Round Up of the Year Contest We have come up with the results of the "Round Up of the Year" Contest. We were really happy with the response to the contest - more than 80 entries across eight categories. We had such a tough time deciding the winning entries because most of you have written extremely well. Although some have not won, they have been constructed well and are rich in content. Please Note: - All the entries have been edited for grammar, punctuation, readability and length. Winners INDIA Monic Abhishek (monicabhishek) January: 3 PM Manmohan Singh inaugurates 99TH Annual session of Indian Science Congress in Bhubaneswar and promises a increased investment in research and development (R&D) sectors. 6 Senior Indian diplomat D.Bala Venkatesh Varma receives inaugural S.K.Singh Award. He is a key member of the team that made a breakthrough in indo-U.S nuclear relationships. 8 PM Manmohan Singh announce the right of franchise to the NRIs who are registered under the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and a new pension and life insurance fund for overseas Indian workers during the inaugural function of 10th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Jaipur. 9 Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago Mr.Kamla Persad Bissessar receives “Pravasi Bharatiya Samman” award, a highest honour conferred on overseas Indians, from President Pratibha Patil. 10 The central cabinet notifies 100% FDI in single brand retail. Vodafone wins RS.11, 000 crore tax case against IT department in Supreme Court judgment. Court says 20 Vodafone’s acquisition of Hutchison Telecom was “offshore" in character and outside the jurisdiction of Indian authorities. Government announces five Padma Vibhushan, 27 Padma Bhushan and 77 Padma Shri awards for the year 25 2012. 26 For the first time in Republic Day parades, IAF contingent is led by woman pilot Lt. Sneha Shekhawat. 31 Supreme Court dismisses CBI’s plea for further probe into disproportionate assets of Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalitha. February: 1 Supreme Court strikes down section 27(3) of arms act calling it as unconstitutional for its provision of mandatory death sentence for accused. 2 Supreme Court cancels all 122 2G telecom licenses allotted on or after January 10, 2008 and suggests a fresh auction. 3 Veteran filmmaker Mike Pandey receives V.Shantaram life time achievement award for his documentaries on wildlife conservation and environmental protection at the Mumbai international film festival 2012. 10 The Bombay high court confirms death penalty to three accused LeT members in twin blasts in Mumbai on august 25, 2003. Page 1 of 27 Round Up of the Year Contest 14 22 writers and poets receive Sahitya Academy Awards for 2011 in New Delhi. 19 Kerala police arrests two Italian naval personnel for firing two Indian fishermen to death in the contiguous sea zone off Ambalapuzha in Kerala. 20 Massive forest fire lasting for 4 days creates havoc in Nagarahole National Park in Karnataka. March: 6 Samajwadi Party wins Uttar Pradesh, the Shiromani Akali dal -BJP coalition wins in Punjab and Congress wins Goa, Uttarakhand and Manipur state polls. 9 Manohar Parikhar takes oath as chief minister of Goa. 13 Vijay Bahuguna is sworn in as chief minister of Uttarakhand in Dehradun. 14 Parkash Singh Badal takes oath as CM of Punjab for the record fifth time. Ibobi Singh takes charge as CM of Manipur for the third consecutive time. Railway minister Dinesh Trivedi announces a record Rs.60,100 crore railway budget for 2012-13 and hikes the train fare for the first time in 8years. 15 Akhilesh Yadav takes oath as CM of Uttar Pradesh. 19 Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalitha gives approval for kudankulam nuclear power plant. 20 Union Minister of state for shipping Mukul Roy takes over as Railway Minister after resignation of Dinesh Trivedi and rolls back the hike in train fare. 23 Union cabinet nods for Marriage Laws Amendment bill, 2010 providing rights for women on husband’s property after divorce. 25 Chief of army general V.K.Singh alleges that he was offered a bribe of Rs.14 core by a lobbyist to buy sub- standard trucks for army. The Lok Sabha passes the Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill, 2010, which provides for setting up a 29 mechanism for investigating complaints of corruption and irregularities against members of the higher judiciary. April: 11 Pakistan’s micro-biologists Mohammed Khalil Chisti is freed on bail after Supreme Court’s approval. The Supreme Court upholds the constitutional validity of the Right of children to free and Compulsory 12 Education Act, 2009. May: Marathi film Deool and Byari gets best film, Vidya Balan (The Dirty Picture) receives best actress, Girish 3 Kulkarni (Deool) wins Best Actor award in 59th National Film Awards. Bengali Actor Soumitra Chatterjee honoured with Dada Saheb Phalke Award. 7 Lok Sabha passes The Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2012. 