73 Ø Over 2.5 lakh people are evacuated as the flood situa- cember 13, 2001 Parliament attack is ordered to be ex- tion worsens in Gujarat. Surat city under 10 feet water. ecuted . BHADRACHALAM in Andhra Pradesh lies submerged as the Godavari flows above danger level. Ø The Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, lays foundation stone for the DEDICATED FREIGHT CORRIDOR (EASTERN) Ø The CENTRE SUSPENDS operations against the ULFA. PROJECT, the largest single railway project since Indepen- dence, in Ludhiana. Ø “There is no question of our strategist nuclear autonomy being compromised”, says the Prime Minister, Manmohan Ø The Union Cabinet approves a Rs.16,978.69 crore relief Singh, in the Rajya Sabha replying to a day-long marathon package for FARMERS of ANDHRA PRADESH, discussion on the Indo- U.S. civilian nuclear deal. KARNATAKA, KERALA AND MAHARASHTRA.

Ø The THAR EXPRESS CHUGS off from Munabao, Ø The centre sanctions the AMALGAMATION OF UNITED Rajasthan on a historic journey six months after resumption WESTERN BANK WITH THE IDBI. of the Munabao-Khokhrapar route between India and Paki- stan. Ø Pondicherry becomes PUDUCHERRY with the provisions of the Pondicherry (Alteration of Name) Act, 2006 coming Ø Shehnai maestro USTAD BISMILLAH KHAN(90), passes into effect. away in Varanasi. The U.P. Government institutes a SANGEET RATNA AWARD in his memory. Ø The JUSTICE JEEVAN REDDY COMMITTEE recommends repeal of Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act. Ø The toll in RAJASTHAN FLOODS goes up to 138 with Barmer district bearing the brunt. Ø The Gujarat High Court holds as unconstitutional the set- ting up of the U.C. BANNERJEE COMMITTEE by the Rail- Ø The Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan, way Ministry to probe the Godhra train carnage on Febru- SHIVSHANKAR MENON is appointed new Foreign Secre- ary 27, 2002. tary. Ø The Centre decides to RESTORE CARGO SHIPPING Ø 1.9.2006: LIC of India Completes 50 years. services with Pakistan after 35 years.

Ø The President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, launches the year- Ø ADMIRAL SUREESH MEHTA takes over as the 19th Chief long celebrations on the 150TH FOUNDATION DAY OF MA- of the Naval Staff from Admiral Arun Prakash. DRAS UNIVERSITY. Ø INDIA AND PAKISTAN set up an anti-terrorism mecha- Ø The Union Cabinet gives its nod for autonomy to JIPMER. nism following talks between Foreign Secretaries SHIVSHANKAR MENON AND RIAZ MOHAMMAD KHAN in Ø Thirty one people are killed after TWO BOMB BLASTS in New Delhi. Malegaon in Maharashtra’s Nashik district. Ø The 37TH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL of India Ø THE WORLD PEACE GONG is inaugurated at the Gandhi begins in the Goa Capital PANAJI. Smriti Centre in New Delhi to commemorate the centenary of Gandhiji’s first Satyagraha. Ø RAJNATH SINGH is re-elected BJP president for a full term until 2008, in New Delhi. Ø YES BANK AND INTEL launch their wi-fi banking branch network, the first such in the world. Ø The Sri Lankan President, MAHINDA RAJAPAKSA, in- augurates the three-day first Asian Mayors’ meet in Dehra Ø KOLKATA CITY receives a record 218.4 mm rainfall. Dun.

Ø INDIA AND GERMANY launch major S & T initiative. Ø The West Bengal Assembly passes the Calcutta HACK- NEY CARRIAGE (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2006 abolishing the hand-pulled rickshaw. Ø The Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, presents the CSIR’S SHANTI SWARUP BHATNAGAR PRIZES for 2006 to 13 scientists. CLRI gets CSIR Award for S & T Innovations for Ø NO PRIOR SANCTION NEEDED for prosecuting a public Rural Development. servant in corruption cases, rules the Supreme Court.

Ø MOHAMMAD AFZAL, the master-mind behind the De- Ø CENTRAL UNIVERSITY STATUS to the Central Institute RADIAN ACADEMY ANNA NAGAR & NSK NAGAR-ARUMBAKKAM [email protected] Ph: 98404-00825, 98404-33955, 98404-32842 74 of English and Foreign Languages (CIEFL) Hyderabad. Ø A new India-Pakistan Parliamentary Friendship Group with NIRMALA DESHPANDE as its chairperson has been set up. Ø The LOK SABHA PASSES bill to extend 27 per cent Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee made the announce- quota for OBCs in Central higher educational institutions. ment when he welcomed the Chairman of Pakistan’s Sen- The Rajya Sabha passes the Prevention of Child Marriage ate Mohammadmian Soomro. Bill, 2004. Ø The meeting was described as very cordial and warm with Mr. Chatterjee expressed the view that greater com- Ø The Assam Assembly passes resolution to effect a munication between the Parliaments could help to further change in the name of the State to Asom. cement the friendship between the countries. Ø It was agreed at the meeting that the next conference of Ø The CABINET COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC AFFAIRS the India-Asia regional branches of the Common-wealth clears the Government’s proposal to exit from Maruti Udyog Parliamentary Association would be held in Pakistan in March Limited. 2007, ahead of the main CPA conference scheduled to be held in September in New Delhi. Ø K.G. BALAKRISHNAN as the 37th Chief Justice of India with effect from January 14, 2007. The first Dalit to oc- Ø CHINESE PRESIDENT’S VISIT TO INDIA: The two cupy this high post. neighbours decided to venture on a 10 pronged strategy to boost their comprehensive ties in commercial, political and Ø The RBI allows FDI and FOREIGN INSTITUTIONAL IN- strategic areas and signed 13 pacts in the fields of econom- VESTMENT (FII) in stock exchanges and depositories upto ics, trade, finance, energy, science, technology, agricul- 49 per cent. ture, human resources development, education, wildlife pro- tection and smuggling of artefacts. Ø On December 13, 2006 the RAJYA SABHA passed a bill to make child marriages null and void. The Prevention of Ø In a bid to provide greater comfort to both Indian and Child Marriage Bill, 2004 also provides for appointment of Chinese investors a Bilateral Investment Promotion child marriage prevention officers by state governments. In and Protection Agreement (BIPPA) was signed by Com- case of such marriages being declared null and void, the merce and Industry minister Kamal Nath and Chinese Com- husband or, if he is minor at the time of child marriage, his merce Minister Bo Xilai. guardian will pay maintenance to the minor girl till her re- marriage. Ø The world’s two fastest growing economics agreed to enhance two-way investment to achieve the bilateral trade Ø Members stressed the need for effective implementation target of US $40 billion in four years, double than the present of the legislation as the first law enacted in 1927 failed to level. The two sides agreed to hold regular summit-level check CHILD MARRIAGE. meetings, establish a hotline between their foreign minis- ters, set up additional consulate in Kolkata and Ø On December 14, 2006 Parliament gave its nod for the Guangzhou and open new border points for Kailash Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers Mansarover Yatra and trade. Declaring that they are “not (RECOGNITION OF FOREST RIGHTS) BILL, 2006, seeking rivals” but “partners for mutual benefit”, the two neighbours to empower traditional forest-dwelling communities by giv- decided not to allows boundary question to hamper overall ing them security of tenure, access to minor forest produce development of ties and agreed to expand cooperation at and a stake in the presentation of natural spaces. The bill regional and international stage for which they will have vests forest rights and occupation of forest land in forest- regular consultations. dwelling Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest • The declaration issued after talks between Prime Min- Dwellers. The Lok Sabha passed the Bill earlier. ister Manmohan Singh and Chinese President Hu Jintao, says “both sides believe that comprehensive economic and commercial engagement between India and China Ø The Rajya Sabha on December 5, 2006 passed the is a core component of their strategic and cooperative Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial (Amendment) Bill, partnership. 2006 IS CHINA-INDIA FRIENDSHIP YEAR: 2006 after Culture and Tourism Minister Ambika Soni as- 10 STEPS OF BILATERALISM sured members that their suggestions on the trustees to be • Seeking early settlement of the outstanding issues, nominated for the Jallianwala Memorial Trust would be taken including border issue. into account while framing rules and regulations. Lok Sabha • Ensuring comprehensive development of bilateral rela- had approved on November 30 the Bill that is meant to amend tions. the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Act, 1951 to provide • Strengthening institutional linkages and dialogue mecha- for the erection and management of a National Memorial to nisms. perpetuate the memory of those killed or wounded on April • Consolidating commercial and economic exchanges. 13, 1919 in Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar. • Expanding all round mutually-beneficial cooperation.

RADIAN ACADEMY ANNA NAGAR & NSK NAGAR-ARUMBAKKAM [email protected] Ph: 98404-00825, 98404-33955, 98404-32842 75 • Instilling mutual trust and confidence through Defence Ø Besides ARUNACHAL PRADESH, the other main dis- Cooperation. putes are over the Aksai Chin region and the Trans- • Promoting trans-border connectivity and cooperation. Karakoram Tract. • Boosting cooperation in Science and Technology. Ø India also accuses China of occupying 8,000 square • Revitalising cultural ties and nurturing people to people kilometres in Jammu and Kashmir, in the Aksai Chin region, exchanges. north-east of Ladakh Aksai Chin also known as the Soda • Expanding cooperation on regional and international Plain, is almost uninhabited and desert-like. It was only in stage. 1959 that Chinese encroachment came to light in the form of a strategically crucial road connecting China’s Xinjiang prov- Ø The CHINESE PRESIDENT HU JINTAO arrived in New ince with Tibet. Delhi on November 20, on a four-day state visit as part of expanding leadership-level contacts between the two coun- Ø TRANS-KARAKORAM TRACT: Agreements between tries. External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Sci- Pakistan and China in 1963 had transferred the Trans- ence and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal received Mr. Hu at Karakoram Tract to the latter. The transfer is disputed by the airport. This is the second visit by a Chinese head of India as it is part of J & K. No Pakistani government has ever state to India – the first was by President Jiang Zemin in officially claimed this region and its status is subject to the November 1996. Incidentally, Mr. Hu visited when the two resolution of the Kashmir disputes. countries are celebrating the “Year of Friendship”. HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT, 2006: Ø From New Delhi, Mr. Hu went to Agra to visit Taj Mahal. Ø HDR-2006 ranks India 126 on Human Development Index His next destination was Mumbai, where on November 23, (HDI) out of 177 countries, up by one notch from 2005 the concluding day of his four-day visit to Idia, he scripted a position. ‘Panchsheel’ to expand trade and economic co-operation between India and China, Stepping up bilateral trade, Ø The HDI is a composite index developed by the United strengthening co-operation in key areas, improving the in- Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and is regarded vestment climate, encouraging tie-up for third country as a measure of the life quality of an individual . The Index projects and establishing a China-India free trade area are comprises three parameters PCI at PPP, life expectancy, the five steps suggested by Mr. Hu. and education. th Addressing a gathering of businessmen and industrialists Ø The 17 global report has its theme ’Beyond Scarcity. under the joint auspices of three top Indian industry bodies Power, Poverty and the Global Water Crisis”. – FICCI, CII AND ASSOCHAM – in the commercial capital Ø Water Resources MINISTER SAIF-UD-DIN SOZ, kicked of the country, the Chinese leader suggested that Indian up a controversy when the sought to debate the ranking and Chinese companies should set up joint ventures in third rationale after unveiling the Report Disagreeing with the countries to explore opportunities in the energy sector. existing grading system, he turned to the UNDP officials and Ø From Mumbai, he proceeded to Pakistan. There Mr. wanted to know whether it was justified to compare Nor- Hu signed a five year free trade pact with Pakistan on way or Sweden with India and China. November 24, and promised to continue joint development • The income of the 500 richest people in the of nuclear energy and pledged to play a ‘constructive’ role world exceeds that of the poorest 416 million. in resolving disputes between Pakistan and India. • In 31 countries at the bottom of the list, 28 are in Ø Pakistan and China signed 18 economic, social and de- sub-Saharan Africa. fence deals, topped by a free trade agreement and a five- • HIV/AIDS has slashed life expectancy in sub-Sa- year pact to boost ‘trade relations, joint ventures and in- haran Africa by 20 years, making life expectancy vestment opportunities in Pakistan. Pakistan also conferred lower there today than 30 years ago. its highest civilian award Nishan-e-Pakistan on the Chi- nese President for his contribution in cementing bilateral HDI RANK ties. 1 Norway 93 Sri Lanka Ø BORDER DISPUTES: A BACKGROUND China refuses to recognise it as part of India. The Chinese 2 Iceland 126 India claim 90,000 square kilometres as their territory – that I 8 US 134 Pakistan almost the whole of Arunachal Pradesh – calling it ”South Tibet” . This border dispute is a legacy of the British colonial 74 Thailand 137 Bangladesh rule in 1914, the governments of Britain and Tibet decided 81 China 177 Niger the boundary through an imaginary demarcation called the McMahon Line Successive Chinese governments have re- Ø According to the report, the GROUP OF EIGHT (G-8) fused to recognise this demarcation, and the boundary is developed nations should spearhead an urgent global ac- now known in both India and China as the Line of Actual tion plan to resolve the world’s growing water and sanita- Control (LAC). tion crisis, which causes nearly two million child deaths

