2010- AT A GLANCE PART 1

• G-15 summit was held at Tehran on 16-17 May.
  * Bangladesh handed over Ranjan Daimary of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland to India. The group was responsible for serial bombing in Assam in 2008.
  * National League for Democracy (NLD) party of Myannmar’s democracy leader Aung San Sui Kyi was abolished after deadline to re-register as a political party was over.
  * EU-IMF provide a $ 1 trillion rescue package to the Greece to resolve its debt crises.
  * Pakistan successfully test fired two short range ballistic missiles, Shaheen I( range 650 Km) and Ghazani (range 290 Km) capable of carrying nuclear war heads and striking Indian cities.
•  Naxalites killed 47 people in a landmine blast between Dantewada and Sukma in Chattisgarh.
  * Test fire of nuclear capable Agni-II missile was successfully carried out from Wheeler Island off the coast of Orissa on 17th May. Agni II has a range of 2000Km. It is 20m long two stage solid propelled ballistic missile. It was developed by Advanced System Laboratories alongwith DRDO & Bharat Dynamics Ltd.
  * Supreme Court in a recent judgement upheld a rule that allows the adjustment of reserved category candidate SC/ST/OBC against their quota seats even if they manage to qualify an examination for govt services on merit.
  * National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) is the monitoring authority for the Right to Education Act which became effective from April 1, 2
•  England won 2010 ICC World Twenty20 Cricket tournament defeating Australia. The tournament was held at South Africa. Kevin Pieterson of England has been declared as Player of the Tournament.
  * Australia won 2010 Women’s World Twenty20 Cricket tournament defeating New Zealand.
  * India and South Korea were declared joint winner of 2010 Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Cup, after suspension of the final match due to heavy rains.India’s Sardar Singh has been declared as Best Player of the Tournament. Australia won the Bronze medal. The tournament was held at Ipoh (Malaysia). India had won the tournament earlier in 1985, 1991, 1995 & 2009.
  * China won Thomas Cup ( Men’s Badminton) defeating Indonesia.
  * In the World Youth Boxing Championship, held at Baku, Azerbaijan, India won 1 Gold & 1 Silver. Gold medal was won by Vikas Krishan and Silver medal was won by Shiva Thapa.
  * India won bronze medal in the 2nd Asian Paragliding Championship held at Nishiewa, Japan.
  * World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand retained his title after defeating Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria in the World Chess Championship 2010. Vandana Shiva has been awarded Sydney Peace Prize 2010 for her work in the field of social justice.
  Gita Gopinath an Indian origin associate professor at Harvard Univ has been appointed a full professor, the first Indian woman in the Institution’s history to ge given this appointment.
  * Former Vice President of India, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat died.
  * Rima Fakih was crowned Miss USA 2010. She became the first ever muslim American Miss USA. She is of Lebanese muslim descent.
  * Singer Christina Aguilera was named Ambassador against hunger by the United Nations World Food Programme.
  * Rushanara Ali became first person of Bangladesh origin to be elected to the British Parliament.
  * David Cameron elected Prime Minister of Britain. Nick Clegg became the Dy Prime Minister. Britain gets first coalition govt since World War-II. It is between Conservative and Liberal Democrats.
  * Justice S H Kapadia sworn as new Chief Justice of India.
  * Hari S Bhartia elected as President of Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) for 2010-11.
  * Jessica Watson became the youngest person to sail unassisted around the world in a yatch.  Belgium became the Europe’s first country to ban burqa.
  * Pakistan’s National assembly passed a bill that takes away the President’s power to dissolve parliament, dismiss a elected government and appoint the three services Chiefs. Pakistan’s parliament passes 18th amendment which was later signed by Presient cutting President’s powers.
  * USA and Russia signed Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty(START) that allowed a maximum of 1550 deployed overheads, about 30% lower than a limit set in 2002. The treaty was signed in the Progue Castle.
  * Emergency was imposed in Thailand.
  * Nuclear Security Summit held at Washington.It was a 47 nation summit wherein P.M. announced setting up of a global nuclear energy centre for conducting research & development of design systems that are secure, proliferation resistant & sustainable.
  * PM visit USA & Brazil, a two nation tour. He attended Nuclear Security Summit in USA & India- Brazil-S.Africa(IBSA) and Brazil-Russia-India-China(BRIC) summit in Brasilia (Brazil).
  * 16th SAARC Summit held in Bhutan in 28-29 April. The summit was held in Bhutan for the first time. It is the silver jubilee summit as SAARC has completed 25 years. The summit central theme was ‘Climate Change’. The summit recommended to declare 2010-2020 as the “Decade of Intra-regional Connectivity in SAARC”. The 17th SAARC summit will be held in Maldives in 2011.
• * Uninque Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) now known as Aadhaar. It’s Chairman is Nandan Nilekani. It will assign 16 digit identification number to all residents in India.
  * NTRO- National Technical Research Organisation. The organization came to limelight after allegation of phone tapping of politicians.
  * Indian navy commissioned India’s first indigenously built stealth warship ‘ INS Shivalik’. The other stealth warship to be built are named as ‘INS Sahyadri’ and INS Satpura’.
  * Right To Education Act is notified and will become a legally enforceable from 1 April 2010. Key features of RTE Act are : All children in 6-14 age group must get free and compulsory eduction; No child shall be held back,expelled or required to pass a board examination till Class VIII; There must be 25 % reservation for poor children even in private & minority schools; There must be one teacher for every 30 students; A child rights commission will look into violations of the RTE law.
  * Govt start Census 2011. It is the 15th Census. It is in two phase. The first phase is called –House listing & Housing Census and the second phase is called decadal headcount which will be held in Feb 2011. The Registrar General of India is C Chandramouli.
   IPL3 season won by Chennai Super Kings defeating Mumbai Indians.
  * Youth Olympics Games 2010 to be held in Singapore in Aug 2010.