31 The Union Cabinet approves National Telecom policy, 2012 and allows Number Portability. June: 4 Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar takes oath as Rajya Sabha member under President’s quota. 6 Election commissioner V.S.Sampath appointed as Chief Election Commissioner. Page 2 of 27 Round Up of the Year Contest 14 French diplomat Pascal Mazurier arrested by Bangalore police over charges og raping his three-and-half year old daughter. 22 Calcutta strikes down the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development act, 2011 calling it as unconstitutional. This judgment is termed as TATA’s win over Mamta Banerjee’s move to recover land allotted to TATA motors. Pranab Mukherjee step downs as Union Finance Minister to contest in presidential polls, PM Manmohan Singh 26 takes over the Finance. July: 1 Floods cause havoc in Assam, 77 dead due to landslips. 3 The union cabinet clears a Rs. 25 crore plan to airlift 350 tons of toxic waste from Bhopal. 4 CBI registers case against former Maharashtra CM Ashok Chavan and 12 others in Adarsh Housing scam. 6 The Supreme Court strikes down the FIR against former Uttar Pradesh CM Mayawati in disproportionate assets case. 8 Bollywood’s first super star Rajesh Khanna dies. He acted in famous films like Aradhana and Kati Patang. 12 Jagadish Shetter sworn in as new chief minister of Karnataka after Sadananda Gowda resigns to the post. 21 Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. Calls unprecedented lock in its Manesar plant following killing of a general manager by violent workers. 22 Pranab Mukherjee wins the presidential polls defeating the nearest rival P.A.Sangma by a margin of 3, 97,776 value votes. 24 Assam government calls out for Indian army to check unprecedented violence in Kokrajhar, Chirang and Dubri districts. Assam police issues shoot at sight orders in Kokhrajar. 31 21 states and nearly 60 crore people pushed to darkness as three power grid collapses due to excess demand. August: 11 Hamid Ansari sworn in as Vice-President for the second term. 17 CAG Reports a estimated loss of Rs.1.86 crore loss to the revenue due to coal mine allocations, a biggest scam in the history of India. 31 Admiral Devender Kumar Joshi takes charge as Chief of the Navy Staff. September: 3 The Protection of Women Against Sexual Harassment Bill, 2010 and bill prohibiting manual scavenging passed in Lok Sabha. th 9 ISRO’s completes 100 mission successfully with launch of PSLV and two foreign satellites from Srihari Kota launching station. 29 Altamas Kabir sworn in the 39th Chief Justice of India by President Pranab Mukherjee. October: 5 The Supreme Court stays all mining operations in Goa for breaching environmental and auction laws. PM Manmohan Singh pledges USD 50 million for biodiversity conservation at the closing ceremony of 11th 16 Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. Page 3 of 27 Round Up of the Year Contest Salman Khurshid takes charge as External Affairs Minister, Pawan Kumar Bamsal as Railway Minister and Jaipal 28 Reddy moved to Science & Technology. November: 1 Team of coast guards rescue 15 crew members of MT Prathiba Cauvery after hit by cyclone Nilam on Chennai coast. Andhra Pradesh high court lifts the life time ban of BCCI on former cricket Captain Mohammed Azharuddin 8 alleged for match-fixing. 11 The Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) party withdraws its support to UPA at centre and to congress at state level in Andhra Pradesh. rd 14 Myanmar opposition leader Aung Aan Suu Kyi delivers Nehru Memorial Lecture on 123 birth anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru, in New Delhi. The Protection of Children from Sexual Offence Act, 2012 comes into force after being passed by Lok Sabha in May 2012. 17 Shiv Sena Chief Bal Thackeray dies of cardiac arrest at his residence in Mumbai. 19 Two women held by police briefly over a facebook post condemning the bandh that followed Mumbai after Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray demise. 21 Ajmal Kasab, the lone survivor of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks hanged in Pune’s yerwada jail in extreme secrecy. Luiz Inacioi Lula da Silva, the former president of Brazil is presented with The Indira Ghandi peace prize for 22 peace, disarmament and development, 201o at Raj Bhavan. 24 Social activist announces the name of their political party as “Aam Admi Party” and adopts party constitution in New Delhi. 29 Cauvery river water issue consensus talk fails between chief ministers of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Former Prime Minister I.K.Gujral dies of multi-organ failure in Gurgaon. He served as the 12th Prime Minister 30 of India from April 1997 to March 1998. December: Andhra Pradesh assembly passes the Andhra Pradesh Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe sub plan Planning, 2 Allocation and Utilization of Financial Resources Bill, 2012 making it the first state in the country to have such legislation aimed at SC/ST development.