of India Chairman O. P. Bhatt has been elected the new Chairman of the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) for 201011. Mr. Bhatt will take charge from M. V. Nair, Chairman and Managing Director of Union Bank. HDFC Bank Managing Director Aditya Puri, Bank of Baroda Chairman and Managing Director M. D. Mallya and Canara Bank Chairman and Managing Director A. C. Mahajan were elected deputy chairmen. Yes Bank Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Rana Kapoor has been elected Honorary Secretary of the association.

Samy Vellu
Samy Vellu until recently president of the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), will be Malaysia's Special Envoy to India and South Asia for Infrastructure with effect from New Year's Day 2011.

Vinod Sharma
Vinod Sharma, political editor of Hindustan Times, is slated to be appointed member of the National Commission for Minorities. He will be a representative of the majority community. He will succeed veteran journalist Dileep Padgaonkar.

Sachin
Milestones have become so routine in Sachin Tendulkars career that it hardly came as a surprise when he touched another one by becoming the first batsman in crickets history to notch up an astonishing 50 Test hundreds. The 37-year-old right-hander, who has spent a remarkable over 20 years in international cricket, has perhaps every batting record that is there to be taken under his belt and adding to the countless tally is the historic hundred that he struck against South Africa in the opening Test at Centurion, on December 19, 2010. Much before his debut on November 15, 1989, Tendulkars precocious talent was there to be seen when he shared an unbeaten 664-run stand with buddy Vinod Kambli in the Lord Harris Shield inter-school game in 1988. Tendulkar is also the only batsman in the world who has scored a double ton in ODIs, a feat he achieved in Gwalior against South Africa in February. This feat was included in Time magazines top 10 sports moments of the year.

Brahma
Brahma assumes charge as Election Commissioner. Sixtyyear-old Harishankar Brahma, a retired IAS officer of 1975 batch from the Andhra Pradesh cadre, assumed charge as Election Commissioner at Nirvachan Sadan. Mr. Brahma, who retired as the Union Power Secretary in April this year, will hold office till April 18, 2015. He is the second person from the North-East to become an Election Commissioner, after J.M. Lyngdoh.

Ravindra Kelekar
Konkani litterateur and Jnanpith Award winner Ravindra R. Kelekar, 85, died. Ravindra Kelekar was born on March 25, 1925 at Cuncolim in south Goa. Influenced by the Gandhian thoughts, he

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Sharad Pawar
Sharad Pawar assumed office as President of the International Cricket Council (ICC) at its annual conference in Singapore. The Union Agriculture Minister and former President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India succeeded David Morgan after serving as the ICC Vice- President since 2008. Mr. Pawar is only the second Indian, after Jagmohan Dalmiya, to have become the highest executive of the world cricket body. Soon after taking over as the seventh President of the ICC for a two-year term.

tucked under his left arm. Sachin appears on the January 2011 page of the calendar with an air superiority fighter Su-30MKI in the background. Sachin is the only person appearing in the calendar, which otherwise carries the pictures of various fighter planes and transport aircraft of the IAF. On September 3, the IAF conferred the honorary rank of Group Captain on Sachin for his cricketing achievements and contribution to the nation. Sachin is the first sportsperson to be conferred a rank by IAF and the first personality with no aviation background to receive the honour.

Prasoon Joshi
Ad-man and lyricist, he has been named as the Chairman of McCann Worldgroup Creative Leadership Council. This is the first time in McCanns history that an Asian has been appointed to the top global creative position.

Kapil Dev
Legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev, who led India to their only ODI World Cup triumph in 1983, has been inducted into the International Cricket Councils Hall of Fame. A commemorative cap was presented to Kapil by ICC President David Morgan, in front of fellow Hall of Famer Clive Lloyd, as well as an audience of ICC officials and other invited guests at the governing bodys headquarters in Dubai. The Hall of Fame, run in association with the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations (FICA), recognises some of the legends of the game.

Prasun Chatterjee
An Indian environmental engineering student whose research has contributed to a new way of detecting toxic lead and copper in water, has won one of the highest US research honours. Chatterjee, a research student at the University of Lehigh, Pennsylvania, received the 2010 C. Ellen Gonter Environmental Chemistry Award from the American Chemical Society's (ACS) Environmental Chemistry Division.

UK Sinha
UK Sinha appointed as the new Chairman of Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI). Sinha will replace CB Bhave on Feb. 17, 2011. Sinha is now the Chairman and Managing Director of UTI Asset Management Company.

Shyam Saran Negi

Shyam Saran Negi, resident of the remote Kalpa village in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh, was the first to cast his vote in independent Indias first elections on October 23, 1951. Elections in snow-bound Kinnaur region were held ahead of other places in India, where the elections were held in January and February of 1952.

Yesuratnam
Magistrate, A Yesuratnam of Venkatagiri Court in Sree Potti Sreeramulu Nellore District declared judgements in 300 different cases. This is the first time that number of judgements is announced in one single day in the history of Indian judiciary.

He Pingping
He Pingping of China, at 2 feet 5 inches is the worlds shortest man and Sultan Kosen of Turkey, at 8 feet 1 inches is the tallest man.

Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar can now be seen in IAF fatigues along with the Sukhoi fighter aircraft in the forces 2011 calendar. The cricket icon, who was recently conferred the honorary rank of Group Captain, features in the calendar wearing a green flying suit with helmet

Rahat Taslim
Rahat Taslim from Giridih, Jharkhand has become the first contestant to win the prize money of Rs.1 crore in the fourth season of game show Kaun Banega Crorepati.

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John Wakefield
John Wakefield, fondly known as Papa,'the torchbearer of Karnataka's first eco-tourism project the Kabini River Lodge on the banks of the Kabini at Karapur in Mysore district, passed away.

Mazlan Othman
Malaysian astrophysicist, she has been appointed as the head of the UNs little-known Office for the Outer Space Affairs (UUNOOSA). She is officially the worlds first contact for any aliens that may come visiting.

Chinthakindi Mallesham
Chinthakindi Mallesham of Sharajipet in Nalgonda Dist selected by the Forbes Magazine as one of the 'seven most powerful rural enterpreneurs'. Mallesham who dropped the school in eighth class invented Laxmi Asu Machine to ease the work of handloom weavers.

A. Divya
A. Divya is the first woman cadet in the history of the Officers Training Academy, one of Indias premier defence training institutes, to be decorated with its highest award, the Sword of Honour.

A.K. Antony
A.K. Antony became the first Defence Minister to land on the Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) of Nyoma in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir.The ALG, activated in September,2009 for fixedwing aircraft, is 23 km from the Line of Actual Control and close to the Sino-Indian border.

Sudarsan Pattnaik
Orissa-based renowned sand artict, he has won the peoples choice award at the 8th International Sand Sculpture Festival in Berlin, for his creation on global warming.

Arjun Bajpayee
16-year-old resident of Uttar Pradesh's Noida city, he has become the youngest Indian to climb the Mount Everest. He broke the record of Krushnaa Patil,18, from Maharashtra who became the youngest Indian to reach the highest peak in 2009.

Shabana Mahmood
Shabana Mahmood, the Labour candidate for Birmingham Ladywood, in central England, and Yasmin Qureshi, Labour candidate for Bolton South East, in the north-west, became Britain's first women Muslim MPs.

Capt Tejdeep Singh Rattan

A 31-year-old Dentist, he has become the first Sikh in over 25 years to be allowed to complete US Army officer basic training without giving up his turban or shaving his full beard.

Atul Khare
U.N. Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon has appointed Atul Khare of India as Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations.

Sanjiv Mehta
Sanjiv Mehta is the new owner of East India Company, the worlds first multinational whose forces once ruled much of the globe, including India.

Sanath Jayasuriya
Sri Lankan cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya made his debut as a lawmaker, with a runaway victory from a parliamentary constituency in Matara district in the south. Jayasuriya won on the ticket of the ruling United People's Freedom Party alliance of the President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Hardeep Singh Puri

Indian Ambassador to the United Nations Hardeep Singh Puri has been elected Chairman of the all important Security Council Committee on counter-terrorism and two other key committees of this 15-membered body. Elected for a two-year term, Mr. Puri would chair the UN Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee. He replaces Ertugrul Apakan, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Turkey, whose term expired on December 31, 2010.

Vim Kochhar
For the first time, an India-born businessman Vim Kochhar has been nominated to the Canadian Senate by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Air Marshal NAK Browne, an ace fighter pilot, 2011 January 1, took over as the Vice Chief of Indian Air Force. He succeeds Air Marshal PK Barbora, who retired on 2010 December 31. AIR correspondent reports commissioned into the fighter stream in 1972, Air Marshal Browne has flown aircraft including the vintage Hunter, all variants of MiG-21s, Jaguar and SU-30MKI. An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Air Marshal Browne is a fighter combat leader and has also served as an instructor at the Tactics and Combat Development Establishment and Defence Services Staff College, Wellington. A graduate of the Air Command and Staff College, USA, the Air Marshal has held many key posts, including Chief Operations Officer and Air Officer Commanding of a SU-30 base and Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Intelligence) at Air Headquarters. He was also responsible for establishing the Indian Defence Wing in Tel Aviv

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A PPOINTMENTS

N A K Browne is new Air Force Vice-Chief

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P LACES

Haiti
The capital of this tiny island nation, Port-au-Prince, was hit by an earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale on January 13, 2010. More than three lakh people perished in the tragedy. The earthquake caused major damage to Port-au-Prince, Jacmel and other settlements in the region. Many notable landmark buildings were significantly damaged or destroyed, including the Presidential Palace, the National Assembly building, the Port-au-Prince Cathedral, and the main jail. Among those killed were Archbishop of Port-au-Prince Joseph Serge Miot, and opposition leader Micha Gaillard. The headquarters of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), located in the capital, collapsed, killing many, including the Missions Chief, Hdi Annabi.

Chernobyl
Chernobyl now open to tourists. Ukraine announces official tours of the 1986 nuclear disaster site. Visitors would be offered tours inside the 50km exclusion zone set up after reactor four at the plant exploded on April 26, 1986, showering northern Europe in radioactive fallout.

Ocucaje Desert
Buried in Peru's Ocucaje Desert, fossils draw smugglers. Discoveries there include gigantic fossilised teeth from the legendary 50-foot shark called the megalodon, the bones of a huge penguin with surprisingly colourful feathers and the fossils of the Leviathan Melvillei, a whale with teeth longer than those of the Tyrannosaurus rex, making it a contender for the largest predator ever to prowl the oceans.

New Delhi
The Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF) organised the first ever Sports Law Conference in New Delhi, on July 24-25, 2010, to deliberate on various issues related to sports and law in India. Among other things, the conference discussed the Right to Information (RTI) and accountability of sports federations, and legalities involved in staging major sports events like the Olympics, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games.

St Petersburg
On November 21, 2010, Russia called for global efforts to avert extinction of tigers as wildlife activists and officials from 13 countries, including India, gathered at a summit in St Petersburg to discuss ways to double the population of the endangered animal from the existing 3,200. Due to decades of poaching and habitat destruction, there are currently only 3,200 tigers living in the wild, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), as against 1 lakh a century ago.

Bengaluru
The Electronic Warfare India Conference (EWIC) was held in Bengaluru. This was the first international conference on electronic warfare to take place in India.

Jaipur
UNESCO has granted the World Heritage status to Jantar Mantar in Jaipur which is a celebrated astronomical observatory built in 18th century. This is Indias 28th and Rajasthans second site (after Keoladev National Park) to be given the World Heritage status.

Davos
Over 2500 global leaders in business and politics gathered in Davos, Switzeraland, for the World Economic Forum. Davos is located on the Landwasser River, in the Swiss Alps, between the Plessur and Albula Range. At 1,560 meters, it is the highest city in Europe.

Tiruchi
V.K. Saraswat, Chairman of Combustion Institute Indian Section (CIIS)and Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister, said that

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ultra super critical thermal technology developed by the BHEL and the NTPC would be used for the first time in the 500-MW Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle power plant coming up at Tiruchi.

Kasaragod
The Kerala government had adopted a slew of measures to help the victims of Endosulfan by banning the use of such pesticides in Cashew Plantation in Kasaragod and efforts are on to promote organic farming.

motion of dense, cooler, and usually nutrient-rich water towards the ocean surface, replacing the warmer, usually nutrient-depleted surface water) was reported in the Malabar coast extending from Kozhikode to Mangalore, making the stretch abundant in fish and prawn varieties. The whales could have come in search of food. A few dolphins were also spotted during the period.

Haryana
Narnaul, a non-descript village located in the backwaters of Haryana has got Indias first aero sports centre, which was inaugurated by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, at the local airstrip on January 31, 2010. The centre, named after the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, has been set up by the Department of Civil Aviation, Haryana, in collaboration with the Aero Club of India.

Charminar
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to take up repair of Charminar. Three months after it fell, the chunk of lime stucco work on Charminar is in for repair. Charminar meaning "Mosque of the Four Minarets" and "Four Towers" is the most famous mosque and monument in the city of Hyderabad. Sultan Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah , the 5th ruler of the Qutb Shahi dynasty built Charminar in 1591 shortly after he had shifted his capital from Golkonda to what is now known as Hyderabad.

Tembhali
This remote village in tribal-dominated Nandurbar district of Maharashtra is the first place in India whose residents have been issues the Unique Identification Number (UID) or Aadhaar.

Narnaul
Narnaul, a non-descript village located in the backwaters of Haryana has got Indias first aero sports centre, which was inaugurated by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, at the local airstrip on January 31, 2010. The centre, named after the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, has been set up by the Department of Civil Aviation, Haryana, in collaboration with the Aero Club of India.

Burj Khalifa
On January 4, 2010, blazing fireworks and dazzling lights marked the opening of the world's tallest tower, Burj Khalifa, formerly known as Burj Dubai. The $1.5 billion, 818 metres (2,684 feet) high structure is an unprecedented engineering marvel. Burj Khalifa has been designed to be the centrepiece of a large-scale, mixeduse development that will include 30,000 homes, nine hotels, 7.4 acres of parkland, at least 19 residential towers, the Dubai Mall, and the 30-acre man-made Burj Khalifa Lake. With more than 160 stories, Burj Khalifa holds the following records: Tallest building in the world Tallest free-standing structure in the world Highest number of stories in the world Highest occupied floor in the world Highest outdoor observation deck in the world Elevator with the longest travel distance in the world Tallest service elevator in the world Not only is Burj Khalifa the worlds tallest building, it has also

Mangalore coast
Two blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus), the largest mammals on Earth, were recently spotted off the Mangalore coast during a marine survey carried out by the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), Kochi. he blue whales belong to the Rorquals family, which includes the humpback, fin and minke whales. Their skin is greyish blue with light grey mottling on the back. They can grow up to 33 metres in length and weigh up to 200 tonnes. Blue whales are long-distance migrants known to undertake long journeys in search of food and mating grounds. Recently, upwelling (an oceanographic phenomenon that involves wind-driven

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broken two other impressive records: tallest structure, previously held by the KVLY-TV mast in Blanchard, North Dakota, and tallest free-standing structure, previously held by Torontos CN Tower. The Chicago-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) has established three criteria to determine what makes a tall building tall. Burj Khalifa wins by far in all three categories. The building has returned the location of Earth's tallest freestanding structure to the Middle East where the Great Pyramid of Giza claimed this achievement for almost four millennia before being surpassed in 1311 by Lincoln Cathedral in England.

decker train has been introduced between Howrah (West Bengal) and Dhanbad (Jharkhand).

Seethampeta
Seethampeta, located in the north - western part of Srikakulam district in Andhra Pradesh and home to the Konda Savaras has now become part of the Food and Agricultural Organisation's (FAO) Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS). GIAHS has begun identifying and then documenting unique agricultural systems across the world to create 'agricultural heritage'.

Vancouver
Vancouver, Canada has been named as the worlds most liveable city. Delhi and Mumbai are placed at 113th and 117th, respectively, in the survey conducted by Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). Among the top ten are four Australian cities Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide. Zimbabwes Harare is lowest ranked.

Palakkad
Palakkad district in kerala is the first fully electrified district in the country.

South Africa
South Africa will host the Champions League Twenty20 cricket tournament in September 2010. In 2009 India had hosted the tournament. The tournament will feature 12 teams, including three from 2010 IPL.

Peace Airport
China is building a new airport near Mount Everest, to be called Peace Airport in Xigaze prefecture in Tibet.

Chennai
International Conference on Biodiversity in relation to food and human security was held in Chennai.

Jalandhar
The Rail Coach Factory (RCF) at Jalandhar has developed Indias first air-conditioned, double-decker prototype coach. The Railways has decided to introduce these coaches on the yuva trains.

Sivaganga
Moser Baer Clean Energy, a subsidiary of Moser Baer Projects, has commissioned a 5 MW solar farm at Sivaganga in Tamil Nadu. It is Indias largest solar farm. The technical expertise was provided by the EPC (engineering procurement commissioning) arm of Moser Baer Solar. International Finance Corporation and the IDBI bank have provided debt for the project. The solar farm has been commissioned using amorphous silicon thin film technology which is best suited for the Indian climatic conditions and is connected to the 110 kVA local grid. The project was awarded by the Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency (TEDA) and is being implemented under the generation- based incentive scheme of the Union Ministry of New & Renewable Energy.

Khedar
The first 600 MW unit of the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Thermal Power project at Khedar, near Hisar, Haryana became operational on February 10, 2010. The coal handling capacity of the plant, at 2,400 tonnes per hour, is the highest in India.

Kapurthala
The Rail Coach factory, Kapurthala, has rolled out Indias first AC double-decker rake from its premises. The first AC double-

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S PORTS

Indias Biggest medal haul:

After producing their best ever show in the Commonwealth Games, India underlined its rising sporting prowess by bagging the biggest medal haul in the Asian Games. India finished sixth with 14 gold, 17 silver and 33 bronze for a record 64-medal haul. Indias best medal haul in the Asian Games till date was recorded in the 1982 Games in New Delhi when they had won 13 gold, 19 silver and 25 bronze for an overall tally of 57. India had finished 10th in the last edition of the Games in Doha with a tally of 10-17-26. A quarter century ago there was no Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and the rest of the former Soviet bloc to make the competition as stiff as it was in Guangzhou. Out of the 14 gold India won in Guangzhou, the highest number of five came from athletics and two each were won in boxing, kabbadi and tennis and one each from shooting, cue sports and rowing. Just like in many earlier editions of the Asian Games, athletics contributed the lions share in Indias number of gold medals in this addition also. A.C. Ashwini (400m hurdles and womens 4x400 relay) and tennis star Somdev Devvarman (mens singles and doubles) won two gold medals while Preeja Sreedharan bagged a gold and a silver in womens 10,000m and 5,000m, respectively. India got its first gold medal of the 2010 Asiad in Billiards with Pankaj Advani winning the English Singles. Joseph Abraham and Ashwini Chidananda grabbed gold medals in mens and womens 400m hurdles, respectively. Teen sensation Vikas Krishan ended Indian Boxings 12-year-old gold medal drought in the Asian Games by winning the lightweight (60kg) title. Tarundeep Rai rewrote history in the archery championship by becoming the first Indian individual medal winner, finishing second behind South Korean world record holder Kim Woojin. Somdev Devvarman became the first man in 24 years to win a gold in both single and doubles tennis category in Asian Games. Ronjan Sodhi brought an end to the gold drought in shooting by winning gold in the double trap (shot gun) event. Bajrang Lal Takhar created history by notching up the first rowing gold medal for India in the Asian Games. India opened a new page in its Asian Games history with Ashish Kumar clinching the first-ever medal (bronze medal in mens floor exercise) in gymnastics. Virdhawal Khade broke the swimming medal drought after 24 years by winning a bronze medal in mens 50m butterfly event.

XVI Asian Games

The 2010 Asian Games held at Guangzhou, China, has come to an end, after 16 days of fierce competition. Medals were up for grabs across 42 different disciplines, and 45 Asian nations sent in their best athletes to try and win as many medals as possible. China once again showed why they are the powerhouse of sports, not only in Asia but at the Olympics too, with a sweep of medals over most of the disciplines at the games. They ended up winning nearly half the gold medals on offer, showcasing their overall strength as a sporty nation. South Korea finished a credible second, ahead of Japan, who once used to give China a tough fight for the top spot. A point to note is that out of all the medals China won, almost half were gold. This proves that when they competed, it was for the top spot only. Another noteworthy mention is Iran. They have come from no where and taken the 4th spot on the medal tally. With the successful hosting of the Asian Games 2010, China now hands over the responsibility to the Koreans. The next edition of the Asian Games will be held in 2014, in Incheon, South Korea.

XVI Asian Games 2010 Medal Tally

RANK COUNTRY 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 1 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 China South Korea Japan Iran Kazakhstan India Chinese Taipei Uzbekistan Thailand Malaysia Hong Kong North Korea Saudi Arabia Bahrain Indonesia Singapore Kuwait Qatar Philippines Pakistan Mongolia Myanmar G S B 98 91 94 25 38 33 38 23 32 13 17 20 5 4 13 6 1 7 9 3 9 3 T 416 232 216 59 79 64 67 56 52 40 40 36 13 9 26 17 1 1 16 16 8 16 10 199 119 76 65 48 74 20 14 18 23 14 17 13 16 1 1 22 1 1 9 9 18 8 15 6 10 5 3 5 0 4 9 4 7 4 6 4 5 3 4 3 2 2 5 2 5 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 Jordan 2 2 2 Vietnam 1 17 15 Kyrgyzstan 1 2 2 Macau 1 1 5 Bangladesh 1 1 1 Tajikistan 1 0 3 Syria 1 0 1 United Arab Emirates 0 4 1 Afghanistan 0 2 1 Iraq 0 1 2 Lebanon 0 1 2 Laos 0 0 2 Nepal 0 0 1 Oman 0 0 1 Bhutan 0 0 0 Brunei 0 0 0 Cambodia 0 0 0 Maldives 0 0 0 Palestine 0 0 0 Sri Lanka 0 0 0 Timor-Leste 0 0 0 Turmenistan 0 0 0 Yemen 0 0 0 TOTAL 477 479 621 6 33 5 7 3 4 2 5 3 3 3 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1577

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XIX Commonwealth Games

The 2010 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games, were held in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 2010. A total of 6,081 athletes from 71 Commonwealth nations and dependencies competed in 21 sports and 272 events. It was the largest international multi-sport event to be staged in Delhi and India, eclipsing the Asian Games in 1951 and 1982. The opening and closing ceremonies were held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the main stadium of the event. It was the first time that the Commonwealth Games were held in India and the second time it was held in Asia after Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 1998. The official mascot of the Games was Shera and the official song of the Games, "Jiyo Utho Bado Jeeto", was composed by celebrated Indian musician A.R. Rahman. The final medal tally was led by Australia. The host nation India gave its strongest performance yet to emerge second, while England placed third.

Indias performance:
Indian competitors came out with flying colours. A record medal haul of 38 gold, 27 silver and 36 bronze medals, the bestever harvest for the country in the Games history, helped India climb to the record-high second position and end the multi-discipline event on a thumping note. The main haul of these 101 medals came from the shooting range, wrestling mat, boxing ring, archery range and, to everyone's surprise, the track and field events. Rifle-shooting ace Gagan Narang scooped up four gold medals, but could not achieve the feat of overhauling five-gold hero of the 2006 Melbourne GamesSamresh Jung. Teenage woman archer Deepika Kumari, daughter of an auto-rickshaw driver, who held her nerves even as the more seasoned Dola Banerjee wilted, to come up with a golden double in the women's recurve event. The track and field events witnessed India's first gold medal in 52 years when Krishna Poonia led a clean sweep of the women's discus throw, Harwant Kaur and Seema Antil won the silver and bronze. The women's 4x400m relay squad struck an unexpected gold with a superb display that pushed Nigeria and England to second and third places. The women shuttlers, led by Saina Nehwal, brought two gold medals to bring down the curtains on the country's competitive show with a bang. Those two gold medals in badminton were vital to help India push England to the third place by the skin of their teeth. Saina Nehwal created history by becoming the first Indian woman to win the singles gold in badminton at the Commonwealth Games. Legendary Prakash Padukone (1978) and the late Syed Modi (1982) were the two men players to win the singles gold in the Games. Jwala Gutta and Ashiwni Ponnappa scripted history by becoming the first Indian pair to win the gold at Commonwealth Games. The men's hockey team, whose fortunes are followed closely by the sports fans of the country, made history by making it to the final for the first time before coming a cropper against world and defending champions Australia in the summit clash. The 8-0 defeat was huge and one of the biggest suffered by the country. Wrestling contingent also did very well, winning 19 medals in the 21 designated event. Among the 19 medals, there were 10

XIX Commonwealth Games Medal Tally

Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Nation Australia India England Canada South Africa Kenya Malaysia Singapore Nigeria Scotland Gold 74 38 37 26 12 12 12 11 11 9

Mascot

E RE S

A DI E M

CO

Silver 55 27 59 17 11 11 10 11 10 10

Bronze 48 36 46 32 10 9 13 9 14 7

Total 177 101 142 75 33 32 35 31 35 26

The official mascot for the 2010 Commonwealth Games was Shera, an anthropomorphised tiger.

Official song
The official song of the 2010 Commonwealth Games was Jiyo Utho Bado Jeeto. It was composed and performed by the A. R. Rahman. The song's title was based on the slogan of the games, "Come out and play". The song was penned by Mehboob in Hindi with a sprinkling of English words.