  * World Youth Championship was held at Baku, Azerbaijan.
  * Lawn tennis legend Martina Navratilova diagnosed with Breast Cancer.
  * ‘Jumbo’ chosen as 2011 World Cricket Cup Mascot.
  * World Kabbadi Cup 2010- India defeated Pakistan to won World Cup Kabbadi 2010 held at Ludhiana.
  * Pankaj Advani won the Asian Billiards Championship defeating Singapore’s Peter Gilchrist for the consecutive third time.
• India became the 7th largest shareholder in World Bank. 
• * Government approved disinvestment of 20% of share in SAIL in this financial year.
• 2010 Commonwealth Writers Prize for the best first Book was awarded to Glenda Guest for the novel ‘Siddon Rock’. Rana Dasgupta won Commonwealth Writers Prize for best Book 2010 for book ‘Solo’.
  * Carl Zeiss wildlife conservation award was won by Joydip Kundu.
  * Amitav Ghosh won the Dan David Prize alongwith Margaret Atwood for ‘Rendition of the 2oth century’.
• 2010 Commonwealth Writers Prize for the best first Book was awarded to Glenda Guest for the novel ‘Siddon Rock’. Rana Dasgupta won Commonwealth Writers Prize for best Book 2010 for book ‘Solo’.
  * Carl Zeiss wildlife conservation award was won by Joydip Kundu.
  * Amitav Ghosh won the Dan David Prize alongwith Margaret Atwood for ‘Rendition of the 2oth century’.
•  Gorumara National Park, Jalpaigudi has been declared the best among the 235 national parks & sanctuaries in the country by the MOEF.
•  International congress of Mathematicians will be hosted by India for the first time in August 2010 at Hyderabad. The congress has been held once every four years since 1897except the breaks during two world wars.
• * Government will opened four new campuses for the IIMC(Indian Institute of Mass Communication) at Nagpur, Kochi, Jammu and Aizawl.
  * Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park, Derjeeling become first zoo in the country to install infrared night vision cameras in the enclosures housing endangered snow leopard.
•  Justice Gyan Sudha Mishra was sworn in as Judge of Supreme Court of India. She became the 4th women judge to be elevated to the Supreme Court of India.
  * Justice S H Kapadia will be next Chief Justice of India.
  * Mukul Sangma shown in as Meghalaya Chief Minister
• * Govt launched National Mission for Empowerment of Women aimed at inter-sectoral convergence of all pro- women programmes.
  * Constitution 108th Amendment Bill 2008 commonly known as women’s reservation bill was passed by Rajya Sabha by 186 in favour 1 against 39 abstained (Current strength of Rajya Sabha is 233). The bill seeks to reserve a third of the seats on the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for 15 years on a rotational basis. It was first introduced in 1996. Sharad Joshi, an independent MP is the only MP which cast vote against the bill. In the present Lok Sabha, there are 59 women MPs out of 543 MPs. Total MLAs in 29 state assemblies in India are 4093.
• Govt amends Anti Hijacking Act 1982. It now provides for death sentence to the hijackers.
   India became 1st country in the world to have a ‘manoeuvrable’ supersonic cruise missile, when it successfully test fired 290 km range Brahmos missile.
•  Australia won World Hockey Cup 2010 defeating Germany. India ranked at 8th place.
  * India won six gold medal in the Commonwealth Boxing Championship held at Delhi.
• * Rajan Bharti Mittal appointed President FICCI.
  * Major Dimple Singla became first women army officer in the country who has been sentenced to imprisonment for corruption.
  * Bhubneshwar Kalita has been choosen as the Chef de Mission of the Indian contingent at Commonwealth Games 2010.
  * Cricketer Kapil Dev has been inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame.
  * Former Supreme Court judge P V Reddy appointed as Chairman, Law Commission of India.
  * Lt Gen V K Singh appointed as new Army Chief.
  * Sonia Gandhi appointed head of National Advisory Council. NAC advice the govt on policy matters, monitor flagship programmes and prepare the ground for other pro-poor legislatures.
  * Lyricist Javed Akhtar, Mani Shankar Aiyar, Dr Ram Dayal Munda, Dr Balchandra Mungekar and Kannada Actress B Jayashree are among other persons nominated to Rajya Sabha.
  * Austrian base jumper Felix Baumgartnar will became the first person to leaps from the edge of space at a height of 37 km above earth’s surface. He become the first man to break the speed of sound hitting a top speed of about 11000km/hr. He will jump on 11 April 2010.
  * Katie Spotz became the youngest person to complete a solo journey across the Atlantic Ocean.
  * Girija Prasad Koirala, Nepal Ex Prime Minister died. He was 5th time Nepal PM.
  192 year old Presidency College of Kolkatta (India’s oldest college) converted into Presidency University. It became 18th state university in West Bengal.
  * Railways started ‘Maharajas Express’ from Kolkatta to Delhi. It is a tourist train having stoppage at Gaya, Varanasi, Bandhavgarh, Gwalior, Khajuraho and Agra.
•  Constitution 112th Amendment Bill 2009 seeks to amend following clauses of Article 243T of the Constitution that provides for reservation of seats for SC & ST and also for women in Urban Local bodies : a) In clause (2) for the word ‘one third’, the word ‘one half’ shall be substituted, b) In clause (3) the word ‘one third’ , the word ‘one half shall be substituted.
• European Union summit was held in Brussels. EU & IMF decided to giving support to Greece in its struggle to bring its ballooning budget deficit under control. EU President is Herman Van Rompuy.
   Kirit Parikh committee , set up to review petro pricing regime, submit its recommendation. Its major recommendation are to deregulate the prices of petrol & diesel as per market prices, reduce the subsidy on LPG.
  * India signed a Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement with the UK, which became the 8th country to enter into such a pact, since the lifting of atomic trade embargo in 2008.
  * Govt set up a panel under the Chairmanship of former Justice B N Srikrishna which would consider the demand for splitting Andhra Pradesh.
  * India and Denmark signed a social security pact which will relieve their workers from double taxation and provide for cooperation in areas of labour market expansion and orderly migration.
•  Constitution 111th Amendment – Proposes to incorporate a new Part ( Part IX B) in the Constitution so as to provide for legal framework to regulate the functioning of cooperative societies. A new Article ( Article 43 B) is also proposed to be inserted in Part IV of the Constitution (Directive Principles of State Policy) for the States to promote voluntary formation, autonomous functioning of cooperative societies.
  * Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill 2009 commonly known as Nuclear Liability Bill will be introduced by Govt in Parliament in Winter session 2010. The draft bill aims at limiting the liability of a nuclear plant operator to Rs. 300 crore in the eventuality of an accident. The bill provides for the penalty to be paid by the operator and not the supplier companies which would mainly be American in this case. India has entered into civil nuclear cooperation agreement with eight countries so far.
• 
  * 11th South Asian Games 2010 : Held at Dhaka, Bangladesh from 29 Jan to 8 Feb. Originally scheduled to take place in 2009, but due to general elections in Bangladesh, the games were held in 2010. This was the third time that the Dhaka hosted the Games, thus becoming the first city to hold the games three times. 8 countries participated in the games in 23 different sports, including T20 cricket, which was introduced for the first time in SAG. The 8 countries included are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan & Sri Lanka. 1The logo of the games was ‘Kutumb’, a flying doel , which is the national bird of Bangladesh. The mascot of the games featured a magpie robin, which was holding the torch to begin the games. The final medal tally include : India - 1st place with 90 G 55 S 29 B Total 174, Pakistan- 2nd place with 19 G 25 S 36 B Total 80, Bangladesh- 3rd place with 18 G 23 S 56 B Total 97.
• 11th World Hockey Cup 2010- To be held in Delhi, India. This is 2nd WHC which India is hosting. India also hosted the WHC in 1982 at Mumbai. 12 countries participated in the tournament. WHC is held in the years between two summer Olympics. First WHC was held at Barcelona in 1971. Pakistan has won the cup four times, Netherland three times, Germany two times, India & Australia once each. India won the WHC in 1975.
  * Sachin Tendulkar became first player in the world to score a double century in ODI (One day International). He scored 200 (Not out) against South Africa.
  * Commonwealth Shooting Championship was held in New Delhi in Feb 2010. India stood at first place with 35 Gold 25 Silver.
• * Govt appointed R S Pandey as its mediator for talk with NSCN(IM) in Nagaland to carry forward the peace process.
  * Former Justice P V Reddy will be appointed as Chairman, Law Commission of India.
  * Ram Baran Yadav, Nepal President visit India in Feb 2010. It was the first visit by Yadav to any foreign country after taking over as Nepal’s President. Yadav is the first President of Nepal since monarchy ended in 2008. India extended $ 250 million soft line of credit to Nepal.
  * Rajinder Singh became first non-white and also first Asian member of the right wing British National Party, after it amended its constitution to allow black and Asian to be its member.
  * Amitabh Bachan became the brand ambassador of Gujarat state.
  * Amnesty International, the global human right organization has appointed Salid Shetty as its next Secy General from June 2010. He will be the first Indian to head the organization.
  * Shah Rukh Khan & Kajol become the first Indian bollywood actors to ring the opening bell of the world’s biggest stock exchange’ NASDAQ’.
  * Rajiv Satav appointed President, Indian Youth Congress.
  * Katrina Kaif awarded with 2009 Excellence in Performing Arts Award established by ASSOCHAM.
  * M H Hussain, famous painter accepted citizenship of Qatar.
•  Planning Commission grant special category status to the Bundelkhand region comprising 9 distt of Uttar Pradesh and 15 distt of Madhya Pradesh for the irrigation projects. Under special category status, state govt can seek 90 % grant assistance from the centre and 10 % as loan.
  * Govt revises base year for the calculation of National Income from 1999-2000 to 2004-2005. The GDP for 2009-10 will be Rs. 55,74,449 crore and the fiscal deficit for the corresponding period will be 6.4 %.
  * Capital Control – Foreign capital inflows in the form of loans and equity that are allowed in a restricted form are said to be controlled. The capital inflows include foreign borrowings by Indian corporate and businesses, NRI deposits and portfolio flow from institutional investors into the stock market. Loans to Govt and short term trade credit are also included. India had control on both capital account transactions as well as on current account with the local currency fixed by the Central Bank. In 1991, rupee was first made convertible on the current account. In 1994, Govt allows foreign portfolio investments.
  * Govt will replace Benchmark Prime Lending System (BPLR) with Base rate system from 1 April 2010 to make bank lending more transparent. It provided for minimum rate for all types of loans for banks.
• ttarakhand became first state in the country to ban the cultivation of Bt Brinjal ( Country’s first Genetically Modified food crop). Bt Brijnal is a genetically modified crop which has a special gene- Cry1AC, inserted to make it poisonous to pests. GM Crops resists pests and give better yields as well as nutrition. Bt Brinjal is developed in India by Mahyco company. GM foods are derived from organisms whose DNA has been modified through genetic engineering.
• * Present life expectancy of life at birth in India is 63.4 yrs. The highest expectancy of life is in Australia of 81.4 yrs, 81 yrs for France and 79.3 yrs for England.
  * World Cancer Day – 04 Feb
• Australian Open 2010 : Women’s Single- Serena William defeated Justin Henin. It is Serena’s 5th Australian Open title. It is also Serena’s 12th Grand Slam title equaling the record of Billie Jean King. Men’s Single- Roger Federer(Swiss) defeated Andy Murray(Britain). It is Federer’s 4th Australian Open title. It is Federer’s 16th Grand Slam title.  Mixed Double – Laender Paes (India) & Cara Black (Zimbabwe) defeated Ekterina Makasova & Jaroslav Levinsky. It is Paes’s 11th Grand Slam title
• 97th Indian Science Congress held at Tiruvananthapuram in Jan 2010. The theme of this year congress was ‘ Science & Technology of 21st Century- National Perspective’.
•  50th anniversary of creation of LASER is being celebrated in 2010. Theodore Maiman constructed the first LASER in May 1960. LASER stands for Light Amplification for Stimulated Emission of Radiation. Charles H Townes was father of MASER.
   Lee Myung Bak, South Korea President was the Chief Guest at 2010 Republic Day Parade.
• Shiv Shankar Menon is appointed as National Security Advisor.
  * Vikram Srivastava appointed as Director General of CRPF(Central Reserve Police Force).
  * Ranjit Kumar Bhatia appointed as Director General of ITBP (Indo Tibetan Border Police).