RADIAN ACADEMY ANNA NAGAR & NSK NAGAR-ARUMBAKKAM [email protected] Ph: 98404-00825, 98404-33955, 98404-32842 76 every year and holds back countries’ development, espe- cent of the total without a job compared with only 4.5 per- cially in Africa. cent of older workers. Ø Across much of the developing world, unclean water is Ø According to the report, called “GLOBAL EMPLOYMENT an immeasurably greater threat to human security than vio- TRENDS FOR YOUTH”, young people account for 44 per- lent conflict, warns UNDP, Each year, the authors report 1.8 cent of the world’s total unemployed even though they make million children die from diarrhoea that could be prevented up only 25 percent of the total without a job compared with with access to clean water and a toilet, 443 million school only 4.5 percent of older workers. days are lost to water-related illnesses, and almost 50 per Ø The over all unemployment rate for youth has been on a cent of all people in developing countries are suffering at steady rise since 1995, climbing from 12.3 percent of the any given time from a health problem caused by a lack of total of job seekers in 1995 to 13.5 per cent last year. water and sanitation. Ø The report drew no conclusions about political instability Ø To add to these human costs, the crisis in water and arising from the presence in many countries of armies of sanitation holds back economic growth, with sub-Saharan out of work young men, although it said the situation meant Africa losing 5 per cent of GDP annually far more than the governments had to spend more on crime and drug control. region received in aid, the report states, adding however In sub-Sahran Africa the rte is 18.1 percent followed by that unlike wars and natural disasters, this global crisis Latin America. does not galvanize concerted international action. In addition to creating a GLOBAL ACTION PLAN, the report Ø SACHAR REPORT: It says that Muslim community is ”lag- also recommends the following as crucial to dealing with ging behind” other religious groups in development indica- the crisis. tors and has asked the Government to frame appropriate • Make water a human right and mean it: “Everyone programmes to address its educational and economic back- should have at least 20 litres of clean water per wardness. It, however, maintains silence over reservation day and the poor should get it for free”, says the for Muslims. The seen member committee headed by Mr. report. Sachar, a former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court was • Draw up national strategies for water and sanitation: set up to get into the social, economic and educational sta- Government should aim to spend a minimum of one per tus of Muslims. The report has been tabled in Parliament for cent GDP on water and sanitation, and enhance eq- discussion. uity. Water and sanitation suffer from chronic under- funding, with public spending typically less than 0.5 Ø NEW POLICE ACT ON ITS WAY: Faced with Supreme per cent of GDPD . Research for the report shows Court’s directive to implement the much-delayed police re- that this figure is dwarfed by military spending. For forms, government on October 30, set in motion the pro- example , in Ethiopia, the military budget is 10 times the cess to bring in a new police Act, incorporating the sugges- water and sanitation budget in Pakistan, 47 times. tions of the SOLI SORABJEE PANEL. • Increase international aid: The report calls for an extra $3.4 billion to $4 billion annually. Development assis- Ø The report, has called for drastic changes in the 145 tance has fallen in real term-over the past decade, but year old Police Act – to introduce a fixed two year tenure for to bring the MDG on water and sanitation into reach, police officers down the line, from DGP to SHO as well as aid flows will have to double, it says. separation of maintenance of law and order from crime The report estimates the total additional cost of achieving investigation duties, among other reforms. the MDG on access to water and sanitation to be sourced Ø The Model Police Act, drafted by the Sorabjee panel, has domestically and internationally at about $10 billion a year. focused on professionalisation of the crime investigation “The $10 billion price tag for the MDG seems a large sum but function. it has to be put in context. It represents less than five days worth of global military spending and less than half what Ø TAX RETURN PREPARERS SCHEME: Small taxpayers rich countries spend each year on mineral water”, it says. can soon look forward to some assistance coming their way for preparing income-tax returns. The Finance Minis- Ø A third of the 1.1 billion young people worldwide be- ter. P. Chidambaram, announced on November 6, the launch tween the ages of 15 and 24 are unemployed or have a job of a “Tax Return Preparers Scheme” (TRPS) to train unem- bringing less than 2 dollars a day, according to the report by ployed and partially employed people to assist small taxpay- THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANISATION (ILO). And ers in preparing their income-tax returns. as the global population swells, the situation is set to get In the current financial year, the scheme is being launched worse, especially in volatile corners of sub-Saharan Af- on a pilot basis to train 5,000 TAX RETURN PREPARES rica, South-East Asia and the Middle East and North Africa, (TRPS) at 100 centres in around 80 cities across the coun- according to the report. try. Ø Figures compiled by the UNITED NATIONS AGENCY Ø Under the scheme, assistance in filing tax returns free showed that younger people were three times more likely to of cost would be extended to self-employed and small busi- be unemployed than those over the age of 21 with 13.5 per nessmen, salaried employees, senior citizens and woman having total income up to a specified amount.

RADIAN ACADEMY ANNA NAGAR & NSK NAGAR-ARUMBAKKAM [email protected] Ph: 98404-00825, 98404-33955, 98404-32842 77 Ø The minimum qualification for undergoing training as TAX the country have misconceptions regarding the modes of RETURN PREPARES would be a graduation degree in com- transmission of HIV/AIDS. merce, law, economics, mathematics, statistics, and man- agement. Ø The term of the LIBERHAN COMMISSION, inquiring into Ø The TRAINING, for nine days with eight hour sessions the demolition of the Babri mosque at Ayodhya, is extended each would be imparted to prospective tax return preparers by three more months. by the Income-Tax department with the help of a training Ø NARMADA BACHAO ANDOLAN leader Ms.Medha partner, NIIT, using classroom training and Web based teach- Patkar along with other actiists take out a massive protest ing. rally against the Gujarat Government’s decision to raise the Ø He also said that the TRPs would be given 3 per cent of height of the Sardar Sarover Dam without properly rehabili- the tax collected for the first year’s return of a new tax- tating the oustees. payer, 2 per cent for the second year and 1 per cent for the third year, on the returns prepared by tax return preparers. Ø Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh inaugurates the 94th Ø There would be no charge for new assesses. How- Indian Science Congress AT CHIDAMBARAM (Tamil Nadu). ever, from existing TAXPAYERS, TRPs will collect Rs.250 for return of one assessment year. Ø The Union Government constitutes a high level four-mem- ber panel with representatives from the Ministries of Home Ø The UNION MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT AND FOR- Affairs and Women and Child Development (WCD), and ESTS clears the construction of two indigenous Pressurised the UP Government , to investigate the serial killings at Nithari Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) of 700 MW capacity each village of NOIDA (UP). at Kakrapar in Gujarat. Ø According to MR. ANIL KAKODKAR, the Chairman of Ø Hrithik bags Rs.35 Crore Adlabs deal: In a mega Atomic Energy Commission, the civilian nuclear programme sign-up Hrithik Roshan has inked a three film contract with of the country will be independent and there is no question the Anil Ambani owned Adlabs for Rs.12 crore per film. This of its losing autonomy on the issue. straightaway catapults Hrithik to the top of super-hero league, making him the highest paid star in India. Ø On a specific recommendation by the INVESTMENT COMMISSION headed by the industrialist Mr. Ratan Tata. Ø Speaking on the occasion of the platinum Jubilee cel- Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh directs an inter-ministe- ebrations of the Indian Statistical Institute in Kolkata, Prime rial group in the Planning Commission to examine the feasi- Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh announce that June 29, which bility of converting coal to liquid fuel and gas. marks the birth anniversary of Prof. Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis, the doyen of Indian statistics and founder of Ø The STATE GOVERNMENT OF ASSAM requests the the institute, will henceforth be observed as “NATIONAL Centre to send companies of paramilitary forces for deploy- STATISTICAL DAY”. ment in vulnerable areas following ULFA attacks on Bihari workers and other Hindi-speaking people in Assam. Ø The Railways has plants to include the proposal to bring the entire rail network in the country under BROADGUAGE Ø NIN (NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF NUTRITION, in the 11th Five-Year Plan. HYDERABAD) announces that it will conduct first study on the links between HIV/AIDS and nutrition in India. Ø Minority Affairs Minister MR. A.R. ANTULAY says the Sachar Committee report on the uplift of Muslims will be fully Ø The CENTRE DECIDES TO DECLARE 2007 as ‘Water implemented in 2007. Year’ to focus on water-related issues and launch a mas- sive awareness programme in the country. Ø Union Railway Minister MR. LALU PRASAD flags off a new train Poorbia Express connecting Delhi with Bihar. Ø In a successful multi-mission , India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)-C7 takes off from its beachside Ø ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS in Punjab, Uttaranchal and launch pad at Sriharikota and injects four satellites into pre- Manipur held in February 2007. cise orbit , two of which, namely Cartosat-2 and SRE (Space Capsule Recovery Experiment ) are from India while LAPAN- Ø According to the NKC (NATIONAL KNOWLEDGE COM- TUBSAT is a joint venture of Indonesia and the Technical MISSION), India will need 1,500 universities to attain a gross University of Berlin and the PEHUENSAT-I is for Argentina. domestic enrolment ratio of at least 15 percent by 2015. Ø The Government signs extradition treaty with PORTU- Ø As per the assessment by the National AIDS Control GUESE Government making it impossible for criminals and Organisation (NACO), about 73 percent of young people in terrorists to take shelter in Portugal.

RADIAN ACADEMY ANNA NAGAR & NSK NAGAR-ARUMBAKKAM [email protected] Ph: 98404-00825, 98404-33955, 98404-32842 78 media. Ø Meeting on the sidelines of ASEAN SUMMIT, Prime Min- • Lord Diljit Rana, MBE and member of the House of ister Dr. Manmohan Singh and his Chinese counterpart Mr. Lords (UK) , for furthering India’s interests and en- Wen Jiabao agree that the two sides can solve and are hancing the understanding of India. willing to solve the border issue. • Dave Sukhdip Singh Hayer (Canada) for his contri- bution in the field of public Service. Ø Speaking at the 40th anniversary of the YOUNG MEN’S • Dr. M. Anirudhan (USA) for his outstanding contribu- WELFARE SOCIETY in G.D. Birla Sabhaghar (Kolkata), the tion towards furthering Indo-US relations and dedi- Nobel laureate and Buddhist spiritual leader Dalai Lama points cated service to the Diaspora. out the difficulties in maintaining large contingents of sol- • Billy Nair (South Africa) for his exemplary role in the diers at the high attitudes along the Indo-Tibetan border. fight against apartheid and for his dedicated service to the community. • Pheroze Nowrojee (Kenya) for his immense contri- Ø In a LANDMARK JUDGEMENT, a nine-judge Bench of bution to the community. the Supreme Court on January 11, 2007, held that there • Nirmal K. Sinha (USA) for his contribution to India’s could be no blanket immunity from judicial review of laws causes and services to the diaspora. inserted in the Ninth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. It • Dr. K.R. Somasundram (Malaysia) for his public ser- merit mentioning in this regard that once a law is enacted vice and contkribution to the Diaspora. and included in the Ninth Schedule, it gets protection under • Kenneth Benjamin (Jamaica) for enhancing the un- Article 31-B (Validation of Certain Acts and Regulations) derstanding of India in the Caribbean region. and is not subject to judicial scrutiny. • Sibabrata Roy (Germany) for community service. • Syed M. Salahuddin (UAE) for his contribution in the Ø The BENCH held that all laws included in the Ninth Sched- field of business philanthropy and culture. ule after April 24, 1973, would be test individually on the • Dr. B.R. Shetty (Abu Dhabi) for his business acumen touchstone of violation of Fundamental Rights or the basic and services to the Diaspora. structure doctrine. The laws would be examined separately • Moti Tikaram (Fiji) for his outstanding achievements by a three judge Bench and if these were found to violate in the field of legal and juridical services and contribu- the FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS, they would be set aside. tion to the community. • Abdul Magid Abdool Kakrim Vakil (Portugal) for Ø The Ninth Schedule of the Constitution (Article 31-B) was his contribution to the field of business and enhancing introduced by the then PRIME MINISTER PANDIT the understanding of India. JAWAHARLAL NEHRU to keep certain laws, particularly • Dr. P. Jayaraman (USA) for his dedication towards those on land reforms, beyond the scope of judicial review. the dissemination of Indian culture and his outstanding Over the years, as man as 284 laws have been included in contribution to the Diaspora. it and about 30 of those are under challenge. Ø Inaugurating the 94th Session of the INDIAN SCIENCE Ø The FIFTH PRAVASI BHARATIYA DIVAS ended with the CONGRESS IN CHIDAMBARAM (TAMIL NADU) on Janu- conferment of the Pravasi Samman Awards to some out- ary 3, 2007, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh indicated a standing people of Indian origin associated with different significant increase in the allocation for science and tech- fields, by Hon’ble President Dr. A.P.I. Abdul Kalam at Vigyan nology (S & T) . Delivering his keynote address, he said: Bhavan in New Delhi on January 9, 2007. In all, 15 distin- “We owe it to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru that in the early guished personalities received the awards for their stellar years after Independence, we built several world-class contributions to various fields. institutions of science. The Government is committed to Earlier, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh along with Minis- increase the annual expenditure on science and technol- ter of Overseas Indian Affairs R. Vayalar Ravi, Deputy Prime ogy from less than 1 percent of our GDP to 2 percent in the Minister of Singapore Mr. S. Jayakumar and Delhi Chief next five years. Minister Ms. Sheila Dikshit lit the lamp to mark the inaugura- tion of the fifth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in New Delhi on Ø PRIME MINISTER DR. MANMOHAN SINGH gaveaway January 7, 2007. Speaking at the annual congregation of awards to eminent scientists for their contribution and the Indian diaspora, Dr Singh said India was happy that the achievements in the field of science and Technology. Those US had adopted a legislation which would enable it to coop- who received the Gold Medal in the Indian Science Con- erate in the field of civil nuclear energy. Calling the US law gress Association for the year 2006-07 included Dr. I.V. on civil nuclear energy an important step forward in bilateral Subba Rao (Asutosh Mookerjee Memorial, Award), Prof. M. ties, he thanked the Indian American community for their Barma (S.N. Bose Birth Centenary Award, Dr. Krishan Lal significant role in highlighting the importance of this Initiative (S.K. Mitra Birth Centenary Award), Dr. N.C. Mehrotra (Birbal in the United States and elsewhere. , Sahni Birth Centenary Award), Pof. Yashpal (D.S. Kothari The awardees included: Memorial Award), Dr. P.S. Goel (Vikram Sarabhai Memorial • Gopal Raju (USA) for his contribution in the field of Award) and Prof. Ashok Misra (S.S. Bhatnagar Memorial

