INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

• The fifth edition of the World Future Energy Summit was held in Abu Dhabi, capital of UAE from 16 to 19 January 2012. The theme of this year’s World Future Energy Summit was - Sustainable Energy for All. The summit discussed the need to exploit the alternative sources like solar, wind, tidal energy etc. • 's Supreme Court issued a contempt of court notice to Prime MinisterYousuf Raza Gilani for failing to re-open graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari. The Apex Court also asked the Pakistan Prime Minister to appear before it on 19 January 2012. A seven-judge bench led by Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk issued the order.

• UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has recognised the efforts of the tribal community of Koraput to conserve biodiversity and develop climate resilient farm practices as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS). Mentioning this at the inauguration of the 99th Indian Science Congress, Prime Minister lauded the Koraput tribals for the achievement. He honoured Raita Maduli and Chandra Pradhan of Koraput for preserving the traditional agricultural system of the region. The recognition of the Koraput Traditional Agricultural System as a GIAHS site is expected to guarantee local and international efforts for the conservation of biodiversity and sustainable use of its genetic resources. • Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi became Yemen's new president on 26 February, formally removing autocrat Ali Abdullah Saleh from power.

• Iran on 15 February 2012 launched three nuclear projects including a fourth generation Ultra Centrifuge, which is capable of enriching the Uranium faster than its earlier models. The first one was at the Iranian Atomic Organization Research Center in Tehran where Iran's first home-made nuclear fuel rods were loaded into a medical reactor. This would be used for production of isotopes used in treatment of cancer patients.Iran unveiled two other projects in the Natanz plant in central Iran. Enriched uranium is a critical component for both civil nuclear power generation and nuclear weapons.

• President of , resigned on 7 February 2012 after weeks of protest, which was against his decision to sack a judge that, he had accused of favouring the opposition. Vice President Mohammed Waheed Hassan was sworn in as President, following Nasheed’s resignation. It is alleged that police officers sided with anti-government demonstrators. Nasheed was elected in 2008 when Maldives held its first democratic election, following three decades of rule by autocratic leader • became the 157th country to adopt the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.Indonesia formalised ratification of the nuclear test ban treaty on 6 February 2012 at the .The Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone treaty commits ASEAN's 10 member states not to develop, manufacture or otherwise acquire, possess or have control over atomic weapons. • Iran on 3 February 2012 successfully launched an observation satellite called Navidinto orbit above Earth. It will be placed into an orbit at an altitude between 250 and 370 kilometres. The weight of the satellite is 50-kilogram and it is meant to stay in orbit for 18 months. • will provide a grant of $1.5 million to the University of Chicago to establish aVivekananda Chair for Indian studies, as part of the initiatives to mark the 150th birth anniversary of the 19th century luminary, Swami Vivekananda. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed in this regard between Dean of University of Chicago (UOC) Martha Roth and Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Culture Sanjiv Mittal, in the presence of Finance Minister . The grant is meant to honour Swami Vivekananda's life and legacy and facilitate exchange of research scholars from/to India. • The Arab league summit was held in Baghdad from 27 March 2012 to 29 March 2012. The three-day summit was hosted by Iraq for the first time since 1990. 22 Arab league states participated in the summit. The Baghdad summit discussed the uprising in Syria and the Iraqi debts to its neighbours. The previous Arab league summit was held in Sirte. Syria didn’t participate in the Summit. It was suspended in the midst of the uprising against the Assad regime.

• The second Nuclear Security Summit was held in , on 26-27 March 2012. 53 heads of state and government, as well as representatives of the United Nations (UN), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), European Union (EU) and INTERPOL, attended the 2012 summit.The first Nuclear Security Summit was held in Washington in April 2010. It was initiated by US President Barack Obama.

• Rebel troops in Mali ousted its President Amadou Toumani on 22 March 2012. The rebels blamed the government for failing to control an ethnic Tuareg insurgency in the Northern part of Mali. The Tuareg insurgency includes fighters who supported Mummar Gaddafi in Libya. The army leaders who staged the coup called themselves the National Committee for the Reestablishment of Democracy and the Restoration of the State (CNRDR). USA suspended military aid and other funds directed to Mali’s government in its response to military coup in Mali. It called for immediate restoration of constitutional rule.

• Syria on 27 March 2012 accepted the 19-point UN peace plan to end violence in the country. The 19-point plan was handed over by Kofi Annan to Syrian President during his recent visit to the Syria. The plan calls for a cease- fire by Syrian forces and to commit to a daily two-hour halt in fighting to allow humanitarian access and medical evacuations. It also calls for a full cease-fire to be supervised by the UN so that all parties can discuss a political solution.

• UN Human Rights Council in Geneva adopted a resolution about human rights violations committed by the Sri Lankan army in its war with LTTE, which concluded IN 2009. 24 countries including India voted for the resolution and 15 voted against it. However, India emphasised that resolutions of this nature should fully respect the sovereign rights of states and contribute to ’s own efforts in this regard.

• World Water Day is observed annually on 22 March with an objective to focus attention on the importance of freshwater as well as to advocate sustainable management of freshwater resources. In 2012, the International World Water Day is observed with the theme The World is Thirsty because we are Hungry. • Vladimir Putin from United Party won the Russian Presidential Election with 63.75 percent of votes on 5 March 2012.Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov came second with 17.18 percent of the votes. Putin has already served eight years as President (2000-2004 and 2004-2008) and four years as PM (2008-2012). This will be his third term as President.

• The UN Human Rights Council asked Syria to immediately stop the attacks on civilians by the security forces. The death toll in the ongoing violence in Syria has crossed 7500.The UNHRC is likely to approve resolution for indicting the Syrian officials who are responsible for attacks on the civilians.

• North Korea agreed to suspend its nuclear enrichment programme in return for US food aid. USA had promised North Korea 240000 tonnes of nutritional assistance. North Korea also agreed to allow UN inspectors to monitor its reactor in Yongbyon .This step was taken two months after Kim Jong-un came to power following the death of his father, Kim Jong-il. It is expected to bring peace in East Asian region and ease the tension between North Korea and .

• The Dubai Metro, comprising the red and green lines, has entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest driverless metro network in the world spanning 74.695 km.

• Qatar has been ranked as the world's wealthiest country in a new list compiled by the prestigious US magazine Forbes. The second and third positions were occupied by Luxemburg and . Liberia and Congo took the last positions.

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

• The Indian Coast Guard ship ICGS Rani Abbakka, the 1st of a series of five inshore patrol vessels (IPV) built at Hindustan Shipyard Ltd, was commissioned at Visakhapatnam on 20 january. The ship, incidentally, is named after Abbakka Mahadevi, the legendary queen of Tulunadu, Karnataka who fought the Portuguese in the latter half of the 16th Century.

• The International Conference on Nanoscience and Technology (ICONSAT - 2012)will be held from January 20 to 23, 2012 at Hyderabad, India. The conference is being organized by International Advanced Research Center for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI), Hyderabad. The Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India is the official sponsor of this conference and the above event is a regular biennial feature under its Nano Mission initiative.

• The first batch of RICs (Resident Identity Cards) was launched by the home ministry at Porthrapur village in Andaman and Nicobar Islands on 21 January 2012. The RIC cards were distributed to all persons above the age of 18 residing in the nine coastal states and four union territories under the National Population Register (NPR) scheme. The NPR scheme is aimed to provide valid identity to all people in these areas to strengthen the security along the country's coastline.

• The Government of India and the World Bank on 20 January 2012 signed an IDA credit of 130 million US dollars to finance the project NERLP (North East Rural Livelihoods Project), to empower rural communities in the North East region to improve their livelihood opportunities.The NERLP will enhance the livelihoods of the rural poor, especially women, unemployed youth of the four participating states of Mizoram, Nagaland,Sikkim and Tripura.

