CURRENT NATIONAL AFFAIRS: NOV – DEC 2008

Mumbai terror attack:

On November 29, 2008, Commandos of the National Security Guard ended the
takeover of the iconic Taj Mahal hotel by terrorists since late November 26-night
when the last of the three gunmen who were playing a cat and mouse game with
the soldiers were shot dead. The number of dead during the terror attack across
the Mumbai city was pegged at 185. The list of dead includes 22 foreigners, two
NSG commandos, 15 Maharashtra police personnel, one RPF constable and two
Home Guards. Hemant Karkare, Chief of Maharashtra ATS, Ashok Kamte, Addl
Commissioner of Police, Vijay Salaskar, Police Inspector, Sandeep Unnikrishnan,
Major, NSG, Gajender Singh, Havildar, NSG gave their lives to save Mumbai from
the terror attack. While one terrorist was captured alive, nine gunmen were killed
in the firefight with the security forces at Oberoi-Trident Hotel, Taj Hotel, Nariman
House and Chhatrapati Shivaji Rail Terminus.

Congress retains Delhi for record third time:

The Congress government in Delhi, led by Mrs Sheila Dikshit was voted back to
power for the third straight time, a record for any Chief Minister of Delhi. The
Congress in Delhi had begun its campaign as the underdog but ultimately the
electorate gave its thumbs-up for the good governance and developmental work
done in last five years. The defeat was shocking for the BJP who had been quite
confident of winning in Delhi this time. BJP blamed the fractious rivalry in the
party for the defeat. Congress got 42 seats in the 70-member Legislative
Assembly, five less than it got in 2003 elections. BJP got 23 seats, three more than
last time. BSP won 2 and others 2. Elections were held for 69 seats.

BJP retains Madhya Pradesh:

The BJP’s second consecutive victory in Madhya Pradesh had several unique
features. The cleverest was the BJP decision to fight on the development plank.
The party put its saffron agenda on the backburner and banked on development,
instead. The BJP also took a leaf out of Narendra Modi’s strategy book and
changed more than one-third of its sitting MLAs. And the gambit paid off.
Although the number of seats has been reduced the BJP won on positive votes,
unlike the last time when it rode a massive anti-incumbency wave. BJP won 144
seats this time, again 173 in 2003. Congress improved its tally from 38 to 70 this
time. BSP got 7 seats and Others 9 in the 230-member Legislative Assembly.

BJP retains Chhattisgarh:

It was a divided house that brought the Congress down in the Chhattisgarh
Assembly elections and helped the BJP return to power for the second time in a
row. The BJP even retained the Naxal-dominated tribal areas like Bastar and
Ambikapur. At one stage it looked like a close call, but the BJP did manage to
wrest power. The Congress campaign focused on corruption and on the
government’s virtual absence in the Naxalite areas. But the BJP side-stepped the
corruption charges by dropping one-third of its sitting MLAs. BJP has won 50 seats
in the 90-member Legislative Assembly, same as in 2003. Congress got 38 seats,
one more than last time. BSP won 2 seats.

Congress is back in Rajasthan:

The Congress has won 96 seats in the 200-member Assembly and has formed the
government with the help of like-minded parties and victorious Congress rebels.
The BJP won only 78 seats. The outcome was seen as a vote against Chief Minister
Vasundhara Raje’s personalized style of functioning.

Congress sweeps Mizoram:

The Congress has not only set an electoral record in Mizoram by bagging 32 seats,
it has also reinforced the party’s hold in the Northeast, with four States in the
region now under its belt. The ruling Mizo National Front could win only three
seats in the 40-member Assembly. Since its Statehood in 1986, Mizoram had
always denied two-thirds majority to any single party. Even the legendary
Laldenga’s Mizo National Front, which rode the peace accord wave, won only 24
seats in 1987. Congress leader Lalthanhawla, who has taken over as the Chief
Minister, said the electorate wanted to be a part of the Indian dream and “we
hope to provide that change”.
Visit of President Pratibha Patil to Vietnam and Indonesia:

President of India, Pratibha Patil went on a 10-day visit to Vietnam and Indonesia
from November 24, 2008. The visit aimed to boost India’s policy of ‘look east’. The
visit helped to further expand the bilateral ties of India with the two ASEAN
fraternity countries. During her 10-day stint, the President held talks with the
leaders of the two countries for enhancing bilateral relations. Besides discussing
slew of issues concerning the three countries, the visit focused on intensifying
trade and investment. Over the years, both Vietnam and Indonesia have seen
impressive growth rates. The visit also helped to gauge the economic, political
and cultural relations of the three nations.

India to attend meeting on Turkish pipeline project:

India has decided to attend a trilateral meeting along with Turkey and Israel to
join a pipeline project that may help it access crude supplies from Central Asia
and the Caspian region. The first leg of the proposed pipeline will supply crude
from the Caspian region to Ceyhan port on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast. After
the crude reaches the Ceyhan port, it will be transported through an undersea
pipeline to Israel from where it would be connected to the Ellat port on the Red
Sea. It is from here that India could take crude through tankers and avoid the
choke points of Suez Canal.
Visit of President Mubarak of Egypt:

Picking up the threads of a relationship that had gone dry for almost a quarter of
a century, India and Egypt on November 18, 2008, took the high road, setting up a
strategic dialogue and signing a rash of agreements during President Hosni
Mubarak’s first visit to India in 25 years. India and Egypt signed five agreements,
including an extradition treaty and one on
cooperation in outer space and an MoU for cooperation in trade and economic
fields.

Germany wants greater Indian role to tackle recession:

In his first-ever visit to India in November 2008, German Foreign Minister Frank-
Walter Steinmeier had a full agenda. In his conversations with counterpart Pranab
Mukherjee Steinmeier focused on the raging financial crisis, particularly as
Germany slides into recession.

India-South Korea free trade talks conclude:

India has concluded free trade negotiations with South Korea. The India-Korea
Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with South Korea covers
trade in goods as well as ser-vices, measures for trade facilitation and promotion,
facilitation and liberalization of investment flows, measures for promoting
bilateral economic cooperation in identified sectors among other things. One
interesting thing about the Indo-Korea trade agreement is that a positive list
approach for services is being followed, unlike with other countries where a
negative list approach is followed.

Britain lifts ban on N-exports to India:

On November 10, 2008, Britain announced the lifting of a ban on exporting

sensitive nuclear technology to India for civilian projects giving momentum to
resumption of global atomic cooperation with New Delhi after the end of its over
three-decade nuclear apartheid. The change in the position of the British
government, a strong supporter of the Indo-US nuke deal, followed the Nuclear
Suppliers Group (NSG) waiver in September 2008 that brought India back into the
nuclear mainstream.

Prime Minister’s visit to Oman and Qatar:

On November 8, 2008, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh left on a three-day visit

to the Sultanate of Oman and Emirate of Qatar to further boost the bilateral ties
between the countries. India and Qatar signed two agreements on defence and
security during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit. Accelerating efforts to
prop up growth as the global slump is threatening their ascending economic
trajectory, India and Oman put together a $100-million fund for financing multi-
sector projects in the two countries.
Mega Stimulus package to revive the economy:

Following are the highlights of the mega-stimulus package announced by the

government to boost the economy: Additional plan expenditure of up to Rs
20,000 crore (Rs 200 billion); Excise duty reduced across the board by 4 per cent;
IIFCL authorised to raise Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion) via tax-free bonds; PSU
banks to announce package for borrowers of home loans; Rs 350 crore (Rs 3.50
billion) additional funds for export incentives; Back-up guarantee to ECGC for up
to Rs 350 crore; 2 per cent interest subvention for labour-intensive exports; Rs
1,100 crore (Rs 11 billion) to ensure full refund of Terminal Excise duty; Additional
Rs 1,400 crore (Rs 14 billion) for textile sector under TUF Scheme; The guarantee
cover for loans to MSME doubled to Rs 1 crore (Rs 10 million); The lock-in period
for such collateral-free loans reduced; Government departments allowed to take
up replacement of vehicles; Import duty on naphtha for power sector eliminated;
Export duty on iron ore fines eliminated.