NREGA- AN ASSESSMENT PART 1

Independent India has to acknowledge the critical role the NREGA has played in providing a measure of inclusive growth. It has given people a right to work, to re-establish the dignity of labour, to ensure people’s economic and democratic rights and entitlements, to create labour intensive infrastructure and assets, and to build the human resource base of our country. For the first time, the power elite recognises the people’s right to fight endemic hunger and poverty with dignity, accepting that their labour will be the foundation for infrastructure and economic growth. The entitlements paradigm is still to be established in many States in the country. Second generation issues like the expansion of the categories of permissible works needs to be taken up with labour and the deprived continuing to be the central focus. The improvements must be to strengthen, not divert from these basic tenets. In the midst of the current economic slowdown, there is enough evidence that this kind of commitment can work to help reduce the slowdown.

The political class would do well to understand that the most important solution is an assertion of its will to respond to people’s voices. The many wise, creative, and innovative initiatives emerging from theory and practice have a future only if they are owned by the people and implemented with justice. The NREGA can give people an opportunity to make the entire system truly transparent and accountable. Properly supported, people’s struggles for basic entitlements can, in turn, become the strongest political initiative to strengthen our democratic fabric.

Important Personalities, New Appointments and Who's Who: 2009

1. Farah Pandit of Kashmiri-origin was appointed special representative of the Obama administration to reach out to the Muslim world. She was appointed by Secretary of State to interact with Muslims across the globe. She was a senior adviser to the assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs. She also served on the National Security Council and with USAID on assistance projects for Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine. Born in 1968, Farah belongs to a business family of Kashmir. Her father, Muhammad Anwar Pandit, is originally from Sopore. Her mother, a doctor is from Srinagar city. In early 70s Farah's parents shifted to United States and stayed in Boston, where her father continued his business.

2. Air Chief Marshal Pradeep Vasant Naik took charge as the 19th chief of the India Air Force from Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major, who demitted office on May 31. An alumnus of Sainik School, Satara, and the National Defence Academy, Khadakvasla, Air Chief Marshal Naik saw action in the 1971 India-Pakistan war. He was decorated with the Param Vishist Seva Medal and the Vishist Seva Medal.

3. Amal Allana was appointed as chairperson of the National School of Drama (NSD) for a second term on June 15,2009. Allana, an alumnus of the NSD, is the daughter of Ibrahim Alkazi, the founder of the NSD. She joined NSD in 2005 as the chairperson. She has directed several plays, including “Aadhe Adhure”, “The Exception and the Rule”, “Khamosh, Adalat Jari Hai”, “Ashadh Ka Ek Din”, “Mahabhoj”, “King Lear”, “Himmat Mai” and “Begum Barve”. She was awarded many honours, including awards from the Delhi Natya Sangh (1994), Sahitya Kala Parishad (1996), Czech TV for the tele-play “Wapsi” (1983) and Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for direction (1998).

4. Punjab National Bank Chairman and Managing Director K. C. Chakrabarty succeeded T. S. Narayanasami who was superannuated Chairman and Managing Director of Bank of India on May 31,2009.

5. Distinguished journalist and political commentator Harish Khare was appointed as the media adviser to the Prime Minister on June 20,2009. He replaced Deepak Sandhu, who was shifted to the Central Information Commission as its member. Harish Khare will hold the rank of a secretary to the government of India. Prior to this appointment, Khare, was the Chief of Bureau and senior associate editor at The Hindu. He also worked as the resident editor of the Times of India, Ahmedabad. Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank took oath as the fifth chief minister of Uttarakhand along with three ministers on June 28. Replacing B C Khanduri as the chief minister, Nishank was Health Minister in his cabinet. A sitting legislator from Thalisen constituency, Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank is a strong leader from Garhwal and is known to be close to the RSS.

6. Senior advocate Gopal Subramaniam was appointed solicitor general on June 15, the second most important law officer of the country after the attorney general. From the petrol pump scam case to the inquiry commission into Graham Staines murder, he had ample opportunity to render valuable assistance to the Supreme Court as amicus curiae. At the same time, he represented the Centre in high-voltage cases like Bihar assembly dissolution, defreezing of London bank accounts of Bofors case accused Ottavio Quattrocchi and the cash-for-query scam. 51-year-old Subramaniam was additional solicitor general during 2004-09.

7. Vice-Admiral Nirmal Kumar Verma was appointed country’s next Chief of Naval Staff. He will take charge from Admiral Sureesh Mehta, who retires from service on August 31. Born on November 14, 1950, Vice-Admiral Verma, currently Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-in-C), Eastern Naval Command, has, during his long and distinguished 39 years of service, commanded aircraft carrier INS Viraat.

8. Senior advocate and former Solicitor General Goolam E Vahanvati was appointed the new Attorney General of Indiafor a period of three years. He became the first Muslim to hold the post of Attorney General of India. G E Vahanvati succeeded Milon Banerjee, who had held the Attorney General’s post in the last government. He and all other law officers had put in their papers on May 29,2009 to make way for a fresh team.

9. Timothy J Roemer was nominated as the next US Ambassador to India. A former US lawmaker and a member of the 9/11 Commission, Roemer is currently head of a Washington-based think tank. He is considered close to President Barack Obama and was among the first few Democrat leaders to support Obama in his run for US Presidency.

10. Chairman, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), C B Bhave was elected chairman of the Asia- Pacific Regional Committee of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) at the 34th Annual Conference of IOSCO being held at Tel Aviv, Israel. IOSCO is recognised as the international standard setter for securities markets. The Organisation’s wide membership regulates more than 90% of the world’s securities markets and IOSCO is the world`s most important international cooperative forum for securities regulatory agencies.

11. Seven-time member of Lok Sabha Karia Munda was unanimously elected Deputy Speaker of the 15th Lok Sabha on June 8. The tradition of having the Deputy Speaker from the Opposition was began in 1977, the very year Karia Munda entered the Lok Sabha. Munda was elected to the 15th Lok Sabha from Khunti in Jharkhand on BJP ticket.

12. One of the most influential figures in modern pop culture, Michael Jackson, died of a sudden cardiac arrest at his home in Los Angeles on June 25,2009. Jackson, known as 'King of Pop' by fans and often derided as 'Whacko-Jacko' by the media, was 50. Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29, 1958 in Gary, Indiana, US. I Want You Back, Don't Stop Til You Get Enough, Billie Jean, Bad, Black or White, Earth Song were his biggest hits album. His 1982 album Thriller remains the world's best-selling record of all time. Jackson began his career as a child in family group The Jackson 5. He then went on to achieve global fame as a solo artist with smash hits such as Billie Jean and Bad. Thriller, released in 1982, is the biggest-selling album of all time, shifting 65m copies, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. He scored seven UK number ones as a solo artist and won a total of 13 Grammy awards. Michael Jackson popularised a dance technique called the moonwalk or backslide. Moonwalk presents the illusion that the dancer is stepping forward while actually moving backward. The dance move gained widespread popularity after being performed by Michael Jackson during his song ‘Billie Jean’ on the March 25, 1983. He published autobiography ‘Moon Walk’ in 1988. The book was edited by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and reached number one on the New York Times Best Seller list.

13. Sri Lankan Army killed Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam chief Velupillai Prabakaran with at least 18 top leaders including Pottu Amman, B. Nadesan and S. Pulithevan in an intense battle on May 18,2009. Prabhakaran founded LTTE on a culture of suicide attacks and had developed an aura of invincibility. He was the prime architect of the bloody 30-year civil war, and was responsible for the assassinations of several political leaders including India's Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in1991 and Sri Lankan President Premadasa in1993.