• The 15th World Sanskrit conference was held from 5 to 10 January 2012 in New Delhi. It was organized by Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan and International Association of Sanskrit Studies. Scholars and delegates attended the six-day event from 32 countries. The 14th World Sanskrit conference was held in Kyoto, .

• The Cabinet Committee on Security approved the setting up of a National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) to counter terrorism effectively. The Ministry of Home Affairs proposed the NCTC. It will be a single window organisation that will gather and disseminate intelligence to central and state security organisations.

• The Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh inaugurated the 10th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas event that was held on 7-9 January 2012 in Jaipur. The Prime Minister of , Kamla Persad Bissessar was the Chief Guest of the event. “The Global Indian: Inclusive Growth” was the theme of the event. Prime Minister announced a new Pension and Life Insurance Fund for overseas Indian workers in this event. Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs announced that next Regional Pravasi Bharatiya Divas-2012 will be held in Dubai for the Gulf region.

• A United Nations Resource Centre for the North-East was set up at Guwahati, on 2 January 2012. The centre happens to be the first of its kind in the country. The centre was formally inaugurated by the State Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.

• India announced that it became free from bird flu, H5N1 virus. The government made a declaration to this effect on 4 January 2012. • In the new version of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act,MGNREGA, Government included more than 25 agriculture and allied activities from 1 April 2012. The new version of act was prepared after receiving a report on revised Operational Guidelines for MGNREGA. The Report was prepared by a committee headed by Planning Commission Member Mihir Shah.

• Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram inaugurated the fourth and final regional hubof the National Security Guard (NSG) in Marol, on 23 February 2012. The regional hubs at Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai and Mumbai were set up to reduce the response time and reach the area of operation as quickly as possible. The state-of-the-art training facility at Ibrahimpatnam, Hyderabad will train commandos for southern and western States. • President Pratibha Devi Singh Patil on 9 February 2012 released a special commemorative stamp to mark the Golden Jubilee of the India International Centre (IIC) in New Delhi. This centre plays a major role in promoting awareness and creating public opinion.The Stamp priced at five rupees promotes the nations image and depicts the rich diverse culture of the country. • The Union government decided to operationalise the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) from 1 March 2012. The NCTC is to be located in the Intelligence Bureau and headed by a Director who will be an officer in the rank of Additional Director, IB. It is having three units, gathering intelligence, analysis of intelligence and carrying out operations. • Union cabinet of India on 9 February 2012 approved the National Data Sharing and Accessibility Policy (NDSAP-2012) to facilitate access to central government owned shareable data and information. The NDSAP policy is designed to promote data sharing and enable access to central government owned data for national planning and development. • Vanya Mishra of Chandigarh crowned as the Pantaloons World 2012 in the grand finale of the 49th edition of the beauty pageant on 30 March 2012 in Mumbai. Prachi Mishra, 24 of Pune won the Miss India Earth title while Chennai girl Rochelle Maria Rao was crowned as the Miss India International. 19-year-old Vanya will represent India at the 2012 Pageant. Prachi and Rochelle are to represent the country at 2012 Pageant and Miss International 2012 Pageant, respectively. Femina will not send the beauties to the Miss Universe pageant as it had decided in 2010 to abstain from the event.

• The Union Cabinet of India on 23 March 2012 approved the redrafted Marriage laws (Amendment) Bill, 2010. The bill seeks to give a woman share in her husband’s property in case of a divorce but the quantum of share will be decided by the courts on case by case basis. It also aims at giving rights to adopted children on par with biological off-springs. According to the redrafted bill, adopted children will have rights on par with biological off- springs of a couple in case the parents go for a divorce. It is important to note that all these changes in the bill were based on the recommendations made by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice and Personnel.

• Union Minister Mukul Roy was on 20 March 2012, sworn in as the Union cabinet Minister by President Pratibha Patil in New Delhi. He is to head to Union Railway Ministry following the resignation of his predecessor Dinesh Trivedi. He replaced Dinesh Trivedi, who was forced to resign after he raised rail passenger fares in Union rail Budget 2012-13 and thus angered Trinamool Congress particularly Mamata Banerjee. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was opposed to his proposal to increase fares in the railway budget.

• According to comptroller and auditor general’s draft report titled ‘Performance Audit Of Coal Block Allocations’, the government lost Rs 10.67 lakh crore by not auctioning coal blocks between 2004 and 2009.155 coal blocks were given to commercial entities without auction between 2004 and 2009 thereby causing the exchequer a loss of Rs 10.67 lakh crore at 31 March 2011 prices . The estimated loss is six times higher than the loss figure of Rs 1.76 lakh crore suffered for the 2G scam. The beneficiaries include some 100 private companies, as well as some public sector units, in industries such as power, steel and cement. • Union Government of India on 3 February 2012 notified the setting up of the anti-terror body called National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC).NCTC will have the power to carry out operations including arrest, search and seizure. It will draw its functional power of search and seizures under the provisions of the UAPA (Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. It will work as an integral part of Intelligence bureau.

• Union Rail Minister Dinesh Trivedi, tendered his resignation on 18 March 2012 to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Trivadi was instructed to resign by his party Trinmool Congress as the decision of increasing the rail fares did not go well with the party. Trinmool Congress chief, Mamta Banarjee had vociferously demanded the rollback of fare hikes.Trivedi proposed a hike in passenger fares ranging between 2 paise to 30 paise per kilometre. The decision was taken to improve the ailing condition of Indian Railways. Trivedi, a Loksabha MP from Barrackpore in West Bengal, took over as the Union Rail Minister on 13 July 2011. Trivedi was slated to be the Union Rail Minister by his party Trinmool Congress, after Mamta Banarjee quit the job. It is for the first time in the history of independent India that a Railways Minister has been made to resign just after five days of presenting the budget in the parliament. • Kotala Gram panchayat of Chandragiri mandal ,Chittoor dist of A.P, has won the central government’s Gram Ratna Award. It has won the award for showing the best results in the development of panchayat.

• As per UNICEF’s State of the World’s Children Report 2012, some dark facts are revealed. 18 per cent of those below 15 years and 47 per cent of those below 18 years are married in India. Thirty percent of Indian girls aged between 15 and 19 are married. • India’s Atomic Energy Regulatory Board was admitted as the 11th member of MDEP(Multinational Design Evaluation Programme) on 4 April 2012. The other members of this body are , , Japan, Korea, , USA, UK, , and Russia. MDEP is a multinational initiative taken by national safety authorities to develop innovative approaches to leverage the resources and knowledge of the national regulatory authorities who are currently tasked with the review of new reactor power plant designs. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) of the and the French Nuclear Safety Authority launched it in 2006.

BILATERAL AFFAIRS

• India, Japan and China entered into a pact to share data to achieve the most efficient use of Naval Forces present in the Indian Ocean Region. The initiative is known as the Shared Awareness and Deconfliction (SHADE). The initiative began functioning from 1 January 2012. China, India, and Japan also agreed to carry out more effective coordination by establishing a convoy coordination working group as part of the Shared Awareness and Deconfliction Mechanism. • Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago Kamla Persad Bissessar visited India from 5 January 2012 to 14 January 2012. India and Trinidad & Tobago on 6 January 2012 signed five agreements during her visit. The agreements are as following: 1)Memorandum of Understanding between India and Trinidad & Tobago on co- operation in the field of traditional Systems medicine.2)Air Services agreement between India and Trinidad & Tobago.3)Technical Cooperation Agreement (In the field of Education) between India and Trinidad & Tobago.4)Programme of Cultural Exchanges between India and Trinidad & Tobago for the years 2012- 14.5)Memorandum of Understanding between Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences( CCRAS) Department of Ayush, Ministry of Health& Family Welfare, the government of India and the University of West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago. • India's National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), on 29 January 2012 signed an agreement with Power Development Board(BPDP) for setting up a joint venture 1320 MW thermal power plant. The joint venture coal-based power plant will be set up at Rampal in Khulna Division of Bangladesh. The project is the first joint venture power plant in Bangladesh. • India signed a multi-lateral agreement with France and to check tax evasion and avoidance. It was signed under the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a top global financial body, at its headquarters in Paris.