RADIAN ACADEMY ANNA NAGAR & NSK NAGAR-ARUMBAKKAM [email protected] Ph: 98404-00825, 98404-33955, 98404-32842 79 Award). Millennium Plaques of Honour were given to Prof. development of a communications network by Bharat Elec- M.K. Chandrasekharan and Prof. V.L.S. Bhimsankaran while tronics to integrate the radars and the interceptors with the Excellence in Science and Technology Award was given to mission control centre. With this test, India has become the Prof. Goverdhan Mehta. Among other awardees, Dr. V.P. youngest member of a select bank of nations comprising – Dimri received the G.P. Chatterjee Memoria Award while Dr. the U.S. Russia and Israel - that has the capability of B.P. Radhakrishana and Dr. S. Raghuvardhan Reddy re- developing missile defence systems. ceived Jawaharlal Nehru Birth Centenary Awards. Prof. R.C. Mehrotra Memorial Life Time Achievement Award Ø THE NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL (NDC) on and Jawaharlal Nehru Prize were given to Prof Girjesh Govil December 9, 2006, approved the approach paper for the and the A.P. Academy of Sciences respectively, Scientists 11th Five-Year Plan, which will give up priority to agriculture, who got the General President’s Awards included Prof. R. and seek an ambitious nine percent annual growth. Chidambaram, Dr. Anil Kakodkar, Mr. G. Madhavan Nair, Dr. 11th Plan must given priority to redressing the weaknesses Devendra Lal, Prof. Harmut Michel, Dr. Anil Kohli, D. A.V. in the agriculture sector. Rama Rao, Dr. Hari Narain, Prof. Govind Swarup and Dr. Vasant Gowariker. Ø The Prime Minister, launched on February 19, the BACK- Ø Union Minister for Science and Technology and Earth WARD REGIONS GRANT FUND (BRGF) in the Barpeta dis- Sciences Mr. Kapil Sibal and Tamil Nadu Governor Mr. Surjeet trict of Assam. Singh Barnala along with several State Ministers partici- Ø A total of 250 districts are being taken up in the country pated in the function which was attended by eminent scien- under the BRGF and Rs.3,750 crore has been provided to tists, scholars and research students from India and abroad. the fund for the year with each district receiving an addi- tional Rs.15 crore annually exclusively for developing infra- Ø DRDO UNVEILS THE NEW ANTI-BALLISTIC INTERCEP- structure. TOR: The test began at 10.15 A.M. off the east coast of Ø The two unique features of the scheme are that it would Orissa, with the launch of a conventional Prithvi missile be implemented totally through the PANCHAYATI RAJ insti- posing as an enemy weapon. Within seconds after its take- tutions and the basis for programmes is the district off, a sophisticated, long-range radar picked up the signals, Panchayat and this will4 be a well – conceived plan pre- analysed its flight path and sent an electronic command to pared in a participatory mannr. an interceptor missile stationed at, Wheeler Island. Almost Ø The district planning committees would integrate the plans immediately, the interceptor code-named PAD01, lifted off of rural and urban local bodies utilising funds for promoting with a roar and plume of smoke. Travelling at five times the development in the backward areas by providing infrastruc- speed of sound, it rapidly closed in on the incoming Prithvi. ture, promoting sustainable livelihood and converging de- Two minutes later and after some mid-course corrections, velopment inflows. PAD01 detonated its proximity fuse at a height of 50 km above the Earth. Both the missiles exploded in a ball of gas and the debris fell harmlessly into the Bay of Bengal . Ø THE CENTRAL STATISTICAL ORGANISATION (CSO) Given its height – known in scientific parlance as exo-atmo- on January 31, marked up the country’s GDP (gross domes- spheric or outside the Earth’s atmosphere – there was no tic product) growth estimates for 2005-06 to nine percent way scientists could either see or even hear the bang. So, from 8.4 per cent envisaged earlier, mainly on account of a they kept sitting in the mission control room and watching higher-than-anticipated output in agriculture during the fis- the entire sequence on a radar. cal year. In order to achieve this outstanding feat, defence scientists Ø The growth in the manufacturing sector was also a and researchers have had to grapple with a number of LITTLE BETTER at 9.1 per cent as against nine per cent challenges. ANTI-BALLISTIC MISSILE (ABM) systems estimated earlier. The growth rate in the construction sector require highly accurate radars capable of tracking incoming has been revised higher at 14.2 per cent in 2005-06. The warheads from a greater distance. Before PAD01 was per capita income at constant prices (1999-2000) for 2005- developed. India had a radar detection capability of 100 km. 06 now stands estimated at Rs.20,734, a marked growth of For the air defence system, DRDO claims to have “jointly 7.4 per cent over the figure of Rs.19,297 in 2004-05 . During developed a radar capable of tracking high speed missiles the year, the savings, and investment rates were both at a distance of over 1,000 km. above 30 per cent of the GDP. Ø The interceptor missile, too, had to be designed and built from scratch. Its first stage is similar to that of the Prithvi and Ø With the arrival of Isael Guerrero, the World Bank’s knew uses its LIQUID FUEL ENGINE. But for the second stage ‘kill COUNTRY DIRECTOR TO INDIA, the bank announced on vehicle’, a powerful solid motor was developed apart from February 12, to increase its total annual lending to India to $ divert thrusters that gives it a high degree of manouverability. 4 billion (Rs.18,000 crore) for the next three years . The Ø The interceptor is also equipped with terminal homing current annual average is around $ 2.5 billion. The World guidance system with and RF (RADAR FREQUENCY) seeker Bank is currently engaged in 63 projects worth about $ 12.7 to detect targets at long range of low radar cross-section billion in India and travelling a high speeds. An important step was the

RADIAN ACADEMY ANNA NAGAR & NSK NAGAR-ARUMBAKKAM [email protected] Ph: 98404-00825, 98404-33955, 98404-32842 80 Ø The man emphasis in the HUMAN DEVELOPMENT February 22, and drove to Nalanda , taking the same path PROJECTS (which will receive 18 per cent of the total taken by the 7 A.D. traveller from China to Nalanda Univer- funding of World Bank) will be on combating vector borne sity as a student and returned after a stint as teacher. diseases, tuberculosis and AIDS. But $ 1.3 billion is also being lent to the education project Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan Ø India and Russia have signed a Cultural Exchange (SSA) and some vocational education programmes. Programme (CEP), 2007-09. More importantly, they agree to hold the “Year of Russia in Ø Infrastructure Development Finance Company Ltd (IDFC), India’ in 2008 and the “year of India in Russia” in 2009. Citi Group Inc, India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd., (IIFCL) and Blackstone Group have come together to launch Ø SHSASHI THAROOR, who joined the UN system when ‘the India infrastructure financing initiative. he was just 22, bowed out in the 2nd week of February after the new UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon accepted sev- Ø This is a collaborative effort to deploy about $5 billion in eral resignation from the previous dispensation, including capital for infrastructure projects within the country. The that of Tharoor. Tharoor was Under Secretary General for plan is to deploy about $2 billion in equity capital and $3 Communications and Public Information during Kofi Annan’s billion in long term debt financing with maturities exceeding term, and had contested an election to succeed him, a run- 10 years. The equity-financing programme would be man- off that pitted him against the South Korea and several aged by IDFC and would invest in green field and brown other contenders. field operating projects primarily in roads, power, airports, ports and industrial and commercial infrastructure. The Ø The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), agreement was signed in New Delhi on February 15. chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, approved the launch of a new, Centrally sponsored National Bamboo Ø THE INDIA EU MINISTERIAL SCIENCE CONFERENCE Mission (NBM), to be implemented at a cost of Rs.568.23 held in NEW DELHI on February 7, concluded with the two crore. parties agreeing to forge strategic partnership by sharing research funds and Intellectual Property Rights. Ø RAJASTHAN has once again occupied first rank in imple- THE EUROPEAN UNION on February 8, invited India to par- mentation of the Prime Minister’s Gram Sadak Yojana ticipate in its 54 billion euro science and research programme (PMGSY) by constructing k16,301 km-long roads connec- SEVENTH FRAMEWORK PROGRAMME (FP 7) that will run tion as many as 4,783 villages at a cost of TRs.2,107 crore. for five years. The FP 7 programme offers higher funding for SMEs; high budget for research in collaboration with the Ø The Union Cabinet, approved a Rs.16,978.69 crore re- private sector for which six areas have been identified, and habilitation package for farmers in the predominantly sui- in which research would be conducted based on PPP model. cide prone districts of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka , Kerala A new financing facility has been developed with the finan- and Maharashtra. cial institutions of the European Union. Ø The Centre announced an assistance of Rs.350 crore Ø In a landmark judgement on defections within political for flood relief in Rajasthan where several districts, includ- parties, the Supreme Court on February 14, dismissed the ing Barmer and Jaisalmer, are reeling under the worst-ever petitions. Of 37 UP MLAs belonging to the BSP breakaway floods. group who had formed an independent group called the Loktantrik Bahujan Dal (LBD) and enabled Mr. Mulayam Ø The government issued orders bringing on a par the Singh Yadav to form a Government in the state. A five- terms and conditions for men and women officers opting member Constitution Bench comprising Chief Justice K.G. for entry in the Army through the Short Service Commission Balakrishnan, in its unanimous verdict, held that 13 MLAs of in the wake of the recent uproar over complaints of dis- the breakaway group, who had defected on August 27, crimination against the fair sex. 2003, were guilty of defection and disqualified them as MLAs. Though the Supreme Court has not specifically clari- Ø Underling its new defence procurement policy, the gov- fied the fate of remaining 24 MLAs, by the implication of the ernment mandated a reinvestment in the country of 30 per judgement they also stand disqualified. cent of all defence deals of more than Rs.3 billion, coupled with providing a level playing field for indigenous manufac- Ø Chinese Foreign Minister LI ZHAOXING inaugurated turers and their foreign counterparts. Xunazang (Hieun Tsang) memorial hall in Nalanda, Bihar, on February 13,China had handled over the urn of Xuzn Zang, Ø The GUPTA COMMISSION of Inquiry has found no evi- the symbol of the cordial Sino-Indian relations, to the Bihar dence of tampering with the holy Shiva lingam at the government fifty years ago and now it was great price for Amarnath shrine. China that the urn was placed in the memorial hall. The Chinese Foreign Minister arrived in Patna from Beijing on

RADIAN ACADEMY ANNA NAGAR & NSK NAGAR-ARUMBAKKAM [email protected] Ph: 98404-00825, 98404-33955, 98404-32842 81 Ø PRIME MINISTER MANMOHAN SINGH prevailed clear- Ø Prime Minister Manmohan Singh experience “A RARE ing the Bill to introduce 27% OBC quotas but only in aided SPIRITUAL MOVEMENT’ at the ‘SACRED SITE” of the Institutions including IITs, IIMs and AIIMS – as of now and Phoenix Settlement, set up by Mahatma Gandhi in 1904 on staggering its implementation over a maximum of three years. the outskirts of Durban.

Ø THE JUSTICE R.S. PATHAK Inquiry Authority, probing Ø The City that will host the Commonwealth Games in 2010 into allegations of payoffs in the UN oil-for-food programme will also be the venue for the Cricket World Cup final the in Iraq has indicted former external affairs minister K. Natwar year after, according to BCCI vice-president Lalit Modi. Singh and his MLA son Jagat Singh for misusing their posi- tion. But the probe has found no evidence that the two Ø Taran was formally made the 19th district of the state to received money. mark the 400th martyrdom anniversary of Guru Arjan Dev in Tarn Taran. Ø On July 9, INDIA TEST-FIRST its most advanced inter- mediate range ballistic missile Agni-III but it developed a snag Ø The Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Royal Air Force (RAF) and fell into the sea off the coast of Orissa without hitting of the United Kingdom engaged in Gwalior in the first ever the target. joint exercises in 43 years.

Ø The CABINET COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC AFFAIRS Ø Short-range surface-to-air missile Trishul was test-fired enhanced the Central assistance to States and Union Terri- from a mobile launcher at the Integrated Test Range at tories for meeting the cooking cost of the Mid-Day Meal Chandipur-on-Sea. Scheme from Rs. 1 t to Rs.1.50 a child a school day. Ø An improved version of the Barak anti-missile system Ø Seeking to emulate tiger economies such as China and being developed jointly by India and Israel will be fitted on Korea, the PLANNING COMMISSION has set an ambitious the new stealth frigates being inducted into the Indian Navy. 8.5 per cent growth target for the 11th Five Year Plan, com- mencing in 2007-08. A striking multi-coloured bird has been discovered in Arunachal Pradesh, making it the first ornithological find in Ø The PUNJAB COUNCIL OF MINISTERS decided to abol- the country in more than half a century. ish octroi in the state. Ø Four-million-year-old remains in Ethiopia have provided Ø JUSTICE M.K. MUKHERJEE Inquiry Commission con- the first hard proof of a link between two key stages of cluded that Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose “is dead”, but he human evolution by bridging the gap between pre-human did not die in a plane crash as was alleged. species.

Ø On April 1, five BJP – ruled States switched over to the Ø Lurking beneath the dark, acidic waters of southeast VALUE-ADDED TAX (VAT) regime in lieu of the sales tax Asia’s peat swamps lies a strange creature with a slender system. Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh body, beady eyes and muscular fins that can grab unsus- and Rajasthan have issued separate notifications under pecting passersby. which tax is to be imposed only on value-addition to prod- ucts. Ø M.S. Swaminathan, Chairman of the National Commis- sion on Farmers, has made the following recommendations Ø The WESTERN COMMAND TERRITORIAL ARMY to improve the agriculture sector of India: GROUP has raised a new ecological task force to combat • The minimum support price should be 50 per cent more ecological degradation in Himachal Pradesh and rejuvenate than the average cost of production the green cover in selected areas. • Food security reserve should be in government hands. It cannot be built with imported foodgrains Ø Prime Minister Manmohan Singh launched the OVERSEAS • Procurement should be expanded to include new crops CITIZENSHIP OF INDIA (OCI) scheme that grants a life- and new regions, and rain-fed crops such as millets long multiple entry visa, handing over the first set of OCI and pulses. cards to Nivruti Rai and Iftekhar Shareef at the Pravasi • Credit for farmers should be at four per cent interest Bharatiya Divas - 2006 in Hyderabad. and government should provide the needed subven- tion to banks. Ø India joined a select group of nations with the success- • While computing the cost of input, the farmer should be ful demonstration of the simultaneous intercept capability of considered skilled labour and depreciation of machin- the Akash surface-to-air weapon system against two live ery must be included. FLYING TARGETS.