14. A 1973 batch IAS officer of the Gujarat cadre, Ashok Chawla was appointed Finance Secretary in the Government of India. Ashok Chawla hold various important portfolios in the field of economy, Industry, Chemicals & Fertilizers, Oil and Natural Gas, Insurance and infrastructure. He also worked as Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs and Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation. Also he was given Additional charge of the Department of Financial Services since May 1,2009.

15. 1975 batch IAS officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre H. S. Brahma took the charge of Secretary, Union Ministry of Poweron May 12,2009. He was earlier Special Secretary, National Disaster Management Authority in the Ministry of Home Affairs. 

16. 1971 batch IAS officer of Andhra pradesh cadre J S Sarma took the charge of the chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on May 14,2009. He succeeded Nripendra Misra who superannuated on March 22. After Nripendra Misra’s retirement AK Sawhney, the senior-most member in Trai had been acting as the TRAI chairman. TRAI is an independent regulator for all issues relating to telecom and broadcasting. The salary and emoluments for the TRAI chairman's position was recently increased to Rs 3 lakh per month, who holds a three-year term as the industry regulator.

17. Madhu Kannan was appointed managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on May 11,2009 by its board. Prior to his appointment, he was a managing director (corporate strategy) with Bank of America-Merrill Lynch based in New York. Kannan also held various senior roles across businesses at the NYSE Euronext. The post of CEO was lying vacant ever since its managing director, Rajnikant Patel, resigned abruptly in August 2008.

18. Pascal Lamy was reappointed director-general of World Trade Organisation. The General Council, on 30 April,2009 endorsed reappointment of Lamy for a second term of four years. He was elected unopposed for the post as none of the WTO's 153 member states put forward another candidate by the deadline of December 31, 2008. A French political advisor and businessman Pascal Lamy had worked as European Commissioner for Trade. He is also Honorary President of Paris-based think tank Notre Europe.

19. Leader of African National Congress (ANC), Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma took oath as fourth President of South Africasince the end of apartheid. He was administered the oath by Constitutional Court Chief Justice Pius Langa in front of Father of the Nation for the New South Africa and first black president Nelson Mandela and 30 Heads of States and Governments on May 10,2009 in Pretoria. Jacob Zuma, a self-taught man who fought the apartheid regime from inside South Africa and spent 10 years in prison in Robben Island along with Mandela succeeded outgoing President Kgalema Motlanthe. Jacob Zuma was the head of the ANC’s internal security wing during the struggle against apartheid. The election held in April 2009, his party ANC polled 65.9 per cent of the votes and narrowly missed getting the two-thirds majority in parliament.

20. Leader of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) Madhav Kumar Nepal sworn in by President Ram Baran Yadav as second Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal on May 25,2009. Earlier he received 359 votes out of the 601-member Constituent Assembly and was declared winner. Nepali Congress president Girija Prasad Koirala and senior congress leader Sher Bahadur Deuba proposed Madhav Kumar Nepal’s name while CPN-UML chairman Jhalanath Khanal and 21 other Constituent Assembly members supported it. The UCPN (Maoists) boycotted the election announcing they would not support the government. The CPN (unified) and the Janata Dal also boycotted the House. He replaced first Maoist prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda who had resigned on May 4, following a row over the tenure of Army chief General Rookmangud Katawal.

21. Sister Mary Prema was declared new superior general of the Missionaries of Charity, a congregation founded by Mother Teresa. German-born nun Mary Prema replaced Sister Nirmala Joshi, who was re-elected for the third time on 13 March,2009 but she requested to be relieved of her duties due to ailing health. Miss Joshi has led the congregation since 1997, after the death of Nobel laureate Mother Teresa. Missionaries of Charity (MoC)was established in Kolkata in 1950 by Mother Teresa. She was awarded Nobel Peace prize in 1979. MoC is a Roman Catholic religious order comprising of over 4500 sisters in 133 countries.

22. The government of India appointed Hardeep Singh Puri as India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations. He succeed Nirupam Sen, whose term ended March 31,2009. A 1974-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, Hardeep Singh Puri served as India’s ambassador to Brazil and prior to his new appointment, he was as secretary (economic affairs) in the external affairs ministry.

  

23. Horst Koehler was reelected as the President of Germany by a single vote for a second five year term on May 23,2009. The 1224-seat assembly members and state representatives of the country's 16 state legislatures, who include local television celebrities and sports stars, voted in a secret ballot. He had the backing of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats and the opposition Free Democrats. Horst Koehler received 613 votes while his opponent the center-left Social Democratic Party candidate Gesine Schwan secured 503 votes. Horst Koehler had been managing director of the International Monetary Fund between 2000 and 2004.

24.The ‘Time’ magazine has published Time 100 list of the World's Most Influential People’ in the category of political leaders, celebrities and academicians among others in the May 11,2009 annual Time 100 issue. World's Most Influential People list was prepared by magazine's editors and it was different from popular choice in TIME. com's online poll. Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani (31st) and Oscar winning Indian music director A R Rahman (59th) made it to the list. Democratic senator Edward Kennedy and British premier Gordon Brown made it to the first and second spot respectively. US secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in the eighth place, Pakistan army chief Ashfaq Kayani is sitting pretty at the 19th position, just a spot ahead of President Barack Obama. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos and media celebrity Oprah Winfrey also placed on the list. Sri Lankan performer in the ‘O Saya’ song of Slumdog Millionaire, Maya Arulpragasam placed 43rd.

25. The U.S. State Department's security director Gregory Starr was appointed new U.N. security chief overseeing the world body's far-flung security operations. Starr was given responsibility of protecting more than 285 U.S. embassies and consulates overseas as well as 100 domestic facilities. He replaced David Veness of Britain who resigned in June 2008 over the December 2007 truck bombing at U.N. offices and another building in Algiers that killed 17 U.N. staffers and injured 40 others.