• India and Saudi Arabia on 13 February 2012 agreed to set up a Joint Working Group on Defence Co- operation during the visit of Defence Minister A.K Antony. The two sides held wide ranging talks including those on combating terrorism and piracy and co-operation in regional affairs.India opined that the situation in the Gulf region is a cause of great concern for India. It hoped the crisis will be resolved through peaceful dialogue.

• The 12th India-EU Summit was held in New Delhi on 10 February 2012. EU was represented by Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, and Mr. Jose Manuel Durao Barroso, President of the European Commission.

• The Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh visited South Korea on 25 March 2012.India and South Korea agreed to set a new bilateral trade target of 40 billion US dollars by 2015. During his visit, India and South Korea decided that the seventh meeting of the Joint Commission will be held in New Delhi in 2012. It was also decided that both countries will explore constructive and forward looking ways to facilitate greater access to each other’s products and services.

• The Fourth BRICS (, Russia, India, China, South Africa) Summit was held in New Delhi on 29 March 2012. The BRICS nations signed two major agreements during this summit. One was to boost trade among BRICS nations by offering trade in local currency. This will replace dollar as the main currency of trade among them. The other agreement was to set up a development bank on lines of multilateral lending agencies. The theme of the Summit was- BRICS Partnership for Global Stability, Security and Prosperity. BRICS declaration (Delhi declaration) issued at the end of the summit says situation concerning Iran cannot be allowed to escalate into conflict. Declaration says BRICS recognises Iran's right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy and supports resolution of issues through dialogue. The fifth BRICS summit will be held in March- April 2013 in South Africa. The first summit was held in Yekaterinburg, Russia in June 2009.

• India and on 12 March 2012 signed a Cultural Exchange Programme (CEP) in New Delhi for the period of 2012-2016. Both India and Colombia shall contribute to the exchange and cooperation between institutions and organisations that deals with cultural affairs, as well as amongst cultural creators, researchers and cultural agents of the two nations. Both the nations have agreed to set up a joint working group to look after the implementations of their programme. The joint working group will have a meeting alternately in India and in Colombia when decided by both the nations. • India and UAE signed an agreement on 4 April 2012 to ease the entry of Indian contract workers in the Emirates. The agreement was signed in Abu Dhabi, UAE. It provides for an electronic contract registration and validation system to safeguard and protect the interests of migrant Indian workers. The move would ensure a transparent, legal and less cumbersome migration of Indian workers to the Emirates. India is the first country with which the United Arab Emirates has entered into the landmark agreement to safeguard the interests of the migrant Indian workers to the Emirates.

• In the visit of Brazil President Dilma Rouseff, India and Brazil on 30 March agreed to step up efforts towards global reforms, particularly of the U.N. Security Council. The two countries also agreed to further strengthen the bilateral strategic partnership and exploit full potential in areas such as trade, education, defence, space and nuclear energy. Two countries also set a trade target of 15 billion dollars by 2015. The two sides also signed six documents to enhance cooperation in the fields of science and technology, education and culture.

ECONOMY AFFAIRS

• The Union government on 31 January 2012 revised the economic growth rate for 2010-2011 financial year to 8.4 percent in comparison to the previous estimate of 8.5 percent.The Indian economy, Asia’s third- largest slowed in recent quarters due to the impact of the global slowdown, high inflation and high interest rates. • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 24 January 2012 cut the cash reserve ratio (CRR) by 50 basis points from 6 per cent to 5.5 percent with effect from 28 January 2012. RBI thus released Rs 32000 crore to banks. The RBI kept the repo rate unchanged at 8.50 per cent for the second consecutive time after raising it 13 times between March 2010 and October 2011. It also kept Reverse Repo Rate unchanged. • The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) notified the rules allowing 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) in single-brand retail. Currently 51% FDI is permitted in this segment of retailing which was opened to foreign players almost six years ago. • Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Corporation Ltd (APGENCO) announced the commissioning of a 1-MW photovoltaic-cell-based solar power plant at Priyadharsini Jurala Hydro-Electric Project. This is AP Genco's maiden entry into solar power generation. The Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), a public limited company under the control of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, allocated this power project to AP Genco under phase-1 of the National Solar Mission (JNNSM). • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) panel on priority sector lending headed by M. V. Nair, Chairman, Union Bank of India ,on 21 February 2012 proposed increment in the target (priority sector) for foreign banks to 40% of net bank credit from the current level of 32 per cent with sub-targets of 15 per cent for exports and 15 per cent for the MSE sector. The target of domestic scheduled commercial banks for lending to the priority sector is to be retained at 40 per cent of net bank credit.

• As per the first nationwide retail inflation data released by the Centre of Statistical Office on 21 February 2012, inflation based on the all India Consumer Price Index stood at 7.65 per cent in January 2012. The annual consumer price index (CPI) data released for the first time measures retail prices in major food groups, fuel, clothing, housing and education across rural and urban India.Consumer price inflation for rural India (CPI- R) was recorded at 7.38%, for urban India (CPI-U), it stood at 8.25%.Inflation as measured by the WPI eased to a 26-month low of 6.55% in January 2012.Beginning 21 February 2012, the union government will release the nation-wide Consumer Price Index (CPI) on a monthly basis for better reflection of retail price movement as well as help the Reserve Bank take effective monetary policy steps to tackle inflation. The new CPI will eventually replace the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for policy actions to deal with the price situation.

• The Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Panel (PMEAC) on 22 February 2012 projected 7.5 - 8 per cent growth rate for the fiscal 2012-13. The economy recorded a growth rate of 8.4 per cent in 2010-11, which according to the CSO estimates is expected to moderate to 6.7 per cent in the current fiscal 2011-12.

• The New Telecom Policy was announced by communications minister Kapil Sibal on 15 February 2012.The key policy measures are aimed at reassuring incumbent operators who had been seeking clarity in rules at a time when the government is making every possible effort to put the scam-tainted telecom sector back on track. Telcome companies operating in the same region will be allowed to share 2G spectrum. All future allocation of airwaves will only be through auctions. Also, future licences will be delinked from spectrum and companies must buy bandwidth at market rates.

• The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on 15 February 2012 approved the auction route for selling 5 per cent stake in state-run oil major ONGC before the end of the current fiscal 2011-12.

• The government of India on 9 February 2012 approved setting up of a National Centre for Cold Chain Development, NCCD, as a society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. The NCCD will be having a Governing Council under the Chairmanship of Secretary with 22 members, covering government officials, Confederation of Indian Industry, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, FICCI and other stake holders. The move comes in the wake of post harvest losses to the tune of 50000 crore rupees annually in absence of proper storage facilities. • The Central Empowered Committee (CEC) set up by the Supreme Court to investigate illegal mining in Karnataka submitted its final report on 4 February 2012. The committeerecommended the cancellation of leases of 49 mines that have violated the terms of their licence. It also recommended the auction of these leases. • The Union Government of India on 1 February 2012 gave its approval for setting up a National Council for Senior Citizens. It will be headed by the Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment. The Council will comprise of 20 members including the Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment along with the oldest members from both the Houses of Parliament and distinguished personalities from different fields. It will advice the Central and State Governments on issues related to welfare of senior citizens. The Council will suggest special policies and programmes for the physical and financial security of the senior citizens in the country. • As per the latest Sample Registration System (SRS) bulletin, December 2011 it is revealed that,Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) has dropped further by 3 points from 50 to 47 infants deaths per 1000 live births during 2010. The IMR for rural areas has dropped by 4 points from 55 to 51 infant deaths per 1000 live births while the Urban rate now stands at 31 from the previous 34/1000. State of Goa still has the lowest IMR of 10 infant deaths followed by Kerala with 13 infant deaths per 1000 live births. Bihar, Chandigarh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Meghalaya still have IMRs more than the national average of 47. • The Supreme Court observed that the allocation of 2G spectrum under former telecom minister A. Raja was wholly arbitrary and contrary to public interest apart from being violative of the doctrine of equality favour some companies at the cost of the public exchequer. The Supreme Court cancelled all the 122 2G licenses. According to the verdict, telecom regulator TRAI is to make fresh recommendations on the grant of licenses. • The R B I on 26 March 2012 restructured the fair practices code (FPC) to be adopted by non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) while doing lending business. The guidelines issued by the central bank covered general principles on adequate disclosures on the terms and conditions of a loan and also adopting a non-coercive recovery method. The modified FPC is required to be put in place by all NBFCs with the approval of their boards within one month from the date of issue of this circular (26 March 2012). Also RBI directed that the FPC should be published on the web-site of the company for public information. The NBFCs were directed not to resort to undue harassment such as persistently bothering the borrowers at odd hours and use of muscle power with respect to loan recovery. In 2006, the RBI had issued FPC norms for all NBFCs to be adopted by them while doing the lending business