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gold, five silver and four bronze medals. Sushil Kumar literally walked his way to gold, while the women wrestlers, participating in the Games for the first time, stole the show with a memorable performance. In the six events for women, India won three gold, two silver and a bronze medal to show their supremacy in the freestyle category. The trio of Alka Tomar, Geeta and Anita won their final bouts with ease, while Babita Kumari and Nirmala Devi missed out on gold, losing their final rounds, but their performance drew praise from all. Geeta became the first Indian women wrestler to bag a gold medal in the Commonwealth Games. India achieved unprecedented success in athletics by bagging 12 medals, including two gold. India's 12 medals were two more than the number it won in all the earlier editions. Krishna Poonia created history by breaking India's 52-yearold Commonwealth Games gold medal jinx by winning the gold medal in women's discus throw. Harwant Kaur and Seema Antil bagged silver and bronze, respectively. Poonia also became the first Indian woman to bag a Commonwealth Games gold after 'Flying Sikh' Milkha Singh won the men's 440 yards race in 1958 edition in Cardiff, Wales. The women's 4X400m relay team of Manjeet Kaur, Sini Jose, Ashwini Akkunji and Mandeep Kaur added another gold in a memorable race, beating strong teams like Nigeria and England. Fancied fisticuff exponents Vijender Singh and Akhil Kumar were ousted early but Indian boxers still delivered a historic golden punch to come up with their best-ever campaign in the Games history. With a hat-trick of gold plus four bronze medals, the Indian ring stylists recorded their best medal haul at the quadrennial multidiscipline sports event, bettering the 2006 campaign at Melbourne by two. Ashish Kumar of India created history by winning a bronze medal in Gymnastics, the first ever medal in gymnastics for India in the Commonwealth Games.

Series title triumph with a 15-21 21-16 21-17 win over the third seed Chinese in a gruelling one hour and 11 minutes summit clash at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium. The girl from Hyderabad won backto-back titles - Indian Open Grand Prix, Singapore Open Super Series and defended the Indonesian Super Series - before clinching the gold medal in the Commonwealth Games in October. Saina played a tactical game after she lost the first game and clawed her way back with some fast-paced rallies and powerful smashes to outwit the Chinese world number five.

India-New Zealand Test series

India won the three-Test series 1-0 after winning the third Test in Nagpur by an innings and 198 runs. The first Test, played in Ahmedabad, ended in a draw after VVS Laxman and Harbhajan Singh put in a fight-back after India had been reduced to 15 for 5 at one time. In the second Test played in Hyderabad, Brendon McCullum notched up his best-ever Test score of 225 to ensure a draw. Harbhajan Singh made history by becoming the first number eight Test batsman to hit back-to-back centuries. In the first Test he hit 115 and followed this with 111 not out in the second Test. His 105-run 10th wicket stand with Sreesanth the was best for India.

India-New Zealand One Day series

India won the One Day series 5-0. The rampant India's 5-0 ODI series sweep was set up by the bowlers. Skittled out for 103, the Kiwis were down for the count. This is India's biggest win in terms of balls against New Zealand. And India's only previous 5-0 sweep was against England at home in the 2008/09 season.The left-handed Gambhir was adjudged Player of the Series for 329 runs including two centuries at an average 109.66 in the series.

Sri Lanka-West Indies Test Series

West Indies opener Chris Gayle made the joint 12th highest Test score with a magnificent 333 in the first Test. He became only the fourth man to achieve the feat twice in Test history, after Sir Donald Bradman, Brian Lara and Virender Sehwag.

Saina wins Hong Kong Open Super Series

Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal rallied to register a scintilliating three-game victory over Shixian Wang of China to clinch her third Super Series title of the year at the Hong Kong Open in Wanchai. The 20-year-old Indian capped her career's fourth Super

Australia-Sri Lanka ODI series

Australia snapped a run of seven straight losses in all forms

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of cricket when it beat Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the third and final match. Sri Lanka claimed the series 2-1, after winning the first match by one wicket and the second by 29 runs.

Hero Honda Womens Indian Open Championship

Englands Laura Davies notched up a thrilling play-off win to lift the trophy. The tournament was held in Gurgaon.

tury with an unbeaten 53 to help India chase down the 207-run target. Earleir, India won the first Test at Mohali by one wicket. A 81run ninth wicket stand between V.V.S. Laxman and Ishant Sharma set up the opening win. Laxman scripted an unbeaten 73 runs and Ishant Sharma chipped with a contribution of 31 runs.

Sachin first to make 14,000 runs in Tests

Sachin Tendulkar has become the only player to make 14,000 runs in Test cricket. At 12,178 runs, Australian skipper Ricky Ponting remains his nearest rival.

ATP World Tour Finals

Roger Federer polished of Rafael Nadal 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 to capture his fifth season-ending finale, the ATP World Tour final. It was for the first time in 24 years that top two players in ATP ranking reached the season finale.

Ryder Cup, 2010

The 38th Ryder Cup matches were held at the Celtic Manor Resort in the city of Newport, Wales. It was the first time the competition was staged in Wales. With the USA as the defending Cup holder the event was played on the newly-constructed Twenty 10 course, specifically designed for the Ryder Cup. Team Europe won the competition.

Body Building World Championship

Bobby Singh of Imphal, a clerk at the North Frontier Railway, scripted history by becoming the world champion at the second WBPF World Bodybuilding Championship, held at Varanasi. India has won a world Bodybuilding Championship after 22 years.

India-Australia One Day Series

India won the three-match series 1-0 after the third and final ODI was abandoned because of rain. The first match also had to be abandoned because of rain. This was the first one-day series victory over Australia in over two decades. India beat Australia by wickets in the second ODI. The highlight of the match was the matchwinning 118 runs by Virat Kohli.

Surjit Hockey Tournament

Indian Oil, Mumbai, have clinched the overall trophy in the 27th Indian Oil Surjit Hockey tournament. They defeated Air India, Mumbai via tie-breaker.

T20 Champions League, 2010

IPL champions Chennai Super Kings, led ably by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, defeated the Warriors of South Africa by eight wickets to win the Airtel Champions League, played in South Africa.

Bangladesh-New Zealand One Day Series

Rubel Hossain grabber four wickets as Bangladesh completed a sweep with a thrilling three-run victory in the fifth and final one day match. The 4-0 series win is Bangladeshs first sweep against a major team.

Mary Kom wins World Championship

Indias woman boxer MC Mary Kom claimed a historic fifth successive world championship title on September 18, 2010, beating Steluta Duta of Romania 16-6. This mother-of-two from Manipur remains the only boxer to have won a medal in each edition of the world championship.

India-Australia Test Series

Debutant Cheteshwar Pujara struck a sparkling 72 as India defeated Australia by seven wickets in the second and final Test, played at Bangalore, to sweep the series, win the Border-Gavaskar trophy and consolidate their world number one status. Man of the series Sachin Tendulkar followed up his first innings double cen-

India wins gold in fourth leg of World Cup

The Indian men's recurve team of Jayanta Talukdar, Tarundeep Rai and Rahul Banerjee won gold in the fourth leg of the World Cup archery in Shanghai. The trio whipped Japan, who had

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beaten the formidable Koreans in the semi-final. Talukdar won bronze in the individual event defeating Athens Olympic champion Marco Galiazzo of Italy 7-3. Deepika Kumari lost the womens recurve final, but the silver medal ensured Deepika her maiden place in the grand final in Edinburgh.

Hockey Womens World Cup

Argentina defeated reigning World and Olympic champions Netherlands 3-1 to win their second field hockey world title. They had earlier won the title in 2002 in Australia. The championship was held at Rosario, Argentina.

Ronjon shoots gold at ISSF World Cup

Indias Ronjon Sodhi clinched a gold at the double trap Shooting in the ISSF World Cup finals in Izmir, Turkey with a stunning score of 195 out of 200.

Sushil becomes first Indian to win World Championship gold

Wrestler Sushil Kumar has become the first Indian to win a gold medal in the World Wrestling Championships, held in Moscow. He defeated Alan Gogaev in the 66-kg freestyle category.

US Open, 2010
Rafael Nadal of Spain defeated Novak Djokovic (Serbia) to win the mens singles title. The win gave him his first US open title and was his ninth Grand Slam win. Kim Clijsters of Belgium defeated Vera Zvonareva (Russia) to take the womens singles title. The mens doubles title was won by Mike and Bob Bryan of USA who defeated Indo-Pak team of Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ulHaq. The womens doubles title was won by Vania King (USA) and Yaroslava Shvedova (Kazakhistan) while the mixed doubles title was won by Liezel Huber (USA) and Bob Bryan (USA).

notably in that unforgettable first round men's singles between John Isner of the United States and France's Nicolas Mahut, which smashed every existing record in the sport. The Isner-Mahut first round marathon, which stretched over three days, lasted 11 hours five minutes and totalled 183 games before Isner staggered away the winner 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-6, 70-68. The final set alone lasted just over eight hours. Both men shattered the record for aces in one match, previously held by Ivo Karlovic at 78. Isner delivered 112 and Mahut also cracked the century with 103. An exhausted Isner crashed out to Thiemo De Bakker of Holland in the next round, collecting just five games. In the mens singles final Rafael Nadal beat Tomas Berdych 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 to win the title. This was the second Wimbledon title for the Spaniard. Berdych became the first Czech since Ivan Lendl in 1987 to reach the Wimbledon final. The womens singles title was won by defending champion Serena Williams who beat Russias Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 6-2. The victory took her to 13 Grand Slam singles titles, past Billie Jean King, and sixth in the all-time list. In the doubles, the men's title went to an unseeded pair, Austria's Jurgen Melzer and Germany's Philipp Petzschner, playing only their seventh tournament as a team. The women's doubles was won by an American-Kazakh combination, Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova. Also unseeded, they overcame the Russians, Elena Vesnina and Zvonareva, 7-6, 6-2. The mixed double's championship fell to a seeded combination, Leander Paes and Cara Black, the second seeds, who beat Wesley Moodie of South Africa and Lisa Raymond (United States) 6-4. 7-6.

French Open, 2010

Mens Singles title: Rafael Nadal won the title by defeating Robin Soderling. This was his fifth French Open win. Womens Singles title: Francesca Schiavone became the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam singles title when she defeated Australian Samantha Stosur to win the womens singles title. Mens Doubles title: Canadas Daniel Nestor and Serbias Nenad Zimonjic won by beating defending champions Leander Paes of India and Lukas Dlouhy of Czech Republic. Womens Doubles title: Serena and Venus Williams of USA. Serena Williams won her second French Open Women's Doubles

Wimbledon Championship, 2010

The 124th Championships, a Royal tournament thanks to the first visit to the All England Club by Her Majesty the Queen for 33 years, was also a record-breaking occasion in many ways, most

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title, and the twelfth title in that discipline, which this was the fourth win in a row in the women's doubles in the Slams. Venus Williams won her second French Open Women's Doubles title, and the twelfth title in that discipline, which this was the fourth win in a row in the women's doubles in the Slams. Mixed Doubles: Katarina Srebotnik and Nenad Zimonji? were the winners. Srebotnik won her third French Open Mixed Doubles title, and the fourth Slam title in that discipline. Zimonji? won his second French Open Mixed Doubles title, and the fourth Slam title in that discipline.

Santosh Trophy, 2010

Kerala lad Denson Devdas struck twice as Bengal made a spectacular comeback to beat Punjab 2-1, ending their 11 years title drought in the National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy.

Atwal first Indian to win US PGA title

Arjun Atwal has become the first Indian ever to win a US PGA title when he won the Wyndham Golf Championship.

Australian Open, 2010

Serena Williams defeated Belgiums Justine Henin to win the womens singles title for the fifth time and her 12th Grand Slam title. With this win she drew level with Billie Jean Kings record of 12 Grand Slam wins. Roger Federer beat Andy Murray to win his fourth Australian open mens title, taking his own Grand Slam titles record to 16. Leander Paes, with partner Cara Black, won the mixed doubles title. This was his 11th Grand Slam title, equalling Mahesh Bhupathis record of most wins by an Indian. Mike and Bob Bryan won the mens doubles title. The womens doubles title was won by Serena and Venus Williams.

Tejaswini becomes first Indian woman to win gold at World Championships

Tejaswani Sawant scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman shooter to clinch a gold medal at the World Championships, with a world-record equalling score in 50m Rifle Prone event in Munich, Germany.

Hockey Champions Trophy, 2010

Australia won their third successive Champions Trophy, and 11th in all, with a comprehensive 4-0 win over England. Netherlands secured the third place. The championship was held at Monchengladbach, Germany.

Sri Lanka-New Zealand-India One-Day Tri-series

Sri Lanka rode on Tillakaratne Dilshans century to clinch the triseries title with an emphatic 74-run win over India, ending M.S. Dhonis sequence of four consecutive series triumphs on Sri Lanka soil.

Hockey Asian Champions Trophy (Women)

Korea beat Japan 2-1 to win the inaugural Asian Women's Hockey Championship, held at Busan South Korea. The first Asian Women Champions Trophy drew the four highest-ranking teams in the region South Korea, China, Japan and India which will also compete for the gold medal in the Asian Games to be held in Guangzhou, China, in November 2010. India beat higher-ranked China 2-1 to win the bronze medal.

Sri Lanka-India Test Series

Veteran V.V.S. Laxman cracked a fighting unbeaten 103 as India pulled off a five-wicket win in the third Test to level the threeTest series 1-1. Laxman was adjudged the man of the match while Virender Sehwag was adjudged man of the series.

Youth Olympic Games

Singapore hosted the first Youth Olympics from August 14 to 26, 2010. A total of 3,531 athletes between 14 and 18 years of age from 204 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) competed in 201 events in 26 sports. The opening ceremony of the Games was held on 14 August at The Float@Marina Bay, a floating stage near downtown Singapore. Approximately 27,000 spectators attended the event, which took place against a backdrop of the city's skyline.

Tendulkar becomes most-capped player

Iconic Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar has become the most-capped Test cricketer (169 Test matches). This feat was achieved in the third and final Test against Sri Lanka, played in August 2010. Steve Waugh (168 Test matches) of Australia had held the record earlier.

Lyo and Merly were the official mascots. The duo ere made up of a red male lion and a blue female Merlion. A contest held to name the two mascots was won by two Singaporeans. It took designers from Cubix International about six months to complete designing the mascots. China topped the medals tally with 30 gold medals, followed by Russia (18) and South Korea (11). India was ranked 58 with 6 silver medals and 2 bronze medals in its kitty. It was during the 119th session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Guatemala City on the July 5, 2007 when the IOC decided to create Youth Olympic Games (YOG). The vision of the innovative concept for the new sport event is to inspire young people all around the world to participate in sport and adopt and live by the Olympic values (excellence, friendship, respect). Innsbruck and Seefeld will host the first Winter Youth Olympic Games from January 13-22, 2012.

11, 2010. In 2004, the international football federation, FIFA, had selected South Africa to become the first African nation to host the tournament. The matches were played in ten stadiums in nine host cities around the country, with the final played at the Soccer City s were selectG stadium in South Africas largest city, Johannesburg. Thirty-two teams were selected for participation via a worldwide qualification tournament that began in August 2007.

Muralitharan becomes first bowler to take 800 wickets

On July 22, 2010, Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan became the first bowler to take 800 Test wickets, reaching the milestone in the last Test of his illustrious cricket career. The 38-year-old spin wizard got Indian tail-ender Pragyan Ojha caught at slip by Mahela Jayawardene to reach the magical figure, which puts him several pedestals above his contemporaries.

Foot Ball World Cup, 2010

Spain, the European champions, defeated third-time finalists the Netherlands 10 after extra time, with Andrs Iniesta's goal in the 116th minute giving Spain their first world title, the first time that a European nation has won the tournament outside its home continent. Host nation South Africa, 2006 world champions Italy and 2006 runners-up France were eliminated in the first round of the tournament. In the semi-finals, Spain defeated Germany by 1-0 while Netherlands had defeated Uruguay. Germany defeated Uruguay 3 2 to secure third place. Germany holds the record for most third place finishes in the World Cup (4), while Uruguay holds the record for most fourth place finishes (3). The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup. It took place in South Africa from June 11 to July

August 2007..00293 .054Tf[(adium in South)]TJ-.06543 Tcg A

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Tani-Otoshi, Uchi-komvi, Waki-gatame, Yoshi, Yuko. Karate: Age Zuki, Ai-uchi, Aka, Chakugan, Dachi, Encho Sen, Fudotachi, Gedan, Geri, Hajime, Ibuki, Jion, Kakato, Koka, Makiwara, Nidan, Obi, Rei, Sanbon, Shiro, Tobigeri, Ude, Waza-ari, Yoko-geri, Zanshin, Zen-no. Polo: Bunker, Chukker, Mallet. Rowing: Bow, Bucket, Cow, Ergometer, Feather, Paddle, Drop, Regatta. Rugby Football: A Trackle, Lines, Scrum, Touch, Try. Shooting: Bag, Bulls Eye, Marksmanship, Muzzle, Plug. Skiing: Tobogganing. Swimming: Breast Stroke, Crawl. Table Tennis: Anti Loop, Backspin, Chop, Loop, Penhold Grip, Push, Spin, Twiddle. Tennis: Ace, Backhand Stroke, Deuce, Deep Volley, Deuce, Double Fault, Fault, Ground Stroke, Half Volley, Let, Love, Slice, Smash, Topspin, Volley Volleyball: Ace, Base-line, Blocking, Doubling, Foot Fault, Heave, Holding, Jump Set, Lob Pass, Love All, Point, Quick Smash, Scouting, Service, Spike, Tactical Ball, Volley, Windmill Service. Weight Lifting: Clean and Jerk, Bench Press Wrestling: Half-Nelson, Head Lock, Heave, Freestyle, Hold, Rebouts, Scissor. Yachting: Soling Tempest, Flying Dutchman, Tornado

TROPHIES ASSOCIATED WITH VARIOUS SPORTS & GAMES

Air Racing: Jawaharlal Challenge Trophy, King's Cup, World Cup. Archery: Federation Cup Athletics: Charminar Trophy, Federation Cup, World Cup. Badminton: Agarwal Cup, Amrit Diwan Cup, Asia Cup, Austrelasia Cup, Chadha Cup, European Cup, Harilela Cup, Ibrahim Rahimatollah Challenge Cup, Konica Cup, Narng cup, Sophia Kitiakara Cup, Konica Cup, S. R. Ruia Cup, Thomas Cup, Tunku Abdul Rahman Cup, Uber Cup, World Cup, Yonex Cup. Basketball: Basalat Jha Trophy, B. C. Gupta Trophy, Federation Cup, S. M. Arjuna Raja trophy, Todd Memorial Trophy, William Jones Cup. Billiards: Arthur Walker Trophy, Thomas Cup. Boat Rowing: American Cup (Yacht racing), Wellington Trophy (India). Boxing: Aspy Adjahia Trophy, federation Cup, Val iBaker Trophy. Bridge: Basalat Jha Trophy, Holkar Trophy, Ruia Gold Cup, Singhania Trophy. Chess: Naidu Trophy, Khaitan Trophy, Limca Trophy, Linares City Trophy, World Cup. Cricket: Anthony D'Mellow Trophy, Ashes, Asia Cup, Benson and Hedges Cup, Bose Trophy, Champions Trophy, Charminar Challenge Cup, C. K. Nayudu Trophy, Cooch-Behar Trophy, Deodhar Trophy, Duleep Trophy, Gavaskar-Border Trophy, Duleep Trophy, Gavaskar-Border Trophy, G. D. Birla Trophy, Gillette Cup, Ghulam Ahmad Trophy, hakumat Rai Trophy, ICC World Cup, Interface Cup, Irani Trophy, Jawaharlal Nehru Cup, Lombard World Challenge Cup, McDowells Challenge Cup, Merchant Trophy, Moin-ud-Dowla Cup, NatWest Trophy, Prudential Cup (World Cup), Rani Jhansi Trophy, Ranji Trophy, Rohinton Baria Trophy, Rothmans Cup, Sahara Cup, Sharjah

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Cup, Sheesh Mahal Trophy, Sheffield Shield, Singer Cup, Sir Frank Worrel Trophy, Texaco Cup, Titan Cup, Vijay Hazare Trophy, Vijay Merchant Trophy, Vizzy Trophy, Wisden Trophy, Wills Trophy, World Series Cup. Football: African Natons Cup, Airlines Cup, america Cup, Asia Cup, Asian Women's Cup, Bandodkar Trophy, B. C. Roy Trophy, Begum Hazrat Mahal Cup, Bicentennial Gold Cup, BILT Cup, Bordoloi Trophy, Colombo Cup, Confederations Cup, DCM Cup, Durand Cup, European Cup, FA Cup, Federation Cup, G. V. Raja Memorial Trophy, gold Cup, Governor's Cup, Greek Cup, Great Wall Cup, IFA Shield, Independence Day Cup, Indira Gandhi Trophy, Inter-Continental Cup, Jawaharlal Nehru Gold Cup, Jules Rimet Trophy, Kalinga Cup, Kings Cup, Kirin Cup, Lal Bahadur Shastri Trophy, McDowell Cup, Merdeka Cup, Nagjee Trophy, Naidunia Trophy, Nations Cup, NFL Trophy, Nehru Gold Cup, Nizam Gold Cup, Raghbir Singh Memorial Cup, Rajiv Gandhi Trophy, Rovers Cup, Sanjay Gold Cup, Santosh Trophy, Scissors Cup, Sir Ashutohs Mukherjee Trophy, Stafford Cup, Subroto Cup, Supercup Trophy, Todd Memorial Trophy, UEFA Cup, US Cup, Vittal Trophy, Winner's Cup, World Cup. Golf: Canada Cup, Eisenhower Trophy, Inter-Continental Cup, Maekyung LG Fashion Open Trophy, Muthiah Gold Cup, Nomura Trophy, Paralamdi Trophy, President's Trophy, Prince of Wales Cup, Ryder Cup, Solheim Cup, Topolino Trophy, Walker Cup, Waterford Crystal Trophy, World Cup. Hockey: Agha Khan Cup, Allwyn Asia Cup, Azlan Shah Cup, Beighton Cup, Bhim Sain Trophy, BMW Trophy, Bombay Gold Cup, Champions Trophy, Clarke Trophy, Dhyan Chand Trophy, Esanda Champions Cup, European Nations Cup, Gurmeet Trophy, Guru Nanak Cup, Gyanvati Devi Trophy, Indira Gandhi Gold Cup, Intercontinental Cup, Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan Cup, Kuppuswamy Naidu Cup, Lady Rattan Tata Cup (women), Lal Bahadur Shastri Cup, Maharaja Ranjit Singh Gold Cup, Modi Gold Cup, Murugappa Gold Cup, Nehru Trophy, Obaidullah Gold Cup, Prime Minister's Gold cup, Rangaswami Cup, Ranjit Singh Gold Cup, Rene Frank Trophy, Sanjay Gandhi Trophy, Scindia gold Cup, Shriram Trophy, Tunku Abdul Razak Cup, Wellington Cup, World Cup, Yadavindra Cup. Horse Racing: Beresford Cup, Blue Riband, Derby, Grand Natonal Cup.

Kabaddi: Federation Cup Kho-Kho: Federation Cup Netball: Anantrao Pawar Trophy. Polo: Ezar Cup, Gold Cup, King's Cup, President Cup, Prithi Singh Cup, Radha Mohan Cup, Winchester Cup. Rowing: Beefeather's Gin. Rugby Football: Bledisloe Cup; Calcutta Cup, Webb Ellis Trophy. Shootng: North Wales Cup, Welsh Grand Prix. Snooker: Team Tournament Asean Cup. Table Tennis: Asian Cup, Berna Bellack Cup, Corbillion Cup (women), Electra Gold Cup, Gasper-Giest Prize, Grand Prix, Jayalaxmi Cup (women), Kamala Ramanunjan Cup, Marcel Corbillon Cup, Pithapuram Cup (men), Swaythling Cup (men), Travancore Cup (women), U Thant Cup, World Cup. Tennis: Ambre Solaire Cup, A T&T Cup, Champions Cup, ATP President's Cup, Davis Cup, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Cup, Edgbaston Cup, Evert Cup, Federation Cup, Ghafar Cup, Grand Prix, Grand Slam Cup, Nations' Cup, Watson's Water Trophy, Wightman Cup, Wimbledon Trophy, World Cup, World Team Cup. Volleyball: Centennial Cup, Federation Cup, Indira Pradhan Trophy, Shivanthi Gold Cup, World Cup, World League Cup. Weightlifting: World Cup. Wrestling: Bharat Kesari, Burdwan Shield, World Cup. Yachting: America Cup

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SUMMITS / CONFERENCES
India-EU Summit

the leaders said, would help mitigate the risk of excessive volatility in capital flows facing some emerging market economies.

ASEAN-India Summit
The 8th ASEAN-India Summit was held at Hanoi, Vietnam on October 30, 2010. Addressing the heads of the state of ASEAN countries, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the conclusion of a services and investment agreement between India and ASEAN would be an important step in our goal of comprehensive economic cooperation. With an aim to play a more significant role in the growing economies of the region, India has been pushing its case for having a bilateral pact in services and investment at the earliest. Through this pact, India wants to get a foothold in all ASEAN countries for its growing pharmaceutical industry, besides allowing ease in visa regimes for its IT professionals, healthcare workers and teachers in Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand (ASEAN nations). With an agreement in place for free trade in services and investment, India can offer a bigger share of the pie to these countries in its infrastructure sector that is poised for a major growth.