KNOW INDIA: STATE- UTTAR PRADESH

• With a population of over 190 million people,it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity.
• 
  
  To get an idea of its massive size, the state of Uttar Pradesh is ten times as large as the nation of Belgium
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  . The Gangetic Plain composes about 75% of this area
  
  
  
• Uttar Pradesh is the most populous and fifth largest state of India. Only five countries of the world, China, the United States, Indonesia, Brazil and India itself have populations larger than that of Uttar Pradesh. Kanpur is the largest city of Uttar Pradesh and as per the 2001 census six cities of Uttar Pradesh, namely, Agra, Allahabad, Kanpur, Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi have population of over million.
• After independence, the state was renamed Uttar Pradesh ("northern province") by its first chief minister, Govind Ballabh Pant.
• Sucheta Kripalani served as India's first woman chief minister from October 1963 until March 1967, when a two-month long strike by state employees caused her to step down
• Uttar Pradesh is bounded by Uttarachal and Nepal in north, Madhya pradesh and Chattisgarh in south, Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi in west and Bihar and Jharkhand in east. 
• Kanpur is the largest shoe-manufacturing centre in the country.
• Uttar Pradesh is home to largest number of Small Scale industrial units in the country, with 12% of over 2.3 million units.
• British pop legend Cliff Richard was born in U.P
• Adolf Hitler, the Chancellor of Germany, was so impressed by Dhyan Chand's( A Resident of UP) performance in the Berlin Olympic hockey-finals that he offered to elevate 'Lance Naik' Dhyan Chand to the rank of a Colonel if he migrated to Germany; Chand had declined the offer
• Pilibhit is known for its wood-flutes and wooden footwear (Khadaon),Flutes are exported to Europe, America and other countries
• The Britishers gave it the name of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. In 1935 the name was shortened to "United Provinces". After Independence, the States of Rampur, Banaras and Tehri-Garhwal were merged with United Provinces. The name merged with United Provinces. The name of the United Provinces was changed to Uttar Pradesh in 1950.

CURRENT AFFAIRS 2009 PART 3

Indo-Russia Summit 2009 was held in Moscow

The international Coordinating Committee of the Man and the Biosphere Programme of UNESCO has included three biosphere reserves , Nokrek (Meghalaya), Simplipal (Orissa) and Pachmarhi (Madhya Pradesh) in the World Network of Biosphere Reserves during 2009. 

India and Afghanistan have decided to establish a new dialogue architecture to further improve bilateral ties and bring renewed focus to rebuilding and restoration of the war-ravaged country. 
The two sides agreed to set up an India-Afghanistan Partnership Council that will consist of seven groups.

A towering bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi, made by an Indian sculptor, was unveiled in Leicester , cementing the city’s reputation as ``Little India” and bringing to a happy end a two-year row that nearly scuppered the project

The six-year British military occupation of Iraq ended a month ahead of schedule, amid conflicting claims whether it was worth the cost and loss of lives.

Kazakhstan will supply over 2,000 tones of uranium to India for its existing nuclear plants. Both sides are negotiating the price.

India is ready to buy about $10 billion (around Rs. 50,000 crore) of International Monetary Fund bonds

The African National Congress (ANC) has registered a massive win in South Africa’s general election, the fourth since the end of apartheid in 1994. With 65.9 per cent of the vote in the hybrid proportional electoral system, it has won 264 seats in the 400-seat parliament. The ANC Party President: Jacob Zuma

This UN convention was signed in 1972. The convention recognizes about 850 sites all over the world as World Heritage sites and protects them.

Director General of UNESCO: Koichiro Matsuura

Turkey and Armenia have adopted a roadmap to normalize ties after years of hostility which saw the two countries closing their borders in 1993. The two nations, which share a bitter history since the killings of Armenians by Ottoman forces in 1915, took the step following intensive mediation by Switzerland.

The ICC has formed a five-member panel to look into the concerns of the Board of Control for Cricket in India about the ‘whereabouts’ clause in the World Anti-Doping Agency’s code. The panel includes former Test captain Anil Kumble, BCCI secretary N. Srinivasan and ICC’s Principal Adviser I.S. Bindra.

The government will upgrade the inflation indices to better represent economic reality.The upgrade will include a better representation for services and will also change the base year from 1993-94 to 2004-05. 

It became the first state in the country to bring in reservations based on economic backwardness. Rajasthan Governor Shailendra Kumar Singh finally approved the Bill, which provides 5% reservation to Gurjars and three other communities, besides 14% reservation to the Economically Backward Classes (EBCs). 

The establishment of the Armed Forces Tribunal, an exclusive court for the members of the Army, Navy and the Air Force will enhance their confidence and trust levels in the system of dispensation of justice in relation to their service matters. Hence, it marks an important milestone in the history of the armed forces in India.

The UPA government raised reservation for women at all tiers of the panchayat raj system from 33 to at least 50 per cent.The Cabinet also cleared the proposal to amend Article 243(D) of the Constitution for the purpose. The Ministry of Panchayati Raj has been directed to draft a bill for making the amendment. 

The Union Cabinet approved a proposal to set up seven Indian Institutes of Management in Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand. 

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the establishment of a permanent research base at Larsemann Hills region in East Antarctica during the XIth Five Year Plan period at a total cost of Rs.287 crore to meet the logistic and scientific objectives. 

Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) is used extensively for the operational monsoon rainfall activity prognosis in India through diagnostic and modeling efforts. The actual rainfall over any region however depends on the local conditions and factors.

China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) kicked off a grand ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of its Navy. The PLA Navy was founded on April 23, 1949, with nine warships and 17 boats obtained after a unit of the Kuomintang’s second coastal defence fleet defected to the PLA.A total of 21 naval vessels from 14 countries including India and delegations from 29 countries will join the parade. INS Mumbai and INS Ranveer, the guided missile corvette INS Khanjar and the tanker INS Jyoti are participating in the review. Pakistani warships also are taking part. 

The Arab League summit opened in Doha, capital of Qatar, amid rifts within the Arab ranks which were widened during the 22-day Gaza war.

A grand ceremony celebrating Tibet’s first Serfs Emancipation Day was held in front of the Potala Palace in the Tibet Autonomous Region

India and Bangladesh have renewed the Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Travel for two more years. The bilateral agreement which was to expire on March 31 is for the use of waterways for commerce and keeping river routes navigable. The protocol, signed in 1972, is renewed every two years. Both countries allow each other four points as ports of call to ferry goods.

A Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is getting ready to put in orbit Israeli satellite RISAT in the first week of April.The vehicle, PSLV-C12, will also deploy a mini-satellite called Anusat, built by Anna University, Chennai. RISAT is a radar-imaging satellite used for remote-sensing. It can take pictures of the earth 24 hours of the day, through rain and cloud. The satellite has already reached Sriharikota from Israel.Anusat, an amateur communications satellite weighing 38 kg, was integrated at the Madras Institute of Technology, Chennai, of Anna University. This is the second time that the ISRO will be putting in orbit a satellite from Israel. On January 21, 2008, a PSLV deployed in orbit Tecsar, also a radar-imaging, remote-sensing satellite.

Soldiers broke into an unoccupied presidential palace on Monday and took it over in a symbolic show of force after Madagascar’s Opposition leader called on the army to arrest the President.Madagascar's President Marc Ravalomanana has stepped down and transferred power to the military.