• Four States namely Jharkhand, Mizoram, Sikkim and Lakshadweep on 16 March 2012 signed MoU with the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation under the Indian Statistical Strengthening Project (ISSP) for the States and Union Territories. ISSP is aimed at strengthening State Statistical Systems by way of providing adequate technical and financial support to improve their statistical capacity and infrastructure. ISSP is a very important and a comprehensive project of Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation, with an approved outlay of about 650 crore rupees, out of which 80% has been funded through World Bank Loan and 20 percent is being borne by the Government of India.

• Union Railway Minister Mukul Roy rolled back the railway fare hike as proposed by Dinesh Trivedi in the first Union Rail Budget 2012-13 presented on 14 March 2012. Roy also struck down the plan to restructure Railway Board. The hike announced by Roy’s predecessor Trivedi was the first instance in 9 years when the fares had been raised. All railway reform measures suggested by Trivedi such as setting up of an independent tariff regulator, restructuring of Railway Board on professional lines, and creation of posts of Member PPP and Member Safety was also ignored in the latest budget tabled by Roy.

• Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presented the Economy Survey report 2011-12 in Lok Sabha on 15 March. Following are the highlights of the economic survey- o The country's economic growth estimated at 6.9 per cent in the current fiscal; growth momentum to pick up in next two fiscals to 7.6 per cent in 2012-13 and 8.6 per cent in 2013-14. o RBI expected to lower policy interest rates, as inflationary pressures expected to ease in coming months; A low interest rate regime to encourage investment activity and push forward economic growth. o Steps required for deepening of domestic financial markets, especially corporate bond market and attracting longer-term inflows from abroad; Efforts at attracting dedicated infrastructure funds have begun. o The growth rate of investment in the economy is estimated to have declined significantly; borrowing costs up due to a sharp increase in interest rates. o Slowdown in Indian economy largely due to global factors, as also because of domestic factors like tightening of monetary policy, high inflation and slower investment and industrial activities. o Inflation high, but showing clear signs of slowdown by the year-end; Whole-sale food inflation down to 1.6 per cent in January 2012 from 20.2 per cent in February 2010. o India remains one of the fastest growing economies of the world; Country's sovereign credit rating rose by a substantial 2.98 per cent 2007-12 o Farm sector growth pegged at 2.5 percent for 2011-12. o Services sector to grow at 9.4 percent. o Services sector share in GDP to go up to 59 percent in the fiscal ending March 31. o Industrial growth pegged at 4-5 percent, expected to improve as economic recovery resumes. o Calibrated steps initiated to rein-in inflation on top priority. o Fiscal consolidation on track - savings and capital formation expected to rise. o Exports grew by 40.5 percent in the first half of this fiscal and imports grew by 30.4 percent. o Foreign trade performance to remain a key driver of growth. o Forex reserves enhanced - covering nearly the entire external debt stock. o Central spending on social services goes up to 18.5 percent this fiscal from 13.4 percent in 2006-07. Following are some more key highlights of the Union Budget 2012-13, presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in the Parliament on 16 March.

o Tax burden for individuals to come down: Income tax exemption limit raised from Rs. 1,80,000 to Rs. 2,00,000; 10 per cent tax for 2-5 lakh income; 20 per cent for 5-10 lakh and 30 per cent beyond Rs. 10 lakh; Savings bank account interest up to Rs. 10,000 exempted from tax. o Many services and goods to cost more: No change in corporate tax rate, but standard rate of excise duty, as also service tax rates, raised from 10 per cent to 12 per cent; No change in peak customs duty of 10 per cent on non-agri goods. o Large cars, imported bicycles, cigarettes, bidis and some imported jewellery to cost more; branded silver jewellery may get cheaper. o Boost for capital markets: Securities Transaction Tax on cash delivery reduced by 25 per cent to 0.1 per cent; A new Equity Saving Scheme to allow income tax deduction to retail investors in stocks. o Economy expected to gain ground: GDP growth rate pegged at 7.6 per cent in 2012-13; Subsidy Expenditure to be checked and higher tax revenues targeted; Rs. 30,000 crore to be raised from disinvestment. o Capital boost to financial and infrastructure sectors: Rs. 15,888 crore to be provided for capitalisation of public sector banks and financial institutions; Infrastructure investment of Rs. 50 lakh crore in 12th period, with half from private sector; Tax free bonds of Rs. 60,000 crore to be allowed for financial infrastructure projects. o Fight against black money: White paper on black money in current session of Parliament; Introduction of compulsory reporting requirement for assets held abroad; tax collection at source on high-value cash purchase of bullion, jewellery, immovable property and trading in coal, lignite and iron ore. o Greater scrutiny of closely-held companies for funds; Taxation of unexplained money, credits, investments, expenses at highest rate of 30 per cent irrespective of income slab. o Tax reforms: Direct Taxes Code (DTC) at earliest; GST network to be operational by August 2012; Central Excise and Service Tax being harmonized. A General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR) to be introduced to counter aggressive tax avoidance. o Attracting foreign funds: Efforts on to allow FDI in multi-brand retail and permitting foreign airlines invest in domestic players; External borrowings to the extent of USD one billion for aviation companies; Qualified Foreign Investors to get access to corporate bond market. o Tax relief for stressed sectors: Sectors like agriculture, infrastructure, mining, railways, roads, civil aviation, manufacturing, health and nutrition, and environment to get duty relief; Turnover limit for compulsory tax audit for SMEs raised from Rs 60 lakh to Rs 1 crore. o Farming for growth: Target for agricultural credit raised to Rs 5,75,000 crore; Interest subvention for short-term crop loans to farmers at 7 per cent interest continues; additional 3 per cent for prompt paying farmers. Financial Highlights of Budget 2012-12:

o Direct proposals to give in net revenue loss of Rs. 4,500 crore and net gain of Rs. 45,940 crore from indirect taxes, resulting into a net gain of Rs. 41,440 crore. o Fiscal deficit targeted at 5.1 per cent of GDP in 2012-13, down from 5.9 per cent in 2011-12; Central Government debt at 45.5 per cent of GDP. o Defence services get Rs. 1,93,407 crore; any further requirement to be met. o Total expenditure budgeted at Rs. 14,90,925 crore; plan expenditure at Rs. 5,21,025 crore, 18 per cent higher than 2011-12 budget; non-plan expenditure at Rs. 9,69,900 crore. o Gross Tax Receipts estimated at Rs. 10,77,612 crore, 15.6 per cent higher than original budget estimates and 19.5 per cent over the revised estimates for 2011-12. o Net tax to the Centre in 2012-13 estimated at Rs. 7,71,071 crore; Non-Tax Revenue Receipts estimated at Rs. 1,64,614 crore and Non-debt Capital Receipts at Rs. 41,650 crore.

Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi Presented the annual Railway Budget for the financial year 2012-13 in Parliament on 14 March. He made the following key proposals:

o Passenger fares to be hiked by 2 paise per km for suburban and ordinary second class travel; 3 paise per km for mail/ express second class; 5 paise per km for sleeper class; 10 paise per km for AC chair car/AC 3-tier and First Class; 15 paise per km for AC 2-tier and 30 paise per km for AC 1-tier. o Minimum fare and platform tickets to cost Rs 5. o 75 new Express trains to be introduced, along with 21 new passenger services, nine DEMU services and 8 MEMU services trains. o Railways to hire more than one lakh employees in 2012-13; 80,000 persons hired last year. o Indian Railways Stations Development Corp to be set up to re-develop stations and maintain them like airports. o To set up an independent Railway Safety Authority as a statutory body. o The open discharge toilets on trains to be replaced with green (bio) toilets. o All unmanned level crossings to be abolished in next five years; To target zero deaths due to rail accidents. o To provide rail connectivity to neighbouring countries, a new line from Agartala to Akura in Bangladesh to be set up. o Double-decker container trains to be introduced. o Two new members, one for marketing, and other for safety, to be inducted into Railway Board. o Specially designed coaches for differently-abled persons to be provided in each Mail/Express trains. o Railway Tariff Regulatory Authority to be considered. o National High Speed Rail Authority to be set up; Pre-feasibility studies on six high speed corridors completed; study on Delhi-Jaipur-Ajmer-Jodhpur to be taken up in 2012-13. o Institution of ‘Rail Khel Ratna’ Award for 10 rail sportspersons every year. o A wagon factory at Sitapali, Odisha, rail coach factory at Palakkad, two additional new coach manufacturing units in Kutch (Gujarat) and Kolar (Karnataka); component factory at Shyamnagar (West Bengal); new coaching terminal at Naihati, the birth place of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. o Freight loading of 1,025 MT targeted; 55 MT more than 2011—12; Passenger growth targeted at 5.4 per cent. o Passenger earnings to increase to Rs 36,200 crore. o The union government decided to increase public spending in the health sector to 2.5 per cent of GDP from the current 1.4 per cent in the 12th Five Year Plan period beginning 2012.The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) directed the Planning Commission to allocate funds during the 12th Five-Year Plan. The decision to increase the funds in this sector was in tune with the recommendations of the Srinath Reddy-led committee on universal healthcare coverage set up by the plan panel. • The union government decided to increase public spending in the health sector to 2.5 per cent of GDP from the current 1.4 per cent in the 12th Five Year Plan period beginning 2012.The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) directed the Planning Commission to allocate funds during the 12th Five-Year Plan. The decision to increase the funds in this sector was in tune with the recommendations of the Srinath Reddy-led committee on universal healthcare coverage set up by the plan panel.

SCIENCE AND TECH AFFAIRS

• The prestigious 99th Indian Science Congress was inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at KIIT University Bhuwaneswar, Odisa. Noted scientist Geetha Bali, vice chancellor of Karnataka State Women's University, will preside over the event, being held on the theme of 'Science and Technology for Inclusive Innovation - Role of Women'. KIIT University and National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER) are jointly hosting the event, which will also feature the Children’s Science Congress and Women Science Congress. Former president APJ Abdul Kalam will inaugurate the Children’s Science Congress, while Nirupama Rao, India’s ambassador to United States of America, will inaugurate the Women’s Science Congress. Prime Minister announced that 2010-20 decade would be declared as‘Decade of Innovation”.

• President Pratibha Patil visited the Space Centre at Sriharikota on 2 January 2012 and inaugurated the new Mission Control Centre. The new centre has been developed with state-of-the- art facilities to meet the requirements for the launch of the Geo-Synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark-III and future missions of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).The President on this occasion also presented ISRO awards for the year 2008 and 2009.The lifetime achievement award for contribution to the Indian space programme was conferred on former ISRO chairman K Kasturirangan. • Researchers at the Harvard Smithsonian centre for Astrophysics discovered that the planet GJ1214b was largely covered in water. They used Hubble Space Telescope to discover the water on planet. GJ1214b was discovered in 2009 by the ground-based MEarth Project. GJ1214b was described as a super-Earth.

• India's indigenously developed micro-light pilot-less target aircraft(PTA) Lakshya- 1was successfully test flown from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur near Balasore on 8 February 2012. Lakshya , a sub-sonic, re-usable aerial target system is remote controlled from the ground and designed to impart training to both air borne and air defence pilots. The PTA has been developed by India’s Aeronautic Development Establishment (ADE), Bangalore to perform discreet aerial reconnaissance of battle field and target acquisition.

• A new study claimed that the theory proposed by Charles Darwin on life's origin was correct. Darwin proposed that the life originated on land in a pond and not in the oceans. The study held by the researchers at the Osnabruck university in Germany found that the first primitive cells might have originated in pools of condensed vapour. This was caused by underground hot water.The scientists discovered that the oceans did not contain the best balance of ingredients to support life. • DRDO on 10 February 2012 conducted a successful test launch of the interceptor missile. DRDO’s Air Defence Missile AAD-05 successfully hit the ballistic missile and destroyed it at a height of 15 kms off the Coast of Orissa near the Wheelers Island.

• Astronomers found the fourth habitable planet outside our solar system called GJ667C. The planet is 22 light years from Earth. The newly found planet is rocky in nature. It orbits its star every 28.15 days. • A NASA spacecraft, Messenger in the last week of March 2012 discovered further evidence for the existence of water ice at Mercury's poles. NASA’s previous work revealed patches near Mercury's poles that strongly reflect radar, a characteristic of ice. Messenger is only the second spacecraft, after Mariner 10 in the 1970s, to have visited the Mercury, which is the innermost planet in Solar system.

• The National Green Tribunal on 30 March 2012 suspended the environmental clearance granted to Posco's mega steel project in Orissa in January 2011. The tribunal comprising Justice C V Ramulu and D. K. Agarwal held that the clearance given to Posco's mega steel project in Jagatsinghpur district of Orissa will remain suspended till the environment ministry reviews it afresh.

• The Government of Niger, in the first week of March 2012, declared the whole area of theTermit Massif and Tin Toumma desert, to be a national nature and culture reserve. Significantly, the area is home to some critically endangered species. It is now the largest single protected area in Africa. It has an area of 100000 square kilometers. • The Department of Atomic Energy plans to set up three more nuclear fuel complexes to meet the requirements arising out of the proposed massive expansion plan to increase the capacity of nuclear power plants to 63,000 MW by 2032, from the current level of 4,780 MW. Presently, the Department has only one such complex at Hyderabad. It produces fuel bundles and other components for all the 20 reactors in operation in the country. The first of the three additional plants would come up at Kota in Rajasthan and would be used to supply fuel to the four 700 MW Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors being built at neighbouring Rawatbhata and Kakrapar in Gujarat. The sites for the other two are yet to be finalised.

• To provide easily accessible and high-quality Science and Engineering education through information and communication tools, the Human Resource Development Ministry on 23 feb launched a series of virtual laboratories that will aid studies in nine disciplines. The 91 virtual laboratories will enable hundreds of experiments in nine disciplines of Science and Engineering.

PERSONS

• C. Jagannatha Rao- Senior congress leader and former Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh died of a heart attack in Secunderabad on 23 January 2012. Jagannatha Rao served as deputy Chief Minister in the Cabinet of Bhavanam Venkatram in 1982.

• Laura Dekker- the 16 year old dutch girl, on 21 January 2012 became the youngest sailor to complete a solo circumnavigation of the world.