India and the European Union will sign their much-delayed free-trade pact on goods, services and investment by early next year, with the respective chief negotiators meeting every month to fast-track the process. European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced their intention to wrap up the talks next year, during the ongoing India-EU Summit in Brussels on December 10. "Let us sign the deal in 2011," Barroso said after the meeting. Ministers from both sides will meet in March to finalise the agreement which would be signed by spring, according to a joint report tabled at the summit. The 27-member grouping is India's largest trading partner, with bilateral trade touching $75 billion in 2009-10. The pact is expected to increase two-way trade by 30%. India has so far signed bilateral free-trade agreements with Singapore, South Korea, the 10-member Asean and Sri Lanka. Two more with Japan and Malaysia have almost been finalised.

UN Climate Summit
The UN climate conference at Cancun reached a compromise to set up a 100 billion Dollar Green Fund to fight global warming. The fund is intended to assist poorer nations with low carbon development and protective measures against the effects of global warming. Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said, the major emerging economies -- Brazil, South Africa, India and China - BASIC have welcomed the decision. He said they are very happy with the text and Cancun represents an important step forward. He said that many of India's contributions have been incorporated in the text. The minister pointed out that under the current text, developed countries are subject to stricter scrutiny on their mitigation cuts than developing countries. He also highlighted that no peaking year for carbon emissions has been mentioned in the draft nor a global emission reduction goal set for 2050. Everyone, however, appreciated the efforts of Mexican Foreign Secretary Patricia Espinosa, who worked for two weeks to ensure transparency in the process and help countries work through their differences.

First DRR Industry Meet 2010

The Directorate of Rice Research (DRR) has organized the First DRR Industry Meet -2010 on Display of DRR technologies and Services at its Premises in Rajendranagar. Representatives from more than 30 Private Companies have participated in the meet.

G-20 Summit
The Seoul Action Plan, agreed at the end of the two-day Summit of the G-20 leaders, called for moving towards more marketdetermined exchange rates. An undervalued Yuan or a weak Dollar also has ramifications for India and several other countries in terms of their exports becoming uncompetitive. The G-20 group includes India, the US, China, Germany, France, Brazil, Russia and Japan. In the face of a currency war between the US and China, global leaders, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, agreed to refrain from competitive devaluation and bring in exchange rate flexibility to ensure that no country gets undue advantage. These measures,

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3rd National seminar on AIDS

3rd National seminar on AIDS was started at Hyderabad October 29, 2010. National Aids control board conducted this seminar.

ASEAN Summit
The 17th ASEAN Summit was held in Hanoi, Vietnam, on October 28-30, 2010. The meeting was considered a success, with all members agreeing to cooperate with one another in solving the regions economic downturn. The 17th ASEAN Summit focused on the contents of building the community and implementing the ASEAN Charter, external relations and key role of the body, sustainable development and coping with global challenges.

deliberate on various issues related to sports and law in India. Among other things, the conference discussed the Right to Information (RTI) and accountability of sports federations, and legalities involved in staging major sports events like the Olympics, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games. It also discussed gender discrimination in sports, intellectual property rights, importance of transparency in corporate structure of professional sports leagues, future of IPL, besides public relation opportunities and challenges which are concomitant with it, issues relating to infrastructure in developing and maintaining stadiums, training facilities etc.

Microfinance India Summit

7th Annual Microfinance India Summit held in New Delhi discussed the need for reforms in microfinance industry. Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, Dr. C. Rangarajan called for reforms in MFI business.

International Tiger Forum

On November 21, 2010, Russia called for global efforts to avert extinction of tigers as wildlife activists and officials from 13 countries, including India, gathered at a summit in St Petersburg to discuss ways to double the population of the endangered animal from the existing 3,200. Due to decades of poaching and habitat destruction, there are currently only 3,200 tigers living in the wild, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), as against 1 lakh a century ago. Three sub-species have already disappeared and none of the other six are secure, said the declaration that was adopted by the heads of government at the summit. Russia is the only country to have seen its tiger population increase in the past years, from 80-100 in the 1960s to around 500 now, and experts have hailed animal lover Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin for taking an active role in saving the tiger. Along with Russia and India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand and Vietnamhome to wild tigers took part in the summit. Simultaneously, a Youth Tiger Summit opened in Vladivostok on Russias Pacific coast, which adopted an appeal to the leaders of their countries to take active steps in tiger conservation.

Third summit on Global Agenda

The third summit on Global Agenda was held in Dubai in November 2010. The summit gave an opportunity to social, political and business leaders across the world to benchmark key developmental issues against global realities.

16th UN Climate Change Conference

The 16th United Nations Climate Change Conference took place in Cancun, Mexico, from November 29, 2010. India was among the 190 UN members who took part in the 12-day event.

International Renewable Energy Conference

The International Renewable Energy Conference was held in New Delhi in October 2010.

Indias first sports law conference

The Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF) organised the first ever Sports Law Conference in New Delhi, on July 24-25, 2010, to

UN Summit
The UN Summit on the Millennium Development Goals, or MDGs, was held in September 2010 at UN Headquarters in New York, USA.

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Mid-East Summit
US President Barack Obama waded into a new round of Middle East diplomacy September 1, 2010, seeking momentum for revived peace talks clouded by a flare-up of West Bank violence and a deadlock over Jewish settlements. Obama met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he launched a series of one-on-one meetings with Middle East leaders attending a US-led peace summit that culminated with the first direct Israeli-Palestinian talks in 20 months. With Obama's peace bid facing broad skepticism and the clock ticking toward the September 26, 2010 expiration of an Israeli settlement construction freeze, Israel's defence minister sounded a conciliatory note about the prospects for sharing Jerusalem, an issue at the heart of the decades-old conflict. But big obstacles remain to Obama's quest for a peace deal that eluded so many of his predecessors. Hamas militants declared war on the talks even before they began, killing four Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank, vowing more attacks and underscoring the threat hard-liners pose to the fragile peace process. The summit marked Obama's riskiest plunge into Middle East diplomacy, not least because he wants the two sides to forge a deal within 12 months, a target many analysts call a long shot.

signing an agreement on trade in services and expressing their firm resolve to stamp out terrorism from the region. The next summit would be held in the Maldives in 2011. Facing criticism for the slow pace of development in the region, the SAARC leaders reiterated their commitment to implement the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) in letter and spirit to boost intra-regional economic cooperation for the prosperity of their people. The closing ceremony of the summit was attended by leaders from all the eight SAARC countriesIndia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Representatives of nine observer countriesMauritius, South Korea, China, Japan, Iran, the US, the EU, Australia and Myanmarwere also present. The sevenpage Thimphu Silver Jubilee Declaration-Towards a Green and Happy South Asia emphasised the importance of reducing dependence on high-carbon technologies for economic growth and hoped promotion of climate resilience will promote both development and poverty eradication in a sustainable manner.

IBSA Summit
The 2nd India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Summit was held in Brasilia on April 15, 2010. Speaking at the Summit, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the grouping of leading developing economies must speak against the protectionist policies, which are only short-sighted and self-defeating in the long run. IBSA can contribute to the shaping of the global agenda and highlighting the issues of concern to developing countries.

Summit between India-Pak Prime Ministers

On April 29, 2010, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousaf Raza Gilani held their first bilateral meeting in nine months to end the diplomatic stalemate in ties between their two nations since the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. At their hour-long meeting, described as an exercise in soul searching by Indian officials, the two leaders decided to upgrade the bilateral dialogue to the political level, something which Islamabad had been insisting upon for months.

Nuclear Security Summit

World leaders, including Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, attending the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington D.C., on April 12, 2010, set a stiff four-year target to secure all vulnerable nuclear material in the world to prevent terrorists from laying their hands on any of them. In a communiqu issued at the end of the summit, the leaders emphatically stated: Nuclear terrorism is one of the most challenging threats to international security and agreed that strong nuclear security measures are the most effective means to prevent terrorists, criminals or other unauthorised actors from acquiring nuclear material. Another summit would be held in 2012 in South Korea to review the progress.

16th SAARC Summit

The 16th SAARC summit began at Thimpu, Bhutan, on April 28, 2010, with Indias Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and leaders of seven other member nations pledging to combat extremism and terrorism, launch joint initiatives to deal with climate change and boost intra-regional trade. The Summit ended on April 29, 2010, with leaders adopting the Thimphu statement on climate change,

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Asian Forum
Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD) hosted a conference in Manila, Philippines, in March 2010, on indigenous peoples, climate change and rural poverty.

things, the Speakers role as a mediator and administrator of Parliament and use of technology in disseminating information on Parliamentary proceedings.

Partnership Summit 2010

The 16th Edition of the Partnership Summit 2010 was held in Chennai, organised by the confederation of Indian Industry.

Fifth global steel summit

The fifth global steel summit was held in Goa in February 2010 to serve as a forum to strengthen ties between steel makers and miners.

Environment Ministers meeting

The Environment Ministers meeting of the BASIC Countries (Brazil, South Africa, India and China) was held in New Delhi.

International Congress of Mathematicians

President Pratibha Patil inaugurated the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM 2010) at HICC, Hyderabad. For the first time ever, the Union's General Assembly has elected Ingrid Daubechies of the U.S., a woman as its president for the 2011-14 terms.

Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure

The Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure (CCI) approved the establishment of National Knowledge Network (NKN), which seeks to inter-connect all knowledge institutions in the country through high speed data communication network, at an outlay of Rs 5,990 crore to be implemented by NIC over a period of 10 years.

Pravas Bharatiya Divas

President Pratibha Patil delivering the valedictory address at the Pravasi Bhartiya Diwas (Jan, 9) on the day Mahatma Gandhi returned to India in 1915, pointed out that: Overseas Indian's estimated at over 250 lakhs had come to be recognised as the "Knowledge Diaspora". India's remittances from Overseas Indians estimated at over $ 50 billion last year are the highest in the world.Of these about $ 20 billion comes from Overseas Indian workers in the Gulf consisting of temporary contracted skilled and semi-skilled workers.

World Telecom Development Conference

ITU's fifth World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC-10), will take place in Hyderabad, India from 24 May to 4 June 2010 (consultation of Member States is underway) with participants to include government delegates, Ministers, Ambassadors and representatives from the private sector, as well as regional and international organizations. It will be an opportunity to review the programmes and activities of ITU-D as well as to set the agenda for the following four-year cycle.

20th Commonwealth Speakers Conference

The 20th Commonwealth Speakers Conference was held in New Delhi from January 5, 2010. It was inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Describing the growth of regional parties as a challenge for governance and conduct of parliamentary democracy, Mr Manmohan Singh said: Though the aspirations of smaller parties may often be anchored in narrow considerations, they carry great weight for their constituents. In the end, democracy must respond to everyday concerns of the common man and Parliament should be the forum to address such concerns. The remark was in obvious reference to the growing influence of subregional parties in coalition politics and Parliament. Presiding officers from 42 Commonwealth nations were present (some in traditional Speaker robes). The Conference discussed, among other

World Classical Tamil Conference

The first World Classical Tamil Conference was held in Coimbatore. President Pratibha Devisingh Patil presented the Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi Classical Tamil Award to Asko Parpola for his work on the Dravidian hypothesis in the interpretation of the Indus script.

Knowledge Millennium Summit

Eight Knowledge Millennium Summit 2010 - 2020: Decade of Innovations was held in New Delhi. Former President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and ASSOCHAM President, Swati Piramal addressed on the issues of food security, energy and water.

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COMMITTEES

Women's Leadership Summit 2010

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh along with Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar inaugurated the Women's Leadership Summit 2010 on Inclusive Growth and Empowering Women of Rural India in New Delhi.

Bimal Jalan committee

The Bimal Jalan committee was set-up to review the ownership and working of capital markets infrastructure institutions (MIIs). One major recommendation of the report is that only banks, insurance companies and domestic financial institutes with a net worth of Rs 1,000 crore be roped in as anchor investors.

National Innovation Council

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh agreed for the setting up of a National Innovation Council headed by Sam Pitroda, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Public Information Infrastructure and Innovations, to give shape to the Government's decision to observe the current decade (2010-2020) as the Decade of Innovation. The Council will have a mandate to evolve an Indian model of innovation that focuses on inclusive growth and creating an appropriate eco-system conducive to fostering inclusive innovation.

N.C. Saxena Committee

The N.C. Saxena Committee was set up by the Ministry of Environment and Forests. It details the manner in which laws were flagrantly flouted to facilitate the Vedanta Alumina Ltd project in Orissa. The project is aggressively opposed by the local tribal groups.

Pharmacopoeia Commission
The government decided to set up a Pharmacopoeia Commission in Ghaziabad at a cost of Rs. 14.08 crore for developing indigenous medicines with the aim of raising the country's share in the $62-billion global herbal drug market.

Parliamentary Inquiry Committee

Parliamentary Inquiry Committee headed by Justice B Sudershan Reddy holds Justice Soumitra Sen guilty of misconduct and misappropriation of funds.

Equal Opportunities Commission

The Minority Affairs Ministry has finalised the contours of the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) being planned by the government to address the inequalities that persist even 60 years after Independence and evolve/evaluate mechanisms for affirmative action. An expert group was set up last year under the chairmanship of N. R. Madhava Menon to determine the structure and functions of the Commission. Besides the chairman, it will have six members, two of them full-time. The members two have to be women will be selected by a three member committee headed by the Prime Minister and comprising the Minister for Minority Affairs and the Leader of the Opposition. Unlike most other commissions, the EOC will have a five-year term. Its jurisdiction will extend to all deprived groups, which have been denied or which claim to have been denied equal opportunities by the government or private institutions particularly in education and employment. Primarily, the task cut out for the EOC is to create indices for measuring inequality in different sectors of activity and among different sections; collect, evaluate and disseminate data; and intervene on behalf of deprived and discriminated

Justice Srikrishna committee

The Union government has set-up a five-member committee headed by Justice B.N. Srikrishna to look into the modalities of forming the separate State of Telangana. The committee has been given time till December 31, 2010 to consult all sections of the society and submit report.

Three member committee

Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari Constituted a three member committee headed by supreme court judge V.S. Sirpurkar, that will investigate the grounds for impeachment of karnataka chief - Justice P.D.Dinakaran whose removal from office has been sought jointly by 75 Opposition members in the Rajya Sabha on corruption and land - grabbing charges. Justice A.R.Dave, cheif Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High court and eminent Jurist P.P.Rao are the other members of the panel.

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groups. The experts found that the EOCs were becoming a norm in leading democracies with social and cultural diversities. The group found the South African and British models of particular value.

SCHEMES

Justice V. Bhaskara Rao commission

The inquiry commission headed by Justice V Bhaskara Rao on police firing on protesters after Macca Masjid blast in Hyderabad submitted his report to the Government of Andhra Pradesh. The Committee was constituted in June 2007 to submit the report in 3 months.

Swavalamban Scheme
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee launched the Swavalamban Scheme of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) on September 25, 2010. The scheme seeks to provide pension scheme to the un-organised sector. Under the scheme, the Central government will contribute Rs 1,000 per year to each National Pension Scheme (NPS) account opened in year 2010-11 and for the next three years, till 2013-14.

UN General Assembly Committee

United Nations General Assembly Committee issued resolution for a moratorium on death penalty. A total of 107 countries supported moratorium, along with India 37 other countries opposed and 36 countries abstained.

Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna

The Union Cabinet has approved a proposal of the Labour Ministry to amend the Employees State Insurance Act, 1948, to provide medical facilities to unorganised workers in ESIC hospitals and recognised private hospitals under the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna (RSBY), a cashless health insurance scheme.

Takeover Regulations Advisory Committee

The Takeover Regulations Advisory Committee under the chairmanship of C. Achuthan, in its 139-page report to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), has proposed sweeping changes on critical issues, including the open offer trigger, offer size, indirect acquisitions, exemptions from open offer obligations, calculating the offer price and competing offers. This comes nearly 16 years after the guidelines were formally notified for the first time and after 23 amendments to the last major review in 1997. The takeover panel, formed by SEBI in September 2009, has recommended an increase in the open offer trigger from 15 per cent to 25 per cent. Further, the open offer has to be made for all the shares of the target company, instead of the current practice of an offer for acquiring an additional 20 per cent. Analysts said the proposed rules would raise the financing required for taking over a firm, but would encourage investors taking strategic stakes in companies.

Rajiv Awas Yojana

The Union government has set up an independent eight member expert committee under the chairmanship of Deepak Parekh to review the draft guidelines of Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY), a housing scheme for slum dwellers and urban poor.

Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Adolescent Girls

Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls, called SABLA, aims to empower adolescent girls between ages 11 to 18 years by providing them nutrition, Iron and Folic Acid (IFA) supplementation, health check-up, nutrition and health education, counselling/guidance on family welfare, vocational training etc. was launched by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram as a pilot project for implementation in 200 districts.

India-Iran joint commission

In their first interaction after the UN imposed the fourth round of sanctions on Tehran in June 2010 over its controversial nuclear programme, India and Iran, on July 8, 2010, signed six pacts, including one on cooperation in new and renewable energy and another on increasing the number of flights between the two countries. The MOUs were signed at the end of the two-day meeting of the India-Iran joint commission.

People's welfare programme

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mayawati launches people's welfare programme called "Uttar Pradesh Mukhyamantri Mahamaya Garib Arthik Madad Yojna" to disburse Rs.300 per month to the eligible poor in the State.

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VISITS / TOURS

Visit of Russia President Medvedev

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev official two-day visit to India during which he will discuss trade, economic, energy and cultural cooperation as well as international issues. Medvedev is likely to secure a long-awaited contract with India on jointly developing 250-300 fifth generation fighter aircraft over 10 years. The contract amount is unknown, but unofficially said to be around $35 billion. He may have a tough task convincing India to strike more arms deals following delays to the delivery of some Russian projects, including the Admiral Gorshkov heavy aircraft carrying cruiser. Moscow-based defence analysts Cast say Russia has nearly tripled the price, and delayed delivery of the cruiser by four years, since signing the original contract in 2004. Up for negotiation during Medvedev's visit will be a deal for a third site for a Russian-built nuclear power plant. "Energy is one area where Russia will be the most important partner for India both in terms of conventional and non conventional energy.... Russians are one of our main suppliers of nuclear power plants," said Lalit Mansingh, former Indian foreign secretary. Russia is keen to continue supplying technology and expertise to energy-hungry India as it plans to add 63,000 MW of nuclear power by 2032 to support its economic growth. Behind the rhetoric of expanding ties with its fellow BRIC economy -- the term used to group emerging powers Brazil, Russia, India and China -- bilateral trade is eclipsed by Russia's booming economic ties with the European Union and China. The Kremlin said trade with India will total $10 billion this year, while official statistics show Russia's trade with the European Union stood at $246 billion in the first 10 months of 2010, and trade with China was $47.5 billion in the same period. India and Russia hope to boost bilateral trade to $20 billion within five years.

talks with Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and will call on Smt. Pratibha Patil, President of India. Leaders of the two countries had an in-depth exchange of views on bilateral relations and regional and international issues of mutual interest in a sincere and friendly atmosphere and reached broad consensus. The two sides agreed that as the two largest developing countries in the world, India and China shoulder important and historical responsibilities of ensuring their comprehensive and sustainable economic and social development. They also make a vital contribution to advancing peace and development in Asia and in the world at large. India-China relations go beyond their bilateral scope and have acquired global and strategic significance. The two sides welcome each other's peaceful development and regard it as a mutually reinforcing process. They believe that their growing relationship offers increasing opportunities to advance their cooperation. There is enough space in the world for the development of both India and China and indeed, enough areas for India and China to cooperate. The two sides reviewed with satisfaction the comprehensive and rapid progress of India-China relations in the last ten years, and reaffirmed their commitment to abiding by the basic principles and consensus concerning the development of India-China relations set out in the Declaration of Principles for Relations and Comprehensive Cooperation between India and China in 2003, the Joint Statement of India and China in 2005, the India-China Joint Declaration of 2006 and A Shared Vision for the 21st Century of India and China of 2008. The two sides decided to enhance strategic communication, advance functional cooperation, broaden cultural exchanges, and deepen and enrich the India-China Strategic and Cooperative Partnership for Peace and Prosperity on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence, mutual respect and sensitivity for each other's concerns and aspirations.

Visit of France President Sarkozy

France signed a 9.3-billion-dollar framework agreement to sell two nuclear reactors to India during a trade-centred visit by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to New Delhi. India inked the deal with France's state-run nuclear group Areva for the purchase of two reactors for a new plant in Jaitapur in the western state of Maharashtra. "Negotiations (with Areva) have reached an advanced stage to pave the way for the launching of nuclear power reactors in

Visit of China PM Wen Jiabao

At the invitation of Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of the Republic of India, Mr Wen Jiabao, Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, is on a State visit to the Republic of India from 15 to 17 December 2010. Premier Wen Jiabao held

Jaitapur in partnership with Indian industry," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told a joint press conference. The deal is short of a final sale contract, but it means Areva has moved ahead of US and Japanese competitors in the race to sell reactors to India, which aims to tap atomic power for a quarter of its electricity demands by 2050. Deals totalling 15 billion euros (20 billion dollars) have been signed or are about to be signed with Indian companies, Sarkozy's office said, including a leasing agreement for 14 Airbus planes and the modernisation of 51 French-made Mirage fighter jets. Sarkozy came with a delegation of six ministers and around 70 chief executives, including the bosses of aircraft and defence groups Dassault Aviation, aircraft maker EADS, and Areva. The nuclear group hopes to supply six reactors in total for the Maharashtra nuclear plant. The first two are worth 7.0 billion euros, according to the French presidency.

Her visit assumed special significance since this was the first ever visit of by an Indian President to Syria. Several Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs), including those on cultural exchange, were signed during the visit. Her talks with President al-Assad gave a new momentum to the bilateral relations in all fields, particularly on expanding economic and commercial cooperation. The Presidents visit was aimed to bolster a political dialogue between the two countries and discussions were held on bilateral, regional and international issues, including West Asia peace process. Syria has already backed Indias demand for a permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council and has always tried to act as a moderator for toning down Pakistani rhetoric in the meetings of Organisation of Islamic Countries.

President Pratibha visit to Laos

India will provide the Lao Peoples Democra6c Republic the first tranche worth $72.55million for two power projects as part of a package of monetary and technical assistance in areas ranging from power and irriga6on to culture. The agreements commi7ed to cover several areas. In the field of culture, a cultural exchange programme has been signed for 2011-2013, the centre piece of which is a project for the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) assistance in the restora6on of the 6th century temple complex of Vat Phou in the province of Champassak.

President Patil Visit to Abu Dhabi

Indian President Pratibha Patil made a goodwill visit to Abu Bhabi and Dubai in November 2010. Indias economic aspirations and strong growth make it an ideal destination for foreign investment, President Pratibha Patil told members of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce. All religions of the world unite was the Presidents second message in Abu Dhabi. At an interaction with students of Indian schools from the UAE at the Abu Dhabi Indian School, the President advised them to build friendships and develop the ability to work constructively as a team. She opined that education was not merely necessary to secure a job but an investment into the future and a way to imbibe the concepts of peace, harmony and tolerance. Inaugurating the Indian Islamic Centre, the President said that it was a tribute to the collective efforts of the Indian Diaspora and would serve as a cultural bridge between India and the UAE. The President arrived in Dubai to a grand reception given by the Indian community. She also launched a long-awaited 24-hour helpline for distressed Indian workers facing problems with their employers or contracts.

Visit of President Obama

US President Barack Obama reached India for a three-day

President Patils visit to Syria

Indian President Pratibha Devisingh Patil arrived on November 26, 2001, on a four-day state visit to the Syrian Arab Republic.

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FINANCE & ECONOMY CAPSULE

India's per capita income

it, Indias obsession with tobacco continues despite laws to tell the users of its lethal consequences. Though 64 per cent of all adults believe tobacco leads to heart attacks, 35 per cent (one-third) continue to consume tobacco in some form or the other.

India's per capita income grew by 10.5 per cent to Rs 44,345 in 2009-10 against Rs 40,141 in the year-ago period, according to government data. The World Bank, however, pegs India's per capita income at a much higher $1,180 per year. India ranks a poor 161st in the world in terms of per capita incomes. The per capita income was slightly higher than Rs 43,749 as calculated by the Central Statistical Organisation in its advance estimates for FY10. However, per capita income grew by 5.6 per cent last fiscal if it is calculated on the basis of 2004-05 prices, which is a better way of comparison and broadly factors inflation. Per capita income (at 2004-05 prices) stood at Rs 33,588 in FY10 against Rs 31,821 in the previous year, according to estimates of national income. Per capital income means income of each Indian if national income is evenly divided among the country's population of 117 crore (Rs 1.17 billion).

RBI raised the repo rate

The Reserve Bank of India raised the repo rate (at which banks borrow from RBI) to 6.25% and reverse repo rate (the rate of interest that banks get with their surplus money being parked with central bank) to 5.25% to control the high inflation in the country.

New WPI series in place

Inflation for the month of August stood at 8.51 per cent, according to the new Wholesale Price Inflation (WPI) series released by the government 2010, 14th September. As per the old series with a base year of 1993-94, WPI inflation stood at 9.5 per cent for the month, according to the Commerce Ministry. Overall inflation in August witnessed a fall of 1.27 percentage points from 9.78 per cent in the month of July, as per the new series, which considers 2004-05 as the base year. As per the new WPI index, inflation was 0.31 per cent in August last year. It (the new index) will help in informing both the government and people how the prices are moving. This will give a robust picture and reflect actual price movement, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma told reporters in New Delhi. Consumer items widely used by the middle class, like ice-cream, mineral water, microwave ovens, washing machines, gold and silver are reflected in the new series of WPI inflation. The new WPI series has 241 more items than the old index. With the additional items, the WPI now measures a total of 676 items against 435 earlier.