The number of internet users worldwide is expected to touch 2.2 billion by 2013 and India is projected to have the third largest online population by then, according to a report by technology and market research firm Forrester Research. Globally, there were about 1.5 billion internet users in 2008. The number of internet users In Indian was estimated to be 52 million in 2008.

INS Arihant, India’s nuclear-powered submarine, will be fitted with India’s own K-15 ballistic missiles that can be launched from under water. The K-15 missiles, which are already under production, can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads. They have a range of 700 km. They are 10.4 metres tall and weigh 6.3 tonnes each.

High-profile Information Technology expert and Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani took charge as Chairman of the newly created Unique Identification Authority of India (UIAI) and promised to roll out the first set of unique identification numbers within 12-18 months.

India’s first indigenous nuclear-powered submarine will be launched at Vishakapatnam for trial on July 26.The top-secret ‘Advanced Technology Vessel’ (ATV) project will re-induct India into the exclusive club of five countries that operate nuclear submarines, called silent killers for their extensive ability to remain under water because of nuclear-powered engines unlike the diesel electric versions that have to come up to recharge their batteries and thus stand a greater chance of being spotted. 

Chief Justice of India K. G. Balakrishnan has named Justice B. Sudershan Reddy of the Supreme Court as the chairman of the three-member panel set up by the Rajya Sabha to look into the issue of impeachment proceedings against Justice Soumitra Sen of the Calcutta High Court.

Jagadis Chandra Bose (1858-1937), arguably the first ‘modern’ scientist to have emerged from India. This year marks the 150th birth anniversary of J.C. Bose, who made seminal scientific discoveries and technological inventions at the world level, in two s eemingly unconnected areas of science and technology — electromagnetism and plant physiology. This was unique for a modern scientist.In 1895, Bose successfully demonstrated in public in colonial Calcutta the wireless transmission of electromagnetic waves.

Mahatma Gandhi’s personal belongings were bought for $1.8 million (Rs. 9.3 crore) by industrialist Vijay Mallya, who said he “bid for the country” at the auction after last-ditch attempts by India to stall the sale fell through.

Forty years ago on March 3, 1969, Howrah-New Delhi Rajdhani Express, the country’s first superfast passenger train, was flagged off from Howrah station. At the time of its inception 40 years ago, it was the fastest mode of transport on land to travel between the country’s political and cultural capitals – New Delhi and Kolkata.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave its approval for NTT Docomo, Japan, to subscribe to and acquire 27 per cent of the equity (about 110 crore shares) in Tata Teleservices and acquire 20.25 per cent of the equity (about 38 crore shares) in Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) and convert it from an operating company into an operating-cum-holding company. These would result in an FDI inflow of about Rs. 12,924 crore and about Rs. 949 crore respectively

Smile Pinki, the tale of an Uttar Pradesh girl and her fight against the social stigma of a cleft lip, won the Oscar award for Best Documentary (Short). Directed by Emmy award-winning Megan Mylan, the film was shot in Mirzapur and Varanasi of Uttar Pradesh.

The Planning Commission  recommended mahanavratna status to Bhel, Bharat Petroleum, Hindustan Aeronautics, Hindustan Petroleum, Indian Oil, NMDC, Power Grid Corporation, REC and SAIL. 

The Indian Air Force (IAF) will be conducting major operational exercises for eight days across the southern peninsula, including over key offshore installations on the east coast, and the Lakshadweep and Minicoy Islands in the south-west. Called ‘Dakshin Prahar 09’ (Southern Attack) the exercises are being coordinated by the Thiruvananthapuram-headquartered Southern Air Command (SAC).

India’s second humanoid robot, which was formally unveiled during Quark 2009, the ongoing three-day technical festival, at BITS Pilani Goa campus on the first day of the festival, was the cynosure of all eyes.Acyut 2’s predecessor, Acyut 1, India’s first humanoid robot, was showcased at the RoboGames 2008 in San Francisco last year and it managed to get the sixth position among 30 to 32 countries that participate in the games.

Terror-hit Mumbai now has a message of peace for the world. The Global Vipassana Pagoda, the largest stone dome in the world built without supporting pillars, was inaugurated by President Pratibha Patil on the outskirts of Mumbai.

The Union government named Kiran Karnik chairman of Satyam Computer Services. 
It also expanded the “serious fraud” probe to cover 325 firms and 25 individuals related to the Hyderabad-based IT major and family members of its former chairman B. Ramalinga Raju.

S. S. N. Moorthy took over as the new Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) following the retirement of N. B. Singh

K.C. Verma, the Internal Security Adviser to Home Minister P. Chidambaram, will be the next chief of country’s external intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).

The river has again found mention in the list of the worst polluted ones drawn up by the Central Pollution Control Board.According to the latest status of water quality in India-2007 released by the Board, the Yamuna’s water quality at Okhla and Nizammudin bridges has been described as the worst affected.

The World Bank has developed a new Investment Climate Index to help identify the key challenges and bottlenecks to be overcome in attracting business investment.Having identified 46 variables descriptive of the business environment in the 16 States, the researcher grouped them into three categories: inputs, infrastructure and institutions.

Radha Vinod Raju, a senior IPS officer of Jammu and Kashmir cadre, has been appointed the first Director-General of the National Investigation Agency (NIA)

The Centre has decided to accede to confer the status of classical languages on Kannada and Telugu. This follows the recommendation of the Committee of Linguistic Experts set up by the government.

The Union government ordered the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) to probe the scam in Satyam Computer Services in view of the grave nature of the economic offences committed by the Hyderabad-based IT major.Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) is a multidisciplinary body with officials from various government arms having expertise in finance, capital market, accountancy, forensic audit, taxation, law, information technology, company law, customs and income tax. It is headed by Mr. Ajay Nath.

The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has signed an agreement with the Mizoram government for execution of 460 mega watt Kolodyne Stage II Hydro Electric Project on the Kolodyne river in Sahia and Lawngtlai districts of Mizoram. It will be the NTPC’s first hydro power project in the northeast and the second in the country after the 800 mega watt Koldam hydel power project in Himachal Pradesh. The NTPC is currently building the 750 mega watt Salakati thermal power project in lower Assam.

Allen Stanford, a Texan billionaire is best known for sponsoring the $1 million West Indies Twenty20 last year. He has now gone into hiding, even as US authorities are investigating him for defrauding investors and running a Bernard Madoff style ponzi scheme.

Terrorism and legal matters — including the implementation of the SAARC Regional Convention on Suppression of Terrorism and its Additional Protocol and the SAARC Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters —are high on the agenda of the SAARC Foreign Ministers’ conference scheduled to be held in Colombo on February 27 and 28.