• Siddharth Varadarajan –succeded N. Ram as the Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of , Business Line , Frontline , and Sportstar.

• Pankaj Pachauri- Senior television journalist, Managing Editor of NDTV was appointed asCommunication Advisor in the Prime Minister’s Office , as Harish Khare resigned as media advisor to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.He has been given the rank of additional secretary.

• Homai Vyarawala- India’s first woman photojournalist, died on 15 January 2012 in Vadodara, Gujarat. She was the only professional woman photojournalist between 1939 and 1970. She was awarded in 2011 in recognition of her contribution as a photo-journalist.

• Nikhat Kazmi- noted film critic died on 20 January 2012 at 53. She reviewed films for the newspaper Times of India. She had also written books on Bollywood - Ire in the Soul: Bollywood's Angry Years and The Dream Merchants of Bollywood.

• Pro. Parvin Sinclair - Pro-Vice Chancellor, IGNOU, was appointed as the Director of National Council of Educational Research & Training (NCERT) on 25 December 2011.

• M.P. Muralidharan-has taken as the 19th Director-General of the Indian Coast Guardin place of Vice- Admiral Anil Chopra. • Whitney Houston -Singer and actress died ,on 11 February 2012 in a Beverly Hills hotel room California. She was the winner of six Grammy Awards including record of the year for “ I Will Always Love You “ and album of the year for The Bodyguard. Houston was the only artist to have seven consecutive No. 1 singles on Billboard magazine’s pop chart.

• Anthony Shadid -New York Times’ forign correspondent and a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, died in eastern Syria on 16 February 2012 after having suffered a severe asthma attack. He has been covered nearly two decades of Middle East conflict and turmoil.At the time of his death, Shadid was on a reporting inside Syria.

• Akhlaq Mohammad Khan -Renowned Urdu poet and noted lyricist of Umrao Jaan,passed away in Aligarh on 13 February 2012. Khan who wrote under the pen name Shahryarhad received the Jnanpith Award for 2008.

• Yingluck Shinawatra- Prime Minister of , visited India on24-26 January 2012. She was the chief guest for the 63rd Republic Day Ceremony. The visit took place in the backdrop of 65th anniversary of India-Thailand bilateral diplomatic relations. • Taslima Nasrin -After a gap of about 18 years, Taslima Nasrin's book, Nirbasan(seventh volume of her autobiography) was launched on 1 february in Bangladesh. • Preet Bharara- Eminent Indian-American attorney, has made it to the cover of the prestigious Time magazine for his crusade against Wall Street corruption and irregularities including insider trading. "This man is busting Wall Street" Bharar's picture appeared in the 3 rd february edition of Time magazine. • Shyamala Gopinath-Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) on 29 March 2012 appointed Shyamala Gopinath as the Chairperson of the Advisory Board on Bank, Commercial and Financial Frauds. Gopinath, a former Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor, will hold the position for two years, effective from 26 March 2012. The Board is part of the organisational set-up of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is providing the required investigative and secretarial services, along with necessary funds, by the RBI.

• Nansy Powell-The US Senate on 30 March 2012 confirmed career diplomat Nancy Powell as ambassador to India. The position had remained vacant for the past year following the resignation of Timothy Roemer. Powell had previously served as US envoy in Pakistan and and currently holds the prestigious rank of career ambassador.

• JOACHIM GAUCK - Former East German pro-democracy activist Joachim Gauck was elected asGermany's new President, on 18 March 2012. He succeeded Christian Wulff.

• ABD-RABBUH MANSOUR HADI - became the President of Yemen, on 27 February 2012. Hadi, a General People's Congress party leader replaced Ali Abdullah Saleh to the position. • Akhilesh Yadav(38)- Akhilesh was sworn in as the 33 rd Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh on 15 March 2012. He was administered the oath by the UP Governor B L Joshi .Akhilesh, son of Samajawadi Party chief, Mulayam Singh Yadav, is the youngest chief minister of the state ever. Samajwadi Party bagged a record 224 seats in a 403-member house which is highest in its history. Vijay Bahuiguna-Vijay Bahuguna of Congress, on 13 March 2012, sworn in as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand. Bahuguna, a Congress MP from Tehri Gadhwal, is the seventh Chief Minister of Uttarakhand.Bahuguna is a former high court justice. He served as the judge of Bombay and Allahabad high court. Bahuguna is first former High Court judge to become a state’s chief minister. • Prakash Singh Badal -of Shiromani Akali Dal, sworn in as the 31st Chief Minister of Punjab on 14 March 2012. Badal, 85, became the chief minister of the state for record fifth time.He first became the chief minister of Punjab in 1969. At the age of 42, he was the youngest Chief Minister of Punjab. • BIKRAM SINGH - Union Government announced that he would be the next chief of the Army.

• Justice H S Bedi -The Supreme Court of India on 2 March 2012 appointed its former judge, as the chairman of the monitoring authority which will investigate the case of 22 alleged fake encounter killings in Gujarat between 2002 and 2006. The monitoring authority will submit its interim report within three months.

• S.Narasingarao-He was appointed as the Chairman of the Coal India Ltd. He is presently working as the CMD of Singareni Collieries.

• Chandra Bahadur Dangi- A 72-year-old Nepali claims to be the world's shortest man at 56 centimetres (22 inches) in height, entered the Guinness World Records. • NKP SALVE- Former BCCI president and former Union Minister and former BCCI president, NKP Salve passed away on 1 April 2012 in New Delhi. He had been the president of the BCCI when India won the World Cup in 1983. He had joined the central cabinet in 1982 under Indira leadership.

SPORTS AFFAIRS

• A. Amalraj won the national title by defeating A Sharath Kamal in the final of the 73rd Senior National and Inter-State Table Tennis Championships in Lucknow on 29 January 2012. Amalraj also won the double’s title with Sanil Shetty, by defeating Harmit Desai and Devesh Karia. In the women’s category Poulami Ghatak won the title by defeating K Shamini. • Sixth seed GM Oliver Barbosa of Phillippines won the 10th Parsvnath International Open Grandmasters Chess tournament by defeating Indian IM Shyam Nikil. Indian International Master Lalith Babu won thebronze.

• Senior Australian batsman Ricky Ponting was honoured with Austrlia’s highest civil honour along with a host of sportspersons of international repute. The former skipper was appointed an officer (AO) in the general division of the Order of for distinguished service to the sport of cricket as a leading player, and to the community through the establishment of the Ponting Foundation.

• Rajasthan won its second consecutive Ranji Trophy title by defeating Tamil Nadu at the Chidambaram stadium, Tamil Nadu on 23 January 2012. V A Saxena of Rajasthan was awarded the Man of the Match in the final.

• ’s Lionel Messi was awarded the 2011 FIFA Best player award on 9 January 2012 in Zurich. He won the award for the third consecutive year. Japanese Homare Sawa was awarded the 2011 FIFA Best player in the women’s category. Barcelona’s coach Pep Guardiola was named FIFA Coach of the Year.

• Kerala men won the National title for the fourth time, in the 60th senior National volleyball championship by defeating uttarakhand at the Balbir Juneja Indoor Stadium, Raipur on 11 January 2012. The Railways won the national title in the women’s category.

• The defeated France and lifted its second Hopman Cup held in Perth, Australia. Thomas Berdych and Petra Kvitova represented the Czech.

• Milos Raonic of Canada won the Chennai open tennis title,2012. Leander peas and Janko Tipsarevic won the mens doubles title.

• The 19-year-old Rohith Lalith Babu became the 26th Grandmaster of India and fourth GM from Andhra Pradesh. Incidentally, the last Indian to become a GM was D Harika, also from the same state. Babu is also from the same city which World runners-up Humpy hails from. Harikrishna is the other GM from the A.P State. • East Zone won the Duleep Trophy for the first time in 51 years by defeating Central Zone by an innings and 20 runs at the Holkar stadium, Indore on 14 feb.