CURRENT INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Global economic downturn:

The US Federal Reserve launched an $ 800 billion plan on November 25, 2008, to
buy mortgage-related debt and back consumer loans as it tries to revive the US
lending market and steer the global economy away from a deep recession.
Citigroup, once perceived as the world’s smartest financial services house, also
got a US government support of $ 326 billion. On November 9, 2008 China also
announced a whopping $ 570 billion stimulus package to boost domestic demand
and a slew of macro-economic measures to ease credit crunch to offset the
adverse impact on its economy from the global economic crisis. Finance and
Central Bank officials from Japan, South Korea and China met Southeast Asian
counterparts in first week of November 2008 to devise an action plan to prevent
the global financial crisis from destabilizing the regional economy. While the G-20
economies agreed to take fiscal stimulus measures to stave off a deep recession,
Trade and Foreign Ministers from the US, China and other economies around the
Pacific Rim called for new free trade deals as a way out of the global economic
crisis.

Japan slips into recession:

Japan slid into its first recession in seven years in the third quarter of 2008 as
exports crumbled, and some analysts said an escalation in the global financial
crisis may have put the economy on course for its longest-ever contraction. The
0.1% contraction in July-September gross domestic product barely captured the
impact of the financial fire-storm that began in mid-September, wrecking Wall
Street banks, triggering a stock market crash in Tokyo and a yen rally that may hit
exporters even harder.
Euro zone in recession:

Recession has hit much of Europe, as per the latest data, confirming a widespread
economic downturn. The worst financial crisis in 80 years has weakened the
world’s major economies and the euro zone said growth fell 0.2% for the second
quarter in a row. It was the first time the 15-nation bloc has suffered recession
since the common European currency was formed. European Commission
President Jose Manual Barroso said he hoped to draw more emerging economies
into global financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, saying
Europeans were ready to lower their representation to make more room for
countries such as China.

Pak-IMF accord on bailout:

Pakistan has reached an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
for a $ 7.6 billion bailout package. IMF will provide this loan at interest rate
ranging between 3.51 and 4.51 per cent and its repayment will be made in five
years beginning from 2011. The credit is five times Pakistan’s quota and falls short
of its expectation of at least a $ 9 billion package. It will be used only to bolster
central banks reserves in order to avoid possible default on payments. The IMF
will release $4 billion as the first tranche of the loan in 2008 while the rest will be
provided next year.
Nama-11 opposes US, EU push on sectoral initiatives:

India and some other developing country members of the World Trade
Organisation (WTO) have opposed efforts being made by members like the US
and the EU to make it mandatory for all members to participate in talks for
eliminating tariffs in select sectors like textiles and leather. The Nama-11 group of
countries, which has eleven members including India, Brazil and Argentina, have
emphasized that the mandate of the on-going Doha negotiations was to make
sectoral negotiations voluntary and not mandatory. Sectoral initiative is aimed at
eliminating tariffs in select areas by WTO members on a reciprocal basis.

G-20 summit:

Global leaders showed a united front against the financial crisis at an emergency
summit in November 2008, but offered mostly promises of future cooperation.
Heads of the Group of 20 industrial and developing nations vowed bold action in a
host of areas from enhanced oversight of financial markets to reform of the IMF
and World Bank and urged governments to implement appropriate fiscal and
monetary policies to shore up sagging economic growth. But the group left most
of the tough decisions to future meetings.

BIMSTEC Summit:

The Bay of Bengal Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic
Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Summit was held in New Delhi in November 2008 to firm
up a strategy to combat terrorism and to work out a free trade agreement among
the seven members of the grouping. The convention on combating terrorism was
among the four agreements signed. The other three agreements related to the
setting of an energy centre, a climate centre and a cultural observatory.