RADIAN ACADEMY ANNA NAGAR & NSK NAGAR-ARUMBAKKAM [email protected] Ph: 98404-00825, 98404-33955, 98404-32842 82 Ø The Union government withdrew its ceasefire with ULFA in Assam and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the out- Ø Accepting the stringent recommendations of former CEC lawed group would have to fulfil certain conditions before J.M. Lyngdoh, the Bench barred candidates with previ- the government engaged it is peace talks. The decision to ous conviction from contesting elections and fixed the maxi- end the ceasefire – announced on August 13, 2006 and mum expenditure limit per candidate to a meager Rs.5,000 , subsequently extended several times – was taken in view which is bound to rid polls of the show of pomp and of continued violence and extortion by ULFA cadres. The razzmatazz. To ward off money power playing a role in resumption of operations against the ULFA was aimed at determining the composition of student’s bodies, the court preventing its cadres from re-grouping, top army officials said election expenses had to come from voluntary contri- said. butions and no political party donations could be received. The court said that maximum age limit for under-graduate Ø Twenty-seven years after militancy broke out in Assam, student candidates would be 22 years, post-graduate 25 on August 18, 2006, peace had finally got a chance. The years and research students 28 years. announcement had come shortly after members of the Peoples’ Consultative Group (PCG) had held talks on behalf Ø DELHI-BHOPAL SHATABADI EXPRESS, running via of the outfit with National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan, Agra, is Inida’s fastest train, running at a speed of 150 km/ who assured PCG members Indira Goswami and Rebati hr. Phukan that the Centre was prepared to release some ULFA prisoners. This was the most important demand of the out- Ø Public sector Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) fit. has successfully commissioned the country’s largest so- lar-diesel hybrid power plant at Bangaram Island in Ø The 18-month-old Arjun Munda government was Lakshadweep. ousted from power on September 14,2 006, following speaker Inder Singh Namdhari’s decision to grant voting rights to Ø PUNJAB will be the first Indian State to boast of a multi- three MLAs against whom disqualification petitions were product agro-food processing industrial park involving an pending. Ending a fortnight-long political uncertainly, inde- investment of $100 million and employing some 20,000 people. pendent MLA Madhu Koda was sworn in as the youngest The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Chief Minister of Jharkhand. Koda, who has the support of India (ASSOCHAM) has now taken the initiative. 42 legislators in the 82 member Jharkhand House, spelt out his government’s priorities – talks with Maoists and with- Ø India now has the dubious distinction of being the DIA- drawal of Jharkhand movement-related cases. BETES CAPITAL OF THE WORLD, with over 32 million people affected by it. Ø India’s biotech Queen KIRAN MAZUMDAR SHAW, Chair- man and MD, Biocon, Kiran, Chande Kochar, executive di- Ø Time magazine’s power list of 100 people who shape rector of ICICI Bank, and Vidya Chhabria, chairman of Jumbo our world includes two contrasting faces from India Inc- Group, are figured in the list of world’s 50 most powerful NANDAN NILEKANI, the celebrated co-founder of Infosys women, compiled by Fortune magazine. and the less recognizable Vikram Akula, founder of SKS Microfinance. Ø India has become a part of the prestigious executive committee of the WORLD FEDERATION OF DIAMOND Ø India now has the HIGHEST NUMBER OF PEOPLE living BOURSES (WBFD). India is the fourth member of the com- with HIV, according to the 2006 Report on Global AIDS Epi- mittee. demic. India had 5.7 million cases of HIV by the end of 2005, against 5.5 million in South Africa. Ø Indians working abroad sent a whopping $ 21.7 billion to their kins in 2004, making the COUNTRY HIGHEST RECIPI- Ø The Indian Army launched massive armoire, artillery and ENT OF REMITTANCES WORLDWIDE, as per world bank infantry manoeuvres in Rajasthan and Punjab in April 2006 report. to practice for swift, short and intense blitzkrieg wards of the future. The war games were code named SANGHA Ø ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS are the only place SHAKTI. in India where all three wings of the armed forces work under a unified command. Ø The re-opening of Nathu-La marked a new thaw in Indo- China relations that turned icy since the Dalai Lama’s Ø A fifth of India’s nearly 670 million voters went to the flight from Tibet in 1959 and the 1962 Indo-China war. polls in ASSAM, WEST BENGAL, TAMIL NADU, KERALA AND THE UNION TERRITORY OF PONDICHERRY, starting Ø On the Indian side, the border market would be in April 3, 2006. CHANGGU IN SIKKIM, once an estate of contention be-

RADIAN ACADEMY ANNA NAGAR & NSK NAGAR-ARUMBAKKAM [email protected] Ph: 98404-00825, 98404-33955, 98404-32842 83 tween Delhi and Beijing. the market on the Chinese side ment. Committing itself to help in economic reconstruction would be in Renquinggang in the Tibet Autonomous Region. and political stabilisation of Nepal, India has decided to pro- The frontier markets would trade in 40-odd commodities vide A GRANT OF RS.100 CRORE to the neighbouring coun- identified by the two dies as one required by residents of try to meet its immediate needs and expressed willingness the region. to resume military aid if sought.

Ø Riding on their success in jointly acquiring A SYRIAN SALARY OF CONSTITUTIONAL OIL FIELD, INDIA AND CHINA signed a historic agreement AUTHORITIES: to enable their public sector oil giants to work together to maximize existing energy potential in their domestic oil and PRESIDENT : Rs. 50,000 /- gas market. This means that a big Chinese oil and gas giant VICE PRESIDENT : Rs. 40,000 /- like Sinopec (worth $80 billion) will work with an Indian GOVERNER : Rs. 36,000 /- PSU oil company in exploration; production and distribution CJI (SC) : Rs 33,000 /- in India a well as in China. A fairly sweeping MoU was JUDGES (SC), CAG : Rs. 30,000 /- signed between Sinopec and GAIL, whereby the former CJI (HC) : Rs. 30,000 /- would be able to invest in India, in a joint venture with GAIL, JUDGES (HC) : Rs. 26,000 /- for gas exploration, production and marketing. MP : Rs. 16,000 /-

Ø North India’s first bio-diesel project, christened Beck- Ø The monthly salaries of members of Parliament have been ons-GTZS Centre of Excellence, is to come up in hiked from Rs.12000 to Rs.16000 and daily allowance from Chandigarh. Rs.500 to Rs.1000. The constituency allowance has been hiked form Rs.10,000 to Rs.20,000 pension has been in- Ø India has declared Super Basmati, developed by Punjab creased to Rs.6000 a month. The office expense allow- Agricultural University, Ludhiana, as eligible to be exported ance goes up to Rs.23000 and Postage allowance to as Basmati as it carries all attributes of another Indian vari- Rs.5000. Under travel allowance, rates have been hiked ety – PUSA BASMATI-1 – that has been widely accepted from Rs.8 per km to Rs.13 single air journeys allowed to the world over. MPs have been increased to 34.

Ø A.P.J. Abdul Kalam is the first President to address a Ø JHARKHAND may soon become first landlocked joint session of Jammu and Kashmir legislature. State to have its dedicated part in another State. The Orissa government is considering a proposal of Jharkhand for Ø India signed AN AGREEMENT WITH MAURITIUS for SETTING UP A PORT exclusively for the use of its setting up a pan-African e-network during the visit of Presi- neighbour. dent Abdul Kalam to Mauritius. The ambitious project will give India a giant foothold in 53 countries of African Union, Ø GAGAN SHAKIL was IIAF’s gigantic air combat exer- by linking it with them through internet and satellite. The cise along the entire western front. agreement between Mauritius and Telecommunications Con- sultants India Ltd (TCIL) will also go a long way in giving a Ø INDIA AND BRITAIN held joint air exercises at Gwalior major push to areas such as tele-medicine and tele-educa- from October 13, 2006, code-named INDRADHANUSH. tion, which could transform some of the remote and back- , ward areas of Africa. President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam is the Ø On the occasion of its Golden Jubilee celebrations, LIC brains behind the project. launched JEEVAN MADHUR, a Micro Insurance Policy. Ø The two countries also decided to join hands for hydro- carbon exploration. ONGC Videsh Limited (ONGCVL) inked Ø India’s FIRST NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC an MoU with Mauritius Oceanography Institute (MOI) for HEALTH (NIPH) set-up at Mohali, Punjab. cooperation in hydrocarbon exploration and production op- erations. The MOI will provide all available data on hydro- carbon exploration in its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Ø India’s FIRST NANO-LAB has been inaugurated at the to the ONGC, which in turn, will get exclusive rights on Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research exploration and production. The agreement assumes great (JNCASR). significance given the untapped wealth of hydrocarbons in the island country and India’s search for new reserves. Ø Prime Minister Manmohan Singh embarked on a FOUR- DAY VISIT OF SOUTH AFRICA from October 1, 2006, to Ø Prime Minister Manmohan Singh personally went to re- strengthen strategic ties amid South Africa’s readiness to ceive Nepal’s Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala at the air- forge civil nuclear cooperation with India. During his stay port, clearly signalling India’s intent to show “unstinted sup- he also attended the centenary celebrations to commemo- port’ to the Nepalese Seven-Party Alliance (SPA) govern- rate the launch of the Satyagraha movement by Mahatma Gandhi in South Africa, a country where the pioneer of non- RADIAN ACADEMY ANNA NAGAR & NSK NAGAR-ARUMBAKKAM [email protected] Ph: 98404-00825, 98404-33955, 98404-32842 84 violence unveiled the new concept of resistance against Ø The 104th CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT BILL, giv- colonialism and political oppression. ing reservation to SCs, STs and OBCs in private, unaided Ø The leaders of India and South Africa made a strategic educational institutions was cleared by the Parliament. The trade-off during the visit. India decisively said it would sup- Bill would pave the way for reservations for SCs/STs/OBCs port South Africa’s bid to occupy a permanent African seat not only in aided/unaided professional educational institutes, in a reformed United Nations Security Council, and Pretoria, but all educational institutions. The repercussions of this in turn, said it would support New Delhi’s ambitions on civil- would be felt immediately by private schools and other insti- ian nuclear technology. The two sides also agreed to step tutions which have never been brought under the reserva- up cooperation on fighting terrorism. tion umbrella. States would have to come up with enabling legislations to enforce the Constitutional amendment. Ø Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and South African Presi- dent Thabo Mbeki signed the TSHWANE DECLARATION , Ø The Hindi belt, including Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, which commits the two countries to a deeper and strategic Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, commonly known as BIMARU relationship. States, account for a chunk of the 1.27 crore working On civilian nuclear cooperation, the two sides discussed children in the country, engaged in both hazardous and cooperation in nuclear power. South Africa, which con- non-hazardous occupations and processes. While the maxi- trols about A TENTH OF THE WORLD’S URANIUM SUP- mum number of over 19 lakh child labour in the 5-14 age PLIES, is a staunch opponent of proliferation, and its sup- group are in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan accounts for over port could be vital at he forum, which includes a more in- 12.6 lakh child workers, followed by Bihar (over 11 lakh) transigent Australia. and Madhya Pradesh (at over 10.6 lakh). Trade and business opportunities also formed an important plank of the Declaration. The two countries pledged to Ø In its campaign to achieve energy security, the UPA gov- treble bilateral trade, which totalled about $4 billion in 2005, ernment decided to build strategic oil reserves worth five by 2010. Agreements on cooperation were also signed in million tonnes. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs health, education and science and technology. (CCEA), headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, has cleared a proposal to build the oil reserves with an invest- Ø A government servant in TAMIL NADU became the first ment of Rs.11,267 crore. These reserves will be built over person in the country to be arrested under the protection of the next nine years, through the OIL INDUSTRY DEVELOP- Women from Domestic Violence act, 2005, three days after MENT BOARD (OIDB). The reserves will help insulate the the law came into force. The new law allows the police to Indian economy from oil shocks that were experienced dur- arrest an accused and also act as a protection officer to ing the last two years, after the crude prices touched US $ pursue the case with a magistrate. Any government official 70 per barrel in the international markets. They will also or a Panchayati Raj body member can be authorized to act enable the country to meet contingency requirements in the as protection officer. The new Act recognizes all forms of event of a war or natural calamities disrupting the oil im- abuse against women in the home – physical, sexual, ver- ports. The strategic oil reserves would be built of three bal, emotional or economic. Violation of any clause of the locations: Rajkot with storage capacity of 2.5 million tonnes, new Act can result in imprisonment up to one year or a fine Vizag with one million tonnes capacity and Mangalore with of Rs.20,000 or both. a capacity of 1.5 million tonnes.

Ø THE UNION CABINET DECIDED TO REINTRODUCE in Ø In a bid to give the Indian Airlines a young and contempo- Parliament the Office of Profit Bill that President A.P.J. Abdul rary look, the airline has landed up in the market with a new Kalam had returned for reconsideration of the two Houses. name, Indian, and changed its logo, besides redesigning While returning the Bill, President Kalam had questioned the exteriors. The new logo is inspired by KONARK SUN propriety of having the law implemented with retrospective TEMPLE. effect. He had also asked whether cases pending before competent authorities could be brought within its scope. In Ø On December 9, 2006, the US Congress voted over- this backdrop, had the government gone by the presidential whelmingly to pass the legislation allowing nuclear trade appeal, the very objective of the Bill –affording a cushion to with India, ending a nine-month-long legislative process ad MPs in the line of disqualification-would have been defeated. sending a very strong signal to the international community that it is tie to end India’s isolation from the nuclear main- Ø President A.P.J . Abdul Kalam gave his assent to the stream. On December 18, 2006, US President George Bush ‘OFFICE-OF-PROFIT’ Bill after it was sent to him again. The signed into law the HENRY J. HYDE UNITED STATES-INDIA presidential nod come within 24 hours of the setting up of a PEACEFUL ATOMIC ENERGY COOPERATION Act of 2006. Joint Parliamentary Committee to go into the caveats he had entered while denying assent the first time, and was seen Ø India has joined A NEW FIVE-NATION CLUB OF OIL as part of the understanding with the government. BUYERS aiming to challenge the vice grip of producing coun- tries over crude prices and supplies. It has also formalized

RADIAN ACADEMY ANNA NAGAR & NSK NAGAR-ARUMBAKKAM [email protected] Ph: 98404-00825, 98404-33955, 98404-32842 85 a long-awaited arrangement with China to explore and pro- to OBCs, has been passed by the Lok Sabha after amend- duce oil and gas in third countries. These deals have been ments moved by the BJP for including minority institutions in struck at a time when the latest gas find by the ONGC at the its purview was rejected. The Bill provides for a mandatory Krishna-Godavari basin promises to put India in the select increase of seats in Central educational institutions which list of 10 gas-rich countries and give it a biggest bargaining would be attained over a maximum period of three years position in the world oil markets. beginning with 2007 academic session.