Mumbai gets world's largest diamond bourse

The Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB), the world's largest, was inaugurated at Mumbai on 17th October by Union Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma. As on 17th October, in 2009-2010, the export of diamonds in this industry from Mumbai is Rs. 61,000 crore and I am hopeful that within a year, this bourse will achieve a turnover of over Rs. 1,00,000 crore. The BDB has been set up to establish infrastructure for promotion of diamond export, including jewellery, and provide all support and service facilities to eventually make India an international trading centre for gems and jewellery. Spread over a 20-acre plot, the complex is designed to house around 2,500 small and large diamond traders in addition to a Custom House, banks and other service providers who will cater for the gem and jewellery trade.

New Direct Tax Code (DTC) 2011 Bill

The New Direct Tax Code (DTC) 2011 Bill or Direct Tax Code India 2011 draft or Direct Tax Code Highlights has been released by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee which would replace current Income Tax structure from 2011- 12. This New Direct Tax Code (DTC) 2011 Bill or Direct Tax Code India 2011 draft will be applicable from Financial Year 2011-12 starting from 1st Day of April 2011 and Direct Tax Code Highlights has been declared. The new Direct Tax Code (DTC) bring relief to the taxpayers, as the tax slabs have been sim-

Tobacco India Report

Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) for India, 2009-10, conducted on 99.9 per cent of Indias population in 29 States, UTs of Chandigarh and Puducherry has submitted its report. According to

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plified further which was approved by Cabinet yesturday on August 26, 2010. The taxpayers can now get more benefits.
Key Features of New Direct Tax Code (DTC) 2011 Bill:

Tax Exemptions for Salaried People Rs 2 lakh Tax Exemption for Senior Citizens Rs 2.5 lakh Tax for Income between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 5 lakh 10% Tax for Income between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 10 lakh 20% Tax for Income over Rs 10 lakh 30% Rs 1.5 lakh Tax Incentives on Housing Loans will continue The DTC provides for MAT of 20 per cent of book profits of companies The original draft had promised a whole new paradigm in direct taxation, drastically lowering the tax burden while also doing away with most exemptions. A revised draft released in June this year brought back some of the exemptions like the one available for interest on housing loans that the first draft had proposed to get rid of. The speculation that this might force the finance ministry to make the revision of tax slabs also less ambitious to avoid giving away too much revenue has now proved well-founded. Under the original proposal, the 10% slab would have extended up to Rs 10 lakh and the 20% slab up to Rs 25 lakh, meaning that the 30% rate would have applied only to incomes of over Rs 25 lakh per annum. On the plus side for individual taxpayers, withdrawal from provident funds will not be taxed as the original DTC had proposed to do. Also deductions from taxable income will be available for interest on housing loans up to Rs 1.5 lakh per annum and on payments into PF and similar superannuation schemes up to Rs 1 lakh. Also available will be a deduction of up to Rs 50,000 for life insurance and health insurance premiums or tuition fees.

nine per cent growth trend is maintained, India would become USD two trillion economy in 2013-14 fiscal. In the assessment, the PMEAC, headed by noted economist C Rangarajan, said that it is imperative for India to preserve conditions that will enable it to return to the 9 per cent growth trajectory. After slowing down to 6.7 per cent in 2008-09 and 7.4 per cent in 2009-10, the Indian economy is projected to expand at 8.5 per cent this fiscal and by nine per cent in 2011-12. In the first two months of current fiscal, the industrial production recorded an annual growth of 14 per cent. The lead indicators of service sector also suggest increased economic activity, Reserve Bank Governor D Subbarao said in the first quarter credit policy review. If the tax reforms are implemented as planned from next fiscal, the economy would get further push. The gain from GST will propel the country from one-trillion dollar economy to two trilliondollar economy in a short span of time,. Before the global economic slowdown since 2008, the Indian economy grew by over nine per cent for three years in a row from 2005-06 to 2007-08 and expansion was maintained by industry and services sectors.

India is largest recipient of World Bank loans

India remained the largest recipient of World Bank loans in 2009-10. The World Bank, through its lending arms IBRD and IDA, committed $9.3 billion in financial assistance to India in 2009-10, more than the aid committed by the US and European Union. Next in line were South Africa ($3.8 billion), Brazil ($3.7 billion) and Turkey ($3.0 billion).

Rupee got Symbol

On July 14, 2010, the Union Cabinet approved a new symbol for the Indian Rupee an amalgam of the Devnagiri Ra and the Roman capital R, minus its stem. With the gaining of the symbol, the Indian rupee joins the elite club of US dollar, British pound, European euro and Japanese yen that currently have their own symbols. 31-year-old IIT-B postgraduate in industrial design, D. Udaya Kumar has designed the new symbol. All individuals and entities within and outside India would use the symbol after its incorporation in Unicode Standard, ISO/IEC 10646 and IS 13194. Encoding of

INDIA TO BECOME USD 2 TRILLION DOLLOR ECONOMY

The Indian economy would grow to USD 1.72 trillion in 201112, moving closer towards the USD 2 trillion mark, according to an assessment by the Prime Ministers Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC). The countrys gross domestic product (GDP) at the market and current prices was measured at USD 1.31 trillion in 200910 and is estimated to be USD 1.52 trillion in the current fiscal. If the

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the symbol in the Indian Standards is estimated to take about six months while encoding in the Unicode and ISO/IEC 10646 will take about 18-24 months. It will be incorporated in software packages and keyboards in use in India. The symbol will standardise the expression for Indian Rupee in different languages, both within and outside the country. It would better distinguish the Indian currency from countries whose currencies are also designated as Rupee or Rupiah, such as Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

Nooyi came in at No 6, while Axis Bank CEO Shikha Sharma and ICICI Bank Managing Director & CEO Chanda Kochhar were ranked 89th and 92nd, respectively. Surprisingly missing from 2010 list is Congress President Sonia Gandhi. She came in at No 13 in 2009.

Unique Identification Authority of India

The Union Cabinet has cleared a new law providing for strict penal action and hefty fines going up to Rs 1 crore to guard against misuse of data collected for allotment of a Unique Identity Card or a Aadhar number to Indian citizens. The proposed legislation, titled the National Identification Authority of India Act, seeks to give statutory powers to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UDAI), created as an attached office under the Planning Commission. The decision to enact a legislation was taken after fears were expressed over the privacy and security of data collected by the UDAI. In addition, several civil rights groups had also pointed out that actions of the UDAI could well be questioned in the absence of a legal framework. This scheme of providing unique identity number to the citizens of the country took off on September 29 when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh presented the first such number at a function in the tribal district of Nandurbar in Maharashtra.

BHEL-NTPS power plant

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh laid the foundation stone for the much-awaited Rs 6,000 crore BHEL-NTPS power plant manufacturing project at Mannavaram, near Tirupati. Once completed by the year 2014-15, the BHEL-NTPC joint venture project will manufacture power plant equipment and would have capabilities to produce equipment required for generation of 5,000 mw power annually.

SBI Amendment Bill

The parliament passed the State Bank of India (Amendment) Bill providing for reduction of government equity to 51 per cent from a minimum of 55 per cent. With the passing of this Bill, the State Bank of India will raise fresh funds from the capital market.

RBIs mid-term review

The RBI, in its first mid-quarter review of its monetary policy, increased repo and reverse repo rates leaving the cash reserve ratio (CRR) unchanged as it battles to contain inflation. The central bank noted that food inflation has risen to 15.10 per cent for the week ending September 4, thus making it necessary to rein in liquidity. As a result, RBI raised short-term borrowing rate (reverse repo) by 0.50 percentage points to 5 per cent and lending rate (repo) by 0.25 percentage points to 6 per cent. The increased rates aim to make financing costly thus curbing consumption. However, the RBI said that inflation rates have reached a plateau. The apex bank also signalled banks to raise fixed deposit rates and also noted that the government was on target to contain the fiscal deficit.

first global chopper company

Eurocopter, a company owned by European consortium, European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. NV (EADS), has become the first global chopper company to open an office in India.

SEBI raised application Limit

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has raised the application limit for retail investors to Rs 2 lakh, from Rs one lakh.

Forbes most powerful women

Three Indian women all from the corporate sector find a spot on the Forbes list of 100 most powerful women in the world, topped by US First Lady Michelle Obama. Chennai-born PepsiCo CEO Indra

Best Business Schools Survey

The Business Standard Best Business Schools Survey 2010 shows that Indias top business schools are: Indian Institutes of

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Five sports academies to be set up; astroturf to be provided for development of hockey; employment opportunities for sports persons. Railways to be lead partner for Commonwealth Games.

Economic Survey 2010

Economy likely to grow by up to 8.75 per cent in 2010-11. Full recovery; return to 9 per cent growth in 2011-12. Broad recovery gives scope for gradual stimulus roll back. High double-digit food inflation in 2009-10 major concern. Signs of food inflation spreading to other sectors. Farm & allied sector production falls 0.2% in 2009-10. Need serious policy initiatives for 4% agriculture growth. Moots direct food subsidy via food coupons to households. Favours making available food in open market. Favours monthly ration coupons usable anywhere for poor. Gross fiscal deficit pegged at 6.5 pc of GDP in 2009-10. India 10th largest gold holding nation at 557.7 tonnes. Exports in April-December 2009 down 20.3 per cent. Imports in April-December 2009 down 23.6 per cent. Trade gap narrowed to USD 76.24 bn in April-December. 32.5% savings & 34.9% investment (of GDP in 2008-09) put India in league of world's fastest growing nations. Government initiates steps to boost private investment in agriculture. Wants credit available at reasonable rates on time for private sector to invest in agriculture. Slowdown in infrastructure that began in 2007, arrested. Domestic oil production to rise 11 per cent in 2009-10. Gas output up 52.8 per cent to 50.2 billion cubic meters with RIL starting production. India world's 2nd largest wireless network with 525.1 million mobile users. Virtually every second Indian has access to phone. Auction for 3G spectrum to provide existing and foreign players to bring in new technology and innovations.

13th Finance Commission

The Union government has accepted most of the recommendations of the Thirteenth Finance Commission headed

by former Finance Secretary Vijay Kelkar. The Commission has told governments at the Centre and States to set their fiscal house in order, even as it raised the share of taxes that the States would be entitled to receive over the next five years by 1.5 percentage points. In addition, the Commission, a Constitutional body that is appointed every five years to recommend a tax-sharing formula between the Centre and States, has suggested a roadmap for the introduction of a single-rate goods and services tax (GST), the key indirect tax reform to create a common market in India. Its stringent new roadmap for fiscal responsibility suggests, among other things, that the overall debt of the Centre and States be capped at 68 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) from the current 82 per cent, and 75 per cent recommended by the Twelfth Finance Commission. The Finance Commission has recommended that the Centre reduce debt to 45 per cent of GDP by March 2015, against 54.2 per cent at present. For States the reduction in debt is recommended at 2 percentage points to 25 per cent. The relatively less stringent condition for States comes with the rider that the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act allows the Centre to borrow on behalf of the States to help them counter macro-economic shocks. During the financial crisis, the Centre had relaxed the cap on the fiscal deficit. The Finance Commission has said the Centre should transfer 32 per cent of the taxes it collects to States, against 30.5 per cent at present. The overall ceiling including transfers to local bodies on transfers from the Centres gross revenue has been raised from 38 to 39.5 per cent. Among proposals that provide a thrust to fiscal federalism, the commission has recommended that local bodies receive up to 2.5 per cent of the divisible tax pool. Of this, up to 1 per cent can be incentive-linked. While there is more reason for the States to cheer since the commission proposes an increase in grants, much of it is tied to specific spending programmes such as those for elementary education and environment. There is, however, a performance incentive of Rs 1,500 crore for Assam, Sikkim and Uttarakhand and a grant of Rs 51,800 crore to meet the deficits of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and the north-eastern States (excluding Assam). Like its predecessor, the Thirteenth Finance Commission has recommended a debt relief scheme for the States. The first element is to cap the interest rate on a part of the loans from the

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National Small Savings Fund at 9 per cent from up to 10.5 per cent. This will translate into a benefit of Rs 28,360 crore to the States. In addition, there is a Rs 4,506 crore benefit with the government accepting the suggestion to write off central loans that are not administered by the finance ministry but were outstanding at the end of 2009-10. Including the higher grants-in-aid, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra would be the biggest beneficiaries in terms of share of transfers. Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir would be the top losers. The Finance Commission has projected that tax receipts would see a compounded annual growth rate of over 17 per cent between March 2010 and March 2015, while nominal GDP growth is estimated at 13.2 per cent. Prescribing a zero revenue deficit as the golden rule, the Commission has recommended that the endeavour for all States should be to reach that level by 2014-15.

China overtakes Japan as second-largest Economy

After three decades of spectacular growth, China has passed Japan in the second quarter of 2010 to become the worlds secondlargest economy behind the United States. The milestone, though anticipated for some time, is the most striking evidence yet that Chinas ascendancy is for real and that the rest of the world will have to reckon with a new economic superpower. The recognition came on August 16, 2010, when Tokyo said that Japans economy was valued at about $1.28 trillion in the second quarter, slightly below Chinas $1.33 trillion. Japans economy grew 0.4 percent in the quarter, substantially less than forecast. That weakness suggests that Chinas economy will race past Japans for the full year. Japan has had the worlds second-largest economy for much of the last four decades, according to the World Bank. And during the 1980s, there was even talk about Japans economy someday overtaking that of the United States. But, while Japans economy is mature and its population quickly aging, China is in the throes of urbanization and is far from developed, meaning it has a much lower standard of living, as well as a lot more room to grow. China is already a major driver of global growth. The countrys leaders have

grown more confident on the international stage and have begun to assert greater influence in Asia, Africa and Latin America, with things like special trade agreements and multi-billion dollar resource deals. Beijing is also beginning to shape global dialogues on a range of issues; for instance, in 2009 it asserted that the dollar must be phased out as the worlds primary reserve currency. While the United States and the European Union are struggling to grow in the wake of the worst economic crisis in decades, China has continued to climb up the economic league tables by investing heavily in infrastructure and backing a $586 billion stimulus plan. There are huge challenges ahead, though. Economists say that Chinas economy is too heavily dependent on exports and investment and that it needs to encourage greater domestic consumption something China has struggled to do. The countrys largely state-run banks have recently been criticized for lending far too aggressively in 2009, while shifting some loans off their balance sheet to disguise lending and evade rules meant to curtail lending growth. China is also locked in a fierce debate over its currency policy, with the United States, European Union and others accusing Beijing of keeping the Chinese currency, the renminbi, artificially low to bolster exports leading to huge trade surpluses for China but major bilateral trade deficits for the United States and the European Union. China says that its currency is not substantially undervalued and that it is moving ahead with currency reform.

Top 20 B-schools in the world

The Indian School of Business (ISB) is the only one from India to find a place on the list of top 20 B-schools in the world, published by the Financial Times. ISB has improved its position to bag the 12th spot on the list of top 100 B-Schools across the globe in 2010. The London School of Business topped the list, followed by the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Business School. Stanford University GSB and Insead have been ranked at the fourth and fifth positions, respectively.

Rural poor estimated at 42%

Agriculture sector in India continues to suffer, save for sharp growth in some years. The expert group to review the methodology for estimation of poverty, chaired by Suresh Tendulkar, has now suggested that the poverty ratio at the all India level was actually 37.2% in 2004-05. Rural poverty was projected at 41.8% and urban

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at 25.7% by the committee, as against official estimates of 28.3% and 25.7% for rural and urban population, respectively. In the past, the poverty line was defined in terms of per capita consumer expenditure at 1973-74 market prices and adjusted over time and across States for changes in prices keeping unchanged the original 1973-74 reference poverty line baskets of goods and services. The all-India rural and urban poverty line baskets were derived separately, assuming per capita daily calorie intake of 2,400 for rural people and 2,100 for urban population. The Tendulkar panel has made four major departures from the past practices. It moved away from the calorie intake criteria for determining poverty line. Instead, it tests for adequacy of actual food expenditure near the poverty line to ensure aggregate nutrition, rather than just calories.

applications, reaching 1000 MW by 2017 and 2000 MW by 2020; (b) to create favourable conditions for solar manufacturing capability for indigenous production and market leadership; (c) to achieve 15 million sq metres solar thermal collector area by 2017 and 20 million by 2022; (d) to deploy 20 million solar lighting systems for rural areas by 2022.

2010 Environmental Performance Index

India and China rank 123rd and 121st in pollution control, respectively, reflecting the strain rapid economic growth imposes on the environment, according to the 2010 Environmental Performance Index (EPI). Iceland leads the world in addressing pollution control and natural resource management challenges, according to the index produced by a team of environmental experts at Yale University and Columbia University. The EPI ranks 163 countries on their performance across 25 metrics aggregated into ten categories including environmental health, air quality, water resource management, biodiversity and habitat, forestry, fisheries, agriculture, and climate change. Occupying the bottom five positions are Togo, Angola, Mauritania, the Central African Republic, and Sierra Leonecountries that lack basic environmental amenities and policy capacity. The US ranks 61st, significantly behind other industrialised nations like Britain (14th), Germany (17th), and Japan (20th).

Nutrient-based subsidy policy

The Union government has approved the Nutrient Based Fertiliser Subsidy (NBS) plan with effect from April 1, 2010. This is likely to have positive sentimental impact on share prices of fertiliser companies. Under the new policy, the companies can fix retail fertiliser prices. However the urea prices will be increased by Rs 483 per tonne or 10 per cent. Fertilisers are sold at governmentfixed prices, which are lower than their costs of production or import. The difference is met through subsidy. The NBS does away with maximum retail price. It proposes to replace the current system of giving subsidy to the industry with direct assistance to farmers.

G-20 raises developing nations quota in IMF

The Group of 20 Finance leaders struck a landmark deal on October 22, 2010, to boost developing countries power in the International Monetary Fund, even as they failed to set targets for a wide-ranging global economic rebalancing. The IMF deal was hailed by fund MD Dominique Strauss-Kahn as a historical moment that will see Europeans give up two seats on its 24-strong board to powerful developing countries and transfer 6 percent of votes to them.

Solar Mission launched

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh launched Indias Solar Energy Mission (named Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission) on January 11, 2010. The main aim of the mission is to help generate 20,000 MW of solar power by 2022. The Prime Minister urged the industry to create Solar Valleys on the lines of Silicon Valleys and asked business houses to view the Solar Energy Mission as a business opportunity. He added that the success of the mission had the potential of transforming Indias energy prospects while contributing to national and global efforts to combat climate change. National Solar mission has been set-up to create an enabling policy framework for the deployment of 20,000 MW of solar power in 2020. The other objectives are: (a) Promote programmes for off-grid

India will spare no efforts to contribute to the success of post-Copenhagen process, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh declared on February 6, 2010, as he announced the launch of a National Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency, aimed at cutting carbon emissions by 99 million tonnes. Within the ambit of our National Action Plan on Climate Change, India has already unveiled one of the world's most ambitious plans for promoting solar energy, targeting an installed capacity of 20,000 MW by the year 2022. The initiativ ty of 20,000 MW by the year 2022. The tivitiv ty ofixvu 2qBTeeidiiaa3.58970 353.9312 Tm/TT8 1 Tf[( th,2W by Cf. Thoeu 6sJETQqBT0 g.00488Ce)]BTu roe2yp 22.ni8 1d]TJfdqBe 353004883 Tc.1386i,d2022. The
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India to launch mission to cut emissions

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

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with EADS-Astrium of Europe, was successfully launched November 27, 2010 at 00.09 hours Indian Standard Time (IST) by the European Ariane-5 V198 launch vehicle. The launch took place from the Guyana Space Centre at Kourou in French Guyana. Thirty-five minutes after its lift-off, HYLAS separated from Ariane-5 launch vehicle after reaching its intended Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). ISRO's Master Control Facility (MCF) at Hassan in Karnataka successfully received radio signals transmitted by HYLAS and the satellite's health is normal. HYLAS satellite developed for Avanti Communications, UK consists of ten high power transponders that use eight in Ka and two in Ku band frequencies. The satellite is designed to deliver high-speed broadband services through its spot beams over Europe. The satellite is expected to be operated from 33.5 deg. W longitude for European coverage.

that is sustained by high-energy particles slamming into the moons surface and kicking up atoms, molecules and ions. Astronomers have counted 62 moons orbiting Saturn. At 1500 km wide, Rhea is the second largest and is thought to be made almost entirely of ice.

Chinas second lunar mission probe successful

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao unveiled pictures of the Bay of Rainbows, marking the success of Chinas Change-2 lunar probe mission, official media said. The pictures were taken and sent back by Change-2, Chinas second lunar probe, which was launched on October 1. The lunar probe named after a Chinese mythical moon goddess, is currently orbiting 100 km above the moon taking pictures of its surface with a high resolution camera. Change-2, regarded as a trial run to land Change-3 in 2013, is aimed at testing necessary technologies and continuing to transfer data back to earth for further research before eventually landing on the moon as an experiment for future lunar probes. According to the new road map, China also plans to send a probe to Mars by 2013 and to Venus by 2015, besides setting up its own manned space station.

Thirty Meter Telescope Project

On June 25, 2010, India joined as an observer in the ambitious astronomical observatory, Thirty Metre Telescope (TMT), in Hawaii, which will help in unravelling mysteries of black hole, origin of galaxies and formation of planets among others. The status of an observer is first step by India in becoming a full partner in TMT, which will be fully operational in 2018 and will be worlds most advanced astronomical observatory. The telescope will have a 30metre segmented mirror which uses diffraction of light and focuses in much sharper way than smaller telescopes. Such a large size of aperture will help it collecting more light, thus generating much clearer and sharper images of fainter objects, which may not be possible by present day scopes. The images generated by the telescope will be 12 times sharper than the Hubble Space Telescope.

PSLV launches five satellites

On July 12, 2010, five satellites CARTOSAT, STUDSAT and three foreign satellites were launched by the ISRO-built Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). The three foreign satellites Algerian, Canadian and Swiss were launched as part of a commercial operation. Studsat weighs one kg and has been built by 35 students of seven engineering colleges of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. It has a camera that produces high-resolution data. Built at Rs 175 crore and weighing 694 kg, CARTOSAT-2B is an earth observation satellite in a sun-synchronous orbit. Its application will be towards cartography in India. It will generate pictures and data relevant for agriculture and rural development.

First Oxygen sampled outside Earth on Saturn

A spacecraft has tasted oxygen in the atmosphere of another world for the first time, while flying low over Saturns icy moon, Rhea. NASAs Cassini probe scooped oxygen from the thin atmosphere of the planets moon while passing overhead at an altitude of 97 km in March 2010. Until now, wisps of oxygen have only been detected on planets and their moons indirectly, using the Hubble space telescope and other major facilities. Instruments aboard Cassini revealed an extremely thin oxygen and carbon dioxide atmosphere

National Mission on Monsoon

The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) has proposed a National Mission on Monsoon towards developing reliable dynamic models for forecasting the monsoon over the next three to five-year period through a multi-institutional effort. The mission will include aspects of short (up to 3 days) and medium-range (up to a week) predictions as well.

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Space shuttle Atlantis lands for final time

On May 26, 2010, Atlantis and its six-man crew landed at Floridas Kennedy Space Center marking the end of Atlantis 25 years of service. Only two shuttle missions remain, by NASAs two other spaceships. The space agency would like Atlantis to return to the International Space Station in June 2011. But thats not in the cards unless the White House grants a reprieve. The space station construction mission boosted Atlantis mileage to just over 193 million km, accumulated over 32 flights. The shuttle and its astronauts left the outpost bigger and more powerful, adding a new compartment and fresh batteries.

first mission of the organisations Living with a Star Program or LWS one of the NASAs many missions to study the Sun and space environment.

Chandrayaan-I finds deepest crater on moon

Scientists have discovered moon's biggest and deepest crater, some 2,400 km-long and 9 km deep, using data from a NASA instrument that flew aboard India's maiden unmanned lunar mission Chandrayaan-I. The US space agency's Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) detected the enormous crater, the South Pole-Aitken basin, that was created when an asteroid smacked into moon's southern hemisphere shortly after the formation of earth's only natural satellite.

First solar powered spacecraft

Japanese scientists have developed a kite-shaped space yacht that uses only solar power for propulsion. The spacecraft IKAROS would be launched into the space for a six-month mission to Venus. It is the first spacecraft to use such technology. Its name is an acronym for Interplanetary Kite-craft Accelerated by Radiation of the Sun. It also alludes to the Greek mythic hero Icarus who flew too close to the Sun and fell into the sea. In space, the spacecrafts short cylindrical pod will be separated from the rocket spinning up to 20 times a minute. This will help it unfold its flexible 46-feet sail, which is thinner than a human hair. The square-shaped sail, equipped with thin-film solar cells, uses resistance created by the Suns energy in the same way as wind propels a yacht through water, thus providing the spacecraft with enough thrust to hover and rotate.

Chandrayaan-I finds ice on moon

The success story of Chandrayaan-I, the maiden Indian moon mission, turned a new chapter with the discovery of ice deposits on the moon by an American payload aboard the spacecraft. Analysis of data obtained by the Miniature Synthetic Aperture Radar (MiniSAR) aboard Chandrayaan-I spacecraft has provided evidence for the presence of ice deposits near the moons North Pole. The MiniSAR instrument found more than 40 small craters (two to 15 km in diameter) with sub-surface water ice located at their base.