A material known as lonsdaleite has displaced diamond as the "world's hardest material".

U.S. Special Envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan is Richard Holbrooke. He had earlier visited Pakistan and interacted with its entire leadership, including the President, Prime Minister, army chief and head of the Inter Services Intelligence.
Mr. Holbrooke’s brief, according to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, is to bring about greater political cohesion between the Pakistani and Afghan leadership as the U.S. sought to lead the ‘war on terrorism’ in the region.

Iran has successfully placed into orbit its first domestically made satellite, using an indigenous launcher.The Safir-2 rocket carried into space the satellite, named Omid (hope). Iran’s Press TV said the Safir-2 rocket was an upgraded version of Safir-1, which had been tested earlier. 

“Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention” which is being hosted by Chennai from January 7 to 9, is the biggest ever coming together of Persons of Indian Origin and NRIs, the convention is expected to attract 1,500 delegates

Russian turbofan engines that will power the indigenous intermediate jet trainer (IJT) are scheduled to arrive here on Sunday. With stability tests and acceptance test procedures completed, the three AL-55I engines, designed and developed by Russia’s NPO Saturn, were airlifted from Zhukovsky, near Moscow. These are to be fitted on the IJT’s Prototype Trainer One (PT1). 

The Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh (the National Population Stabilisation Fund) will focus on involving the civil society in ‘responsible parenthood strategy’, called ‘Prerna’. Prerna is a monetary incentive strategy aimed at pushing up the age of marriage of girls and delay the birth of the first child in the interest of health of young mothers and infants, particularly among those living below the poverty line, where child marriage and early motherhood is highly prevalent. 
The couple become eligible for monetary reward if the girl is married at the age of 19, has her first child after she is 21 years, and the gap between the first and the second child is 36 months. It is also important that the parents undergo sterilisation after the second child.

Iraqi voters went to the polls to elect representatives for 440 seats in 14 out of total of 18 provinces in Iraq. More than 14,400 candidates including 3,900 women are contesting the provincial polls.

The United States endorsed China’s move to patrol the Gulf of Aden and saw it as part of an international effort to deal with piracy in the region.

Reliance Petroleum (RPL) announced commissioning of its only-for-exports oil refinery in a SpecialEconomicZone at Jamnagar in Gujarat.
The commissioning of the 580,000 barrels a day (29 million tonnes a year) capacity refinery by RPL, a unit of Mukesh Ambani-run Reliance Industries, will make Jamnagar the biggest oil refining hub in the world.

Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed, on his maiden visit to India after being elected to the top job, has invited Indian Industry to pick up stakes in Maldives government-owned industries in the areas of electricity, construction, water, sanitation, transport and fisheries.

Reliance Infrastructure has emerged as the sole bidder for the 135 km greenfield Eastern Peripheral Expressway project covering Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh on build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis being offered by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). The project would entail an investment of Rs. 2,676 crore and involves construction of greenfield six lane expressway with access control highway connecting Faridabad-Noida-Gaziabad-Sonepat which will also act as bypass to Delhi with a concession period of 20 years.

Ministry of Environment and Forests has agreed in principle to the construction of the Renuka Dam in Himachal Pradesh. The Dam, on the Giri River, will offer a storage capacity of 542 million cubic meters of water and an installed capacity of 40 MW of power and will supply Delhi with an additional 275 MGD of water.

Environmental clearance has been granted to the 2000 MW Lower Subansiri Hydro Power project in the border State of Arunachal Pradesh. The Lower Subansiri Hydropower project envisages the setting up of eight hydropower units of 250 MW each on the lower reaches of river Subansiri in Arunachal Pradesh’s Lower Subansiri district

ICICI Bank has named Chanda Kochhar as the successor of K V Kamath to the post of CEO and Managing Director; she was instrumental in setting up and scaling up the retail business for ICICI bank.

NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul scripted history by becoming the first Asian to preside over the House of Lords which, coincidentally, witnessed an absorbing debate on the Mumbai terror attacks and Sachin Tendulkar’s match-winning century against England. Conferred the Peerage in 1996 and honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 1983, Lord Paul (77) is one of the most famous entrepreneurs of Indian origin based in Britain. He is the founder of Caparo, a U.K.-based multinational steel and engineering group, with an annual turnover of £1.5 billion.

Ricardian equivalence, is an economic theory which suggests that it does not matter whether a government finances its spending with debt or a tax increase, the total level of demand in an economy will be the same. It was proposed, and then rejected, by the 19th century economist David Ricardo. Germany is perhaps the only country that is well-placed to raise taxes to fight the current recession. Spending packages enacted by it to fight slumps in the 1970s produced little but new debt. Since then the prevailing wisdom has been that they do not work. Governments that boost spending in bad times rarely reduce it back later. When people see that debts, and thus taxes, are heading up they tend to save more rather than spend. So, the demand stays the same; thus bringing in Ricardian equivalence

Slovakia becomes the 16th country to adopt the Euro. The Euro was launched exactly 10 years ago. Slovakia abandoned its currency, koruna and adopted the Euro. Slovakia's PM is Robert Fico.

Six Russian warships, including a nuclear-powered missile cruiser, will take part in a joint naval exercise with the Indian Navy in the Arabian Sea by January end.
Called “INDRA,” the exercise is part of the biennial India-Russian Naval exercises programme. It is aimed at boosting cooperation between the two navies in maritime law, anti-piracy operations, counter-terrorism and drug smuggling.
The first exercise was held in 2003, and according to Russian news agency RIA Novosti, the current exercise will involve a number of live-fire drill.

The Illinois House voted overwhelmingly to impeach Gov. Rod Blagojevich, an unprecedented action that sets up a State Senate trial on whether he should be thrown out for abuse of power, including allegations that he tried to sell President-elect Barack Obama’s vacant Senate seat.

Russia has cut natural gas supplies to neighbouring Ukraine on Thursday after talks on gas prices for 2009 fell through.Russia’s gas monopoly Gazprom said it had halted deliveries to Ukraine following the expiry of the 2008 contract. 

Pakistani former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was among the seven international personalities was honoured on the occasion of 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with an Award.

European investors face billions of dollars losses in the wake of disclosure of "Ponzi" scheme run by Bernard Madoff, now being investigated by the American authorities. A ponzi scheme is a type of securities fraud where the promoter makes some sort of false or misleading statement about an investment (often including a guaranteed high rate of return) and pays off older investors with newer investors money. Madoff's investment funds was run mainly through its Optimal Strategic US Equity fund.