Ø After the fifth meeting of the INDIA-EGYPT JOINT COM- Ø India’s tea industry has been in the cold for too long and MISSION, co-chaired by the Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed the government plans to revive it with a strong dose of help. Aboul Gheit and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, The Centre has approved a Rs.4,761 crore package that a Partnership Agreement was signed between the two coun- will help rejuvenate the industry over the next 15 years. tries. Foreign ministry officials will now meet bi-annually to The Union government , which realized that India’s position review the progress of initiatives and projects agreed upon. as a tea exporter under threat from late entrants like SRI For the first time ever, the two countries will hold cultural LANKA, KENYA AND VIETNAM, has approved a plan for weeks in each other’s countries in 2007-2009. An Execu- the re-plantation of 1.71 lakh hectares and rejuvenation of tive Programme of Science and Technological Cooperation 0.42 lakh hectares in 1,600 tea estates spread over four between the two governments for the same period was lakh hectares in several States. also signed, as was a Work Plan for the years 2007-08, on agricultural cooperation between the Indian Council of Agri- Ø From January 1, 2007, general insurance tariffs have cultural Research and the Egyptian Agricultural Research been freed, albeit partially in the initial months. For car own- Centre, Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation. Among ers, it could be a mixed bag. Third party cover for loss to life other aspects, tourism is likely to get a boost with the num- or property on the road is slated to rise between 34% and ber of flights between the two countries expected to grow 257% , depending on the engine capacity of the vehicle that soon to seven a week. you drive, while own damage premium is set to fall 10% in January and then dip further to 20-25% over the next few Ø In a chilling message that it was going to make good it months. To ensure that there is no undercutting, Insurance threat of stopping migrant labourers, ULFA extremists or- Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has capped chestrated a three-hour orgy of violence in Upper Assam in the discount for own damage that covers theft and damage first week of January 2007,killing more than 100 people, to the vehicle due to accident, floods, fire, riots, among mostly from Bihar and West Bengal. Militants also barged others, at 10% . In case of fire and engineering covers into Congress leader AJIT DEORI’S HOUSE in Mohong vil- purchased by companies, IRDA has capped discounts in lage bordering Arunachal Pradesh, and shot him dead. The January at 20%. separatist group, battered by renewed military operations after peace talks failed and loss of popular connect, wanted Ø In which may prove to be far-reaching step for the judi- to pick on soft targets to how it hasn’t abandoned its war. ciary, the Centre has given its nod for India to become part The bloodshed marked a major humiliation for the Centre, of the HAGUE CONVENTION of March 1970, an interna- which has tried to hold talks with the outfit despite clear tional pact which facilitates taking of evidence abroad in indications that the group isn’t interested. The killings came civil or commercial matters. The decision would establish a to day after UNION HOME SECRETARY V.N. DUGGAL vis- uniform procedure for sending, receiving and executing ited Guwahati for a security review and declared Assam requests for taking of evidence to and from the other coun- safe for national games in February 2007. tries which are signatories to the convention.

Ø THE NATIONAL KNOWLEDGE COMMISSION (NKC) has Ø The Lok Sabha has unanimously passed the contentious proposed A DEPRIVATION INDEX FORMULA for affirma- STs and other TRADITIONAL FOREST DWELLERS (REC- tive action to assess backwardness and to make higher OGNITION OF FOREST RIGHTS) BILL, 2006 to confer land education as “inclusive” as possible. This is apart from the and produce rights to forest dwellers, which had been existing reservation for SC/ST and Backward classes. The hanging fire for the past two years. index proposes to look at the “social background, caste, religion and gender, family education history; family income, Ø Average toll collection on National Highway number eight type of school, place of residence (distinguishing between (NH-8) is the highest in country. It generates Rs.401 crore urban and rural areas, and accounting for regional depriva- per month for the Centre. The most profitable of the publicly- tion) and physical disability”. The report expresses concern funded stretches on NH-8 is the KOTPUTLI-CHANDWAZI at he fact that only 7 per cent of the age group between 18- section in Rajasthan, with an average collection of more 24 years in India enters higher education. than Rs.7 lakh per kilometre.

Ø The Central Education in all Institutions (Reservation in Ø The Maha (great) Kumb Mela takes place place every 12 Admission) Bill, 2006, which provides for 27% reservation years and the Ardh (half)-Kumbh Mela is held every 6 years.

RADIAN ACADEMY ANNA NAGAR & NSK NAGAR-ARUMBAKKAM [email protected] Ph: 98404-00825, 98404-33955, 98404-32842 86 ARDH KUMBH is considered as the largest religious con- its owners boasts uninterrupted sea views, guarantees gregation in the world after Kumbh. complete privacy and is a tax haven.

Ø HARYANA is the first State in India to have 48 villages Ø The Narmada dam’s foundation stone was laid in modelled on President Kalam’s vision entailed in the concept 1961 by then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, but work on of FPURA – Provision of Urban Amenities in Rural Areas. the ambitious project began only in 1987. The dam, which is Under the model, a village would be linked to a school by a 1250 m long, has a canal network of over 80,000 km cover- road, followed by a dispensary/primary health centre, rec- ing 8200 villages across Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, reation and entertainment centre, market, telecom centre, IT Maharashtra and Gujarat. It will have a storage capacity of service centre (E-DISHA KENDRA) and then back to the over 65.000 cusecs of water and will generate 1450 MW. village. Ø RIL know plans to set up the India’s first Integrated Gas- Ø A study cites that 23% OF THE URBAN POPULATION ification Combined Cycle (IGCC) plant in Jamnagar. The plant live in slums with no or insufficient hygiene, toilets, drinking will produce power, hydrogen and other petrochemicals. water and sanitation facilities. The petcoke-based power plant is expected to have a ca- pacity of at least 1000 mw. Ø INDIA has become the second biggest borrower in Asia RIL would invest a little over Rs.10,000 crore on the project Pacific by borrowing over $3.7 billion for project financing that will set in a new level of thermal efficiency in the coun- since the beginning of 2006, taking a big jump from its 10th try. position in 2005. Australia continues to lead the table in the region by raising $8.6 billion so far in 2006. Ø Cutting through diplomatic red tape, corporate India is all set to forge private-public partnership with Kathmandu on Ø Nearly two centuries after Bombay’s famed Wadia fam- power project that will link India’s national electricity grid ily built HMS MINDEN – the ship on which the American with Nepal’s via the backward Terai region. national anthem Star Spangled Banner was written – his- Ø The project not only aims at increasing economic con- tory sailed a full circle a the US Navy handed over Seattle- nectivity with Nepal but also makes climate in the land-locked built USS Trenton, an amphibious transport warship, to the country more attractive to foreign investors. Indian Navy in January 2007. It is the first American made The Indian Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services vessel to join India’s growing blue water fleet. (IL&FS) company has decided to ink an MoU with Nepal Electricity Authority to pave way for the setting up of four Ø The 17,000 tonne Austin class platform, formally called a 220 KV ‘double circuit’ transmission highways that will help LANDING PLATFORM DOCK OR LPD , will now be India’s Kathmandu import power from India in the short term and second largest warship, second only to the 28,000 tonne export in the long term. Hermes-class aircraft carrier INS Viraat. Nepal’s current installed capacity is 600 MW, a fraction of the overall hydel power potential of 44,000 MW. Costing Ø Built by Lockheed and commissioned in 1971, the am- around Rs.250-300 crore, the four transmission highways phibious ship has a complement of 28 officers ad 480 men, will link India’s energy-surplus eastern grid with Nepal in the and can transport nearly 1500 soldiers. Although Trenton coming eight years. cost more than $400 million to build, New Delhi is buying it at a bargain basement price of around $48 million-which in- Ø The Haryana Government has decided to develop three cludes four mechanized landing craft and other bells and industrial clusters at Panipat, Gurgaon and Faridabad for whistles – under a US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) pro- textiles, auto parts and light engineering equipment respec- gram. tively, said Industries and Commerce Minister Lachhman Das Arora in Chandigarh. A Bio Technology Park would also Ø USS Trenton has been renamed as INS Jalashva (San- be set up at Manesar. The State Government had been able skrit for sea horse). It will provide the Navy with enhanced to attract Direct Foreign Investment of Rs.1,380 crore after amphibious capability. Besides landing troops during war the implementation of new industrial policy in June 2005 and rescue operations, it can also function as a command giving statutory right to investors for time-bound clearance and control platform during offshore and mid-sea mishaps. of their projects. It had fixed a target of attracting invest- ment worth Rs.2 lakh crore offering employment opportuni- ties to 10 lakh people. Ø A former World War II fort in the North Sea, which was settled 40 years ago and declared a State with its own self- proclaimed royal family, is up for sale. The tiny Principality Ø Finance Minister P. Chidambaram announced the consti- of Sealand, which began life as Roughs Tower in 1941, is a tution of a committee headed by IDFC (Infrastructure Devel- 550 square metre steel platform perched on two concrete opment Finance Co. Ltd) Chairman Deepak . Parekh to look towers, 11 km off the coast of Harwich, eastern England. It into the massive long term funding needs of the infrastruc- is accessible only by helicopter and boat, but according to ture sector, which is projected to require an investment of

RADIAN ACADEMY ANNA NAGAR & NSK NAGAR-ARUMBAKKAM [email protected] Ph: 98404-00825, 98404-33955, 98404-32842 87 $320 billion (about Rs.14,5000 crore) during the Eleventh Plan (2007-2012) . Mr. Parekh has agreed to head the Com- Ø India successfully test-fires BrahMos supersonic cruise mittee. The Parekh committee, he said, would look into the missile, with an advanced capability of sharp manoeuvring long term financing needs, both equity and debt, as also the from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur-on-sea in Orissa. legislative change that would be required for funding projects in the various infrastructure sectors. Ø Supreme Court Chief Justice Mr. K.G. Balakrishnan rules out the question of having any compulsory annual declara- Ø MICRO-CREDIT PIONEER Muhammad Yunus of tion of wealth and assets by judges of the Apex and High Bangladesh, founder of Grameen Bank, unveiled a bold Courts. vision for ending global poverty as he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Dec. 10. “Poverty is a threat to peace”, Ø The Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal gives its long- the economist-turned-humanitarian banker said in accept- awaited final award setting the have of waters of the ing the $1.4 million prize. “The frustrations, hostility and Cauvery among the riparian States of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka anger generated by abject poverty cannot sustain peace in and Kerala and the Union Territory of Puducherry. any society in the world.’ The Grameen Bank, which shared the award, has helped millions in Bangladesh extricate Ø India successfully test-fires Brah/Mos supersonic cruise themselves from penury through tiny, collateral-free loans, missile, with an advanced capability of sharp manoeuvring and has been emulated throughout the world over the last from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur-on-sea in Orissa. decade. In this prepared speech, Mr. Yunus outlined the contours of a parallel economy based on self-sustaining “social businesses’ such as Grameen and several joint ven- Ø Supreme Court Chief Justice Mr. K.G. Balakrishnan rules tures he has created with multinational corporations that out the question of having any compulsory annual declara- reinvest profits rather than paying dividends. By defining tion of wealth and assets by judges of the Apex and High ‘entrepreneur’ in a broader way we can change the char- Courts. acter of capitalism radically, and solve many of the unre- solved social and economic problems within the scope of Ø The Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal gives its long- the free market”, he said. Once recognised in law, these awaited final award setting the share of waters of the social businesses would eventually develop their own capital Cauvery among the riparian States of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka markets to attract investment. Calling the 66 year old and Kerala and the Union Territory of Puducherry. Bangladeshi a “modern Gandhi”, the Norwegian Nobel Com- mittee saluted his efforts “to create economic and social Ø Almost four months after the launch of Ethernet service development from below”. globally; Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd, (VSNL) announces that it would introduce the service in the Indian market from Ø The BOMBAY HIGH COURT rules that the word ‘talaq’ February 7, 2007; Ethernet is a technology that provides the spoken thrice is not enough for a Muslim husband to divorce option of connectivity between two networks. his wife and that such divorces are not legal and valid. Ø The Union Ministry of Urban Development notifies the Ø The UNION GOVERNMENT declares that it would notify much-awaited Mater Plan for Delhi-2021 paving the way for an interim investment platform under the New Pension Sys- planned development of the national capital while giving tem (NPS) to facilitate investing five percent of the funds in relief to those who had broken rules in the past and were stock markets. facing sealing of their ventures and houses as well as demolition. Ø India and Russia sign a “MEMORANDUM OF INTENT” to add four units to the nuclear power plant under construc- Ø The Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Under- tion at Koodankulam in Tamil Nadu and build an unspecified standing for 2005 and 2006 is announced for human rights number of nuclear power reactors at new sites. and pro-democacy activist Ms. Wangarl M. Maathai of Kenya and Brazil President Mr. Luiz Nacio Lula da Silva, respec- Ø CONGRESS PRESIDENT MS. SONIA GANDHI justifies tively. India’s possession of nuclear weapons on the ground of strategic compulsions born out of the failure to persuade Ø Ignoring the Left allies’ opposition to disinvestment, the the world to abolish nuclear weapons. Centre reinitiates the sell-off process by deciding to ride piggyback on the initial public offerings (IPOs) of three power Ø The Supreme Court approves the Centre’s proposal to sector public enterprises with the objective of gathering provide 22.5 PERCENT RESERVATION for Scheduled Caste/ Rs.1,500 crore for the National Investment Fund (NIF) . Schedule Tribe candidates under the all- India quota in post- graduate admissions to government medical colleges for Ø The Union Cabinet approves guidelines for the 2007-08and later stayed. regularisation of about 1,500 unauthorised colonies that

RADIAN ACADEMY ANNA NAGAR & NSK NAGAR-ARUMBAKKAM [email protected] Ph: 98404-00825, 98404-33955, 98404-32842 88 have come up in Delhi over the last three decades and commerce student from Mumbai University, was crowned house some 30 lakh people. Miss Earth-Air, trailing Chile’s Hil Yesenia Hernandez Escobar, who was named Miss Earth, 2006, and Venezuela’ Marianne Ø Delivering the valedictory address of National Associa- Puglia Martinez, who became Miss Earth-Fire. tion of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) 2007 – India Leadership Forum, the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Ø The 16-year-old Indo-Pak dispute over the 450 MW Singh says that the Information Technology (IT) sector and BAGLIHAR DAM proposed on the Chenab river by India the electronics industry, which became leader in exports in came to a close on February 12, 2007. Swiss neutral expert the country in 2006 at $25 billion, should aim for an export Raymond Lafitte, appointed by the World Bank to consider target of $80 billion by 2010, more than $60 billion set by Pakistan’s objections to the project, has upheld India’s de- NASSCOM. sign of the dam with minor modifications.