10 Rohini series indigenous rockets

The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) launched a total of 10 Rohini series indigenous sounding rockets from the Thumba, Equatorial Rocket Launching Station and the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota to investigate the effects of the longest annular solar eclipse of this millennium.

NASAs Solar Mission releases pictures of Sun

US space agency NASA has released stunning solar images some of which highlight never-before-seen material streaming out of the Sun while others show extreme close-ups of activity on the Suns surface. These initial images show a dynamic Sun that I had never seen in more than 40 years of solar research, said Richard Fisher, director of the Heliophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The images were taken by Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO that was recently launched by NASA. It is the

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DEFENCE NEWS

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

The Defence Research and Development Oganisation (DRDO), has successfully flown the indigenously built Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), named Rustom. It is a medium altitude long endurance UAV, developed by the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), a lab of the DRDO. The ADE specialises in UAVs and flight control systems. The subsequent flights of the Rustom will test and demonstrate capabilities like controlling the UAV through GPS satellites. The Rustom has been designed for endurance of 12-15 hour, with a 25,000-ft altitude ceiling and 75 kg payload of cameras and sensors. The data link for this has been developed by DEAL, another DRDO laboratory; a private Indian company has built the airframe.

Chandipur off the Orissa coast. The Brahmos-II, a result of an IndoRussian joint venture, can be potentially used for surgical strikes, including at terror camps, without causing collateral damage. It can carry conventional warheads up to 300 kg and effectively engage ground targets from an altitude of just 10 metres. The missile can travel at three times the speed of sound.

IAF launches AFNET

The Indian Air Force, in a significant development, launched on September 14, 2010, its state-of-the-art digital information system that will provide real time data, voice and images to commanders on the ground, as well as to pilots in the air. It will connect all IAFs, fighters, choppers, transport planes, satellites and UAVs with ground and command stations which will in turn have the position of the ground-based air defence guns deployed at airbases. The new system will make the IAF network centric force. The Air Force Network (AFNET) has replaced the IAFs old communication network set-up using the tropo-scatter technology that was first devised in the 1950s.

INS Vagli
The last of India's Foxtrot-class submarines, INS Vagli retired after 36 years of service. The retirement of INS Vagli will leave only 14 more submarines for India now.

First flight of Tejas supersonic fighter plane

The dream of having a supersonic fighter jet of indigenous built came one step closer to realisation on June 2, 2010, when the Limited Series Production Tejas aircraft (LSP-4) took off from the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited airport, Bangaluru, for its first flight. Test pilot, Group Captain Suneet Krishna, flew the aircraft to an altitude of 11 kms and went supersonic, touching 1.1 Mach speed. A fighter plane flies in supersonic speed when it has already accomplished its mission and is being chased by enemy aircraft. For testing, there was a plane chasing the Tejas LSP-4 during its first test flight. The Tejas flew in the configuration that would be finally delivered to the Indian Air Force.

GE Engines for Tejas

GE Aviation of USA has bagged the contract for supplying engines for the Light Combat Aircraft MK-2 (LCA MK-2 or Tejas MK2). The aircraft is being developed by the DRDO with the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) being the implementing agency for the project. Installation of the new engine will pave the way for acquisition of the indigenous multi-role fighter jet by the IAF. The necessity for a new engine arose after the LCAs present engine, also supplied by GE (GE F404 IN20), failed to meet the IAF requirements. Installation of the new engine will necessitate major modifications to the LCA, especially the fuselage. The ADA expects the Tejas MK2 to fly in 2014.

Navy gets two Warships

Giving a boost to the Navys defence capabilities, two stateof-the-art high-speed warships, INS Cankarso and INS Kondul, were commissioned into the naval fleet on June 29, 2010. The indigenously-built ships use water jet propulsion technology and can achieve speeds in excess of 35 knots. Water jet technology has

BrahMos cruise missile

India test-fired the supersonic BrahMos cruise missile, which has a range of 290 kms, from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at

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rapidly gained acceptance as the leading means of propulsion for all types of high-speed marine craft, including ferries, work boats, patrol crafts and pleasure boats. The ships will be based in Goa and tasked with the role of detecting, locating and destroying small, fast-moving enemy surface craft engaged in covert operations. INS Cankarso and INS Kondul are fitted with 30-mm CRN-91 gun built by Ordnance Factory, Medak, and Igla missiles and set of machine guns ranging from light to heavy.

INS Shivalik
On April 29, 2010, India affected a generational shift in its warship-building capability by commissioning INS Shivalik the first indigenously built stealth frigate that is the biggest in its class in the world. The ship, which is 143 metres long, can tactically fire weapons even before the enemy detects it. The hard-to-detect warship will form a crucial component of the Indian Navy. It is equipped with a mix of Indian, Russian, Israeli and western weapons and sensors. Two other such ships INS Satpura and the INS Sahayadari would follow soon. Each ship would carry on board long-range surface-tosurface Klub missiles, area defence missiles Shtil and Barak, antisubmarine torpedoes, 100 mm mounted gun and six-barrelled 30 mm gun. Ships like these would form the core of the Indias battle fleet in the first half of this century. A 250-member crew, including 35 officers, will man INS Shivalik. The new design features give the ship enhanced operational capabilities in terms of survivability, stealth, sea keeping, ship handling and weapons.

New test range of DRDO

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is building a new test range in Chitradurga district in Karnataka for its aeronautics missions for flight-testing sophisticated unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), air-to-ground weapons, huge parachutes, Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, aerostats and also for testing electronic warfare systems. The DRDO already has an Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur-on-sea, near Balasore, Orissa, from where different missiles are flight-tested.

INS Chennai Missile Destroyer launched

Indian Navy launched INS Chennai, a missile destroyer in the Project-15 alpha class, at the Mazgaon Dock in Mumbai on April 1, 2010. Elizabeth Antony, wife of Defence Minister AK Antony, launched the warship. Project 15 Alpha is code name for Kolkataclass destroyers that are being made in the Mazgaon dock in Mumbai. These are the largest warships ever constructed at Mazgaon, the oldest and the most prolific of all Indian naval dockyards. Aimed at adding a new dimension to the country's naval warfare, India has launched the indigenous warship with enhanced stealth features and land-attack capabilities. The 6800 tonnes Kolkata class (Project 15-A) destroyers incorporate Indian systems including the HUMSA-NG (Hull Mounted Sonar Array New Generation), 16 Brahmos missiles, torpedos and the Nagin active towed array sonar, jointly developed by the DRDO's Naval Science and Technology Laboratory in Visakhapatnam and Bharat Electronics Limited in Bangalore. Russia is assisting Project 15-A with shafts and propellers. The propulsion package consists of four reversible gas turbines in combined gas-and-gas configuration.

Astra
The first night trial of indigenously developed, beyond visual range air-to-air missile Astra' was test-fired from the Integrated Test Range complex at Chandipur.

LCH makes successful first flight

On March 29, 2010, India entered the big boys league with the successful first flight of the prototype of its very own attack helicopter Light Combat Helicopter (LCH). The maiden test flight of the 5.5-tonne attack chopper, a derivative version of Banagalorebased Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) flagship product Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv was termed by pilots who flew it as very good. The Shakti engine being used in the LCH has been jointly developed by the HAL and Turbomeca of France with primary focus on high-altitude operations. The rotor system has also been developed indigenously. The helicopter is expected to meet operational requirements like air support, anti-infantry and anti-armour roles. The twin-engine LCH is a pure attack helicopter made by the design experience gained from the Dhruv. Currently around 100 Dhruv helicopters are being used by the Indian armed forces and paramilitary forces like the Coast Guard and the BSF,

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civil operators like Pawan Hans and the ONGC. Dhruv is also being used by foreign countries like Ecuador, Nepal, Mauritius and Male. Though LCH is derived from Dhruv, there are differences in design. While in Dhruv pilots sit side-by-side, in the LCH they sit one behind the other. All flight controls, hydraulics and fuel system have been redesigned for the sleeker, heavily armoured LCH.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Flower has worlds longest genome

Researchers at London's Kew Gardens say they've discovered the longest genome in the world and that it belongs to a rather ordinary-looking white flower. The scientists say the Paris japonica has a genetic code 50 times longer than that of a human being and edges out its nearest competitor, the marbled lungfish. A genome is the full complement of an organism's DNA, complex molecules that direct the formation and function of all living organisms.

country's first Anti Submarine Warfare Corvette

M.M. Pallam Raju, Union Minister of State for Defence launched the country's first Anti Submarine Warfare Corvette (ASWC) for the Indian Navy at the Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) Limited.

Super Cruiser BrahMos test-fired successfully

On March 21, 2010, India joined the league of select nations to have a manoeuvrable supersonic cruise missile when it successfully test-fired the vertical-launch version of 290-km range BrahMos from a warship in the Bay of Bengal off the Orissa coast. After the latest test, India has become the first and only country in the world to have a manoeuvrable supersonic cruise missile in its inventory. The test-firing was part of the pre-induction tests by the Navy as moves are afoot to deploy the vertical-launch version of the missile in ships. The weapon system has been designed and developed by the Indo-Russian joint venture company.

Scientists develop e-skin

Biotech wizards have engineered electronic skin that can sense touch, in a major step towards next-generation robotics and prosthetic limbs. The lab-tested material responds to almost the same pressures as human skin and with the same speed. Important hurdles remain but the exploit is an advance towards replacing todays clumsy robots and artificial arms with smarter, touch-sensitive upgrades. The e-skin comprises a matrix of nano-wires made of germanium and silicon rolled onto a sticky polyimide film. The researchers then laid nano-scale transistors on top, followed by a flexible, pressure-sensitive rubber. The prototype, measuring 49 square centimetres, can detect pressure ranging from 0 to 15 kilopascals, comparable to the force used for such daily activities as typing on a keyboard or holding an object.

India planning to buy C-17 aircraft from USA

India is set to buy 10 C-17 Globemaster-III giant strategic aircraft, each of which comes for about $220 million. The four-engine C-17 is capable of carrying payload of up to 78 tonnes, transport tanks and air-drop more than 100 combat-ready paratroopers directly into a battle-zone. It can cover 2,400 nautical miles at a stretch and with mid-air refuelling it can go even longer distances. The plane has the capability to take off and land on 3,000 feet or less runway, as also on a semi-prepared runway.

Artificial kidney
An artificial kidney implant that would work as well as a natural organ is in the offing. The first prototype of the device unveiled by the US researchers could do away with the need for dialysis or donor organs. The device comprises thousands of microscopic filters to remove toxins from the blood and a bio-reactor to mimic the metabolic and water-balancing roles of a real kidney. The implant is being developed jointly by engineers, biologists and physicians led by Shuvo Roy at the University of California, San Francisco. The treatment has already been proven to work for the sickest patients, using a room-sized external model.

Exercise Milan
Exercise Milan was the largest naval war game hosted by India, in February 2010, with the participation of 12 navies of the Asia-Pacific region.

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Wheat genome code

British scientists have decoded the genome of wheat, in a breakthrough research that will prove valuable to crop breeders in countries like India, in increasing the yield of the staple food crop. Wheat production worldwide is under threat from climate change at a time when there is an increase in demand from a growing human population. Scientists at the University of Liverpool, in collaboration with the University of Bristol and the John Innes Centre, have sequenced the entire wheat genome and will make the DNA data available to crop breeders to help them select key agricultural traits for breeding. Scientists have analysed the wheat genome, which is five times larger than the human genome and is the largest genome to be sequenced till date.

Census of the seas

First global count of marine life logs 230,000 speciesbut scientists warns of mass extinctions. It has been the biggest and most comprehensive attempt ever to answer that age-old question how many fish are there in the sea? A 10-year study of the diversity, distribution and abundance of life in the worlds oceans attempts just that. The Census of Marine Life estimates there are over 230,000 species in our oceans. A team of over 360 scientists around the world surveyed 25 regions, from the Antarctic through the temperate and tropical seas to the Arctic. Over fishing, degraded habitats, pollution and the arrival of invasive species are major threats to the marine life. But more problems are around the corner: rising water temperatures and acidification thanks to climate change and the growth in areas of the ocean that are low in oxygen and, therefore, unable to support life.

Indias first one-megawatt solar plant

On April 7, 2010, solar energy initiative of Reliance Industries, RIL Solar Group, commissioned India's first one-megawatt solar plant to power a stadium to be used in the Commonwealth Games 2010. Thyagaraj Stadium, where the plant has been commissioned, is planned to be a model green stadium. RIL Solar Group has also implemented power plants in the R.K. Khanna Tennis Complex. The solar initiative is one of the major ones to compensate for carbon-dioxide emissions to be released through the game. The solar power generated at the Thyagaraj Stadium is expected to result in emission reduction of more than 1,200 tons of CO2 per year.

Among the major findings are:

A fifth of the worlds marine species are crustaceans such as crabs, lobsters, krill and barnacles. Add in molluscs (squid and octopus) and fish and that accounts for nearly half the species in worlds seas. Species often used in conservation campaigningwhales, sea lions, turtles and sea birdsaccount for less than 2% of the species in the oceans. Enclosed seas such as the Mediterranean, Gulf of Mexico, Chinas shelves, Baltic, and the Caribbean are having the most threatened biodiversity. The most diverse regions are around Australia and south-east Asia. Australian and Japanese waters contain more than 30,000 species each and are among the most biologically diverse in the world. The manylight viperfish (Chauliodus sloani) is the most cosmopolitan marine creature with a presence in around a quarter of the worlds seas. The number of marine fish species known to science stood at 16,764, and was growing at around 100 a year. There are believed to be 22,000 fish species in the world.

Brain chip
Scientists have developed a brain chip that will help paralysed patients operate their bionic limbs. The technology employs tiny microchips to sense nerve messages, decode the signals, and turn thought into movement. The scientists hope that, within five years, they will be able to offer robotic devices to patients with damaged spinal cords that will enable them to move their arms or legs at will. A more ambitious idea is not to use robotic devices but to replace the broken connection to the limb with an artificial link. The brain chip would then send signals to an implanted stimulator in the spinal cord. This would generate electrical impulses to make muscles contract and move paralysed limbs.

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Indias first scientific expedition to South Pole

To commemorate the centenary of Norwegian explorer Ronald Amundsens December 14, 1911 feat, India will launch its first scientific expedition to the South Pole in November 2010. An eight-member team of scientists would undertake the 3,000-km long treacherous terrain from Indias research station Maitri in the Antarctic region to the South Pole. The route to be taken is a fairly new one and had been charted with the aim to understand climate change over the past years. These studies are expected to add to the knowledge of how the ancient landmass, once fused with other continents in a super-continent before being separated 200 million years ago, has evolved. The challenging effort will be simplified to some extend with the help of navigational equipment and four modern ice-traversing vehicles that the Union government is planning to acquire for the trip.

According to the New Scientist, the new record-holder for the most precise timekeeper, built at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Colorado, USA, could tick off the 13.7-billion-year age of universe to within 4 seconds. The optical clock monitors the oscillation of a trapped atom of aluminium-27 and is more than twice as precise as the earlier version, reported in 2008.

First robot with emotions

A robot that is capable of developing and showing emotions has finally been unveiled. When Nao developed by a European research team is sad, he hunches his shoulders forward and looks down. When he's happy, he raises his arms, angling for a hug. When frightened, Nao cowers, and he stays like that until he is soothed with some gentle strokes on his head.

Indias 18th nuclear plant

Indias 18th nuclear power plant at Rawatbhata in Rajasthan (RAPS-5) began production on February 6, 2010. The plant has been set-up by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India. The indigenously built 220 MW unit uses fuel imported from Russia which has been acquired after India got waiver from Nuclear Suppliers Group guidelines in September 2008. The operationalisation of RAPS-5 has increased the capacity of Rawatbhata plant to 96 MW. The project, set-up in September 2002, took six years to complete. It had remained idle for some months because of lack of fuel. With the commissioning of RAPS-5 the total installed nuclear power capacity of India has risen to 4,340 MW.

Anti-influenza vaccine
India launched its first indigenously manufactured antiinfluenza vaccine, Vaxiflu-S manufactured by Zydus-Cadila Healthcare that will protect people against the A (H1N1) flu.

Indias first integrated Waste Management Plant

Infra firm a2z Infrastructure will set up Indias first integrated municipal solid waste management plant in Kanpur. The project, touted to be Asias largest, would comprise management of the citys solid waste in an environment friendly manner and subsequent power generation for captive and merchant use. Majority of the fuel used in the plant will be RDF (Refuse Derived Fuel) derived from solid waste, which is considered a better replacement for coal with lesser emissions. The power plant will have the capacity to produce 15 MW power.

Tianhe-1
The 13 computer cabinets containing the Tianhe-1, China's first domestically-made petaflop supercomputer, have been installed and it is scheduled to begin system debugging and testing in September, according to the National Supercomputing Center in Tianjin.

IIT-Kanpur to set up experimental power plant

The Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT-K) has planned to set up a 550 kilowatt (KW) Solar Energy Research Experimental Station (SERES) in its campus. The station would serve the purpose of solar energy development research, apart from being a pilot project for improving the commercial viability of solar energy

Worlds most precise clock

Scientists claim to have created the world's most precise clock based on the oscillation of a trapped aluminium-27 atom.

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generation. It would provide uninterrupted free power supply to six neighbouring villages, Nankari, Bara Sirohi, Singhpur, Bakunthpur, Naramau and Kachchar. The villages are electrified, but the present power supply is highly erratic. The Rs 18-crore project has been taken up as a part of the ongoing golden jubilee celebrations at the institute.

of light. Until now, infra-red germanium lasers required expensive cryogenic cooling systems to operate. The new germanium laser operates at room temperature. To create the germanium laser, the scientists take a six-inch, silvery-gray disk of silicon and spray it with a thin film of germanium. These same disks are actually used to produce chips in today's computers.

First life form made by man

Scientists have created the worlds first synthetic life form in a landmark experiment that paves the way for designer organisms that are built rather than evolved. The controversial feat, which has occupied 20 scientists for more than 10 years at an estimated cost of $40 million, was described by one researcher as a defining moment in biology. Craig Venter, the pioneering US geneticist behind the experiment, described the converted cell as the first selfreplicating species weve had on the planet whose parent is a computer. He said the achievement heralds the dawn of a new era in which new life is made to benefit humanity, starting with bacteria that churn out bio-fuels, soak up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and even manufacture vaccines. The new organism is based on an existing bacterium that causes mastitis in goats, but at its core is an entirely synthetic genome that was constructed from chemicals in the laboratory.

Climate expedition to Antarctica

On January 11, 2010, an Indian team set sail on the first Southern Ocean expedition after the Copenhagen meet the fourth to be taken up by the National Centre for Antarctic & Ocean Research (NCAOR), Goa to study, among other things, climate change and its impact on life. It will also be the first time Indian scientists will be crossing the 55 degrees South latitude to go almost up to the polar region on an Indian vessel. Sagar Nidhi, the only Indian vessel that can cut through ice, left Goa with 25 scientists for Mauritius and head farther southwards on a voyage that will last till April 2010. The scientists will take up about 20 studies in the ocean between 35 and 66 degrees South latitudes. Prominent among them would be paleo-climatic studies that involve collecting samples from the ocean bed at a depth of up to six kilometres. Changes in sediment formation, water mass and other parameters would be compared with previous data to ascertain the impact of climate change.

Microsoft launched latest software

Microsoft Corporation launched its latest software Office 2010, SharePoint 2010, Visio 2010 and Project 2010 for business customers, unified productivity experience across computers, web and mobile.

Mapping of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Indian scientists announced the first-ever detailed mapping of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The government's Open Source Drug Discovery (OSDD) initiative released the results of its Connect 2 Decode' (C2D) project to re-annotate the biological and genetic information relating to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) genome.

Browse at the speed of light

Scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have created a new infra-red laser made from germanium that operates at room temperature, which has made light-speed computing come one step closer to reality. The research removes the cryogenic cooling systems previously needed for infra-red lasers and could lead to powerful computer chips that operate at the speed

Fourth discovery by RIL in Cambay Basin

Reliance Industries has announced its fourth oil discovery in exploratory block CB-ONN-2003/1, located on-land in the Cambay basin and named Dhirubhai-47. The block was awarded under NELP V round of exploration bidding. This block is located at a

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distance of 130 kms from Ahmedabad and covers an area of 635 sq kms. RIL is the operator and has 100 per cent participating interest in the block. The block has 14 exploratory wells and the company is continuing further exploratory drilling efforts in the block. The company says that, based on the acquired 3D seismic data, there are several more prospects with upside potential have been identified in the contract area.

POLITICAL AFFAIRS

Foreign Education Bill

After several years of debate, the Union Cabinet, on March 15, 2010, unanimously approved a Bill that would allow foreign education providers to set up campuses in India and offer degrees. A Bill to this effect was first introduced in the Rajya Sabha in August 1995. The new one is expected to be introduced in Parliament and be voted into law by the monsoon session of 2010. This is a milestone which will enhance choices, increase competition and benchmark quality. A larger revolution than even in the telecom sector awaits us, said Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for Human Resource Development (MHRD). The Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations, Maintenance of Quality and Prevention of Commercialisation) Bill will allow foreign universities to invest at least 51 per cent of the total capital expenditure needed to establish the institute in India. Such institutes will be granted deemed university status under Section 3 of the Universities Grants Commission (UGC) Act, 1956. The Bill aims to regulate the entry, operation and maintenance of quality assurance and prevention of commercialisation by foreign educational institutions, besides protecting the interest of the student community from sub-standard and fly by night operators. The Bill is aimed at not only bringing in investment in the education sector, but also draw in foreign students, besides helping check the flight of Indians to study (then work and settle) abroad.

Worlds smallest 3-D map

Scientists claim to have created the worlds smallest three dimensional map a map of the Earth so small that 1,000 of them could fit on one grain of salt. A team at computer giant IBM accomplished this through a new, breakthrough technique which uses a tiny, silicon tip with a sharp apex 1,00,000 times smaller than a sharpened pencil to create patterns and structures as small as 15 nanometre at greatly reduced cost and complexity. According to the scientists, this patterning technique opens new prospects for developing nano-sized objects in fields such as electronics, future chip technology, medicine, life sciences, and opto-electronics. The complete 3D map of the world measuring only 22 by 11 micrometre was written on a polymer. It is composed of 5,00,000 pixels, each measuring 20 NM2, and was created in only 2 minutes and 23 seconds.

World's smallest superconductor developed

Scientists have developed the world's smallest superconductor less than one nanometre wide which could be used for making miniature electronic devices. The superconductor, a sheet of four pairs of molecules, provides the first evidence that nano-scale molecular superconducting wires can be fabricated. Superconducting materials have an electrical resistance of zero, and so can carry large electrical currents without power dissipation or heat generation. Superconductivity was first discovered in 1911, and until recently, was considered a macroscopic phenomenon. The current finding suggests, however, that it exists at the molecular scale, which opens up a novel route for studying this phenomenon.

Rajya Sabha passes Womens Reservation Bill

Fourteen years after it was envisaged, the Rajya Sabha, on March 10, 2010, passed the landmark Womens Reservation Bill that will pave the way for reserving 33 per cent seats for women in Parliament and State Assemblies. But prior to that, the legislation has to be seen through in the Lok Sabha. Of the 186 members present in the Rajya Sabha, 185 voted in favour of the Bill. Barring the parties from the Hindi-belt Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal and BSP all other parties that included the constituents of Congress-led UPA and BJP-led NDA supported the Bill that was to carry

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out the 108th amendment to the Constitution for enabling reservation. The Congress-led UPA, the BJP-led NDA and also the Left parties were on the same side as the Parliament authored the historic move, which could upstage several well ensconced politicians but ensure proper representation of women, which languishes at 11 per cent in Lok Sabha. Main points of the legislation: Seeks to reserve one-third of seats for women in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies. Allocation of reserved seats shall be determined by the authority prescribed by the Parliament. One-third of the total seats reserved for SCs and STs shall be reserved for women from these groups in LS and Assemblies. Reserved seats may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in the State or Union Territory. Reservation of seats for women shall cease to exist 15 years after the commencement of the Act.

Nuclear Damage Claims Commission, which will have one or more claims commissioners for a specified area. The claims commissioner shall have all the powers of a civil court for the purpose of taking evidence on oath, enforcing attendance of witnesses, compelling the discovery and production of documents and other material objects.

Model rules for RTE Act

On January 30, 2010, the Union government approved model rules for the Right to Education Act 2009, which requires State governments to make free and compulsory elementary education a right of every child between 6 and 14 years of age. The model rules, list priorities for States, which would have to conform to the standards under the Act within three years of its commencement; nonconformation could bring de-recognition. The Act, passed by the Parliament in August 2009, is yet to be officially notified though. To begin with, the rules ask school management committees or the local authorities to identify children, who have never been to school or not managed to complete elementary education, and arrange for their special training in appropriate classes so that they can ultimately be integrated into the system. Any child above 6 years of age will be entitled to free special training either at school or residential facility, before he/she is ready to enter school at a convenient level. Such children would be allowed to complete elementary education even after they have attained 14 years, for the obvious reasons that they enter the school late. At least one primary school (class I to V) must be located within a km of walking distance of the neighbourhood; for schools with classes VI to VIII, this distance would be three km. States need to provide more neighbourhood schools in highly populated areas and ensure safety of students in areas with tough terrains. But before a school comes up, the States would have to undertake a mapping to identify all children in remote areas, including those from disadvantaged groups. This must be done in a year and the data updated every year. For the first time, the law mandates maintenance of records of all children from birth to 14 years of age through a household survey to be updated every year. The rules further prescribe strict norms for non-segregation of students and safe transport for disabled children to ensure that they attend school.

Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill

The proposed Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill, which will replace the four decade-old Judges Inquiry Act, has laid down 14 guidelines for judges. These guidelines will be called judicial standards.

N-liabilities Bill
In an important step towards the implementation of the IndoUS civilian nuclear deal, the Union government is to introduce a Bill to facilitate the entry of American companies in the nuclear sector. The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, 2009 is commonly known as the nuclear liability Bill. The Bill aims at limiting the liability of a nuclear plant operator to Rs 300 crore in the eventuality of an accident and provides for appointing a claims commissioner with powers of a civil court to arbitrate such cases. It also provides for the penalty to be paid by the operator and not the supplier companies, which would mainly be American in this case. The operator would not be liable for any nuclear damages if the incident is caused by grave national disaster of exceptional character, armed conflict or an act of terrorism and is suffered by the person on account of his own negligence. The Bill also provides for the establishment of the

Afghan-Pakistan gas pipeline

The leaders of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkmenistan on December 11th agreed to move forward with a complicated and risky plan to build a natural gas pipeline across rugged territory plagued by war and terrorism. The pipeline, which would terminate in India, would bring huge amounts of gas to underdeveloped regions and could earn impoverished Afghanistan hundreds of millions of dollars in transit fees. The route for the 1,700-kilometer (1,050-mile) TAPI pipeline from gas-rich Turkmenistan would cross Afghanistans Kandahar Province, where the Taliban and international forces are locked in battle, as well as some of Pakistans unruly tribal areas. Concerns about security for the pipeline itself and for the workers who construct it have cast doubt on the projects near-term feasibility, but proponents say it would calm the chaotic feasibilit region.

Juntas proxy seeps Myanmar poll

Myanmars military-backed pard re-

unru4w2bt on the projects

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attract as many votes as they hoped for. They were expecting to win more than 100 seats, but they had to be satisfied with less than 60. However, despite the poor show, they still hold the trump card and are destined to play the role of king-makers. On May 11, Conservative leader David Cameron, who favours a new special relationship with India, took charge as Britains youngest Prime Minister in nearly 200 years, heading a coalition with the support of centrist LibDems, and vowed to put aside party differences and provide a strong and decisive government. He made Liberal Democrats leader Nick Clegg Deputy Prime Minister.

pencil to create patterns and structures as small as 15 nanometre at greatly reduced cost and complexity. According to the scientists, this patterning technique opens new prospects for developing nanosized objects in fields such as electronics, future chip technology, medicine, life sciences, and opto-electronics. The complete 3D map of the world measuring only 22 by 11 micrometre was written on a polymer. It is composed of 5,00,000 pixels, each measuring 20 NM2, and was created in only 2 minutes and 23 seconds.

Worlds longest tunnel completed

A giant drilling machine punched its way through a final section of Alpine rock on October 15, 2010 to complete the worlds longest tunnel, after 15 years of construction. In a stage-managed breakthrough, attended by some 200 dignitaries 30 km inside the tunnel and broadcast live on Swiss television, engineers from both sides shook hands after the bore had pummelled through the final 1.5 metres of rock. The 57 km high-speed rail link, which will open in 2017, will form the lynch-pin of a new rail network between northern and south-eastern Europe and help ease congestion and pollution in the Swiss Alps. It is the third tunnel to be built through the snowbound St Gotthard area and is 3 km longer than a rail link between two Japanese islands, the current record holder at 53.8 km.

Icelandic Volcano causes air travel mess in Europe

Europe saw air traffic chaos in April 2010 as a plume of ash from the Icelandic volcano that erupted under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier, made northern Europe a no-fly zone. An estimated 63,000 flights were cancelled, effecting more than five million passengers who were trying to get in and out of major cities of Europe. The eruption of the volcano caused the greatest air travel chaos since the Second World War II.

worlds fourth biggest weapons importer

The UAE has become the worlds fourth biggest weapons importer. China, India and South Korea are the top three arms importers, in that order.

South Asian University becomes operational

With the visa issue concerning Pakistani students having been settled, the South Asian University (SAU), a dream project of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, has finally taken off. The university launched its first academic session on August 26, 2010, starting two courses MA in Development Economics and Masters of Computer Applications. There are 25 students in each course. Of the total 50 students, 36 were from India and 14 from five other SAARC countries Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. As of now, there is no student from the rest of the two SAARC nations, the war-affected Afghanistan and the Maldives. The present faculty includes Bangladeshi nationals as well as Australian nationals of Indian origin. The faculty would be gradually increased when courses in other disciplines are launched from the next academic year beginning in July 2011. Though the university, the first of its kind in the region, has been allotted land in the capital for its campus, classes for the first session are being held at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

Russia has 11 times zones

Indian Standard Time (IST) is set in accordance with the 82.5 degree East longitude. While India has just one time zone, Russia has 11 times zones, USA 10, Australia 9, and Canada 6. France and its dominions have 12 time zones and UK and its overseas territories use 8 time zones.

Worlds smallest 3-D map

Scientists claim to have created the worlds smallest three dimensional map of the Earth so small that 1,000 of them could fit on one grain of salt. A team at computer giant IBM accomplished this through a new, breakthrough technique which uses a tiny, silicon tip with a sharp apex 1,00,000 times smaller than a sharpened

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NATIONAL AFFAIRS

National Green Tribunal

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) was officially notified on October 19, 2010 with its Chairperson, Justice Lokeshwar Singh Panta taking charge of his office. The tribunal is exclusively dedicated to environmental issues. Established by an Act of Parliament (the National Green Tribunal Act of 2010), it will have circuit benches across the country to try all matters related to and arising out of environmental issues. The tribunal, which shall also consist of other members, who are experts in the field of environmental and related sciences, has been empowered to issue directions for the compensation and restitution of damage caused from actions of environmental negligence. This is the first body of its kind that is required by its parent statute to apply the polluter pays principle and the principle of sustainable development. The erstwhile National Environment Appellate Authority had ceased to exist with the launch of the NGT.

Haryana High Court and a former judge of Andhra Pradesh High Court, Justice P.S. Narayana, have been appointed as members. The Tribunal has been constituted on a request sent by Goa in July 2002, for adjudication of the water disputes with Karnataka relating to Mahadayi River. Maharashtra also stands to benefit from its adjudication. The need for setting up the three-member tribunal was being felt since the Union Ministry of Water Resources had tried to resolve the dispute, but was not successful.

CWG Corruption probe

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has appointed a high-level committee headed by a former Comptroller and Auditor General, V.K. Shunglu, to go into allegations of corruption related to the Commonwealth Games held in New Delhi in October 2010. The developments came as opposition parties, which had held their fire during the 12-day event, stepped up their demand for thorough probe into corruption charges so that those guilty can be brought to book.

Foreign tourist arrival goes up

India has registered a growth rate of more than 10 per cent in foreign tourist arrivals and more than 27 per cent in foreign exchange earnings during the first 11 months of current year. Tourism Minister Kumari Selja said this while speaking at a conference organised by World Travel and Tourism Council in New Delhi yesterday. The Minister said that the growth is in comparison to the corresponding period of last year. She said that after having hosted Commonwealth Games successfully, the country is ready to play host for Cricket World Cup 2011. India is gearing up to organise its first Formula 1 Race in October 2011 in Uttar Pradesh and debating upon the idea to hold first ever National Tourism Mart in the year 2012.

National Innovation Council

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has approved the setting up of a National Innovation Council to prepare a road map for the 'Decade of Innovation 2011-2020'. Sam Pitroda, adviser to the Prime Minister on public information infrastructure and innovations, will head the National Innovation Council. The Council has been given the mandate to evolve an Indian model of innovation focussing on inclusive growth and creating an appropriate eco-system conducive to fostering inclusive innovation. It will delineate appropriate policy initiatives within the government required to spur innovation. It will also promote the setting up of sectoral innovation councils and state innovation councils.

Parliament hiked the salary of MPs

The Indian Parliament has hiked the salary of Members of Parliament to Rs 50,000 per month. Two key allowances (constituency and office expenses) have also been increased to Rs 45,000 each.

Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal

The Union government has constituted the Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal with a sitting Supreme Court judge, Justice J.M. Panchal as its Chairman. Justice Viney Mittal of the Punjab and

Taj Falaknuma Palace

Taj Falaknuma Palace in Hyderabad is Indias most expensive hotel. The palace was once the exclusive preserve of the rulers

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of Hyderabad. The grand presidential suite at the hotel costs Rs 5 lakh per night.

Nuclear Deal with South Korea

India and South Korea have struck a deal to finalise an agreement on civil uses of nuclear energy. This was a major success for India during the Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs Asia tour. The issue came up for discussion during the bilateral meeting of the Prime Minister with the President of the Republic of Korea, Lee Myung-bak, at Hanoi, on the sidelines of the 17th ASEAN Summit. The Korean President has invited the Prime Minister to Korea in 2011 and the deal is likely to be signed then.

the third place in terms of clean power project investments worldwide. It is likely to attract 169 billion dollar in wind, solar, small hydro, geothermal and marine energy projects in the next decade. Enhanced clean energy policies would increase private investments in India by 48 per cent, tied with the U.K.

Independence Day speech of Manmohan

With his Independence Day speech on August 15, 2010 the seventh Manmohan Singh edged past Atal Behari Vajpayee to become the Prime Minister of India who has addressed the nation on Independence Day the third-highest number of times. Jawaharlal Nehru addressed the nation 17 times and Mrs Indira Gandhi 16 times.

IIT-B, IISc develop device to detect RDX

The Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay along with Indian Institute of Science here have come out with a prototype device that could be developed to detect RDX and other explosives, replacing sniffer dogs. The prototype, developed at the Rs 100-crore Nano Technology facility set up jointly by the two leading institutions, was a bio-sensor array using polymers for detection heart attack. The device could detect all cardiac markers in blood within seven minutes. The same device could be developed for detecting RDX or other explosives, Professor V Ramgopal Rao of the Department of Electrical Engineering in IIT-Bombay.

India elected for UN General Assembly

The UN General Assembly has elected India, Germany, South Africa and Columbia to two-year seats on UN Security Council. The term will begin in January 2011. The four countries will be the nonveto-holding members of the 15-nation body.

Backward districts not covered by RSVY

Most of the districts identified as backward by the Planning Commission were not covered under a scheme meant to remove regional disparities, as CAPART failed to reach out to the unserved areas, a CAG report has said. "CAPART (Council for Advancement of People's Action and Rural Technology) could not reach out to the unserved areas of the country as most of the districts identified as backward by the Planning Commission under the Rashtriya Sam Vikas Yojna (RSVY) were not covered," a latest report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India said. It also observed that the geographical distribution of the projects was uneven with 51 per cent of funds released during 2003-09 going to only six states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Karnataka, Orissa and Uttar Pradesh, while north-eastern states getting less than five per cent.

India strengthens ties with Vietnam

India has enlarged its scope of cooperation and relations with Vietnam another not-so-happy neighbour of China. Defence Minister A.K. Antony, during his visit to Vietnam, announced a slew of measures to expand cooperation as part of the nations look east policy aimed at engaging key countries situated east of India.

Clean energy investments

India is all set to emerge among the top five nations in G-20 group in terms of clean energy investments. In a report brought out by the US based Pew Charitable Trust, the annual clean energy investment in India is expected to grow phenomenally over the next 10 years. Within the G-20, India is on tract to climb from the tenth to

NRI Remittance To India

As per information received from Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs the amount remitted to India in the last financial year (200910) from the NRIs working abroad was 40810 USD million (Approx.)

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Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs has informed that no data is available for remittance from the Gulf Countries. This information was given by the Minister of State for Finance, Shri Namo Narain Meena in written reply to a question raised in Rajya Sabha.

shops / trainings etc. Moreover, for making the scheme more farmer friendly, Government has recently, modified the scheme and the Modified NAIS has been approved for implementation on pilot basis in 50 districts from Rabi 2010- 11.

Bill to provide women equal guardianship rights

A Bill paving way for the women to get equal rights in guardianship and adoption of children has been passed by the Rajya Sabha. The Personal Laws Amendment Bill seeks to amend the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 and the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956. It also seeks to allow the mother, along with the father, to be appointed as a guardian, making the process genderneutral. Besides, it aims at removing hurdles in the way of a married woman to adopt. She can give a son or daughter for adoption. For adoption and guardianship, under the existing Act, only the father is considered to be the natural guardian of the child in a Hindu family and only unmarried, divorced women and widows are allowed to adopt a child. Women separated from their husbands and engaged in lengthy divorce battles cannot adopt a child.

Crucial highway link to Kolkata

In major development, Bangladesh has finally agreed to start the construction of a highway that will not only provide transit facilities, ensuring easy movement of goods, but also drastically shorten the circuitous route crucial from the military point of view between north-eastern States and the port city of Kolkata. The first route will enter from Bengal into Bangladesh at the existing Benapole land port on the border and run across eastwards via Jessore and Dhaka; passing through Sylhet, located on the north-eastern edge of Bangladesh, it will enter Assam/Meghalaya. The second axis will start from North Bengal and enter Bangladesh at Panchgarh and run southwards via Srirajganj to Dhaka and further southeast to Cox Bazar and Chittagong before entering into Myanmar. India will be able to use both routes.

MCD record
Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has become the first municipal body of India to cash in on cutting down carbon emissions warming the planet. A municipal compost plant in south Delhi, run by the private sector ILFS group, generated a first modest cheque of Rs 5 lakh in carbon emission reduction (CER) credits for its plan to keep more than 9,000 tonnes of carbon over the next 10 years by stopping methane leaks from garbage.

India to get its first AC double-decker train

India's first air-conditioned double-decker train is expected to be launched on the Howrah-Dhanbad sector. Developed at the Rail Coach Factory in Kapurthala, eight double-decker coaches were recently brought to Howrah for conducting trial runs before the official flagging-off ceremony. The coaches with a height of 4,366 mm will be higher than the conventional LHB coaches whose height is around 3,950 mm.

NAIS Coverage
548 districts have so far been covered under National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS). Continued efforts are made to create awareness about ongoing NAIS by the implementing agency i.e. Agriculture Insurance Company (AIC) in coordination with implementing States since its inception. The salient activities for campaign involve the publicity of features and benefits of the scheme through advertisements in leading national/local newspapers, telecast through audio-visual media, distribution of pamphlets, participation in agriculture fairs / mela / gosthi and organization of work-

Allahabad High Court Verdict on Babri MasjidRam Janambhoomi dispute

On September 30, 2010, the much-awaited judgement of the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court unanimously ruled that the idols of Ram Lalla in the makeshift temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya cannot be removed. The three-judge Bench of Justices S.U. Khan, Sudhir Agarwal and Dharamveer Sharma separately delivered the historic verdict. In a 2-1 majority verdict, Justices Khan and Agarwal decreed that the 2.7-acre land comprising the disputed site should be divided into three equal parts and be given

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to Sunni Waqf Board, Nirmohi Akhara and the party representing Ram Lala Virajman. However, the third judge Justice D.V. Sharma ruled that that the disputed site is the birth place of Lord Ram and that the disputed building constructed by Mughal emperor Babur was built against the tenets of Islam and did not have the character of the mosque. The Bench directed maintenance of status quo at the site for three months and invited suggestions from all the parties for demarcation of the land. The judges also dismissed the claims of the Sunni Central Waqf Board over the Babri Mosque due to limitation or becoming time barred as well as the claim of the Nirmohi Akhara. With a 2-1 majority, the Bench held that all the three parties, namely Muslims, Hindus and Nirmohi Akhara were joint titleholders of the property in dispute. Both Justices Sudhir Aggarwal and SU Khan made it clear that the share of the Muslim parties shall not be less than one third of the total area of the premises. ...If while allotting exact portions some minor adjustment in the share is to be made then the same will be made and the adversely affected party may be compensated by allotting some portion of the adjoining land, observed Justice Khan.

India, Canada sign civil nuclear pact

On June 28, 2001, India and Canada signed a civil nuclear cooperation agreement. The pact was signed during Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs visit to Canada. The deal, the ninth signed by New Delhi, significantly alters Canadas stance towards India. The North American nation had led the world in pushing for nuclear isolation after the 1974 tests in Pokhran.

Quashing opposition from the Left Bloc and other critics, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh denied that the Bill was railroaded through the House to serve US interests. This Bill is a completion of a journey to end the nuclear apartheid, which the world had imposed on India in the year 1974, he said. The government managed to bring the BJP on board in return for accepting amendments to the controversial Clause 17(b) and dropping the word intent. The new formulation of 17(b), now states that suppliers would be liable where the accident has resulted as a consequence of an act of a supplier or his employees, done to cause nuclear damage, and such act includes supply of equipment or material with patent or latent defects or sub-standard services. The key points of the Bill are: Controversial Clause 17(b) amended by dropping the word intent. Compensation cap to be paid by the operator at Rs 1500 crore provided in the Bill is not the limit. Compensation will be decided by the Claims Commissioner and the operator will have to pay. Government assumes full liability for even a plant not operated by it. The Bill is necessary for full implementation of civil nuclear deal signed with the USA in 2006.

Bhopal Gas Tragedy verdict

On June 7, 2010, nearly 26 years after the world's worst industrial disaster left more than 15,000 dead in the Bhopal gas tragedy, former Union Carbide India Chairman Keshub Mahindra and seven others were convicted and sentenced to two years imprisonment. Chief Judicial Magistrate Mohan P. Tiwari held the 85-year-old non-executive chairman of the Indian subsidiary of the US-based company and gave them punishment under less stringent provisions of the Indian Penal Code for causing death by negligence.

Navodaya Vidyalayas celebrated 25 years

Navodaya Vidyalayas celebrated 25 years of existence in 2010. A befitting match to costly private schools, the Navodayas have shown in last 25 years how gifted children with humble means can rise to life.

Nuclear Liability Bill

On August 25, 2001, the UPA government successfully shepherded the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, 2010, through the Lok Sabha, with active support from the BJP and strategic absence of some fence-sitters such as the Samajwadi Party.

First Defence University

More than 40 years after it was mooted, the Union Cabinet, on May 13, 2010, gave its approval to set up the nations first defence university at Binola, around 20 km from Gurgaon. It would aim at imparting education on strategic challenges to armed forces offi-

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cials, bureaucrats, academicians, parliamentarians and trainees at military academies. To be established at an estimated Rs 300 crore, the institute would come up on an area of about 200 acres. A sum of Rs 100 crore has been earmarked for land acquisition. The existing defence educational institutions like the National Defence College, New Delhi, College of Defence Management, Secunderabad, National Staff College, Wellington, and National Defence Academy, Pune, would also be affiliated to the INDU. At present, these institutions are attached to various universities across the country.

citizens, local bodies and State governments for focused action on water conservation and augmentation. Water Mission is one of the eight missions in the National Action Plan on Climate Change launched by the Prime Minister in 2009 to tackle the threats of global warming. The government has already launched Energy Efficient and Solar Mission while a draft of Green Mission has been prepared for public consultation.

Mizoram Guinness World Record

The north-eastern state of Mizoram recently set a Guinness World Record for the largest and longest dance. A 10-minute performance of its colourful traditional bamboo dance, Cheraw, saw an astounding 10,736 dancers in 671 groups set a record in the heart of Aizawl.

Scientists slam study behind Bt Brinjal ban

A vital study cited by Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh to justify his decision to disallow the commercial cultivation of Bt brinjal in India is flawed, claim top European scientists. Mr Ramesh had referred to the findings of France-based Caen University professor Gilles-Eric Sralini and his team, which had branded Bt brinjal Indias first genetically modified (GM) food crop unsafe. Experts claim that Sralini was unduly influenced by the renowned international NGO Greenpeace with its aggressive green agenda which sponsored the study, and never carried out a peer-reviewed laboratory study on GM crops he called hazardous, including Bt maize and Bt brinjal, its gene or seeds. The European Food Safety Association, a risk assessment body, has trashed Sralinis findings on Monsantos MON 863, a variety of Bt maize. On February 9, 2010, the Union government decided to freeze the introduction of Bt Brinjal in India till independent scientific studies established health and environment safety of the product to the satisfaction of both public and experts.

Indias first PG course in Golf Management

Golf, as a sport, is one of the fastest emerging sectors in India, with an estimated growth of 30 per cent in the next five years. However, there is a huge gap for good quality management professionals to join the golfing industry in India. To bridge this gap, International School of Corporate Management (ISCOM) has partnered with the prestigious Elmwood College, St. Andrews, Scotland, to introduce the first ever Postgraduate Programme in Golf Management.

Andaman and Nicobar as a major port

The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal to declare Andaman and Nicobar set of Ports as a major port and establish the Andaman and Nicobar Port Trust with its HQ at Port Blair.

National Water Mission

The Prime Minister's Council on Climate Change has approved the National Water Mission, focusing on making water conservation a peoples' movement in the country. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who chaired the meeting of the Council, highlighted the need to create a general consciousness of the need to use water in the most sustainable manner in view of its scarcity and assess the impact of climate change on water. The Council felt that to make the Mission a peoples' movement it was essential to make available all data on water in the public domain, to be able to mobilise

Rajiv Gandhi Thermal Power project

The first 600 MW unit of the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Thermal Power project at Khedar, near Hisar, Haryana became operational on February 10, 2010. The coal handling capacity of the plant, at 2,400 tonnes per hour, is the highest in India.

Project Saraswati
Under Project Saraswati, which is the first of its kind in India, ONGC proposes to dig deep more than half a kilometreinto

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aquifers along the path the ancient Saraswati river is once believed to have taken.

Nationzl Census 2010

The 15th national census exercise, the biggest census ever to be attempted in human history to cover India's 1.2 billion population, began on April 1, 2010 with President Pratibha Patil being the first to be enumerated in the decennial exercise. The census is the most credible source of information on demography (population characteristics), economic activity, literacy and education, housing and household amenities, urbanisation, fertility and mortality, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, language, religion, migration, disability and many other socio-cultural and demographic data since 1872. Census is the only source of primary data at village, town and ward level. It provides valuable information for planning and formulation of polices for Central and State governments and is widely used by national and international agencies, scholars, business people, industrialists, and many more. The delimitation / reservation of constituencies Parliamentary / Assembly / Panchayats and other local bodies is also done on the basis of the demographic data thrown up by the census. The census is the basis for reviewing the country's progress in the past decade, monitoring the on-going schemes of the government and most importantly, plan for the future. The slogan of Census 2011 is 'Our Census, Our Future'.

districts where adult female literacy rate is 50 per cent less as per the 2001 census. The final goal, however, is to take national literacy level from 64 per cent to 80 per cent by 2017, and reduce the gender gap from 21 to 10 per cent. In the first phase, Rajasthan has clinched the maximum number of projects for 31 districts. Close behind is Uttar Pradesh with projects for 26 districts, Andhra Pradesh 18, Gujarat 13 and Uttarakhand five.

Unique Identification (UID) number christened Aadhaar

Aadhaar, or the 12-digit unique identification (UID) number that will identify the 1.2 billion residents of India on the basis of their biometrics, will have an additional four digits that will be hidden from the common man. As far as people are concerned, there would only be a 12-digit number that would be relevant for their identification and use. However, a provision of extra four digits would be a post-fix for this 12-digit number for pin-based identification. So, UID will become a 16-digit number for use and the database that will maintain be maintained by UIDAI. These four digits, which the authority terms a virtual number, will change as and when the resident changes his pin number or residence. The user, however, will only use the 12-digit number allotted to him. The first set of Aadhaars will be issued between August 2010 and February 2011. The authority plans to issue 600 million UIDs over the next five years. UIDAI, which is being headed by Nandan Nilekani, has been allocated Rs 1,900 crore for the financial year 2010-11. Of this, Rs 1,300 crore will be used to enable the registrars to enrol people in the system and the remaining Rs 600 crore will be spent for setting up the information technology infrastructure. UIDAI estimates total annual revenue of Rs 288 crore from authentication services in the initial stages.

New adult literacy mission

The Union government has chosen 19 States to start adult literacy classes under the all-new Sakshar Bharat Mission, which the Prime Minister launched in September 2009. The mission, with a whopping budgetary support of $1 billion, seeks to educate 70 million illiterates by 2012; 60 million being women. Its first phase began on January 15, 2010 in 167 districts of 19 States, which have, in the past, displayed commitment to adult literacy. The selected States are the ones that continued to stress adult literacy even after the old National Literacy Mission (NLM) was disbanded. Some States like Punjab and Himachal neglected the sector, with none having any ongoing adult literacy component or programme. The mission aims to achieve 100 per cent literacy in 365 low literacy

Social Situation Report

With over 40 per cent of people in India still living on less than $1.25 (around Rs 60) a day, India now stands third in terms of the highest proportion of extremely poor people in South Asia, next only to Nepal and Bangladesh, with corresponding percentages at 54.7 and 50.5, respectively. The latest UN Report on the World Social Situation 2010, places India below Pakistan, Myanmar and Sri Lanka

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in terms of extreme poverty. Pakistan is the only nation in the sector to have achieved the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of cutting poverty by half between 1990 and 2015. It had 73 per cent of the people in extreme poverty 15 years ago; it now has 22.6 per cent as against its MDG target of 29.3 per cent. India is lagging on the front, and must have an annual poverty reduction rate of 4.7 per cent (between 2005 and 2015) against 1.4 between 1990 and 2005 if it wants to meet the MDG target of 27 per cent; so far it has touched only 41.6 per cent. Rural India has 43.8 per cent of the people in extreme poverty as against 36.2 per cent in urban areas.