China, Taiwan hold historic meeting:

On November 22, 2008, Chinese President Hu Jintao met with a senior Taiwan
envoy in the highest-level meeting to take place overseas between the rivals since
their split in 1949. Taiwan’s former premier Lien Chan, who is honorary chairman
of the island’s ruling Kuomintang party, met with Hu for about 40 minutes at a
hotel in Lima, Peru, where leaders were meeting for an Asia-Pacific summit. China
has historically opposed any hint of international recognition of democratic
Taiwan, which Beijing considers a part of its territory awaiting reunification, by
force if necessary. The latest meeting was the latest step forward for the two Cold
War rivals, whose relations have improved dramatically in 2008.

Indonesia executes Bali bombers:

On November 8, 2008 Indonesia executed three Islamists sentenced to death for

the Bali bombings which killed 202 people, sparking clashes between the police
and their emotional supporters. Amrozi, 47, his brother Mukhlas, 48, and ring-
leader Imam Samudra, 38, were killed with shots to the heart in an orange grove
near their prison on Nusakambangan island off southern Java. The 2002 attack
targeted packed nightspots on the holiday island of Bali, killing more than 160
foreigners including 88 Australians as well as 38 Indonesians.

UN OKs sanctions on Somali pirates:

The UN Security Council has voted unanimously to impose sanctions on pirates,

arms smugglers, and perpetrators of instability in Somalia in a fresh attempt to
help end years of lawlessness in the Horn of Africa nation. The 15-nation Council
endorsed a British plan for a panel to recommend people and entities whose
financial assets would be frozen and who would face a travel ban. It also reaffirms
an arms embargo. Enforcing the sanctions poses steep challenges as those
responsible for much of the anarchy plaguing the country are well outside any
traditional finance system.

UN says pollution has levelled off:

Emissions from industrialized countries plateaued in 2006 after six years of

growth, according to the United Nations. But the countries have not yet reported
emission from the past two years, and the new report did not include large
emerging economies such as India and China. The UN report was released two
weeks before the world’s environmental ministers were to meet in Poland to
discuss ways to curb greenhouse gases and against the backdrop of the global
financial crisis. Overall, among the 40 industrialized countries that reported to the
UN, emissions had increased by 2.5% from 2000 to 2006, leading the climate
panel to denounce what it called “continued growth”.
Thai PM declares state of emergency; resigns:

Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat declared a state of emergency on

November 27, 2008, as anti-government protesters swarmed Bangkok’s second
major airport amid a month- long political crisis that threatened to sever key links
between one of the Southeast Asia’s biggest economies and the outside world.
The developments—coming a day after thousands of protesters took over the
country’s main international airport—intensified speculation that Thailand could
be heading for another military coup. However, on December 2, 2008, Prime
Minister Somchai Wongsawat resigned after the country’s constitutional court
outlawed the three ruling parties for electoral fraud, with ecstatic anti-
government protesters announcing the end of siege on the two main airports.

100 nations sign cluster-bomb ban:

Leaders from more than 100 countries have signed a global ban on the use of
cluster bombs. The treaty, which was negotiated in Dublin in May, 2008, bans the
production, use and trade of cluster munitions. Cluster weapons—criticized for
carrying a high risk of maiming or killing civilians—can be launched from the air or
via artillery shells and can disperse hundreds of bomblets over a target area.
Several non-governmental organisations and humanitarian groups had pushed for
the ban. However, the world’s largest producers and users of cluster bomb
munitions—the US, Russia, China, Israel, India and Pakistan—are not signatories
of the treaty. Norway started a campaign against cluster bombs in February 2007,
in part inspired by the successful grass-roots movement that led to a 1997 treaty
negotiated in Oslo barring anti-personnel mines.

Extra – GK
UN Security Council resolution 1816 relates efforts to combat piracy in
international waters especially around Gulf of Aden.

Haryana claims to have became the first State in India to complete the roll out of
rural Common Services Centres (CSCs) which will provide a range of Government
to Citizens (G2C) and Business to Citizens (B2C) services without the citizens
having to go far or face the harassment of visiting a government office repeatedly.