Ø THE FOREX RESERVES of the country increase by $995 Ø The VERDICT was claimed as a win-win by both India million to stand at $180.047 billion during the week ended and Pakistan. Construction of the dam can now continue – February 2, 2007. 40% has been built – and is expected to be over in a year. Among other changes, Pakistan had been pressing for the Ø Chief Justice of India Justice Mr. K.G. Balakrishnan inau- height to be reduced – Lafitte has given it a 1.5-m reduction. gurates an international conference on ‘ALTERNATIVE DIS- On the other hand, he agreed with India’s insistence on PUTE RESOLUTION’ organised by the Int gated spillways, that is outlets at the bottom of dam to flush the silt out. n tional Centre for Alternative Dispute Res lution (ICADR) in New Delhi. ııØ The DE Ø PAKISTAN had objected arguing that these were not permitted in the 1960 Indus Water Treaty and would give I METRO RAIL CORPORATION achieves the distinction of - India undue leverage to flood the Punjab plains. But Lafitte becoming the first metro train service provided in th rejected this saying that current technology- not available in country to get a berth in the elite Nova Benchmarking Gro 1960 – would ensure proper use of the water without this p (NBG), the ex risk. Ø “The reduction of the height will, however, have no im- u ive consortium of medium-sized metro systems from aro pact on power generation capacity of the 450 MW project, nd the “ Water Resources minister Saifuddin Soz said welcoming the verdict. The modifications will only marginally add to the costs. Much to New Delhi’s relief, the award, in which most o ld.ııØ EMINENT ORIYA writer MR. JAGANNATH PRASAD of Pakistan’s objections were rejected, will “ deeply influ- AS is selected for the prestigious Saraswati Samman for the ence all future interpretations of the treaty between the two year 2006. countries, “ Soz said soon after Lafitte gave his report to the two governments in Bern, Switzerland. Ø THE SECOND ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS COMMIS- SION (ARC) recommends that the Lok Pal be given a consti- Ø The implication of this verdict lies in his agreement with tutional status and renamed the ‘Rastriya Lokayukta; how- the spillway design which wasn’t around when the treaty ever, it wants the Prime Minister to be kept out of the was hammered out in 1960. These state-of-the-art gates ombudsman’s jurisdiction. are used for not just flood control but emptying of reser- voirs and preventing sediment from choking inlet points. Ø RESERVE BANK OF INDIA (RBI) announces the hike of Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) from 5.50 to 6 percent in two Ø Lafitte, after a detailed analysis of the database of about phases –with effect from February 17, 2007 to 5.75 per- 13,000dams across the world and the International Com- cent and from March 3, 2007 to 6 percent in order to tighten mission on Large Dams, held that the site conditions of liquidity in the system and contain inflation. Baglihar require a gated spillway. He also held that in view of high flood discharge and heavy silt loads, the number, Ø The Government announces its decision to cut PETROL size and location of these gates was important and com- AND DIESEL PRICES by Rs.2 and Re.1 a litre, respectively plied with the Indus Water Treaty. with a view to controlling the soaring inflation rate, which touched a new high of 6.73 percent for the week ended Ø The Indian Navy acquires the 17,000 ton U.S. warship February 3, 2007. USS Trenton. This is India’s first acquisition of a U.S. ves- sel. The USS Trenton landing platform dock, which has Ø India’s 21 year-old beauty AMRUTA PATKI ranked third been renamed INS Jalashva, is set to be the second in the Miss Earth, 2006, pageant held in Manila, Philippines, largest ship with the Indian Navy, after the aircraft carrier while Chile walked away with the top crown. Amruta, a Viraat. Indian naval officials believe that this ship will ‘add

RADIAN ACADEMY ANNA NAGAR & NSK NAGAR-ARUMBAKKAM [email protected] Ph: 98404-00825, 98404-33955, 98404-32842 89 punch to India’s maritime forces’ with its capacity to partici- WiMAX. Aircel Business Solutions (ABS) launched the pate in naval operations, peacekeeping operations, tri-ser- WiMAX service in the city. ABS would also create WiFi vice operations and humanitarian relief. The Trenton has an (Wireless internet) hotspots in the city where internet ser- unrivalled capacity to carry troops close to a battalion- vices would be available through the use of prepaid cards. strength and sustain them over a long duration. Initially WiMAX will be made available to big corporates and small and medium enterprises at a cost of Rs.20 lakh. Ø India has further liberalised the emigration system by extending the ”Emigration Check Not Required (ECNR)” sta- Ø To MITIGATE THE PROBLEMS faced by the Devadasis tus to 173 countries from the present 53. Now emigration in Karnataka, the Karnataka Government is planning to pro- clearance is necessary for only 18 countries in the world, vide monetary incentive of Rs.10,000 for the men who marry which include Libya, Jordan, Yemen, Sudan, Afghanistan, such women who are often exploited and forced to live in Lebanon. Thailand and Iraq. poverty. The state was also working on a proposal to provide a monthly pension of Rs.300 to the approximately Ø SAKSHAT, a first of its kind one stop education 23,000 Devadasis in the State from April. portal that covers everything from clearing a common mis- conception of basic concepts to conducting real-time virtual Ø The RAJASTHAN CABINET decided to do away with class-rooms, is launched by Ministry of Human Resources the collection of house tax in the State. Development, for learners, students and parents of India. MHRD in association with CBSE, IGNOU and National Insti- Ø THE KARNATAKA STATE ROAD TRANSPORT CORPO- tute of Open Schooling has put together everything that a RATION (KSRTC) has decided to adopt the method of blend- student would like to know. The portal hopes to encourage ing ethanol with diesel to reduce air pollution. ‘super achievers’ by giving one-stop information on National Though blending ethanol with petrol is in practice in India, its Olympiads. blending has not been easy. The technology was innovated in the United States and blended fuel is used in school buses. Ø The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) achieved the Emergencies, a SINGAPORE BASED COMPANY and the distinction of becoming the first metro train service provider sole technology licence for Asia-Pacific is lending the tech- in the country to get a berth in the elite Nova Benchmarketing nology free of cost to KSRTC to work the concept. Ethanol Group (NBG), the exclusive consortium of medium sized and diesel were blended through an agent called Soluiliser, Metro systems around the world. The DMRC became the a biomass product. The combination – Enerdiesel – com- 15th member of the NBG. prises 91.8% diesel, 7.7% ethanol and 0.5% solubiliser.

Ø India’ first commercial hydrogen fuel pump will commence Ø DANDELI WILDLIFE SANCTUARY and the adjoining operations in south Delhi early next year. It will come up at Anshi National Park have been granted the special status of the Indian Oil Corporation’s Lodhi Road outlet and will have ‘Project Tiger’. With this, Karnataka, which boasts of three facilities to dispense pure hydrogen and hydrogen with ‘Project Tiger’ sanctuaries, has now got a fourth. The Cen- Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) . The station will provide tral and the State Government will implement this jointly. The fuel for about 1,000 vehicles a day, IOC is already testing Dandeli sanctuary and Amshil National Park together have hydrogen blended CNG at its Faridabad Research and De- around 40 tigers. velopment Centre. The new green fuel was being tested on MADHYA PRADESH is the only other State that has five three wheelers, light commercial vehicles and minibuses. project tiger areas including one which has the famed white tigers. Among the southern states, Tamil Nadu and Kerala Ø INDIA AND YEMEN have cemented their energy part- have one ‘Project Tiger’ each. Kerala has also sought ‘Project Tiger’ status for Parambikulam, which is pending approval. nership by signing a protocol, which would allow Indian The Dandeli Project Tiger (inclusive of Anshi) is spread over investments in all aspects of Yemen’s oil and gas industry. 825 sq.km. and along with Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary of The protocol covered various investment opportunities in- Goa covers an area of over 2,000 sq.km. cluding downstream activities such as refining, pipelines and oil storage facilities. Yemen has assured India that In- dian companies will be allowed to carryout oil exploration Ø The Union Cabinet approved the proposal to accede to on a wider scale. A consortium of Oil India Ltd., Indian Oil the Montreal Convention of 1999 which aim to protect the Corporation and Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) interests of international air passengers to and from India in has secured bids for three blocks. the event of death or injury or damage or delay of baggage. ‘Warsaw System is the current international regime gov- Tamil Nadu government has abolished CORPORAL PUN- erning the liability of air carriers for injury or death of their ISHMENT IN SCHOOLS. passengers, for destruction or loss of damage to baggage and cargo and for losses caused by delay in international Ø BANGALORE has joined the elite club of cities enjoying carriage of passengers, baggage and cargo. Accession to the Montreal Convention will enable an Indian high-speed wireless Internet services, popularly known as

RADIAN ACADEMY ANNA NAGAR & NSK NAGAR-ARUMBAKKAM [email protected] Ph: 98404-00825, 98404-33955, 98404-32842 90 passenger to file his claim in India even if the journey was ceives annually. undertaken outside India and ticket purchased outside India, provided the carrier has a presence in India. The Montreal Ø BELGAUM: Called Belgavi by the Kannada people, convention has already been ratified by 64 countries, out of Belgaon by Marathi people and Belagam by north Indians, it which 21 have direct airlinks with India, including routes was incorporated into the newly formed Mysore (now with high traffic density such as the UK, US, UAE, Kuwait, Karnataka) with the passage of the States Reorganistion Qatar , Bahrain, Saudi Arabia‘, Japan, Austria, France, Ger- Act, 1956 . Maharashtra contested the inclusion, claiming many, Netherlands, Italy and Canada. the district on the grounds that it had more marathi speak- ers. The JD(s) – BJP government in Karnataka, in Septem- Ø Kondapalli Toy has emerged as the first handmade toy ber 2006 , commenced to special session o the legislature in from Andhra Pradesh to be granted a GI (Geographical Indi- this border city, the first outside the State capital, to assert cation) registration. Kondapalli toys or Kondapalli Bommalu its stance on the border dispute with Maharashtra. The are delightful expressions of art of rich traditional value Legislative Assembly adopted a resolution requesting the made of the wood of “Tella oniki’ also called white sander, Centre to accept the 40 year old Justice. Mehr Chand found in the forests and hills adjoining Kondapalli village Mahajan report recommending the retention of Belgaum in located about 20 km from Vijayawada in the Krishna district the State. of Andhra Pradesh. The wood is processed and carved into the desired shape and size. Vegetable and synthetic Ø CHUSHUL: Chushul in Ladakh will now be known for colours are used and the themes chosen are mostly rural more than one reason that of bravery of Indian soldiers life, mythological figures and animals and birds, Elephants, while fighting the Chinese in 1962. It is here that a team of ambari, toddy tree and Dashavataar are the most famous hydro-geologists have bored a hole in the ground through Kondapalli toys. which a steady flow of water rises to the surface by natu- ral pressure. By doing so, they have probably found the MOST POPULOUS METROPOLITAN CITIES highest artesian condition in the world and have applied to the Guinness Book of World records to break the previous RANK CITY POPULATION record of finding one of 11,300 feet height.

1. Mumbai 20,426,991 Ø The Rs.1700 crore private sector GOPALPUR PORT 2. Delhi 18,031,488 project in Orissa – developed jointly by Hong Kong-based 3. Kolkata 14,911,823 Nobel group and Indian firms Orissa Stevedores and Sara International-is likely to handle over 2 million tonnes of fertil- 4. Chennai 7,066,778 izer import for the eastern States, besides being a trading 5. Bangalore 6,255,256 hub for the 36 steel companies coming up in the State. Gopalpur port is likely to ease the heavy congestion at 6. Hyderabad 6,112,250 Paradip port and to fill the gap between Vishakhapatnam 7. Ahmedabad 5,160,238 port and Paradip. Gopalpur port will be he prime destination for imports of cool and exports of iron ore. 8. Pune 4,878,283 9. Kanpur 3,329,339 Ø THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (MEA) will fi- 10. Surat 3,092,478 nally get building of its own. Earlier called Videsh Bhavan, it has now been renamed Jawaharlal Nehru Bhavan, Spread 11. Jaipur 2,926,915 across 7,785 acres at junction of Janpath and Maulana 12. Lucknow 2,845,253 Azad Road in New Delhi, it will be 8th and los building on 13. Nagpur 2,485,915 Central Vista, between Rashtrapati Bhavan and India Gate.