National Knowledge Network

The Union government has approved the setting up of a National Knowledge Network (NKN) that will connect all major educational institutions like the IITs, the IIMs and top universities for exchange of information and research. One of the important recommendations of the National Knowledge Commission (NKC) is to inter-connect all knowledge institutions through high speed data communication network. This would encourage sharing of knowledge, specialised resources and collaborative research. The governments decision to set up such a network was announced in 2008-09 and an initial amount of Rs.100 crore was allocated to the Department of Information Technology, Ministry of Communications and IT for this. The architecture of the NKN will be scalable and the network will consist of an ultra-high speed core (multiples of 10Gbps and upwards) to provide a nationwide ultra high-speed data-network highway. The IT mesh will connect around 1,500 institutions and the setting up of core network is expected to be completed in a span of two years.

participation in politics and decision-making, their representation in Parliament and legislatures and their control over economic resources. Gendering Human Development Index in India, released by Women and Child Development Ministry, claims GEM score of 0.497 in 2006 against 0.416 in 1996. Delhi has the highest GEM score and Nagaland the lowest. The highest GEM scorers in India are Andaman and Nicobar, Puducherry, Goa, Andhra and Himachal. The best performers on political participation of women are Punjab, Andaman and Nicobar, Himachal and Haryana. On economic empowerment of women, Chandigarh, Goa, Delhi and Punjab are the best, but in terms of control of economic resources, Meghalaya stands on top.

Indias first aero sports centre

Narnaul, a non-descript village located in the backwaters of Haryana has got Indias first aero sports centre, which was inaugurated by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, at the local airstrip on January 31, 2010. The centre, named after the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, has been set up by the Department of Civil Aviation, Haryana, in collaboration with the Aero Club of India.

97th Indian Science Congress

97th Indian Science Congress (ISC 2010) hosted by the Indian Space Research Organisation, a national science event held in Thiruvananthapuram and 98th Indian Science Congress (ISC 2011) held at Chennai.

human and gender development report

Indias human and gender development record is improving, with the latest government report showing a significant increase in countrys position on human (HDI) and gender related development indices. Indias HDI, which was 0.530 in 1996, rose to 0.605 in 2006, while GDI score improved from 0.514 in 1996 to 0.590 a decade later. A concern, however, is the countrys Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) score, which judges womens

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As I Lay Dying As You Like It Ashtadhyayi Asian Drama Aspects of the Novel Assignment Colombo Assignment India Atoms of Hope August 1914 August Coup Authors Farce Autumn Leaves Avanti Sundari Babbit Baburnama Baby and Child Back to Methuselah Bandicoot Run Bang-i-Dara Jawaharlal Nehru David Selbourne Norman Mailer Willem Doevenduin George Orwell Count Leo Tolstoy Derek Walcott Aldous Huxley Aldous Huxley George Bernad Shaw Sir Richard Burton V.S. Naipaul Vikram Seth Elia Kazan Arthur Koestler Arthur Koestler Joseph Conrad Sinclair Lewis Kautilya Banyan Tree Beach Boy Beast and Man Beating the Street Beloved Ben Hur Bermuda Triangle Between the Lines Beyond Peace Bhagwat Gita Bharal Aur Europe Bharat Bharati Big Fisherman Big Money Bill the Conqueror Billy Birth of Europe Bisarjan Athenian Constitution Ascent of the Everest William Faulkner William Shakespeare Sir John Hunt Panini Gunnar Myrdal E.M. Forster J.N. Dixit Aristotle Bitter Sweet Black Arrow Black Diaspora Black Sheep Black Tulip Bleak House Blind Ambitions Blind Beauty Bloodline Blood Sport Blue Bird Bone People Book of the Sword Born Free Bostaan Breaking the Silence Breakthrough Brif History of Time Britains True History Broken Wings Bubble Buddha Charitam Bunch of Old Letters Bureaucrazy Butterfield 8 By Gods Decree Byzantium Caesar and Cleopatra Call the Briefing Cancer Ward Canterbury Tales Canvass of Life Caravans Cardinal Castle Catch-22 Catcher in the Rye Centennial Chance Chandalika Noel Coward Robert Louis Stevenson Ronald Segal Honore de Balzac Alexander Dumas Charles Dickens John Dean Boris Pasternak Sidney Sheldon James Stewart Maurice Macterlink Keri Hulme Sir Richard Burton Joy Adamson Sheikh Saadi Anees Jung Gen.Moshe Dayan Stephen Hawking Prem Bhatia Sarojini Naidu Mulk Raj Anand Ashvaghosha Jawaharlal Nehru M.K. Kaw John OHara Kapil Dev W.B. Yeats G.B. Shaw Martin Fitzwater Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn G.Chaucer Sheila Gujral James A. Michener Henry M. Robinson Franz Kafka Joseph Heller J.D. Salinger James Michener Joseph Conrad Rabindranath Tagore

BOOKS - AUTHORS
Authors V.S. Naipaul Satish Gujral I.K. Gujral Tiziano Terzani Alien Nation All for Love

Books A Bend in the river A Brush with Life A Foreign Policy for India A Fortune Teller Told Me A Peep into the Past A Possible India A Reveolutionary Life A Secular Agenda A Simple Path A Suitable Boy A Tale of Two Gardens A Tryst With Destiny Abbot Absalom, Absalom Absalom and Achitophel Acoession to Extinction Adam Bede Adhe Adhure Adonis Adventures of Tom Sawyer Adversary in the House Advice and Consent Aeneid Affluent Society After All These Years After the Dark Night Against the Grain Age of Reason Agni Pariksha Agni Veena Agony and the Ecstasy Airport Ajatshatru Alaska Unbound Alchemist

Alexander Quartet Alexander the Great Alice in Wonderland

Lawrence Durrel John Gunther Lewis Carroll Peter Brimelow John Dryden Pearl S.Buck Aldous Huxley Anita Brookner Amar Singh J.K. Galbraith Chester Bowles Henry Fielding J.K. Galbraith Gunnar Myrdal Robert Louis

Christopher Thomas Mohan Sundara Rajan

Vasant Navrekar Partha Chatterjee Laxmi Sehgal Arun Shourie Lucinda Vardey Vikram Seth Octavio Paz Stanley Wolfer Walter Scott William Faulkner John Dryden D.R. Mankekar George Eliot Mohan Rakesh P.B. Shelley Mark Twain lrving Stone Allen Drury Virgil J.K.Galbraith Susan Issacs S.M. Ali Boris Yeltsin Jean Paul Sartre Acharya Tulsi Kazi Nazrul Islam Irving Stone Arthur Hailey Jai Shankar Prasad James Michener Ben Johnson

All Under Heaven Along the Road Altered States Amar Kosh Ambassadors Journal Ambassadors Report Amelia American Capitalism An American Dilemma An Apology for Idlers Stevenson An Autobiography An Eye to China Ancient Evenings Angry Letters Animal Farm Anna Karenina Another Life Antic Hay Ape and Essence Apple Cart Arabian Nights Area of Darkness Arion and the Dolphin Arrangement Arrival and Departure Arrow in the Blue Arrow of Good Arrowsmith Arthashastra

Alexander Solzhenitsyn Mikhali S. Gorbachev Henry Fielding O.Pulla Reddi Dandin Sinclair Lewis Babur Penelope Leach G.B. Shaw Manohar Malgonkar Mohammad lqbal Hugh Tinker Ardesher Vakil Murry Midgley Peter Lynch Toni Morrison Lewis Wallace Charles Berlitz Bill Clinton Kuldip Nayar Richard Nixon Veda Vyas Nirmal Verma Maithili Sharan Gupta Lloyd C. Douglas P.G. Wodehouse P.G. Wodehouse Albert French Robert, S. Lopez R.N. Tagore

An American Tragedy Theodore Dreiser

Between Hope and History

Cherry Orchard Anton Chekhov Chidambara Sumitranandan Pant Child Who Never Grew Pearl S. Buck Childhood Maxim Gorky Children of Gabelawi Naquib Mahfouz Children of the Sun Maxim Gorky China Passage J.K. Galbraith China-Past and Present Pearl S. Buck Chinas Watergate Leo Goodstadt Chinese Betrayal B.N. Mullick Chitra Rabindranath Tagore Chomas Drum K. Shivaram Karanath Christabel Samuel Taylor Coleridge Christmas Tales Charles Dickens Chithirappaavai P.V. Akilandam City of Joy Dominique Lapierre City of Saints Sir Richard Burton Class Erich Segal Climate of Treason Andrew Boyle Clockwork Orange Anthony Burgess Clown Heinrich Boll Cocktail Party T.S. Eliot Colonel Sun Kingsley Amis Common Sense Thomas Paine Communist Manifesto Karl Marx Confessions J.J.Rousseau Confessions of a Lover Mulk Raj Anand Comus John Milton Confidential Clerk T.S. Eliot Conquest of Self Mahatma Gandhi Conservationist Nadine Gordimer Continent of Circle Nirad C.Chaudhuri Coolie

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Pleading Guilty Scott Turow Poison Belt Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Politics Aristotle Portrait of India Ved Mehta Possessed Albert Camus Post Office Rabindranath Tagore Power and Glory Graham Greene Power That Be David Halberstan Prathama Pratishruti Ashapurna Devi Prem Pachisi Prem Chand Prelude William Wordsworth Premonitions P.N. Haksar Princess in Love Ann Pasternak Prison Diary Jayaprakash Narayan Prisoner of Zenda Anthony Hope Prisoners Scrapbook L.K. Advani Primary Colors Anonymous Prince Machiavelli Prithviraj Raso Chand Bardai Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen Principia Isaac Newton Professor Charlotte Bronte Profiles & Letters K. Natwar Singh Promises to Keep Chester Bowles Purgatory Alighieri Dante Pyramids of Sacrifice Peter L.Berger Pygmation G.B. Shaw Quarantene Jim Crass Rabbit, Run John Updike Rage of Angels Sydney Sheldon Ragtime E.L. Doctorow Raghuvamsa Kalidas Rajtarangini Kalhana Ram Charit Manas Tulsidas Rangbhoomi Prem Chand Rains Came Louis Bromefield Rain King Saul Bellow Rainbow Pearl S. Buck Rape of the Lock Alexander Pope Ratnavali Harsha Vardhan Razors Edge Somerset Maugham Rebel Albert Camus Rebirth Leonid Brezhnev Red and Black Stendhal Red Star Over China Edgar Snow Rediscovering Gandhi Yogesh Chadha Red Badge of Courage Stephen Crane Remembering Babylon David Malouf Reminiscences Thomas Carlyle Reminiscences Thomas Carlyle Reprieve Jean Paul Sartre Republic Plato Rescue Joseph Conrad Resurrection Leo Tolstoy Return of the Native Thomas Hardy Revenue Stamp Amrita Pritam Rich Like Us Nayantara Sehgal Riding the Storm Harold MacMillan Rights the Man Thomas Paina Ritu Ka Pehla Phool Vijendra Ritu Samhara Kalidas Rivals R.B. Sheridan River Sutra Gita Mehta Road to Folly Leslie Ford Road to Freedom K.K. Khullar Robe Lloyd C. Douglas Robinson Crusoe Daniel Defoe Romeo and Juliet William Shakespeare Room at the Top John Braine Roots Rukh Te Rishi Harbhajan Singh Sader-i-Riyasat Karan Singh Sakharam Binder Vijay Tendulkar Saket Maithili Sharan Gupta Satyartha Prakash Swami Dayanand Smalers Planet Saul Bellow Sanctuary William Faulkner Sands of Time Sidney Sheldon Santa Evita Tomas Eloymartinez Satanic Verses Salman Rushdie Savitri Aurobindo Ghosh Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne Scarlet Pimpernel Baroness Orczy Schindlrs List Thomas Keneally School for Scandal R.B. Sheridan Search for Home Sasthi Brata Second World War Winston Churchill Secret Agent Joseph Conrad Sense of Time S.H. Vatsyayan Sesame and Lilies John Ruskin Seven Summers Mulk Raj Anand

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Tale of a Tub Jonathan Swift Tale of Two Cities Charles Dickens Tales from Shakespeare Charles Lamb Talisman Sir Walter Scott Tamas Bhisham Sahni Tar Baby Toni Morrison Tarkash Javed Akhtar Temple Tiger Jim Corbett Tess of DUrbervilles Thomas Hardy Thank You, Jeeves P.G. Wodehouse The Age of Extremes Eric Holsbawm The Assassination K. Mohandas The Agony and Ecstasy Irving Stone The Beach Tree Pearl S. Buck The Commitments Roddy Doyle The Cardinal Henry Morton Robinson The Chinese Betrayal B.N. Mullick The Congress Splits R.P. Rao The Diplomatic Bag John Ure Ugly Duckling H.C. Anderson Ulysses James Joyce Uncle Toms Cabin Mrs.Hariet Stowe Unconsoled Kazuo Ishiguro Under Western Eye Joseph Conrad Unhappy India Lala Lajpat Rai Universe Around Us James Jeans Until Darkness Parvin Ghaffari Utouchable Mulk Raj Anand Upturned Soil Mikhail Sholokov Uttar Ramcharita Bhava Bhuti Utopia Thomas More Unto This Last John Ruskin Untold Story Gen.B.M.Kaul Valley of Dolls Jacqueline Susanne Vanity Fair Thackeray Vendor of Sweets R.K.Narayan Venisamhara Narayana Bhatt Very Old Bones William Kennedy Victim Saul Bellow Victory Joseph Conrad View from Delhi Chester Bowles View from the UN U Thant Village by the Sea Anita Desai Village Mulk Raj Anand Vinay Patrika Tulsidas Maithili Sharan Gupta Virangana Virginians William Thackeray Voice of Conscience V.V. Giri Voice of Freedom Nayantara Sehgal Voice of the Voiceless Rutsh Harring Waiting for Godot Samuel Becket Waiting to Exhale Terry McMillan Wake up India Annie Besant Walls of Glass K.A. Abbas War and Peace Tolstoy War of the Worlds H.G.Wells Waste Land T.S. Eliot Way of the World William Congreve We, Indians Khushwant Singh We, the People N.A. Palkhivala Wealth of Nations Adam Smith Week with Gandhi Louis Fischer West Wind Pearl S. Buck Westward Ho Charles Kingsley While England Sleeps David Leavitt Whispers of the Desert Fatima Bhutto White House Years Henry Kissinger Widening Divide Rafiq Zakaria Wild Asss Skin Honore de Balzac Winston Churchill Clive Ponting Witness to History Prem Bhatia Witness to an Era Frank Moraes Womans Life Guy de Maupassant World Within Words Stephen Spender Worthy it is Odysseus Elytis Wuthering Heights Emily Bronte Yajnaseni Dr. Pratibha Roy Yama Mahadevi Verma Yashodhara Maithili Sharan Gupta Yayati V.S. Khandekar Year of the Upheaval Henry Kissinger Year of the Vulture Amita Malik Years of Pilgrimage Dr.Raja Ramanna Yesterday and Today K.P.S. Menon Zulfi, My Friend Piloo Mody

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IMPORTANT DAYS

March 23 March 24 March 25 March 27 April 2 April 4 April 7 April 14 April 16 April 17 April 21 April 22 April 23 April 24 April 25 April 26 April 28 April 29 May 1 May 2 May 3 May 4 May 5 May 6 May 7 May 8 May 12 May 15 May 17 May 18 May 19 May 21 May 22 May 23

January January January January

1 1 4 6

January 24 January 27 January 28 January 29 February 2 February 4 February 6 February 11 February 12 February 14 February 20 February 21 February 22 March 4 March 6 March 8 March 8 March 14 March 15 March 15 March 20 March 20 March 21 March 21 March 22

Global Family Day World Day of Peace World Hypnotism Day World day for War orphans 3rd Sunday of January - World Religion Day National girl child day of India International Holocaust Remembrance Day Data Protection Day World Leprosy Day World Wetlands Day World Cancer Day International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation World Day of the Sick Darwin Day Valentines Day World Day of Social Justice International Mother Language Day International Scouts Day World Kamau's Day Dentist's Day United Nations Day for Women's Rights and International Peace International Women's Day International Day of Action for Rivers World Day of Muslim Culture, Peace, Dialogue and Film World Consumer Rights Day International Day of the Francophonie World Day of Theatre for Children and Young People International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination World Poetry Day World Day for Water

- World Meteorological Day - International Day for Achievers, World Tuberculosis Day - International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade - World Theatre Day - World Autism Awareness Day - International Day for Mine Awareness - World Health Day - Cultural Unity Day, recognized by India, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bangladesh and Nepal. - World Entrepreneurship Day (WED) site - World Hemophilia Day - World Creativity and Innovation Day - Earth Day - World Book and Copyright Day - World Day for Laboratory Animals - World Malaria Day - World Intellectual Property Day - International Workers' Memorial Day - World Dance Day - May Day - Labour Day - International Day of Deliberately Unemployed - World Press Freedom Day - International Firefighters' Day - International Midwives Day - International Awareness Day for Osteogenesis Imperfecta - Rabindranath Tagore's Anniversary Day - World Red Cross & Red Crescent Day - International Nurses Day - International Day of Families - World Information Society Day - International Museum Day - World Hepatitis Day - World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development - International Day for Biological Diversity - World Turtle Day

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May 29 - International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers May 31 - World No Tobacco Day 1st Tuesday of May - World Asthma Day 2nd Saturday of May - World Fair Trade Day 2nd Sunday of May - International Mothers' Day June 1 - International Children's Day June 4 - International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression June 5 - World Environment Day June 8 - World Brain Tumour Day June 8 - World Ocean Day June 12 - World Day Against Child Labour June 14 - World Blood Donor Day June 17 - World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought June 18 - International Picnic Day June 19 - World Sickle Cell Day June 20 - World Refugee Day June 21 - World Music Day June 23 - United Nations Public Service Day June 26 - International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking June 26 - International Day in Support of Victims of Torture 3rd Sunday of June - International Fathers' Day July 1 - Doctor's Day, Bidhan Chandra Roy Birth Day 1st Saturday of July - International Day of Cooperatives July 1 - International Reggae Day - Jamaica July 7 - International Cooperative Day July 8 - Writer's Day July 11 - World Population Day July 23 - World Stress Down Day August 9 - International Day of the World's Indigenous People August 12 - International Youth Day August 13 - International Lefthanders Day August 19 - World Humanitarian Day August 23 - International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition September 8 - International Literacy Day

September September September September

10 - World Suicide Prevention Day 11 - World First Aid Day 15 - International Day of Democracy 16 - International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer September 19 - International Talk Like a Pirate Day September 21 - International Day of Peace, recognized by the UN September 21 - World Alzheimer's Day September 26 - European Day of Languages September 27 - World Tourism Day September 28 - Right to Know Day September 28 - World Rabies Day First Monday of October - World Habitat Day October 1 - International Day of Older Persons October 1 - World Vegetarian Day October 2 - International Day of Non-Violence October 3 - World Smile Day October 4 - World Animal Day October 5 - World Teachers' Day Second Wednesday of October - International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction October 9 - World Hospice and Palliative Care Day October 8 - World Humanitarian Action Day October 8 - World Egg Day - 2nd Friday of October every year October 9 - World Post Day October 9 - Global Jamie Day October 10 - World Mental Health Day October 10 - World Day Against Death Penalty October 14 - World Standards Day October 15 - World Blind Day / World Sight Day October 15 - International Day of Rural Women October 15 - Global Handwashing Day October 16 - National Boss Day (Boss's Day) October 16 - World Food Day, recognized by the UN October 17 - International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

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October 20 - International Day of the Air Traffic Controller October 20 - World Statistics Day October 24 - United Nations Day, recognized by the UN October 24 - World Development Information Day October 27 - World Day for Audiovisual Heritage Third Sunday of November - World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims November 1 - World Vegan Day November 6 - International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict November 8 - Paul S Day November 9 - World Freedom Day November 10 - World Immunization Day November 14 - World Diabetes Day November 16 - International Day for Tolerance November 17 - International Students Day November 19 - International Men's Day November 19 - World Toilet Day November 20 - Africa Industrialization Day November 20 - Universal Children's Day November 21 - World Hello Day November 21 - World Television Day November 25 - International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women November 25 - International Meatless Day November 30 - Computer Security Day December 1 - World Aids Day December 2 - International Day for the Abolition of Slavery December 3 - International Day of Persons with Disabilities December 5 - International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development December 7 - International Civil Aviation Day December 9 - The International Day against Corruption December 10 - Human Rights Day December 11 - International Mountain Day

December December December December

16 - International Hug a Recovered Invalid Day 17 - International Rabbit's Day 18 - International Migrants Day, recognized by the UN 19 - United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation

1 - International Mountain Day

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DGTD DHSD DIA DIG DIR DMA DMK DMRC DMRTS DOD DOE DOTS DPBS DPI DPSA DRDO DRES DRF DRI DSB DSC DSIDC DSL DST DTAA DTH DTS DVC DVD DVM DWT EAC EARC EAS ECA ECAFE : Directorate General of Technical Development : Duplex-High Speed Data Service : Defence Intelligence Agency : Deputy Inspector General : Defence of India Rules : Direct Memory Access : Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam : Delhi Metro Rail Corporation : Delhi Metro Rapid Transport System : Department of Ocean Development : Department of Electronics : Directly Observed Treatment Short-Course : Developmental Press Bulletin Service : Director of Public Instruction : Deep Penetration Strike Air craft : Defence Research and Development Organisation : Department of Renewable Energy Sources : Depreciation Reserve Fund : Differential Rate of Interest : Digital Satellite Broadcasting : Distinguished Service Cross : Defence Scientific Information and Documentation Centre : Digital Subscriber Line : Department of Science and Technology : Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement : Direct-to-Home : Digital Theatre System : Damodar Valley Corporation : Digital Versatile/Video Disc : Doctor of Veterinary Medicine : Dead Weight Tonnes : Employment Assistance Centre : Economic Administrative Reforms Commission : Employment Assurance Scheme : Essential Commodities Act : Economic Commission for Asia and Far East : Economic Commission for Europe ECG : Electrocardiogram ECGC : Export Credit and Guarantee Corporation ECHR : European Commission on Human Rights ECM : European Common Market ECOSOC: Economic and Social Council ECS : Electronic Clearance Service EDBI : Educational Development Bank of India EDCIL : Educational Consultants India Ltd. EDI : Electronic Data Interchange EDMS : Electronic Document Management System EEC : European Economic Community EEC : Electro Encephalogram EEZ : Exclusive Economic Zone EFA : Education For All EFF : Extended Fund Facility EGP : Exterior Gateway Protocol EIL : Engineers India Limited EIS : Executive Information System ELJSA : Enzyme Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay ELSS : Equity Linked Saving Scheme E-mail : Electronic Mailing EMF : Electro Motive Force EMG : Electro Myograni EMS : European Monetary System EMU : European Monetary Union ENS : Eastern Newspapers Society EOU : Export Oriented Units EPCG : Export Promotion Capital Goods EPCH : Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts EPCJ : Enhanced Proliferation Control Initiative EPF : Employees Provident Fund EPO : Earth Parking Orbit EPZ : Export Processing Zone ERM : Exchange Rate Mechanism ERNET : Educational and Research Network ERS : European Remote Sensing ESA : European Space Agency ECE ESC ESIC ESMA ESP EST Est ETT ETV EVM EVR FACT FAO FBI FBTR FBW FCI FCRA FDI FEDEX FEMA FERA FICCI FIEO FIFA FIH FII FIPB FIPC FIR FIRE FLAG FM FMCT FORE FRCP FRCS FRGS FRN FRS

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: Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council : Employees State Insurance Corporation : Essential Services Maintenance Act : Extra Sensory Perception : Eastern Standard Time : Established : Embryo Transfer Technology : Educational Television : Electronic Voting Machine : Electro video Recording : Fertilizers & Chemicals Travancore limited : Food and Agriculture Organisation : Federal Bureau of Investigation : Fast Breeder Test Reactor : Fly-By-Wire : Food Corporation of India : Foreign Contribution Regulation Act : Foreign Direct Investment : Federal Express : Foreign Exchange Management : Foreign Exchange Regulation Act : Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry : Federation of Indian Exports Organisations : International Football Federation : International Hockey Federation : Foreign Institutional Investors : Foreign Investment Promotion Board : Foreign Investment Promotion Council : First Information Report : Fully Integrated Robotised Engine : Fibre-optic Link Around the Globe : Field Marshal : Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty : Foundation for Organisational Research and Education : Fellow of Royal College of Physicians : Fellow of Royal College of Surgeons : Fellow of Royal Geographical Society : Floating Rate Note : Fellow of Royal Society FTP FTS FTU FTZ GAAP GAEL GAIL GAP GATE GATT GB GCC GCF GCM GDI GDP GEF GEM GHQ GIAS GIC GIEC GIS GIST GLOBE GM GMAT : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : File Transfer Protocol Foreign Travel Scheme Free Trade Union Free Trade Zone Generally Accepted Accounting Practices Global Alliance for The Elimination of Leprosy Gas Authority of India Limited Ganga Action Plan Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering General Agreement on Tariff and Trade Great Britain Gulf Cooperation Council Greatest Common Factor Greatest Common Measure Gender-related Development Index Gross Domestic Product Global Environment Facility Gender Empowerment Measure General Headquarters Gateway Internet Access Services General Insurance Corporation Global Indian Entrepreneurs Conference Global Information System Graphics and Intelligencebased Script Technology Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment General Motors Graduate Management Admission Test Global Maritime Distress and Safety System Global Mobile Personnel Communications System Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope Greenwich Mean Time Gorkha National Liberation Front Gross National Product

GMDSS : GMPS GMRT GMT GNLF GNP : : : : :