• Victoria Azarenka of Belarus defeated Samantha Stosur to win her third successive title of the year at the WTA Qatar Open 2012 on 20 feb.

• World no 1 tennis star, Novak Djokovic of Serbia was awarded with the highest Serbian award, the Gold Star of Karadjordje on 15 February 2012.It was conferred upon him by the Serbian President Boris Tadic.

• Sania mirza of india and Anastasia Rodinova of Australia won the Pattaya open womens tennis title held in Pattaya on 12 February.

• WON THE AFRICA NATION S CUP TITLE by dedfeating the Ivorycoast on 13 february.

• Saketh Mineni of Andhra Pradesh won the Mens National Grass court Tennis championship, while Reshmi chkrobarthy of TamilNadu won the womens title.Tournament was held in kolkatta. • Egypt defeated India 2-1 in the final of the Under-21 Squash World Cup held in chennai,on 5 February 2012. Marwan El Shorbagy defeated Dixit while Karim Abdel Gawad beat Ramit Tandon . However Dipika Pallikal manged to win on her opponent. • Aditya Mehata won the National Snooker Championship title held in Pune, by defeating Kamal chawla. • In the 100th edition of The Australian Open (2012), Serbia’s Novak Djokovic won the title by defeating Rafel Nadal of in the mens singles while Victoria Azarenka of Belarus won the women’s singles by defeating Maria Sharapova of Russia. In the men’s doubles Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek won the title by defeating Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan. In the women’s doubles Svetlana Kuznetsova and Vera Zvonareva, both from Russia defeated Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci, to win the title. The mixed event was won by Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Horia Tecau. • Pendyala Harikrishna of India won the prestigious TATAsteel international chess title which was held in . • Pankaj Adwani won the Nationsl Billiards Chess championship by defeating the Balachandra Bhaskar in the finals which was held in Pune. • Sourabh Varma defeated B Sai Praneeth in the final to clinch the Senior National Badminton Championship title in Bangalore.. The ninth seeded PV Sindhu defeated second seed Neha Pandit in the women's singles final to lift the title. In the mixed doubles category, top seeds Arun Vishnu and Balan Aparna, In the Mens doubles Kona Tarun and Arun Vishnu in the women's doubles, second seeds Pradnya Gadre and Prajakta Sawant won the titles. • Indian women boxers M.C. and Sarita on 25 March 2012, won two gold medals in the Asian women's boxing championship held in Ulaanbator.Mary Kom, the five-time world champion, defeated the two-time world title winner Ren Cancan of China. Sarita, the 2006 world title winner, defeated Chorieva Mavzu of Tajikistan.

• Indian Kabaddi women team won the first ever Women World Cup Kabaddi championship title defeating Iran on 4 March 2012, held in Patna... Sixteen countries participated in this event.

• Indian middle order batsman and former captain Rahul Dravid, on 9 March 2012, announcedhis retirement from international cricket. He has the credit of second highest aggregate of runs in the test history only after . Dravid scored 13,288 runs in 164 Tests, including 36 hundreds. Dravid made his international debut on 20 June 1996 while playing at the Lord’s against . He had announced his retirement from the ODIs in England in 2011.

• Roger Federer won the Dubai international open singles tennis title by defeating Andy Murray in the finals held in Dubai on 3 March. While Indian duo Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan bopanna won the mens doubles title.

• West Indian cricket player Runok Mortan on 4 March, killed in a car accident. He played 15 test matches, 56 one day internationals and seven 20-20 matches since 2002. • Iconic India batsman Sachin Tendulkar on 25 February became the first overseas player to be presented with the honorary life membership of the Sydney Cricket Ground. • Indo-Czeck pair of Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek won the doubles title of Miami Masters on 31 March 2012. Paes by winning the Miami Titles took the total number of his career titles to 50.Paes became the 24th player in ATP Tour history to complete 50 doubles titles. World number one Novak Djokovic won the Miami Masters mens title by defeating Andy Murray. In the womens event Agnieszka Radwanska, won the title by defeating Russian Tennis star Maria Sharapova.

• Geeta Kumari , the woman wrestler, won a gold in 55kg category at the ongoing Asian qualifying tournament in Astana, Kazakhastan. With this victory she also made a history, as she became the first Indian woman wrestler to have ever qualified for the Olympics.

• China won the men's world team table tennis championship title with a 3-0 victory over hosts Germany in the final held in Dormant (Germany).

AWARDS

• The Padma awards for the year 2012 were announced on the eve of India’s 63rd Republic Day. The Awards comprises 5 Padma Vibhushan, 27 and 77 Awards. Padma Vibhushan

Shri K G Subramanyan - Art-Painting & Sculpture - West Bengal

Late Shri Mario De Miranda - Art-Cartoonist – Goa

Late (Dr.)Bhupen Hazarika - Art- Vocal Music – Assam

Dr. Kantilal Hastimal Sancheti - Medicine - Orthopedics –

Shri T V Rajeswar - Civil Service – Delhi

• President of India Pratibha Patil conferred the Ashoka Chakra on Lt. Navdeep Singh(posthumous) on the occasion of the 63rd Republic Day Parade 2012 in New Delhi. He was awarded the Ashoka Chakra for single- handedly eliminating four infiltrating terrorists on 20 August 20 2011.He was Ghatak Platoon Commander of 15 Maratha Light Infantry deployed in the High Altitude Area near the Line of Control. President also approved the award of three Kirti Chakra. For Lt. Col. Kamaldeep Singh , Capt. Ashutosh Kumar and Lt. Sushil Khajuria. • Bollywood music director Rajesh Roshan was elected for the Latamangeshkar award-2011 which was sponsored by government of Madhya Pradesh. • 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards were held in Beverly Hills, California on 15 January 15 2012. The Artist, the French movie , directed by Michel Hazanavicius won three awards. Some of the winners of the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards is as follows. Best Picture: Drama- The Descendants, Best Actor: Drama- George Clooney (The Descendants), Best Actress: Drama- Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady), Best Director- Martin Scorsese(Hugo),BestForeign Language Film- A Separation (Iran), Best Animated Film- The Adventures of Tintin.

• Ramnath Goenka Awards for Excellence in Journalism 2012 function was held in New Delhi on 16 January 2012. Vice President of India, Hamid ansari gave away the awards. The Pioneer’s J Gopikrishnan and CNBC-TV18’s Udayan Mukherjee were adjudged Journalist of the Year at the 5th Ramnath Goenka Awards for Excellence in Journalism.CNN-IBN bagged three prestigious awards in various categories. The awards will cover the entire range of Indian media, Print & Broadcast, in English & Indian languages.The Ramnath Goenka foundation was set up in 1992 in the memory of late Ramnath Goenka, founder of The Indian Express, to encourage and propagate high-quality, objective journalism.

• Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari, conferred an honorary Doctor of Literature (honoris causa) of Tripura University on Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

• Secretary to the Ministry of culture, India Jawahar sirkar was awarded the British Museum Award .It was given for his reforms in the field of Indian museum.

• Senior Indian diplomat D. Bala Venkatesh Varma — a key member of the negotiating team that saw the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal, was given the first S.K. Singh award. Award was given for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen India's position in the global nuclear order .Award was given by UPA chairperson and Congress president Sonia Gandhi at a high-profile function in New delhi. The award for excellence in the Indian Foreign Service is named after the former foreign secretary and Governor, Shailendra Kumar Singh. Mr. Varma was selected as the first recipient of the prestigious award.

• Tibetan spiritual leader, Dalai Lama was presented the Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Peace and Reconciliation on 4 January 2011. The granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi, Ila Gandhi, presented this award,which was instituted in 2003.The Gandhi Development Trust that gives the award is chaired by Ila Gandhi.