14. Patna 2,386,843 Ø The 4,545 metre high NATHU-LA PASS, on the border 15. Indore 1,944,464 between Sikkim and Tibet, was a major trading point be- tween China and India before the 1962 war and is one of the main arteries of the fabled Silk Route. On July 6, 2006, Ø Barmer: One of world’s biggest solar bowls- the Thar he Pass was once again opened or trans-border trade desert – which basks an average of 320 days in sunshine after a gap of 44 years. transformed into a trough of death and destruction in Au- gust 2006, after three days of downpour left it with double Ø The centre has accorded environment clearance to the the rain it normally gets in a year. 500 MW BHOOPALAPALLY THERMAL POWER STATION The border district of Barmer drowned under 577 mm of in Warangal district of Andhra Pradesh The project, to be rainfall, which submerged over 800 villages with an ap- set up at Chelpur village in the district, is estimated to cost proximate population of about 20 lakh,. This was at least Rs.2077.18 crore. The coal required for the project will be 300 mm more than 277 mm of rainfall that the region re-

RADIAN ACADEMY ANNA NAGAR & NSK NAGAR-ARUMBAKKAM [email protected] Ph: 98404-00825, 98404-33955, 98404-32842 91 transported from Kakatiya Coal Mine locate at 4.5 km from tion lays down on action-orientated roadmap to improve the the project through a closed conveyer belt. quality of aid in addition to constituting a mechanism which donors and recipients of aid are held mutually accountable. Ø The country’s oldest surviving UV maker, MAHINDRA The OECD, the group of 30 member countries sharing a AND MAHINDRA, has become the first Indian car maker to commitment to democratic government and the market develop a hybrid vehicle based on its popular Scorpio. This economy, initiated the Paris Declaration, which was en- puts it in the same league as global biggies like Toyata and dorsed in March 2005. With active relationship of 70 other Ford. M & M vehicle is a full hybrid vehicle that can delivery countries, NGOs and civil society, the OECD has a global about 30-80% more fuel economy than the conventional reach. The government is, however, looking at the pros and diesel engine. cons of the development as India’s aid to smaller countries Hybrids yoke a petrol or diesel engine to at least one electric is linked to encouraging export or India’s greater presence motor and batteries that let cars run on electricity at low there. speeds and which recharge by capturing energy from brak- ing. Ø Never before had so many former Chief Ministers felt the heat of a SINGLE JUDGEMENT OF THE SUPREME COURT Nano city in Haryana: Haryana State Industrial and Infra- like the one in which it gave to unfetter the CBI and police structure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) and Sabeer from the requirement to seek sanction before initiating the Bhatia’s Nano Woks Developers have signed a joint venture prosecution of ministers, legislators and bureaucrats fac- to set up a knowledge city in district Panchkula, at an esti- ing corruption charges. mated cost of Rs.1,850 crore. Christened as ‘Nanocity IN’ “Where a criminal act is performed under the colour of au- the project would provide an environment and an eco-sys- thority’ but in reality is for the public servant’s own pleasure tem that fosters intellectual creativity in the technologies of or benefit, then such acts shall not be protected under the the future like nano technology, bio-sciences, software prod- doctrine of State immunity”, said a Bench comprising Jus- uct development for next generation. tices Arijit Pasayat and S.H. Kapadia.

Ø The National Hydro- electric Power Corporation Ltd Ø Globally, the number of people living with diabetes will (NHPC) has signed an agreement with Jager-Gammon JV exceed 380 million by 2025, according to IDF, with the ma- for the execution of Lot-2 civil works package of the 520 jority-more than 300 million- living in the developing world. MW Parbati Stage-III project in Kullu district of Himachal Diabetes has now become the first non-communicable dis- Pradesh. ease whose severity has been endorsed by the United Located on Sainj river, Parbati-III project envisages con- Nations. UN has voted to make November 14 as the UN struction of a 43m high rock fill dam. World Diabetes Day and for the first time has asked all member States to establish national policies on the treat- Ø India will get its first tidal energy power plant at Durgaduari ment, prevention and care of diabetes. creek in Sundarbans. With the coastal regulatory zone clearing and environmental clearance in hand, the ministry Ø The Report of the Rajender Sachar Committee on the of non-conventional sources (MNES) is all set to execute status of Muslims was tabled in the Lok Sabha on Novem- the tidal project. It will be the fifth such project in the world. ber 30, 2006. To ameliorate the condition of “acute depriva- The 3.65 MW tidal plant in Sunderbans would make it the tion” of Muslims, the panel suggested reservation in em- fourth largest in the world, leaving behind China which has ployment and educational institutions for the backward among a 3 MW installed tidal power plant . Russia has the largest, them. The panel said that among the Muslim social groups, 400 MW capacity, followed by France with 240 MW and the Arzals, whose traditional occupation is similar to that of Canada with 20 MW. Scheduled Castes (SC), might be designated as Most Back- ward Community and provided reservation. The Ashraf Ø The Union government is fine-tuning its strategy to give a and Ajlaf groups, meanwhile, should be treated on a par fillip to power generation by establishing five ultra mega with Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and covered under power projects of 4000 MW each, through tariff-based com- the OBC quota. petitive bidding process. As per available estimates, the Ø To increase the political participation of the community, government hopes to take advantages of economies of the panel said Muslims should be nominated to public bod- scale, and has assessed the cost of electricity to be in the ies, including local bodies. The committee also sought a vicinity of Rs.1.60 to Rs.1.80 per unit. review of the delimitation of Assembly and Parliament seats, The five proposed mega projects are at Sasan (Madhya and suggested that those constituencies that have a high Pradesh), Mundra (Gujarat), Akaltara (Chhattisgarh), percentage of Muslims should not be reserved for SC. Ratnagiri (Maharashtra) and in coastal Karnataka. The committee held that the Muslims poor share of govern- ment jobs- a mere 4.9 per cent – was due to bias against Ø INDIA has finally agreed to the terms and conditions of them. It recommended the creation of an Equal Opportunity PARIS DECLARATION on aid effectiveness. The declara- Commission to look into complaints of discrimination.

RADIAN ACADEMY ANNA NAGAR & NSK NAGAR-ARUMBAKKAM [email protected] Ph: 98404-00825, 98404-33955, 98404-32842 92 general, and the children living in the Himalayan belt from Ø THE INDO-EU AVIATION SUMMIT was held in New Delhi Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh were suffering because Bhoti in November 2006. It addressed regulatory, infrastructural was not being taught in any of the States, as it did not figure , security and investment-related issues to exploit growing in the 8th Schedule. synergies between India and the European Union. The history of Bhoti language and literature began in the 7th century during the rule of Tsongtsen Gampo, on the land of Ø INDIA is one of the fifty-four countries that h Bhot. The language, called Bodhi in Ladakh and Bhoti in ve flawed democracies, according to a NEW DEMOCRACY INDE Sikkim and the other north-eastern States, is spoken and devised by the Economist Intell written in the entire Himalayan region, and when Tibet was gence Unit, a division of the leading news magazine . The an independent country, it was the lingua franca of the Economist. The index examines 60 indicators across five region and called Tibeti. broad categories; free elections, civil liberties, functioning of government political participation and political culture. As Ø Defence Minister A.K. Antony dedicated INS SHARDUL, per the Index, India is listed among the 54 ‘flawed democra- a landing warship, to the nation at an event at the Karwar cies’ that include countries such as brazil, Israel, Poland, Naval Base, INS Kadamba, in Karwar. This Landing Ship Romani and Estonia,. The list of authoritarian regimes in- Tank (Large), or LST(L), which is the third of its kind to be cludes Pakistan. Twenty eight countries including the US, commissioned into the Navy, has the primary role of trans- Britain, Norway, Denmark and Portugal are lists as ‘full de- porting troops, vehicles and armaments for amphibious op- mocracies; Sweden is described as a ‘near perfect’ de- erations. The public sector and the private sector had joined mocracy. hands in building INS Shardul. He complimented the Garden Reach Ship Builders and Engineers (GRSE) that built it. Ø Dr. Dwarkananth Kotnis was a bright 28 year old sur- geon, with his hole life ahead of him, when he left Mumbai to Ø The NATIONAL AIDS CONTROL ORGANISATION serve with the Communist Party’s Red Army . Part of a five- (NACO) proposes to spend 67.2 per cent of the total budget member India Medical Mission sent by Jawaharlal Nehru for on prevention of HIV/AIDS under phase III of the National a year, he was the only doctor who did not return home, AIDS Control Programme. This includes targeted interven- instead choosing a harsh life of service on the warfront in tions and a package of services (excluding anti retroviral North China with the Red Army unit of Mao Zedong before treatment). The total requirement for NACP-III, likely to be tragically succumbing to epilepsy in 1942. implemented from April over the next five years, is esti- mated at close to Rs.11,585 crore. Ø The government has short-listed Mozambique, Zimba- bwe, Indonesia and Bangladesh for acquiring coal mines in Ø Kerala tops the EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT INDEX these countries. (EDI) in the field of elementary schooling followed by Delhi, according to the human resource development ministry. th ØØØ Delhi, the ‘CNG capital of India’, will see the launch of the While Tamil Nadu is placed third, Bihar ranks 35 in the next generation, zero emission hydrogen fuel early 2007. composite EDI list. Delhi, which stands second in the com- The process will start by blending hydrogen with CNG to posite list, tops the chart of primary education index. The reduce nitrogen oxide and particulate-matter emission from composite list encompasses performance both in the pri- vehicles by about half. The country’s first hydrogen filling mary and upper primary level. station will begin functioning at the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC)-owed petrol pump near Nigmbodh Ghat. Ø The Union Cabinet approved the introduction in Parlia- ment of a bill to promote the interests of senior citizens and Ø Laskhmi Mittal, with $25 billion again tops Forbes list of to ensure that children take care of their elderly parents. A Richest Indians. Mukesh and Anil Ambani have found life salient feature of the bill is that it would provide for setting alone much richer, moving ahead of Wipro chief Azim Premji up of tribunals at sub-divisional levels in each district to in “India’s 40 Richest list. settle grievances of the elderly against their children. Premji has slipped to the fourth position, followed by real The Bill would also provides for imprisonment of up to three estate major DLF’s Kushal Pal Singh at the fifth slot. months and a fine of up to Rs.5,000 for those who abandon Thee are five newcomers in the list this year, including their parents. It also provides for elderly parents to revoke owner of Sun TV Kalanithi Maran, promoter of Unitech their will and take back properties they might have given to Ramesh Chandra, and Jignesh Shah, who set up India’s their children as gifts. largest commodities exchange. Two others who have re- As per the Bill, States would have to provide separate out- turned to the list are tractor tycoon Keshub Mahindra and patient departments for senior citizens, expand the facilities Infosys Technologies co-founder K. Dinesh. for treatment of chronic, terminal and degenerative diseases.

Ø The National Minorities Commission member, LAMA Ø PUNJAB AGRICULTURE UNIVERSITY’S STATE VARI- CHOSPEL ZOPTA has said that the Tibetan community, in ETY APPROVAL COMMITTEE has released six new vari-

RADIAN ACADEMY ANNA NAGAR & NSK NAGAR-ARUMBAKKAM [email protected] Ph: 98404-00825, 98404-33955, 98404-32842 93 eties of crops for cultivation in the state. The released vari- Ø JAMMU AND KASHMIR is the only state in the country eties are PAU 201 of semi-dwarf paddy, PAU 626 H of – outside of northeast – where more students study in the Desi cotton, PAU 881 of Arhar, PAU 1691 and Narendra English medium than any other language. In fact, there are Sanai of Sunhemp and PAU 911 of Kharif moong. A more students attending English-medium schools in J & K semi-dwarf stiff variety of paddy matures in about 144 than in big states like Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat or days and is resistant to attack by bacterial blight pathogens. Madhya Pradesh. In terms of sheer numbers, Andhra Similarly, the Arhar variety matures in about 132 days. Its Pradesh has more students studying in the English medium average grain yield is 5-6 quintals per acre. than any other state, followed by Tamil Nadu. These figures only account for students studying in government and gov- Ø MADHYA PRADESH figures among the list of States ernment aided schools. Interestingly, states ranked at the where maternal mortality is high, particularly in rural areas, top of the recently-developed EDUCATIONAL DEVELOP- where the healthcare system is virtually non-existent and MENT INDEX (EDI)- KERALA AND DELHI-don’t seem to be awareness on the subject among the people extremely low. doing too well when it comes to imparting English-medium According to UNICEF, Madhya Pradesh along with Assam education to their children. Students enrollea in English-me- and Uttar Pradesh has a high Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) dium schools in these two states are only a small fraction of of 700 or more per 100,000 live birth as against the national those receiving instruction in Malayalam and Hindi respec- figure of 407 per 100,000 live births as per the 2001 Census tively. figure. Ø New statistics shows that India-China trade hit a high of Ø Prime Minister Manmohan Singh released the AUTOMO- $24.9 billion in 2006, the ‘SHANGHAI DAILY’ has reported, TIVE MISSION PLAN (AMP) 2006-16. The plan envisages quoting the Chinese Commerce Ministry in Beijing. Accord- an investment of $40 billion besides providing direction to ing to the newspaper, India became China’s 10th largest help transform India into a global automobile player in the trading partner in 2006 while China was India’s second next ten years. It also proposes a 2 5 point agenda to largest trading partner. The newspaper also quoted a facilitate emergence of India as a manufacturing and export Goldman Sachs study that India will become the second hub for automatics. Briefing media persons after the formal largest economy in the world, after China, by 2042. release, Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Santosh Mohan Dev hailed the plan as a document to be Ø BUTTERFLY PARK is situated at the BANNERGHATTA followed by the Government and the industry to make India Biological Park near Bangalore. a global player. Asserting that the Mission Plan had been prepared with cooperation and participation of the industry, Ø On Jan. 25, INDIA AND RUSSIA signed nine bilateral Mr. Dev said the turnover of the automobile industry, as documents and adopted two more after summit talks in New projected in the document, would increase to $145 billion by Delhi between the visiting President Vladimir Putin and Prime 2016 from the current $35 billion, accounting for 10 per cent Minister Manmohan Singh. The following is the list of the of the GDP. bilateral documents signed between the two sides. • Joint Statement on the Outcome of the official visit of Mr. Ø The National Knowledge Commission (NKC) has pro- Putin, signed by Dr. Manmohan Singh and Mr. Putin. posed a Deprivation Index formula for affirmative action to • Protocol between the Indian and Russian governments assess backwardness and to make higher education as “ on holding “Year of Russia in India” in the Year 2008 and inclusive” as possible. This is apart from the existing reser- “Year of India in Russia” in the Year 2009. vation for SC/ST and Backward classes. The index pro- poses to look at the social background, caste, religion and • Programme of Cultural Exchanges between the Govern- gender, family education history, family income, type of ments of India and Russia for the year 2007-09. school, place of resident (distinguishing between urban • Memorandum of Intent between the Department of Atomic rural areas, and accounting for regional deprivation) and Energy (India) and Federal Atomic Energy Agency (Rus- physical disability.” Set up in August 2005 , the Knowledge sia) on development of cooperation in the construction of Commission was last in the news when the matter of reser- additional nuclear power plant units at Kudankulam (Tamil vation in IITs, IIMs and private educational institutions for Nadu) site as well as in the construction of Russian design Other Backward Classes (OBCs) had split the Commission nuclear power plants at new sites in India. and resulted in two resignations by end-May. However, the • Agreement between the governments of India and Rus- document now makes a case for viable affirmative action, sia on the access of the Indian Party to navigation signals apart from reservations, and has an entire section dedi- of the Russian Global Navigation Satellite System cated to “Inclusion” of the socially disadvantaged sections. GLONASS for peaceful purposes. The 27-page report of the six-member commission headed • Agreement between the governments of India and Rus- by Sam Pitroda, submitted to the Prime Minister last month, sia on access of the Indian Party to a part of the Russian describes the “quiet crisis” in higher education as one that Global Navigation Satellite System GLONASS Radio Fre- runs “deep”. quency Spectrum.