As many as seven Indians, including Srinath Narasimhan of Tata Communications

and Sunil Bharti Mittal of Bharti Enterprises have made it to the list of the world’s
100 most influential telecom leaders. Narasimhan is eighth in the list, and Mittal
35th. Google Chairman Eric Schimdt is on top of the chart, while Apple Chief Steve
Jobs is at the second position.

History was created at Hoshiarpur’s BSF subsidiary training, Kharkan, after the
first all-woman batch consisting of 179 women started its training in November
2008.

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) allows a coastal
country to go after a foreign ship if it has good reason to believe that the ship has
violated its laws and regulations. India is not a coastal country according to Article
111 of UNCLOS. India figures among 20 countries in the world where the gender
gap is the widest and stands sixth in economic inequality between men and
women, according to the World Economic Forum. The Global Gender gap report
2008 ranked India at 113th position among 130 countries in the list. Norway
achieved the highest ranking, followed by Finland and Sweden, with all three
countries scoring more than 80%. The rankings are based on four parameters:
economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, political
empowerment, and health and survival. India ranked 125th in terms of economic
participation and opportunity, 116th in educational attainment, 25th in terms of
political empowerment and 128th in health and survival.

The second summit of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical
and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) was held in Delhi in November 2008. Nepal,
Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Thailand and India are members of the
forum.

Reliance Industries’ Mukesh Ambani has overtaken NRI steel tycoon Lakshmi
Mittal as the richest Indian in the world, with a net worth of $ 20.8 billion,
according to Forbes Magazine. Mittal, who has moved to the second position with
a net worth of $ 20.5 billion, is followed by Mukesh’s younger brother Anil
Ambani, whose wealth stood at $ 12.5 billion. Telecom czar Sunil Mittal and
realtor K.P. Singh are ranked fourth and fifth with net worth of $ 7.9 billion and $
7.8 billion, respectively. Two women, Savitri Jindal and Indu Jain, made it to the
Forbes list. Savitri Jindal, chairperson of O.P. Jindal Group, is country’s richest
woman with a net worth of $ 2.9 billion and is ranked the 12th in Forbes’ India
Rich list. Bennett, Coleman & Co’s chairperson Indu Jain is at the 17th position.

Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) has decided to install a satellite-based

Real Time Decision Support System (RT-DSS) as a pilot project for the first time in
the country. It will help to monitor water flow of Sutlej on minute-to-minute
basis.

Roadrunner-blade Center of IBM, USA is the fastest super-computer of the world.

It is followed by Jaguar-Cray Cray Inc, USA, Plelades-sgialtix SGI, USA, BlueGene/l
IBM, USA, Blue Gene/P Solution IBM, USA, Ranger-Sunblade x6420 Sun
Microsystems, USA, Franklin-Cray XT4 Cray Inc, USA, Jaguar-Cray XT4 Cray Inc,
USA, Red Storm-Sandia/Cray Red Storm Cray Inc, USA, Dawning 5000A Dawning
Information Industry Co Ltd, China and Eka CRL, India.

Linking road in Mumbai has been rated the most expensive retail high-street
location in India.

A regional centre of UNESCO, for training and education in Biotechnology, will be

set up in Faridabad to act as the local point for cooperation in biotechnology
among the member countries of UNESCO in the Asian region.

India and Russia would hone in on anti-sea-piracy operations in the upcoming

INDRA-2009 joint naval exercise in the Indian Ocean in January 2009. This is the
fourth such exercise since 2003, under the inter- services cooperation agreement
between the two countries. Russia’s most potent nuclear-powered heavy missile
cruiser “Pyotr Veliky” will also join the joint naval war games.

Jan Aushadi is the first-ever generic drug store of India. It has been opened in
Amritsar, Punjab. The objective of the store is to provide essential medicines like
antibiotics, painkillers and anti-allergics at half the market rate.

World Aids Day is observed on December 1.