• Sarod maestro Ustad was presented the awardwhich was instituted by the Karnataka government on 3 January 2012. • The National Tourism Awards 2010-11 were conferred by the President of India Pratibha Patil on 29 February 2012 in New Delhi. Madhya Pradesh received the National Tourism Award for its efforts in developing tourism related infrastructure and programmes in the state. North-Eastern state Sikkim bagged the award for the best among Northeast states and J&K category. It also got the new award under Campaign Clean India. Best heritage city award was bagged by HYDERABAD. Hyderabad airport received the award in the Best Airport award category. New Delhi railway station named the most tourist friendly railway station.

• The 84th Oscar Awards ceremony for 2011 took place at the Hollywood and Highland Center in Hollywood, California on 26 February 2012. The Artist' directed by Michel Hazanavicius won five Oscars including those for Best Picture, Director and Actor. The Artist is a silent French romantic comedy drama directed by Michel Hazanavicius, starring Jean Dujardin. Pakistan got its first Oscar as Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy received the Oscar for Saving face (Best documentary -short subject) along with Daniel Junge.

• Some of the awards in different categories are- o Best Picture - The Artist o Best Actor - Jean Dujardin for The Artist o Best Actress - Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady o Best Director - Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist o Best Supporting Actor - Christopher Plummer for Beginners o Best Supporting Actress - Octavia Spencer for The Help o Best Adapted Screenplay - The Descendants ( Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash) o Best Original Screenplay - Midnight in Paris ( Woody Allen) o Best Animated feature film - Rango o Best foreign language film - A Separation ( Iran) o Best documentary (feature) - Undefeated o Best art direction - Hugo o Best visual effects - Hugo (Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossman and Alex Henning)

• The Dr. Y Nayudamma Memorial Award for 2011 will be conferred on Rajendra Singh Pawar, chairman of the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) for his contribution to IT industry. The award will be presented to Pawar at a function at Tenali, A.P the native town of Dr. Nayudamma. He will deliver the 20th Dr. Nayudamma Memorial Lecture on ‘IT for national development’ at the function.

• The Public Relations Council of India (PRCI) recently gave Shabnam Asthana the prestigious national public relations Hall of Fame award for her contributions in the field of public relations. The award was presented to her at the Sixth Global PR Conclave 2012 in Mumbai.

• The former President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, and the former Lokayukta of Karnataka, Justice N. Santosh Hegde, have been selected for the S.R. Jindal Prize for their outstanding contributions in their fields. While Mr. Kalam gets the award for his contributions in science and technology, Justice N. Santosh Hegde will be bestowed the prize for his exemplary service in social development. The prize carries a cash of Rs. 1 crore. The Sitaram Jindal Foundation, which has instituted the award, will felicitate 25 others also.

• Veteran film music composer Rajesh Roshan was honoured with the Lata Manageshkar award 2010-11 by the Madhya Pradesh government on 8 February 2012. Previously this award was awarded to the legends like late , Asha Bhonsle and .

• The 54th Annual Grammy Awards were held on 12 February 2012, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The British female singer, Adele won six golden gramophones for her Album, 21.The other winners are -Album of the Year: 21 – Adele; Record of the Year: Rolling in the Deep by Adele ;Song of the Year:Rolling in the Deep by Adele ;Best New Artist: Bon Iver

• The sixty-fifth annual BAFTA(British Academy Film) awards, was held at the Royal Opera House in London 12 February 2012.Black and white silent movie, The Artist won six awards, including best film, best actor and best director.Best Actress was awarded to Meryl Streep for her amazing acting as former British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher in the Iron Lady. Some of the other winners are-Best Picture: The Artist; Best Actor: Jean Dujardin – The Artist Best Actress: Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady;Best Director: Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist Best Film not in the English language: The Skin I Live In (Spanish); Academy fellowship: Martin Scorsese

• Noted Hindi writer Professor Ramdarash Mishra was selected for the 21st Vyas Samman award for his poetry collection Aam Ke Patte published in 2004.

• India's Nobel Prize-winning economist was awarded the 2011 US National Humanities Medal. He is the first Indian to be honored with the medal that is typically awarded to US nationals.

• The 2012 Laureus Sports Awards were given in London on 6 Febreaury. The winners were chosen by 47 sports stars who make up the Laureus sports academy. The winners were- Sportsman of the Year: Novak Djokovic; Sportswoman of the Year: Vivian Cheruiyot; Team of the Year: FC Barcelona; Breakthrough of the Year: Rory McIlroy; Comeback Award: Darren Clarke; Disability Award: Oscar Pistorius; Action Sportsperson of the Year: Kelly Slater; Lifetime Achievement Award: Bobby Charlton; Sport for Good Award: Rai. • Indian Union Minister for Labour and Employment Mallikarjun Kharge was presented with Pride of India award by the Indian-American community in Washington on 1 February 2012. He was honoured with the award for his over four decades of public service.The award was presented jointly by the Indian American Friendship Council (IAFC) and India Association of North Texas (IANT). • Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan received a Green Globe for Outstanding Efforts by a Celebrity Award for his efforts toward a greener future at the fourth edition of the Panasonic Green Globe Foundation Awards on 2 february 2012. He received the award from Hollywood actor and former Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger.During his visit Schwarzenegger also attended the day-long Delhi Sustainable Development Summit presided over by the Indian Prime Minister. • Veteran environmental filmmaker Mike Pandey was honoured with the prestigious V. Shantaram Life Time Achievement Award at the Mumbai International Film Festival 2012 on 3 February 2012. He received the award for his documentaries on wildlife conservation and environment. • Shri Khamliana from Mizoram and Md. Abdul Bari from Odisha have been jointly selected for the National Communal Harmony Award 2011. The Jury headed by the Vice President Shri Hamid Ansari made the selection. National Communal Harmony Awards were instituted in 1996 by the National Foundation for Communal Harmony, an autonomous organization set up bt the Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs. The Award in the individual category carries a citation and a cash award of Rupees two lakhs. • Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader, Dalai Lama was selected for the Templeton Prize, 2012. The Buddhist leader who lives in exile in India had won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for advocating nonviolent liberation for Tibet. The Dalai Lama is founder of the Mind & Life Institute for Research on Science and Buddhism.

• Tamil writer A.A. Manavalan is bestowed with the 21st Saraswati Samman for his work Irama Kathaiyum Iramayakalum (Ramakatha and Ramayanas) published in 2005. The K K Birla Foundation announced the award on 22 March 2012.

• Legendary Bengali actor was on 21 March 2012 selected for India's highest film honour - the for 2012. The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India`s highest award in film industry which is given for lifetime achievement in Indian cinema by the Central government.

• Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh on 11 march, announced a national award for sanitation and water in the name of Maharashtrian saint Sant Gadge Baba. The award was constituted in the name of the Saint who strove to serve the society through cleanliness. The award is to honour villages, individuals or organisations working in the field of sanitation and drinking water. Maharashtra's Sant Gadge Baba Swachta Abhiyan (cleanliness scheme) encourages villages to be open defecation-free. Well performing villages are awarded through the Nirmal Gram Yojana. • The 59th were announced in New Delhi on 7 March 2012. The Chairperson of the jury, Rohini Hattangady, announced the awards.

• The Best Feature Film award was shared by the films Deool (Marathi) produced by Abhijeet Gholap & directed by Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni and Byari (Byari language) produced by T.H. Althaf Hussain & directed by Suveeram.

• The Best Actor was given to Girish Kulkarni for the film Deool (Marathi) and Best Actress to for the film The Dirty Picture (Hindi).

• Chillar Party (Hindi) won Best Children Film. • The book titled R.D. Burman – The Man, The Music written by Anirudha Bhattacharjee & Balaji Vittal won the Swarna Kamal for the Best Writing on Cinema category. Manoj Barpujari from Assam has been awarded Best Film Critic.

• Wang Shu of China won the Pritzker prize of this year, which can be called Nobel in Architecture.