RADIAN ACADEMY ANNA NAGAR & NSK NAGAR-ARUMBAKKAM [email protected] Ph: 98404-00825, 98404-33955, 98404-32842 94 • Agreement between the Indian Space Research Ø Women’s fashion magazine ‘MARIE CLAIRE’ comes to Organisation and the Federal Space Agency on coopera- India. tion in the joint satellite project ‘YOUTHSAT”. • Pdrotocol between the Central Board of Excise and Cus- Ø Government has plans to introduce E-PASSPORTS by toms (India) and the Federal Customs Service (Russia) on 2013. exchange of information on the movement of goods and conveyances between India and Russia. Ø Planning Commission SETS 8.5 PERCENT GROWTH tar- • Cooperation Agreement between Saraf Agency Private get for 11th Five Year Plan. Limited Vneshekonom Bank of Russia and Joint Stock Com- pany Technochim Holding. Ø Indian population to touch 1.4 b by 2026. Besides, th two sides adopted two more bilateral docu- ments a joint statement on cooperation in the energy sector Ø A former Intelligence official J.K. Sinha says India can th and on celebrating 60 anniversary of establishment of produce 50 nuclear warheads a year. diplomatic relations between India and Russia starting from April 17, 2007. Ø 16 States join the CENTRE’S NEW PENSION SCHEME. Ø India will need 1,500 UNIVERSITIES to attain a gross Ø Japan LIFTS TWO-DECADE OLD BAN on import of Indian man- enrolment ratio of at least 15 per cent by 2015 according to goes.ııØ Centre accepts site identified by HARYANA GOVT. for s a key observation made by NKC in its note to the PM on tting up a nuclear plant. higher education. Ø Lion population is GIR is 359. Ø The research reactors set up by DAE so far, have been APSARA (IMW, Fuel; Enriched Uranium-Aluminium alloy), CIRUS (40 MW, Fuel : Natural Uranium), ZERLINA (zero Ø GSLV-FO2 carrying INSAT-4C communication satellite energy, Natural Uranium), PURNIMA I – III (Fuel: Plutonium / crashes into Bay of Bengal. Uranium -233), DHRUVA (100 MW, Fuel: Natural Uranium) at Trombay (Maharashtra), and KAMINI (30 KW, Fuel: Ura- Ø Indian post, in partnership with DUPONT, launches nium -233-A1 alloy) and Fast Breeder Test Reactor (40MW, waterproof and tear resistant envelope, right in time for the Fuel: Uranium-Plutonium carbide) at Kalpakkam (Tamil Nadu). festival RAKSHA BANDHAN. Of the research reactors, ZERLINA was decommissioned in 1984, and PURNIMA series made way for KAMINI. Ø RELIANCE ADA GROUP to invest over Rs.61,500 or in Orissa to inset up an institute of higher learning in IT. Ø BARC has successfully developed green manure crop- SESBANIA ROSTRATA that is proving highly cost effective Ø A MULTI-DISCIPLINARY UNIVERSITY to be set up in for small farmers. Puri (Orissa) by Vedanta Resources.

Ø The Centre has made good progress in developing hard- Ø UP to set up a Tiger Society. ened plants for ACACIA VICTORIA – a plant suitable for desert area. Ø Postal Department launches ‘ONE INDIA ONE RATE’ speed post scheme of Rs.25 for 50grams anywhere in Ø Child prodigy BUDDHIA SINGH, 5, of Orissa covers 65 India. FACT to set up Rs.2000 cr. Urea unit in Egypt. km in 7.02 hours. Ø Five persons killed in bomb blast in ISKCON complex in Ø NSSO survey puts national average of disabled persons Imphal. at 105 per 100,000, with Kerala (272) topping the states in mental illness. A Krishna temple to come up in Moscow. Ø NATIONAL COMMODITY AND DERIVATIVES EX- Wullar lake tragedy toll is 21 children and one teacher CHANGE (NCDEX) emerges world’s third largest agricul- tural exchange. Ø BANKS IN KERALA to consider writing off agricultural loans of upto Rs.1 lakh taken by farmers who committed Ø A UP minister YUQOOP QURESHI, fined Rs.14,000 for suicide. ticketless travel.

Ø India is the TOP NEWSPAPER POWER with 78.7 m. cop- Ø India is YAWS-FREE, Ministry of Health says. ies sold daily. Ø Rs.17,000 crore rehabilitation package for farmers in Ø National heritage status given to DANDI YATRA ROUTE. A.P. Karnataka, Kerala and Maharashtra with high suicide

RADIAN ACADEMY ANNA NAGAR & NSK NAGAR-ARUMBAKKAM [email protected] Ph: 98404-00825, 98404-33955, 98404-32842 95 rates being considered. 20,400 square kilometres. Sixty per cent of the Sundarbans now belongs to Bangaladesh. In West Bengal, the Ø NORTHERN STATES (44% of India’s geographical area) Sundarbans delta covers an area of 9,630 sq km and is contributes only 30% to industrial output. spread over North and South 24 – Parganas.

Ø EDUCATION MINISTRY permits deemed, varsities to Ø MAJOR HIMALAYAN GLACIERS are melting at an alarm- use ‘UNIVERSITY’ in their names. ing rate, spelling calamity for many Asian countries, includ- ing India and China. Seven of Asia’s greatest rivers origi- Ø PRESIDENT KALAM’S website has 2,4m hits on Sept. nate in the Himalayas, including the Ganga, the Brahmaputra, 12, a record. the Mekong and the Yangtse. Rapid melting of Himalayan ice-caps will create floods and droughts and menace Asia agriculture – and hundreds of millions of livelihoods – in Ø ‘GARIB RATH’, the poor man’s AC train flagged off at ways inconceivable earlier. Saharsa, Bihar. Ø BT RICE is a genetically engineered seed designed to Ø Foundation laid for WESTERN RAILWAY’S DEDICATED make the crop resistant to pests such as stem borer and FREIGHT corridor project. leaf folder. The seeds are created by inserting a synthetic version of a gene (called Cry1Ac) from a naturally occur- Ø Govt. to hold talks with NSCN(M) in Amsterdam. ring soil bacterium called Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) into the plant’s DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) so that the plant cre- Ø Hundreds of DALITS EMBRACE BADDHISM and Chris- ates its own toxin to destroy the pests. India has allowed tianity at a mass conversion programme in NAGPUR. the commercial sale of Bt cotton seeds, and the trials for Bt brinjal kare also under way. Ø Jabbar Patel’s film ‘DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR’ to be made in nine languages. Ø CHUNGTHANG, NORTH SIKKIM, which is a transit point for tourists visiting Yumthang, the Valley of Flowers. Ø Navy to restore Sea Kings. Ø The Tsomgo lake in East Sikkim, situated at an alti- Ø THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA’S decision to ratify the tude of 12,400 feet (3,720 metres), is on the route to the first-ever United National convention for the disabled repre- Nathula. sents a growing , even if modest, global recognition of the importance of an effective legal framework as a prerequi- CHILD LABOUR TRENDS IN INDIA site for INTEGRATING THE WORLD’S SINGLE LARGEST MINORITY – an estimated 10 PER CENT OF THE POPULA- Economically active children in India (5-14 years, in crores) TION – into the social mainstream. The International Con- 1981 - 1.30 vention on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and 1991 - 1.13 Dignity of Persons with Disabilities draws on the vast pool 2001 - 1.26 of expertise in the fields of social development, human rights, and non-discrimination. NUMBERS OF CHILD LABOURERS

Ø ‘2550TH YEAR OF LORD BUDDHA’S STATES CENSUS 1991 CENSUS 2001 MAHAPARINIRVANA’, the Govt. of Uttar Pradesh has de- Andhra Pradesh 16,61,940 13,63,339 cided to celebrate this life time event for the year-long span commencing from pious BUDDHA POORNIMA, i.e. May 13, Assam 3,27,598 3,51,416 2006 and to be concluded on next Buddha Poornima in Bihar 9,42,245 11,17,500 2007. During this year-long period important events will be organised at different places. Chhattisgarh — 3,64,572 Gujarat 5,23,585 4,85,530 Ø The SUNDARBANS gets its name from the sundari tree Haryana 1,09,691 2,53,491 (HERTIERA FOMES), the dominant mangrove species in what is recognised as the world’s largest surviving man- Jammu & Kashmir — 1,75,630 grove system. Literally, the name means “beautiful forest”. Karnataka 9,76,247 8,22,615 The Sundarbans forms the southern part of the delta sys- Madhya Pradesh 13,52,563 10,65,259 tem between the Hooghly river in the west and the Meghna river in the east in Bangladesh. It is a system of islands Maharashtra 10,68,418 7,64,075 formed by rivers depositing their burden of silt and sand Manipur 16,493 28,836 before flowing into the sea, and is spread over an area

RADIAN ACADEMY ANNA NAGAR & NSK NAGAR-ARUMBAKKAM [email protected] Ph: 98404-00825, 98404-33955, 98404-32842 96 Jharkhand — 4,07,200 Ø The reduction of the height will, however, have no im- pact on power generation capacity of the 450 MW project Uttaranchal — 70,183 being built on Chenab river. Water Resources Minister Orissa 4,52,394 3,77,594 Saifuddin Soz told reporters welcoming the final verdict of Neutral expert of the project is Raymond Lafitte. Punjab 1,42,868 1,77,268 Pakistan claimed the report by Lafitte as a ‘victory’ as the Rajasthan 7,74,199 12,62,570 expert accepted three of its proposals, including the one on Tamil Nadu 5,78,889 4,18,801 reducing the height of the dam. Uttar Pradesh 14,10,086 19,27,997 It will “deeply influence all future interpretations” of the 1960 Indus Water Treaty (IWT) between the two countries. West Bengal 7,11,691 8,57,087 The total height of Baghlihar dam is planned to be 144.5 Delhi 27,351 41,899 metres. Goa 4,656 4,138 Ø WORLD BANK said its lending in India is estimated to Ø Our Prime Minister has rightly emphasized the need to increase from its current annual average of 2.5 billion dol- double annual foodgrain production from the present 210 lars to an average of 4 billion dollars over the next two- million tonnes to 420 million tonnes with the next10 years . three years, with special focus on strengthening infrastruc- i.e. by 2015, which is also a benchmark year for achieving ture, supporting lagging states and scaling up service deliv- the UN MDGs. This will call for producing at least 160 ery. million tonnes of rice from 40 million ha and 100 million tonnes of wheat from 25 million ha. Pulses, oil seeds, maize and Ø WORLD BANKS’ LENDING STOOD at 2.9 billion dollars millets will have to contribute 160 million tonnes. In addition, during 2004-05 , 1.4 billion dollars next year, and is esti- the national goal is to raise he production of vegetables mated to touch 3 billion dollars this fiscal. and fruits to over 300 million tonnes by 2015. World Bank is currently engaged in 63 projects worth about 12.7 billion dollars in India. Ø The National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) proposes India is the largest beneficiary of World bank’s cross lend- to spend 67.2 per cent of the total budget on prevention of ing arm IBA and the fourth-largest borrower of IBRD. HIV III of the National AIDS Control Program. This includes targeted interventions and a package of services (exclud- Ø SHRUTI CHANDRASEKHAR, 23, of Bangalore lands a ing anti retroviral treatment). Rs.1 cr. A year job with IFC.

Ø Giving impetus to its “Look Eat Policy”, the Government Ø BUTTERFLY PARK is situated at the Bannerghatta Bio- has sanctioned a Rs.200 crore project for developing infra- logical Park near Bangalore. structure at four international trade points in the northeast- ern region. Ø Stands for INNOVATION IN SCIENCE PURSUIT FOR The four border trade points will be ready in 14 to 16 months INSPIRED RESEARCH (INSPIRE) programme. The Ministry time from now, Union Minister of State for Commerce Jairam of Science and Technology plans to offer ‘innovation awards’ Ramesh told a seminar on “Look East Policy: A Reality Check” to a million children under the programme over the next five organised New Delhi by the North East Media Forum. years to invigorate scientific thinking. The programme has The four border trade points are Moreh in Manipur, Dawki in already received approval from the Planning Commission Meghalaya , Sutarkandi in Assam and one near Agartala. for its Rs.1,350 crore budget for the Eleventh Plan. When completed, these points will greatly boost business A Rs.5,000 incentive is being provided for children aged between Northeastern States and neighbouring countries between 10 and 17, to think outside the boundaries set by like Myanmar and Bangladesh. the school syllabus.

Ø Government is for allowing 100 percent foreign Direct Ø This gene, with an unmemorable name p16-Ink4a, Investment (FDI) in higher education and hinted at making is a link between life span and cancer. Biologists have reservation mandatory in the institutions to be set up by uncovered a deep link between life span and cancer in the foreign universities in the country. form of this gene that switches off stem cells as a person ages. It plays a central role in the body’s defences against Ø A World Bank- appointed neutral expert has cleared the cancer, and fit produces two quite different proteins that BAGLIHAR POWER PROJECT OVER river CHENAB in J & interact with the two principal systems for deciding whether K but asked India to reduce the height of the dam by one and a cell will be allowed to divide. half metre, one of the objections raised by Pakistan .

RADIAN ACADEMY ANNA NAGAR & NSK NAGAR-ARUMBAKKAM [email protected] Ph: 98404-00825, 98404-33955, 98404-32842