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GOC GOI GOP Govt GPF GPO GPRS GRAM GRE GRT GSI GSLV GSM GSP GSTP GTICL HAI HAL HCF HDI HDML HEMRL HESSI HF HHEC HITEC HIV HMI HMT HP HRD HSD HSL HSTS HTCG HTML HTR : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : General Officer Commanding Government of India Grand Old Party Government General Provident Fund General Post Office General Pocket Radio System Geo Reference Area Management Graduate Record Examination Gross Rated Tonnage Geological Survey of India Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Global System for Mobile Communication Generalised System of Preferences Global System of Trade Practices Gas Transportation & infrastructure Co. Ltd. Health Action International Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Highest Common Factor Human Development Index Hyper Devices Markup Language High Energy Materials Research Laboratory High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager High Frequency Handicrafts and Handloom Exports Corporation Hyderabad Information Technology Engineering Consultancy Human Immunodeficiency Virus Himalayan Mountaineering Institute Hindustan Machine Tools Harmonic Progression Human Resource Development High Speed Diesel Hindustan Steel Limited High Speed Tram System High Technology Cooperation Group Hyper Text Markup Language High Temperature Reactor HTTP : Hypertext Transfer Protocol HUDCO : Housing and Urban Development Corporation HVNET : High Speed VSAF Network HZL : Hindustan Zinc Limited I&B : Information and Broadcasting IAAF : International Amateur Athletic Federation IAAS : Indian Audit and Accounts Service IAC : Indian Airlines Corporation IAEA : International Atomic Energy Agency IAF : Indian Air Force IAMC : Indian Army Medical Corps IAMR : Institute of Applied Manpower Research IARI : Indian Agricultural Research Institute IAS : Indian Administrative Service IASRI : Indian Agricultural Statistical Research Institute IATA : International Air Transport Association IATP : Income Adjusted to Total Population IBEF : India Brand Equity Fund IBM : International Business Machines IBRD : International Bank for Reconstruction and Development ICAA : International Civil Airports Association ICAAN : Internet Corporation for Assigned Names & Numbers ICADR : The International Centre for Alternate Dispute Resolution ICAI : Institute of Chartered Accountants of India ICAO : International Civil Aviation Organisation ICAR : Indian Council of Agricultural Research ICBL : International Campaign to Ban Landmines ICBM : Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile ICC : International Cricket Council ICCR : Indian Council for Cultural Relations ICCS : International Commission of Control and Supervision ICCW ICDS

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: Indian Council of Child Welfare : Integrated Child Development Scheme ICE : InfoTech Communications And Entertainment ICFTU : International Confederation of Free Trade Unions ICHR : Indian Council of Historical Research ICJ : International Court of Justice ICMR : Indian Council of Medical Research ICOR : International Capital Output Ratio ICPD : International Conference on Population and Development ICRA : Investment Information and Credit Rating Agency of India ICRC : International Committee of Red Cross ICRIER : Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations ICRISAT : International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics ICS : Indian Civil Service ICSI : Institute of Company Secretaries of India ICSSR : Indian Council of social Sciences Research ICSW : Indian Council of Social Welfare ICW : International Council of Women ICWA : Indian Council of World Affairs IDA : International Development Agencies IDBI : Industrial Development Bank of India IDC : Industrial Development Corporation IDD : International Direct Dialing IDE : Integrated deice Electronics IDN : Internationalised Domain Names IDPL : Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuti cals Limited IDRC : International Development Research Centre IDSA : Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis IELTS : International English Language Testing System IES : Indian Economic Service IFA : Indian Football Association IFAD : International Fund for Agricultural Development IFCI IFFCO IFFI IFRI IFRS IFS IFTU IFWJ IGCAR IGIA IGMDP IGNCA IGNFA IGNOU IGNP IHF IIAS IIFT IIIT IIMC IIP IIPA IIPA IIRS IISS IIT ILA ILO : Industrial Finance Corporation of India : Indian Farmers Fertilisers Corporation Limited : International Film Festival of India : Indian Forest Research Institute : International Financial Reporting standards : Indian Foreign Service; Indian Forest Service : International Federation of Trade Unions : Indian Federation of Working Journalists : Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research : Indira Gandhi International Airport : Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme. : Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts : Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy : Indira Gandhi National Open University : Indira Gandhi Nahar Pariyojana : Indian Hockey Federation : Indian institute of Advanced Studies : Indian Institute of Foreign Trade : Indian Institute of Information Technology : Indian Institute of Mass Communications : Indian Institute of Petroleum : Indian Institute of Public Administration : International Intellectual Property Alliance : Indian Institute of Remote Sensing : International Institute of Strategic Studies : Indian Institute of Technology : International Law Association : International Labour Organisation

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ILS IMAP IMC IMDT Instrument Landing System Internet Mail Access Protocol Indian Medical Council Illegal Migrants Determination by Tribunal Act IMF : International Monetary Fund IMS : Indian Medical Service IMY : Indira Mahila Yojana INA : Indian National Army INL : Indian National League INPEX : Indian National Philatelic Exhibition INS : Indian Navy Ship INSA : Indian National Science Academy INSAT : Indian National Satellite INTACFI : Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage INTELEX : International Teleprinter Exchange INTELSAT: International Telecommunica tion Satellite Consortium INTERPOL: International Criminal Police Organisation INTUC : Indian National Trade Union Congress IOA : Indian Olympic Association IOC : International Olympic Committee IOCOM : Indian Ocean Commonwealth IOR-ARC : Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation IOSCO : International Organisation of Securities Commission IP : Internet Protocol IPBA : Inter-Pacific Bar Association IPC : Indian Penal Code IPCL : Indian Petro-chemicals Corporation Limited IPKF : Indian Peace Keeping Force IPO : Initial Public Offering IPR : Intellectual Property Rights IPS : Indian Police Service IPSA : International Peace & Security Advancement IPU : International Parliamentary Union IQ : Intelligence Quotient IRBM : Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile IRC : International Red Cross IRCI : International Reconstruction Corporation of India : : : : : Indian Railway Construction Company IRCS : International Red Cross Society IRDA : Insurance Regulatory Development Authority IRDP : Integrated Rural Development Programme IREDA : Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency IRNA : Iranian News Agency IRRI : International Rice Research Institute IRS : Indian Remote Sensing IRSE : Indian Railway Service of Engineers ISAF : International Security Assistance Force ISB : Indian School of Business ISBA : International Sea-Bed Authority ISBN : International Standard book Number ISC : Indian Science Congress ISCON : Indian Steel Construction Company ISD : International Subscriber Dialing ISDN : Integrated Services Digital Net work ISI : Indian Standards Institute ISP : Internet Service Provider ISRO : Indian Space Research Organisation IST : Indian Standard Time ISTRAC : ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Centre ITBP : Indo-Tibetan Border Police ITDC : India Tourism Development Corporation ITES : Infotech Enabled Services ITI : Industrial Training Institute ITIR : Information Technology Investment Region ITO : International Trade Organisation ITPO : Indian Trade Promotion Oganisation ITR : Interim Test Range ITU : International Telecommunica tion Union IUCD : Intra-Uterine contraceptive device IUML : Indian Union Muslim League IUPEP : Integrated Urban Poverty Eradication Programme IRCON IVF IWAI TWDP IWRS IYC J&K JAAC JBRI JCC JCO JKLF JMM JNU JPC JRC JRY JVM JVP KBE KMBY KRC KVA KVIC KVS Kw LAC LAN LASER LCA LCD LCH LCM LDC LED LERMS LES LIC LIPS LMG LNG LOAC LPG

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: In-Vitro Fertilisation : Inland Waterways Authority of India : Integrated Watershed Development Programme : Isolated Word Re-organisation System : Indian Youth Congress : Jammu and Kashmir : Jharkhand Area Autonomous Council : Japanese Bond Research Institute : Junior Chamber of Commerce : Junior Commissioned Officer : Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front : Jhatkund Mukthi Morcha : Jawaharlal Nehru University : Joint Parliamentary Committee : Junior Red Cross : Jawahar Rozgar Yojana : Janata Vidyarthi Morcha : Janata Vimukthi Peramuna : Knight of British Empire : Khetihar Mazdoor Bima Yojana : Konkan Railway Corporation : Kilo-Volt-Ampere : Khadi and Village Industries Commission : Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan : Kilowatt : Line of Actual Control : Local Area Network : Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation : Light combat Aircraft : Liquid Crystal Display : Light Combat Helicopter : Lowest Common Multiple. : Least Developed Countries; Lower Division Clerk : Light Emitting Diode : Liberalised Exchange Rate Management Scheme : Lunar Escape System : Life Insurance Corporation : Language Independent Programme Sub-titles : Light Machine Gun : Liquefied Natural Gas : Line of Actual Control : Liquefied Petroleum Gas LPT : Licentiate in Printing technology Lt. Col : Lieutenant Colonel LTC : Leave Travel Concession LTTE : Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. MAD : Mutual Assured Destruction MAT : Management Aptitude Test MBFC : Mutual Benefit Financial Company MBRS : Multi-Barrel Rocket System MBT : Main Battle Tank MCA : Monetary Compensatory Account MCC : Missile Control Centre MCD : Municipal Corporation of Delhi MCI : Medical Council of India MCOCA : Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act MDA : Market Development Assistance MDMA : Multi Disciplinary Monitoring Agency MDS : Master of Dental Surgery MEA : Ministry of External Affairs MES : Military Engineering Service MFA : Multi-Fibre Agreement MFN : Most Favoured Nation MI : Military Intelligence MIBOR : Mumbai Inter-Bank Offered Rate MIC : Methyle isocyanate MIGA : Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency MISA : Maintenance of Internal Security Act MLA : Member of Legislative Assembly MLC : Member of Legislative Council MMDS : Multi-Channel Microwave Distribution System MMMF : Money Market Mutual Fund MMS : Multimedia Messaging Service MMT : Million Metric Tonnes MMTC : Minerals and Metals Trading Corporation MNAMS : Member of the National Academy of Medical Sciences MNC : Multinational Corporation MNP : Mobile Number Portability

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MODEM MODVAT MONEX MOU MOX MPA MPF : : : : : : : Modulator demodulator Modified Value Added Tax Monsoon Experiment Memorandum of Understanding Mixed Oxide Fuel Master of Public Administration Multinational Protection. Force Multiple Fuel Infection System Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission Mass Rapid Transit System Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation Manuscripts Master of Social Work Mahila Sainriddhi Yojna Missile Technology Control Regime Music Television : Narmada Bachao Andolan : National Building Construction Corporation NBDB : National Book Development Board NBFC : Non-banking Finance Company NBS : National Business Register NBT : National Book Trust NCA : National Commission on Agriculture NCAER : National Council of Applied Economic Research NCB : Narcotics Control Board NCBC : National Commission for Backward Classes NCBE : National Confederation of Bank Employees NCC : National Cadet Corps NCDC : National Coal Development Corporation NCERT : National Council of Educational Research and Training NCL : National Centre for Labour NCNA : New China News Agency NCO : Non-Commissioned Officer NCRB : National Capital Region Board NCTE : National Council for Teachers Education NCW : National Commission on Women NDA : National Defence Academy; National Democratic Alliance NDC : National Development Council NDDB : National Dairy Development Board NDMA : National Disaster Management Authority NDRI : National Dairy Research institute NDTF : National Democratic Teachers Front NEC : North-Eastern Council NEDC : National Economic Development Council NEEM : National Elementary Education Mission NEERI : National Environmental Engineering Research Institute NEFA : North East Frontier Agency NEHU : North-Eastern Hill University NEP : New Education Policy NER : North Eastern Railway NES : National Extension Service NEW : Net Economic Welfare NBA NBCC NFAI NFC NFDC

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: National Film Archives of India : Nuclear Fuel Complex : National Film Development Corporation NFR : Northeast Frontier Railway NGO : Non-Governmental Organisation NGRI : National Geophysical Research Institute NHAI : National Highway Authority of India NHB : National Housing Bank NHPC : National Hydro-electric Power Corporation NHRC : National Human Rights Commission NIB : National investment Bank NIC : National Informatics Centre NICD : National Institute of Communicable Diseases NID : National Institute of Designs NIDC : National Industrial Development Corporation NIDS : National Immunisation Days NIFT : National Institute of Fashion Technology NII : National Institute of Immunology; National Information infrastructure NIIT : National Institute of Information Technology NIM : Nehru Institute of Mountaineering NIMHANS : National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences NIO : National Institute of Oceanography NIPFP : National institute of Public Finance and Policy NIS : Netaji Subhash Institute of Sports NIV : National Institute of Virology NKN : National Knowledge Network NLM : National literacy Mission NLTA : National Lawn Tennis Association NMD : National Missile Defence NMDC : National Mineral Development Corporation NMEP : National Malaria Eradication Programme NMNH : National Museum of Natural History NMR : Nuclear Magnetic Resonance NNP : National Nutrition Policy NOC : No Objection Certificate NPC : National Productivity Council NPCC : National Projects Construction Corporation NPCL : Nuclear Power Corporation of India NPP : National Perspective Plan NPR : National Population Register NPT : Non-Proliferation Treaty NRDC : National Research Development Corporation NREGA : National Rural Employment Guarantee Act NREGP : National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme NRF : National Renewable Fund NRHM : National Rural Health Mission NRI : Non-Resident Indian NRSA : National Remote Sensing Agency NRT : Net Registered Tonnes NRY : Nehru Rozgar Yojana NSAP : National Social Assistance Programme NSC : National Security Council National Saving Certificate NSCI : National Sports Club of India NSD : National School of Drama NSEI : National Stock Exchange of India NSG : National Security Guards NSIC : National Small Industries Corporation NSS : National Service Scheme NSSO : National Sample Survey Organisation NSUI : National Students Union of India NTC : National Textile Corporation NTP : National Temperature and Pressure NTPC : National Thermal Power Corporation NTS : National Testing Service NUJ : National Union of Journalists NVF : National Volunteer Force NWDA : National Water Development Agency NWGP : National Working Group on Power NWRC : National Water Resources Council OAS : Organisation of American States OBC : Other Backward Classes

MPFI : MPLADS : MRTPC MRTS MRVC MSS MSW MSY MTCR MTV NAAI : : : : : : : :

: National Airport Authority of India NABARD : National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development NAC : National Advisory Council NAECL : National Authority on Elimination of Child Labour NAFTA : North America Free Trade Agreement NALCO : National Aluminium Company Limited NAM : Non-Aligned Movement NAMS : National Academy of Medical Science NAPP : Narora Atomic Power Plant NARO : National Amnesty and Redemption Organisation NASA : National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASDAQ : National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation NASSCOM : National Association of Software and Service Companies NATO : North Atlantic Treaty Organisation NAV : Net Asset Value NAWO : National Alliance for Women NAYE : National Alliance of Young Entrepreneurs

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OCS ODA OECD OECF OEEC OGL OIC OIL ONGC OPEC OPF OPV ORT OTCEI OTS P&T PAC PAL PAN PATA PBS PCC PCI PCM PCRA PCS PDA PDPA PBS PEC PERT PESB PETA PFC PFRDA PGA PHC PIA : Overseas Communication Service : Official Development Assistance : Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development : Overseas Economic Cooperative Fund : Organisation for European Economic Cooperation : Open General Licence : Organisation of Islamic Conference : Oil India Limited : Oil and Natural Gas Corporation : Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries : Ordnance Parachute Factory : Oral Polio Vaccine : Oral Rehydration Therapy : Over the Counter Exchange of India : Officers Training School : Posts & Telegraphs : Public Accounts Committee : Phase Alternative Line : Permanent Account Number : Pacific Asia Travel Association : Public Broadcasting Service : Pradesh Congress Committee : Press Council of India : Public Code Modulation : Petroleum Conservation Research Association : Provincial Civil Service : Personal Digital Assistant Preventive Detention Act : Peoples Democratic Party of Afghanistan : Public Distribution System : Projects and Equipment Corporation : Project Evaluation and Review Technique : Public Enterprises Selection Board : People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals : Power Finance Corporation : Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority : Parliamentarians for Global Action : Primary Health Centre : Pakistan International Airways PIB PIL PIM : Press Information Bureau : Public Interest Litigation : Personal Information Management PIN-Code: Postal Index Number Code PIO : Persons of Indian Origin PLO : Palestine Liberation Organisation PLR : Prime Lending Rates PM : Prime Minister PMG : Post Master General PML : Pakistan Muslim League. POTA : Prevention of Terrorism Act POW : Prisoner of War PPF : Planet Protection Fund PRCL : Pipavav Railway Corporation Ltd. PRO : Public Relations Officer PROLOG: Programming Logic PSC : Public Service Commission PSLV : Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PTBT : Partial Test Ban Treaty PTI : Press Trust of India PTO : Please Turn Over PUCL : Peoples Union of Civil Liberties PVC : Param Vir Chakra; Poly Vinyl Chloride PVSM : Param Vishisht Seva Medal PWD : Public Works Department PWG : Peoples War Group QCT : Quality Council of India QMG : Quarter Master General QMT : Quantitative Management Technique QR : Quantitative Restriction R&D : Research and Development RABMN : Remote Area Business Message Network RAD : Research And Development RADAR : Radio Detecting and Ranging RAF : Rapid Action Force RAM : Random Access Memory RAW : Research and Analysis Wing RAX : Random Access Exchange RBI : Reserve Bank of India RBS : Risk Based Supervision RCC : Reinforced Cement Concrete RCI : Rehabilitation Council of India RDA : Rural Development Agency REC : Rural Electrification Corporation REM : Rapid Eye Movement REP : Replenishment Export Permit RI RIA RIMC RITA RITES RMO RMS RNA RNO ROM ROO RPF RPM RPV RRB RRC RSE RSP RSS RTA RTC RTG RTIA SAARC SAC : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :

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Rigorous Imprisonment Radio Immuno Assay Rashtriya Indian Military College Regional Trade & Investment Agreement Rail India Technical and Economic Services Resident Medical Officer Railway Mail Service Ribonucleic Acid Resident Naval Officer Read Only Memory Rules of Origin Railway Protection Force Revolutions Per Minute Remote-controlled Pilotless Vehicle Rural Regional Bank Regional Reactor Centre Renewable Source of Energy Rourkela Steel Plant Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh Railway Territorial Army Round Table Conference Radio-isotope Thermo-electric Generator Regional Trade & Investment Area South Asian Association fir Regional Cooperation Space Application Centre Science Advisory Council South African Development Coordination Council South Asian Development Fund South Asian Economic Community South Asia Free Media Association South-Asian Free Trade Agreement South Asians Human Rights Forum Sports Authority of India Steel Authority of India Limited Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty Surface-to-Air Missile South Asian Preferential Trading Arrangement South Asia Regional Fund Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome South Asian Sub-regional Economic Co-operation SAT SATTE SAVE SCBA SCI SCOPE SDI SDO SDR SEATO SEBC SEBI SEPUR SER SEWA SEZ SFC SGAI SHAR SHCIL SIAM SIDBI SIDC SIEMA SIF SIMI SIPRI SIT SITA SITE SLBM SLFP SLR SLV SMS SMTP SPCA : Scholastic Aptitude Test : South Asia Travel and Tourism Exchange : SAARC Audio Visual Exchange : Supreme Court Bar Association : Shipping Corporation of India : Standing Committee of Public Enterprises : Strategic Defence Initiative : Sub-Divisional Officer : Special Drawing Rights : South Fast Asia Treaty Organisation : Socially and Educationally Backward : Securities Exchange Board of India : Self-Employment Programme for the Urban Poor : South Eastern Railway : Self-Employed Womens Association : Special Economic Zone : State Financial Corporation Strategic Forces Command : Students Global Aptitude Index : Sriharikota Tracking Station : Stock Holding Corporation of India Ltd. : Society for Indian Automobile Manufacturers : Small Industries Development Bank of India : State Industrial Development Corporation : Southern India Engineering Manufacturers Association : Stock Index Futures : Students Islamic Movement of India : Stockholm International Peace Research Institute : Special Investigation Team : Suppression of Immoral Traffic Act : Satellite Instructional Television Experiment : Sea-Launch Ballistic Missile : Sri Lanka Freedom Party : Statutory Liquidity Ratio : Satellite Launch Vehicle : Short Messaging Service : Simple Mail Transfer Protocol : Society for the Prevention of to Animals

SADCC : SADF SAEC SAFMA SAFTA SAHR SAI SAIL SALT SAM SAPTA SARF SARS SASEC : : : : : : : : : : : : :

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SPE SPG SRAM SRI SRO SSA SSB SSC SSI SSM START STC STD STEP STF STPI : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : Special Police Establishment Special Protection Group Short Range Attack Missile Systems Research Institute Statutory Rules and Orders Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan Service Selection Board Staff Selection Commission Supplemental Security Income Small Scale Industry Surface to Surface Missile Strategic Arms Reduction Talks State Trading Corporation Subscriber Trunk Dialing Satellite Telecommunication Experiment Project Special Task Force Software Technology Parks of India Sports Utility Vehicle Saturated Vapour Pressure South-West Africa People Organisation Society for World-wide International Financial Transactions, Technical Advisory Committee Tactics and Aircraft Development Establishment Technical and Further Education Trans-Atlantic Free Travel Agreement Tarapur Atomic Power Station Trunk Automatic Exchange Tactical Collision Avoidance System Telecommunication Consultants India Limited Trade Development Authority Time Division Multiple Access Telugu Desam Party Tax-Deduction at Source Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company Teleprinter Exchange Tata Energy Research Institute Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station Trade Fair Authority of India Thin Film Transistor Trade Guarantee Scheme Tehri Hydro Development Project Temperature Humidity Index TIFR TISCO TMC TMO TNC TNT TNV TOEFL TPDS TRACT TRAI TRIFED TRIMS TRIPS TRP TRYSEM TTCI TTD TTE TULF UAE UAPA UAR UAV UDC UDF UDI UFO UGC UHF UID ULF ULFA UN UNAEC UNCED : Tata Institute of Fundamental Research : Tata Iron and Steel Company : Tamil Maanila Congress : Telegraph Money Order : Transnational Corporation : Tri nitro toluene : Tripura National Volunteers : Test of English as a Foreign language : Targeted Public Distribution System : Transportable Remote Area Communications Terminal : Telecom Regulatory Authority of India : Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Ltd. : Trade Related Investment Measures : Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights : Television Rating Points : National Scheme of Training for Rural Youth for SelfEmployment : Tea Trading Corporation of India : Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam : Travelling Ticket Examiner : Tamil United Liberation Front : United Arab Emirates : Unlawful Activities : United Arab Republic : Unmanned Aerial Vehicle : Upper Division Clerk : United Democratic Front : Unilateral Declaration Independence : Unidentified Flying Object : University Grants Commission : Ultra High Frequency : Unique Identification : United Legislature Front : United Liberation Front of Assam : United Nations : United Nations Atomic Energy Commission : United Nations Conference on Environment and Development

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UNCLOS : United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea UNCOD : United Nations Conference on Desertification UNCSTD : United Nations Conference on Science and Technology for Development UNCTAD : United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNDC : United Nations Disarmament Commission UNDOF : United Nations Disengagement Observer Force UNDP : United Nations Development Programme UNESCO : United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation UNFCC : United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change UNFPA : United Nations Fund for Population Activities UNHCR : United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UNI : United News of India UNIC : United Nations information Centre UNICEF : United Nations Childrens Fund UNIDO : United Nations Industrial Development Organisation UNSC : United Nations Security Council UNSCOM: UN Special Commission UNTAG : United Nations Transition Assistance Group UPA : United Progressive Alliance UPC : Under Postal Certificate UPS : Uninterrupted Power Supply UPSC : Union Public Service Commission UPU : Universal Postal Union UTI : Unit Trust of India VAM : Virtual Area Network VAT : Value-Added Tax VCR : Video Cassette Recorder VCRC : Vector Control Research Centre VDIS : Voluntary Disclosure Income Scheme VECC : Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre VHF : Very High Frequency VHP : Vishwa Hindu Parishad VHRR : Very High Resolution Radiometre VHS VIP VIRUS : Video Home System : Very Important Person : Vital Information Resources Under Siege VOA : Voice of America VPP : Value Payable Post VRDE : Vehicles Research and Development Establishment VRS : Voluntary Retirement Scheme VSAT : Very Small Aperture Terminal VSNL : Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited VSP : Visakhapatnam Steel Plant VSSC : Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre WADA : World Anti-Doping Agency WAP : Wireless Application Protocol WASME : World Assembly of Small and Medium Enterprises WAY : World Assembly of Youth WCAR : World Conference Against WCD : World Commission of Dams WCO : World Customs Organisation WEF : World Economic Forum World Environment Forum WFP : World Food Programme WFS : World Food Summit WFTU : World Federation of Trade Unions WHO : World Health Organisation WILL : Wireless in Local Loop WIFO : World Intellectual Property Organisation WMD : Weapons of Mass Destruction WMO : World Meteorological Organisation WPI : Wholesale Price Index WSIS : World Summit on Information Society WTO : World Trade Organisation WWF : World Wildlife Fund WWW : World Wide Web YMCA : Young Mens Christian Association YWCA : Young Womens Christian Association ZBB : Zero-Based Budgeting ZETA : Zero Energy Thermonuclear Assembly ZPG : Zero Population Growth ZS : Zoological Society ZSI : Zoological Survey of India

SUV : SVP : SWAPO : SWIFT TAC TACDE TAFE TAFTA TAPS T AX TCAS TCIL TDA TDMA TDP TDS TELCO TELEX TERI TERLS TFAI TFT TGS THDP THI : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :