YEAR BOOK

2011

First Edition : 2011

Publisher & Chief Editor
D.V. RAGHURAM

GENERAL AWARENESS
SOCIO-ECONOMIC &
BANKING AWARENESS
The Best Stuff for all
Competitive Exams

Executive editor
P. SUBHASHINI

CONTENTS
AWARDS / PRIZES
5-26
PERSONS
27-40
APPOINTMENTS
41-46
S
DEATHS
47-50
N
PLACES
- TIO51-56
SPORTS
C- A 57-76
I
SPORTS AND THE TERMS UN
ASSOCIATED WITH THEM M
77-79
M
TROPHIES ASSOCIATED
CO WITH
VARIOUS SPORTSI&
A GAMES - 80-82
SUMMITS / CONFERENCES
83-90
ED
M
COMMITTEES
91-93
E
E
SCHEMESR
94
S
VISITS / TOURS
95-106
FINANCE & ECONOMY
CAPSULE
- 107-126
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
- 127-133
SPACE RESEARCH
- 134-138
DEFENCE NEWS
- 139-143

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

144-151

POLITICAL AFFAIRS

152-154

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

155-164

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

165-178

BOOKS - AUTHORS

179-188

IMPORTANT DAYS

IMPORTANT YEARS

-TI 194-196

ABBREVIATIONS

E
E
SR

IA
D
E
M

CAI
UN
M
M
CO

189-194
NS

197-212

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A WARDS / P RIZES

Indira Gandhi Peace Prize, 2010

Outgoing Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was
on 19th November selected for the prestigious Indira Gandhi Prize
for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2010. Lula has been
selected by an international jury chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh. The prestigious prize was given to Lula for his outstanding
contribution to the cause of eliminating hunger and promoting
inclusive growth in his country, his advocacy for strong ties among
the developing countries and for his significant contribution to the
cause of India-Brazil partnership, a statement from Indira Gandhi
Memorial Trust said.
Indira Gandhi Peace Prize:
The Indira Gandhi Peace Prize or the Indira Gandhi Prize for
Peace, Disarmament and Development is the prestigious award
accorded annually by India to individuals or organizations in recognition of creative efforts toward promoting international peace, development and a new international economic order; ensuring that
scientific discoveries are used for the larger good of humanity, and
enlarging the scope of freedom. The prize carries a cash award of
25 lakh Indian rupees and a citation. A written work, in order to be
eligible for consideration, should have been published. The panel
constituted by the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust consists of prominent national and international personalities including previous
recipients. The recipients are chosen from a pool of national and
international nominees.

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Recipients of Indira Gandhi Peace Prize

Year
1997
1999
2001
2003
2005
2007
2008
2010

Name of Recipient
Year
Name of Recipient
Jimmy Carter
1998 Muhammad Yunus
M S Swaminathan
2000 Mary Robinson
Sadako Ogata
2002 Shridath Ramphal
Kofi Annan
2004 Maha Chakri Sirindhorn
Hamid Karzai
2006 Wangari Maathai
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Mohamed ElBaradei
2009 Sheikh Hasina
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva

Environment award for Indian

Rajesh Shah of Bangalore has been honoured with the prestigious 2010 Intel Environment Award for his efforts to solve global
safe drinking water and sanitation crises.

Appleby Award
Vice-President Hamid Ansari will give away the prestigious
Paul H. Appleby Award for distinguished service to public administration for 2010 to Jaipur-based academician and management
expert Ramesh K. Arora at the Indian Institute of Public
Administration's annual general meeting in New Delhi.

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CNN-IBN Lifetime AchievementTAward
CA
Veteran agricultural scientist M. S. Swaminathan
has been
I
conferred the CNN-IBN Indian of the YearN2010 Lifetime AchieveU in the field of agriculment Award for his outstanding leadership
ture that has contributed to ensuring
food security for millions of
M
Indians. Union Finance Minister M
Pranab Mukherjee presented the
award to Dr. Swaminathan at aOfunction here. Dr. Swaminathan, a
C has worked consistently towards
statement from CNN-IBN noted,
the actualisation of his dream
of a hunger-free world with the help
Aof sustainable
I
of his innovative concepts
development, especially
ED of agriculture, food availability, and
with eco-friendly techniques
biodiversity conservation.
M
E
E Man Booker Prize
R
S writer and journalist Howard Jacobson's novel The
British

Finkler Question, a semi-autobiographical comic take on Jewish

identity, is the surprise winner of this year's Man Booker Prize. It was
not the unanimous choice of the jury and, in the end, two of the five
judges voted against it. Manchester born Mr. Jacobson, who lives in
London, beat two of the bookies' favourites Tom McCarthy's C
and Emma Donoghue's Room to win the 50,000 prize. Critics
were disappointed to see Australian writer Peter Carey miss out on
Parrot and Olivier in America. Had Mr. Carey won, he would have
become the first ever writer to win a Booker three times. Mr.
Jacobson's previously longlisted novels are Kalooki Nights and
Who's Sorry Now?

Nobel Prizes, 2010

India Science Award

Physiology or Medicine: Robert G. Edwards "for the

development of in vitro fertilization".
Physics: Awarded jointly to Andre Geim and Konstantin
Novoselov "for ground-breaking experiments regarding the twodimensional material graphene"
Chemistry: Awarded jointly to Richard F. Heck, Ei-ichi Negishi
and Akira Suzuki "for palladium-catalyzed cross couplings in organic
synthesis".
Economic Sciences: The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in
Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel was awarded jointly
to Peter A. Diamond, Dale T. Mortensen and Christopher A. Pissarides
"for their analysis of markets with search frictions".
Literature: Mario Vargas Llosa "for his cartography of
structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual's
resistance, revolt, and defeat".
Nobel Peace Prize: Awarded to Liu Xiaobo "for his long and
non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China".

World renowned statistician C.R. Rao received the India Science Prize in recognition of his outstanding work in statistics from
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Singh presented the award to
Rao, his friend, at the inaugural ceremony of the 21st general meeting of the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World, formerly
known as Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS). India Science
Prize, which carries a reward of Rs.25 lakh and a 200-gram gold
medal, was presented on behalf of the Indian National Science
Academy. It is the highest professional recognition that the country
offers to outstanding Indian scientist for the work done in India.

Winner's Name
Konstantin
Novoselov
Andre Geim
Liu Xiaobo

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Nobel Prize Winner - 2010
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Field
Country
Work
O For groundbreaking
CRussia
Physics
experi
ments regarding the twoA
I
dimensional material graphene.
PeaceD
China
The Nobel Peace Prize
E
2010 was awarded to
M
Liu Xiaobo "for his

EE
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Mario Vargas Llosa Literature

Peru

Robert G. Edwards Medicine

UK

Richard F. Heck
Chemistry
Ei-ichi Negishi
Akira Suzuki
Peter A. Diamond
Economics
Dale T. Mortensen
Christopher A. Pissarides

USA
USA
Japan
USA
USA
UK

long and non-violent

struggle for fundamental
human rights in China".
For his cartography of
structures of power and his
trenchant images of the
individual's resistance,
revolt, and defeat.
For the development of in
vitro fertilization.
For palladium-catalyzed
cross couplings in organic
synthesis.
For their analysis of
markets with search
frictions.

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Honorary Doctorate TI
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Bollywood actor Preity Zinta, known forCher performances in
I
films like Kal Ho Naa Ho and Veer Zaara, willNbe conferred a doctorate
by a leading U.K. university. Zinta, who has
distinction of
U the unique
addressing the Oxford Union on Wednesday,
will
receive the
M
doctorate from the University of East London. A versatile actor, Zinta
M Telugu, Punjabi and English.
has acted in over 30 films in Hindi,
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The 35-year-old star made herCacting debut with Mani Ratnams Dil
Se in 1998 followed by aArole in Soldier the same year. These
I a Filmfare Best Female Debut Award,
performances earned her
D
and she was later recognised
E for her role as a teenage single mother
in Kya Kehna (2000). Her first International film role was in the
M
Canadian film Heaven on Earth, for which she was awarded the
E
Silver Hugo Award
E for Best Actress at the 2008 Chicago International
R
Film Festival.
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Leelavathi Award

Well-known physicist-turned author, journalist and television

producer of Indian origin Simon Lehna Singh has been selected by
the International Mathematical Union for the Leelavathi Award in
recognition of his outstanding contribution to public outreach in
mathematics. Named after the immortal mathematical treatise of
the great Indian mathematician Bhaskaracharya, the award carries
a cash prize of Rs.10 lakh and a citation. It will be presented at the
closing ceremony of the International Congress of Mathematicians
(ICM), which will be held in Hyderabad from August 19 to 27. As of

now, the award is a one-time prize. Efforts are under way to make it
a regular feature at the future sessions of the ICM.
Dr. Singh was selected by a committee of five eminent
mathematicians, led by M.S. Narasimhan of the Indian Institute of
Science, Bangalore.

David Dixon award

Triple Jumper from Jamaica Trecia Kaye Smith was conferred with the prestigious David Dixon award. Bestowed to the best
athlete of the Games and named after the former honorary secretary of the Commonwealth Games Federation, the award was introduced in the Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games. Trecia Kaye
Smith is the third winner of the award which in earlier additions went
to Natalie Du Toit (RSA) in 2002 and Samresh Jung (IND) in 2006.

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Indira Gandhi AwardIC
N and Ramkrishna
Noted music composer A R Rahman
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Mission Ashram Narainpur were on Sunday jointly honoured with
M
the 25th Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration. Congress
M
President Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh gave
the award. Swami Vyaptanand received
CO the award on behalf of the
Ashram. The award carries a cash prize of Rs. five lakh and a citation.
IA in Narainpur in Bastar region of
The Ramkrishna Mission Ashram
D
Chhattisgarh was selected
E for the award for its work among the
Pahadi Madia tribals, while Rahman was honoured for bringing
together people of allM
ages and all lands on the uniform platform of
E song.
melody, rhythm E
and
SR Bihari Puruskar
Poet Hemant Shesh has been given the award for his
collection of poetry Jagah Jaisi Jagah. The award has been
instituted by the K.K. Birla foundation and is given to only Rajasthani
writers.

Dewang Mehta Award

Lt-Gen Dr D.D.S. Sandhu, Vice-Chancellor of Kurukshetra
University, has been selected for the Dewang Mehta Award for his
outstanding contribution to education. The Dewang Mehta Award is
conferred upon outstanding educationists and administrators who

10

have made significant contribution in the field of leadership in

education and management.

Mercy Ravi award

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has been selected for the
first Mercy Ravi award for exemplary contribution to public life by a
woman. The award, instituted by the Mercy Ravi Foundation, carries
a purse of Rs.1 lakh and citation. Making the declaration at a public
function organised on the occasion of the first death anniversary of
the former Congress leader here on Sunday, foundation chairman
P.V. Chandran said the date for presentation of the award would be
finalised in consultation with Ms. Dikshit later.

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Tagore award
CA a fast-unto-death
I
Irom Sharmila who has been observing
since November 4, 2000, demanding the repeal
UN of the Armed Forces
(Special Powers) Act was given the Rabindranath Tagore AwardM by the Indian Institute
2010 on September 11. The award, instituted
M
of Planning and Management (IIPM), carries Rs.51 lakh in cash, a
gold medal, a citation and a shawl.
CO The IIPM conferred the award on
16 people at a function in Kolkata on August 30. As the bed-ridden
Sharmila could not go there,
chairman M.K. Choudhury,
IAand IIPM
D
Registrar Ratna Choudhury
Dean Tarun Bose came to the J.N.
E
Hospital here to hand over the award to Ms. Sharmila.
M
ESahitya Akademi awards
E
EightRbooks of poetry, four novels, three collections of short
S
stories, four works of criticism, one travelogue, an autobiography
and a play were among the literary works in 22 languages that have
won the Sahitya Akademi Awards for 2010.
The awards announced here on Monday were recommended
by jury members representing 22 languages, and approved by the
Executive Board of Sahitya Akademi which met under the
chairmanship of its president Sunil Gangopadhyay.
The poets honoured are Aurobindo Uzir (Bodo), Arun
Sakhardande (Konkani), Gopi Narayan Pradhan (Nepali), Vanita
(Punjabi), Mangat Badal (Rajasthani), Mithila Prasad Tripathi
(Sanskrit), Laxman Dubey (Sindhi) and Sheen Kaaf Nizam (Urdu).
The novelists who have won the award are Bani Basu

11

(Bengali), Esther David (English), Dhirendra Mehta (Gujarati) and

M. Borkanya (Manipuri).
Uday Prakash (Hindi), Nanjil Nadan (Tamil) and Manoj (Dogri)
have won the awards for their short story collections.
Keshada Mahanta (Assamese), Rahamath Tarikere
(Kannada), Basher Bashir (Kashmiri) and Ashok R. Kelkar (Marathi)
won the awards for their books of criticism.
The other winners are the former Union Minister M.P.
Veerendra Kumar (Malayalam) for his travelogue, Pathani Pattnaik
(Oriya) for his autobiography and playwright Bhogla Soren (Santhali).
Sahitya Akademi secretary Agrahara Krishna Murthy said the
awards for Telugu and Maithili would be announced in a few weeks.
He said the books were selected on the basis of recommendations
made by a three-member jury in the respective languages.
The awards, which include a cash prize of Rs.1 lakh, will be
presented to the winners on February 15 next year during the Festival
of Letters in the capital. The festival will also include a seminar on
the works of Rabindranath Tagore. Akademi is instituting the Yuva
Sahitya Puraskar for debutant writers in Indian languages under the
age of 35 from next year. Earlier this year, the Akademi had instituted
the Bala Sahitya Puraskar for writers of children's literature.

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CO2007 and 2008
Jnanpith Award,
IA O.N.V. Kurup has been chosen
Eminent Malayalam litterateur
D
for the 2007 Jnanpith award.
E Noted Urdu poet Akhlaq Khan Shahryar
has been chosen forM
the 2008 award.
Born in 1931
E in Keralas Kollam district, Kurup is a leading
voice among theEcontemporary Malayalam poets. He has reinvented
R of Malayalam poetry through his long poems
the narrativeStransition
like Ujjayini and Swayamvaram.
Born in 1936 in a Muslim Rajput family in Uttar Pradeshs
Bareilly district, Shahryar shaped himself as an intellectual poet,
whose poetry strongly expresses an ideological non-commitment.
His roots lie in his desire for self-realisation and his attempt to
understand modern problems. Among his famous compositions
is: Seene Mein Jalan, Akhon Mein Toofan Sa Kyon Hai.

Dada Saheb Phalke Award, 2009

Telugu film actor-producer D. Ramanaidu has been selected
for the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke Award for 2009 for his

12

outstanding contribution to Indian cinema. The award comprises of

a Swarn Kamal, a cash prize of Rs one million and a shawl. The
industry veteran, who entered the film world in 1963 with "Anuragam",
is listed as the most prolific producer with 110 films by the Guinness
Book of Records. He has the distinction of producing movies in
Hindi, Bengali, Oriya, Assamese, Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada,
Gujarati, Marathi and Bhojpuri. Some of his well-known films are
Premanagar, Dildar and Bandish in Hindi, Srikrishna
Tulabharam, Preminchu and Ramudu Bheemudu in Telugu and
Asukh and Sudhu Ekbar Bolo in Bengali.

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Best feature film: Kutty Srank (Malayalam).
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Best Director: Rituparno Ghosh for Abohoman (Bengali).
A
Best Actor: Amitabh Bachchan for Paa (Hindi).
C
I
Best Actress: Ananya Chatterjee for Lahore (Hindi).
Nfor Lahore (Hindi).
Best supporting actor: Farooque Sheikh
U
Best supporting actress: Arundhati Naag for Paa (Hindi).
M of a director: Lahore (Hindi)
Indira Gandhi award for best debut film
M
by Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan.
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Best popular film providingCwholesome
entertainment: 3 Idiots
(Hindi).
Nargis Dutt award for best
IA feature film on national integration:
D
Delhi 6 (Hindi).
E
Best film on social issues: Well Done Abba (Hindi).
M Amit Trivedi for Anurag Kashyap's Dev-D.
Best Music Director:
E hawa sa tha woh from 3 Idiots, written by
Best Lyrics: Behti
E
Swanand Kirkere.
SR singer (male): Rupam Islam, for his rendering of
Best playback
57th National Film Awards

Kolakata in the Bengali film Mahanagar.

Best playback singer (female): Nilanjana Sarkar, for Bengali movie
Houseful.
Best childrens film: Shared by Putaani Party in Kannada and
Keshu in Malayalam.
Best child actor: Jeeva and Anba Karaus share the award.

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy for Sports

The Punjabi University and Guru Nanak Dev University have
been awarded the trophy for academic session 2008-09 and 200910, respectively.

13

14

Gallantry Awards, 2010

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, 2009

Ashok Chakra: Major Laishram Jyotin Singh, an unarmed

army doctor serving in Kabul, who took on a suicide bomber and
killed him, has been awarded Ashok Chakra (posthumously), the
highest peacetime gallantry award.
Kirti Chakra: Captain Davinder Singh Juss of the Parachute
Regiment and Vinod Kumar Choubey, SP, Chhattisgarh, have been
awarded Indias second highest peace time gallantry award. Juss
killed a foreign terrorist in February 2010 during an encounter in
J&K and Choubey fought against more than 300 naxalites.

India's ace shuttler Saina Nehwal has been selected for the
prestigious award, for her outstanding achievements on the badminton court. The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna is Indias highest honour
given for achievement in sports. The award carries a medal, a scroll
of honour and a cash component of Rs. 500,000. The award was
instituted in the year 1991-92 to supply the lack of a supreme national accolade in the field of sports.

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Cancer centre chosen for Abu Dhabi forums
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award
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A selected for
Regional Cancer Centre(RCC) here has been
CFriends
I
the Chirayinkil Ansar Memorial award instituted by
Abu Dhabi
Malayali Samajam. The award, carrying Rs. 1Nlakh, was announced
Uoffice-bearers. A major
at a press meet here today by the fourms
M
cancer treatment centre in India, RCC was chosen for the award in
recognition of its services and track record
M in a critical area of medicare, they said. The selection wasOmade by jury comprising Kerala
Press Akademy Chairman S R C
senior journalist T N
A Sakthidharan,
Gopakumar, Gulf-based entreprenuer
Thomas John and social
I
worker Kaniyapuram Sainuddeen.
award was instituted in
ED who livedThe
memory of Chirayinkil Ansar,
many years in Abu Dhabi and
left a mark as writer,M
journalist and charity organiser.
E
E Arjuna Awards, 2009
R
IndianSwomens cricket team captain, Jhulan Goswami, who
won the ICC Women's Player of The Year Award in 2007, is among
those named for the Arjuna Award for the year 2009 by the committee headed by former track queen P.T. Usha. Other winners are:
Joseph Abraham (Athletics), Krishna Poonia (Athletics), Dinesh
Kumar(Boxing), Parimrajan Negi (Chess), Deepak Kumar Mandal
(Football), Sandeep Singh (Hockey (Men)), Jasjeet Kaur Handa
(Hockey (Women)), Dinesh Kumar (Kabaddi), Sanjeev Rajput (Shooting), Rehan Jehangir Poncha (Swimming), Kapil Dev K.J. (Volleyball), Rajeev Tomar (Wrestling), Rajesh Chaudhary (Yachting),
Jagseer Singh (Paralympic (Athletics)). Awardees will receive statuettes, citations and cash prize of Rs.5 lakh each.

Dronacharya Awards, 2009

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This award is given by the government of India for excellence

in sports coaching. The award comprises a bronze statuette of
Dronacharya, a scroll of honour and a cash component of Rs.500,000
each. The award was instituted in 1985. As the best sports-person
award is named Arjuna Award, it is appropriate that the coaching
award is named after Dronacharya, as he was the Guru ofArjuna.
Among the winners of 2009 award were: Subhash B.
Aggarwal (Billiards & Snooker), L. Ibomcha Singh (Boxing) and Ajay
Kumar Bansal (Hockey). Captain Roop Chand (Wrestling) and A.K.
Kutty (Athletics) were awarded for lifetime achievement.

IA
D
For the first time
Ethree women figure in the list of nine scientists
chosen for the prestigious Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize 2010.
M
The awards were announced at a function to mark the foundation
E
day of the Council
and Industrial Research at New Delhi
E of Scientific
R
on 2010 September
26th.
S
Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize

The award for S&T Innovations for Rural Development 2009

will go to the Indian Oil Corporation's Research and Development
Centre in Faridabad. Award carries a cash prize of Rs. 5 lakh, a
citation and a plaque and will be presented.
The awardees for Biological Sciences are Sanjeev Galande
of the National Centre for Cell Science, Pune and Shubha Tole of
the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai.
The others are Swapan K. Pati, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for
Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore; Sandeep Verma, Indian
Institute of Technology, Kanpur ; G.K. Ananthasuresh, Indian Institute
of Science, Bangalore; Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay, Indian
Statistical Institute, Kolkata (Engineering Sciences); Mitali Mukerji,

15

Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Delhi , Umesh Vasudeo

Waghmare, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific
Research, Bangalore and Kalobaran Maiti, Tata Institute of
Fundamental Research, Mumbai (Physical Sciences). This year no
award is being given in Earth, Atmosphere, Ocean and Planetary
Sciences and Mathematical Sciences.

Dan David Prize

Noted Indian author Amitav Ghosh has won the prestigious
Dan David Prize for his remarkable reworking of the great tradition
of the western novel in transnational terms. The $1 million award is
a joint international enterprise endowed by the Dan David Foundation
and head-quartered at Tel Aviv University. It is annually awarded in
three different fieldsarchaeology, performing arts and material
sciencein the three-dimension time framework of past, present
and future. Ghosh, 53, is the third Indian to win the award, joining an
elite league comprising of chemist C.N.R. Rao and musician Zubin
Mehta. The Indian author will be sharing the prize in the present
dimension with Dr Gordon E. Moore, whose Moore's Law has
become the guiding principle for the semi-conductor industry.

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Dhyan Chand
A Award, 2009
I
Anita Chanu (Weightlifting),
D Satish Pal (Athletics) and Kuldeep
Singh (Wrestling) have E
been chosen for the award which is India's
M achievement in sports and games. The
highest award for lifetime
E
award is named after
E the legendary Indian hockey player Dhyan
Chand.
R
S
IIFA Awards, 2010

Best Film: 3 Idiots.

Best Actor: Amitabh Bachchan, for his role as a progeria-afflicted
child in Paa.
Best Actress: Shared jointly by Vidya Balan for Paa and Kareena
Kapoor for 3 Idiots.
Best Director: Rajkumar Hirani for 3 Idiots
Best Screenplay: 3 Idiots.
Best Cinematography: 3 Idoits
Best Supporting Actor (Male): Sharman Joshi for his role in 3
Idiots.

16

Best Supporting Actor (Female): Divya Dutta for her performance in

Delhi 6.
Best Actor in Negative Role: Boman Irani for his role in 3 Idiots.
Best performance in Comic Role: Sanjay Dutt for performance in
All the Best.
Best Music Director: Pritam for Love Aaj Kal.
Best Singer (Male): Shaan, for Behti hawa sa tha woh (3 Idiots).
Best Singer (Female): Kavita Seth for Iktara in Wake Up, Sid!.
Best Lyrics: Swanand Kirkire for 3 Idiots.
Best Debut (Female): Jacqueline Fernandez and Mahie Gill share
the award for their role in Aladin and Dev D, respectively.
Best Debut (Male): Omi Vaidya for his role of Chatur in 3 Idiots and
ackky Bhagnani for Kal Kissne Dekha.
Lifetime Achievement Award: Veteran filmmaker J. Om Prakash
and yesteryear actress Zeenat Aman.
Outstanding achievement by an Indian in International Cinema:
Anil Kapoor.
The awards ceremony was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

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MAward, 2010
National Technology
M
A pioneer in processing
COrice bran oil, A.R. Sharma, who
comes from dusty town of Dhuri in Sangrur district, has been
IAaward by the Technology Development
honoured with the national
D
Board of the Ministry E
of Science and Technology. Former President
Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam presented the award Rs 10 lakh and a trophy
M
to him.
E
Sharma
is the chairman-cum-managing director of the A.P.
ELtd,
R
Organics (P)
a part of Rs 500-crore A.P. Solvex Group of
S The group
Companies.
is the largest producer of refined rice bran
oil, a health-friendly cooking oil produced from the outer brown layer
of rice. For the past over 50 years, the rice bran oil is being used as
a premium cooking oil in countries like Japan, Korea, China and
Thailand. In Japan, it is popularly known as Heart Oil because of
its scientifically proven cholesterol-lowering properties.
India is the second largest producer of paddy in the world,
having potential to produce over 12 lakh tonnes per annum of this
healthy cooking oil. Unfortunately, it is used in India more in
producing soaps and detergents than as a nutritious and healthy
cooking oil. Our group enjoys the distinction of being pioneer in
development of an eco-friendly and health-friendly cooking oil, says

17

Sharma, holding that the process used by the group for production
of refined rice bran oil is economical and scientifically proven process.
The patent for the process is registered with the Government of
India in my name, adds Sharma.

Sachin wins Sir Garfield Sobers Award

Sachin Tendulkar capped a fine year with the most coveted
cricketing reward in recent times The Sir Garfield Sobers Cricketer
of the Year' Award as the maestro glittered bright amidst a galaxy of
leading players at the LG ICC Awards night here on 6th October.
Tendulkar became the second Indian to win the award after Rahul
Dravid bagged it in 2004.
After scoring 1,000 Test runs this year besides becoming
the first man to score a double hundred in ODI cricket while South
Africa wilted against him at Gwalior, Tendulkar scored another double
at the awards function as he also won the LG People's Choice
Award.'
The Indian team had a lot more to cheer about as Virender
Sehwag, with 1,282 runs in the game's longer version, was adjudged the Test Cricketer of the Year' and M.S. Dhoni was named
the skipper of a World Test XI.
Bishan Singh Bedi was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame'
along with Joel Garner, Courtney Walsh and former England
women's cricketer Rachael Heyhoe Flint.
The night then ebbed away in a medley of tunes as ODI
Player of the Year' A.B. de Villiers performed with his band.
The awardees:
Sir Garfield Sobers Cricketer of the Year: Sachin Tendulkar;
LG People's Choice Award: Sachin Tendulkar; Women's Cricketer
of the Year: Shelley Nitschke (Australia); Test Player of the Year:
Virender Sehwag; ODI Player of the Year: A.B. de Villiers (South
Africa); Spirit of Cricket: New Zealand; Umpire of the Year: Aleem
Dar (Pakistan); Emerging Player: Steven Finn (England); Associate and Affiliate Player: Ryan ten Doeschate (Netherlands);
Twenty20 International Performance of the Year: Brendon
McCullum (of New Zealand for his unbeaten 116 against Australia
at Christchurch on February 28, 2010).
Inductees into the ICC Hall of Fame: Bishan Singh Bedi,
Joel Garner, Courtney Walsh and Rachael Heyhoe Flint.

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ICC Test World XI: M.S. Dhoni (captain), Virender Sehwag,

Simon Katich, Sachin Tendulkar, Hashim Amla, Kumar Sangakkara,
Jacques Kallis, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Dale Steyn and
Doug Bollinger.
ICC ODI World XI: Ricky Ponting (captain), Sachin Tendulkar,
Shane Watson, Michael Hussey, A.B. de Villiers, Paul Collingwood,
M.S. Dhoni (wicketkeeper), Daniel Vettori, Stuart Broad, Doug
Bollinger and Ryan Harris.
PMs Award for Excellence in Public Administration

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Commonwealth Prize, 2010
CAhas won the ComI
British-Indian author Rana Dasgupta (38)
monwealth Writers Prize for Best BookN
U on for his second book
Solo. Rana won a prize of 10,000 (Rs 8.5 lakh). Solo is a story told
M
by a 100-year-old Bulgarian, and includes a cast of riveting characM
ters, among them talking parrots. Though Dasgupta was born in
O he has been based in Delhi for
Britain and holds a British passport,
C
over eight years now. HisAfirst novel Tokyo Cancelled had also
I
drawn enormous praise.
Australian author Glenda Guests Siddon
D
Rock won in the BestEFirst Book category.
M
Saraswati
Samman, 2009
E
E
Lafzan
R Di Dargah, a poetry collection in Punjabi by Surjit
Patar, hasSbeen awarded the 19th Saraswati Samman for 2009.
Gulshan Bamra has been given the award for his initiative to
involve community in the Naxal-affected areas of Madhya Pradesh.

The award, instituted by the K.K. Birla Foundation in 1991, carries

an award of Rs 5 lakh, a citation and a plaque. It is recognised as
the most prestigious and the highest literary honour in India and is
given every year to an outstanding literary work written in an Indian
language and published during the last 10 years. The first recipient
of the award was Harivansh Rai Bachchan in 1991 for his autobiography. Other awardees include Marathi playwright Vijay Tendulkar,
Oriya writer Manoj Das, Malayalam poetess Balamaniamma, Tamil
writer Indira Parthasarathy, Bengali novelist Sunil Gangopadhyay
and Urdu literary critic Shamsur Rahman Faruqi.

19

Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards

Punjab has for the first time bagged the highest number of
awards in the performing arts category for 2009, since the inception
of the Sangeet Natak Akademi in 1952. The winners of the coveted
honour include Ustad Lachhman Singh Seen (classical music tabla),
Ustad Vilayat Khan, Goslan Khanna (ragi/dhadi) and Neeta Mahindra
(theatre). Besides Kamal Arora (theatre make-up) from Chandigarh
is another recipient. The award carries a citation, a shawl, a memento and a cash prize of Rs 1,00,000.

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N
Environmentalist Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal
IOthehasfieldbeenof
selected for the award for setting new milestonesTin
environment, especially his initiative on cleaning the
CA Kali Bein rivulet passing through Kapurthala, Punjab.
I
Oscar Awards, 2010
UN
M
Best Movie: The Hurt Locker.
M
Best Director: Kathyrn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker). She has become
the first woman director to win theOhonour.
C
Best Actor: Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart).
A
Best Actress: Sandra Bullock
I (The Blind Side).
D
Best Supporting Actress:
MoNique.
E
Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz.
M
Best Animated Movie: Up
Best Foreign Film:
EE The Secret in Their Eyes (Argentina).
R
SChameli Devi Jain Award, 2009
SAARC Environment Award, 2010

The award for an outstanding woman media-person has

been shared by Shoma Chaudhary, executive editor of Tehelka, Delhi
and Monalisa Changkija, Editor of Nagaland Page, Dimapur.

Mother Teresa Award, 2010

UGC chairman Sukhadeo Thorat has been given the prestigious Mother Teresa Lifetime Achievement Award for 2010. Thorat,
who has authored 21 publications, has been instrumental in introducing several academic and administrative reforms in higher education during ongoing XIth plan.

20

Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards,

2009
Entrepreneur of the year: Anand G. Mahindra, Vice Chairman and
MD of Mahindra Group.
Lifetime Achievement award: N. Vaghul, Ex-Chairman of ICICI Bank
Ltd.
Entrepreneur of the year (Start-up): Amit Mittal, Chairman and
Managing Director of A2Z Maintenance & Engineering Services Pvt.
Ltd.
Entrepreneur of the year (Business transformation): Dr Vikram
Akula, Chairperson & founder SKS Microfinance Ltd.
Entrepreneur of the year (Manager): O.P. Bhatt, Chairman, State
Bank of India.
Entrepreneur of the year (Manufacturing): Harsh C. Mariwala,
Chairman and Managing Director, Marico Ltd.
Entrepreneur of the year (Healthcare and Life Sciences): Pankaj
R. Patal, Chairman and Managing Director, Zydus Cadila Healthcare
Ltd.
Entrepreneur of the year (Services): Shashi Kiran Shetty, Chairman
and Managing Director, Allcargo Global Logistics Ltd.

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A portable light
can be recharged by pedalling for 20
E that for
minutes and was developed
use in areas not wired for electricity,
Mof Indian origin,
has won a Canadian
Sameer Hajee, the prestigious
E
Sasakawa Prize
of the United Nations Environment Programme
E
(UNEP). The
SR device has been developed by Nuru Design (Nuru
Sasawaka Prize of UNEP, 2010

means light in Swahili). A pilot project is already in place in Madhya

Pradesh and Orissa. The device, called the Nuru light, is essentially
a lighting system that can be recharged by a pedal generatorthe
Nuru POWER Cycle. Nuru Lights objective is to replace the use of
expensive, polluting, unhealthy, and dangerous kerosene as a
source of lighting for the two billion people without access to
electricity. Of those, nearly 580 million are in India.

Grammy Awards, 2010

Life Time award: Michael Jackson, posthumously.
Album of the Year: Taylor Swift, Fearless.

21

Song Written for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media:

Jai Ho, written by Gulzar, A. R. Rahman and Tanvi Shah, from
Slumdog Millionaire.
Record of the Year: Use Somebody, Kings of Leon.
New Artist: Zac Brown Band.
Song of the Year: Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It), written by Thaddis
Harrell, Beyonc Knowles, Terius Nash and Christopher Stewart
(Beyonce).
Female Pop Vocal Performance: Halo, Beyonce.
Male Pop Vocal Performance: Make it mine, Jason Mraz.
Pop Performance, Duo Or Group: I Gotta Feeling, the Black Eyed
Peas.
Pop Collaboration: Lucky, Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat.
Pop Instrumental Performance: Throw Down Your Heart, Bla
Fleck.
Pop Instrumental Album: Potato Hole, Booker T. Jones.
Pop Vocal Album: The E.N.D., the Black Eyed Peas.
Solo Rock Vocal Performance: Working on a Dream, Bruce
Springsteen.
Hard Rock Performance: War Machine, AC/DC.
Metal Performance: Dissident Aggressor, Judas Priest.
Rock Song: Use Somebody, written by Caleb Followill, Jared Followill,
Matthew Followill and Nathan Followill.
Rock Album: 21st Century Breakdown, Green Day.
Alternative Music Album: Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, Phoenix.
Female R&B Vocal Performance: Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),
Beyonce.
Male R&B Vocal Performance: Pretty Wings, Maxwell.
Female Country Vocal Performance: White Horse, Taylor Swift.
Male Country Vocal Performance: Sweet Thing, Keith Urban.
Score Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other
Visual Media: Up.

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Tagore Literature Award, 2009

Noted Kashmiri poet Naseem Shafai has been conferred
the prestigious Tagore Literature Award by the Sahitya Akademi for
her outstanding contribution in Kashmiri literature, especially poetry.
The award has been instituted by the Akademi at the initiation of the
Korean government and the Embassy of Korea in Delhi. Nasem

22

was selected for this honour for her poetic collection, Na Thsay Na
Aks (Neither shadow nor reflection). She has become the first
women poet from Kashmir to be honoured by the Akademi. This
was the second collection of Naseems poetry after Derche Machrith
(open windows) in 1999.

Jeevan Raksha Padaks, 2010

Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak: Braveheart Rukhsana
Kauser and Delhis Narender Kaushik (posthumously) have been
selected for Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak for their conspicuous
courage in saving life under circumstances of very great danger to
the life of the rescuer. Rukhsana, 22, had killed a top Pakistani
militant and injured another at Kalsian village in Rajouri district on
the night of September 27 2009.
Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak: The winners include Syed
Areef Sujauddin from Andhra Pradesh, Umman Antony from Kerala,
Rajan Kamble from Maharashtra (all posthumously), besides
Karanbir Singh Kang from Maharashtra and Prachi Santosh Sen
from Madhya Pradesh. Kang, who lost his wife and two children in
the 26\11 Mumbai attacks, had rescued many from Taj hotel and
never dithered from doing his duty.
Jeevan Raksha Padak series of awards are meant for
meritorious act of humane nature in saving the life of a person in
three categories: Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak, Uttam Jeevan
Raksha PAdak and Jeevan Raksha Padak.

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SR Golden Globe Awards, 2010

Best Director: James Cameron for Avatar

Best Motion Picture (Drama): Avatar
Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy): The Hangover
Best Actor (Motion Picture Drama): Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart
Best Actor (Motion Picture Musical or Comedy): Robert Downey
Jr. for Sherlock Holmes
Best Actress (Motion Picture Drama): Sandra Bullock for The Blind
Side
Best Actress (Motion Picture Musical or Comedy): Meryl Streep for
Julie & Julia

23

Best Supporting Actor (Motion Picture): Christoph Waltz for

Inglourious Basterds
Best Supporting Actress (Motion Picture): Monique for Precious.
Best Screenplay: Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner for Up In The Air
Best Original Score: Michael Giacchino for Up
Best Original Song: The Weary Kind from Crazy Heart
Best Foreign Language Film: The White Ribbon (Das Weisse Band
- Eine Deutsche Kindergeschichte) from Germany
Best Animated Film: Up

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V.K. Murthy, the ace cinematographer of Guru Dutts films
IOChand and
who is best known for his camera work in ChaudvinTka
Pakeezah, has been honoured with the award.
CA He is the first
I
cinematographer to get the award.
56th National Film Awards
UN
M
Best Film: Antaheen (Bengali)
M
Best Direction: Bala for Naan Kadavul (Tamil)
O Entertainment: Oye Lucky!
Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome
C
Lucky Oye!
IA (Kannada)
Best Childrens Film: Gubbachigalu
D
Best Film on Family Welfare:
E Little Zizou (English, Gujarati)
Best Actor: UpendraM
Limaye for Jogwa (Marathi)
Best Actress: Priyanka
for Fashion (Hindi)
EActor: Chopra
E
Best Supporting
Arjun Rampal for Rock On!! (Hindi)
Best Supporting
SR Actress: Kangana Ranaut for Fashion (Hindi)
Dada Saheb Phalke Award, 2008

Indira Gandhi Award for Best First Film of a Director: A Wednesday

(Hindi)
Nargis Dutt Award (for Best Feature Film on National Integration):
Aai Kot Nai (Assamese)
Best Child Artist: Shams Patel
Best Cinematography: Avik Mukhopadhyay for Antaheen (Bengali)
Best Screenplay: Sachin Kundalkar for Gandha (Marathi)
Best Art Direction: Gautam Sen for Firaaq
Best Make-up Artist: V. Moorthy for Naan Kadauul (Tamil)
Best Costume Design: Neeta Lulla for Jodhaa Akbar

24

Best Music Direction: Ajay Atul for Jogwa (Marathi)

Best Lyrics: Antaheen (Bengali)
Best Male Playback Singer: Hariharan for Jogwa (Marathi)
Best Female Playback Singer: Shreya Ghoshal for Antaheen
(Bengali)
Best Choreography: Chinni Prakash and Rekha Prakash for Jodha
Akbar
Best Audiography: Pramod J. Thomas for Gandha (Marathi)
Best Editing: A. Sreekar Prasad for Firaaq (Hindi)
Best Special Effects: Govardhan (Tata Elxsi) Mumbai Meri Jaan
(Hindi)
Special Jury Award/Special Mention (Feature Film): Bioscope

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Republic Day Awards, 2010
CAof Indian origin
Padma Vibhushan: Nobel laureate
I
N chief Pratap Reddy,
Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Apollo Hospitals
former RBI Governor Y.V. Reddy, ZohraU
Segal, Ebrahim Alkazi and
M
noted Mridangam Carnatic artist Umayalpuram
K. Sivaraman.
Padma Bhushan: MusicM
maestro A.R. Rahman, Music
maestro Illaiyaraaja, Bollywood O
C actor Aamir Khan and controversial
Indian origin businessman Sant Singh Chatwal, Prime Minister
Manmohan Singhs cardiac
IA surgeon R.M. Panda, eminent
D
neurosurgeon Satya Paul
E Agarwal, prominent industrialist from
Punjab S.P. Oswal, Manvinder Singh Banga, eminent journalist
Mreal estate czar K.P. Singh were among the 43
Fareed Zakaria and
E
winners.
E Shri: Cricketer Virendra Sehwag, hockey player
R
Padma
S
Ignace Tirkey, Formula One driver Narain Kartikeyan, badminton
star Saina Nehwal, boxer Vijender Singh, Sachin Tendulkar's 'guru'
Ramakant Achrekar, Yesteryear Bollywood diva Rekha, Oscar winner
sound recordist Resul Pokutty and actor Saif Ali Khan were among
83 winners.

Bravery Awards, 2010

Kirti Chakra: Rukhsana Kausar and her brother Aijaz Ahmad
have been awarded the second highest gallantry award in peacetime,
for their act of bravery in killing a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander
in their Morha Kalsi village in Jammu and Kashmir in 2009.

25

26

Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize, 2009

China-India Friendship Award

Mridula Koshy's If It is Sweet, a collection of short stories,

has bagged the award. The New Delhi-based author will get Rs 1
lakh and a citation. In 2008, Pakistani author Mohammed Hanif's A
Case of Exploding Mangoes had won the award. The Shakti Bhatt
Foundation is a non-profit trust set up by the late writer/editor's family
to keep her memory alive.

Professor Manoranjan Mohanty and Professor Tan Chung

and senior Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sitaram Yechury,
for their invaluable contributions towards strengthening cooperation
between the two neighbours. Professor Sreemati Chakrabarti, G.
Viswanathan, founder-Chancellor of the VIT University, Vellore, Tamil
Nadu; Chandrajit Banerjee, Director-General of the Confederation of
Indian Industry; V. Bhaskaran, general secretary of the India-China
Friendship Association, Karnataka, and Editor of India-China People's
View; educationist B.S. Shergill, who is also president of the Friends
of China Association, Chandigarh; and Pallavi Aiyar, who worked for
two years as The-Hindu's correspondent in Beijing.

Lokmanya Tilak National Journalist Award, 2010

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The Asian Television award
N
U
The Asian Television award for the Best Current Affairs
M
Presenter was presented to Karan Thapar of the CNN-IBN. This is
M
the fifth time that Mr. Thapar is winning the Best Current Affairs
Presenter Award in the 15-year history
CO of the Asian Television awards.
He won the award in 1999, A
2003, 2005 and 2007. 2010 year Mr.
I
Thapar won the award for his
Devil's
Advocate interview programme.
EDRam Jethmalani was conducted in June.
The winning interview with
The subject was Mr.M
Jethmalani's controversial decision to rejoin
the Bharatiya Janata
Party.
The interview ended abruptly when Mr.
E
E
Jethmalani walked
out in anger over questions that explored
R
allegations ofS opportunism surrounding his return to the BJP.
N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief of the Hindu newspaper, has received
the prestigious award, which is conferred for excellence in journalism on a personality making important contribution to the field of
journalism at national level. Vir Sanghvi of Hindustan Times was
the recipient of the Tilak Award in 2009.

Sarkozy honours two Indians

Remembering two French citizens who lost their lives in the
November 26, 2008 terror attack in Mumbai, French President
Nicolas Sarkozy honoured two Indians (M. Devendra Bharma,
executive vice-president of Hotel Oberoi-Trident and M. Karambir
Kang, former director-general of Hotel Taj Mahal ) by conferring
d'Officier de l'Ordre national du Merite' on them for being efficient,
attentive, courageous and taking decisions by risking their lives to
save hundreds of lives.

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Golden Peacock Award
CA
IBM India has been conferred with The IGolden Peacock award
2010 for its Corporate Social ResponsibilityN(CSR) initiatives in India
U
on Oct 7. IBM India is the first IT Company to win this award since its
M
incep5on in 2002. The company was also been rated as the first
Mamongst other recipients of the
among equals for its CSR practices
O
award 2010.
C
Business Indias
IA Best Bank Award
D
Bank of Baroda
was presented the 'Business India
E (BOB)
Best Bank 2010' award
by
Union
Minister for Road Transport and
M
Highways, Kamal Nath at a function in the Mumbai on Oct 7. M D
E
Mallya, Chairman
Director, Bank of Baroda, accepted
EbehalfandofManaging
R
the Award on
the bank.
S
Finance Minister of the Year for Asia award

Finance Minister of India, Pranab Mukherjee has won 2010

Finance Minister of the Year for Asia award, conferred by Emerging
Markets, part of Euromoney Institutional Investor Plc.

Green Apple award

Uttarkhand based NGO Himalayan Chipko Foundation has
been awarded the Green Apple award at the House of Commons,
London, for exposing the Hak Hakook scam in which timber meant
for villagers in the State was sold to the timber mafia.

27
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P ERSONS

Nicole Faria
India's Nicole Faria has been crowned Miss Earth Talent
2010 after beating 17 other contestants at a talent competition in Ho
Chi Minh City in Vietnam. Ms. Faria, a 20-year-old girl from Bangalore,
won the title at the talent show with a scintillating belly dance that
combines Oriental and Middle Eastern style. Vietnam's
representative Luu Thi Diem Huong was voted among the top five
contestants with her performance of folk dances that are inspired by
traditional dances in the northern, central and southern region of
the country.

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Title Holders N
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M
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A
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E
M

Year

Country

Miss Earth

National title

Location

2010

India

Nicole Faria

2009

Brazil

Larissa Ramos

Femina Miss India

- Earth
Beleza Brasil

2008

Philippines

Karla Henry

Miss Philippines Earth

2007

Canada

Jessica Trisko

Miss Earth Canada

2006

Chile

2005

Nha Trang,
Vietnam
Boracay,
Philippines
Angeles City ,
Philippines
Quezon City,
Philippines
Manila,
Philippines
Quezon City,
Philippines
Quezon City,
Philippines
Quezon City,
Philippines

EE
R
S

Hil Hernndez

Miss Earth Chile

Venezuela

Alexandra Braun

Miss Earth Venezuela

2004

Brazil

Priscilla Meirelles

Beleza Brasil

2003

Honduras

Dania Prince

Miss Earth Honduras

Alexandria Mills
Miss United States of America Alexandria Mills was crowned
Miss World 2010 in Chinas island province Hainan on October 30,
beating more than 100 other contestants in the competition which
goes by the motto beauty with a purpose. Participants in the final

28

round were from China, USA, Botswana, Venezuela and Ireland.

First runner up was Miss Botswana Emma Wareus followed by
Miss Venezuela Adriana Vasini. The 18-year-old Mills described
herself as a positive, spontaneous, open minded and outgoing
person on the official Miss World website. The Miss World
contestants spent a month in China, travelling to both Beijing and
Shanghai before reaching Sanya on the southern Chinese island of
Hainan. It was the fifth time in eight years that the beauty contest
was held on the popular holiday island. The final marked 60 years
since the first Miss World competition was first held in 1951.

Year
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000

S
N
Title Holders
IO
T
Miss World
Country
A Location
C
I
Alexandria Mills
United States
Sanya, China
N
Kaiane Aldorino
Gibraltar
Johannesburg, SouthAfrica
U Johannesburg, SouthAfrica
Ksenia Sukhinova
Russia
M
Zhang Zilin
China
Sanya, China
M
Tat(na Kuchar(ova
Czech
Republic
Warsaw, Poland
O
Unnur Birna
Sanya, China
CIceland
Vilhjalmsdottir
A Peru
Mara Julia MantillaI
Sanya, China
D
E
Rosanna Davison
Ireland
Sanya, China
M
Azra Akin
Turkey
London, United Kingdom
EDarego
Agbani
Nigeria
Sun City, South Africa
E
Priyanka
Chopra
India
London, United Kingdom
R
S
Jimena Navarrete

Miss Mexico Jimena Navarrete, 22, was crowned Miss

Universe 2010 beating off competition from 82 contestants.
Navarrete, dressed in a red gown with a flowing train, impressed
judges by highlighting the importance of teaching children about
family values. She was followed by Miss Jamaica Yendi Philipps
while Miss Australia Jenista Campbell was the second runner-up at
the 59th annual pageant held in Las Vegas.

29

30

First woman:

Title Holders
Year

Country

Miss Universe

Location

2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003

Mexico
Venezuela
Venezuela
Japan
Puerto Rico
Canada
Australia
Dominican
Republic

Ximena Navarrete
Las Vegas, U.S.
Stefania Fernandez
Nassau, Bahamas
Dayana Mendoza
Nha Trang, Vietnam
Riyo Mori
Mexico City, Mexico
Zuleyka Rivera
Los Angeles, U.S.
Natalie Glebova
Bangkok, Thailand
Jennifer Hawkins
Quito, Ecuador
Amelia Vega
Panama City, Panama

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A
Kyi, Aung San Suu IC
Nshe was released on
Myanmars iconic opposition leader,
U
November 13, 2010, after spending 15
Myears in house arrest. In
Myanmar, she is simply known as The Lady. She was born in
M then). Her father, General
Yangon in June, 1945 (known as Rangoon
O
Aung San, is a national hero who
on the verge of wresting
Crule was
independence from the British
when
he was assassinated in
ADelhi and Oxford.
I
1947. She was educated in
mother was
D married Michael Aris, Her
Ambassador to India. She
an academic, in
E
Oxford and raised two
sons. She returned to Myanmar in 1988 to
Mmother
take care of her ailing
and stayed back. The last elections in
E
1990 were won E
by Suu Kyis National League for Democracy party,
but the militaryRrefused to hand over power. She refused to leave
S
Myanmar even when her husband died in 1999.
Kamala Harris
Indian-American Kamala Harris won the election for AttorneyGeneral of California. Ms. Harris will be the first woman to hold the
office. Daughter of an Indian mother and African-American father,
Ms. Harris is the District Attorney for San Francisco. She will replace
Democrat Jerry Brown who won the election for Governor of California
on November 02. Ms. Harris, who was the only Indian-American
candidate publicly endorsed by President Barack Obama, defeated
Steve Cooley of the Republican Party in a tough fight.

Born and raised in the East Bay, Ms. Harris was elected as
the first woman District Attorney in San Francisco's history in
December 2003, and as the first African-American woman and South
Asian American woman in California to hold the office. She was reelected for a second term in November 2007. Ms. Harris is the
daughter of Dr. Shyamala Gopalan, a breast cancer specialist from
Tamil Nadu who travelled to the United States from Chennai to pursue
her graduate studies at UC Berkeley.

S
N
Chinese President Hu Jintao has been named
IO the most
powerful person in the world by Forbes, ahead T
of U.S. President
Barack Obama who is ranked second among
people who
CA 68 Sonia
I
matter, a list that also includes Congress President
Gandhi
and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Ms.N
Gandhi ranks 9th on the
U
Forbes 2010 list of the Worlds Most Powerful People. Dr.
M
Manmohan Singh comes in at number 18. Indias business tycoons
M Ambani, Tata Sons Chairman
Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh
O
Ratan Tata and head of ArcelorMittal,
C Lakshmi Mittal also make the
list. Of the 6.8 billion people on the planet, Forbes list comprises
the 68 who matter. Jintao,
occupies the top slot for being the
IAof more
D
paramount political leader
people than anyone else on the
E
planet and one who exercises near dictatorial control over 1.3
M of worlds population.
billion people, one-fifth
E
E choose Assange Person of The Year
Time readers
R
S
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is in custody in
Hu Jintao

London on rape charges, has won an online vote to be Time

magazines Person of the Year, amid continuous leak of thousands
of confidential U.S. diplomatic cables by his whistle-blower website.
The 39-year-old Australian secured 382,020 votes, which gave him
an easy first place, while U.S. President Barack Obama was in the
sixth position with 27,478 votes. Mr. Assange received 148,383 votes
more than Recep Tayyip Ergodan, Prime Minister of Turkey, who
stood second with a score of 233,638. Pop star Lady Gaga was
third with 146,378 votes, according to the magazine, which said that
its editors, who choose the actual Person of the Year, reserve the
right to disagree with the results of the online poll.

31

Nikki Haley
Having gone from state legislature to Governor of South
Carolina in a span of just six years, Nikki Randhawa Haley is being
hailed as a rising star on the American political horizon. Daughter of
Punjabi Sikh immigrants from Amritsar, Nimrata Nikki Randhawa
Haley has become the first Indian-origin woman, and second IndianAmerican after Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, to become the
Governor of a U.S. state. Another Indian-American Kamala Harris
won the election for Attorney-General of California. Five other IndianAmericans, all Democrats, bit the dust in the face of an antiestablishment vote.

S
N
Mario Vargas Llosa
IO
T
Peruvian Mario Vargas Llosa, one of theAmost acclaimed
writers in the Spanish-speaking world who onceIC
ran for President in
his homeland, has won the 2010 Nobel Prize
in literature. He has
N
U essays, including
written more than 30 novels, plays and
Conversation in the Cathedral and TheM
Green House. In 1995, he
was awarded the Cervantes Prize,M
the Spanish-speaking worlds
most distinguished literary honour.
His international breakthrough
O
came with the 1960s novel The C
Time of The Hero, which builds on
his experiences from the Peruvian
military academy Leoncio Prado.
A
Icontroversial
The book was considered
in his homeland and a
D
E publicly by officers from the academy.
thousand copies were burnt
Vargas Llosa is the first
M South American winner of the prestigious
prize since it wasE awarded to Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia
EBorn in Arequipa, Peru, Vargas Llosa grew up with
Marquez in 1982.
R
his grandparents
S in Bolivia after his parents divorced. The family
moved back to Peru in 1946 and he later went to military school

before studying literature and law in Lima and Madrid. In 1959, he

moved to Paris where he worked as a language teacher and as a
journalist for Agence France-Presse and the national television
service of France. He has lectured and taught at a number of
universities in the US, South America and Europe.

Liu Xiaobo
Jailed Chinese pro-democracy activist Liu Xiaobo has won
the Nobel Peace Prize, 2010, for decades of non-violent struggle
for human rights. Liu was jailed for 11 years in December 2009, for

32

subversion of State power, a year after being arrested as lead author

of Charter 08, a manifesto issued by Chinese intellectuals and
activists, calling for free speech and multi-party elections. Liu, a
former literature professor, had risen to prominence as a strike
leader during the protests at Tiananmen Square in 1989. He was
later jailed for 20 months and then spent three years in a labour reeducation camp during the 1990s, as well as months under virtual
house arrest.

Ed Miliband

S
N
IO
T
CA
I
UN
M
Nitish Kumar
M
Nitish Kumar led NDA alliance
has won 206 seats to form
CO triumph
the government in Bihar. Nithish's
in 2010 Assembly polls
was the biggest victory for any
political leader in the state. Out of 243
A
I
Assembly seats, JanataDDal (United) has bagged 115 seats and its
ally Bharatiya JanathaEParty (BJP) has won 91 seats.
M Bihar Assembly Polls
E
Party
2010
GAIN/LOSS
E 2005
R
JDU
88
115
+27
S
BJP
55
91
+36
Ed Miliband has won the Labour leadership in England after
narrowly beating Brother David in a dramatic run-off vote ahead of the
party's conference. Ed won by just over 1% from former foreign secretary
David after second, third and fourth preference votes came into play. Mr
Miliband, replaces acting leader Harriet Harman in the contest triggered
by the resignation of Gordon Brown. The former energy secretary
appears to have benefited from a last-minute surge of support.

RJD
LJP
CONG
OTHERS

54
10
9
27

22
3
4
8

-32
-7
-5
-19

Dilip Donde
On May 22, 2010, Commander Dilip Donde of the Indian
Navy became the first Indian ever to circumnavigate the globe solo
on a sail-boat when he steered into the Mumbai harbour after his
arduous effort spanning a little over nine months. Commander Dilip

33

Donde, who started the voyage on August 19 2009 on INSV Mhadei,

touched base back in India at the Sunk Rock Light House in Mumbai.
His boat was ceremonially escorted by a fast attack craft of the
Indian Navy, along with speedboats and two tugs operating their
water cannons. Vice-President Hamid Ansari, along with Chief of
Naval Staff Admiral Nirmal Kumar Verma and Dondes family
members, who were on board INS Delhi, anchored at the finish line,
witnessed the historic moment and gave him a rousing reception.
The 56-foot-long Mhadei, with 23-tonne displacement, is the
first fibre glass yacht constructed entirely in India and boasts of
state-of-the-art navigation and communication equipment. The 276day voyage was part of the Navy's daunting Sagar Parikrama project,
which aims to revive the old tradition of sea faring. The world record
for the fastest solo circumnavigation was set in January 2008 by
Frenchman Francis Joyon, at 67 days, 13 hours, 34 minutes and 6
seconds.

S
N
IO
T
CA
I
N
C.K. PrahaladU
M influential management
Dr C.K. Prahalad, a globally known
thinker, died on April 19, 2010. He shook
the corporate world in the
M
US and elsewhere during the pastOtwo decades with his offbeat but
C
radical strategies for managing
The most notable
A corporations.
among them was his The IFortune
at the Bottom of the Pyramid
through which he urged D
MNCs to evolve a business model that
would cater to the huge E
market of worlds four billion poor. He firmly
believed that such anM
approach would help eradicate the scourge of
E
poverty. He stole the
limelight with his best seller book The Future
EHe stressed that it would not be worthwhile for the
of Competition.
R
companies toSforay into unrelated diversifications. The book is widely
acknowledged as one of the world's most significant forces in
corporate thinking. He was a member of the Blue Ribbon
Commission of the United Nations on private sector and
development. He was also the first recipient of the Lal Bahadur
Shastri Award for contributions to management and public
administration, presented by the President of India in 2000.

Gen. Vijay Kumar Singh

Gen V.K. Singh is the Chief of Indian army. A third generation
officer from the Rajput regiment, Gen Singh is a graduate of the

34

Wellington-based Defence Services Staff College as well as the

Rangers Course at Fort Benning, USA and the US Army War College,
Carlisle. He was commissioned into 2 Rajput Regiment in June
1970 and commanded the same unit when it was positioned along
the Line of Control with Pakistan. Experienced in counter insurgency
operations, Line of Control and high altitude operations, Gen Singh
was awarded the Yudh Sena Medal for his distinguished service
during 'Operation Pawan' against the LTTE in Sri Lanka.

Girija Prasad Koirala

S
N
IO
T
CA
I
Sachin is Indian Air Force group
UN captain
Indian sports icon Sachin Tendulkar
M conferred the honorary
rank of group captain by the Indian
Air Force (IAF) for services the
M
cricketer has rendered to the nation
O through the sport. The cricketer
was presented his rank by AirCChief Marshal P V Naik.
IA Ambani
Mukesh
D
E Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh
Reliance Industries'
Ambani has been M
elected Member to the Board of World Economic
Forum. Others elected
the Board are: Alcatel-Lucent's CEO Ben J.
EESpecialtoAdviser,
Verwaayen R
and
International Monetary Fund (IMF)
S Deputy Governor, People's Bank of China, Zhu Min.
and a former
Veteran democratic leader of Nepal politics and former Prime
Minister of Nepal, he died on March 20, 2010. He was 87. He had
the distinction of becoming the Prime Minister of Nepal five times.
He had led the peaceful April Uprising in 2006 and abolished the
239-year-old authoritarian royal regime of Nepal.

Mukesh Ambani will bring an extraordinary level of business acumen

and his commitment to the ideals of the Forum. He has played a key
role, especially related to the integration of India into all our activities.

V.K. Murthy
V. K. Murthy is the first cinematographer, and second
Kannadiga after Kannada movie icon Dr Raj Kumar, to get the Dada
Saheb Phalke award for his contribution to the film industry. He is
known for his work in most Guru Dutt films like Sahib Biwi Aur
Ghulam, Kaagaz Ke Phool and Pyaasa. Besides Guru Dutt, Murthy
also worked with Pramod Chakravarthy (Naya Zamana, Jugnu),

35

Kamal Amrohi (Pakeezah) and Shyam Benegal (Bharat Ke Khoj, a

television series). He also shot Indias first cinema-scope movies,
Kagaz ke Phool and is also one of the pioneers of colour
cinematography.

Simon Lehna Singh

Famousphysicist-turned author, journalist and television
producer of Indian origin Simon Lehna Singh has been selected by
the International Mathematical Union for the Leelavathi Award in
recognition of his outstanding contribution to public outreach in
mathematics.Named after the mathematical treatise of the great
Indian mathematician Bhaskaracharya, the award carries a cash
prize of Rs.10 lakh and a citation and will be presented by the
International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM).

S
N
IO
T
CA
Samy Vellu
I
N
Samy Vellu until recently presidentUof the Malaysian Indian
Congress (MIC), will be Malaysia's Special Envoy to India and South
M
Asia for Infrastructure with effect from New Year's Day 2011.
M
Vinod Sharma
CO
Vinod Sharma, political
A editor of Hindustan Times, is slated
to be appointed member of Ithe National Commission for Minorities.
Dof the majority community. He will succeed
He will be a representative
E
veteran journalist Dileep
M Padgaonkar.
Brahma
EE
R
Brahma
S assumes charge as Election Commissioner. Sixtyyear-old Harishankar Brahma, a retired IAS officer of 1975 batch
from the Andhra Pradesh cadre, assumed charge as Election
Commissioner at Nirvachan Sadan. Mr. Brahma, who retired as the
Union Power Secretary in April this year, will hold office till April 18,
2015. He is the second person from the North-East to become an
Election Commissioner, after J.M. Lyngdoh.

Ravindra Kelekar
Konkani litterateur and Jnanpith Award winner Ravindra R.
Kelekar, 85, died. Ravindra Kelekar was born on March 25, 1925 at
Cuncolim in south Goa. Influenced by the Gandhian thoughts, he

36

was actively involved in the freedom struggle and the Goa liberation
movement. Though he also wrote in Marathi and Hindi, his
contributions to the growth of Konkani were immense. Always at the
forefront of the Konkani movement, he struggled to seek recognition
for the Konkani language.

Mukesh Ambani
RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani has topped Forbes
magazine's list of the 100 richest Indians for the third year in-a-row,
pipping billionaires like L N Mittal and Azim Premji with a net worth of
USD 27 billion.

S
N
O. P. Bhatt
IO
T
State Bank of India Chairman O. P. Bhatt
been elected
CA has(IBA)
the new Chairman of the Indian Banks' Association
for 2010I
11. Mr. Bhatt will take charge from M. V. Nair,
Chairman and ManagN
ing Director of Union Bank. HDFC BankUManaging Director Aditya
Puri, Bank of Baroda Chairman and Managing
Director M. D. Mallya
M Director
and Canara Bank Chairman and Managing
A. C. Mahajan
M
were elected deputy chairmen.OYes Bank Managing Director and
Chief Executive Officer RanaCKapoor has been elected Honorary
Secretary of the association.
IA
D
E Sachin
Milestones M
have become so routine in Sachin Tendulkars
E
career that it hardly
as a surprise when he touched another one
E firstcame
by becomingRthe
batsman in crickets history to notch up an asS Test hundreds. The 37-year-old right-hander, who has
tonishing 50
spent a remarkable over 20 years in international cricket, has perhaps every batting record that is there to be taken under his belt and
adding to the countless tally is the historic hundred that he struck
against South Africa in the opening Test at Centurion, on December
19, 2010. Much before his debut on November 15, 1989, Tendulkars
precocious talent was there to be seen when he shared an unbeaten
664-run stand with buddy Vinod Kambli in the Lord Harris Shield
inter-school game in 1988. Tendulkar is also the only batsman in the
world who has scored a double ton in ODIs, a feat he achieved in
Gwalior against South Africa in February. This feat was included in
Time magazines top 10 sports moments of the year.

37

Sharad Pawar
Sharad Pawar assumed office as President of the International Cricket Council (ICC) at its annual conference in Singapore.
The Union Agriculture Minister and former President of the Board of
Control for Cricket in India succeeded David Morgan after serving
as the ICC Vice- President since 2008. Mr. Pawar is only the second
Indian, after Jagmohan Dalmiya, to have become the highest executive of the world cricket body. Soon after taking over as the seventh President of the ICC for a two-year term.

S
Kapil Dev
N
Legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev, who led India
IOto their only
ODI World Cup triumph in 1983, has been inducted T
into the International Cricket Councils Hall of Fame. A commemorative
was
CAin front cap
I
presented to Kapil by ICC President David Morgan,
of fellow
N
Hall of Famer Clive Lloyd, as well as an audience of ICC officials
U
and other invited guests at the governing bodys headquarters in
M with the Federation of
Dubai. The Hall of Fame, run in association
M
International Cricketers' Associations (FICA), recognises some of
the legends of the game.
CO
UK
IA Sinha
D
UK Sinha appointed
the new Chairman of Securities ExE asSinha
change Board of India
(SEBI).
will replace CB Bhave on Feb.
M
17, 2011. Sinha isEnow the Chairman and Managing Director of UTI
Asset Management
E Company.
R
S
Yesuratnam
Magistrate, A Yesuratnam of Venkatagiri Court in Sree Potti
Sreeramulu Nellore District declared judgements in 300 different
cases. This is the first time that number of judgements is announced
in one single day in the history of Indian judiciary.

Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar can now be seen in IAF fatigues along with
the Sukhoi fighter aircraft in the forces 2011 calendar. The cricket
icon, who was recently conferred the honorary rank of Group Captain, features in the calendar wearing a green flying suit with helmet

38

tucked under his left arm. Sachin appears on the January 2011
page of the calendar with an air superiority fighter Su-30MKI in the
background. Sachin is the only person appearing in the calendar,
which otherwise carries the pictures of various fighter planes and
transport aircraft of the IAF. On September 3, the IAF conferred the
honorary rank of Group Captain on Sachin for his cricketing achievements and contribution to the nation. Sachin is the first sportsperson
to be conferred a rank by IAF and the first personality with no aviation
background to receive the honour.

Prasoon Joshi

S
N
IO
T
CA
I
Prasun Chatterjee
UN student whose reAn Indian environmental engineering
Mof detecting toxic lead and
search has contributed to a new way
M
copper in water, has won one of the
highest US research honours.
O
Chatterjee, a research student at
the University of Lehigh, PennsylC Gonter Environmental Chemistry
vania, received the 2010 C. Ellen
Award from the AmericanIA
Chemical Society's (ACS) Environmental
Chemistry Division. D
E
MShyam Saran Negi
E Negi, resident of the remote Kalpa village in
Shyam Saran
E
Kinnaur district
of
Pradesh, was the first to cast his vote in
SRIndiasHimachal
independent
first elections on October 23, 1951. Elections in

Ad-man and lyricist, he has been named as the Chairman of

McCann Worldgroup Creative Leadership Council. This is the first
time in McCanns history that an Asian has been appointed to the
top global creative position.

snow-bound Kinnaur region were held ahead of other places in India, where the elections were held in January and February of 1952.

He Pingping
He Pingping of China, at 2 feet 5 inches is the worlds shortest
man and Sultan Kosen of Turkey, at 8 feet 1 inches is the tallest man.

Rahat Taslim
Rahat Taslim from Giridih, Jharkhand has become the first
contestant to win the prize money of Rs.1 crore in the fourth season
of game show Kaun Banega Crorepati.

39

40

John Wakefield

Mazlan Othman

John Wakefield, fondly known as Papa,'the torchbearer of

Karnataka's first eco-tourism project the Kabini River Lodge on
the banks of the Kabini at Karapur in Mysore district, passed away.

Malaysian astrophysicist, she has been appointed as the

head of the UNs little-known Office for the Outer Space Affairs
(UUNOOSA). She is officially the worlds first contact for any aliens
that may come visiting.

Chinthakindi Mallesham

A. Divya

Chinthakindi Mallesham of Sharajipet in Nalgonda Dist selected by the Forbes Magazine as one of the 'seven most powerful rural
enterpreneurs'. Mallesham who dropped the school in eighth class
invented Laxmi Asu Machine to ease the work of handloom weavers.

A. Divya is the first woman cadet in the history of the Officers

Training Academy, one of Indias premier defence training institutes,
to be decorated with its highest award, the Sword of Honour.

A.K. Antony

Sudarsan Pattnaik

S
N
A.K. Antony became the first Defence Minister Ito
on the
Olandregion
Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) of Nyoma in the Ladakh
of
T
A
Jammu and Kashmir.The ALG, activated in September,2009
for fixedC and close to
wing aircraft, is 23 km from the Line of Actual IControl
N
the Sino-Indian border.
U
Shabana Mahmood
M
Shabana Mahmood, the Labour
M candidate for Birmingham
O
Ladywood, in central England, and
Yasmin Qureshi, Labour candiC north-west, became Britain's first
date for Bolton South East, in the
A
women Muslim MPs.
I
D
Atul
E Khare
M
U.N. Secretary-general
Ban Ki-moon has appointed Atul
Khare of India asEAssistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping
E
Operations.
R
S
Sanath Jayasuriya

Sri Lankan cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya made his debut as a

lawmaker, with a runaway victory from a parliamentary constituency
in Matara district in the south. Jayasuriya won on the ticket of the
ruling United People's Freedom Party alliance of the President
Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Vim Kochhar
For the first time, an India-born businessman Vim Kochhar
has been nominated to the Canadian Senate by Prime Minister
Stephen Harper.

S
N
Orissa-based renowned sand artict, he has won
peoples
IO theFestival
T
choice award at the 8th International Sand Sculpture
in
Berlin, for his creation on global warming. CA
I
Arjun Bajpayee
N
U
16-year-old resident of Uttar Pradesh's Noida city, he has
M
become the youngest Indian to climb the Mount Everest. He broke
M Maharashtra who became the
the record of Krushnaa Patil,18, from
O
youngest Indian to reach the highest
peak in 2009.
C
Capt Tejdeep
A Singh Rattan
I
A 31-year-old Dentist,
D he has become the first Sikh in over 25
years to be allowed toEcomplete US Army officer basic training without giving up his turban
M or shaving his full beard.
E
Sanjiv Mehta
E
R
Sanjiv
Mehta
is
the
new owner of East India Company, the
S
worlds first multinational whose forces once ruled much of the
globe, including India.

Hardeep Singh Puri

Indian Ambassador to the United Nations Hardeep Singh
Puri has been elected Chairman of the all important Security Council
Committee on counter-terrorism and two other key committees of
this 15-membered body. Elected for a two-year term, Mr. Puri would
chair the UN Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee. He
replaces Ertugrul Apakan, Ambassador and Permanent
Representative of Turkey, whose term expired on December 31, 2010.

41
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A PPOINTMENTS

N A K Browne is new Air Force Vice-Chief

Air Marshal NAK Browne, an ace fighter pilot, 2011 January 1,
took over as the Vice Chief of Indian Air Force. He succeeds Air
Marshal PK Barbora, who retired on 2010 December 31. AIR
correspondent reports commissioned into the fighter stream in
1972, Air Marshal Browne has flown aircraft including the vintage
Hunter, all variants of MiG-21s, Jaguar and SU-30MKI. An alumnus
of the National Defence Academy, Air Marshal Browne is a fighter
combat leader and has also served as an instructor at the Tactics
and Combat Development Establishment and Defence Services
Staff College, Wellington. A graduate of the Air Command and Staff
College, USA, the Air Marshal has held many key posts, including
Chief Operations Officer and Air Officer Commanding of a SU-30
base and Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Intelligence) at Air Headquarters.
He was also responsible for establishing the Indian Defence Wing
in Tel Aviv, Israel in April 1997 where he served as the defence attache
till July 2000. Air Marshal Browne was previously commanding the
Delhi-based Western Air Command.

42

post independence era. An erudite man with a keen interest in

Economics, Public Finance, Theoretical Physics and Hindu and
Buddhist philosophies, he would remain at the helm of the judiciary
till September 29, 2012. He started his career as a class IV employee
and possesses integrity as the only asset. Justice Kapadia was
part of the Constitution bench that in January 2007 declared that
laws placed under the protective umbrella of the Ninth Schedule of
the Constitution were open to judicial review.

Marri Sashidhar Reddy

IA
D
E
The government
announced the appointment of the former
M
Chief Justice of India,
Justice
Balakrishnan, as the sixth chairE HumanK.G.Rights
E
person of the National
Commission (NHRC). Justice Balakrishnan,
SR 65, retired as CJI on May 12. He was appointed a

S
N
IO
T
CA
Narsingha MishraI
UN the appointment of
The Central Government announced
Narsingha Mishra as another part time
to the 19th Law
M member
Commission. He was a senior Advocate
in the Orissa High Court.
M
Now the Law Commission hasOtwo full-time members and seven
C Reddy is the Chairman of 19th
part-time members. P Venkatarama
Law Commission.
IA
D
Rajapaksa
E re-elected President
On JanuaryM
27, 2010, Mahinda Rajapska emerged victoriE
ous in the bitterly-fought
first post-LTTE era Presidential elections.
E against former
He won fighting
army chief Sarath Fonseka, securR
ing nearly S
60 per cent of the total votes polled.

Justice Sarosh Homi Kapadia

Indian - American Pulitzer Prize - winning author Jhumpa

Lahiri has been appointed as a member of U.S. President Barak
Obama's Committee on the Arts and Humanities, along with five
others.

S
N
IO
T
CA
I
UN
M
M
CO

Justice K.G. Balakrishnan

Supreme Court judge in 2000 and sworn in as CJI on January 14,

2007. The post of NHRC chairperson had been lying vacant for the
past one year after the retirement of Justice Rajendra Babu. Since
then, Justice G. P. Mathur had been acting as the commission's.

Justice S.H. Kapadia has been appointed the Chief Justice

of India. He is the 38th CJI and will have a tenure of two years and
five months. Justice Kapadia has vast experience in tax, finance
and business matters, besides other civil cases and issues relating
to crime. Born on September 29, 1947, he is the first CJI born in

Marri Sashidhar Reddy appointed as Vice Chairman of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). He is an elected
member of Legislative Assembly from Andhra Pradesh and a former
member of NDMA.

Jhumpa Lahiri

Justice M.N. Rao

The former Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court,
Makani Narayana Rao, assumed charged as Chairperson of the

43

National Commission for Backward Classes. Justice Rao (74), who

hails from Nellore in Andhra Pradesh, was appointed permanent
judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court in July 1986 and he served
as Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court from November 1997 to April 1998. After his retirement, he has been practising
in the Supreme Court. As a panel lawyer for many State governments, he handled several sensitive issues.

Satyanand Mishra
Satyanand Mishra appointed as Chief Information Commissioner to succeed AN Tiwari. The high-level committee headed by
Manmohan Singh including Sushma Swaraj and Veerappa Moily
decided in favour of Satyanand Mishar.

S
N
IO
T
P.J. Thomas
A
C
I
P.J. Thomas, former Telecom Secretary, was sworn in as
14th Central Vigilance Commissioner by the
UNPresident of India.
M
S.Y. Quraishi
M
S.Y. Quraishi has been appointed
as the 17th Chief Election
COfirst Muslim to hold the post. Dr.
Commissioner of India. He is the
Quraishi earlier held the position
IA of Election Commissioner. In the
management of elections,DDr. Quraishi has brought a special focus
E voters education and youth involvement
on peoples participation,
Mthrough scientific research and interventions.
in the electoral process
He has been anEardent proponent for lending strength to the
Eelection functionaries. Born on 11 June 1947, Dr
grassroots level
R
S his Masters degrees from St. Stephens College
Quraishi completed
in Delhi before joining the Indian Administrative Service in 1971. He
received a Ph.D for his thesis on Role of Communication and Social
Marketing in Development of Women and Children. Dr Quraishi is
known for his special contributions in social sector reforms covering
health, education, population, drug abuse, and civil society action.
He also has a number of books, articles and talks to his credit on
issues related to democracy, elections, HIV AIDS and Family
Planning, social marketing, women and child development and
Youth. His book Social Marketing for Social Change has broken
new ground in the field of Development Communication.

44

Nehchal Sandhu
Bihar-cadre IPS officer of 1973 batch Nehchal Sandhu
appointed as Chief of Intelligence Bureau from January 1, 2011.
Nehchal Sandhu will succeed Rajiv Mathur of 1972 batch.

R. K. Medhekar
Senior IPS officer R. K. Medhekar will be the new Director
General of elite commando force National Security Guard. Medhekar,
a 1975 batch officer of Kerala cadre, currently serving as Special
Director General of Border Security Force.

S
N
S. Ramakrishnan
IO
T
S. Ramakrishnan, Director (Projects), Vikram
Sarabhai Space
A Director
Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, has been appointed
of Liquid
C
I
Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) of theNIndian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO).
U
M
P. Venkatarama Reddy
M
The Centre has appointed
Justice P. Venkatarama Reddy, a
O
retired judge of the Supreme C
Court as chairperson of the 19th Law
Commission, which will have
IA tenure up to August 31, 2012.
D
E Dilma Rousseff
M has been elected as the first female
Dilma Rousseff
E
President of Brazil.
economist, Rousseff is a former
E who 62-year-old
Marxist guerrilla
was jailed and tortured for three years in early
R
S against dictatorship in Brazil.
1970 for fighting
K. Vijay Kumar
K. Vijay Kumar has been appointed as the Director General
of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

Ansar Parvez
Ansar Parvez has been name head of IAEA, the UN nuclear
watchdog. Head of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, Ansar
Parvez, will remain Chairman for the next 12 months, taking over
from Malaysia.

45

46

Naoto Kan

Sonia Gandhi

Naoto Kan has been elected as the Prime Minister of Japan.

He has become the fifth Prime Minister of Japan in three years,
taking the helm as the country struggles to rein in a huge public
debt, engineer growth in an aging society, and manage ties with
security ally USA and a rising China.

UPA chairperson and Congress President, she has been

appointed as the head of National Advisory Council (NAC), four years
after quitting the post over an office-of-profit controversy. She will
hold the rank and status of a Cabinet Minister.

Julia Gillard
Julia Gillard scripted history when she was elected as the
first woman Prime Minister of Australia. She succeeded Kevin Rudd,
who stepped down following revolt against him within the Labour
party. The rebellion had been spearheaded by Ms Gillard, opposing
his policies on health, education and climate change.

S
N
IO
T
A
Roza Otunbayeva IC
Roza Otunbayeva has been elected
first woman
UN asin athereferendum
President of Kyrgystan. She claimed victory
M till 2011, a vote held toin
Kyrgyzstan, making her the interim President
decide the legitimacy of her rule afterM
President Kurmanbek Bakiyev
regime was ousted in April 2010. O
C
Nitin
A
I Noharia
D
An Indian-American
E he has taken over as the Dean of Harvard
Business School. He is the first person of Indian origin to occupy
M
the prestigious and high profile post.
E
E Kamla Persad
R
S
A 58-year-old woman of Indian origin, she has been elected
as the first woman Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago. Her party,
Peoples Partnership, won 29 of the 41 parliamentary seats to end
the 43-yeaqr-old rule of the ruling party.

Dr Ratan Kumar Sinha

Dr Ratan Kumar Sinha has been appointed as the new
Director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). He is closely
associated with the design and development of Indias first Thoriumbased advanced Heavy Water reactor.

Salil Shetty
Salil Shetty has been appointed as the Secretary-General of
Amnesty International. He is the first Indian to be appointed to the
job and will succeed Irene Khan in June 2010.

S
N
Michelle Bachelet
IO
T
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced
the appointment
CAto head
I
of former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet
a new U.N.
body that will seek to improve the lives of N
women and girls around
U
the world. The body will be known officially as the U.N. Entity for
M
Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, but officials say
M
it will be referred to as U.N. Women.
O
C Gillard
Julia
IA
Julia Gillard wasDsworn in as Australia's first woman Prime
E was toppled as the leader of the ruling
Minister after Kevin Rudd
Labour party.
M
E
Sam Pitroda
E
R
S Minister has approved the setting up of a National
Prime
Innovation Council to prepare a road map for the Decade of
Innovation 2010-2020. The National Innovation Council would be
headed by Sam Pitroda, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Public
Information Infrastructure and Innovations. The Council has been
given the mandate to evolve an Indian model of innovation focusing
on inclusive growth and creating an appropriate eco system
conducive to fostedng inclusive innovation. It will delineate
appropriate policy initiatives within the government required to spur
innovation. It will also promote the setting up of Sectoral Innovation
Councils and State Innovation Councils.

47
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D EA
THS
EATHS

K.M. Mathew
K.M. Mathew, Chief Editor of the mass-circulation Malayalam
newspaper Malayala Manorama, passed away at his residence. He
was 93. He had age-related ailments, but was active and at work till
a few months ago. Born on January 2, 1917, Mr. Mathew started off
as a rubber planter in Chickmagalur in Karnataka. He later went to
Bombay to look after another line of the family business. He joined
the family-owned Malayala Manorama in 1954 as its General
Manager and Managing Editor. Mr. Mathew became the Chief Editor
of the newspaper, founded in 1888, in 1973. Mr. Mathew was
honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 1998.

48

K.Devi Vara Prasad

Senior Telugu film producer K.Devi Vara Prasad Passed
away on Friday at Hyderabad. He was 68 years old. He produced
several hit films with the late NTR and Chiranjeevi. His films include
'Naa Desam', 'Tiruguleni Manishi', Kondaveeti Raja',and the hugelypopular 'Gharana Mogudu'.

Eugenie Blanchard

S
N
IO
Jyoti Basu
T
A of West Bengal,
The CPM patriarch and former Chief Minister
C
I
he died on January 17, 2010 at the age of 95. The colossus of
N
Indian politics left behind a void that will U
be hard to fill, not only in the
Left but also national politics. He was born
July 8, 1914 in Kolkata.
M onCollege
In 1935 he graduated from the Presidency
of Kolkata with
M
honours in English. Then he went
to
London
to
study
it was
COCommunism. In 1940lawhe and
here that he was influenced by
joined the
then undivided CommunistIA
Party of India. He was one of the founderD
members of CPM in 1964.
E In 1977 he became the Chief Minister of
West Bengal and continued to hold the office for 23 straight years,
M
making him the longest-serving Chief Minister in India. He quit as
E
Chief MinisterEin November 2000. His major achievements as Chief
R Bengal were rural land reforms and entrenching of
Minister ofSWest
the Panchayati Raj institutions. Jyoti Basu played a major role in

S
N
IO
T
CA
I
N
U
Homi Sethna
M
M
Indian nuclear scientist Homi Sethna has died at the age 86.
O
During his career Sethna held C
several posts including director of
the Bhabha Atomic Research
and chairman of the Atomic
AhisCentre
I
Energy Commission. During
time
with
the AEC Sethna presided
ED at Pokhran in 1974.
over India's nuclear experiment
M
M Rajasekhara Murthy
E
E
SeniorRJD(S) leader and Rajya Sabha member M
RajasekharaSMurthy died at the age of 88 due to cardiac arrest.

World's oldest person, named Eugenie Blanchard of French

West Indies died at the age of 114.

Rajasekhara Murthy was a freedom fighter. He was first elected to

Rajya Sabha in 1994 and elected to Rajya Sabha recently from
Bangalore in 2006.

formation of coalition governments at the Centre in 1989, 1996,

1997 and 2004. In 1996, he narrowly missed out on becoming Prime
Minister of India after his partys veto.

Narayana Rao Pawar

K.N.Raj

Narayana Rao Pawar dies at the age of 85 in Hyderabad due

to ill health. He was born on 3 March 1926 a freedom fighter in
India's struggle for independence and was the first citizen to throw a
bomb on the last Nizam of Hyderabad to kill him.

K.N.Raj, widely respected development economist, who was

the economic adviser to Prime Ministers from Jawaharlal Nehru to
P.V.Narasimha Rao and one of the architects of the Indian plan
edifice, passed away. He was 85.

49

50

Cherukuri Lenin

Girija Prasad Koirala

The former international Archer, Cherukuri Lenin died in a

road accident. Two of the Archers he had coached won silver medals
at the recently concluded Common Wealth Games in New Delhi.

Five-time Prime Minister of Nepal and architect of the

landmark peace deal with the Maoists that ended a decade-long
insurgency in Nepal.

Milon Kumar Banerjee

Nanaji Deshmukh

Milon Kumar Banerjee, the former Attorney-General of India,

passed away. Mr. Banerjee, as Attorney-General, had the rare honour
of being called upon to address the Parliament regarding the powers
of the Election Commission on August 5, 1993, a request that had
not been made to the Attorney-General for decades, and the Padma
Awards case, where he argued before the Supreme Court that these
awards were not titles and as such were not violative of Article 18 of
the Constitution.

One of the founder members of Bhartiya Jan Sangh, social

worker and former member of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sbha. He was 93.

S
N
IO
T
CA
I
Bhairon Singh Shekhawat
UN Chief Minister of
The former Vice-President and three-time
Rajasthan in the past, Bhairon SinghM
Shekhawat died in Jaipur
following cardiac arrest.
M
O
G.PC
. Birla
Eminent industrialistIA
G.P. Birla passed away. Son of B.M.
Birla, who had helped toDset up units such as Orient Paper and
E
Industries, Hyderabad Industries
and Nigeria Engineering Works.
He was also involvedM
in setting up the Birla Institute of Technology in
Ranchi, Birla Science
and Technological Museum and Birla
E Cultural
E
Archaeological and
Research Institute.
SR Arjun Sengupta
Eminent economist and Rajya Sabha MP. He leaves behind
a policy footprint that changed the way poverty alleviation
programmes are discussed in India.

David Warren
A pioneering Australian scientist who invented the black box
after investigating the worlds first jet airliner crash in 1953. He was
85. The challenges of determining the causes of an air crash led
him to the idea of a recording device that could withstand a crash
where there were no survivors and no witnesses.

Kakkadah Nandanath Raj

S
N
IO
T
A
Nirmal Pandey IC
N rom National School
Hindi films actor. He was 46. A graduate
U
of Drama, he is best known for his roles in Bandit Queen, Iss raat
M kya.
kee subha nahin and Pyar Kiya to darna
M
TahirO
Hussain
C
Well-known Hindi film-maker and father of film star Amir
IA hits like Hum hain rahi pyar ke,
Khan. He is known for producing
D
Zakhmee, Anamika
E and Caravan.
M Erich Segal
E
Author Eof the tear-jerking novel Love Story and screenwriter
of the Oscar-winning
film version. He was 72.
SR
Leading economist of India who made a significant
contribution in preparation of Indias first five-year Plan (1951-56).
He was 85.

51
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P LACES

Chernobyl
Chernobyl now open to tourists. Ukraine announces official
tours of the 1986 nuclear disaster site. Visitors would be offered
tours inside the 50km exclusion zone set up after reactor four at the
plant exploded on April 26, 1986, showering northern Europe in
radioactive fallout.

S
N
Ocucaje Desert
IO
T
Buried in Peru's Ocucaje Desert, fossils A
draw smugglers.
Cfrom
I
Discoveries there include gigantic fossilised teeth
the legendary
N
50-foot shark called the megalodon, the bones
of a huge penguin
U
with surprisingly colourful feathers and the fossils of the Leviathan
M
Melvillei, a whale with teeth longer than those of the Tyrannosaurus
M predator ever to prowl the
rex, making it a contender for the largest
O
oceans.
C
A
St IPetersburg
On November 21,
ED2010, Russia called for global efforts to
avert extinction of tigers
wildlife activists and officials from 13
M asgathered
countries, including
India,
at a summit in St Petersburg to
E
discuss ways toEdouble the population of the endangered animal
SR 3,200. Due to decades of poaching and habitat
from the existing
destruction, there are currently only 3,200 tigers living in the wild,
according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), as against 1 lakh a
century ago.

Davos
Over 2500 global leaders in business and politics gathered
in Davos, Switzeraland, for the World Economic Forum. Davos is
located on the Landwasser River, in the Swiss Alps, between the
Plessur and Albula Range. At 1,560 meters, it is the highest city in
Europe.

52

Haiti
The capital of this tiny island nation, Port-au-Prince, was hit
by an earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale on January
13, 2010. More than three lakh people perished in the tragedy. The
earthquake caused major damage to Port-au-Prince, Jacmel and
other settlements in the region. Many notable landmark buildings
were significantly damaged or destroyed, including the Presidential
Palace, the National Assembly building, the Port-au-Prince
Cathedral, and the main jail. Among those killed were Archbishop of
Port-au-Prince Joseph Serge Miot, and opposition leader Micha
Gaillard. The headquarters of the United Nations Stabilization
Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), located in the capital, collapsed, killing
many, including the Missions Chief, Hdi Annabi.

S
N
IO
T
CA
New Delhi
I
The Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF)
UN organised the first
ever Sports Law Conference in New Delhi, on July 24-25, 2010, to
Mto sports and law in India.
deliberate on various issues related
M
Among other things, the conference discussed the Right to
Information (RTI) and accountability
CO of sports federations, and
legalities involved in staging major sports events like the Olympics,
Asian Games, Commonwealth
IA Games.
D
E Bengaluru
M
The Electronic Warfare India Conference (EWIC) was held in
Ewas the first international conference on electronic
Bengaluru. This
E
warfare to take
SR place in India.
Jaipur

UNESCO has granted the World Heritage status to Jantar

Mantar in Jaipur which is a celebrated astronomical observatory
built in 18th century. This is Indias 28th and Rajasthans second
site (after Keoladev National Park) to be given the World Heritage
status.

Tiruchi
V.K. Saraswat, Chairman of Combustion Institute Indian
Section (CIIS)and Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister, said that

53

ultra super critical thermal technology developed by the BHEL and

the NTPC would be used for the first time in the 500-MW Integrated
Gasification Combined Cycle power plant coming up at Tiruchi.

Kasaragod
The Kerala government had adopted a slew of measures to
help the victims of Endosulfan by banning the use of such pesticides
in Cashew Plantation in Kasaragod and efforts are on to promote
organic farming.

Charminar

S
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to take upNrepair of
Charminar. Three months after it fell, the chunk of lime
IOstucco work
on Charminar is in for repair. Charminar meaning T
"Mosque of the
A mosque and
Four Minarets" and "Four Towers" is the most famous
C
I
monument in the city of Hyderabad. Sultan Muhammad Quli Qutb
N built Charminar in
Shah , the 5th ruler of the Qutb Shahi dynasty
U
1591 shortly after he had shifted his capital from Golkonda to what
M
is now known as Hyderabad.
M
Narnaul
CO
Narnaul, a non-descript
A village located in the backwaters of
Haryana has got Indias Ifirst aero sports centre, which was
D Bhupinder Singh Hooda, at the local
inaugurated by Chief Minister
E
airstrip on January 31,
The centre, named after the late Prime
M2010.
Minister Rajiv Gandhi,
has
been
the Department of Civil
Ein collaborationsetwithuptheby Aero
E
Aviation, Haryana,
Club of India.
R
S
Mangalore coast
Two blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus), the largest
mammals on Earth, were recently spotted off the Mangalore coast
during a marine survey carried out by the Central Marine Fisheries
Research Institute (CMFRI), Kochi. he blue whales belong to the
Rorquals family, which includes the humpback, fin and minke
whales. Their skin is greyish blue with light grey mottling on the
back. They can grow up to 33 metres in length and weigh up to 200
tonnes. Blue whales are long-distance migrants known to undertake
long journeys in search of food and mating grounds. Recently,
upwelling (an oceanographic phenomenon that involves wind-driven

54

motion of dense, cooler, and usually nutrient-rich water towards the

ocean surface, replacing the warmer, usually nutrient-depleted
surface water) was reported in the Malabar coast extending from
Kozhikode to Mangalore, making the stretch abundant in fish and
prawn varieties. The whales could have come in search of food. A
few dolphins were also spotted during the period.

Haryana
Narnaul, a non-descript village located in the backwaters of
Haryana has got Indias first aero sports centre, which was
inaugurated by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, at the local
airstrip on January 31, 2010. The centre, named after the late Prime
Minister Rajiv Gandhi, has been set up by the Department of Civil
Aviation, Haryana, in collaboration with the Aero Club of India.

S
N
IO
T
CA
I
Tembhali
UN Nandurbar district of
This remote village in tribal-dominated
Maharashtra is the first place in India
residents have been
Mwhose
issues the Unique Identification Number
(UID) or Aadhaar.
M
Burj
COKhalifa
On January 4, 2010,
blazing fireworks and dazzling lights
IAworld's
marked the opening of the
tallest tower, Burj Khalifa, formerly
D
known as Burj Dubai.EThe $1.5 billion, 818 metres (2,684 feet) high
M
structure is an unprecedented
engineering marvel. Burj Khalifa
E
has been designed
to be the centrepiece of a large-scale, mixedE that will include 30,000 homes, nine hotels, 7.4
use development
R
S at least 19 residential towers, the Dubai Mall, and
acres of parkland,
the 30-acre man-made Burj Khalifa Lake.
With more than 160 stories, Burj Khalifa holds the following
records:
Tallest building in the world
Tallest free-standing structure in the world
Highest number of stories in the world
Highest occupied floor in the world
Highest outdoor observation deck in the world
Elevator with the longest travel distance in the world
Tallest service elevator in the world
Not only is Burj Khalifa the worlds tallest building, it has also

55

broken two other impressive records: tallest structure, previously

held by the KVLY-TV mast in Blanchard, North Dakota, and tallest
free-standing structure, previously held by Torontos CN Tower. The
Chicago-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat
(CTBUH) has established three criteria to determine what makes a
tall building tall. Burj Khalifa wins by far in all three categories.
The building has returned the location of Earth's tallest freestanding structure to the Middle East where the Great Pyramid of
Giza claimed this achievement for almost four millennia before being
surpassed in 1311 by Lincoln Cathedral in England.

S
N
Vancouver, Canada has been named as the O
most
I worlds
liveable city. Delhi and Mumbai are placed at 113th
and 117th,
T
respectively, in the survey conducted by EconomistAIntelligence Unit
C
(EIU). Among the top ten are four Australian citiesI Sydney, Melbourne,
N
Perth and Adelaide. Zimbabwes Harare is lowest
U ranked.
South Africa
M
M
South Africa will host the Champions League Twenty20 cricket
tournament in September 2010.
COIn 2009 India had hosted the
tournament. The tournament will feature 12 teams, including three
IA
from 2010 IPL.
D
E Jalandhar
M
The Rail Coach
(RCF) at Jalandhar has developed
E Factorydouble-decker
E
Indias first air-conditioned,
prototype coach. The
R
Railways has
decided
to
introduce
these
coaches
on the yuva
S
Vancouver

trains.

Khedar
The first 600 MW unit of the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Thermal
Power project at Khedar, near Hisar, Haryana became operational
on February 10, 2010. The coal handling capacity of the plant, at
2,400 tonnes per hour, is the highest in India.

Kapurthala
The Rail Coach factory, Kapurthala, has rolled out Indias
first AC double-decker rake from its premises. The first AC double-

56

decker train has been introduced between Howrah (West Bengal)

and Dhanbad (Jharkhand).

Seethampeta
Seethampeta, located in the north - western part of
Srikakulam district in Andhra Pradesh and home to the Konda
Savaras has now become part of the Food and Agricultural
Organisation's (FAO) Globally Important Agricultural Heritage
Systems (GIAHS). GIAHS has begun identifying and then
documenting unique agricultural systems across the world to create
'agricultural heritage'.

S
N
IO
Palakkad
T
Palakkad district in kerala is the first fully
CAelectrified district in
I
the country.
UN
Peace Airport
M
China is building a new airport near Mount Everest, to be
M
called Peace Airport in Xigaze O
prefecture in Tibet.
C
Chennai
A
I
International Conference
on Biodiversity in relation to food
ED held in Chennai.
and human security was
M Sivaganga
E
EBaer Clean Energy, a subsidiary of Moser Baer
Moser
R
S commissioned a 5 MW solar farm at Sivaganga in
Projects, has
Tamil Nadu. It is Indias largest solar farm. The technical expertise
was provided by the EPC (engineering procurement
commissioning) arm of Moser Baer Solar. International Finance
Corporation and the IDBI bank have provided debt for the project.
The solar farm has been commissioned using amorphous silicon
thin film technology which is best suited for the Indian climatic
conditions and is connected to the 110 kVA local grid. The project
was awarded by the Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency (TEDA)
and is being implemented under the generation- based incentive
scheme of the Union Ministry of New & Renewable Energy.

57
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S PORTS

XVI Asian Games

The 2010 Asian Games held at Guangzhou, China, has come
to an end, after 16 days of fierce competition. Medals were up for
grabs across 42 different disciplines, and 45 Asian nations sent in
their best athletes to try and win as many medals as possible.
China once again showed why they are the powerhouse of sports,
not only in Asia but at the Olympics too, with a sweep of medals over
most of the disciplines at the games. They ended up winning nearly
half the gold medals on offer, showcasing their overall strength as a
sporty nation. South Korea finished a credible second, ahead of
Japan, who once used to give China a tough fight for the top spot. A
point to note is that out of all the medals China won, almost half
were gold. This proves that when they competed, it was for the top
spot only. Another noteworthy mention is Iran. They have come from
no where and taken the 4th spot on the medal tally. With the successful hosting of the Asian Games 2010, China now hands over
the responsibility to the Koreans. The next edition of the Asian Games
will be held in 2014, in Incheon, South Korea.

IA
D
E
M

S
N
IO
T
CA
I
UN
M
M
CO

XVI Asian Games 2010 Medal Tally

RANK COUNTRY
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22

China
South Korea
Japan
Iran
Kazakhstan
India
Chinese Taipei
Uzbekistan
Thailand
Malaysia
Hong Kong
North Korea
Saudi Arabia
Bahrain
Indonesia
Singapore
Kuwait
Qatar
Philippines
Pakistan
Mongolia
Myanmar

199 119
76 65
48 74
20 14
18 23
14 17
13 16
11 22
11
9
9 18
8 15
6 10
5
3
5
0
4
9
4
7
4
6
4
5
3
4
3
2
2
5
2
5

98
91
94
25
38
33
38
23
32
13
17
20
5
4
13
6
1
7
9
3
9
3

416
232
216
59
79
64
67
56
52
40
40
36
13
9
26
17
11
16
16
8
16
10

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23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45

Jordan
2
2
2
Vietnam
1 17 15
Kyrgyzstan
1
2
2
Macau
1
1
5
Bangladesh
1
1
1
Tajikistan
1
0
3
Syria
1
0
1
United Arab Emirates 0
4
1
Afghanistan
0
2
1
Iraq
0
1
2
Lebanon
0
1
2
Laos
0
0
2
Nepal
0
0
1
Oman
0
0
1
Bhutan
0
0
0
Brunei
0
0
0
Cambodia
0
0
0
Maldives
0
0
0
Palestine
0
0
0
Sri Lanka
0
0
0
Timor-Leste
0
0
0
Turmenistan
0
0
0
Yemen
0
0
0
TOTAL
477 479 621

6
33
5
7
3
4
2
5
3
3
3
2
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1577

58

Indias Biggest medal haul:

After producing their best ever show in the Commonwealth
Games, India underlined its rising sporting prowess by bagging the
biggest medal haul in the Asian Games.
India finished sixth with 14 gold, 17 silver and 33 bronze for a
record 64-medal haul. Indias best medal haul in the Asian Games
till date was recorded in the 1982 Games in New Delhi when they
had won 13 gold, 19 silver and 25 bronze for an overall tally of 57.
India had finished 10th in the last edition of the Games in Doha with
a tally of 10-17-26. A quarter century ago there was no Kazakhstan,
Uzbekistan and the rest of the former Soviet bloc to make the competition as stiff as it was in Guangzhou.
Out of the 14 gold India won in Guangzhou, the highest number of five came from athletics and two each were won in boxing,
kabbadi and tennis and one each from shooting, cue sports and
rowing. Just like in many earlier editions of the Asian Games, athletics contributed the lions share in Indias number of gold medals in
this addition also. A.C. Ashwini (400m hurdles and womens 4x400
relay) and tennis star Somdev Devvarman (mens singles and
doubles) won two gold medals while Preeja Sreedharan bagged a
gold and a silver in womens 10,000m and 5,000m, respectively.
India got its first gold medal of the 2010 Asiad in Billiards
with Pankaj Advani winning the English Singles. Joseph Abraham
and Ashwini Chidananda grabbed gold medals in mens and
womens 400m hurdles, respectively. Teen sensation Vikas Krishan
ended Indian Boxings 12-year-old gold medal drought in the Asian
Games by winning the lightweight (60kg) title. Tarundeep Rai rewrote history in the archery championship by becoming the first
Indian individual medal winner, finishing second behind South Korean world record holder Kim Woojin.
Somdev Devvarman became the first man in 24 years to win
a gold in both single and doubles tennis category in Asian Games.
Ronjan Sodhi brought an end to the gold drought in shooting by
winning gold in the double trap (shot gun) event. Bajrang Lal Takhar
created history by notching up the first rowing gold medal for India in
the Asian Games. India opened a new page in its Asian Games
history with Ashish Kumar clinching the first-ever medal (bronze
medal in mens floor exercise) in gymnastics. Virdhawal Khade
broke the swimming medal drought after 24 years by winning a
bronze medal in mens 50m butterfly event.

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XIX Commonwealth Games

The 2010 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the
XIX Commonwealth Games, were held in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14
October 2010. A total of 6,081 athletes from 71 Commonwealth nations and dependencies competed in 21 sports and 272 events. It
was the largest international multi-sport event to be staged in Delhi
and India, eclipsing the Asian Games in 1951 and 1982. The opening and closing ceremonies were held at the Jawaharlal Nehru
Stadium, the main stadium of the event. It was the first time that the
Commonwealth Games were held in India and the second time it
was held in Asia after Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 1998. The official
mascot of the Games was Shera and the official song of the Games,
"Jiyo Utho Bado Jeeto", was composed by celebrated Indian musician A.R. Rahman. The final medal tally was led by Australia. The
host nation India gave its strongest performance yet to emerge second, while England placed third.

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XIX Commonwealth Games Medal Tally
M Bronze Total
Rank Nation
Gold
Silver
M
1
Australia
74
55
48
177
2
India
38 O
27
36
101
3
England
37C
59
46
142
4
Canada
32
75
IA2612 1711
5
South Africa
10
33
D
6
Kenya
12
11
9
32
E
7
Malaysia
13
35
M 1211 1011
8
Singapore
9
31
E
9
Nigeria
11
10
14
35
E
10
Scotland
9
10
7
26
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Mascot

The official mascot for the 2010 Commonwealth Games was

Shera, an anthropomorphised tiger.

Official song
The official song of the 2010 Commonwealth Games was
Jiyo Utho Bado Jeeto. It was composed and performed by the A. R.
Rahman. The song's title was based on the slogan of the games,
"Come out and play". The song was penned by Mehboob in Hindi
with a sprinkling of English words.

60

Indias performance:
Indian competitors came out with flying colours. A record
medal haul of 38 gold, 27 silver and 36 bronze medals, the bestever harvest for the country in the Games history, helped India climb
to the record-high second position and end the multi-discipline event
on a thumping note. The main haul of these 101 medals came from
the shooting range, wrestling mat, boxing ring, archery range and,
to everyone's surprise, the track and field events.
Rifle-shooting ace Gagan Narang scooped up four gold
medals, but could not achieve the feat of overhauling five-gold hero
of the 2006 Melbourne GamesSamresh Jung.
Teenage woman archer Deepika Kumari, daughter of an
auto-rickshaw driver, who held her nerves even as the more seasoned Dola Banerjee wilted, to come up with a golden double in the
women's recurve event.
The track and field events witnessed India's first gold medal
in 52 years when Krishna Poonia led a clean sweep of the women's
discus throw, Harwant Kaur and Seema Antil won the silver and
bronze.
The women's 4x400m relay squad struck an unexpected gold
with a superb display that pushed Nigeria and England to second
and third places.
The women shuttlers, led by Saina Nehwal, brought two gold
medals to bring down the curtains on the country's competitive show
with a bang. Those two gold medals in badminton were vital to help
India push England to the third place by the skin of their teeth.
Saina Nehwal created history by becoming the first Indian
woman to win the singles gold in badminton at the Commonwealth
Games. Legendary Prakash Padukone (1978) and the late Syed
Modi (1982) were the two men players to win the singles gold in the
Games. Jwala Gutta and Ashiwni Ponnappa scripted history by becoming the first Indian pair to win the gold at Commonwealth Games.
The men's hockey team, whose fortunes are followed closely
by the sports fans of the country, made history by making it to the
final for the first time before coming a cropper against world and
defending champions Australia in the summit clash. The 8-0 defeat
was huge and one of the biggest suffered by the country.
Wrestling contingent also did very well, winning 19 medals
in the 21 designated event. Among the 19 medals, there were 10

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gold, five silver and four bronze medals. Sushil Kumar literally walked
his way to gold, while the women wrestlers, participating in the
Games for the first time, stole the show with a memorable performance. In the six events for women, India won three gold, two silver
and a bronze medal to show their supremacy in the freestyle category.
The trio of Alka Tomar, Geeta and Anita won their final bouts
with ease, while Babita Kumari and Nirmala Devi missed out on
gold, losing their final rounds, but their performance drew praise
from all. Geeta became the first Indian women wrestler to bag a
gold medal in the Commonwealth Games.
India achieved unprecedented success in athletics by bagging 12 medals, including two gold. India's 12 medals were two
more than the number it won in all the earlier editions.
Krishna Poonia created history by breaking India's 52-yearold Commonwealth Games gold medal jinx by winning the gold
medal in women's discus throw. Harwant Kaur and Seema Antil
bagged silver and bronze, respectively.
Poonia also became the first Indian woman to bag a Commonwealth Games gold after 'Flying Sikh' Milkha Singh won the
men's 440 yards race in 1958 edition in Cardiff, Wales.
The women's 4X400m relay team of Manjeet Kaur, Sini Jose,
Ashwini Akkunji and Mandeep Kaur added another gold in a memorable race, beating strong teams like Nigeria and England.
Fancied fisticuff exponents Vijender Singh and Akhil Kumar
were ousted early but Indian boxers still delivered a historic golden
punch to come up with their best-ever campaign in the Games history. With a hat-trick of gold plus four bronze medals, the Indian ring
stylists recorded their best medal haul at the quadrennial multidiscipline sports event, bettering the 2006 campaign at Melbourne
by two.
Ashish Kumar of India created history by winning a bronze
medal in Gymnastics, the first ever medal in gymnastics for India in
the Commonwealth Games.

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Saina wins Hong Kong Open Super Series

Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal rallied to register a
scintilliating three-game victory over Shixian Wang of China to clinch
her third Super Series title of the year at the Hong Kong Open in
Wanchai. The 20-year-old Indian capped her career's fourth Super

62

Series title triumph with a 15-21 21-16 21-17 win over the third seed
Chinese in a gruelling one hour and 11 minutes summit clash at
the Queen Elizabeth Stadium. The girl from Hyderabad won backto-back titles - Indian Open Grand Prix, Singapore Open Super Series and defended the Indonesian Super Series - before clinching
the gold medal in the Commonwealth Games in October. Saina
played a tactical game after she lost the first game and clawed her
way back with some fast-paced rallies and powerful smashes to
outwit the Chinese world number five.

India-New Zealand Test series

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India won the three-Test series 1-0 after winning the third
Test in Nagpur by an innings and 198 runs. The first Test, played in
Ahmedabad, ended in a draw after VVS Laxman and Harbhajan
Singh put in a fight-back after India had been reduced to 15 for 5 at
one time. In the second Test played in Hyderabad, Brendon
McCullum notched up his best-ever Test score of 225 to ensure a
draw. Harbhajan Singh made history by becoming the first number
eight Test batsman to hit back-to-back centuries. In the first Test he
hit 115 and followed this with 111 not out in the second Test. His
105-run 10th wicket stand with Sreesanth the was best for India.

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One Day series 5-0. The rampant India's 5-0
ODI series sweep M
was set up by the bowlers. Skittled out for 103,
the Kiwis were Edown for the count. This is India's biggest win in
terms of ballsEagainst New Zealand. And India's only previous 5-0
sweep was
SRagainst England at home in the 2008/09 season.The
India-New Zealand One Day series

left-handed Gambhir was adjudged Player of the Series for 329

runs including two centuries at an average 109.66 in the series.

Sri Lanka-West Indies Test Series

West Indies opener Chris Gayle made the joint 12th highest
Test score with a magnificent 333 in the first Test. He became only
the fourth man to achieve the feat twice in Test history, after Sir
Donald Bradman, Brian Lara and Virender Sehwag.

Australia-Sri Lanka ODI series

Australia snapped a run of seven straight losses in all forms

63

64

Hero Honda Womens Indian Open Championship

tury with an unbeaten 53 to help India chase down the 207-run

target. Earleir, India won the first Test at Mohali by one wicket. A 81run ninth wicket stand between V.V.S. Laxman and Ishant Sharma
set up the opening win. Laxman scripted an unbeaten 73 runs and
Ishant Sharma chipped with a contribution of 31 runs.

Englands Laura Davies notched up a thrilling play-off win to

lift the trophy. The tournament was held in Gurgaon.

Sachin first to make 14,000 runs in Tests

ATP World Tour Finals

Sachin Tendulkar has become the only player to make 14,000

runs in Test cricket. At 12,178 runs, Australian skipper Ricky Ponting
remains his nearest rival.

of cricket when it beat Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the third and final
match. Sri Lanka claimed the series 2-1, after winning the first match
by one wicket and the second by 29 runs.

Roger Federer polished of Rafael Nadal 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 to capture his fifth season-ending finale, the ATP World Tour final. It was
for the first time in 24 years that top two players in ATP ranking
reached the season finale.

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CAFrontier Railway,
Bobby Singh of Imphal, a clerk at the North
I
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scripted history by becoming the world champion
WBPF World Bodybuilding Championship,Uheld at Varanasi. India
M after 22 years.
has won a world Bodybuilding Championship
M
India-Australia One Day Series
COseries 1-0 after the third and final
India won the three-match
ODI was abandoned because
of rain. The first match also had to be
IAThis
abandoned because of rain.
was the first one-day series vicD
E two decades.
tory over Australia in over
beat Australia by wickM The highlight ofIndia
ets in the second ODI.
the match was the matchE Virat Kohli.
winning 118 runs by
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Bangladesh-New Zealand One Day Series
S
Rubel Hossain grabber four wickets as Bangladesh completed a sweep with a thrilling three-run victory in the fifth and final
one day match. The 4-0 series win is Bangladeshs first sweep
against a major team.

India-Australia Test Series

Debutant Cheteshwar Pujara struck a sparkling 72 as India
defeated Australia by seven wickets in the second and final Test,
played at Bangalore, to sweep the series, win the Border-Gavaskar
trophy and consolidate their world number one status. Man of the
series Sachin Tendulkar followed up his first innings double cen-

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The 38th Ryder Cup matches were held at the
Itime
T
Resort in the city of Newport, Wales. It was the first
the compeAthe defending
tition was staged in Wales. With the USA as
Cup
C
I
holder the event was played on the newly-constructed
Twenty 10
N
course, specifically designed for the Ryder Cup. Team Europe won
U
the competition.
M
Surjit HockeyM
Tournament
Indian Oil, Mumbai, have
COclinched the overall trophy in the
27th Indian Oil Surjit Hockey tournament. They defeated Air India,
A
Mumbai via tie-breaker. I
D
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T20 Champions
League, 2010
M
IPL champions Chennai Super Kings, led ably by Mahendra
E the Warriors of South Africa by eight wickets
Singh Dhoni, defeated
E
R Champions League, played in South Africa.
to win the Airtel
S
Mary Kom wins World Championship
Ryder Cup, 2010

Indias woman boxer MC Mary Kom claimed a historic fifth

successive world championship title on September 18, 2010, beating Steluta Duta of Romania 16-6. This mother-of-two from Manipur
remains the only boxer to have won a medal in each edition of the
world championship.

India wins gold in fourth leg of World Cup

The Indian men's recurve team of Jayanta Talukdar,
Tarundeep Rai and Rahul Banerjee won gold in the fourth leg of the
World Cup archery in Shanghai. The trio whipped Japan, who had

65

beaten the formidable Koreans in the semi-final. Talukdar won

bronze in the individual event defeating Athens Olympic champion
Marco Galiazzo of Italy 7-3. Deepika Kumari lost the womens recurve
final, but the silver medal ensured Deepika her maiden place in the
grand final in Edinburgh.

Hockey Womens World Cup

Argentina defeated reigning World and Olympic champions
Netherlands 3-1 to win their second field hockey world title. They
had earlier won the title in 2002 in Australia. The championship was
held at Rosario, Argentina.

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Ronjon shoots gold at ISSF World Cup
IOdouble trap
Indias Ronjon Sodhi clinched a gold at the
T
Shooting in the ISSF World Cup finals in Izmir, Turkey
CA with a stunning
score of 195 out of 200.
I
Sushil becomes first Indian
to win
UNgold
World Championship
M
Wrestler Sushil Kumar has become the first Indian to win a
M
gold medal in the World Wrestling Championships, held in Moscow.
O
He defeated Alan Gogaev in theC66-kg freestyle category.
A 2010
USIOpen,
D
Rafael Nadal of E
Spain defeated Novak Djokovic (Serbia) to
win the mens singles title. The win gave him his first US open title
M
and was his ninth Grand Slam win.
E
Kim Clijsters
Belgium defeated Vera Zvonareva (Russia)
E ofsingles
R
to take the womens
title.
S

The mens doubles title was won by Mike and Bob Bryan of
USA who defeated Indo-Pak team of Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ulHaq.
The womens doubles title was won by Vania King (USA)
and Yaroslava Shvedova (Kazakhistan) while the mixed doubles
title was won by Liezel Huber (USA) and Bob Bryan (USA).

Wimbledon Championship, 2010

The 124th Championships, a Royal tournament thanks to
the first visit to the All England Club by Her Majesty the Queen for 33
years, was also a record-breaking occasion in many ways, most

66

notably in that unforgettable first round men's singles between John

Isner of the United States and France's Nicolas Mahut, which
smashed every existing record in the sport.
The Isner-Mahut first round marathon, which stretched over
three days, lasted 11 hours five minutes and totalled 183 games
before Isner staggered away the winner 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-6, 70-68.
The final set alone lasted just over eight hours. Both men shattered
the record for aces in one match, previously held by Ivo Karlovic at
78. Isner delivered 112 and Mahut also cracked the century with
103. An exhausted Isner crashed out to Thiemo De Bakker of Holland
in the next round, collecting just five games.
In the mens singles final Rafael Nadal beat Tomas Berdych
6-3, 7-5, 6-4 to win the title. This was the second Wimbledon title for
the Spaniard. Berdych became the first Czech since Ivan Lendl in
1987 to reach the Wimbledon final.
The womens singles title was won by defending champion
Serena Williams who beat Russias Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 6-2. The
victory took her to 13 Grand Slam singles titles, past Billie Jean
King, and sixth in the all-time list.
In the doubles, the men's title went to an unseeded pair,
Austria's Jurgen Melzer and Germany's Philipp Petzschner, playing
only their seventh tournament as a team. The women's doubles
was won by an American-Kazakh combination, Vania King and
Yaroslava Shvedova. Also unseeded, they overcame the Russians,
Elena Vesnina and Zvonareva, 7-6, 6-2. The mixed double's
championship fell to a seeded combination, Leander Paes and
Cara Black, the second seeds, who beat Wesley Moodie of South
Africa and Lisa Raymond (United States) 6-4. 7-6.

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French Open, 2010

Mens Singles title: Rafael Nadal won the title by defeating

Robin Soderling. This was his fifth French Open win.
Womens Singles title: Francesca Schiavone became the first
Italian woman to win a Grand Slam singles title when she defeated
Australian Samantha Stosur to win the womens singles title.
Mens Doubles title: Canadas Daniel Nestor and Serbias
Nenad Zimonjic won by beating defending champions Leander
Paes of India and Lukas Dlouhy of Czech Republic.
Womens Doubles title: Serena and Venus Williams of USA.
Serena Williams won her second French Open Women's Doubles

67

title, and the twelfth title in that discipline, which this was the fourth
win in a row in the women's doubles in the Slams. Venus Williams
won her second French Open Women's Doubles title, and the twelfth
title in that discipline, which this was the fourth win in a row in the
women's doubles in the Slams.
Mixed Doubles: Katarina Srebotnik and Nenad Zimonji?
were the winners. Srebotnik won her third French Open Mixed
Doubles title, and the fourth Slam title in that discipline. Zimonji?
won his second French Open Mixed Doubles title, and the fourth
Slam title in that discipline.

Australian Open, 2010

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Serena Williams defeated Belgiums Justine Henin
win
OGrandtoSlam
the womens singles title for the fifth time and her 12th
I
T record of 12
title. With this win she drew level with Billie Jean Kings
A
Grand Slam wins.
C
Roger Federer beat Andy Murray to win Ihis fourth Australian
N
open mens title, taking his own Grand Slam titles record to 16.
U
Leander Paes, with partner Cara Black, won the mixed
M
doubles title. This was his 11th Grand Slam title, equalling Mahesh
MIndian.
Bhupathis record of most wins by an
O
Mike and Bob Bryan won
the mens doubles title. The
womens doubles title was wonCby Serena and Venus Williams.
IA
Sri Lanka-New Zealand-India
One-Day Tri-series
D
Sri Lanka rode onETillakaratne Dilshans century to clinch the triM 74-run win over India, ending M.S. Dhonis
series title with an emphatic
E
sequence of four consecutive
series triumphs on Sri Lanka soil.
E
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S Sri Lanka-India Test Series
Veteran V.V.S. Laxman cracked a fighting unbeaten 103 as
India pulled off a five-wicket win in the third Test to level the threeTest series 1-1. Laxman was adjudged the man of the match while
Virender Sehwag was adjudged man of the series.

Tendulkar becomes most-capped player

Iconic Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar has become the
most-capped Test cricketer (169 Test matches). This feat was
achieved in the third and final Test against Sri Lanka, played in
August 2010. Steve Waugh (168 Test matches) of Australia had held
the record earlier.

68

Santosh Trophy, 2010

Kerala lad Denson Devdas struck twice as Bengal made a
spectacular comeback to beat Punjab 2-1, ending their 11 years title
drought in the National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy.

Atwal first Indian to win US PGA title

Arjun Atwal has become the first Indian ever to win a US PGA
title when he won the Wyndham Golf Championship.

Tejaswini becomes first Indian woman to win gold

at World Championships

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Tejaswani Sawant scripted history by becoming
first InIO the
dian woman shooter to clinch a gold medal at theT
World
Championships, with a world-record equalling score in 50m
CA Rifle Prone event
in Munich, Germany.
I
Hockey Champions Trophy,
UN 2010
M Champions Trophy, and
Australia won their third successive
11th in all, with a comprehensiveM
4-0 win over England. Netherlands secured the third place.
OThe championship was held at
Monchengladbach, Germany.C
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Hockey Asian Champions
Trophy (Women)
D
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Korea beat Japan
M held at Busan South Korea.
Hockey Championship,
The first Asian
E Women Champions Trophy drew the four highE
est-ranking teams
R in the region South Korea, China, Japan and
India whichSwill also compete for the gold medal in the Asian Games
to be held in Guangzhou, China, in November 2010.
India beat higher-ranked China 2-1 to win the bronze medal.

Youth Olympic Games

Singapore hosted the first Youth Olympics from August 14 to
26, 2010. A total of 3,531 athletes between 14 and 18 years of age
from 204 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) competed in 201
events in 26 sports. The opening ceremony of the Games was held
on 14 August at The Float@Marina Bay, a floating stage near downtown Singapore. Approximately 27,000 spectators attended the
event, which took place against a backdrop of the city's skyline.

69

Lyo and Merly were the official mascots. The duo ere made
up of a red male lion and a blue female Merlion. A contest held to
name the two mascots was won by two Singaporeans. It took designers from Cubix International about six months to complete designing the mascots.
China topped the medals tally with 30 gold medals, followed
by Russia (18) and South Korea (11). India was ranked 58 with 6
silver medals and 2 bronze medals in its kitty.
It was during the 119th session of the International Olympic
Committee (IOC) in Guatemala City on the July 5, 2007 when the
IOC decided to create Youth Olympic Games (YOG). The vision of
the innovative concept for the new sport event is to inspire young
people all around the world to participate in sport and adopt and live
by the Olympic values (excellence, friendship, respect).
Innsbruck and Seefeld will host the first Winter Youth Olympic Games from January 13-22, 2012.

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wickets
M Muttiah Muralitharan
On July 22, 2010, Sri Lankan off-spinner
M
became the first bowler to take 800
wickets, reaching the mileCOTest
stone in the last Test of his illustrious
cricket career. The 38-year-old
spin wizard got Indian tail-ender
Ojha caught at slip by
A thePragyan
I
Mahela Jayawardene to reach
magical
figure, which puts him
EDhis contemporaries.
several pedestals above
MBall World Cup, 2010
Foot
E
E European champions, defeated third-time finalSpain, the
R
ists the Netherlands
S 10 after extra time, with Andrs Iniesta's goal
in the 116th minute giving Spain their first world title, the first time

that a European nation has won the tournament outside its home
continent. Host nation South Africa, 2006 world champions Italy and
2006 runners-up France were eliminated in the first round of the
tournament.
In the semi-finals, Spain defeated Germany by 1-0 while
Netherlands had defeated Uruguay. Germany defeated Uruguay 3
2 to secure third place. Germany holds the record for most third
place finishes in the World Cup (4), while Uruguay holds the record
for most fourth place finishes (3). The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the
19th FIFA World Cup. It took place in South Africa from June 11 to July

70

11, 2010. In 2004, the international football federation, FIFA, had

selected South Africa to become the first African nation to host the
tournament. The matches were played in ten stadiums in nine host
cities around the country, with the final played at the Soccer City
stadium in South Africas largest city, Johannesburg. Thirty-two teams
were selected for participation via a worldwide qualification tournament that began in August 2007.
Golden Ball: Diego Forlan (Uruguay)
Golden Boot: Thomas Mller (Germany)
Golden Glove: Iker Casillas (Spain)
Best Young Player: Thomas Mller (Germany)
FIFA Fair Play Trophy: Spain
The official mascot for the 2010 World Cup was Zakumi, an
anthropomorphised leopard with green hair, presented on 22 September 2008. His name came from ZA (the international abbreviation for South Africa) and the term kumi, which means ten in various African languages. The mascot's colours reflected those of the
host nation's playing stripyellow and green.
The official song of the 2010 World Cup, "Waka Waka", was
performed by the Colombian singer Shakira and the band
Freshlyground from South Africa. The song was sung in both English and Spanish. The song is based on a traditional African soldiers song, Zangalewa. Shakira and Freshlyground performed the
song at the opening ceremony and at the closing ceremony.

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win the title.RThis was her second international title win at home.
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She had won
Indonesia Open

Saina Nehwal notched up an incredible hat-trick of titles by

successfully defending her Indonesian Open Super Series title with
s hard-fought win over Japans Sayaka Sato. She had earlier won
the Indian Open Grand Prix and the Singapore Open Super Series.

Singapore Open
Indian ace Saina Nehwal clinched the second Super Series
title of her career by winning the Singapore Open with a straightgame triumph over Chinese Taipies Tzu Ying Tai.

71

72

Asia Cup

Indian Premier League-3

India defeated Sri Lanka by 81 runs to win the Asia Cup. India
had set the Lankans a stiff target of 299 runs. Dinesh Karthik was
declared man of the match.

Chennai Super Kings beat Mumbai Indian by 22 runs to win

the third edition of the tournament. Electing to bat first, Chennai posted
168 for 5 and then restricted Mumbai to 146 for 9 to win their maiden
title. Suresh Raina was declared the man of the match. Royal Challengers Bangalore routed Deccan Chargers by nine wickets in the
third and fourth place play-off match. With this win Royal Challangers
qualified for the Champions League Twenty20 tournament. Sachin
Tendulkar won the DLF Golden Player award and the Orange cap for
hitting the maximum runs in the tournament. Pragyan Ojha won the
Purple cap for taking maximum wickets in the tournament. The Kingfisher Fair-play award was won by Chennai Super Kings.

Boxing Asian Womens Championship

The Asian Women's Championships were held in Astana,
Kazakhistan, in May 2010. Kazakhastan topped the medals tally
with eight gold medals. China won the most medals in total10,
followed Korea and India amassing eight medals each.

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Viswanathan Anand held his nerve and focus better
IO than his
opponent, Veselin Topalov, to win the 12th and finalTgame to retain
A beat the lohis World Championships title. The 40-year-oldCIndian
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cal man from Bulgaria in the closing game with
black pieces, to
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emerge a 6.5-5.5 winner and seal his place as
a dominant player of
U and held it till 2002
his era. Anand first won the world title in 2000
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when the chess world was still split. He became the undisputed
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World champion in 2007 and then retained
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Commonwealth
Chess Championship
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Grandmaster R.R.D
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E GM Pablo Lafuente of Argentina at the
bagged the gold after beating
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Championship. In the open catE
egory, Grandmaster
Maletin Pavel of Russia signed peace with InE Lalith Babu on the top board to win the title. Both
ternational Master
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Pavel and Laxman
S had nine points after 11 rounds, but the former
World Chess Title 2010

had the better tie-break record on Bucholz count. The Russian was
not in contention in the Commonwealth category. In the womens
category, D. Harika outwitted IM Tania Sachdev on account of superior tie-break.

Cricket T20 World Cup, 2010

Chasing a challenging target of 148 runs, England defeated
Australia by seven wickets to win the T20 World Cup. The tournament was held in West Indies. Australias women held their nerves
in a low-scoring final as they beat New Zealand by three runs to lift
the Womens T20 World cup title.

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joint champions after
UNheavy
the final match was abandoned following
rains in Malaysia.
For defending champions India it wasM
their fifth win, matching Australia, while for Asian champions South
M Korea this was their second
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title win; they had last won the cup
C in 1996.
Sushil, NarshingA
win gold in Asian Wrestling
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Olympic bronze D
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Asian Wrestling Championships held at New Delhi. Narshing Yadav
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won a gold in E
the 74kg freestyle category.
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World S
Cup Kabbadi Punjab Championship, 2010
India outclassed Pakistan 58-24 to win the title. The championship was held in Ludhiana, Punjab.

Badminton Asian Championship, 2010

Mens Singles: Lin Dan (China).
Womens Singles: Q-Li Xuerui (China)
Mens Doubles: Gun Woo Cho and Yeon Seong Yoo (Korea).
Womens Doubles: Pan Pan and Quing Tian (China)
Mixed Doubles: Peng Soon Chan and Liu Ying Goh (Malaysia)
The Championship was held in New Delhi.

73

Hockey World Cup, 2010

Australia defeated Germany 2-1 to deny Germany a historic
hat-trick of titles. Germany had won the title in 2002 and 2006. The
Netherlands came back strongly from a 1-3 first half deficit to prevail
over England 4-3 and win the bronze medal. India could manage
eight spot only. Guus Vogls of The Netherlands was declared the
player of the tournament.

Sebastian Vettel wins Malaysian GP

Sebastian Vettel led Mark Webber in a 1-2 finish for Red Bull
at the Malaysian Grand Prix. Vettel passed pole-sitter Webber in the
run to the first corner and held that lead throughout, with Nico Rosberg
finishing third for Mercedes as forecast rain stayed away from the
Sepang circuit. Renault's Robert Kubica was fourth and Force India's
Adrian Sutil took fifth.

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badminton Grand Prix Gold
will be held at the Nehru Indoor Stadium
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the tournament, carrying a prize
C event, the players will promoney of $1,50,000. After the Chennai
ceed to Singapore and then
to Indonesia, according to a press
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release from Tamil NaduD
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Cricket can now bid for 2020 Olympics
Mto be a part of the Olympic Games received a
Crickets push
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major boost withEInternational Olympic Council (IOC) granting recR
ognition to International
Cricket Council (ICC) on February 12, 2010.
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This could be seen as a first step towards cricket becoming Olym-

pic sports. Its Twenty20 version can now bid to join the 2020 Olympic Games though ICC has not made it clear which format it will
push for. Cricket was granted the status of a recognised Olympic
sport in 2007, for sports not in the Olympic programme but which
conform to certain criteria, pending a decision for a permanent slot
in the Games.
Cricket was part of the 1900 Olympics in Paris and has not
appeared since then. The game was part of the 1998 Kuala Lumpur
Commonwealth Games and its Twenty20 version is set to feature at
Asian Games in Guangzhou, China.

74

Sachin becomes first batsman to hit a double

hundred in an ODI
Sachin Tendulkar rewrote the record books on February 24,
2010, hammering the first double century in the history of one-day
cricket to add another feather to his well-adorned cap. The capacity
crowd at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium, Gwalior witnessed history as Tendulkar, statistically the greatest batsman the game has
ever seen, pushed South African bowler Charl Langeveldts delivery
through the off-side and ran a single to achieve a feat which no other
cricketer has achieved.
One Day International cricket, since its 1971 inception, had
to wait nearly four decades to see a batsman score 200. The previous best mark was shared by Zimbabwean Charles Coventry (194
not out) and Pakistans Saeed Anwar (194).
Top 10 highest individual knocks in the history of one day
cricket are:
200* : Sachin Tendulkar (Ind) vs South Africa in Gwalior on Febru
ary 24, 2010.
194* : Charles Coventry (Zim) vs Bangladesh in Bulawayo on Au
gust 16, 2009.
194 : Saeed Anwar (Pak) vs India in Chennai on May 21, 1997.
189* : Viv Richards (WI) vs England in Manchester on May 31,
1984.
189 : Sanath Jayasuriya (SL) vs India in Sharjah on October 29,
2000.
188* : Gary Kirsten (SA) vs United Arab Emirates at Rawalpindi on
February 16, 1996.
186* : Sachin Tendulkar (Ind) vs New Zealand in Hyderabad on
November 8, 1999.
183* : Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Ind) vs Sri Lanka in Jaipur on Octo
ber 31, 2005.
183 : Sourav Ganguly (Ind) vs Sri Lanka at Taunton on May 26,
1999.
181* : Matthew Hayden (Aus) vs New Zealand in Hamilton on Feb
ruary 20, 2007.
181 : Viv Richards (WI) vs Sri Lanka in Karachi on October 13,
1987.

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South Asian Games, 2010

The 11th edition of South Asian Games (SAG) opened at the
Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka, on January 29, 2010. The
aquatic show was the main attraction of the opening ceremony, in
which a concert hosted by Pt. Ravi Shankar and Beatles star George
Harrison for Bangladeshs Independence day and the March 7 address of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman were displayed on a water screen.
This was the third time that the Bangladeshi capital hosted
the Games, thus becoming the first city to hold the games three
times.
Athletes from eight countries Afghanistan, Bangladesh,
Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lankacompeted
in 23 different sports. India continued its dominance with 175 medals, including 90 gold medals. Pakistan narrowly beat the host to
occupy the second spot with 19 golds, while the host Bangladesh
capture 18 golds, including the most popular and prestigious football and cricket titles. Sri Lankas Shehan Abeypitiya became the
fastest man while Pakistans Naseem Hamid was crowned the
fastest woman of the region.
The logo of the Games was 'Kutumb', a flying doel, known in
English as the Oriental Magpie Robin. It is the National Bird of
Bangladesh. The mascot also featured a Magpie Robin.
Delhi will host the next South Asian Games. India was picked
to host the regional sporting event after Bhutan, whose turn it was to
host the next SAG, expressed its inability to stage the meet. India
has hosted the South Asian Games twice thus farin 1987 (Kolkata)
and in 1995 (Chennai).

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The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the 21st Winter Olympics,

were a major international multi-sport event held on February 12
28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Approximately
2,600 athletes from 82 nations participated in 86 events in fifteen
disciplines. Cayman Islands, Colombia, Ghana, Montenegro,
Pakistan, Peru and Serbia made their winter Olympic debuts. Also
Jamaica, Mexico and Morocco returned to the Games after missing
the Turin Games.
The 2010 Winter Olympics were the third Olympics hosted
by Canada, and the first by the province of British Columbia.

76

Previously, Canada hosted the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal,

Quebec and the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta. Canada
topped the medals tally with 14 gold, 7 silver and 5 bronze medals.
Germany was second, followed by USA. The 2014 Winter Olympics
will be held from February 7 to February 23, 2014 in Sochi, Krasnodar
Krai, Russia.

Asian Tour International crown

Gaganjeet Bhullar scripted a sensational come-from-behind
victory at Asian tour International crown, played at Bangkok. This
was his second Asian tour title.

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T
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Soumyajit Ghosh becomes the first Indian
C
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in World Junior Table Tennis Championships.
Ghosh won the bronze
medal in mixed doubles along with his team
UNmate NG Wing Nam of
Hong Kong. Ghosh won the medal
Magainst Korean players at
Bratislava, Slovak Republic.
M
O Centuries
Sachin 50CTest
Sachin Tendulkar has
IA become the first batsman in the world
to score Test hundredsDfor 50 times. The 50th Test century was
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made against South Africa at Centurion grounds. The first Test century
M
of Tendulkar was arrived in Manchester in 1990.
Eworld cup 2018 held in Russia
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FIFA
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The FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association)
Executive Committee member Franz Beckenbauer announced that
the Soccer World Cup 2018 and 2022 will be held in Russia and
Qatar respectively. Qatar will be the first Muslim country to hoast the
games. The next 2014 World Cup will be held in Brazil. The bid for
2018 and 2022 were finalised by the 22 FIFA Executive Committee
Members .

Commonwealth Athletics gold

Krishna Poonia won Indias first Commonwealth Games
athletics gold, in 2010 Games, after Milkha Singh in 1958.

77

SPORTS AND THE TERMS ASSOCIATED WITH THEM

Archery:
Target, Bulls Eye
Badminton:
Angled Drive Serve, Backhand Low Serve, Bird, Deuce, Double
Droup, Fault, Flick Serve, Forehand Smash, Let, Lob, Love All, net
Shots, Rush, Let, Smash.
Baseball:
Base, Battery, Bunting, Catcher, Diamond, Hitter, Home Infield, Outfield, Pinch, Pitcher Plate, Pullout, Short Stop, Hitter, Batter, Strike.
Basketball:
Ball, Basket, Blocking, Dribbling, Free Throw, Held Ball, Holding,
Jump Ball, Multiple Throws, Pivot.
Billiards:
Baulk Line, Break, Bolting, Cannon, Cue, Hazard, In-off, Jigger, Long
jenney, Pot, Scratch, Screw Back, short Stop, Strike.
Boxing:
Ausiliary Point System, Babit Punch, Break, Cut, Defence, Down,
Hook, Jab, Lying On, Welter Weight, Knock, Seconds out, Slam,
Upper Cut, Weight In, Win by Knock-out.
Bridge:
Auction, Bid, Chicane, Cut, Declarer, Doubleton, Dummy, Finesse,
Grand Slam, Little Slam, Notrumps, Over-trick, Revoke, rubber, Ruff,
Shuffle, Suit, Vulnerable.
Chess:
Bishop, Capture, Castling, Checkmate, En Passant, Gambit, Grand
Master, King, Knight, Pawn, Queen, Rook, Stalemate, Sicilian Defense, Under Promoting.
Cricket:
Ashes, Banana, Boundary, Bowling, Caught, Chinaman, Cover Drive,
Crease, Doosra, Duck, Duckworth-Lewis Rule, Fine Leg, Follow
On, Full Toss, Gardening, Googly, Gully, Hat-trick, Hit Wicket,
Inswinger, l.b.w., Leg-break, Leg-bye, Leg Glance, late Cut, maiden

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Over, No Ball, Off Break, On Drive, Out, Outswinger, Over, Mandatory

Over, over Pitch, Popping Crease, Rubber, Run Down, Run Out,
Short Pitch, Silly Point, Slip, Square Leg, Stone Walling, Straight
Drive, Stumped, Short leg, Spin, Swing, Thirdman, Yorker.
Croquet:
Hoops, Mallet, Peg Out.
Cycling:
Track Events
Draughts:
Huff
Equestrian:
Tent Pegging
Football:
Advantage Clause, Blind Side, Centre Forward, Corner Kick, Dead
Ball, Direct Free Kick, Dribble, Goal kick, Golden Goal, Hat-trick,
Marking, OffSide, Penalty Kick, Penalty Shootout, Red Card, Striker,
Throw In, Tie-Breaker, Tripping.
Golf:
Best-ball Foursome, Bogey, Bunker, Caddie, Dormy, Fairway,
Fourball, Foursome, Greed Holes, Links, Niblic, Par, Put, Rough,
Stymied, Tee, Threesome.
Gymnastics:
A-bars, Ariel, Blocks, Cone of Swing, Dish, Flairs, Giants, Inlocate,
Kip, Planche, Tariff, Tumble, Virtuosity, Wrap.
Hockey:
Advantage, Back-stick, Bully, Cary, Centre Forward, Centre, Corner,
Dribble, Flick, Free-hit, Goal Line, Blue line, Green Card, Halfway
Line, Hat-trick, Off-side, Red Car, Roll -in, Scoop, Short Corner, Sixteen-yard hit, Square Pass, Drop pass, Stick, Striking Cirele, Tackle,
Tie-breaker, Penalty Corner, Long Corner, Zonal Marking.
Horse Racing:
Jockey, Punter, Steeplechase, Bookies, Thorough Bred.
Judo:
Ashi-waza, chui, Dan, Dojo, Gyaku, Hajime, Ippon, Jigotai,
Kaeshiwaza, Koka, Makikomi, Nage-waza, O-goshi, Randori, Scarf,

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Tani-Otoshi, Uchi-komvi, Waki-gatame, Yoshi, Yuko.

Karate:
Age Zuki, Ai-uchi, Aka, Chakugan, Dachi, Encho Sen, Fudotachi,
Gedan, Geri, Hajime, Ibuki, Jion, Kakato, Koka, Makiwara, Nidan,
Obi, Rei, Sanbon, Shiro, Tobigeri, Ude, Waza-ari, Yoko-geri, Zanshin,
Zen-no.
Polo:
Bunker, Chukker, Mallet.
Rowing:
Bow, Bucket, Cow, Ergometer, Feather, Paddle, Drop, Regatta.
Rugby Football:
A Trackle, Lines, Scrum, Touch, Try.
Shooting:
Bag, Bulls Eye, Marksmanship, Muzzle, Plug.
Skiing:
Tobogganing.
Swimming:
Breast Stroke, Crawl.
Table Tennis:
Anti Loop, Backspin, Chop, Loop, Penhold Grip, Push, Spin, Twiddle.
Tennis:
Ace, Backhand Stroke, Deuce, Deep Volley, Deuce, Double Fault,
Fault, Ground Stroke, Half Volley, Let, Love, Slice, Smash, Topspin,
Volley
Volleyball:
Ace, Base-line, Blocking, Doubling, Foot Fault, Heave, Holding, Jump
Set, Lob Pass, Love All, Point, Quick Smash, Scouting, Service, Spike,
Tactical Ball, Volley, Windmill Service.
Weight Lifting:
Clean and Jerk, Bench Press
Wrestling:
Half-Nelson, Head Lock, Heave, Freestyle, Hold, Rebouts, Scissor.
Yachting:
Soling Tempest, Flying Dutchman, Tornado

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TROPHIES ASSOCIATED WITH VARIOUS SPORTS &

GAMES
Air Racing:
Jawaharlal Challenge Trophy, King's Cup, World Cup.
Archery:
Federation Cup
Athletics:
Charminar Trophy, Federation Cup, World Cup.
Badminton:
Agarwal Cup, Amrit Diwan Cup, Asia Cup, Austrelasia Cup, Chadha
Cup, European Cup, Harilela Cup, Ibrahim Rahimatollah Challenge
Cup, Konica Cup, Narng cup, Sophia Kitiakara Cup, Konica Cup, S.
R. Ruia Cup, Thomas Cup, Tunku Abdul Rahman Cup, Uber Cup,
World Cup, Yonex Cup.
Basketball:
Basalat Jha Trophy, B. C. Gupta Trophy, Federation Cup, S. M. Arjuna
Raja trophy, Todd Memorial Trophy, William Jones Cup.
Billiards:
Arthur Walker Trophy, Thomas Cup.
Boat Rowing:
American Cup (Yacht racing), Wellington Trophy (India).
Boxing:
Aspy Adjahia Trophy, federation Cup, Val iBaker Trophy.
Bridge:
Basalat Jha Trophy, Holkar Trophy, Ruia Gold Cup, Singhania Trophy.
Chess:
Naidu Trophy, Khaitan Trophy, Limca Trophy, Linares City Trophy,
World Cup.
Cricket:
Anthony D'Mellow Trophy, Ashes, Asia Cup, Benson and Hedges
Cup, Bose Trophy, Champions Trophy, Charminar Challenge Cup,
C. K. Nayudu Trophy, Cooch-Behar Trophy, Deodhar Trophy, Duleep
Trophy, Gavaskar-Border Trophy, Duleep Trophy, Gavaskar-Border
Trophy, G. D. Birla Trophy, Gillette Cup, Ghulam Ahmad Trophy,
hakumat Rai Trophy, ICC World Cup, Interface Cup, Irani Trophy,
Jawaharlal Nehru Cup, Lombard World Challenge Cup, McDowells
Challenge Cup, Merchant Trophy, Moin-ud-Dowla Cup, NatWest
Trophy, Prudential Cup (World Cup), Rani Jhansi Trophy, Ranji Trophy, Rohinton Baria Trophy, Rothmans Cup, Sahara Cup, Sharjah

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Cup, Sheesh Mahal Trophy, Sheffield Shield, Singer Cup, Sir Frank
Worrel Trophy, Texaco Cup, Titan Cup, Vijay Hazare Trophy, Vijay
Merchant Trophy, Vizzy Trophy, Wisden Trophy, Wills Trophy, World
Series Cup.
Football:
African Natons Cup, Airlines Cup, america Cup, Asia Cup, Asian
Women's Cup, Bandodkar Trophy, B. C. Roy Trophy, Begum Hazrat
Mahal Cup, Bicentennial Gold Cup, BILT Cup, Bordoloi Trophy, Colombo Cup, Confederations Cup, DCM Cup, Durand Cup, European Cup, FA Cup, Federation Cup, G. V. Raja Memorial Trophy, gold
Cup, Governor's Cup, Greek Cup, Great Wall Cup, IFA Shield, Independence Day Cup, Indira Gandhi Trophy, Inter-Continental Cup,
Jawaharlal Nehru Gold Cup, Jules Rimet Trophy, Kalinga Cup, Kings
Cup, Kirin Cup, Lal Bahadur Shastri Trophy, McDowell Cup, Merdeka
Cup, Nagjee Trophy, Naidunia Trophy, Nations Cup, NFL Trophy,
Nehru Gold Cup, Nizam Gold Cup, Raghbir Singh Memorial Cup,
Rajiv Gandhi Trophy, Rovers Cup, Sanjay Gold Cup, Santosh Trophy, Scissors Cup, Sir Ashutohs Mukherjee Trophy, Stafford Cup,
Subroto Cup, Supercup Trophy, Todd Memorial Trophy, UEFA Cup,
US Cup, Vittal Trophy, Winner's Cup, World Cup.
Golf:
Canada Cup, Eisenhower Trophy, Inter-Continental Cup, Maekyung
LG Fashion Open Trophy, Muthiah Gold Cup, Nomura Trophy,
Paralamdi Trophy, President's Trophy, Prince of Wales Cup, Ryder
Cup, Solheim Cup, Topolino Trophy, Walker Cup, Waterford Crystal
Trophy, World Cup.
Hockey:
Agha Khan Cup, Allwyn Asia Cup, Azlan Shah Cup, Beighton Cup,
Bhim Sain Trophy, BMW Trophy, Bombay Gold Cup, Champions
Trophy, Clarke Trophy, Dhyan Chand Trophy, Esanda Champions
Cup, European Nations Cup, Gurmeet Trophy, Guru Nanak Cup,
Gyanvati Devi Trophy, Indira Gandhi Gold Cup, Intercontinental Cup,
Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan Cup, Kuppuswamy Naidu Cup, Lady Rattan Tata Cup (women), Lal Bahadur Shastri Cup, Maharaja Ranjit
Singh Gold Cup, Modi Gold Cup, Murugappa Gold Cup, Nehru Trophy, Obaidullah Gold Cup, Prime Minister's Gold cup, Rangaswami
Cup, Ranjit Singh Gold Cup, Rene Frank Trophy, Sanjay Gandhi
Trophy, Scindia gold Cup, Shriram Trophy, Tunku Abdul Razak Cup,
Wellington Cup, World Cup, Yadavindra Cup.
Horse Racing:
Beresford Cup, Blue Riband, Derby, Grand Natonal Cup.

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Kabaddi:
Federation Cup
Kho-Kho:
Federation Cup
Netball:
Anantrao Pawar Trophy.
Polo:
Ezar Cup, Gold Cup, King's Cup, President Cup, Prithi Singh Cup,
Radha Mohan Cup, Winchester Cup.
Rowing:
Beefeather's Gin.
Rugby Football:
Bledisloe Cup; Calcutta Cup, Webb Ellis Trophy.
Shootng:
North Wales Cup, Welsh Grand Prix.
Snooker:
Team Tournament Asean Cup.
Table Tennis:
Asian Cup, Berna Bellack Cup, Corbillion Cup (women), Electra
Gold Cup, Gasper-Giest Prize, Grand Prix, Jayalaxmi Cup (women),
Kamala Ramanunjan Cup, Marcel Corbillon Cup, Pithapuram Cup
(men), Swaythling Cup (men), Travancore Cup (women), U Thant
Cup, World Cup.
Tennis:
Ambre Solaire Cup, A T&T Cup, Champions Cup, ATP President's
Cup, Davis Cup, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Cup, Edgbaston Cup, Evert
Cup, Federation Cup, Ghafar Cup, Grand Prix, Grand Slam Cup,
Nations' Cup, Watson's Water Trophy, Wightman Cup, Wimbledon
Trophy, World Cup, World Team Cup.
Volleyball:
Centennial Cup, Federation Cup, Indira Pradhan Trophy, Shivanthi
Gold Cup, World Cup, World League Cup.
Weightlifting:
World Cup.
Wrestling:
Bharat Kesari, Burdwan Shield, World Cup.
Yachting:
America Cup

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84

SUMMITS / CONFERENCES

the leaders said, would help mitigate the risk of excessive volatility
in capital flows facing some emerging market economies.

India-EU Summit

The 8th ASEAN-India Summit was held at Hanoi, Vietnam on

October 30, 2010. Addressing the heads of the state of ASEAN
countries, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the conclusion of
a services and investment agreement between India and ASEAN
would be an important step in our goal of comprehensive economic cooperation. With an aim to play a more significant role in
the growing economies of the region, India has been pushing its
case for having a bilateral pact in services and investment at the
earliest. Through this pact, India wants to get a foothold in all ASEAN
countries for its growing pharmaceutical industry, besides allowing
ease in visa regimes for its IT professionals, healthcare workers and
teachers in Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam,
Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand (ASEAN nations). With
an agreement in place for free trade in services and investment, India
can offer a bigger share of the pie to these countries in its infrastructure sector that is poised for a major growth.

India and the European Union will sign their much-delayed

free-trade pact on goods, services and investment by early next
year, with the respective chief negotiators meeting every month to
fast-track the process. European Commission president Jose
Manuel Barroso and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced
their intention to wrap up the talks next year, during the ongoing
India-EU Summit in Brussels on December 10. "Let us sign the
deal in 2011," Barroso said after the meeting. Ministers from both
sides will meet in March to finalise the agreement which would be
signed by spring, according to a joint report tabled at the summit.
The 27-member grouping is India's largest trading partner, with
bilateral trade touching $75 billion in 2009-10. The pact is expected
to increase two-way trade by 30%. India has so far signed bilateral
free-trade agreements with Singapore, South Korea, the 10-member
Asean and Sri Lanka. Two more with Japan and Malaysia have
almost been finalised.

S
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T
CA
I
UN
M
M
CO

IA
D
E Rice Research (DRR) has organized the
The Directorate of
M -2010
First DRR Industry Meet
on Display of DRR technologies and
Services at its Premises
in Rajendranagar. Representatives from
E
E Companies have participated in the meet.
more than 30 R
Private
S
First DRR Industry Meet 2010

G-20 Summit

The Seoul Action Plan, agreed at the end of the two-day

Summit of the G-20 leaders, called for moving towards more marketdetermined exchange rates. An undervalued Yuan or a weak Dollar
also has ramifications for India and several other countries in terms
of their exports becoming uncompetitive. The G-20 group includes
India, the US, China, Germany, France, Brazil, Russia and Japan. In
the face of a currency war between the US and China, global leaders,
including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, agreed to refrain from
competitive devaluation and bring in exchange rate flexibility to
ensure that no country gets undue advantage. These measures,

ASEAN-India Summit

S
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CA
I
UN
M
M
CO Summit
UN Climate
IAconference at Cancun reached a
The UN climate
D
compromise to set upEa 100 billion Dollar Green Fund to fight global
warming. The fund
to assist poorer nations with low
Misandintended
carbon development
protective measures against the effects of
E
E Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said, the
global warming.
R
major emerging
S economies -- Brazil, South Africa, India and China
- BASIC have welcomed the decision. He said they are very happy
with the text and Cancun represents an important step forward. He
said that many of India's contributions have been incorporated in
the text. The minister pointed out that under the current text,
developed countries are subject to stricter scrutiny on their mitigation
cuts than developing countries. He also highlighted that no peaking
year for carbon emissions has been mentioned in the draft nor a
global emission reduction goal set for 2050. Everyone, however,
appreciated the efforts of Mexican Foreign Secretary Patricia
Espinosa, who worked for two weeks to ensure transparency in the
process and help countries work through their differences.

85

3rd National seminar on AIDS

3rd National seminar on AIDS was started at Hyderabad
October 29, 2010. National Aids control board conducted this
seminar.

ASEAN Summit
The 17th ASEAN Summit was held in Hanoi, Vietnam, on
October 28-30, 2010. The meeting was considered a success, with
all members agreeing to cooperate with one another in solving the
regions economic downturn. The 17th ASEAN Summit focused on
the contents of building the community and implementing the ASEAN
Charter, external relations and key role of the body, sustainable development and coping with global challenges.

S
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A
International Tiger Forum
C
I
On November 21, 2010, Russia called
global efforts to
Nandfor officials
avert extinction of tigers as wildlife activists
from 13
U
countries, including India, gathered at aM
summit in St Petersburg to
discuss ways to double the population of the endangered animal
M
from the existing 3,200. Due to decades of poaching and habitat
O
destruction, there are currently C
only 3,200 tigers living in the wild,
according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), as against 1 lakh a
IA have already disappeared and
century ago. Three sub-species
D
none of the other six are
E secure, said the declaration that was
adopted by the heads of government at the summit. Russia is the
M
only country to have seen its tiger population increase in the past
E
years, from 80-100
in the 1960s to around 500 now, and experts
E lover
R
have hailed animal
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin for
S

taking an active role in saving the tiger. Along with Russia and India,
Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand and Vietnamhome to wild tigers
took part in the summit. Simultaneously, a Youth Tiger Summit
opened in Vladivostok on Russias Pacific coast, which adopted an
appeal to the leaders of their countries to take active steps in tiger
conservation.

Indias first sports law conference

The Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF) organised the first
ever Sports Law Conference in New Delhi, on July 24-25, 2010, to

86

deliberate on various issues related to sports and law in India.

Among other things, the conference discussed the Right to Information (RTI) and accountability of sports federations, and legalities involved in staging major sports events like the Olympics, Asian
Games, Commonwealth Games. It also discussed gender discrimination in sports, intellectual property rights, importance of transparency in corporate structure of professional sports leagues, future of
IPL, besides public relation opportunities and challenges which
are concomitant with it, issues relating to infrastructure in developing and maintaining stadiums, training facilities etc.

S
N
Microfinance India Summit O
I
T
7th Annual Microfinance India Summit held
in
New Delhi disCAindustry.
cussed the need for reforms in microfinance
Chairman,
I
N
Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister,
Dr. C. Rangarajan
U
called for reforms in MFI business.
M
Third summit onM
Global Agenda
O Agenda was held in Dubai in
The third summit on Global
C
November 2010. The summit gave an opportunity to social, political
IA the world to benchmark key developand business leaders across
D
mental issues against
E global realities.
MClimate Change Conference
16th UN
E
E United Nations Climate Change Conference took
The R
16th
S Mexico, from November 29, 2010. India was among
place in Cancun,
the 190 UN members who took part in the 12-day event.

International Renewable Energy Conference

The International Renewable Energy Conference was held
in New Delhi in October 2010.

UN Summit
The UN Summit on the Millennium Development Goals, or
MDGs, was held in September 2010 at UN Headquarters in New
York, USA.

87

Mid-East Summit
US President Barack Obama waded into a new round of
Middle East diplomacy September 1, 2010, seeking momentum for
revived peace talks clouded by a flare-up of West Bank violence and
a deadlock over Jewish settlements. Obama met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he launched a series of one-on-one
meetings with Middle East leaders attending a US-led peace summit that culminated with the first direct Israeli-Palestinian talks in 20
months. With Obama's peace bid facing broad skepticism and the
clock ticking toward the September 26, 2010 expiration of an Israeli
settlement construction freeze, Israel's defence minister sounded
a conciliatory note about the prospects for sharing Jerusalem, an
issue at the heart of the decades-old conflict. But big obstacles
remain to Obama's quest for a peace deal that eluded so many of
his predecessors. Hamas militants declared war on the talks even
before they began, killing four Jewish settlers in the occupied West
Bank, vowing more attacks and underscoring the threat hard-liners
pose to the fragile peace process. The summit marked Obama's
riskiest plunge into Middle East diplomacy, not least because he
wants the two sides to forge a deal within 12 months, a target many
analysts call a long shot.

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UN
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CO

IA
D
On April 29, 2010,
E Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his
Pakistani counterpart Yousaf Raza Gilani held their first bilateral
M to end the diplomatic stalemate in ties
meeting in nine months
E
between their two
nations
since the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. At
E
their hour-longRmeeting, described as an exercise in soul searching by IndianSofficials, the two leaders decided to upgrade the bilatSummit between India-Pak Prime Ministers

eral dialogue to the political level, something which Islamabad had

been insisting upon for months.

16th SAARC Summit

The 16th SAARC summit began at Thimpu, Bhutan, on April
28, 2010, with Indias Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and leaders
of seven other member nations pledging to combat extremism and
terrorism, launch joint initiatives to deal with climate change and
boost intra-regional trade. The Summit ended on April 29, 2010,
with leaders adopting the Thimphu statement on climate change,

88

signing an agreement on trade in services and expressing their

firm resolve to stamp out terrorism from the region. The next summit would be held in the Maldives in 2011. Facing criticism for the
slow pace of development in the region, the SAARC leaders reiterated their commitment to implement the South Asian Free Trade
Agreement (SAFTA) in letter and spirit to boost intra-regional economic cooperation for the prosperity of their people. The closing
ceremony of the summit was attended by leaders from all the eight
SAARC countriesIndia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan,
Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Representatives of nine observer countriesMauritius, South Korea, China, Japan, Iran, the
US, the EU, Australia and Myanmarwere also present. The sevenpage Thimphu Silver Jubilee Declaration-Towards a Green and
Happy South Asia emphasised the importance of reducing dependence on high-carbon technologies for economic growth and hoped
promotion of climate resilience will promote both development and
poverty eradication in a sustainable manner.

S
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CA
I
UN
M
IBSA Summit
M
The 2nd India-Brazil-South
(IBSA) Summit was held in
O Africa
Brasilia on April 15, 2010. Speaking
at the Summit, Prime Minister
C
Manmohan Singh said theAgrouping of leading developing economies must speak againstIthe protectionist policies, which are only
D in the long run. IBSA can contribshort-sighted and self-defeating
E
ute to the shapingM
of the global agenda and highlighting the issues
of concern to developing
countries.
E
E
R Nuclear Security Summit
S
World leaders, including Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan
Singh, attending the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington D.C.,
on April 12, 2010, set a stiff four-year target to secure all vulnerable
nuclear material in the world to prevent terrorists from laying their
hands on any of them. In a communiqu issued at the end of the
summit, the leaders emphatically stated: Nuclear terrorism is one
of the most challenging threats to international security and agreed
that strong nuclear security measures are the most effective means
to prevent terrorists, criminals or other unauthorised actors from
acquiring nuclear material. Another summit would be held in 2012
in South Korea to review the progress.

89

Asian Forum
Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD) hosted a conference in Manila, Philippines, in March
2010, on indigenous peoples, climate change and rural poverty.

Fifth global steel summit

The fifth global steel summit was held in Goa in February
2010 to serve as a forum to strengthen ties between steel makers
and miners.

International Congress of Mathematicians

S
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A
C
I
Pravas Bharatiya Divas
UNvaledictory address at
President Pratibha Patil delivering the
the Pravasi Bhartiya Diwas (Jan, 9) on
Mthe day Mahatma Gandhi
returned to India in 1915, pointed out
that: Overseas Indian's estiM
mated at over 250 lakhs had comeOto be recognised as the "Knowledge Diaspora". India's remittances
Indians estiC arefromthe Overseas
mated at over $ 50 billion last
year
highest
in
the world.Of
A from Overseas Indian workers
I
these about $ 20 billion comes
in the
D
Gulf consisting of temporary
contracted
skilled
and
semi-skilled
E
workers.
M
20th Commonwealth
Speakers Conference
E
E
R Commonwealth Speakers Conference was held
The 20th
in New DelhiS from January 5, 2010. It was inaugurated by Prime

President Pratibha Patil inaugurated the International Congress

of Mathematicians (ICM 2010) at HICC, Hyderabad. For the first time
ever, the Union's General Assembly has elected Ingrid Daubechies of
the U.S., a woman as its president for the 2011-14 terms.

Minister Manmohan Singh. Describing the growth of regional parties as a challenge for governance and conduct of parliamentary
democracy, Mr Manmohan Singh said: Though the aspirations of
smaller parties may often be anchored in narrow considerations,
they carry great weight for their constituents. In the end, democracy
must respond to everyday concerns of the common man and Parliament should be the forum to address such concerns. The remark was in obvious reference to the growing influence of subregional parties in coalition politics and Parliament. Presiding officers from 42 Commonwealth nations were present (some in traditional Speaker robes). The Conference discussed, among other

90

things, the Speakers role as a mediator and administrator of Parliament and use of technology in disseminating information on Parliamentary proceedings.

Partnership Summit 2010

The 16th Edition of the Partnership Summit 2010 was held
in Chennai, organised by the confederation of Indian Industry.

Environment Ministers meeting

The Environment Ministers meeting of the BASIC Countries
(Brazil, South Africa, India and China) was held in New Delhi.

S
N
IOapproved the
The Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure (CCI)
T
establishment of National Knowledge Network A
(NKN), which seeks
Cthe
to inter-connect all knowledge institutions in
country through
I
high speed data communication network, N
at an outlay of Rs 5,990
crore to be implemented by NIC over a period
U of 10 years.
M
World Telecom Development Conference
M
ITU's fifth World Telecommunication
Development ConferO
ence (WTDC-10), will take place
in Hyderabad, India from 24 May to
C
4 June 2010 (consultation A
of Member States is underway) with parI
ticipants to include government
delegates, Ministers, Ambassadors
D
and representatives from
the
private
sector, as well as regional and
E
international organizations. It will be an opportunity to review the
M
programmes and activities of ITU-D as well as to set the agenda for
E
the following four-year
E cycle.
R
SWorld Classical Tamil Conference
Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure

The first World Classical Tamil Conference was held in

Coimbatore. President Pratibha Devisingh Patil presented the
Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi Classical Tamil Award to Asko Parpola for
his work on the Dravidian hypothesis in the interpretation of the
Indus script.

Knowledge Millennium Summit

Eight Knowledge Millennium Summit 2010 - 2020: Decade
of Innovations was held in New Delhi. Former President, A.P.J. Abdul
Kalam and ASSOCHAM President, Swati Piramal addressed on the
issues of food security, energy and water.

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COMMITTEES

Bimal Jalan committee

The Bimal Jalan committee was set-up to review the ownership and working of capital markets infrastructure institutions (MIIs).
One major recommendation of the report is that only banks, insurance companies and domestic financial institutes with a net worth
of Rs 1,000 crore be roped in as anchor investors.

S
N
The N.C. Saxena Committee was set up by the
of
IO Ministry
T
Environment and Forests. It details the manner in which
laws were
Aproject in Orissa.
flagrantly flouted to facilitate the Vedanta Alumina Ltd
C
I
The project is aggressively opposed by the local tribal groups.
UN
Pharmacopoeia Commission
M
The government decided to set up a Pharmacopoeia
M
Commission in Ghaziabad at a cost of Rs. 14.08 crore for developing
indigenous medicines with the aim
COof raising the country's share in
the $62-billion global herbal drug market.
IA
Justice Srikrishna
committee
D
E
The Union government has set-up a five-member committee
M
headed by Justice B.N. Srikrishna to look into the modalities of
E
forming the separate
E State of Telangana. The committee has been
given time tillRDecember 31, 2010 to consult all sections of the
society and S
submit report.
N.C. Saxena Committee

Three member committee

Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari Constituted a three member committee headed by supreme court judge V.S. Sirpurkar,
that will investigate the grounds for impeachment of karnataka chief
- Justice P.D.Dinakaran whose removal from office has been sought
jointly by 75 Opposition members in the Rajya Sabha on corruption
and land - grabbing charges. Justice A.R.Dave, cheif Justice of the
Andhra Pradesh High court and eminent Jurist P.P.Rao are the other
members of the panel.

92

Women's Leadership Summit 2010

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh along with Lok Sabha
speaker Meira Kumar inaugurated the Women's Leadership Summit 2010 on Inclusive Growth and Empowering Women of Rural
India in New Delhi.

National Innovation Council

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh agreed for the setting up of
a National Innovation Council headed by Sam Pitroda, Adviser to the
Prime Minister on Public Information Infrastructure and Innovations,
to give shape to the Government's decision to observe the current
decade (2010-2020) as the Decade of Innovation. The Council will
have a mandate to evolve an Indian model of innovation that focuses on inclusive growth and creating an appropriate eco-system
conducive to fostering inclusive innovation.

S
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CA
I
N
Parliamentary InquiryUCommittee
M headed by Justice B
Parliamentary Inquiry Committee
Sudershan Reddy holds Justice Soumitra
Sen guilty of misconduct
M
and misappropriation of funds.O
C
Equal Opportunities
Commission
A
I
The Minority Affairs
has finalised the contours of the
ED Ministry(EOC)
Equal Opportunities Commission
being planned by the govMthe inequalities that persist even 60 years after
ernment to address
Independence and
E evolve/evaluate mechanisms for affirmative action. An expertEgroup was set up last year under the chairmanship of
R Menon to determine the structure and functions of
N. R. Madhava
S
the Commission. Besides the chairman, it will have six members,
two of them full-time. The members two have to be women will be
selected by a three member committee headed by the Prime Minister and comprising the Minister for Minority Affairs and the Leader of
the Opposition. Unlike most other commissions, the EOC will have
a five-year term. Its jurisdiction will extend to all deprived groups,
which have been denied or which claim to have been denied equal
opportunities by the government or private institutions particularly in
education and employment. Primarily, the task cut out for the EOC is
to create indices for measuring inequality in different sectors of
activity and among different sections; collect, evaluate and disseminate data; and intervene on behalf of deprived and discriminated

93

groups. The experts found that the EOCs were becoming a norm in
leading democracies with social and cultural diversities. The group
found the South African and British models of particular value.

Justice V. Bhaskara Rao commission

The inquiry commission headed by Justice V Bhaskara Rao
on police firing on protesters after Macca Masjid blast in Hyderabad
submitted his report to the Government of Andhra Pradesh. The Committee was constituted in June 2007 to submit the report in 3 months.

UN General Assembly Committee

S
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CA
Takeover Regulations AdvisoryICommittee
NCommittee under the
The Takeover Regulations Advisory
U
chairmanship of C. Achuthan, in its 139-page
M report to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), has proposed sweeping
Mthe open offer trigger, offer
changes on critical issues, including
O
size, indirect acquisitions, exemptions
C from open offer obligations,
calculating the offer price and competing offers. This comes nearly
A
16 years after the guidelinesI were formally notified for the first time
D
and after 23 amendments
E to the last major review in 1997. The
takeover panel, formed by SEBI in September 2009, has recommended an increase M
the open offer trigger from 15 per cent to 25
E inopen
per cent. Further,Ethe
offer has to be made for all the shares of
the target company,
instead of the current practice of an offer for
R
acquiring anSadditional 20 per cent. Analysts said the proposed
United Nations General Assembly Committee issued resolution for a moratorium on death penalty. A total of 107 countries
supported moratorium, along with India 37 other countries opposed
and 36 countries abstained.

rules would raise the financing required for taking over a firm, but
would encourage investors taking strategic stakes in companies.

India-Iran joint commission

In their first interaction after the UN imposed the fourth round
of sanctions on Tehran in June 2010 over its controversial nuclear
programme, India and Iran, on July 8, 2010, signed six pacts, including one on cooperation in new and renewable energy and another on increasing the number of flights between the two countries. The MOUs were signed at the end of the two-day meeting of
the India-Iran joint commission.

94

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SCHEMES

Swavalamban Scheme
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee launched the
Swavalamban Scheme of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) on September 25, 2010. The scheme seeks to provide pension scheme to
the un-organised sector. Under the scheme, the Central government will contribute Rs 1,000 per year to each National Pension
Scheme (NPS) account opened in year 2010-11 and for the next
three years, till 2013-14.

S
N
IO
Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna
T
A of the Labour
The Union Cabinet has approved a proposal
C
I
Ministry to amend the Employees State Insurance
N Act, 1948, to provide medical facilities to unorganised U
workers in ESIC hospitals
and recognised private hospitals under the Rashtriya Swasthya
M insurance scheme.
Bima Yojna (RSBY), a cashless health
M
Rajiv Awas
O Yojana
C
The Union government has set up an independent eight member expert committee
under the chairmanship of Deepak
IAguidelines
D
Parekh to review the draft
of Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY), a
E dwellers and
housing scheme for slum
urban poor.
M Scheme for Adolescent
Rajiv Gandhi
Girls
E
E
RajivRGandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls,
S aims to empower adolescent girls between ages 11
called SABLA,
to 18 years by providing them nutrition, Iron and Folic Acid (IFA)
supplementation, health check-up, nutrition and health education,
counselling/guidance on family welfare, vocational training etc. was
launched by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram as a pilot project
for implementation in 200 districts.

People's welfare programme

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mayawati launches people's
welfare programme called "Uttar Pradesh Mukhyamantri Mahamaya
Garib Arthik Madad Yojna" to disburse Rs.300 per month to the eligible
poor in the State.

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VISITS / TOURS

Visit of Russia President Medvedev

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev official two-day visit to
India during which he will discuss trade, economic, energy and
cultural cooperation as well as international issues. Medvedev is
likely to secure a long-awaited contract with India on jointly developing 250-300 fifth generation fighter aircraft over 10 years. The contract
amount is unknown, but unofficially said to be around $35 billion. He
may have a tough task convincing India to strike more arms deals
following delays to the delivery of some Russian projects, including
the Admiral Gorshkov heavy aircraft carrying cruiser. Moscow-based
defence analysts Cast say Russia has nearly tripled the price, and
delayed delivery of the cruiser by four years, since signing the original
contract in 2004. Up for negotiation during Medvedev's visit will be a
deal for a third site for a Russian-built nuclear power plant. "Energy is
one area where Russia will be the most important partner for India
both in terms of conventional and non conventional energy.... Russians are one of our main suppliers of nuclear power plants," said
Lalit Mansingh, former Indian foreign secretary. Russia is keen to
continue supplying technology and expertise to energy-hungry India
as it plans to add 63,000 MW of nuclear power by 2032 to support its
economic growth. Behind the rhetoric of expanding ties with its fellow
BRIC economy -- the term used to group emerging powers Brazil,
Russia, India and China -- bilateral trade is eclipsed by Russia's
booming economic ties with the European Union and China. The
Kremlin said trade with India will total $10 billion this year, while
official statistics show Russia's trade with the European Union stood
at $246 billion in the first 10 months of 2010, and trade with China
was $47.5 billion in the same period. India and Russia hope to boost
bilateral trade to $20 billion within five years.

EE
R
S

IA
D
E
M

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CA
I
UN
M
M
CO

Visit of China PM Wen Jiabao

At the invitation of Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of
the Republic of India, Mr Wen Jiabao, Premier of the State Council
of the People's Republic of China, is on a State visit to the Republic
of India from 15 to 17 December 2010. Premier Wen Jiabao held

96

talks with Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and will call on Smt.
Pratibha Patil, President of India. Leaders of the two countries had
an in-depth exchange of views on bilateral relations and regional
and international issues of mutual interest in a sincere and friendly
atmosphere and reached broad consensus. The two sides agreed
that as the two largest developing countries in the world, India and
China shoulder important and historical responsibilities of ensuring their comprehensive and sustainable economic and social development. They also make a vital contribution to advancing peace
and development in Asia and in the world at large. India-China relations go beyond their bilateral scope and have acquired global and
strategic significance. The two sides welcome each other's peaceful development and regard it as a mutually reinforcing process.
They believe that their growing relationship offers increasing opportunities to advance their cooperation. There is enough space in the
world for the development of both India and China and indeed,
enough areas for India and China to cooperate. The two sides
reviewed with satisfaction the comprehensive and rapid progress
of India-China relations in the last ten years, and reaffirmed their
commitment to abiding by the basic principles and consensus concerning the development of India-China relations set out in the Declaration of Principles for Relations and Comprehensive Cooperation between India and China in 2003, the Joint Statement of India
and China in 2005, the India-China Joint Declaration of 2006 and A
Shared Vision for the 21st Century of India and China of 2008. The
two sides decided to enhance strategic communication, advance
functional cooperation, broaden cultural exchanges, and deepen
and enrich the India-China Strategic and Cooperative Partnership
for Peace and Prosperity on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence, mutual respect and sensitivity for each other's concerns and aspirations.

E
E
SR

IA
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E
M

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Visit of France President Sarkozy

France signed a 9.3-billion-dollar framework agreement to
sell two nuclear reactors to India during a trade-centred visit by
French President Nicolas Sarkozy to New Delhi. India inked the
deal with France's state-run nuclear group Areva for the purchase of
two reactors for a new plant in Jaitapur in the western state of
Maharashtra. "Negotiations (with Areva) have reached an advanced
stage to pave the way for the launching of nuclear power reactors in

97

Jaitapur in partnership with Indian industry," Prime Minister

Manmohan Singh told a joint press conference. The deal is short of
a final sale contract, but it means Areva has moved ahead of US and
Japanese competitors in the race to sell reactors to India, which
aims to tap atomic power for a quarter of its electricity demands by
2050. Deals totalling 15 billion euros (20 billion dollars) have been
signed or are about to be signed with Indian companies, Sarkozy's
office said, including a leasing agreement for 14 Airbus planes and
the modernisation of 51 French-made Mirage fighter jets. Sarkozy
came with a delegation of six ministers and around 70 chief
executives, including the bosses of aircraft and defence groups
Dassault Aviation, aircraft maker EADS, and Areva. The nuclear group
hopes to supply six reactors in total for the Maharashtra nuclear
plant. The first two are worth 7.0 billion euros, according to the French
presidency.

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President Patil Visit to Abu
N Dhabi
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Indian President Pratibha Patil made a goodwill visit to Abu
M economic aspirations
Bhabi and Dubai in November 2010. Indias
and strong growth make it an idealM
destination for foreign investment, President Pratibha Patil told O
members of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce. All religions ofCthe world unite was the Presidents
second message in Abu Dhabi.
with students of
IAat AttheanAbuinteraction
Indian schools from the UAE
Dhabi Indian School, the
D
President advised themEto build friendships and develop the ability
to work constructivelyM
as a team. She opined that education was not
merely necessaryEto secure a job but an investment into the future
E the concepts of peace, harmony and tolerance.
and a way to imbibe
R
Inaugurating
S the Indian Islamic Centre, the President said

that it was a tribute to the collective efforts of the Indian Diaspora

and would serve as a cultural bridge between India and the UAE.
The President arrived in Dubai to a grand reception given by the
Indian community. She also launched a long-awaited 24-hour
helpline for distressed Indian workers facing problems with their
employers or contracts.

President Patils visit to Syria

Indian President Pratibha Devisingh Patil arrived on November 26, 2001, on a four-day state visit to the Syrian Arab Republic.

98

Her visit assumed special significance since this was the first ever
visit of by an Indian President to Syria. Several Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs), including those on cultural exchange, were
signed during the visit. Her talks with President al-Assad gave a
new momentum to the bilateral relations in all fields, particularly on
expanding economic and commercial cooperation. The Presidents
visit was aimed to bolster a political dialogue between the two countries and discussions were held on bilateral, regional and international issues, including West Asia peace process.
Syria has already backed Indias demand for a permanent
membership of the United Nations Security Council and has always tried to act as a moderator for toning down Pakistani rhetoric
in the meetings of Organisation of Islamic Countries.

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President Pratibha visit toALaos
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India will provide the Lao Peoples N
Democra6c Republic the
first tranche worth $72.55million for two U
power projects as part of a
package of monetary and technical assistance in areas ranging
M
from power and irriga6on to culture. The agreements commi7ed to
M
cover several areas. In the field of culture, a cultural exchange
O
programme has been signedCfor 2011-2013, the centre piece of
which is a project for the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) assisIAthe 6th century temple complex of Vat
tance in the restora6on of
D
Phou in the province E
of Champassak.
M of President Obama
Visit
E
US President
Barack Obama reached India for a three-day
RENovember
official visitSon
6, 2010. He arrived in Mumbai where he
paid homage to the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack victims. Later, addressing the Indian and American entrepreneurs he said several
landmark deals worth US $ 10 billion have been signed between
Indian and American companies shortly before his arrival. These
deals, he said, will help in creating more than 50,000 jobs back
home in USA. Among the biggest deals announced included Reliance Powers purchase of 2,400 MW plants from GE and Spicejets
deal to buy thirty three Boeing 737 aircraft.
President Obama landed in Delhi on November 7, 2010. On
November 8, President Obama addressed the Indian Parliament.
The US Presidents speech, which was interspersed with several

99

India-specific references and continuously underlined the fast-improving partnership between New Delhi and Washington, was attended by a packed House, which included Vice-President Hamid
Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira
Kumar, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Cabinet ministers and
members of the two Houses of Parliament.
India and the United States pledged to defeat all terrorist
networks, including the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), and
strengthen international cooperative activities that will reduce the
risk of terrorists acquiring nuclear weapons or material. Condemning terrorism in all its forms, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and
US President Barack Obama, in a joint statement, issued at the end
of the American leaders official engagements in India, called on
Pakistan to bring to justice the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai
terror attacks.
They reiterated that success in Afghanistan and regional and
global security required elimination of safe havens and infrastructure for terrorism and violent extremism in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The two leaders also emphasised the importance of close
cooperation in combating terrorist financing and in protecting the
international financial system. Deciding to strengthen and expand
the Indo-US global strategic partnership, the Indian PM and Obama
called for an efficient, credible and legitimate United Nations to ensure a just and sustainable international order. Singh welcomed
President Obamas affirmation that in the years ahead, Washington
looked forward to a reformed UN Security Council that included
India as a permanent member.
On the civil nuclear deal, they reiterated their commitment to
build strong bilateral cooperation through the participation of American energy companies in India on the basis of mutually acceptable
technical and commercial terms and conditions that enabled a viable tariff regime for the electricity generated. The two leaders also
decided to take mutual steps to expand US-India cooperation in civil
space, defence and other high-technology sectors commensurate
with Indias non-proliferation record and commitment to abide by
multilateral export control standards.
Key health and Education pacts singed: A promise to help
India battle old and emerging infections and another of forging collaborations in higher education were the high points of US President Barack Obamas India visit, which saw two key pacts being

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inked in the sectors. On the health front, President Obama and

Prime Minsiter Manmohan Singh announced the setting up of the
Global Disease Detection India Centre to come up under the MoU
between the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Delhi,
and the Centre for Disease Control (CDC), Atlanta. On the education front, the two sides committed themselves to a higher education summit in New Delhi in 2011 to develop collaborations in the
area. Building lab capacity at home for diagnoses of emerging infectious diseases using well characterised reference materials and
advanced technology transfer that meets CDC and global standards
will be the other major takeaways from health MoU.

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Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs Japan
O visit
I
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Japan
October
AT onof negotia25, 2010. The visit ended with the successful conclusion
C
I
tions for the Comprehensive Economic N
Partnership Agreement
(CEPA). As a first step in realising CEPA,Uboth countries agreed to a
sweeping liberalisation of their bilateral visa regime.
M
The successful conclusion of CEPA is expected to elevate
M
trade and economic relations between the two countries to the next
level. Though the trade between
CO the two nations remained almost
stagnant for decades, it has been growing rapidly since past three
IAfoster new business opportunities, enyears. The agreement will
D
hance competitiveness
E of private sectors, and encourage closer
partnership between the private sectors in Indias teeming SMEs
M
and Japans infrastructure and hi-technology enterprises. India is
E
hoping that the
coming into place will also balance out the
E CEPA
R
trade imbalance
between the two countries. As of now, trade between the S
two countries is strongly in favour of Japan.
Visit of PM Manmohan Singh to Malaysia
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Kaula Lumpur on
October 27, 2010. The highlight of the visit was agreement between
India and Malaysia to forge new ties on two of the most important
issues for their economiessealing the Comprehensive Economic
Cooperation Agreement (CECA) and contain the threat of terrorism
through establishment of a Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism, besides collaboration in defence. The two leaders said that
the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will be signed by January 31, 2011
and this will be implemented by July 1, 2011.

101

Visit of President of Mozambique

On September 30, 2010, during a meeting between President of Mozambique Armando Guebuza and Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh, India and Mozambique inked three pacts and a
credit line of $500 million was extended to that country for infrastructure projects, agriculture and energy. The two countries have also
decided to create a partnership based on greater political engagement, deepening of economic cooperation, strengthening of defence and security cooperation, specially to secure sea lanes against
piracy, and cooperation in capacity building and human resource
development.

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Visit of Polish Prime Minister IO
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Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk visited A
India on September 7, 2010. The Indo-Polish defence cooperation
figured promiICand Prime
nently during talks between the visiting dignitary
Minister
N
U military hardware
Manmohan Singh. Since most of the Indian
was
acquired in the 1970s from the then Soviet
Union, Poland, which
M
was a key ally of former USSR, hasM
the spares and the technology
for upgrading the equipment with O
the Indian forces. Poland is keen
to sell tank recovery vehicles to C
India. The proposal was made during Antonys visit to Warsaw in
April for a meeting of the joint working
A
I
group (JWG) on defence D
cooperation between the two countries. A
tank recovery vehicle is Ea type of armoured fighting vehicle used to
repair battle or mineM
damaged as well as broken down vehicles
during combat operations,
E or to tow them out of the danger zone for
more extensive E
repairs.
SR
Visit of Myanmars military ruler

Ignoring worldwide concerns over human rights violations in

Myanmar, New Delhi rolled out a red carpet welcome for Myanmar
military ruler General Than Shwe on July 27, 2010. Top Indian leaders held wide-ranging talks with him on a plethora of issues, including bilateral ties as well as international developments. The increasing Chinese influence in the South East Asian nation is apparently weighing heavily in the mind of the Indian leadership as it
seeks to increase its engagement with Myanmar, particularly in the
vital energy sector and in fighting Indian insurgents operating along
the India-Myanmar border. The two countries signed five accords

102

after talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the 77year-old leader of the military junta. Simultaneously, the EXIM Bank
of India extended a line of credit of $60 million to the Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank.

Visit of British Prime Minister

British Prime Minister David Cameron came visiting India in
July 2010. Talking on terrorism affecting the region, he said that Pakistan could not be allowed to harbour militants and promote terror
against India, Afghanistan and the rest of the world. On his first visit to
India after becoming Prime Minister in May 2010, he laid out the basis
for a new enhanced relationship with India. Apart from Camerons
own tough talk on terrorism, his business minister Vince Cable announced the UK was prepared to export civil nuclear technology to
India, bringing Britain in line with the stance taken by the United States,
Russia and France.
Travelling to Bangalore and then to Delhi, Cameron signed a
Rs 5,082 crore agreement for the Indian Air Force and Navy to buy an
additional 57 Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer aircraft from British Aerospace Systems. India and the UK also made announcements in the
field of immigration, education and signed an agreement on cultural
cooperation. Cameron welcomed Indias support to Afghanistan,
Nepal and Bhutan, its intellectual leadership at the G20, and said
the time was ripe for India to find a place in the UN Security Council.

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VisitM
of South African President
E
On hisEmaiden visit to an Asian country as the President of
South Africa,
SR Jacob Zuma was given a rousing reception by the
Indian leadership on June 4, 2010, as the two countries signed
three key pacts, including one on air services, and agreed to support each others candidature for the non-permanent seat at the UN
Security Council for the 2011-2012 term. A wide range of bilateral
issues as well as global developments, including reforms of the
UN Security Council, closer cooperation between the two countries
at various international fora, particularly on climate change, and
increasing the volume of bilateral trade, came for discussions during the talks. Apart from the pact on enhancing air connectivity, the
two countries signed an MoU on agriculture cooperation and another for linkages between the Foreign Service Institute of India and

103

the Diplomatic Academy of South Africa. Both India and South Africa
are keen to increase the two-way trade, which currently stands at
$7.5 billion annually. Zuma said he wanted that to grow to $10 billion by 2012.

Visit of Sri Lankan President

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa visited New Delhi
on June 9, 2010. During his talks with Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh, he sought to cool down tempers in India over the plight of
Tamils in his island nation by promising to quickly resettle displaced
Tamils and expedite a political solution to the ethnic issue. The two
countries also signed seven agreements, including a treaty on
mutual legal assistance in criminal matters and an MOU on sentenced prisoners, after wide-ranging talks. The two countries announced a major initiative to undertake a programme of construction of 50,000 houses for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in
Northern and Eastern provinces of Sri Lanka with Indias assistance. India would also be taking up several projects for the reconstruction of the North and the East, including rebuilding of railway
infrastructure, rehabilitation of Kankesanthurai harbour and Palaly
Airport, construction of a cultural centre in Jaffna and several vocational training centres, renovation of the Duraiappaj stadium and
rehabilitation of war widows.

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Visit ofE Nepalese President
M Ram Baran Yadav visited New Delhi from
President of Nepal
E
February 15, 2010.
In
an effort to make the visit a truly successful
E a 250-million
event, India offered
dollar soft loan through EXIM Bank
R
and signed S
four major accords with the Himalayan nation. India
also offered to supply 50,000 tonne of wheat, 20,000 tonne of rice
and 10,000 tonne of yellow peas to its neighbour. An additional
2,000 tonne of wheat would be provided to Nepal, if required.

Visit of President Patil to China

Indian President Pratibha Patil visited Beijing from May 27,
2010. She is the first Indian Head of State to visit China in a decade.
She had been invited by her Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao and her
trip coincided with the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and China. During her visit, Patil inau-

104

gurated Chinas first Indian-style Buddhist temple in Luoyang city in

Henan province. Skirting contentious issues, she held discussions
with the top Chinese leadership. Controversial issues such as Chinese border incursions, stapled visas for Kashmiris, Indian visas for
Chinese telecom companies and Sino-Pak ties did not figure in the
discussions. Patil sought Chinese support for New Delhi's permanent membership of the UNSC during talks. The Chinese leaders
supported India's aspirations for UNSC permanent seat and assured
the Indian leader that Beijing would back Indias bid in 2011s election for a non-permanent membership of the UNSC.

S
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Afghan President Hamid Karzai, during hisIO
two-day trip to
T
New Delhi on April 26, 2010, sought to allay Indias
over
A concerns
the proposed re-entry of the Taliban in the Afghanistan
government.
C
I
Karzai indicated that his government wouldNenter into a power-sharing arrangement with those elements ofU
Taliban who had accepted
the countrys constitution and were not part of the Al Qaida.
M
M
Visit of Prime Minister
Putin of Russia
O
C Vladmir Putins one-day visit New
Russian Prime Minister
Delhi on March 13, 2010,Ahas gone some distance in adding a
I to ties between the two nations. The
strong economic dimension
D
visit helped in building
E a roadmap to strengthen economic ties,
including in the pharmaceutical
sector, getting Russian investments
M
in infrastructureE projects and accessing Russian markets for Indian services.EDemonstrating the solidity of their strategic relationR India and Russia sealed multi-billion dollars deals
ship to theSworld,
in key areas like defence, nuclear energy, diamond, petroleum and
Visit of Afghan President Karzai

aviation as Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin reaffirmed

Moscows support to Delhi in its fight against terrorism.
The visit is noted for the success in taking this vital strategic
partnership forward, giving the much needed economic impetus. A
host of steps aimed at scaling up the current $7.5 billion bilateral
trade to $20 billion by 2015 were set in motion. Besides agreement
on nuclear reactors, an MoU for cooperation in Russias satellite
navigation system was also agreed upon during the visit.
Russia announced its readiness to build 16 nuclear reactors for power stations in India. An important agreement was the

105

umbrella pact between the National Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and the Atom Stroy for Kudankulam III and Kudankulam
IV nuclear reactors as part of the nuclear cooperation accord between the two sides. The agreement on peaceful uses of nuclear
energy is expected to open more avenues of nuclear cooperation
between the two countries. The two sides also signed a pact on
serial construction of Russian designed nuclear reactors. The most
significant accords between the two sides were on the Admiral
Gorshkov aircraft carrier that was approved by the Union Cabinet for
the purchase of the vessel at $ 2.33 billion and the supply of 29 MIG
29K the sea variant of the fighter used by the IAF valued at $ 1.5 billion.

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PM Manmohan Singhs visit to Saudi Arabia
IO Singh beOn February 26, 2010, Prime Minister Manmohan
T
came the first Indian Prime Minister in 28 years to visit
Arabia.
CAoverSaudi
I
During the visit, Saudi Arabia expressed concerns
extremism
in Pakistan as New Delhi and Riyadh firmed N
strategic partnerU upaaroadmap
ship. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh unveiled
Maddressed captainsfor ofcom-inprehensive economic partnership as he
dustry from both the countries. Foreign
M Minister Prince Saud alO
Faisal, who had a discussion with
Singh, later spoke of the danC and made it clear that Riyadh
gerous trend of extremism in Pakistan
A
had nothing to do with the Taliban.
I Saudi Arabia and Pakistan were
among the few countries D
that had recognised the Taliban regime in
E
Afghanistan.
M
Visit
E of President of Turkey
E
The Turkish
R President, Abdullah Gul, visited India on February 9, 2010Sand held wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh on all issues of mutual interest, including the
international situation. Apart from the declaration on terrorism, the
two countries issued a document on cooperation in the field of science and technology. Days after keeping New Delhi out of the
Istanbul conference on Afghanistan at the instance of Pakistan, Turkish President Abdullah Gul sought to placate India by strongly endorsing its position on the issue of terrorism. Turkey is the first
Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) member to support Indias
call for early conclusion of a comprehensive convention on international terrorism, which finds a mention in the joint declaration on

106

terrorism. Turkeys position is being seen as a major departure

from that of OIC, which is not willing to exclude armed forces from
the purview of the convention. On Afghanistan, the Turkish President praised the role being played by India in the reconstruction
plan in the embattled nation.

Visit of Bangladesh Prime Minister

On January 11, 2010, India committed one billion dollars line
of credit for developmental projects in Bangladesh and transformed
its bilateral ties by signing five accords, including three key security
pacts to expand counter-terror cooperation, during the visit of
Bangladesh Premier Sheikh Hasina. This visit has opened a new
chapter in India-Bangladesh relations, reflecting the unity of minds
and hearts, Manmohan Singh told Sheikh Hasina. The one-billion
dollar line of credit is the largest ever one-time bilateral financial
assistance India has provided to any country. This will be used for
construction of railway bridges and lines, supply of coaches and
locomotives and buses, and assistance in dredging, an issue of
pressing concern to Dhaka. India also agreed to supply 250 MW of
electricity through its central grid. The two sides also took major
steps to improve connectivity, including the start of the Akhara-Agartala
rail link.

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CooperationM
in the civilian nuclear energy field was high on
the agenda during
the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan
E Korean
E
Singh and South
President Lee Myung-bak, on January 25,
R
2010. Presdent
Myung-bak
was also the chief guest at the Republic
S
Visit of Korean President

Day. During the visit the two countries signed accords in diverse
areas, including IT and civilian space, following the talks between
the two leaders. President Lee Myung-bak began his four-day visit
to India with a visit to the Hyundai factory near Chennai to meet
Korean businessmen living in the city before reaching New Delhi.
Regional and global issues, including the intensification of economic ties and cooperation in sphere of civilian nuclear cooperation and space technologies, figured prominently during talks between the two sides. Closer cooperation in combating global financial recession was also discussed in the context of the G-20 summit to be held in Seoul later in 2010.

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FINANCE & ECONOMY CAPSULE

India's per capita income

India's per capita income grew by 10.5 per cent to Rs 44,345

in 2009-10 against Rs 40,141 in the year-ago period, according to
government data. The World Bank, however, pegs India's per capita
income at a much higher $1,180 per year. India ranks a poor 161st
in the world in terms of per capita incomes. The per capita income
was slightly higher than Rs 43,749 as calculated by the Central
Statistical Organisation in its advance estimates for FY10. However,
per capita income grew by 5.6 per cent last fiscal if it is calculated on
the basis of 2004-05 prices, which is a better way of comparison
and broadly factors inflation. Per capita income (at 2004-05 prices)
stood at Rs 33,588 in FY10 against Rs 31,821 in the previous year,
according to estimates of national income. Per capital income
means income of each Indian if national income is evenly divided
among the country's population of 117 crore (Rs 1.17 billion).

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O diamond bourse
Mumbai gets world's C
largest
The Bharat DiamondIA
Bourse (BDB), the world's largest, was
inaugurated at Mumbai on
17th October by Union Commerce and
D
Industry Minister Anand E
Sharma. As on 17th October, in 2009-2010,
the export of diamonds
in this industry from Mumbai is Rs. 61,000
M
crore and I am hopeful
that
within a year, this bourse will achieve a
E
turnover of overERs. 1,00,000 crore. The BDB has been set up to
establish infrastructure
for promotion of diamond export, including
SR
jewellery, and provide all support and service facilities to eventually
make India an international trading centre for gems and jewellery.
Spread over a 20-acre plot, the complex is designed to house around
2,500 small and large diamond traders in addition to a Custom
House, banks and other service providers who will cater for the gem
and jewellery trade.

Tobacco India Report

Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) for India, 2009-10, conducted on 99.9 per cent of Indias population in 29 States, UTs of
Chandigarh and Puducherry has submitted its report. According to

108

it, Indias obsession with tobacco continues despite laws to tell the
users of its lethal consequences. Though 64 per cent of all adults
believe tobacco leads to heart attacks, 35 per cent (one-third) continue to consume tobacco in some form or the other.

RBI raised the repo rate

The Reserve Bank of India raised the repo rate (at which
banks borrow from RBI) to 6.25% and reverse repo rate (the rate of
interest that banks get with their surplus money being parked with
central bank) to 5.25% to control the high inflation in the country.

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Inflation for the month of August stood at T
8.51 per cent, acA series released
cording to the new Wholesale Price Inflation (WPI)
by the government 2010, 14th September. AsIC
per the old series with
a base year of 1993-94, WPI inflation stood
9.5 per cent for the
UN atOverall
month, according to the Commerce Ministry.
inflation in AuM points from 9.78
gust witnessed a fall of 1.27 percentage
per cent in
the month of July, as per the newM
series, which considers 2004-05
O WPI index, inflation was 0.31 per
as the base year. As per the new
cent in August last year. It (theCnew index) will help in informing both
the government and people
IA how the prices are moving. This will
give a robust picture and
reflect actual price movement, Commerce
D
E told reporters in New Delhi. Consumer items
Minister Anand Sharma
widely used by theM
middle class, like ice-cream, mineral water, microwave ovens,Ewashing machines, gold and silver are reflected in
Eof WPI inflation. The new WPI series has 241 more
the new series
R
items thanSthe old index. With the additional items, the WPI now
New WPI series in place

measures a total of 676 items against 435 earlier.

New Direct Tax Code (DTC) 2011 Bill

The New Direct Tax Code (DTC) 2011 Bill or Direct Tax Code
India 2011 draft or Direct Tax Code Highlights has been released by
finance minister Pranab Mukherjee which would replace current
Income Tax structure from 2011- 12. This New Direct Tax Code (DTC)
2011 Bill or Direct Tax Code India 2011 draft will be applicable from
Financial Year 2011-12 starting from 1st Day of April 2011 and Direct
Tax Code Highlights has been declared. The new Direct Tax Code
(DTC) bring relief to the taxpayers, as the tax slabs have been sim-

109

plified further which was approved by Cabinet yesturday on August

26, 2010. The taxpayers can now get more benefits.
Key Features of New Direct Tax Code (DTC) 2011 Bill:

Tax Exemptions for Salaried People Rs 2 lakh

Tax Exemption for Senior Citizens Rs 2.5 lakh
Tax for Income between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 5 lakh 10%
Tax for Income between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 10 lakh 20%
Tax for Income over Rs 10 lakh 30%
Rs 1.5 lakh Tax Incentives on Housing Loans will continue
The DTC provides for MAT of 20 per cent of book profits of
companies
The original draft had promised a whole new paradigm in
direct taxation, drastically lowering the tax burden while also doing
away with most exemptions. A revised draft released in June this
year brought back some of the exemptions like the one available for
interest on housing loans that the first draft had proposed to get rid
of. The speculation that this might force the finance ministry to make
the revision of tax slabs also less ambitious to avoid giving away too
much revenue has now proved well-founded. Under the original
proposal, the 10% slab would have extended up to Rs 10 lakh and
the 20% slab up to Rs 25 lakh, meaning that the 30% rate would
have applied only to incomes of over Rs 25 lakh per annum. On the
plus side for individual taxpayers, withdrawal from provident funds
will not be taxed as the original DTC had proposed to do. Also deductions from taxable income will be available for interest on housing loans up to Rs 1.5 lakh per annum and on payments into PF and
similar superannuation schemes up to Rs 1 lakh. Also available
will be a deduction of up to Rs 50,000 for life insurance and health
insurance premiums or tuition fees.

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INDIA TO BECOME USD 2 TRILLION DOLLOR

ECONOMY
The Indian economy would grow to USD 1.72 trillion in 201112, moving closer towards the USD 2 trillion mark, according to an
assessment by the Prime Ministers Economic Advisory Council
(PMEAC). The countrys gross domestic product (GDP) at the market and current prices was measured at USD 1.31 trillion in 200910 and is estimated to be USD 1.52 trillion in the current fiscal. If the

110

nine per cent growth trend is maintained, India would become USD
two trillion economy in 2013-14 fiscal. In the assessment, the
PMEAC, headed by noted economist C Rangarajan, said that it is
imperative for India to preserve conditions that will enable it to return to the 9 per cent growth trajectory. After slowing down to 6.7 per
cent in 2008-09 and 7.4 per cent in 2009-10, the Indian economy is
projected to expand at 8.5 per cent this fiscal and by nine per cent in
2011-12.
In the first two months of current fiscal, the industrial production recorded an annual growth of 14 per cent. The lead indicators
of service sector also suggest increased economic activity, Reserve Bank Governor D Subbarao said in the first quarter credit
policy review. If the tax reforms are implemented as planned from
next fiscal, the economy would get further push. The gain from GST
will propel the country from one-trillion dollar economy to two trilliondollar economy in a short span of time,.
Before the global economic slowdown since 2008, the Indian economy grew by over nine per cent for three years in a row
from 2005-06 to 2007-08 and expansion was maintained by industry and services sectors.

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India is largest recipient
A
India remained theI largest recipient of World Bank loans in
D
2009-10. The World Bank,
E through its lending arms IBRD and IDA,
committed $9.3 billion in financial assistance to India in 2009-10,
M
more than the aid committed by the US and European Union. Next
E
in line were South
E Africa ($3.8 billion), Brazil ($3.7 billion) and TurR
key ($3.0 billion).
S
Rupee got Symbol

On July 14, 2010, the Union Cabinet approved a new symbol

for the Indian Rupee an amalgam of the Devnagiri Ra and the
Roman capital R, minus its stem. With the gaining of the symbol,
the Indian rupee joins the elite club of US dollar, British pound,
European euro and Japanese yen that currently have their own symbols. 31-year-old IIT-B postgraduate in industrial design, D. Udaya
Kumar has designed the new symbol. All individuals and entities
within and outside India would use the symbol after its incorporation in Unicode Standard, ISO/IEC 10646 and IS 13194. Encoding of

111

the symbol in the Indian Standards is estimated to take about six

months while encoding in the Unicode and ISO/IEC 10646 will take
about 18-24 months. It will be incorporated in software packages
and keyboards in use in India. The symbol will standardise the
expression for Indian Rupee in different languages, both within and
outside the country. It would better distinguish the Indian currency
from countries whose currencies are also designated as Rupee or
Rupiah, such as Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

BHEL-NTPS power plant

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SBI Amendment
M Bill
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The parliament passed the State Bank of India (Amendment)
Bill providing for reduction of government
CO equity to 51 per cent from
a minimum of 55 per cent. With the passing of this Bill, the State
IAfunds from the capital market.
Bank of India will raise fresh
D
E chopper company
first global
M
Eurocopter,
company owned by European consortium,
E aDefence
E
European Aeronautic
& Space Co. NV (EADS), has become
R
the first global
chopper
company
to open an office in India.
S
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh laid the foundation stone
for the much-awaited Rs 6,000 crore BHEL-NTPS power plant
manufacturing project at Mannavaram, near Tirupati. Once
completed by the year 2014-15, the BHEL-NTPC joint venture project
will manufacture power plant equipment and would have capabilities
to produce equipment required for generation of 5,000 mw power
annually.

SEBI raised application Limit

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has

raised the application limit for retail investors to Rs 2 lakh, from Rs
one lakh.

Forbes most powerful women

Three Indian women all from the corporate sector find a spot
on the Forbes list of 100 most powerful women in the world, topped
by US First Lady Michelle Obama. Chennai-born PepsiCo CEO Indra

112

Nooyi came in at No 6, while Axis Bank CEO Shikha Sharma and

ICICI Bank Managing Director & CEO Chanda Kochhar were ranked
89th and 92nd, respectively. Surprisingly missing from 2010 list is
Congress President Sonia Gandhi. She came in at No 13 in 2009.

Unique Identification Authority of India

The Union Cabinet has cleared a new law providing for strict
penal action and hefty fines going up to Rs 1 crore to guard against
misuse of data collected for allotment of a Unique Identity Card or a
Aadhar number to Indian citizens. The proposed legislation, titled
the National Identification Authority of India Act, seeks to give statutory
powers to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UDAI), created
as an attached office under the Planning Commission. The decision
to enact a legislation was taken after fears were expressed over the
privacy and security of data collected by the UDAI. In addition, several
civil rights groups had also pointed out that actions of the UDAI
could well be questioned in the absence of a legal framework. This
scheme of providing unique identity number to the citizens of the
country took off on September 29 when Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh presented the first such number at a function in the tribal
district of Nandurbar in Maharashtra.

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RBIs A
mid-term review
I
The RBI, in its first
review of its monetary policy,
ED mid-quarter
increased repo and reverse
repo rates leaving the cash reserve
M as it battles to contain inflation.
ratio (CRR) unchanged
E
The central
noted that food inflation has risen to 15.10
Eweekbank
per cent for R
the
ending September 4, thus making it necessary
to rein in liquidity.
S As a result, RBI raised short-term borrowing rate
(reverse repo) by 0.50 percentage points to 5 per cent and lending
rate (repo) by 0.25 percentage points to 6 per cent. The increased
rates aim to make financing costly thus curbing consumption.
However, the RBI said that inflation rates have reached a plateau.
The apex bank also signalled banks to raise fixed deposit rates and
also noted that the government was on target to contain the fiscal
deficit.

Best Business Schools Survey

The Business Standard Best Business Schools Survey 2010
shows that Indias top business schools are: Indian Institutes of

113

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Management in Ahmedabad and Kolkata, Indian Institute of Foreign

Trade in New Delhi, Institute of Management Technology at
Ghaziabad, Management Development Institute at Gurgaon, National
Institute of Industrial Engineering in Mumbai and XLRI Jamshedpur.

and export credit.) While the new model will ensure greater
transparency, it need not mean lower lending rates for borrowers.

Foreign Direct Investments

India has replaced the US as the second most important
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) destination for trans-national
corporations, according to a survey conducted by UNCTAD. Global
FDI flows are expected to jump from $1.2 trillion in 2010 to $1.5
trillion in 2011 and $1.6-2.0 trillion in 2012.

The world's largest gold coin, "Maple Leaf 2007" has been
sold at an auction for $4.03 million. Measuring 53 centimetres in
diameter and with a purity of 99.999 per cent, it is listed in the 2010
edition of the Guinness Book of World Records as the worlds biggest
gold coin. The front side of the coin displays Queen Elizabeth II and
the reverse shows three maple leaves, the national symbol for
Canada. There are five Maple Leaf 2007 coins worldwide. One is
owned by Queen Elizabeth II, two belong to unidentified investors in
Dubai and the whereabouts of the fifth are unknown.

Lending Rate (BPLR) and price loans off a base rate. Unlike the
BPLR that was set somewhat arbitrarily by banks, the base rate will
follow an explicit formula that factors in a banks cost of deposits,
operating costs (expenses of running its branches, for instance),
the cost of statutory drafts on bank funds imposed by the Reserve
Bank of India (the Cash Reserve Ratio and Statutory Liquidity Ratio)
and the profit margin. The base rate will help borrowers to compare
interest rates offered by various banks and make the process of
how banks arrive at interest rates for loans more transparent. RBI
has stipulated that banks cannot charge below the base rate for
most loans. (There are a couple of exceptions like agricultural loans

barring Meghalaya, are the only States where slums are non-existent.
The Centre has launched two programmes to improve the
living conditions of slum-dwellers across the country. Jawaharlal
Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) provides funds
to States for creating housing and infrastructural facilities for the
urban poor in 65 cities, including Mumbai, under the Basic Services
to Urban Poor Programme (BSUP). For the remaining 124 towns,
the Integrated Housing and Slum development Programme (IHSDP)
has been introduced. The components for assistance include
provision of basic services to the slum dwellers, whom the
government prefers to call urban poor.

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Indias first agri-biotechnology institute
IO Agri Food
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Indias first agri-biotechnology institute, the National
Ain Mohali, near
Biotechnology Institute (NABI) is being set up
C
I
Chandigarh.
UNbrand
worlds most valuable
M
Apple Computers has emerged
as the worlds most valuable
M
brand in the 50 top valuable brand
O list of the Forbes magazine.
Apple was followed by softwareC major Microsoft, Beverages firm,
Coca Cola and technology giant
IBM. Search engine Google was
A General
I
fifth in the ranking. McDonald's,
Electric, Marlboro, Intel and
D
Finnish handset maker E
Nokia featured in the top 10 list.
M New BPLR
E
E July 1, banks will move to a new, more transparent
From 2010
R
regime of loan
S pricing. They will jettison the Benchmark Prime

world's largest gold coin

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Tobin Tax
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Tobin Tax is a levy on all spot conversions
of one currency
UN in the market due
into another. It is imposed to prevent fluctuations
to excessive capital inflows.
M
M
Survey of slums in Cities
CO and towns with a population of
A survey of slums in cities
over one lakh as per theIA
2001 Census, says there are 189 cities
and towns in India withDbig slums. Andhra tops the listit has 36
cities and towns with Ea slum population of 50,000 and above. It is
M with 26, Uttar Pradesh (25), West Bengal
followed by Maharashtra
E
(21) and Madhya
Pradesh (15). Other States with a sizable slum
E cities
population inRits
are Haryana (8), Chhattisgarh (6) and Gujarat
S (5 each). Goa and Kerala and north-eastern States,
and Rajasthan

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world's first gold vending machine

The world's first gold vending machine has been set-up in a
hotel in Abu Dhabi in the UAE. The 'Gold To Go' machine gives out 1,
5 and 10 gram gold bars as well as gold coins.

withdrawal limit for ATMs

The Reserve Bank of India has decided to increase the cash
withdrawal limit for ATMs to Rs one lakh in a single day.

FDI on Tobacco banned

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Maharatna status for
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The Central Government has granted Maharatna' status to
M
four giant public sector undertakings (PSUs) NTPC, Oil and Natural
OOil Corporation (IOC) and Steel
Gas Corporation (ONGC), Indian
C
Authority of India Limited (SAIL).
IA
Global D
Hunger Index 2010
E
India is amongM
29 countries with the highest levels of hunger,
stunted children and
poorly fed women, according to the InternaEResearch
E
tional Food Policy
Institute (IFPRI)s Global Hunger Index
R
2010. Despite
a
strong
economy
that was predicted to overtake
S
Chinas within three years by The Economist magazine, India ranked

On April 8, 2010, the Union government notified the ban on

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in cigarette manufacturing.
Manufacturing of cigars, cheroots, cigarillos and cigarettes, of
tobacco or of tobacco substitutes have been put under the list of
sectors where FDI is prohibited.

67th among 85 countries in terms of access to food. The report

points to widespread hunger in a country that is the worlds largest
producer of milk and edible oils, and the second- largest producer
of wheat and sugar. The country has a high hunger score of 24.1
and ranks behind all its neighbours, barring Bangladesh. Values
between 20 and 29.9 on the index denote an alarming hunger
situation. Globally, the world is nowhere near mee6ng the target of
the UNs goal of halving the proportion of hungry people. India also
runs the worlds largest free-meal programme for school-going
children. Yet, the 2010 hunger report reveals that more than 90 per

116

cent of the worlds stunted children (whose height is low for their
age) live in Asian countries, such as India and Bangladesh, apart
from some Africa countries. The highest regional hunger indices
suggesting the worst performers are almost the same for South
Asian countries, such as India, and Sub-Saharan African nations,
such as Congo. India is among countries with hunger levels
considerably higher that their gross national income per capita would
suggest. Its kind of ironic, Ashok Gulati, Asia director of the
Washington- based IFPRI said. The IFPRI hunger index complied
in partnership with German NGO Welthungerhilfe, and Concern
Worldwide ranks countries on three equally weighted indicators:
the proportion of undernourished, the proportion of underweight
children under five, and the child mortality rate. The UN Food and
Agriculture Organisa6on (FAO) defines hunger as the consump6on
of fewer than 1,800 kilocalories a day the minimum required to live
a healthy and productive life.

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National BusinessU
Register
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The sixth economic census, set to take off in 2011, will provide
M
India with a National Business Register (NBR) for the first time,
O
containing the details of every C
business establishment in the country.
The creation and maintenance of a business register and directory
IA data framework for various needed
are expected to be an economic
D
statistical surveys, including
E the Annual Survey of Industries and
others of the National Sample Survey Organisation. Currently, a fairly
M
reasonable database exists for the agricultural sector, while much
E
is lacking for E
the non-agricultural ones, particularly services. The
R
move to create
directory will particularly benefit the latter. The
S acontributing
services sector,
62.5 per cent to the countrys gross

domestic product, does not have a comprehensive data bank. The

national accounts significantly under-states the sector, even as it is
the major contributor. The business register is to keep an account
of all business establishments with a workforce of 10 or more people
addresses, sectors, turnovers, number employed etc.

Indias food security goals in danger

An alarming new report by the World Bank has shown that an
increasing number of aquifers in India are reaching unsustainable
levels of exploitation, endangering long-term food security goals. If

117

current trends continue, in 20 years about 60 per cent of all aquifers

in the country will be in a critical condition, putting at risk over a
quarter of the harvest, concludes the report Deep Wells and
Prudence: Towards Pragmatic Action for Addressing Groundwater
Overexploitation in India. The report rings alarm bells for policy
makers, warning them against status quo. A rainfall deficit in 196366 had decreased Indias food production by 20 per cent, but a
similar drought in 1987-88 had very small impact on food production
due to widespread prevalence of groundwater, which is now
declining. India is the largest groundwater user in the world,
exploiting 230 cubic kilometres of groundwater every year over a
quarter of the global total. Today, groundwater supports 60 per cent
of irrigated agriculture and more than 80 per cent of rural and urban
water supplies. Even though there is a major dependence of many
sectors on groundwater and it is being overexploited, there is little
investment in its management. This inaction has arisen mainly
because the solutions often proposed for groundwater management
are very controversial, including command-and-control regulation
of wells and curbing the supply of free or cheap power for groundwater
irrigation.

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O 2010
Liveability Index
C
According to the Liveability
prepared jointly by
A Index 2010,
I
the CII and the Institute for Competitiveness,
Delhi is the best city to
DA liveable city, according to the report, is
live in, followed by Mumbai.
E
not just an urbanised
Marea in an urbanised region defined by the
presence of a municipality. Liveability refers to an urban system that
E
contributes to theEphysical, social and mental well being and personal
R
developments of all its inhabitants.
S
CSO Estimates

The per capita income of India in 2009-10 was Rs 43,749

according to the advance estimates of Central Statistical
Organistation. It was Rs 40,141 in 2008-09. After taking inflation into
account, per capita income is estimated to grow by 5.4 per cent at
Rs 33,540 in 2009-10, against Rs 31,821 during 2008-09.

Union Budget, 2010

On February 26, 2010, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee
presented a Budget that broadly focused on fiscal stabilization. The

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Union Budget was presented at a time when the Indian economy

was on the path of revival and almost all demand indicators had
turned significantly positive. Investment and consumption demand
was also on a revival mode. The buoyancy in the manufacturing
sector and up-tick in import and export were also working well for
economic growth prospects. In the current economic scenario, what
was required from the Budget was a further push for consumption
and investment. The Budget announcements tried to do just that.

Highlights:

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Additional Rs 1,65,000 cr for bank re-capitalisation

Rs 3000 cr for agricultural impetus
Farm loan payments to be extended for six months
Fertilizer subsidy to be reduced
Rs 100 cr woman farmer fund scheme
Coal regulatory authority to be set up
Clean energy fund to be established
Interest subvention of 2% to be extended for handicrafts and
SMEs
Rs 200 cr for Tamil Nadu textile sector
Interest subvention for housing loans up to 1 lacs
Allocation to defence raised to Rs 1.47 lakh cr
Defence capex raised to Rs 60,000 cr
Divestment target of Rs 25,000 cr
Rs 1200 cr assistance for drought in Bundelkhand
Rs 48000 cr for Bharat Nirman
NREGA scheme allocation raised to Rs 41,000 cr
Allocation to health Rs 22,300 cr
Allocation for school education up from Rs 26,800 cr to Rs 31036
cr
Allocation to power sector at Rs 5130 cr
Rs 10,000 cr allocated for Indira Awaas Yojna
Social Security Fund to have corpus of over Rs 1000 cr
Rs 2400 cr for MSMEs
Government to contribute Rs 1000 per month for pension security
Rs 5400 cr allocated for urban development
Rs 66100 cr allocated for rural development
Rs 1900 cr allocated for UID project
Gross tax receipts Rs 7.46 lakh cr
Government to set up National Mission for delivery of justice

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15% rise in planned expenditure

Fiscal deficit target of 5.5% in FY11
Excise on all non smoking tobacco raised
Televisions to be costlier
Mobile phones to become cheaper
Cement to be costlier
Refrigerators to be costlier
Jewellery to be more expensive
Monorail granted project import status
CDs to be cheaper
Excise duty on CFL halved to 4%
Bank farm loan target: Rs 3.75,lakh crore
Nutrient based fertiliser subsidy scheme to come into force from
April 1, 2010
To build 20 km of highway every day
Income tax on income upto Rs 1.6 lakh: Nil
Income tax on income above Rs 1.6 lakh and upto Rs. 5 lakh: 10
per cent
Income tax on income above Rs.5 lakh and upto Rs. 8 lakh: 20
per cent
Income tax on income above Rs. 8 lakh: 30 per cent

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Railways Budget, 2010
IA Mamata Banerjee presented the
Union Railways Minister
D
Railways Budget, 2010,Eon February 24. No change in passenger
M Planning Commission was pitching for a
fares was announced
E
hike and the freight
rates on select, but significant items such as
E grains,
kerosene and R
food
were cut to keep prices down. 54 new
trains, including
S 10 Durantos, were announced. The Minister also
promised to construct over 1,000 km of new rail lines over next one
year.
The operating ratio, proportion of expenses to earnings,
which was a healthy 75 per cent in 2007-08, was up to 94.7 per cent
in 2009-10. The Railways hope to bring it down to 92.3 per cent in
2010-11. Though the budget proposes to raise net surplus from Rs
951.03 crore in 2009-10 to Rs 3,173 crore in 2010-11, these figures
were called peanuts by experts when compared to the figures of
some years ago.
Only Rs 373.09 crore was provided for new projects. Many
projects come with riders: theyre either proposed in the public-

120

private partnership (PPP) mode or are subject to sanction by the

Finance Ministry and Planning Commission.

Highlights:
No increase in passenger fares.
Rs.100 reduction in freight per wagon for fertilisers and kero-

sene.
Free travel for cancer patients in 3rd AC classes.
Cost-sharing in public-private-partnership (PPP) mode in some

gauge-conversion projects.

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be named after Bahadur Shah Zafar, Tagore family.
IOlabour.
Karmabhoomi trains to be introduced for migrant
T
New Janmabhoomi train between Ahmedabad
and Udhampur.
CA India to comSpecial 'Bharat Teertha' train to be run Iaround
memorate Rabindranath Tagore's 150thNbirth anniversary. A special train to be run from West Bengal
U to Bangladesh to commemorate the anniversary.
M
Railway line to be extended from
Bilaspur in Himachal Pradesh
M
to Leh in Jammu and Kashmir.
CO to get railway line from Port Blair
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
to Diglipur.
IAto be connected by rail from Rangpo.
Sikkim capital Gangtok
D
E Commission recommendations placed at
Impact of Sixth Pay
Rs.55,000 crore.
M
Gross earnings
estimated at Rs.88,281 crore.
E in 2009-10
E
Working expenditure
in 2009-10 estimated at Rs.83,440 crore.
R during 2010-11 estimated at Rs.87,100 crore.
Expenses
S
Thrust on expansion in 2010-11 with allocation of Rs.4,411 crore.

Further extension of Kolkata Metro on priority basis; stations to

Net profit of Rs.1,328 crore in 2009-10.

Ten automobile ancillary hubs to be created.
Policy decision to employ one member of family whose land is

requisitioned for railway projects.

North-south, east-west dedicated freight corridors to be created.
Centre for railway research to be established with Indian Insti-

tutes of Technology and Defence Research and Development

Organisation.
Design, development and testing centre for railway wheels at
Bangalore.

121
Five sports academies to be set up; astroturf to be provided for

development of hockey; employment opportunities for sports

persons.
Railways to be lead partner for Commonwealth Games.

Economic Survey 2010

Economy likely to grow by up to 8.75 per cent in 2010-11.

Full recovery; return to 9 per cent growth in 2011-12.
Broad recovery gives scope for gradual stimulus roll back.
High double-digit food inflation in 2009-10 major concern.
Signs of food inflation spreading to other sectors.
Farm & allied sector production falls 0.2% in 2009-10.
Need serious policy initiatives for 4% agriculture growth.
Moots direct food subsidy via food coupons to households.
Favours making available food in open market.
Favours monthly ration coupons usable anywhere for poor.
Gross fiscal deficit pegged at 6.5 pc of GDP in 2009-10.
India 10th largest gold holding nation at 557.7 tonnes.
Exports in April-December 2009 down 20.3 per cent.
Imports in April-December 2009 down 23.6 per cent.
Trade gap narrowed to USD 76.24 bn in April-December.
32.5% savings & 34.9% investment (of GDP in 2008-09) put
India in league of world's fastest growing nations.
Government initiates steps to boost private investment in agriculture.
Wants credit available at reasonable rates on time for private
sector to invest in agriculture.
Slowdown in infrastructure that began in 2007, arrested.
Domestic oil production to rise 11 per cent in 2009-10.
Gas output up 52.8 per cent to 50.2 billion cubic meters with RIL
starting production.
India world's 2nd largest wireless network with 525.1 million
mobile users.
Virtually every second Indian has access to phone.
Auction for 3G spectrum to provide existing and foreign players
to bring in new technology and innovations.

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13th Finance Commission

The Union government has accepted most of the
recommendations of the Thirteenth Finance Commission headed

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by former Finance Secretary Vijay Kelkar. The Commission has told

governments at the Centre and States to set their fiscal house in
order, even as it raised the share of taxes that the States would be
entitled to receive over the next five years by 1.5 percentage points.
In addition, the Commission, a Constitutional body that is
appointed every five years to recommend a tax-sharing formula
between the Centre and States, has suggested a roadmap for the
introduction of a single-rate goods and services tax (GST), the key
indirect tax reform to create a common market in India. Its stringent
new roadmap for fiscal responsibility suggests, among other things,
that the overall debt of the Centre and States be capped at 68 per
cent of gross domestic product (GDP) from the current 82 per cent,
and 75 per cent recommended by the Twelfth Finance Commission.
The Finance Commission has recommended that the Centre
reduce debt to 45 per cent of GDP by March 2015, against 54.2 per
cent at present. For States the reduction in debt is recommended at
2 percentage points to 25 per cent. The relatively less stringent
condition for States comes with the rider that the Fiscal Responsibility
and Budget Management Act allows the Centre to borrow on behalf
of the States to help them counter macro-economic shocks. During
the financial crisis, the Centre had relaxed the cap on the fiscal
deficit.
The Finance Commission has said the Centre should
transfer 32 per cent of the taxes it collects to States, against 30.5 per
cent at present. The overall ceiling including transfers to local bodies
on transfers from the Centres gross revenue has been raised from
38 to 39.5 per cent. Among proposals that provide a thrust to fiscal
federalism, the commission has recommended that local bodies
receive up to 2.5 per cent of the divisible tax pool. Of this, up to 1 per
cent can be incentive-linked.
While there is more reason for the States to cheer since the
commission proposes an increase in grants, much of it is tied to
specific spending programmes such as those for elementary
education and environment. There is, however, a performance
incentive of Rs 1,500 crore for Assam, Sikkim and Uttarakhand and
a grant of Rs 51,800 crore to meet the deficits of Jammu & Kashmir,
Himachal Pradesh and the north-eastern States (excluding Assam).
Like its predecessor, the Thirteenth Finance Commission
has recommended a debt relief scheme for the States. The first
element is to cap the interest rate on a part of the loans from the

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National Small Savings Fund at 9 per cent from up to 10.5 per cent.
This will translate into a benefit of Rs 28,360 crore to the States. In
addition, there is a Rs 4,506 crore benefit with the government
accepting the suggestion to write off central loans that are not
administered by the finance ministry but were outstanding at the
end of 2009-10. Including the higher grants-in-aid, Madhya Pradesh,
Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra would be the biggest beneficiaries
in terms of share of transfers. Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and
Jammu and Kashmir would be the top losers.
The Finance Commission has projected that tax receipts
would see a compounded annual growth rate of over 17 per cent
between March 2010 and March 2015, while nominal GDP growth
is estimated at 13.2 per cent.
Prescribing a zero revenue deficit as the golden rule, the
Commission has recommended that the endeavour for all States
should be to reach that level by 2014-15.

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China overtakes Japan as second-largest
U
EconomyM
M growth, China has passed
After three decades of spectacular
O
Japan in the second quarter of 2010
C to become the worlds secondlargest economy behind the United States. The milestone, though
A the most striking evidence yet that
anticipated for some time, Iis
D
Chinas ascendancy is for
real and that the rest of the world will
E
have to reckon with a new economic superpower. The recognition
M
came on August 16, 2010, when Tokyo said that Japans economy
was valued at about
EE $1.28 trillion in the second quarter, slightly
below ChinasR$1.33 trillion. Japans economy grew 0.4 percent in
the quarter,Ssubstantially less than forecast. That weakness

suggests that Chinas economy will race past Japans for the full
year.
Japan has had the worlds second-largest economy for much
of the last four decades, according to the World Bank. And during the
1980s, there was even talk about Japans economy someday
overtaking that of the United States. But, while Japans economy is
mature and its population quickly aging, China is in the throes of
urbanization and is far from developed, meaning it has a much
lower standard of living, as well as a lot more room to grow. China is
already a major driver of global growth. The countrys leaders have

124

grown more confident on the international stage and have begun to

assert greater influence in Asia, Africa and Latin America, with things
like special trade agreements and multi-billion dollar resource deals.
Beijing is also beginning to shape global dialogues on a range of
issues; for instance, in 2009 it asserted that the dollar must be
phased out as the worlds primary reserve currency. While the United
States and the European Union are struggling to grow in the wake of
the worst economic crisis in decades, China has continued to climb
up the economic league tables by investing heavily in infrastructure
and backing a $586 billion stimulus plan. There are huge challenges
ahead, though. Economists say that Chinas economy is too heavily
dependent on exports and investment and that it needs to encourage
greater domestic consumption something China has struggled to
do. The countrys largely state-run banks have recently been criticized
for lending far too aggressively in 2009, while shifting some loans
off their balance sheet to disguise lending and evade rules meant
to curtail lending growth. China is also locked in a fierce debate over
its currency policy, with the United States, European Union and others
accusing Beijing of keeping the Chinese currency, the renminbi,
artificially low to bolster exports leading to huge trade surpluses for
China but major bilateral trade deficits for the United States and the
European Union. China says that its currency is not substantially
undervalued and that it is moving ahead with currency reform.

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D
E B-schools in the world
Top 20
M
The Indian School of Business (ISB) is the only one from
E
India to find aEplace on the list of top 20 B-schools in the world,
published byRthe Financial Times. ISB has improved its position to
S

bag the 12th spot on the list of top 100 B-Schools across the globe
in 2010. The London School of Business topped the list, followed by
the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Business School.
Stanford University GSB and Insead have been ranked at the fourth
and fifth positions, respectively.

Rural poor estimated at 42%

Agriculture sector in India continues to suffer, save for sharp
growth in some years. The expert group to review the methodology
for estimation of poverty, chaired by Suresh Tendulkar, has now
suggested that the poverty ratio at the all India level was actually
37.2% in 2004-05. Rural poverty was projected at 41.8% and urban

125

at 25.7% by the committee, as against official estimates of 28.3%

and 25.7% for rural and urban population, respectively. In the past,
the poverty line was defined in terms of per capita consumer
expenditure at 1973-74 market prices and adjusted over time and
across States for changes in prices keeping unchanged the original
1973-74 reference poverty line baskets of goods and services. The
all-India rural and urban poverty line baskets were derived separately,
assuming per capita daily calorie intake of 2,400 for rural people
and 2,100 for urban population. The Tendulkar panel has made four
major departures from the past practices. It moved away from the
calorie intake criteria for determining poverty line. Instead, it tests for
adequacy of actual food expenditure near the poverty line to ensure
aggregate nutrition, rather than just calories.

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Nutrient-based subsidy policy
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The Union government has approved Ithe Nutrient Based
NApril 1, 2010. This is
Fertiliser Subsidy (NBS) plan with effect from
Ushare
likely to have positive sentimental impact on
prices of fertiliser
Mcompanies
companies. Under the new policy, the
can fix retail
M
fertiliser prices. However the urea prices
will be increased by Rs
483 per tonne or 10 per cent. Fertilisers
CO are sold at governmentfixed prices, which are lower than their costs of production or import.
The difference is met through
IA subsidy. The NBS does away with
D
maximum retail price. It proposes
to replace the current system of
E
giving subsidy to the industry with direct assistance to farmers.
M
Solar Mission launched
E
E
Prime R
Minister Manmohan Singh launched Indias Solar
S

Energy Mission (named Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission)

on January 11, 2010. The main aim of the mission is to help generate
20,000 MW of solar power by 2022. The Prime Minister urged the
industry to create Solar Valleys on the lines of Silicon Valleys and
asked business houses to view the Solar Energy Mission as a
business opportunity. He added that the success of the mission
had the potential of transforming Indias energy prospects while
contributing to national and global efforts to combat climate change.
National Solar mission has been set-up to create an enabling policy
framework for the deployment of 20,000 MW of solar power in 2020.
The other objectives are: (a) Promote programmes for off-grid

126

applications, reaching 1000 MW by 2017 and 2000 MW by 2020; (b)

to create favourable conditions for solar manufacturing capability
for indigenous production and market leadership; (c) to achieve 15
million sq metres solar thermal collector area by 2017 and 20 million
by 2022; (d) to deploy 20 million solar lighting systems for rural
areas by 2022.

2010 Environmental Performance Index

India and China rank 123rd and 121st in pollution control,
respectively, reflecting the strain rapid economic growth imposes
on the environment, according to the 2010 Environmental
Performance Index (EPI). Iceland leads the world in addressing
pollution control and natural resource management challenges,
according to the index produced by a team of environmental experts
at Yale University and Columbia University. The EPI ranks 163
countries on their performance across 25 metrics aggregated into
ten categories including environmental health, air quality, water
resource management, biodiversity and habitat, forestry, fisheries,
agriculture, and climate change. Occupying the bottom five positions
are Togo, Angola, Mauritania, the Central African Republic, and Sierra
Leonecountries that lack basic environmental amenities and policy
capacity. The US ranks 61st, significantly behind other industrialised
nations like Britain (14th), Germany (17th), and Japan (20th).

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G-20 raises developing
nations quota in IMF
M
The Group
Finance leaders struck a landmark deal on
E ofto20boost
E
October 22, 2010,
developing countries power in the
R
International
Monetary
Fund,
even
as they failed to set targets for a
S
wide-ranging global economic rebalancing. The IMF deal was hailed
by fund MD Dominique Strauss-Kahn as a historical moment that
will see Europeans give up two seats on its 24-strong board to
powerful developing countries and transfer 6 percent of votes to them.

127
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ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

India to launch mission to cut emissions

India will spare no efforts to contribute to the success of
post-Copenhagen process, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh declared on February 6, 2010, as he announced the launch of a National Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency, aimed at cutting carbon emissions by 99 million tonnes. Within the ambit of our National Action Plan on Climate Change, India has already unveiled
one of the world's most ambitious plans for promoting solar energy,
targeting an installed capacity of 20,000 MW by the year 2022. The
initiative is expected to lead to avoidance of capacity addition of
nearly 20,000 MW and reduce carbon dioxide emissions of almost
99 million tonnes.

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A fifth of world's life at M
extinction risk
M
A fifth of the worlds mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles
and fishes are in imminent dangerOof going extinct, says this years
C
edition of the benchmark IUCN Red List. The percentages of threatA
ened invertebrates and plants
I are similar. Releasing the findings at
D
the Oct. 18-29 UN biodiversity
summit, being attended by 192
E
countries,Nagoya (Japan) on October 27th, Simon Stuart, chair of
the Species SurvivalMCommission of the International Union for
E (IUCN), said their findings on vertebrates
Conservation ofENature
showed that natures
backbone is at risk. Around 3,000 scientists
R
from aroundSthe world have worked to put this Red List together.

They have found that 25 percent of all mammals, 13 percent birds,

41 percent amphibians, 22 percent reptiles and 15 percent fishes
risk extinction, mostly due to loss of their habitats and some due to
overhunting. IUCN has found 64 species that have improved their
status in the Red List, moving from the critically endangered to the
endangered category, for example. Stuart said all these were in
areas that had been protected, proving the importance of conservation. Results show that the status of biodiversity would have declined by at least an additional 20 percent if conservation action had
not been taken. The successes include three species that were

128

extinct in the wild and have since been re introduced back to nature:
the California condor and the black footed ferret in the US, and
Przewalskis horse in Mongolia.

Rare snake sighted in West Bengal

A rare species of snake, spotted only twice in the past, was
discovered at a home in north Bengal's Jalpaiguri town on September 30th. This discovery is particularly exciting because this is the
first time that a live specimen of the reptile the Coral Red Kukri
snake has been reported, said Divisional Forest Officer (Wild Life
II) Sumita Ghatak. The snake was orange in colour and 88 cm long.
Very little is known about the species or its habitat. It is mildly venomous. The Oligodon Cheriensis, first discovered in 1936, is named
after the place in Uttar Pradesh where it was reportedly sighted for
the first time. A sighting was also reported near Mahendranagar in
Nepal. The discovery took place on September 13 after a house
owner contacted us to capture the snake. When we caught it, we
realised it was a species we had not seen before. Experts and
NGOs were consulted to identify the specimen, that was kept under
observation for about 10 days. It was released into the wild on September 25. Tissue samples from the snake have been collected
for analysis and we are going to conduct further investigations about
the snake. There is no record of the Dooars being a natural habitat
for this snake, and its sudden appearance is very interesting. We
are now on the lookout for more specimens so that more can be
studied about its habitat and behaviour.

IA
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The Union government has decided to declare the natural

Indias first eco-sensitive zone on a major river

course of the Ganga in 135 km stretch from Gaumukh to Uttarkashi

in Uttarakhand as Indias first eco-sensitive zone on a major river.
This means that part of the river cannot be disturbed for any projects.
Following this decision, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh approved
a proposal of scrapping three big hydel projects Loharinag Pala,
Bhairon Ghati and Pala- Maneri and providing 2,000 MW of free
power to Uttarakhand as compensation for the same. The decision
is direct fallout of Environment Minister Jairam Rameshs assurance to religious gurus, including senior BJP leaders, and environment experts that river Ganga will be allowed to run its natural flow

129

in the 135-km stretch. The minister had support of non-official members of the authority, who had been advocating that no dams small
or big be allowed on the river.

New species of fishes found in Indian waters

The presence of a shark species new to science and 84
other deep-sea dwellers new to the Indian waters have been brought
out by a stock assessment of deep sea fishes of the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone and the central Indian Ocean, according to
researchers. Mustelus manglorensis, a new gummy shark species, was discovered from a depth of 500 metres off the Mangalore
coast. According to researchers, this is the second gummy shark
that has been reported from the Indian Ocean against the 19 known
worldwide. Of the 84 species of fishes found in the Indian waters,
15 were shark varieties, including Baloon, Cat, Lantern and Gulpers.
Researchers have also confirmed the presence of 10 species of
eels belonging to Conger, Cusk and Snipe families from the study
region. Most of the species were found inhabiting the sea at a depth
beyond 500 metres.

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183 Elephant Corridors
CO Identified
The Ministry of Environment
Forests has identified 183
IAof this and
D
corridors for elephants. Out
138 are State Elephant CorriE
dors, 28 Inter State Elephant Corridors and 17 are International
M
Elephant Corridors. Every year the Ministry receives proposals in
the form of Annual
of Operation from States / Union Territorys
EEPlan
R
for various activities
under Project Elephant which includes restoraS

tion of Elephant Corridors also. In the last three years Rs. 4.5 crores
has been released to Kerala and Rs. 3.25 crores to Tamil Nadu for
acquisition of land for Elephant Corridors. The acquisition process
are done by respective State Governments.

Nationwide 38 Sites Identified for Plantation

The Ministry has a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for Conservation and Management of Mangroves in the country. On a nationwide basis, 38 sites have been identified as appropriate for planting of mangroves and their conservation and management. The
State-wise list is given in Annexure-I. As per the State of Forest Re-

130

port 2009, published by Forest Survey of India, the mangrove cover

in the country stands at 4639 km2 out of which 353 km2 is in Andhra
Pradesh. Under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme for Conservation
and Management of Mangroves, 100% central assistance is extended to Coastal States/Union Territories, who so request, for implementation of their approved Management Action Plans which comprise components such as Survey and Demarcation, Afforestation
and Restoration of Mangroves, Alternate and Supplementary Livelihoods, Protection Measures, Education and Awareness etc. The
details of central assistance provided to Coastal States/Union Territories for conservation & management of mangroves during the
last three years and the current year.

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2010 in the top three warmest
A years
C
I
The year 2010 is almost certain to rank in the top three warmest years since the beginning of instrumental
UN climate records in
1850, according to data compiled by the World Meteorological OrMhere on Thursday. A WMO
ganization (WMO) that were released
M
statement said the global combined sea surface and land surface
O
air temperature for 2010 (JanuaryOctober)
is now estimated at
C
0.55 degrees Celsius plusAor minus 0.11 degrees Celsius above
the 19611990 annual average
DI of 14 degrees Celsius. At present,
2010's nominal valueEis the highest on record, just ahead of 1998
and 2005. The data
Malso indicates that the January-October 2010
temperatures are
near record levels. The final ranking of 2010 will
E
E until November and December data are analysed
not become clear
R
in early 2011.
S Preliminary operational data from November 1 to 25
indicate that global temperatures from November 2010 are similar
to those observed in November 2005, indicating that global temperatures for 2010 are continuing to track near record levels.

Temperature rise to hit water, forest, health

India is expected to witness a 1.7 to 2 degrees Celsius rise
in the annual mean surface air temperature by 2030 due to the
change in climate conditions, according to a report commissioned
by Ministry of Environment and Forests. The report, 4X4 Assessment of the Impact of Climate Change on key sectors and regions of

131

India, has been prepared by 220 scientists from 120 research institutions under the Indian Network for Climate Change Assessment
(INCCA). It is the first assessment report on the impact of climate
change on agriculture, health, water and forests in four regions of
the country: Himalayas, Western Ghats, Coastal zone and the NorthEast in 2030. This is the second major publication on INCCA. In May
a report on GHG Emissions 2007 was released, making India first
developing country to publish such data. Coastal areas are likely to
witness maximum increase in temperature while winters are expected to get warmer. India may endure floods 30 per cent more
severe in magnitude and heightened drought conditions by 2030,
which may affect crop yields, damage dams and harm infrastructure. In fact, the report says that frequency of droughts is already
increasing, especially in the Himalayan region where the degree of
severity had increased by more than 20 per cent since the 1970s.

132

that the developing countries strongly support international legallybinding agreements, as the lack of such agreements hurts developing countries more than developed nations. The ministers said
that negotiations should follow a two-pronged approach. One track
is on long-term cooperative action to combat climate change. The
other is for developed countries to commit to what extent they will
reduce their greenhouse gas emissions after 2012, when the current commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol runs out. The next
BASIC ministerial meeting will be held at the end of July 2010 in
Brazil, followed by one hosted by China at the end of October 2010.

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UN cuts to UN
India submits proposed carbon
M
On January 30, 2010, India submitted its proposed emisM
sion intensity cut targets by 20-25 O
per cent by 2020 to the UN, a day
before the world bodys JanuaryC31 deadline for submitting the climate change mitigation steps
IAunder the Copenhagen Accord. However, it made it clear to theDSecretariat of the United Nations FrameE Change (UNFCCC) that all its domeswork Convention on Climate
tic mitigation actions M
were entirely voluntary in nature and not legally
binding, a position
India had maintained at Copenhagen Summit in
EEagriculture
Denmark. Though
sector contributes around 14 per cent
R
S
of the total GHG emissions, India has kept it out of the purview of the

S
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Monitoring of Tigers ReportO
I
According to a report titled Monitoring ofTTigers and Prey
Animals of Kaziranga National Park,' released
CAby Assam governI
ment, the Kaziranga National Park, famous
for one-horned rhino,
UN density of tigers at
has the highest density of tigers in the world.The
Kaziranga is 32.64 tigers per 100 sq.km.,
M the highest in any known
tiger habitat.
M
India is worlds third
COlargest carbon emitter
India is now worlds
IA third biggest carbon dioxide emitting
D
nation after China and
the
E US. The new emission data from the
United Nations was a cause of worry for Indias climate negotiators
M
at the next round of talks in Tianjin in China, held in October 2010.
E
China, in 2009,
E moved to the top position while contributing 23 per
R
cent of the
total
S global emissions and India, in 2010, surpassed
Russia to take the third position with five percent. The saving grace

mitigations actions in its blueprint submitted to the UN to ensure

food security.

is that the difference in total carbon emissions between the US (22

per cent) and India is still huge. Russia's emissions have been
falling because of economic slowdown. India's per-capita carbon
emission is still lowest in the world (about 4.5 tonnes) but the demand for energy is rising, especially among the middle-class. The
pressure on India and China to reduce emissions is rising. US
chief climate negotiator Todd Stern told a meeting of major economies forum that a legally binding climate treaty was not possible
until India and China take obligation to reduce emissions.

BASIC countries seek environment treaty

India, China, Brazil and South Africa, jointly called BASIC countries, have said that the legally binding climate treaty on reduction of
carbon emission should be finalised latest by 2011 as the world
could not wait indefinitely. The third meeting of BASIC ministers
concluded in Cape Town April 25, 2010. The statement also said

133

World mayors sign climate change pact

Mayors from around the world have signed a voluntary pact
in Mexico City to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The pact was
signed at a meeting meant as a precursor to the UN-sponsored
talks in Cancun. Participants from some 135 cities and urban areas
signed the pact committing them to adopt a number of measures to
stem climate change. Meanwhile, a new study has found that fossilfuel gases edged back less than hoped in 2009, as falls in advanced economies were largely outweighed by rises in China and
India. Annual emissions of carbon dioxide from the burning of oil,
gas and coal were 30.8 billion tonne, a retreat of only 1.3 per cent in
2009, compared with 2008, a record year.

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Icarbon
Solar-powered LED lanterns to earn
T
A
credits
C
I
The United Nations Clean Development
(CDM)
NhasMechanism
aimed at slowing the warming of the planet
notified governU
ments and companies on how to calculate
M carbon-emission saved
by installing solar-powered Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) instead
M
of ubiquitous, ancient lanterns. This could give India an incentive to
O
replace the lamps that are used in
per cent of households, meanCof30carbon
ing a saving of 50 million tonnes
every year. A
A up to Rsemissions
I
tonne of emission saved fetches
19,000 in the internaD
tional carbon market. AEpoor Indian household can save up to Rs
1,000 per annum onM
kerosene costs, half the cost of a solar-powered LED lighting system. Once charged, LED bulb works for up to
E with eight to 10 hours that conventional solar
42 hours, compared
E
R
lanterns do. LED lamps are about 90 per cent more energy efficient
S
than traditional incandescent lamps and about 20 per cent more
than Compact Fluorescent Lamps. The UN estimates its new initiative can change the lives of a quarter of humanity, which still gets
light by directly burning fuels, emitting nearly 200 million tonnes of
carbon dioxide each year, the equivalent of 60 million cars.

Asiatic Lion census 2010

According to the Asiatic Lion census-2010, the population of
Asiatic Lions in the Gir forest in Gujarat's Saurashtra region, the
only abode of the animals in the world, has grown by 13 percent to
411. The last count, taken in 2005, was 359.

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SPACE RESEARCH

Russia puts European satellite Ka-Sat in orbit

Russia on December 27th put into orbit the European KaSat satellite launched overnight by a Proton-M rocket from the
Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. "The satellite was successfully put into orbit", the Khrunichev space centre said December
27th. This was Proton's first successful launch after a failure on
December 5 of three Russian navigation satellites, Glonass, to reach
orbit. They fell into the Pacific some 1,500 kilometres (937 miles)
from Hawaii. After the incident, Russia has temporarily suspended
Proton launches. Some experts have said programming errors
caused failures. Ka-Sat will ensure access to broadband Internet
for poorly served terrestrial networks in Europe and Mediterranean
basin. The satellite was constructed by EADS Astrium for Eutelsat,
Europe's leading satellite operator.

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GSLV-F06Olaunch fails
C
The launch of Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle,
IAended in failure on December 25, with
GSLV-F06, from Sriharikota
D
the rocket bursting to a
Eball of fire as it ascended into the sky. After a
smooth 30-hour countdown, the GSLV-F06 lifted off from its launch
M
pad It ascended into the sky majestically, giving no hint of the disasE
ter that awaited
rocket. As it was climbing into the sky, the rocket
E the
R
lost it trajectory
and exploded into a ball of fire. Soon after, the sky
S

was filled with white, reddish-orange and dark-grey smoke. Flaming debris from the rocket came down in a shower over the Bay of
Bengal. It is not known whether the range safety officer in the mission control centre pressed the destructive button to destroy the
rocket, as it was wearing off its path. The rocket GSLV-F06 was to
have put into orbit communication satellite GSAT-5P. The previous
GSLV flight flown in April 2010 also ended in failure.

communication satellite HYLAS launched

An advanced communication satellite HYLAS (Highly Adaptable Satellite), built by ISRO on a commercial basis in partnership

135

with EADS-Astrium of Europe, was successfully launched November 27, 2010 at 00.09 hours Indian Standard Time (IST) by the European Ariane-5 V198 launch vehicle. The launch took place from the
Guyana Space Centre at Kourou in French Guyana. Thirty-five minutes after its lift-off, HYLAS separated from Ariane-5 launch vehicle
after reaching its intended Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO).
ISRO's Master Control Facility (MCF) at Hassan in Karnataka successfully received radio signals transmitted by HYLAS and the
satellite's health is normal. HYLAS satellite developed for Avanti
Communications, UK consists of ten high power transponders that
use eight in Ka and two in Ku band frequencies. The satellite is
designed to deliver high-speed broadband services through its spot
beams over Europe. The satellite is expected to be operated from
33.5 deg. W longitude for European coverage.

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Thirty Meter Telescope Project
CA
I
On June 25, 2010, India joined as anN
in the ambiU observer
tious astronomical observatory, Thirty Metre
Telescope (TMT), in
M of black hole, origin
Hawaii, which will help in unravelling mysteries
of galaxies and formation of planets M
among others. The status of an
observer is first step by India in O
becoming a full partner in TMT,
which will be fully operational C
in 2018 and will be worlds most
advanced astronomical observatory.
The telescope will have a 30IA uses diffraction
metre segmented mirror which
of light and focuses
D
E smaller telescopes. Such
in much sharper way than
a large size of
aperture will help it M
collecting more light, thus generating much
clearer and sharper
of fainter objects, which may not be
EE dayimages
possible by present
scopes. The images generated by the teleR
scope will beS 12 times sharper than the Hubble Space Telescope.
First Oxygen sampled outside Earth on Saturn
A spacecraft has tasted oxygen in the atmosphere of another
world for the first time, while flying low over Saturns icy moon, Rhea.
NASAs Cassini probe scooped oxygen from the thin atmosphere of
the planets moon while passing overhead at an altitude of 97 km in
March 2010. Until now, wisps of oxygen have only been detected on
planets and their moons indirectly, using the Hubble space telescope and other major facilities. Instruments aboard Cassini revealed an extremely thin oxygen and carbon dioxide atmosphere

136

that is sustained by high-energy particles slamming into the moons

surface and kicking up atoms, molecules and ions. Astronomers
have counted 62 moons orbiting Saturn. At 1500 km wide, Rhea is
the second largest and is thought to be made almost entirely of ice.

Chinas second lunar mission probe successful

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao unveiled pictures of the Bay of
Rainbows, marking the success of Chinas Change-2 lunar probe
mission, official media said. The pictures were taken and sent back
by Change-2, Chinas second lunar probe, which was launched
on October 1. The lunar probe named after a Chinese mythical
moon goddess, is currently orbiting 100 km above the moon taking
pictures of its surface with a high resolution camera. Change-2,
regarded as a trial run to land Change-3 in 2013, is aimed at
testing necessary technologies and continuing to transfer data back
to earth for further research before eventually landing on the moon
as an experiment for future lunar probes. According to the new road
map, China also plans to send a probe to Mars by 2013 and to
Venus by 2015, besides setting up its own manned space station.

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UN
M
M
PSLV launches
O five satellites
C
On July 12, 2010, five satellites CARTOSAT, STUDSAT and
IAlaunched by the ISRO-built Polar Satelthree foreign satellites were
D
lite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).
E The three foreign satellites Algerian,
Canadian and Swiss were launched as part of a commercial opM one kg and has been built by 35 students of
eration. Studsat weighs
E
seven engineering
of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. It
Ethat colleges
has a camera
produces high-resolution data. Built at Rs 175
R
crore and S
weighing 694 kg, CARTOSAT-2B is an earth observation
satellite in a sun-synchronous orbit. Its application will be towards
cartography in India. It will generate pictures and data relevant for
agriculture and rural development.

National Mission on Monsoon

The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) has proposed a
National Mission on Monsoon towards developing reliable dynamic
models for forecasting the monsoon over the next three to five-year
period through a multi-institutional effort. The mission will include
aspects of short (up to 3 days) and medium-range (up to a week)
predictions as well.

137

Space shuttle Atlantis lands for final time

On May 26, 2010, Atlantis and its six-man crew landed at
Floridas Kennedy Space Center marking the end of Atlantis 25
years of service. Only two shuttle missions remain, by NASAs two
other spaceships. The space agency would like Atlantis to return to
the International Space Station in June 2011. But thats not in the
cards unless the White House grants a reprieve. The space station
construction mission boosted Atlantis mileage to just over 193 million km, accumulated over 32 flights. The shuttle and its astronauts
left the outpost bigger and more powerful, adding a new compartment and fresh batteries.

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First solar powered spacecraft
T
A
Japanese scientists have developed a C
kite-shaped
space
I
yacht that uses only solar power for propulsion.
The spacecraft
N
IKAROS would be launched into the spaceUfor a six-month mission
to Venus. It is the first spacecraft to use such technology. Its name is
M
an acronym for Interplanetary Kite-craft Accelerated by Radiation of
M
the Sun. It also alludes to the Greek mythic hero Icarus who flew too
close to the Sun and fell into the
COsea. In space, the spacecrafts
short cylindrical pod will be separated
from the rocket spinning up
IA
to 20 times a minute. ThisDwill help it unfold its flexible 46-feet sail,
which is thinner than E
a human hair. The square-shaped sail,
equipped with thin-film
Msolar cells, uses resistance created by the
Suns energy in the
E same way as wind propels a yacht through
E
water, thus providing
the spacecraft with enough thrust to hover and
rotate.
SR
NASAs Solar Mission releases pictures of Sun
US space agency NASA has released stunning solar images some of which highlight never-before-seen material streaming out of the Sun while others show extreme close-ups of activity on
the Suns surface. These initial images show a dynamic Sun that I
had never seen in more than 40 years of solar research, said Richard Fisher, director of the Heliophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The images were taken by Solar Dynamics
Observatory, or SDO that was recently launched by NASA. It is the

138

first mission of the organisations Living with a Star Program or LWS

one of the NASAs many missions to study the Sun and space environment.

Chandrayaan-I finds deepest crater on moon

Scientists have discovered moon's biggest and deepest crater, some 2,400 km-long and 9 km deep, using data from a NASA
instrument that flew aboard India's maiden unmanned lunar mission
Chandrayaan-I. The US space agency's Moon Mineralogy Mapper
(M3) detected the enormous crater, the South Pole-Aitken basin, that
was created when an asteroid smacked into moon's southern hemisphere shortly after the formation of earth's only natural satellite.

S
N
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Chandrayaan-I finds ice on moon
T
A
The success story of Chandrayaan-I, the
maiden Indian moon
C
I
mission, turned a new chapter with the discovery
of ice deposits on
Nthe spacecraft.
the moon by an American payload aboard
Analysis
U
of data obtained by the Miniature Synthetic
Aperture
Radar
(MiniM
SAR) aboard Chandrayaan-I spacecraft has provided evidence for
M
the presence of ice deposits near the moons North Pole. The MiniO
SAR instrument found more than
C 40 small craters (two to 15 km in
diameter) with sub-surfaceAwater ice located at their base.
I indigenous rockets
10 Rohini series
D
E
The VikramM
Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) launched a total
of 10 Rohini series
indigenous sounding rockets from the Thumba,
E Launching
Equatorial Rocket
Station and the Satish Dhawan Space
E
R
Centre in Sriharikota
to
investigate
the effects of the longest annular
S
solar eclipse of this millennium.

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DEFENCE NEWS

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

The Defence Research and Development Oganisation (DRDO),
has successfully flown the indigenously built Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
(UAV), named Rustom. It is a medium altitude long endurance UAV,
developed by the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), a
lab of the DRDO. The ADE specialises in UAVs and flight control systems. The subsequent flights of the Rustom will test and demonstrate
capabilities like controlling the UAV through GPS satellites. The Rustom
has been designed for endurance of 12-15 hour, with a 25,000-ft altitude ceiling and 75 kg payload of cameras and sensors. The data link
for this has been developed by DEAL, another DRDO laboratory; a
private Indian company has built the airframe.

S
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I
UN
INS Vagli
M
The last of India's Foxtrot-class
submarines, INS Vagli reM
tired after 36 years of service. TheOretirement of INS Vagli will leave
C now.
only 14 more submarines for India
A
I for Tejas
GE Engines
D
E has bagged the contract for supplying
GE Aviation of USA
engines for the Light M
Combat Aircraft MK-2 (LCA MK-2 or Tejas MK2). The aircraft is being
developed by the DRDO with the Hindustan
EE (HAL)
Aeronautics Limited
the implementing agency for the
R
S of the newbeingengine
project. Installation
will pave the way for acquisition of the indigenous multi-role fighter jet by the IAF. The necessity
for a new engine arose after the LCAs present engine, also supplied by GE (GE F404 IN20), failed to meet the IAF requirements.
Installation of the new engine will necessitate major modifications
to the LCA, especially the fuselage. The ADA expects the Tejas MK2
to fly in 2014.

BrahMos cruise missile

India test-fired the supersonic BrahMos cruise missile, which
has a range of 290 kms, from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at

140

Chandipur off the Orissa coast. The Brahmos-II, a result of an IndoRussian joint venture, can be potentially used for surgical strikes,
including at terror camps, without causing collateral damage. It can
carry conventional warheads up to 300 kg and effectively engage
ground targets from an altitude of just 10 metres. The missile can
travel at three times the speed of sound.

IAF launches AFNET

The Indian Air Force, in a significant development, launched
on September 14, 2010, its state-of-the-art digital information system that will provide real time data, voice and images to commanders on the ground, as well as to pilots in the air. It will connect all
IAFs, fighters, choppers, transport planes, satellites and UAVs with
ground and command stations which will in turn have the position
of the ground-based air defence guns deployed at airbases. The
new system will make the IAF network centric force. The Air Force
Network (AFNET) has replaced the IAFs old communication network set-up using the tropo-scatter technology that was first devised in the 1950s.

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First flight of Tejas supersonic
fighter plane
CO
The dream of having
supersonic fighter jet of indigenous
Ato arealisation
I
built came one step closer
on June 2, 2010, when the
Limited Series Production
ED Tejas aircraft (LSP-4) took off from the
Hindustan Aeronautics
Limited airport, Bangaluru, for its first flight.
M
Test pilot, Group
Captain Suneet Krishna, flew the aircraft to an
E
altitude of 11 E
kms and went supersonic, touching 1.1 Mach speed.
R
A fighter plane
S flies in supersonic speed when it has already accomplished its mission and is being chased by enemy aircraft. For
testing, there was a plane chasing the Tejas LSP-4 during its first
test flight. The Tejas flew in the configuration that would be finally
delivered to the Indian Air Force.

Navy gets two Warships

Giving a boost to the Navys defence capabilities, two stateof-the-art high-speed warships, INS Cankarso and INS Kondul, were
commissioned into the naval fleet on June 29, 2010. The indigenously-built ships use water jet propulsion technology and can
achieve speeds in excess of 35 knots. Water jet technology has

141

rapidly gained acceptance as the leading means of propulsion for

all types of high-speed marine craft, including ferries, work boats,
patrol crafts and pleasure boats. The ships will be based in Goa
and tasked with the role of detecting, locating and destroying small,
fast-moving enemy surface craft engaged in covert operations. INS
Cankarso and INS Kondul are fitted with 30-mm CRN-91 gun built
by Ordnance Factory, Medak, and Igla missiles and set of machine
guns ranging from light to heavy.

New test range of DRDO

S
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CA
I
UN
M
M
INS Chennai Missile Destroyer launched
COChennai, a missile destroyer in
Indian Navy launched INS
the Project-15 alpha class, at
the Mazgaon Dock in Mumbai on April
IAwife
1, 2010. Elizabeth Antony,
Defence Minister AK Antony,
D
E 15 ofAlpha
launched the warship. Project
name for KolkataMare being made isincode
class destroyers that
the Mazgaon dock in
Mumbai. These E
E are the largest warships ever constructed at
Mazgaon, theRoldest and the most prolific of all Indian naval
S at adding a new dimension to the country's naval
dockyards. Aimed

The Defence Research and Development Organisation

(DRDO) is building a new test range in Chitradurga district in
Karnataka for its aeronautics missions for flight-testing sophisticated unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), air-to-ground weapons,
huge parachutes, Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, aerostats and also
for testing electronic warfare systems. The DRDO already has an
Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur-on-sea, near Balasore,
Orissa, from where different missiles are flight-tested.

warfare, India has launched the indigenous warship with enhanced

stealth features and land-attack capabilities. The 6800 tonnes
Kolkata class (Project 15-A) destroyers incorporate Indian systems
including the HUMSA-NG (Hull Mounted Sonar Array New
Generation), 16 Brahmos missiles, torpedos and the Nagin active
towed array sonar, jointly developed by the DRDO's Naval Science
and Technology Laboratory in Visakhapatnam and Bharat
Electronics Limited in Bangalore. Russia is assisting Project 15-A
with shafts and propellers. The propulsion package consists of four
reversible gas turbines in combined gas-and-gas configuration.

142

INS Shivalik
On April 29, 2010, India affected a generational shift in its
warship-building capability by commissioning INS Shivalik the first
indigenously built stealth frigate that is the biggest in its class in the
world. The ship, which is 143 metres long, can tactically fire weapons
even before the enemy detects it. The hard-to-detect warship will
form a crucial component of the Indian Navy. It is equipped with a
mix of Indian, Russian, Israeli and western weapons and sensors.
Two other such ships INS Satpura and the INS Sahayadari would
follow soon. Each ship would carry on board long-range surface-tosurface Klub missiles, area defence missiles Shtil and Barak, antisubmarine torpedoes, 100 mm mounted gun and six-barrelled 30
mm gun. Ships like these would form the core of the Indias battle
fleet in the first half of this century. A 250-member crew, including 35
officers, will man INS Shivalik. The new design features give the
ship enhanced operational capabilities in terms of survivability,
stealth, sea keeping, ship handling and weapons.

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UN
M
Astra
M
The first night trial of indigenously
developed, beyond visual
CO
range air-to-air missile Astra' was test-fired from the Integrated
Test Range complex at Chandipur.
IA
D
E successful first flight
LCH makes
M
On March 29, 2010, India entered the big boys league with
Efirst flight of the prototype of its very own attack
the successful
E
helicopter Light
SR Combat Helicopter (LCH). The maiden test flight of
the 5.5-tonne attack chopper, a derivative version of Banagalorebased Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) flagship product
Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv was termed by pilots who
flew it as very good. The Shakti engine being used in the LCH has
been jointly developed by the HAL and Turbomeca of France with
primary focus on high-altitude operations. The rotor system has
also been developed indigenously. The helicopter is expected to
meet operational requirements like air support, anti-infantry and
anti-armour roles. The twin-engine LCH is a pure attack helicopter
made by the design experience gained from the Dhruv. Currently
around 100 Dhruv helicopters are being used by the Indian armed
forces and paramilitary forces like the Coast Guard and the BSF,

143

civil operators like Pawan Hans and the ONGC. Dhruv is also being
used by foreign countries like Ecuador, Nepal, Mauritius and Male.
Though LCH is derived from Dhruv, there are differences in design.
While in Dhruv pilots sit side-by-side, in the LCH they sit one behind
the other. All flight controls, hydraulics and fuel system have been
redesigned for the sleeker, heavily armoured LCH.

country's first Anti Submarine Warfare Corvette

M.M. Pallam Raju, Union Minister of State for Defence
launched the country's first Anti Submarine Warfare Corvette (ASWC)
for the Indian Navy at the Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers
(GRSE) Limited.

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Super Cruiser BrahMos test-fired successfully
T
Aof select nations
On March 21, 2010, India joined the league
C
I
to have a manoeuvrable supersonic cruise missile when it
N of 290-km range
successfully test-fired the vertical-launch version
U
BrahMos from a warship in the Bay of Bengal off the Orissa coast.
M
After the latest test, India has become the first and only country in the
M
world to have a manoeuvrable supersonic cruise missile in its
inventory. The test-firing was part
COof the pre-induction tests by the
Navy as moves are afoot to deploy the vertical-launch version of the
IA system has been designed and
missile in ships. The weapon
D
developed by the Indo-Russian
E joint venture company.
M to buy C-17 aircraft from USA
India planning
E
E to buy 10 C-17 Globemaster-III giant strategic
India is set
Rwhich
aircraft, eachSof
comes for about $220 million. The four-engine
C-17 is capable of carrying payload of up to 78 tonnes, transport
tanks and air-drop more than 100 combat-ready paratroopers
directly into a battle-zone. It can cover 2,400 nautical miles at a
stretch and with mid-air refuelling it can go even longer distances.
The plane has the capability to take off and land on 3,000 feet or
less runway, as also on a semi-prepared runway.

Exercise Milan
Exercise Milan was the largest naval war game hosted by
India, in February 2010, with the participation of 12 navies of the
Asia-Pacific region.

144

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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Flower has worlds longest genome

Researchers at London's Kew Gardens say they've discovered the longest genome in the world and that it belongs to a rather
ordinary-looking white flower. The scientists say the Paris japonica
has a genetic code 50 times longer than that of a human being and
edges out its nearest competitor, the marbled lungfish. A genome is
the full complement of an organism's DNA, complex molecules that
direct the formation and function of all living organisms.

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Scientists develop e-skin
CA skin that can
I
Biotech wizards have engineered electronic
sense touch, in a major step towards next-generation
robotics and
UN
prosthetic limbs. The lab-tested material responds to almost the
same pressures as human skin andM
with the same speed. Important hurdles remain but the exploitM
is an advance towards replacing
todays clumsy robots and artificial
CO arms with smarter, touch-sensitive upgrades. The e-skin comprises a matrix of nano-wires made
of germanium and siliconIA
rolled onto a sticky polyimide film. The
D
researchers then laid nano-scale
transistors on top, followed by a
E
flexible, pressure-sensitive rubber. The prototype, measuring 49
M can detect pressure ranging from 0 to 15
square centimetres,
E
kilopascals, comparable
to the force used for such daily activities
E
as typing onRa keyboard or holding an object.
S
Artificial kidney

An artificial kidney implant that would work as well as a natural organ is in the offing. The first prototype of the device unveiled by
the US researchers could do away with the need for dialysis or
donor organs. The device comprises thousands of microscopic
filters to remove toxins from the blood and a bio-reactor to mimic the
metabolic and water-balancing roles of a real kidney. The implant is
being developed jointly by engineers, biologists and physicians led
by Shuvo Roy at the University of California, San Francisco. The
treatment has already been proven to work for the sickest patients,
using a room-sized external model.

145

146

Wheat genome code

Census of the seas

British scientists have decoded the genome of wheat, in a

breakthrough research that will prove valuable to crop breeders in
countries like India, in increasing the yield of the staple food crop.
Wheat production worldwide is under threat from climate change at
a time when there is an increase in demand from a growing human
population. Scientists at the University of Liverpool, in collaboration
with the University of Bristol and the John Innes Centre, have sequenced the entire wheat genome and will make the DNA data
available to crop breeders to help them select key agricultural traits
for breeding. Scientists have analysed the wheat genome, which is
five times larger than the human genome and is the largest genome to be sequenced till date.

First global count of marine life logs 230,000 speciesbut

scientists warns of mass extinctions. It has been the biggest and
most comprehensive attempt ever to answer that age-old question
how many fish are there in the sea? A 10-year study of the diversity,
distribution and abundance of life in the worlds oceans attempts
just that. The Census of Marine Life estimates there are over 230,000
species in our oceans. A team of over 360 scientists around the
world surveyed 25 regions, from the Antarctic through the temperate
and tropical seas to the Arctic. Over fishing, degraded habitats, pollution and the arrival of invasive species are major threats to the
marine life. But more problems are around the corner: rising water
temperatures and acidification thanks to climate change and the
growth in areas of the ocean that are low in oxygen and, therefore,
unable to support life.

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Indias first one-megawatt solar
CA plant
I
On April 7, 2010, solar energy initiative
of Reliance IndusUN first
tries, RIL Solar Group, commissioned India's
one-megawatt
solar plant to power a stadium to be used
in the Commonwealth
M
Games 2010. Thyagaraj Stadium, where
the plant has been comM green
missioned, is planned to be a model
RIL Solar
O
C plants in thestadium.
Group has also implemented power
R.K. Khanna Tennis Complex. The solar initiative
major ones to comA is onetoofbethereleased
Iemissions
pensate for carbon-dioxide
through the
D
game. The solar power Egenerated at the Thyagaraj Stadium is expected to result in emission
M reduction of more than 1,200 tons of
CO per year.
EE Brain chip
R
S
2

Scientists have developed a brain chip that will help paralysed patients operate their bionic limbs. The technology employs
tiny microchips to sense nerve messages, decode the signals, and
turn thought into movement. The scientists hope that, within five
years, they will be able to offer robotic devices to patients with damaged spinal cords that will enable them to move their arms or legs
at will. A more ambitious idea is not to use robotic devices but to
replace the broken connection to the limb with an artificial link. The
brain chip would then send signals to an implanted stimulator in
the spinal cord. This would generate electrical impulses to make
muscles contract and move paralysed limbs.

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Among the major findings are:U
M are crustaceans such as
A fifth of the worlds marine species
M
crabs, lobsters, krill and barnacles. Add in molluscs (squid and
O for nearly half the species in
octopus) and fish and that C
accounts
worlds seas.
A
Species often used inI conservation campaigningwhales, sea
D
lions, turtles and E
sea birdsaccount for less than 2% of the
species in the M
oceans.
Enclosed seas such as the Mediterranean, Gulf of Mexico,
E Baltic, and the Caribbean are having the most
Chinas shelves,
E
R biodiversity.
threatened
S
The most diverse regions are around Australia and south-east
Asia.
Australian and Japanese waters contain more than 30,000 spe-

cies each and are among the most biologically diverse in the
world.
The manylight viperfish (Chauliodus sloani) is the most cosmopolitan marine creature with a presence in around a quarter
of the worlds seas.
The number of marine fish species known to science stood at
16,764, and was growing at around 100 a year. There are believed to be 22,000 fish species in the world.

147

Indias first scientific expedition to South Pole

To commemorate the centenary of Norwegian explorer
Ronald Amundsens December 14, 1911 feat, India will launch its
first scientific expedition to the South Pole in November 2010. An
eight-member team of scientists would undertake the 3,000-km
long treacherous terrain from Indias research station Maitri in the
Antarctic region to the South Pole. The route to be taken is a fairly
new one and had been charted with the aim to understand climate
change over the past years. These studies are expected to add to
the knowledge of how the ancient landmass, once fused with other
continents in a super-continent before being separated 200 million
years ago, has evolved. The challenging effort will be simplified to
some extend with the help of navigational equipment and four modern ice-traversing vehicles that the Union government is planning to
acquire for the trip.

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Indias 18th nuclear plant
UN
Indias 18th nuclear power plant M
at Rawatbhata in Rajasthan
(RAPS-5) began production on February
6, 2010. The plant has
M
been set-up by the Nuclear Power
Corporation of India. The indigO
enously built 220 MW unit usesC fuel imported from Russia which
has been acquired after India
waiver from Nuclear Suppliers
IA got2008.
Group guidelines in September
The operationalisation of
D
E capacity of Rawatbhata plant to 96 MW.
RAPS-5 has increased the
The project, set-up inM
September 2002, took six years to complete.
It had remained idle
for
some months because of lack of fuel. With
Eof RAPS-5
E
the commissioning
the total installed nuclear power capacity of India
SRhas risen to 4,340 MW.
Tianhe-1

The 13 computer cabinets containing the Tianhe-1, China's

first domestically-made petaflop supercomputer, have been installed
and it is scheduled to begin system debugging and testing in September, according to the National Supercomputing Center in Tianjin.

Worlds most precise clock

Scientists claim to have created the world's most precise
clock based on the oscillation of a trapped aluminium-27 atom.

148

According to the New Scientist, the new record-holder for the most
precise timekeeper, built at the National Institute of Standards and
Technology in Colorado, USA, could tick off the 13.7-billion-year age
of universe to within 4 seconds. The optical clock monitors the oscillation of a trapped atom of aluminium-27 and is more than twice
as precise as the earlier version, reported in 2008.

First robot with emotions

A robot that is capable of developing and showing emotions
has finally been unveiled. When Nao developed by a European
research team is sad, he hunches his shoulders forward and looks
down. When he's happy, he raises his arms, angling for a hug.
When frightened, Nao cowers, and he stays like that until he is
soothed with some gentle strokes on his head.

S
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I
Anti-influenza vaccine
N
U
India launched its first indigenously manufactured antiM
influenza vaccine, Vaxiflu-S manufactured by Zydus-Cadila
M
Healthcare that will protect people
O against the A (H1N1) flu.
C
Indias first integrated Waste Management Plant
IA will set up Indias first integrated
Infra firm a2z Infrastructure
D
municipal solid wasteE management plant in Kanpur. The project,
Mlargest, would comprise management of the
touted to be Asias
E
citys solid waste
E in an environment friendly manner and subsequent powerRgeneration for captive and merchant use. Majority of
S in the plant will be RDF (Refuse Derived Fuel) derived
the fuel used
from solid waste, which is considered a better replacement for coal
with lesser emissions. The power plant will have the capacity to
produce 15 MW power.

IIT-Kanpur to set up experimental power plant

The Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT-K) has planned
to set up a 550 kilowatt (KW) Solar Energy Research Experimental
Station (SERES) in its campus. The station would serve the purpose of solar energy development research, apart from being a
pilot project for improving the commercial viability of solar energy

149

150

generation. It would provide uninterrupted free power supply to six

neighbouring villages, Nankari, Bara Sirohi, Singhpur, Bakunthpur,
Naramau and Kachchar. The villages are electrified, but the present
power supply is highly erratic. The Rs 18-crore project has been
taken up as a part of the ongoing golden jubilee celebrations at the
institute.

of light. Until now, infra-red germanium lasers required expensive

cryogenic cooling systems to operate. The new germanium laser
operates at room temperature. To create the germanium laser, the
scientists take a six-inch, silvery-gray disk of silicon and spray it with
a thin film of germanium. These same disks are actually used to
produce chips in today's computers.

First life form made by man

Climate expedition to Antarctica

Scientists have created the worlds first synthetic life form in

a landmark experiment that paves the way for designer organisms
that are built rather than evolved. The controversial feat, which has
occupied 20 scientists for more than 10 years at an estimated cost
of $40 million, was described by one researcher as a defining
moment in biology. Craig Venter, the pioneering US geneticist behind the experiment, described the converted cell as the first selfreplicating species weve had on the planet whose parent is a computer. He said the achievement heralds the dawn of a new era in
which new life is made to benefit humanity, starting with bacteria
that churn out bio-fuels, soak up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and even manufacture vaccines. The new organism is based
on an existing bacterium that causes mastitis in goats, but at its
core is an entirely synthetic genome that was constructed from
chemicals in the laboratory.

On January 11, 2010, an Indian team set sail on the first

Southern Ocean expedition after the Copenhagen meet the fourth
to be taken up by the National Centre for Antarctic & Ocean Research (NCAOR), Goa to study, among other things, climate change
and its impact on life. It will also be the first time Indian scientists
will be crossing the 55 degrees South latitude to go almost up to the
polar region on an Indian vessel. Sagar Nidhi, the only Indian vessel that can cut through ice, left Goa with 25 scientists for Mauritius
and head farther southwards on a voyage that will last till April 2010.
The scientists will take up about 20 studies in the ocean between
35 and 66 degrees South latitudes. Prominent among them would
be paleo-climatic studies that involve collecting samples from the
ocean bed at a depth of up to six kilometres. Changes in sediment
formation, water mass and other parameters would be compared
with previous data to ascertain the impact of climate change.

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IA
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Microsoft launched latest software
E
ECorporation
Microsoft
its latest software Office 2010,
R
S Visio 2010launched
SharePoint 2010,
and Project 2010 for business customers, unified productivity experience across computers, web and
mobile.

Browse at the speed of light

Scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT) have created a new infra-red laser made from germanium that
operates at room temperature, which has made light-speed computing come one step closer to reality. The research removes the
cryogenic cooling systems previously needed for infra-red lasers
and could lead to powerful computer chips that operate at the speed

IA
D
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M

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E
E
Indian
SR scientists announced the first-ever detailed mapping
of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The government's Open Source
Mapping of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Drug Discovery (OSDD) initiative released the results of its Connect 2 Decode' (C2D) project to re-annotate the biological and genetic information relating to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb)
genome.

Fourth discovery by RIL in Cambay Basin

Reliance Industries has announced its fourth oil discovery in
exploratory block CB-ONN-2003/1, located on-land in the Cambay
basin and named Dhirubhai-47. The block was awarded under
NELP V round of exploration bidding. This block is located at a

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distance of 130 kms from Ahmedabad and covers an area of 635 sq

kms. RIL is the operator and has 100 per cent participating interest
in the block. The block has 14 exploratory wells and the company is
continuing further exploratory drilling efforts in the block. The company says that, based on the acquired 3D seismic data, there are
several more prospects with upside potential have been identified
in the contract area.

Worlds smallest 3-D map

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Scientists claim to have created the worlds smallest three

dimensional map a map of the Earth so small that 1,000 of them
could fit on one grain of salt. A team at computer giant IBM accomplished this through a new, breakthrough technique which uses a
tiny, silicon tip with a sharp apex 1,00,000 times smaller than a
sharpened pencil to create patterns and structures as small as 15
nanometre at greatly reduced cost and complexity. According to the
scientists, this patterning technique opens new prospects for developing nano-sized objects in fields such as electronics, future
chip technology, medicine, life sciences, and opto-electronics. The
complete 3D map of the world measuring only 22 by 11 micrometre
was written on a polymer. It is composed of 5,00,000 pixels, each
measuring 20 NM2, and was created in only 2 minutes and 23
seconds.

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Scientists
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ing miniature electronic devices. The superconductor, a sheet of

four pairs of molecules, provides the first evidence that nano-scale
molecular superconducting wires can be fabricated. Superconducting materials have an electrical resistance of zero, and so can carry
large electrical currents without power dissipation or heat generation. Superconductivity was first discovered in 1911, and until recently, was considered a macroscopic phenomenon. The current
finding suggests, however, that it exists at the molecular scale, which
opens up a novel route for studying this phenomenon.

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POLITICAL AFFAIRS

Foreign Education Bill

After several years of debate, the Union Cabinet, on March
15, 2010, unanimously approved a Bill that would allow foreign education providers to set up campuses in India and offer degrees. A
Bill to this effect was first introduced in the Rajya Sabha in August
1995. The new one is expected to be introduced in Parliament and
be voted into law by the monsoon session of 2010. This is a milestone which will enhance choices, increase competition and benchmark quality. A larger revolution than even in the telecom sector
awaits us, said Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for Human Resource
Development (MHRD). The Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations, Maintenance of Quality and Prevention of Commercialisation) Bill will allow foreign universities to invest at least 51 per cent of the total capital expenditure needed to
establish the institute in India. Such institutes will be granted
deemed university status under Section 3 of the Universities Grants
Commission (UGC) Act, 1956. The Bill aims to regulate the entry,
operation and maintenance of quality assurance and prevention of
commercialisation by foreign educational institutions, besides protecting the interest of the student community from sub-standard
and fly by night operators. The Bill is aimed at not only bringing in
investment in the education sector, but also draw in foreign students, besides helping check the flight of Indians to study (then
work and settle) abroad.

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Rajya Sabha passes Womens Reservation Bill

Fourteen years after it was envisaged, the Rajya Sabha, on
March 10, 2010, passed the landmark Womens Reservation Bill
that will pave the way for reserving 33 per cent seats for women in
Parliament and State Assemblies. But prior to that, the legislation
has to be seen through in the Lok Sabha. Of the 186 members
present in the Rajya Sabha, 185 voted in favour of the Bill. Barring
the parties from the Hindi-belt Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata
Dal and BSP all other parties that included the constituents of Congress-led UPA and BJP-led NDA supported the Bill that was to carry

153

out the 108th amendment to the Constitution for enabling reservation. The Congress-led UPA, the BJP-led NDA and also the Left
parties were on the same side as the Parliament authored the historic move, which could upstage several well ensconced politicians but ensure proper representation of women, which languishes
at 11 per cent in Lok Sabha.
Main points of the legislation:
Seeks to reserve one-third of seats for women in Lok Sabha
and State Assemblies.
Allocation of reserved seats shall be determined by the authority
prescribed by the Parliament.
One-third of the total seats reserved for SCs and STs shall be
reserved for women from these groups in LS and Assemblies.
Reserved seats may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in the State or Union Territory.
Reservation of seats for women shall cease to exist 15 years
after the commencement of the Act.

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Judicial Standards and Accountability
Bill
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The proposed Judicial Standards
M and Accountability Bill,
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which will replace the four decade-old
Inquiry Act, has laid
C TheseJudges
down 14 guidelines for judges.
guidelines will be called
judicial standards.
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EN-liabilities Bill
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In an important step towards the implementation of the IndoUS civilian nuclear
EEdeal, the Union government is to introduce a Bill
to facilitate theRentry of American companies in the nuclear sector.
S for Nuclear Damage Bill, 2009 is commonly known
The Civil Liability
as the nuclear liability Bill. The Bill aims at limiting the liability of a
nuclear plant operator to Rs 300 crore in the eventuality of an accident and provides for appointing a claims commissioner with powers of a civil court to arbitrate such cases. It also provides for the
penalty to be paid by the operator and not the supplier companies,
which would mainly be American in this case. The operator would
not be liable for any nuclear damages if the incident is caused by
grave national disaster of exceptional character, armed conflict or
an act of terrorism and is suffered by the person on account of his
own negligence. The Bill also provides for the establishment of the

154

Nuclear Damage Claims Commission, which will have one or more

claims commissioners for a specified area. The claims commissioner shall have all the powers of a civil court for the purpose of
taking evidence on oath, enforcing attendance of witnesses, compelling the discovery and production of documents and other material objects.

Model rules for RTE Act

On January 30, 2010, the Union government approved model
rules for the Right to Education Act 2009, which requires State governments to make free and compulsory elementary education a
right of every child between 6 and 14 years of age. The model rules,
list priorities for States, which would have to conform to the standards under the Act within three years of its commencement; nonconformation could bring de-recognition. The Act, passed by the
Parliament in August 2009, is yet to be officially notified though. To
begin with, the rules ask school management committees or the
local authorities to identify children, who have never been to school
or not managed to complete elementary education, and arrange for
their special training in appropriate classes so that they can ultimately be integrated into the system. Any child above 6 years of age
will be entitled to free special training either at school or residential
facility, before he/she is ready to enter school at a convenient level.
Such children would be allowed to complete elementary education
even after they have attained 14 years, for the obvious reasons that
they enter the school late.
At least one primary school (class I to V) must be located
within a km of walking distance of the neighbourhood; for schools
with classes VI to VIII, this distance would be three km. States need
to provide more neighbourhood schools in highly populated areas
and ensure safety of students in areas with tough terrains. But before a school comes up, the States would have to undertake a mapping to identify all children in remote areas, including those from
disadvantaged groups. This must be done in a year and the data
updated every year. For the first time, the law mandates maintenance of records of all children from birth to 14 years of age through
a household survey to be updated every year. The rules further prescribe strict norms for non-segregation of students and safe transport for disabled children to ensure that they attend school.

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INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Afghan-Pakistan gas pipeline

The leaders of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkmenistan on
December 11th agreed to move forward with a complicated and
risky plan to build a natural gas pipeline across rugged territory
plagued by war and terrorism. The pipeline, which would terminate
in India, would bring huge amounts of gas to underdeveloped regions and could earn impoverished Afghanistan hundreds of millions of dollars in transit fees. The route for the 1,700-kilometer
(1,050-mile) TAPI pipeline from gas-rich Turkmenistan would cross
Afghanistans Kandahar Province, where the Taliban and international forces are locked in battle, as well as some of Pakistans
unruly tribal areas. Concerns about security for the pipeline itself
and for the workers who construct it have cast doubt on the projects
near-term feasibility, but proponents say it would calm the chaotic
region.

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Juntas proxy seeps
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Myanmars military-backed
party captured 77 per cent of the
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Parliamentary seats contested
November 7, 2010 elections,
following polling widely E
decried as manipulated and unfair. The reM
sults point to an overwhelming
victory, but there has never been
much doubt aboutEthe outcome because the junta-proxy, the Union
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Solidarity andRDevelopment Party (USDP), fielded candidates in
nearly every Sdistrict, whereas the largest opposition party was able
to contest only 164 of the 1,159 parliamentary seats.

India gets UNSC non-permanent seat

The biggest news on the international front for India has
been its inclusion into the UNSC as a non-permanent member
after a gap of 19 years. Even as Indias acclamation for a nonpermanent bench on the body that includes fifteen members in total
was an inevitable cessation afterwards Kazakhstan back out of the
chase for the Asian bench beforehand in early January. India got an
unbelievable 187 of the 191 votes in the UN General Assembly

156

ballot on October 14th 2010. India's previous spell in the Security

Council was way back in 1992. Almost immediately afterwards
India's appointment, Indian agent to the United Nations Hardeep
Singh Puri put it straight that New Delhi would make use of this
couple of year valid span to build assurance and accord a feeling of
aplomb to the five non changing associates (famously known as
the P-5) - the United States of America, Russia, Britain, France and
China. Considering that Brazil, a running affiliate of the United Nation Security Council, and South Africa and Germany, which got appointed with India, on October 14th were as well in contention for a
permanent membership, he stated: 'Of course everybody of us will
attempt to bring into play the two years we need to render our allies
a feeling of aplomb and formulate trust and faith so that they are at
ease with our role playing in the United Nation Security Council on a
continued period of time'.

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Ireland becomes second Euro nation
N to seek aid
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On November 22, 2010, Ireland became the second euro
M
country to seek a rescue as the cost of saving its banks threatened
M
by a re-run of the Greek debt crisis that destabilized the currency.
COlargest carbon emitter
India is worlds third
IA third biggest carbon dioxide emitting
India is now worlds
D
nation after China and
E the US. The new emission data from the
United Nations was
a cause of worry for Indias climate negotiators
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at the next round
of talks in Tianjin in China, held in October 2010.
Emoved
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China, in 2009,
to the top position while contributing 23 per
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cent of the
total
global
emissions and India, in 2010, surpassed
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Russia to take the third position with five percent. India's per-capita

carbon emission is still lowest in the world (about 4.5 tonnes) but
the demand for energy is rising, especially among the middle-class.
The pressure on India and China to reduce emissions is rising. US
chief climate negotiator Todd Stern told a meeting of major economies forum that a legally binding climate treaty was not possible
until India and China take obligation to reduce emissions.

SAARC Folklore and Heritage Festival

The 3rd,three day SAARC Folklore and Heritage Festival was
held in Chandigarh from 3rd December. The event was organised

157

by Foundation of SAARC Writers and Literature (FOSWAL) in association with Ministry of External Affairs (Govt of India) and Chandigarh
Administration. FOSWAL, an apex body of SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation), is the only organization in eight
countries including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan,
Nepal, Maldives and Afghanistan, legally authorized to hold cultural
programmes under the SAARC banner and logo.

Lanka scraps Tamil version of national anthem

Sri Lanka has scrapped the Tamil version of its national anthem at official and state functions, a move likely to further alienate
the ethnic Tamils in the country. The decision was taken at the last
cabinet meeting headed by the President Mahinda Rajapksha, who
pointed out that no country in the world uses the national anthem in
other than one language.

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Cablegate Crisis in USA
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The United States was catapulted into a worldwide diploM
matic crisis on November 29, 2010, with the leaking to various interM
national media of more than 250,000 classified cables from its
embassies, many sent as recently
COas February 2010. At the start of
a series of daily extracts fromAthe US embassy cables Arab leaders
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are privately urging an airDstrike on Iran and that US officials have
been instructed to spy E
on the UN leadership. The cables include
comments on a shiftM
in relations between China and North Korea,
high-level concerns
over Pakistans growing instability, and details
EEefforts
of clandestine R
US
to combat al Qaeda in Yemen. The cables
also containSspecific allegations of corruption, as well as harsh
criticism by US embassy staff of their host governments, from Caribbean islands to China and Russia.

Kosovo votes in historic poll

Kosovo headed to the polls on December 12th for its first
elections since declaring independence in 2008, which look set to
weaken Prime Minister Hashim Thaci's grip on power. Many in the
1.6 million strong electorate are disillusioned with the current leadership as Thaci's reputation was marred by a string of corruption
scandals involving his party officials.

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2010 is the top three warmest years

The year 2010 is almost certain to rank in the top three warmest years since the beginning of instrumental climate records in
1850, according to data compiled by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) that were released. A WMO statement said the
global combined sea surface and land surface air temperature for
2010 (JanuaryOctober) is now estimated at 0.55 degrees Celsius
plus or minus 0.11 degrees Celsius above the 19611990 annual
average of 14 degrees Celsius. At present, 2010's nominal value is
the highest on record, just ahead of 1998 and 2005.
The data also indicates that the January-October 2010 temperatures are near record levels. The final ranking of 2010 will not
become clear until November and December data are analysed in
early 2011. Preliminary operational data from November 1 to 25
indicate that global temperatures from November 2010 are similar
to those observed in November 2005, indicating that global temperatures for 2010 are continuing to track near record levels.
From 2001 to 2010, global temperatures have averaged 0.46
degrees Celsius above the 1961-1990 average, 0.03 degrees Celsius above the 2000-09 average and the highest value ever recorded for a 10-year period. Recent warming has been especially
strong in Africa, parts of Asia, and parts of the Arctic, the Saharan/
Arabian, East African, Central Asian and Greenland/Arctic. Canada
sub-regions have all had 2001-10 temperatures 1.2 to 1.4 degrees
Celsius above the long-term average, and 0.7 degrees Celsius to
0.9 degrees Celsius warmer than any previous decade. Surface air
temperatures over land were above normal across most parts of
the world.

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Human Development Report 2010

The 2010 HDR Report by United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP), titled The Real Wealth of Nations: Pathways
to Human Development celebrates the contributions of the human
development approach, which is as relevant as ever to making sense
of our changing world and finding ways to improve peoples wellbeing. The Report is also about how the human development
approach can adjust to meet the challenges of the new millennium.
India is ranked 119 out of 169 countries on the Human Development
Index (HDI) of the UNDPs 2010 Human Development Report. This

159

marks an improvement of just one rank between 2005 and 2010

though the report, a special 20th anniversary edition, places India
among top 10 performers globally in terms of HDI measured on
income growth. The category is led by China. India comes 10th after
Botswana, South Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Mauritius. China
has improved eight notches (from 2005 to 2010) to secure the 89th
position. In South Asia, Nepal has gained five places to reach the
138th rank. Maldives has risen four places to 107; Sri Lanka at 91
too has pipped India in the rankings though Pakistan has lost two
ranks to fall to 125, while Bangladesh is up one at 129.

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The Aalst Carnival in Belgium, the Peking Opera,
Flamenco, the Wayuu normative system in Colombia,
CA the traditional
skills of carpet weaving in Kashan in Iran, andI falconry, presented
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by 11 countries, are among the 46 elements inscribed today on the
U
Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
M chaired by Jacob Ole
A UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee,
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examined and inscribed 46 of the
CO47 nominations presented.
India - Chhau dance: Chhau dance is a tradition from eastIAfrom epics including the Mahabharata
ern India that enacts episodes
D
and Ramayana, local folklore
E and abstract themes. Its three distinct
styles hail from the regions of Seraikella, Purulia and Mayurbhanj,
M Chhau dance is intimately connected to
the first two using masks.
E
regional festivals,
notably
the spring festival Chaitra Parva. Its origin
E
is traceable toRindigenous forms of dance and martial practices. Its
S movement includes mock combat techniques, stylvocabulary of
UNESCO representative list of India intangible
cultural heritage of humanity

ized gaits of birds and animals and movements modelled on the

chores of village housewives. Chhau is taught to male dancers
from families of traditional artists or from local communities. The
dance is performed at night in an open space to traditional and folk
melodies, played on the reed pipes mohuri and shehnai. The reverberating drumbeats of a variety of drums dominate the accompanying music ensemble.
India - Kalbelia folk songs and dances of Rajasthan: Songs
and dances are an expression of the Kalbelia communitys traditional way of life. Once professional snake handlers, Kalbelia today

160

evoke their former occupation in music and dance that is evolving in

new and creative ways. Today, women in flowing black skirts dance
and swirl, replicating the movements of a serpent, while men accompany them on the khanjari percussion instrument and the
poongi, a woodwind instrument traditionally played to capture
snakes. The dancers wear traditional tattoo designs, jewellery and
garments richly embroidered with small mirrors and silver thread.
Kalbelia songs disseminate mythological knowledge through stories, while special traditional dances are performed during Holi, the
festival of colours. The songs also demonstrate the poetic acumen
of the Kalbelia, who are reputed to compose lyrics spontaneously
and improvise songs during performances. Transmitted from generation to generation, the songs and dances form part of an oral
tradition for which no texts or training manuals exist. Song and dance
are a matter of pride for the Kalbelia community, and a marker of
their identity at a time when their traditional travelling lifestyle and
role in rural society are diminishing.
India - Mudiyettu, ritual theatre and dance drama of Kerala:
Mudiyettu is a ritual dance drama from Kerala based on the mythological tale of a battle between the goddess Kali and the demon
Darika. It is a community ritual in which the entire village participates. After the summer crops have been harvested, the villagers
reach the temple in the early morning on an appointed day. Mudiyettu
performers purify themselves through fasting and prayer, then draw
a huge image of goddess Kali, called as kalam, on the temple floor
with coloured powders, wherein the spirit of the goddess is invoked.
This prepares the ground for the lively enactment to follow, in which
the divine sage Narada importunes Shiva to contain the demon
Darika, who is immune to defeat by mortals. Shiva instead commands that Darika will die at the hand of the goddess Kali. Mudiyettu
is performed annually in Bhagavati Kavus, the temples of the goddess, in different villages along the rivers Chalakkudy Puzha, Periyar
and Moovattupuzha. Mutual cooperation and collective participation
of each caste in the ritual instils and strengthens common identity
and mutual bonding in the community. Mudiyettu serves as an important cultural site for transmission of traditional values, ethics,
moral codes and aesthetic norms of the community to the next generation, thereby ensuring its continuity and relevance in present
times.

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China-Japan spat
China suspended high-level exchanges with Japan on September 19, 2010, and promised tough counter-measures after a
Japanese court extended the detention of a Chinese captain whose
trawler collided with two Japanese coastguard ships. The spat between Asias two largest economies has flared since Japan arrested the captain, accusing him of deliberately striking a patrol
ship and obstructing public officers near uninhabited islets in the
East China Sea. Beijing viewed the detention as illegal and invalid.

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In a development that could have far reachingOpolitical imI Asias first
pact in the region, Kyrgyzstan is all set to become Central
T
parliamentary democracy, with an overwhelming 90.55
per cent votCAPresidents
ers backing a new constitution which strips the
wide
I
ranging powers. After publishing the official N
results of the June 27
referendum, the Kyrgyz Central ElectionU
Commission (CEC), on
July 1, 2010, declared Roza Otunbayeva
as the transitional PresiM
dent till December 31, 2011.
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Nelson Mandela
Day
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The United NationsIA
decided to observe the first Nelson
Mandela Day on July 18, D
2010, in honour of the Nobel laureate who
is regarded as the fatherEof the new South Africa.
Mslaps sanctions on Iran
UNSC
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E9, 2010, the UN Security Council slapped sanctions
R
On June
S
Kyrgyzstan vote for parliamentary democracy

on Iran over its controversial nuclear programme, targeting the powerful Revolutionary Guard, ballistic missiles, and nuclear-related
investments, despite opposition from Brazil and Turkey. In the 15member Council, 12 countries, including the US and Britain, voted
in favour of the resolution, with Lebanon abstaining and Brazil and
Turkey voting against.

Pakistan, China signs for six pacts

Pakistan and China reiterated their resolve to further
strengthen strategic relationship between the two countries, increase the level of economic cooperation and take concrete mea-

162

sures to further bring their people closer, during the visit of Pakistans
President Asif Ali Zardari to China in July 2010. The two countries
pledged to make joint efforts to fight terrorism, and signed six deals
of cooperation in the areas of agriculture, healthcare, justice, media, economy and technology.

worlds most valuable brand

Apple Computers has emerged as the worlds most valuable brand in the 50 top valuable brand list of the Forbes magazine.
Apple was followed by software major Microsoft, Beverages firm,
Coca Cola and technology giant IBM. Search engine Google was
fifth in the ranking. McDonald's, General Electric, Marlboro, Intel and
Finnish handset maker Nokia featured in the top 10 list.

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US Financial Reform Bill
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On July 1, 2010, the US House of Representatives
approved
UN The Bill would impose
a landmark overhaul of financial regulations.
tighter regulations on financial firms and
Mreduce their profits. It would
boost consumer protections, force
banks to reduce risky trading
M
and investing activities and setO
up a new government process for
liquidating troubled financial C
firms. However, the Republicans say
the Bill would hurt the economy
burdening businesses with a
AThey alsobypoint
I
thicket of new regulations.
out that it ducks the quesD
tion of how to handle E
troubled mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae
and Freddie Mac, M
which Democrats plan to tackle in 2011.
E
Hung in Britain
E
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OnSMay 7, 2010, Britain woke up to a hung Parliament, an

election outcome that this country last experienced in 1974 when

the then Prime Minister Edward Heath tried and failed to persuade
the Liberal Party to join him in a coalition. The Conservatives under
David Cameron emerged as the single largest party with 306 seats
in the 650-member House of Commons, while Labour bagged 258
and Lib Dems 57. Eight NRIs won elections, four each from the
Labour Party and the Conservatives. Likewise four Pakistani-origin
MPs, Sadik Khan, Khalid Mahmood, Anas Sarwar and a woman
lawyer Shabana Mahmood, were successful on behalf of the Labour
Party. The LibDems play an extremely important role in the formation of the next government, although they have not been able to

163

attract as many votes as they hoped for. They were expecting to win
more than 100 seats, but they had to be satisfied with less than 60.
However, despite the poor show, they still hold the trump card and
are destined to play the role of king-makers. On May 11, Conservative leader David Cameron, who favours a new special relationship with India, took charge as Britains youngest Prime Minister in
nearly 200 years, heading a coalition with the support of centrist
LibDems, and vowed to put aside party differences and provide a
strong and decisive government. He made Liberal Democrats leader
Nick Clegg Deputy Prime Minister.

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Europe saw air traffic chaos in April 2010 asTa plume of ash
A Eyjafjallajokull
from the Icelandic volcano that erupted underCthe
I
glacier, made northern Europe a no-fly zone. An
estimated 63,000
N
flights were cancelled, effecting more than five million passengers
U
who were trying to get in and out of major cities of Europe. The
M
eruption of the volcano caused the greatest air travel chaos since
M
the Second World War II.
O
C weapons importer
worlds fourth biggest
A
I the worlds fourth biggest weapons
The UAE has become
D
importer. China, India and
South
Korea are the top three arms imE
porters, in that order.M
Russia
EE has 11 times zones
R
IndianS Standard Time (IST) is set in accordance with the
82.5 degree East longitude. While India has just one time zone,
Icelandic Volcano causes air travel mess in
Europe

Russia has 11 times zones, USA 10, Australia 9, and Canada 6.

France and its dominions have 12 time zones and UK and its overseas territories use 8 time zones.

Worlds smallest 3-D map

Scientists claim to have created the worlds smallest three
dimensional map of the Earth so small that 1,000 of them could fit
on one grain of salt. A team at computer giant IBM accomplished
this through a new, breakthrough technique which uses a tiny, silicon tip with a sharp apex 1,00,000 times smaller than a sharpened

164

pencil to create patterns and structures as small as 15 nanometre

at greatly reduced cost and complexity. According to the scientists,
this patterning technique opens new prospects for developing nanosized objects in fields such as electronics, future chip technology,
medicine, life sciences, and opto-electronics. The complete 3D map
of the world measuring only 22 by 11 micrometre was written on a
polymer. It is composed of 5,00,000 pixels, each measuring 20
NM2, and was created in only 2 minutes and 23 seconds.

Worlds longest tunnel completed

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A giant drilling machine punched its way through a final section of Alpine rock on October 15, 2010 to complete the worlds longest tunnel, after 15 years of construction. In a stage-managed breakthrough, attended by some 200 dignitaries 30 km inside the tunnel
and broadcast live on Swiss television, engineers from both sides
shook hands after the bore had pummelled through the final 1.5
metres of rock. The 57 km high-speed rail link, which will open in
2017, will form the lynch-pin of a new rail network between northern
and south-eastern Europe and help ease congestion and pollution
in the Swiss Alps. It is the third tunnel to be built through the snowbound St Gotthard area and is 3 km longer than a rail link between
two Japanese islands, the current record holder at 53.8 km.

IA
D
With the visa E
issue concerning Pakistani students having
been settled, the South
University (SAU), a dream project of
M AsianSingh,
Prime Minister Manmohan
has finally taken off. The univerE
sity launched E
its first academic session on August 26, 2010, starting two courses
SR MA in Development Economics and Masters of
South Asian University becomes operational

Computer Applications. There are 25 students in each course. Of

the total 50 students, 36 were from India and 14 from five other
SAARC countries Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri
Lanka. As of now, there is no student from the rest of the two SAARC
nations, the war-affected Afghanistan and the Maldives. The present
faculty includes Bangladeshi nationals as well as Australian nationals of Indian origin. The faculty would be gradually increased
when courses in other disciplines are launched from the next academic year beginning in July 2011. Though the university, the first of
its kind in the region, has been allotted land in the capital for its
campus, classes for the first session are being held at the
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

165
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NATIONAL AFFAIRS

National Green Tribunal

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) was officially notified on
October 19, 2010 with its Chairperson, Justice Lokeshwar Singh
Panta taking charge of his office. The tribunal is exclusively dedicated to environmental issues. Established by an Act of Parliament
(the National Green Tribunal Act of 2010), it will have circuit benches
across the country to try all matters related to and arising out of
environmental issues. The tribunal, which shall also consist of other
members, who are experts in the field of environmental and related
sciences, has been empowered to issue directions for the compensation and restitution of damage caused from actions of environmental negligence. This is the first body of its kind that is required by its parent statute to apply the polluter pays principle and
the principle of sustainable development. The erstwhile National
Environment Appellate Authority had ceased to exist with the launch
of the NGT.

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National Innovation
Council
A
I
Prime Minister Manmohan
has approved the setting
ED CouncilSingh
up of a National Innovation
to prepare a road map for the
'Decade of InnovationM
2011-2020'. Sam Pitroda, adviser to the Prime
Minister on publicEinformation infrastructure and innovations, will
E Innovation Council. The Council has been given
head the National
R
the mandateSto evolve an Indian model of innovation focussing on
inclusive growth and creating an appropriate eco-system conducive to fostering inclusive innovation. It will delineate appropriate
policy initiatives within the government required to spur innovation.
It will also promote the setting up of sectoral innovation councils
and state innovation councils.

Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal

The Union government has constituted the Mahadayi Water
Disputes Tribunal with a sitting Supreme Court judge, Justice J.M.
Panchal as its Chairman. Justice Viney Mittal of the Punjab and

166

Haryana High Court and a former judge of Andhra Pradesh High

Court, Justice P.S. Narayana, have been appointed as members.
The Tribunal has been constituted on a request sent by Goa in July
2002, for adjudication of the water disputes with Karnataka relating
to Mahadayi River. Maharashtra also stands to benefit from its adjudication. The need for setting up the three-member tribunal was
being felt since the Union Ministry of Water Resources had tried to
resolve the dispute, but was not successful.

CWG Corruption probe

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UNgoes up
Foreign tourist arrival
M
India has registered a growth rate of more than 10 per cent in
M
foreign tourist arrivals and more than 27 per cent in foreign exchange earnings during the first
CO11 months of current year. Tourism
Minister Kumari Selja said this while speaking at a conference
IAand Tourism Council in New Delhi yesorganised by World Travel
D
terday. The Minister said
E that the growth is in comparison to the
corresponding period of last year. She said that after having hosted
M successfully, the country is ready to play
Commonwealth Games
host for Cricket E
World Cup 2011. India is gearing up to organise its
first FormulaR1ERace in October 2011 in Uttar Pradesh and debating
upon the idea
S to hold first ever National Tourism Mart in the year
2012.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has appointed a high-level
committee headed by a former Comptroller and Auditor General,
V.K. Shunglu, to go into allegations of corruption related to the Commonwealth Games held in New Delhi in October 2010. The developments came as opposition parties, which had held their fire during the 12-day event, stepped up their demand for thorough probe
into corruption charges so that those guilty can be brought to book.

Parliament hiked the salary of MPs

The Indian Parliament has hiked the salary of Members of
Parliament to Rs 50,000 per month. Two key allowances (constituency and office expenses) have also been increased to Rs 45,000
each.

Taj Falaknuma Palace

Taj Falaknuma Palace in Hyderabad is Indias most expensive hotel. The palace was once the exclusive preserve of the rulers

167

of Hyderabad. The grand presidential suite at the hotel costs Rs 5

lakh per night.

Nuclear Deal with South Korea

India and South Korea have struck a deal to finalise an agreement on civil uses of nuclear energy. This was a major success for
India during the Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs Asia tour. The
issue came up for discussion during the bilateral meeting of the
Prime Minister with the President of the Republic of Korea, Lee
Myung-bak, at Hanoi, on the sidelines of the 17th ASEAN Summit.
The Korean President has invited the Prime Minister to Korea in
2011 and the deal is likely to be signed then.

S
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IORDX
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IIT-B, IISc develop device to detect
CAalong with Indian
The Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay
I
Institute of Science here have come out with N
prototype device that
Ua explosives,
could be developed to detect RDX and other
replacing
sniffer dogs. The prototype, developedM
at the Rs 100-crore Nano
Technology facility set up jointly by the
two leading institutions, was
M
a bio-sensor array using polymers
for detection heart attack. The
O
C in blood within seven mindevice could detect all cardiac markers
utes. The same device could
be
developed for detecting RDX or
A
IV Ramgopal
other explosives, Professor
Rao of the Department of
D
Electrical Engineering inEIIT-Bombay.
M
India strengthens
ties with Vietnam
E
E
India has
R enlarged its scope of cooperation and relations
with VietnamSanother not-so-happy neighbour of China. Defence

Minister A.K. Antony, during his visit to Vietnam, announced a slew of

measures to expand cooperation as part of the nations look east
policy aimed at engaging key countries situated east of India.

Clean energy investments

India is all set to emerge among the top five nations in G-20
group in terms of clean energy investments. In a report brought out
by the US based Pew Charitable Trust, the annual clean energy
investment in India is expected to grow phenomenally over the next
10 years. Within the G-20, India is on tract to climb from the tenth to

168

the third place in terms of clean power project investments worldwide. It is likely to attract 169 billion dollar in wind, solar, small hydro,
geothermal and marine energy projects in the next decade. Enhanced clean energy policies would increase private investments
in India by 48 per cent, tied with the U.K.

Independence Day speech of Manmohan

With his Independence Day speech on August 15, 2010 the
seventh Manmohan Singh edged past Atal Behari Vajpayee to become the Prime Minister of India who has addressed the nation on
Independence Day the third-highest number of times. Jawaharlal
Nehru addressed the nation 17 times and Mrs Indira Gandhi 16
times.

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India elected for UN GeneralCAssembly
I
The UN General Assembly has elected
Germany, South
N India,
UUN
Africa and Columbia to two-year seats on
Security Council. The
term will begin in January 2011. The M
four countries will be the nonveto-holding members of the 15-nation
body.
M
Backward districts
COnot covered by RSVY
Most of the districts
IAidentified as backward by the Planning
Commission were not D
covered under a scheme meant to remove
regional disparities, asE CAPART failed to reach out to the unserved
Mhas said. "CAPART (Council for Advancement
areas, a CAG report
E
of People's Action
Rural Technology) could not reach out to the
E of and
unserved areas
the country as most of the districts identified as
R
backward S
by the Planning Commission under the Rashtriya Sam

Vikas Yojna (RSVY) were not covered," a latest report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India said. It also observed that the
geographical distribution of the projects was uneven with 51 per
cent of funds released during 2003-09 going to only six states of
Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Karnataka, Orissa and Uttar
Pradesh, while north-eastern states getting less than five per cent.

NRI Remittance To India

As per information received from Ministry of Overseas Indian
Affairs the amount remitted to India in the last financial year (200910) from the NRIs working abroad was 40810 USD million (Approx.)

169

170

Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs has informed that no data is available for remittance from the Gulf Countries. This information was
given by the Minister of State for Finance, Shri Namo Narain Meena
in written reply to a question raised in Rajya Sabha.

shops / trainings etc. Moreover, for making the scheme more farmer
friendly, Government has recently, modified the scheme and the
Modified NAIS has been approved for implementation on pilot basis
in 50 districts from Rabi 2010- 11.

Bill to provide women equal guardianship rights

Crucial highway link to Kolkata

A Bill paving way for the women to get equal rights in guardianship and adoption of children has been passed by the Rajya
Sabha. The Personal Laws Amendment Bill seeks to amend the
Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 and the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956. It also seeks to allow the mother, along with the
father, to be appointed as a guardian, making the process genderneutral. Besides, it aims at removing hurdles in the way of a married
woman to adopt. She can give a son or daughter for adoption. For
adoption and guardianship, under the existing Act, only the father is
considered to be the natural guardian of the child in a Hindu family
and only unmarried, divorced women and widows are allowed to
adopt a child. Women separated from their husbands and engaged
in lengthy divorce battles cannot adopt a child.

In major development, Bangladesh has finally agreed to start

the construction of a highway that will not only provide transit facilities, ensuring easy movement of goods, but also drastically shorten
the circuitous route crucial from the military point of view between
north-eastern States and the port city of Kolkata. The first route will
enter from Bengal into Bangladesh at the existing Benapole land
port on the border and run across eastwards via Jessore and Dhaka;
passing through Sylhet, located on the north-eastern edge of
Bangladesh, it will enter Assam/Meghalaya. The second axis will
start from North Bengal and enter Bangladesh at Panchgarh and
run southwards via Srirajganj to Dhaka and further southeast to Cox
Bazar and Chittagong before entering into Myanmar. India will be
able to use both routes.

NAIS Coverage

Allahabad High Court Verdict on Babri MasjidRam Janambhoomi dispute

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MCD record
CO
Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has become the first
A
municipal body of India to Icash in on cutting down carbon emisD
sions warming the planet.
E A municipal compost plant in south Delhi,
run by the private sector ILFS group, generated a first modest cheque
Memission reduction (CER) credits for its plan
of Rs 5 lakh in carbon
E
to keep more than
9,000
of carbon over the next 10 years by
E leaks tonnes
stopping methane
from garbage.
R
S

548 districts have so far been covered under National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS). Continued efforts are made to
create awareness about ongoing NAIS by the implementing agency
i.e. Agriculture Insurance Company (AIC) in coordination with implementing States since its inception. The salient activities for campaign involve the publicity of features and benefits of the scheme
through advertisements in leading national/local newspapers, telecast through audio-visual media, distribution of pamphlets, participation in agriculture fairs / mela / gosthi and organization of work-

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M
India to get its first O
CAC double-decker train
India's first air-conditioned
IA double-decker train is expected
to be launched on the D
Howrah-Dhanbad sector. Developed at the
Rail Coach Factory in E
Kapurthala, eight double-decker coaches were
recently brought toM
Howrah for conducting trial runs before the official flagging-off E
ceremony. The coaches with a height of 4,366 mm
will be higher E
than the conventional LHB coaches whose height is
around 3,950
SR mm.

On September 30, 2010, the much-awaited judgement of

the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court unanimously ruled
that the idols of Ram Lalla in the makeshift temple at the disputed
site in Ayodhya cannot be removed. The three-judge Bench of Justices S.U. Khan, Sudhir Agarwal and Dharamveer Sharma separately delivered the historic verdict. In a 2-1 majority verdict, Justices
Khan and Agarwal decreed that the 2.7-acre land comprising the
disputed site should be divided into three equal parts and be given

171

to Sunni Waqf Board, Nirmohi Akhara and the party representing

Ram Lala Virajman. However, the third judge Justice D.V. Sharma
ruled that that the disputed site is the birth place of Lord Ram and
that the disputed building constructed by Mughal emperor Babur
was built against the tenets of Islam and did not have the character
of the mosque. The Bench directed maintenance of status quo at
the site for three months and invited suggestions from all the parties for demarcation of the land. The judges also dismissed the
claims of the Sunni Central Waqf Board over the Babri Mosque due
to limitation or becoming time barred as well as the claim of the
Nirmohi Akhara. With a 2-1 majority, the Bench held that all the three
parties, namely Muslims, Hindus and Nirmohi Akhara were joint
titleholders of the property in dispute. Both Justices Sudhir Aggarwal
and SU Khan made it clear that the share of the Muslim parties shall
not be less than one third of the total area of the premises. ...If while
allotting exact portions some minor adjustment in the share is to be
made then the same will be made and the adversely affected party
may be compensated by allotting some portion of the adjoining
land, observed Justice Khan.

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M
M
India, Canada sign civil nuclear pact
O
On June 28, 2001, IndiaCand Canada signed a civil nuclear
cooperation agreement. The
was signed during Prime MinisItoApact
ter Manmohan Singhs visit
Canada. The deal, the ninth signed
D
E alters Canadas stance towards India.
by New Delhi, significantly
The North American M
nation had led the world in pushing for nuclear
isolation after the E
E 1974 tests in Pokhran.
R
Navodaya
S Vidyalayas celebrated 25 years

172

Quashing opposition from the Left Bloc and other critics, Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh denied that the Bill was railroaded through
the House to serve US interests. This Bill is a completion of a
journey to end the nuclear apartheid, which the world had imposed
on India in the year 1974, he said. The government managed to
bring the BJP on board in return for accepting amendments to the
controversial Clause 17(b) and dropping the word intent. The new
formulation of 17(b), now states that suppliers would be liable where
the accident has resulted as a consequence of an act of a supplier
or his employees, done to cause nuclear damage, and such act
includes supply of equipment or material with patent or latent defects
or sub-standard services.
The key points of the Bill are:
Controversial Clause 17(b) amended by dropping the word
intent.
Compensation cap to be paid by the operator at Rs 1500 crore
provided in the Bill is not the limit.
Compensation will be decided by the Claims Commissioner
and the operator will have to pay.
Government assumes full liability for even a plant not operated
by it.
The Bill is necessary for full implementation of civil nuclear
deal signed with the USA in 2006.

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IA
D
E Gas Tragedy verdict
Bhopal
M
On June 7, 2010, nearly 26 years after the world's worst inEleft more than 15,000 dead in the Bhopal gas tragdustrial disaster
E
edy, former R
S Union Carbide India Chairman Keshub Mahindra and

Navodaya Vidyalayas celebrated 25 years of existence in

2010. A befitting match to costly private schools, the Navodayas
have shown in last 25 years how gifted children with humble means
can rise to life.

seven others were convicted and sentenced to two years imprisonment. Chief Judicial Magistrate Mohan P. Tiwari held the 85-year-old
non-executive chairman of the Indian subsidiary of the US-based
company and gave them punishment under less stringent provisions of the Indian Penal Code for causing death by negligence.

Nuclear Liability Bill

First Defence University

On August 25, 2001, the UPA government successfully

shepherded the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, 2010, through
the Lok Sabha, with active support from the BJP and strategic
absence of some fence-sitters such as the Samajwadi Party.

More than 40 years after it was mooted, the Union Cabinet,

on May 13, 2010, gave its approval to set up the nations first defence university at Binola, around 20 km from Gurgaon. It would aim
at imparting education on strategic challenges to armed forces offi-

173

cials, bureaucrats, academicians, parliamentarians and trainees

at military academies. To be established at an estimated Rs 300
crore, the institute would come up on an area of about 200 acres. A
sum of Rs 100 crore has been earmarked for land acquisition. The
existing defence educational institutions like the National Defence
College, New Delhi, College of Defence Management,
Secunderabad, National Staff College, Wellington, and National
Defence Academy, Pune, would also be affiliated to the INDU. At
present, these institutions are attached to various universities across
the country.

S
Scientists slam study behind Bt Brinjal ban
N
A vital study cited by Environment Minister Jairam
to
IOofRamesh
justify his decision to disallow the commercial cultivation
Bt brinjal
T
in India is flawed, claim top European scientists.AMr Ramesh had
C
referred to the findings of France-based Caen IUniversity professor
N
Gilles-Eric Sralini and his team, which had branded
Bt brinjal Indias
U Experts
first genetically modified (GM) food crop unsafe.
claim that
M international
Sralini was unduly influenced by the renowned
NGO
Greenpeace with its aggressive green
agenda which sponsored
M
the study, and never carried out a peer-reviewed
study on
CO Bt maizelaboratory
GM crops he called hazardous, including
and Bt brinjal, its
gene or seeds. The European
Food Safety Association, a risk asIASralinis
sessment body, has trashed
on Monsantos MON
D
E On Februaryfindings
863, a variety of Bt maize.
9, 2010, the Union governMthe introduction of Bt Brinjal in India till indement decided to freeze
pendent scientific E
studies established health and environment safety
of the product R
toEthe satisfaction of both public and experts.
S
National Water Mission

The Prime Minister's Council on Climate Change has approved the National Water Mission, focusing on making water conservation a peoples' movement in the country. Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh, who chaired the meeting of the Council, highlighted the need to create a general consciousness of the need to
use water in the most sustainable manner in view of its scarcity and
assess the impact of climate change on water. The Council felt that
to make the Mission a peoples' movement it was essential to make
available all data on water in the public domain, to be able to mobilise

174

citizens, local bodies and State governments for focused action on

water conservation and augmentation. Water Mission is one of the
eight missions in the National Action Plan on Climate Change
launched by the Prime Minister in 2009 to tackle the threats of global
warming. The government has already launched Energy Efficient
and Solar Mission while a draft of Green Mission has been prepared for public consultation.

Mizoram Guinness World Record

The north-eastern state of Mizoram recently set a Guinness
World Record for the largest and longest dance. A 10-minute performance of its colourful traditional bamboo dance, Cheraw, saw an
astounding 10,736 dancers in 671 groups set a record in the heart
of Aizawl.

S
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CA
Indias first PG course in Golf IManagement
N emerging sectors in
Golf, as a sport, is one of the fastest
U
India, with an estimated growth of 30 M
per cent in the next five years.
However, there is a huge gap for good quality management profesM
sionals to join the golfing industry
in India. To bridge this gap, InterO
national School of Corporate C
Management (ISCOM) has partnered
with the prestigious Elmwood
St. Andrews, Scotland, to
A College,Programme
I
introduce the first ever Postgraduate
in Golf Management.
ED
Mand Nicobar as a major port
Andaman
E
The Union
Cabinet has approved the proposal to declare
RENicobar
Andaman S
and
set of Ports as a major port and establish
the Andaman and Nicobar Port Trust with its HQ at Port Blair.
Rajiv Gandhi Thermal Power project

The first 600 MW unit of the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Thermal

Power project at Khedar, near Hisar, Haryana became operational
on February 10, 2010. The coal handling capacity of the plant, at
2,400 tonnes per hour, is the highest in India.

Project Saraswati
Under Project Saraswati, which is the first of its kind in India,
ONGC proposes to dig deep more than half a kilometreinto

175

aquifers along the path the ancient Saraswati river is once believed
to have taken.

Nationzl Census 2010

The 15th national census exercise, the biggest census ever
to be attempted in human history to cover India's 1.2 billion
population, began on April 1, 2010 with President Pratibha Patil
being the first to be enumerated in the decennial exercise. The
census is the most credible source of information on demography
(population characteristics), economic activity, literacy and education,
housing and household amenities, urbanisation, fertility and
mortality, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, language,
religion, migration, disability and many other socio-cultural and
demographic data since 1872. Census is the only source of primary
data at village, town and ward level. It provides valuable information
for planning and formulation of polices for Central and State
governments and is widely used by national and international
agencies, scholars, business people, industrialists, and many
more. The delimitation / reservation of constituencies
Parliamentary / Assembly / Panchayats and other local bodies is
also done on the basis of the demographic data thrown up by the
census. The census is the basis for reviewing the country's progress
in the past decade, monitoring the on-going schemes of the
government and most importantly, plan for the future. The slogan of
Census 2011 is 'Our Census, Our Future'.

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M
M
CO

IA
D
E
M
New
E adult literacy mission
E
The Union
SR government has chosen 19 States to start adult

literacy classes under the all-new Sakshar Bharat Mission, which

the Prime Minister launched in September 2009. The mission, with
a whopping budgetary support of $1 billion, seeks to educate 70
million illiterates by 2012; 60 million being women. Its first phase
began on January 15, 2010 in 167 districts of 19 States, which have,
in the past, displayed commitment to adult literacy. The selected
States are the ones that continued to stress adult literacy even after
the old National Literacy Mission (NLM) was disbanded. Some
States like Punjab and Himachal neglected the sector, with none
having any ongoing adult literacy component or programme. The
mission aims to achieve 100 per cent literacy in 365 low literacy

176

districts where adult female literacy rate is 50 per cent less as per
the 2001 census. The final goal, however, is to take national literacy
level from 64 per cent to 80 per cent by 2017, and reduce the gender
gap from 21 to 10 per cent. In the first phase, Rajasthan has clinched
the maximum number of projects for 31 districts. Close behind is
Uttar Pradesh with projects for 26 districts, Andhra Pradesh 18,
Gujarat 13 and Uttarakhand five.

Unique Identification (UID) number christened

Aadhaar

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UN
M
M
CO

Aadhaar, or the 12-digit unique identification (UID) number

that will identify the 1.2 billion residents of India on the basis of their
biometrics, will have an additional four digits that will be hidden
from the common man. As far as people are concerned, there would
only be a 12-digit number that would be relevant for their identification and use. However, a provision of extra four digits would be a
post-fix for this 12-digit number for pin-based identification. So, UID
will become a 16-digit number for use and the database that will
maintain be maintained by UIDAI. These four digits, which the authority terms a virtual number, will change as and when the resident changes his pin number or residence. The user, however, will
only use the 12-digit number allotted to him. The first set of Aadhaars
will be issued between August 2010 and February 2011. The authority plans to issue 600 million UIDs over the next five years. UIDAI,
which is being headed by Nandan Nilekani, has been allocated Rs
1,900 crore for the financial year 2010-11. Of this, Rs 1,300 crore will
be used to enable the registrars to enrol people in the system and
the remaining Rs 600 crore will be spent for setting up the information technology infrastructure. UIDAI estimates total annual revenue
of Rs 288 crore from authentication services in the initial stages.

E
E
SR

IA
D
E
M

Social Situation Report

With over 40 per cent of people in India still living on less
than $1.25 (around Rs 60) a day, India now stands third in terms of
the highest proportion of extremely poor people in South Asia, next
only to Nepal and Bangladesh, with corresponding percentages at
54.7 and 50.5, respectively. The latest UN Report on the World Social
Situation 2010, places India below Pakistan, Myanmar and Sri Lanka

177

in terms of extreme poverty. Pakistan is the only nation in the sector

to have achieved the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of cutting
poverty by half between 1990 and 2015. It had 73 per cent of the
people in extreme poverty 15 years ago; it now has 22.6 per cent as
against its MDG target of 29.3 per cent. India is lagging on the front,
and must have an annual poverty reduction rate of 4.7 per cent
(between 2005 and 2015) against 1.4 between 1990 and 2005 if it
wants to meet the MDG target of 27 per cent; so far it has touched
only 41.6 per cent. Rural India has 43.8 per cent of the people in
extreme poverty as against 36.2 per cent in urban areas.

S
N
The Union government has approved the setting
IO up of a
T
National Knowledge Network (NKN) that will connect
all major
A universities
educational institutions like the IITs, the IIMs and
for
Ctop
I
exchange of information and research. One
of
the
important
recommendations of the National Knowledge
UN Commission (NKC)
is to inter-connect all knowledge institutions
M through high speed
data communication network. ThisM
would encourage sharing of
knowledge, specialised resourcesOand collaborative research. The
governments decision to set upCsuch a network was announced in
2008-09 and an initial amount
IAof Rs.100 crore was allocated to the
Department of InformationDTechnology, Ministry of Communications
E of the NKN will be scalable and the
and IT for this. The architecture
network will consist ofM
an ultra-high speed core (multiples of 10Gbps
E a nationwide ultra high-speed data-network
and upwards) to provide
Emesh
highway. The IT
will connect around 1,500 institutions and the
R
setting up of Score network is expected to be completed in a span of
National Knowledge Network

two years.

human and gender development report

Indias human and gender development record is improving,
with the latest government report showing a significant increase in
countrys position on human (HDI) and gender related development
indices. Indias HDI, which was 0.530 in 1996, rose to 0.605 in
2006, while GDI score improved from 0.514 in 1996 to 0.590 a
decade later. A concern, however, is the countrys Gender
Empowerment Measure (GEM) score, which judges womens

178

participation in politics and decision-making, their representation

in Parliament and legislatures and their control over economic
resources. Gendering Human Development Index in India, released
by Women and Child Development Ministry, claims GEM score of
0.497 in 2006 against 0.416 in 1996. Delhi has the highest GEM
score and Nagaland the lowest. The highest GEM scorers in India
are Andaman and Nicobar, Puducherry, Goa, Andhra and Himachal.
The best performers on political participation of women are Punjab,
Andaman and Nicobar, Himachal and Haryana. On economic
empowerment of women, Chandigarh, Goa, Delhi and Punjab are
the best, but in terms of control of economic resources, Meghalaya
stands on top.

S
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Indias first aero sports centre
CA
I
Narnaul, a non-descript village located
the backwaters of
UN incentre,
Haryana has got Indias first aero sports
was
M Singh Hooda, which
inaugurated by Chief Minister Bhupinder
at the local
M named after the late Prime
airstrip on January 31, 2010. The centre,
O
Minister Rajiv Gandhi, has been
the Department of Civil
C setwithuptheby Aero
Aviation, Haryana, in collaboration
Club of India.
A
I
97th Indian
ED Science Congress
97th IndianM
Science Congress (ISC 2010) hosted by the
Indian Space Research
Organisation, a national science event held
E
E
in Thiruvananthapuram
and 98th Indian Science Congress (ISC
R
2011) heldSat Chennai.

179
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BOOKS - AUTHORS

Books

Authors

Alexander Quartet

Lawrence Durrel

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William Faulkner

Bitter Sweet

Noel Coward

William Shakespeare

Black Arrow

Robert Louis Stevenson

As I Lay Dying
As You Like It

Ascent of the Everest

Sir John Hunt

Ashtadhyayi

Panini

Asian Drama

Gunnar Myrdal

A Bend in the river

V.S. Naipaul

Alexander the Great

John Gunther

Aspects of the Novel

E.M. Forster

A Brush with Life

Satish Gujral

Alice in Wonderland

Lewis Carroll

Assignment Colombo

J.N. Dixit

I.K. Gujral

Alien Nation

Peter Brimelow

Tiziano Terzani

All for Love

John Dryden

Athenian Constitution

All Under Heaven

Pearl S.Buck

Atoms of Hope

A Foreign Policy for India

A Fortune Teller Told Me
A Peep into the Past

Vasant Navrekar

A Possible India

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Partha Chatterjee

A Reveolutionary Life

Laxmi Sehgal

A Secular Agenda

Arun Shourie

Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Altered States

Anita Brookner

August Coup

Mikhali S. Gorbachev

Amar Kosh

Amar Singh

Ambassadors Journal

J.K. Galbraith

Ambassadors Report

Chester Bowles

A Tale of Two Gardens

Octavio Paz

Amelia

Abbot

Walter Scott

Absalom, Absalom

William Faulkner

Absalom and Achitophel

John Dryden

Acoession to Extinction

D.R. Mankekar

Adam Bede

George Eliot

Adhe Adhure

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Mohan Rakesh

Adonis

P.B. Shelley

Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Adversary in the House

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Advice and Consent

Aeneid

Affluent Society

After All These Years

After the Dark Night

Jean Paul Sartre

Agni Pariksha

Acharya Tulsi

Agni Veena

Kazi Nazrul Islam

Agony and the Ecstasy

Airport
Ajatshatru
Alaska Unbound
Alchemist

Susan Issacs
Boris Yeltsin

Age of Reason

An Apology for Idlers

Irving Stone
Arthur Hailey

Jai Shankar Prasad

James Michener
Ben Johnson

Robert Louis

Stevenson

Henry Fielding

Autumn Leaves

O.Pulla Reddi

Dandin

Babbit

Sinclair Lewis

Baburnama

Babur

Baby and Child

Penelope Leach

Back to Methuselah
Bandicoot Run

Honore de Balzac

Black Tulip

Alexander Dumas

Bleak House

Boris Pasternak

Bloodline

Sidney Sheldon

Blood Sport

G.B. Shaw
Manohar Malgonkar

Breakthrough

Britains True History

Broken Wings

Beach Boy

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George Orwell

Beloved
Ben Hur

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Bureaucrazy

M.K. Kaw

Butterfield 8

John OHara

Toni Morrison

Charles Berlitz

Caesar and Cleopatra

Aldous Huxley

Between the Lines

Bhagwat Gita

Bill Clinton
Kuldip Nayar

G.Chaucer

Canvass of Life

Sheila Gujral

Bharal Aur Europe

Vikram Seth

Bharat Bharati

Maithili Sharan Gupta

Elia Kazan

Big Fisherman

Lloyd C. Douglas

Nirmal Verma

Caravans

James A. Michener

Cardinal

Henry M. Robinson

Castle

Arthur Koestler

Big Money

P.G. Wodehouse

Catch-22

Arrow in the Blue

Arthur Koestler

Bill the Conqueror

P.G. Wodehouse

Catcher in the Rye

Arrow of Good

Joseph Conrad

Billy

Arthashastra

Sinclair Lewis
Kautilya

Birth of Europe
Bisarjan

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Veda Vyas

V.S. Naipaul

Arrowsmith

G.B. Shaw
Martin Fitzwater

Canterbury Tales

Arion and the Dolphin

Arrival and Departure

Cancer Ward

W.B. Yeats

Richard Nixon

Area of Darkness
Arrangement

Call the Briefing

Jawaharlal Nehru

Kapil Dev

Byzantium

Between Hope and History

Sir Richard Burton

By Gods Decree

Lewis Wallace

Bermuda Triangle

Arabian Nights

Ashvaghosha

Peter Lynch

Derek Walcott

Beyond Peace

Mulk Raj Anand

Murry Midgley

Aldous Huxley
George Bernad Shaw

Prem Bhatia

Sarojini Naidu

Bunch of Old Letters

Antic Hay
Apple Cart

Stephen Hawking

Ardesher Vakil

Another Life
Ape and Essence

Anees Jung

Gen.Moshe Dayan

Brif History of Time

David Selbourne

Count Leo Tolstoy

Sheikh Saadi

Breaking the Silence

An Eye to China

Anna Karenina

Joy Adamson

Bostaan

Buddha Charitam

Beating the Street

Sir Richard Burton

Born Free

Bubble

Beast and Man

Keri Hulme

Book of the Sword

Mohammad lqbal

Hugh Tinker

Maurice Macterlink

Bone People

Bang-i-Dara

Norman Mailer

James Stewart

Blue Bird

Banyan Tree

Willem Doevenduin

John Dean

Blind Beauty

Jawaharlal Nehru

Ancient Evenings

Charles Dickens

Blind Ambitions

An Autobiography

Animal Farm

Virgil

Gunnar Myrdal

An American Tragedy Theodore Dreiser

lrving Stone

J.K.Galbraith

J.K. Galbraith

An American Dilemma

Angry Letters

S.M. Ali

Against the Grain

American Capitalism

Mark Twain

Allen Drury

Henry Fielding

Authors Farce
Avanti Sundari

Ronald Segal

Black Sheep

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August 1914

Vikram Seth

Stanley Wolfer

Aristotle

Mohan Sundara Rajan

Aldous Huxley

Lucinda Vardey

A Tryst With Destiny

Christopher Thomas

Along the Road

A Suitable Boy

A Simple Path

Assignment India

Black Diaspora

Albert French
Robert, S. Lopez
R.N. Tagore

Centennial
Chance
Chandalika

Franz Kafka
Joseph Heller
J.D. Salinger
James Michener
Joseph Conrad
Rabindranath Tagore

181
Cherry Orchard
Anton Chekhov
Chidambara
Sumitranandan Pant
Child Who Never Grew
Pearl S. Buck
Childhood
Maxim Gorky
Children of Gabelawi
Naquib Mahfouz
Children of the Sun
Maxim Gorky
China Passage
J.K. Galbraith
China-Past and Present Pearl S. Buck
Chinas Watergate
Leo Goodstadt
Chinese Betrayal
B.N. Mullick
Chitra
Rabindranath Tagore
Chomas Drum K. Shivaram Karanath
Christabel
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Christmas Tales
Charles Dickens
Chithirappaavai
P.V. Akilandam
City of Joy
Dominique Lapierre
City of Saints
Sir Richard Burton
Class
Erich Segal
Climate of Treason
Andrew Boyle
Clockwork Orange
Anthony Burgess
Clown
Heinrich Boll
Cocktail Party
T.S. Eliot
Colonel Sun
Kingsley Amis
Common Sense
Thomas Paine
Communist Manifesto
Karl Marx
Confessions
J.J.Rousseau
Confessions of a Lover Mulk Raj Anand
Comus
John Milton
Confidential Clerk
T.S. Eliot
Conquest of Self
Mahatma Gandhi
Conservationist
Nadine Gordimer
Continent of Circle Nirad C.Chaudhuri
Coolie
Mulk Raj Anand
Coup
John Updike
Court Dancer
Rabindranath Tagore
Coverly Papers
Joseph Addison
Cranford
Mrs. Gaskell
Creation
Gore Vidal
Crescent Moon
Rabindranath Tagore
Crescent Over Kashmir Anil Maheshwari
Cricket on the Hearth Charles Dickens
Crisis in India
Ronald Segal

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Critical Mass
William E. Burrows
Critique of Pure Reason Immanuel Kant
Crossing in River
Caryl Phillips
Crown and the Loincloth Chaman Nahal
Crown of Wild Olive
John Ruskin
Cry, My Beloved Country
Alan Patan
Cuckold
Kiran Nagar Kar
Culture and Anarchy
Matthew Arnold
Curtain Raisers
K. Natwar Singh
Damsel in Distress
P.G. Wodehouse
Dancing with the Devil
Rod Barker
Dangling Man
Saul Bellow
Daniel Deronda
Geroge Eliot
Dark Room
R.K. Narayan
Dark Debts
Karen Hall
Dark Home Coming
Eric Lustbader
Dark Side of Camelot
Seymour Hersh
Darkness at Noon
Arthur Koestler
Das Kapital
Karl Marx
Dashkumar Charitam
Dandi
Daughter of the East
Benazir Bhutto
David Copperfield
Charles Dickens
Day in Shadow
Nayantara Sehgal
Day of the Jackal
Frederick Forsyth
Days of his Grace
Eyvind Johnson
Days of My Yers
H.P. Nanda
De Profundis
Oscar Wilde
Deans December
Saul Bellow
Death and After
Annie Besant
Death Be Not Proud
John Gunther
Death in the Castle
Pearl S. Buck
Death in Venice
Thomas Mann
Death of a City
Amrita Pritam
Death of a Patriot
R.E. Harrington
Death on the Nile
Agatha Christie
Death of a Salesman
Arthur Miller
Death Under sail
C.P. Snow
Debacle
Emile Zola
Decameron
Giovannie Boccaccio
Decline of the West
O Spengler
Democracy Redeemed
V.K. Narsimhan
Descent of Man
Charles Darwin

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Deserted Village
Oliver Goldsmith
Desperate Remedies
Thomas Hardy
Detective
Arthur Hailey
Dharmashastra
Manu
Dialogue with Death
Arthur Koestler
Diana-The Story So Far
Julia Donelli
Diana-The True Story
Andrew Morton
Diana Versus Charles James Whitaker
Die Blendung
Elias Canetti
Diplomacy
Henry Kissinger
Disappearing Acts
Terry McMillan
Discovery of India
Jawaharlal Nehru
Distant Drums
Manohar Malgonkar
Distant Neighbours
Kuldip Nayar
Divine Comedy
A.Dante
Divine Life
Swami Sivananda
Doctor Faustus
Christopher Marlowe
Doctors Dilemma
G.B.Shaw
Dolls House
lbsen
Dolly-The Birth of a Clone Jina Kolata
Don Juan
George Byron
Don Quixote
Cervantes
Double Betrayal
Paula R. Newburg
Double Helix
J.D. Watson
Double Tongue
William Golding
Double Teeth
U.B. Sinclair
Earth
Emile Zola
Earth Mother
Pupul Jayakar
East of Eden
B.N. Mullick
East West
Salman Rushdie
East Wind
Pearl S. Buck
Edwina and Nehru Catherine Clement
Egmont
J.W. Von Goethe
Eight Lives
Rajmohan Gandhi
Emile
J.J. Rousseau
Eminent Churchillians Andrew Roberts
Emma
Jane Austen
Ends and Means
Aldous Huxley
End of an Era
C.S. Pandit
End of the Chapter
John Forsyte
Enemies
Maxim Gorky
Envoy to Nehru
Escott Reid

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IA
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Erewhon
Samuel Butler
Escape
John Forsyte
Eassay on Life
Samuel Butler
Essays in Criticism
Matthew Arnold
Essays On Gita
Aurobindo Ghosh
Essays of Elia
Charles Lamb
Eternal India
Indira Gandhi
Eternity
Anwar Shaikh
Ethics
Aristotle
Europa
Time Parks
Eugenie Grandet
Honore de Balzac
Everlasting Man
G.K. Chesterton
Executioners Song
Norman Mailer
Exile and the Kingdom
Albert Camus
Eye of the Storm
Patrick White
Eyeless in Gaza
Aldous Huxley
Fairie Queene
Edmund Spencer
Fall of a Sparrow
Salim Ali
Family Reunion
T.S.Eliot
Famished Road
Ben Okri
Far Pavilions
M.M.Kaye
Faraway Music
Svetlana Allilueva
Farewell to the Trumpets
James Morris
Farewell to a Ghost
Manoj Das
Farewell to Arms
Ernest Hemingway
Farm House
George Orwell
Fasana-i-Azad
Ratan Nath Sarkar
Fathers and Sons
lvan Turgenev
Faust
J.W. Von Goethe
Faustus
Chirstopher Marlow
Fidelio
L.Beethoven
Fiesta
Ernest Hemingway
Fifth Column
Ernest Hemingway
Final Passage
Caryl Phillips
Fine Balance
Rohinton Mistry
Fire Next Time
James Baldwin
First Circle
Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Flags in the Dust
William Faulkner
Flames from the Ashes
P.D. Tandon
Flounder
Gunder Grass
Follywood Flashback
Bunny Reuben
Forbidden Sea
Tara Ali Baig

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Forsyte Saga
John Galsworthy
Fortynine Days
Amrita Pritam
Franklins Tale
Geoffrey Chaucer
Fraternity
John Forsyte
Free Mans Worship
Bertrand Russell
French Revolution
Thomas Carlyle
Freedom from Fear
Aung San Suu Kyi
French Leave
P.G. Wodehouse
Friends, Not Masters
Ayub Khan
From Hero to Eternity
James Jones
Frozen Assets
P.G. Wodehouse
Full Moon
P.G.Wodehouse
Future of NPT
Savita Pande
Gambler
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Gandhi and Stalin
Louis Fisher
Gardener
Rabindra Nath Tagore
Garrick Year
Margaret Drabble
Gathering Storm
Winston Churchill
Geeta Govind
Jaya Dev
Ghasiram Kotwal
Vijay Tendulkar
Ghosts in the Machine
Arthur Koestler
Girl in Blue
P.G. Wodehouse
Girl On the Boat
P.G. Wodehouse
Gita Rahasya
Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Gitanjali
Rabindra Nath Tagore
Gladiators
Arthur Koestler
Go Down Moses
William Faulkner
Goa
Asif Currimbhoy
God and the Bible
Mattew Arnold
Godan
Munshi Prem Chand
Godfather
Mario Puzo
Gold Bat
P.G. Wodehouse
Golden Borough
James Frazer
Golden Gate
Vikram Seth
Golden Threshold
Sarojini Naidu
Gone Away
Dom Moraes
Gone with the Wind
Margaret Mitchell
Good Earth
Pearl S.Buck
Goodbye, Mr Chips
James Hilton
Gora
Rabindra Nath Tagore
Grace Notes
Bernard Mac Lavarto
Grapes of Wrath
John Steinbeck

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Grapes and the Wind
Pablo Neruda
Great Challenge
Louis Fischer
Great Depression of 1990
Ravi Batra
Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Great lllusion
Norman Angell
Great Tragedy
Z.A. Bhutto
Grey Eminence
Aldous Huxley
Grub Street
Henry Fielding
Guide
R.K. Narayan
Gulistan Boston
Sheikh Saadi
Gullivers Travels
Jonathan Swift
Gurusagaram
O.V. Vijayan
Gypsy(poem)
Pushkin
Hamlet
William Shakespeare
Hard Times
Charles Dickens
Harsha Charita
Bana Bhatt
Hamsters
C.P. Snow
Handful of Dust
Evelyn Waugh
Happy Death
Albert Camus
Harlot High and Low Honore de Balzac
Harvest
Majula Padmanabhan
Heart of Darkness
Joseph Conrad
Heat and Dust
Ruth Prawer Jhabwala
Heavy Weather
P.G. Wodehouse
Henderson the Rain King
Saul Bellow
Heritage
Anthony West
Hero of Our Times
Richard Hough
Heroes and Hero worship Thomas Carlyle
Henry Esmond
Thackeray
Heir Apparent
Dr. Karan Singh
Higher than Hope
Fatima Meer
Himalayan Blunder
Brig J.P. Dalvi
Hindu View of Life Dr. S.Radhakrishnan
Hitopadesh
R.K.Narayan
Hind Swaraj
M.K.Gandhi
Hindu Civilisation
J.M. Barrie
Hinduism
Nirad C.Choudhury
His Excellency
Emile Zola
Home Comings
C.P. Snow
Hornets Nest
Patricia Cornwell
Hot Water
P.G. Wodehouse
House for Mr. Biswas
V.S. Naipaul

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House of Spirits
Isabel Allende
House Divided
Pearl S. Buck
Human Factor
Graham Greene
Human Knowledge
Bertrand Russell
Humboldts Gift
Saul Bellow
Humour
Ben Johnson
Hungry Stones
Rabindra Nath Tagore
I am not an Island
K.A Abbas
I Dare
Parmesh Dangwal
I follow the Mahatma
K.M. Munshi
Idylls of the King
Tennyson
Idiot
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Idols
Sunil Gavaskar
If I am Assassinated
Z.A. Bhutto
Imperial Woman
Pearl S. Buck
In Confidence
Anatolyu Dobrynin
In Evil Hour
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
In Search of Identity
Anwar el-Sadat
In the Bluest Eye
Toni Morrison
In the Shadow of Pines
Mandeep Rai
India discovered
John Keay
India is for Sale
Chitra Subramaniam
India of Our Dreams
M.V. Kamath
India Today
Rajni Palme Dutt
India We Left
Hymphry Trevelyan
Indian Home Rule
M.K. Gandhi
Indian Philosophy
Dr.S.Radhakrishnan
Indias China War
Neville Maxwell
Century & Beyond
Sandy Gordon
Indian Mansions
Sarah Tiloston
India Changes
Taya Zinkin
India Divided
Rajendra Prasad
Indian Muslims
Prof. Mohd.Mujeeb
India, the Critial Years
Kuldip Nayar
Indo-Pakistan Conflict
Russen Brines
Indica
Megasthenes
Indiras India
S.Nihal Singh
Inferno
Alighieri Dante
Inner Circle
Jonathan First
Inside the CBI
Joginder Singh
Inside the Third Reich
Albert Spencer
Insider
P.V. Narasimha Rao

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In Memoriam
Tennyson
Inside Asia
John Gunther
Inside Europe
John Gunther
Inside Africa
John Gun ther
Interpreters
Wole Soyinka
Intimacy
Jean Paul Sartre
Intruder in the Dust
William Faulkner
Invisible Man
H.G. Wells
Iron in the Soul
Jean Paul Sartre
Ironhand
J.W. Von Goethe
Isabella
John Keats
It is Always Possible
Kiran Bedi
Ivanov
Anton Chekhov
Ivanhoe
Sir Walter Scott
Marriage
Chirstopher Anderson
Jai Somnath
K.M. Munshi
Jaguar Smile
Salman Rushdie
Jajar, Churashir Maa Mahashweta Devi
Jane Eyre
Charlotte Bronte
Jankijeevanam Prof. Rajendra Mishra
Jazz
Toni Morrison
Jean Christopher
Romain Rolland
Jewel
Danielle Steel
Jhoota Sach
Yashpal
Jobs for Millions
V.V. Giri
Joke
Milan Kundra
Judges Miscellany
M. Hidayatullah
Julius Caesar
William Shakespeare
Jurassic Park
Michael Crichton
Jungle Book
Rudyard Kipling
Junglee Girl
Ginu Kamani
Kadambari
Bana Bhatt
Kamadhenu
Kubernath Ray
Kamasutra
Vatsyayan
Kagaz Te Kanwas
Amrita Pritam
Kamayani
Jai Shankar Pandit
Kaleidoscope of India
Tomoji Muto
Kali Aandhi
Kamleshwar
Kanthapura
Raja Rao
Kanyadaan
Vijay Tendulkar
Katghare Main
Ram Sharan Joshi
Kayakalp
Munshi Prem Chand

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Kayar
Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai
Keepers of the Keys
Milan Kundera
Kenilworth
Sir Walter Scott
Killer Angels
Michael Shaara
Kissinger Years
T.N. Kaul
Kidnapped
R.L. Stevenson
Kiratarjuniya
Bharavi
Kim
Rudyard Kipling
King Lear
Shakespeare
Kipps
H.G.Wells
Koraner Nari
Taslima Nasreen
Kore Kagaz
Amrita Pritam
Kubla Khan
S.T. Coleridge
Kulliyat
Ghalib
Kumar Sambhava
Kalidas
La Divine Comedia
A. Dante
La Peste
Albert Camus
Lady of the Lake
Sir Walter Scott
Lady with the Lapdog
Anton Chekhov
Lady Chatterlys Lover
D.H.Lawrence
Lajja
Taslima Nasreen
Lal Bahadur Shastri
C.P. Srivastava
Last Analysis
Saul Bellow
Last Orders
Graham Swift
Last Phase
Pyare Lal
Last Things
C.P. Snow
Laws Versus Justice
V.R. Krishna lyer
Leaders
Richard Nixon
Leaves of Grass
Walt Whitman
Lead Kindly Light
Cardinal Newman
Les Miserables
Victor Hugo
Latter from Peking
Peral S. Buck
Letters From the Field
Margaret Mead
Leviathan
Thomas Hobbes
Liberty or Death
Patrick French
Light That Failed
Rudyard Kipling
Life Divine
Aurobindo Ghosh
Life is Elsewhere
Milan Kundera
Lines of Fate
Mark Kharitonov
Lipika
Rabindranath Tagore
Living Room
Graham Greene
Long Walk to Freedom
Nelson Mandela
Look Back in Anger
John Osborne
Lord Jim
Joseph Conrad
Lord of the Files
William Golding
Lost Child
Mulk Raj Anand
Lost Honour
John Dean
Lost lllusion
Honore de Balzac
Lotus Eaters
A.Tennyson
Love in A Blue Time
Hanif Khureshi

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Lolita
V.Nabokov
Lycidas
John Milton
Macbeth
William Shakespeare
Magic Mountain
Thomas Mann
Mahabharata
Vyasa
Malati Madhav
Bhavabhuti
Magic Fishbone
Charles Dickens
Magnificent Maharaja
K.Natwar Singh
Mahatma Gandhi
Girija Kumar Mathur
Major Barbara
George Bernard Shaw
Malavikagnimitra
Kalidas
Main Street
Sinclair Lewis
Man, The Unknown
Lewis Carroll
Man and Superman
G.B. Shaw
Man for Moscow
G.Lynne
Man of Property
John Galsworthy
Man, Beast and Virtue
Luigi Pirandello
Man eaters of Kumaon
Jim Corbett
Marriage and Morals
Bertrand Russell
Mama
Terry McMillan
Man for All Seasons
Robert Bolt
Mandarin
Simon de Beauvoir
Mansfield Park
Jane Austen
Many Worlds
K.P.S. Menon
Masters
C.P. Snow
Mati Matal
Gopinath Mohanty
Maurice
E.M. Forster
Mayor of Casterbridge
Thomas Hardy
Meghdoot
Kalidas
Mein Kampf
Adolf Hitler
Momories of Hope
Charles de Gaulle
Meri Rehen Meri Manzil
Krishna Puri
Middle March
George Eliot
Middle Ground
Margaret Drabble
Midnights Children
Salman Rushdie
Mill on the Floss
George Eliot
Million Mutinies Now
V.S. Naipaul
Mirror of the Sea
Joseph Conrad
Miser
Moliere
Mistaken identity
Nayantara Sehgal
Moby Dick
Herman Melville
Modern Painters
John Ruskin
Mother India
Katherine Mayo
Mod Classics
Joseph Conrad
Moonlight Sonata
L.Beethoven
Moonwalk
Michael Jackson
Moors Last Sigh
Salman Rushdie
Mother
Maxim Gorky
Mritunjaya
Shivaji Sawant
Mrs. De Winter
Susah Hill

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Much Ado About Nothing

Shakespeare
Mudra rakshasa
Vishakhadatta
Murder in the Cathedral
T.S. Eliot
Murky Business
Honore de Balzac
Murder of Aziz Khan
Zulfikar Ghose
My Days
R.K. Narayan
My Early Life
M.K. Gandhi
My Experiment With Truth M.K. Gandhi
My Life and Times
V.V.Giri
My Own Boswell
M.Hidayatullah
My Father, Deng Xiaoping
Xiao Rong
My India
S. Nihal Singh
My Music, My Love
Ravi Shankar
My Presidential Years R.Venkataraman
My Truth
Indira Gandhi
Mysterious Universe
James Jeans
My Several Worlds
Pearl S. Buck
My Sons Father
Dom Moraes
My South Block Years
J.N. Dixit
My Struggles
E.K. Nayanar
Myths of sisyphus
Albert Camus
My Prison Diary
J.P Narayan
Naari
Humayun Azad
Nana
Emile Zola
Naganandan
Harsha Vardhana
Naku Thanthi
D.R. Bendre
Nacked Face
Sydney Sheldon
Naked Triangle
Balwant Gargi
Nehru Family and Sikhs Harbans Singh
Netaji-Dead or Alive
Samar Guha
Never At Home
Dom Moraes
Nice Guys Finish Second
B.K. Nehru
Nicholas Nickelby
Charles Dickens
Night Manager
John le Carre
Nile Basin
Sir Richard Burton
Nine Days Wonder
John Mansfield
Nisheeth
Uma Shankar Joshi
Niti-Sataka
Bhartrihari
Nineteen Eighty-Four
George Orwell
1999-Victory Without War Richard Nixon
Nirbashita Narir Kabita Taslima Nasreen
North
Seamus Heanev
Northanger Abbey
Jane Austen
Nothing Like The Sun Anthony Burgess
No Full stops in India
Mark Tully
Nursery Alice
Lewis Carroll
Occasion for Loving
Nadine Gordimer
Odessa File
Frederick Forsyth
Odakkuzal
G.Shankara Kurup
Odyssey
Homer

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Oh, Le Beaux Jours

Samuel Beckett
Old Curiosity Shop
Charles Dickens
Old Goriot
Honore de Balzac
Old Man and the Sea Ernest Hemingway
Old Path: white Clouds Thich Nht Hanh
Olivers Story
Erich Segal
Oliver Twist
Erich Segal
Oliver Twist
Charles Dickens
Omeros
Derek Walcott
On History
Eric Hobswan
One-eyed Uncle
Laxmikant Mahapatra
One World to Share
Sridath Ramphal
One Upmanship
Stephen Potter
One World and India
Arnold Toynbee
One World
Wendell Wilkie
Only One Year
Svetlana
Operation Shylock
Philip Roth
Origin of Species
Charles Darwin
Oru Desathinte Katha
S.K. Pottekatt
Other Side of Midnight Sydney Sheldon
Othello
Shakespeare
Our Films, Their Films
Satyajit Ray
Our India
Minoo Masani
Out of Dust
F.D. Karaka
Padmavati
Malik Mohammed Jayasi
Painted Veil
W. Somerset Maugham
Painter of Signs
R.K. Narayan
Pair of Blue Eyes
Thomas Hardy
Pakistan Crisis
David Loshak
Pakistan Papers
Mani Shankar Aiyer
Panchtantra
Vishnu Sharma
Paradise Lost
John Milton
Pakistan Cut to Size
D.R. Mankekar
Paradiso
Alighieri Dante
Paradise Regained
John Milton
Passage to England
Nirad C.Chaudhuri
Passage to India
E.M. Forster
Past and Present
Thomas Carlyle
Past Forward
G.R. Narayanan
Path to Power
Margaret Thatcher
Patriot
Pearl S. Buck
Pavilion of Women
Pearl S. Buck
Peculiar Music
Emily Bronte
Peter Pan
J.M. Barrie
Persuasion
Jane Austen
Pickwick Papers
Charles Dickens
Pilgrims Progress
John Bunyan
Pinjar
Amrita Pritam
Plague
Albert Camus
Plans for Departure
Nayantara Sehgal

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Pleading Guilty
Scott Turow
Poison Belt
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Politics
Aristotle
Portrait of India
Ved Mehta
Possessed
Albert Camus
Post Office
Rabindranath Tagore
Power and Glory
Graham Greene
Power That Be
David Halberstan
Prathama Pratishruti
Ashapurna Devi
Prem Pachisi
Prem Chand
Prelude
William Wordsworth
Premonitions
P.N. Haksar
Princess in Love
Ann Pasternak
Prison Diary
Jayaprakash Narayan
Prisoner of Zenda
Anthony Hope
Prisoners Scrapbook
L.K. Advani
Primary Colors
Anonymous
Prince
Machiavelli
Prithviraj Raso
Chand Bardai
Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austen
Principia
Isaac Newton
Professor
Charlotte Bronte
Profiles & Letters
K. Natwar Singh
Promises to Keep
Chester Bowles
Purgatory
Alighieri Dante
Pyramids of Sacrifice
Peter L.Berger
Pygmation
G.B. Shaw
Quarantene
Jim Crass
Rabbit, Run
John Updike
Rage of Angels
Sydney Sheldon
Ragtime
E.L. Doctorow
Raghuvamsa
Kalidas
Rajtarangini
Kalhana
Ram Charit Manas
Tulsidas
Rangbhoomi
Prem Chand
Rains Came
Louis Bromefield
Rain King
Saul Bellow
Rainbow
Pearl S. Buck
Rape of the Lock
Alexander Pope
Ratnavali
Harsha Vardhan
Razors Edge
Somerset Maugham
Rebel
Albert Camus
Rebirth
Leonid Brezhnev
Red and Black
Stendhal
Red Star Over China
Edgar Snow

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Rediscovering Gandhi Yogesh Chadha
Red Badge of Courage Stephen Crane
Remembering Babylon
David Malouf
Reminiscences
Thomas Carlyle
Reminiscences
Thomas Carlyle
Reprieve
Jean Paul Sartre
Republic
Plato
Rescue
Joseph Conrad
Resurrection
Leo Tolstoy
Return of the Native
Thomas Hardy
Revenue Stamp
Amrita Pritam
Rich Like Us
Nayantara Sehgal
Riding the Storm
Harold MacMillan
Rights the Man
Thomas Paina
Ritu Ka Pehla Phool
Vijendra
Ritu Samhara
Kalidas
Rivals
R.B. Sheridan
River Sutra
Gita Mehta
Road to Folly
Leslie Ford
Road to Freedom
K.K. Khullar
Robe
Lloyd C. Douglas
Robinson Crusoe
Daniel Defoe
Romeo and Juliet William Shakespeare
Room at the Top
John Braine Roots
Rukh Te Rishi
Harbhajan Singh
Sader-i-Riyasat
Karan Singh
Sakharam Binder
Vijay Tendulkar
Saket
Maithili Sharan Gupta
Satyartha Prakash
Swami Dayanand
Smalers Planet
Saul Bellow
Sanctuary
William Faulkner
Sands of Time
Sidney Sheldon
Santa Evita
Tomas Eloymartinez
Satanic Verses
Salman Rushdie
Savitri
Aurobindo Ghosh
Scarlet Letter
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Scarlet Pimpernel
Baroness Orczy
Schindlrs List
Thomas Keneally
School for Scandal
R.B. Sheridan
Search for Home
Sasthi Brata
Second World War
Winston Churchill
Secret Agent
Joseph Conrad
Sense of Time
S.H. Vatsyayan
Sesame and Lilies
John Ruskin
Seven Summers
Mulk Raj Anand

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Tale of a Tub
Jonathan Swift
Tale of Two Cities
Charles Dickens
Tales from Shakespeare
Charles Lamb
Talisman
Sir Walter Scott
Tamas
Bhisham Sahni
Tar Baby
Toni Morrison
Tarkash
Javed Akhtar
Temple Tiger
Jim Corbett
Tess of DUrbervilles
Thomas Hardy
Thank You, Jeeves
P.G. Wodehouse
The Age of Extremes
Eric Holsbawm
The Assassination
K. Mohandas
The Agony and Ecstasy
Irving Stone
The Beach Tree
Pearl S. Buck
The Commitments
Roddy Doyle
The Cardinal
Henry Morton Robinson
The Chinese Betrayal
B.N. Mullick
The Congress Splits
R.P. Rao
The Diplomatic Bag
John Ure
Ugly Duckling
H.C. Anderson
Ulysses
James Joyce
Uncle Toms Cabin
Mrs.Hariet Stowe
Unconsoled
Kazuo Ishiguro
Under Western Eye
Joseph Conrad
Unhappy India
Lala Lajpat Rai
Universe Around Us
James Jeans
Until Darkness
Parvin Ghaffari
Utouchable
Mulk Raj Anand
Upturned Soil
Mikhail Sholokov
Uttar Ramcharita
Bhava Bhuti
Utopia
Thomas More
Unto This Last
John Ruskin
Untold Story
Gen.B.M.Kaul
Valley of Dolls
Jacqueline Susanne
Vanity Fair
Thackeray
Vendor of Sweets
R.K.Narayan
Venisamhara
Narayana Bhatt
Very Old Bones
William Kennedy
Victim
Saul Bellow
Victory
Joseph Conrad
View from Delhi
Chester Bowles
View from the UN
U Thant
Village by the Sea
Anita Desai

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Village
Mulk Raj Anand
Vinay Patrika
Tulsidas
Maithili Sharan Gupta
Virangana
Virginians
William Thackeray
Voice of Conscience
V.V. Giri
Voice of Freedom
Nayantara Sehgal
Voice of the Voiceless
Rutsh Harring
Waiting for Godot
Samuel Becket
Waiting to Exhale
Terry McMillan
Wake up India
Annie Besant
Walls of Glass
K.A. Abbas
War and Peace
Tolstoy
War of the Worlds
H.G.Wells
Waste Land
T.S. Eliot
Way of the World
William Congreve
We, Indians
Khushwant Singh
We, the People
N.A. Palkhivala
Wealth of Nations
Adam Smith
Week with Gandhi
Louis Fischer
West Wind
Pearl S. Buck
Westward Ho
Charles Kingsley
While England Sleeps
David Leavitt
Whispers of the Desert Fatima Bhutto
White House Years
Henry Kissinger
Widening Divide
Rafiq Zakaria
Wild Asss Skin
Honore de Balzac
Winston Churchill
Clive Ponting
Witness to History
Prem Bhatia
Witness to an Era
Frank Moraes
Womans Life
Guy de Maupassant
World Within Words
Stephen Spender
Worthy it is
Odysseus Elytis
Wuthering Heights
Emily Bronte
Yajnaseni
Dr. Pratibha Roy
Yama
Mahadevi Verma
Yashodhara
Maithili Sharan Gupta
Yayati
V.S. Khandekar
Year of the Upheaval Henry Kissinger
Year of the Vulture
Amita Malik
Years of Pilgrimage Dr.Raja Ramanna
Yesterday and Today
K.P.S. Menon
Zulfi, My Friend
Piloo Mody

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IMPORTANT DAYS

January
January
January
January

1
1
4
6

January 24
January 27
January 28
January 29
February 2
February 4
February 6

February 11
February 12
February 14
February 20
February 21
February 22
March 4
March 6
March 8

March 8
March 14
March 15

Global Family Day

World Day of Peace
World Hypnotism Day
World day for War orphans
3rd Sunday of January - World Religion Day
National girl child day of India
International Holocaust Remembrance Day
Data Protection Day
World Leprosy Day
World Wetlands Day
World Cancer Day
International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female
Genital Mutilation
World Day of the Sick
Darwin Day
Valentines Day
World Day of Social Justice
International Mother Language Day
International Scouts Day
World Kamau's Day
Dentist's Day
United Nations Day for Women's Rights and
International Peace
International Women's Day
International Day of Action for Rivers
World Day of Muslim Culture, Peace, Dialogue and
Film
World Consumer Rights Day
International Day of the Francophonie
World Day of Theatre for Children and Young
People
International Day for the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination
World Poetry Day
World Day for Water

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March 15
March 20
March 20

March 21

March 21
March 22

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March 23
March 24
March 25
March 27
April 2
April 4
April 7
April 14
April 16
April 17
April 21
April 22
April 23
April 24
April 25
April 26
April 28
April 29
May 1
May 2
May 3
May 4
May 5
May 6
May 7
May 8
May 12
May 15
May 17
May 18
May 19
May 21
May 22
May 23

- World Meteorological Day

- International Day for Achievers,
World Tuberculosis Day
- International Day of Remembrance of the Victims
of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade
- World Theatre Day
- World Autism Awareness Day
- International Day for Mine Awareness
- World Health Day
- Cultural Unity Day, recognized by India, Sri Lanka,
Maldives, Bangladesh and Nepal.
- World Entrepreneurship Day (WED) site
- World Hemophilia Day
- World Creativity and Innovation Day
- Earth Day
- World Book and Copyright Day
- World Day for Laboratory Animals
- World Malaria Day
- World Intellectual Property Day
- International Workers' Memorial Day
- World Dance Day
- May Day - Labour Day
- International Day of Deliberately Unemployed
- World Press Freedom Day
- International Firefighters' Day
- International Midwives Day
- International Awareness Day for Osteogenesis
Imperfecta
- Rabindranath Tagore's Anniversary Day
- World Red Cross & Red Crescent Day
- International Nurses Day
- International Day of Families
- World Information Society Day
- International Museum Day
- World Hepatitis Day
- World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and
Development
- International Day for Biological Diversity
- World Turtle Day

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May 29
- International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers
May 31
- World No Tobacco Day
1st Tuesday of May
- World Asthma Day
2nd Saturday of May
- World Fair Trade Day
2nd Sunday of May
- International Mothers' Day
June 1
- International Children's Day
June 4
- International Day of Innocent Children Victims of
Aggression
June 5
- World Environment Day
June 8
- World Brain Tumour Day
June 8
- World Ocean Day
June 12
- World Day Against Child Labour
June 14
- World Blood Donor Day
June 17
- World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought
June 18
- International Picnic Day
June 19
- World Sickle Cell Day
June 20
- World Refugee Day
June 21
- World Music Day
June 23
- United Nations Public Service Day
June 26
- International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit
Trafficking
June 26
- International Day in Support of Victims of Torture
3rd Sunday of June
- International Fathers' Day
July 1
- Doctor's Day, Bidhan Chandra Roy Birth Day
1st Saturday of July
- International Day of Cooperatives
July 1
- International Reggae Day - Jamaica
July 7
- International Cooperative Day
July 8
- Writer's Day
July 11
- World Population Day
July 23
- World Stress Down Day
August 9
- International Day of the World's Indigenous People
August 12 - International Youth Day
August 13 - International Lefthanders Day
August 19 - World Humanitarian Day
August 23 - International Day for the Remembrance of the
Slave Trade and its Abolition
September 8 - International Literacy Day

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September
September
September
September

10 - World Suicide Prevention Day

11 - World First Aid Day
15 - International Day of Democracy
16 - International Day for the Preservation of the
Ozone Layer
September 19 - International Talk Like a Pirate Day
September 21 - International Day of Peace, recognized by the UN
September 21 - World Alzheimer's Day
September 26 - European Day of Languages
September 27 - World Tourism Day
September 28 - Right to Know Day
September 28 - World Rabies Day
First Monday of October - World Habitat Day
October 1 - International Day of Older Persons
October 1 - World Vegetarian Day
October 2 - International Day of Non-Violence
October 3 - World Smile Day
October 4 - World Animal Day
October 5 - World Teachers' Day
Second Wednesday of October - International Day for Natural
Disaster Reduction
October 9 - World Hospice and Palliative Care Day
October 8 - World Humanitarian Action Day
October 8 - World Egg Day - 2nd Friday of October every year
October 9 - World Post Day
October 9 - Global Jamie Day
October 10 - World Mental Health Day
October 10 - World Day Against Death Penalty
October 14 - World Standards Day
October 15 - World Blind Day / World Sight Day
October 15 - International Day of Rural Women
October 15 - Global Handwashing Day
October 16 - National Boss Day (Boss's Day)
October 16 - World Food Day, recognized by the UN
October 17 - International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

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October 20 - International Day of the Air Traffic Controller

October 20 - World Statistics Day
October 24 - United Nations Day, recognized by the UN
October 24 - World Development Information Day
October 27 - World Day for Audiovisual Heritage
Third Sunday of November - World Day of Remembrance for
Road Traffic Victims
November 1 - World Vegan Day
November 6 - International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of
the Environment in War and Armed Conflict
November 8 - Paul S Day
November 9 - World Freedom Day
November 10 - World Immunization Day
November 14 - World Diabetes Day
November 16 - International Day for Tolerance
November 17 - International Students Day
November 19 - International Men's Day
November 19 - World Toilet Day
November 20 - Africa Industrialization Day
November 20 - Universal Children's Day
November 21 - World Hello Day
November 21 - World Television Day
November 25 - International Day for the Elimination of Violence
against Women
November 25 - International Meatless Day
November 30 - Computer Security Day
December 1 - World Aids Day
December 2 - International Day for the Abolition of Slavery
December 3 - International Day of Persons with Disabilities
December 5 - International Volunteer Day for Economic and
Social Development
December 7 - International Civil Aviation Day
December 9 - The International Day against Corruption
December 10 - Human Rights Day
December 11 - International Mountain Day

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December
December
December
December
December

16 - International Hug a Recovered Invalid Day

17 - International Rabbit's Day
18 - International Migrants Day, recognized by the UN
19 - United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation
20 - International Human Solidarity Day

Important Weeks

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Important Years
M
CO
International Health and Medical Research Year
IA
International Cooperation
Year
D
International
Tourist
Year
E Year for Human Rights
International
M
International
of Love
E Year
E
International
Education Year
R
Year for Action to Combat Racism and
SInternational

March 2127

- Week of Solidarity with the Peoples Struggling

against Racism and Racial Discrimination
May 2531
- Week of Solidarity with the Peoples of Non-SelfGoverning Territories
4th week of September - International Peace Week
October 410 - World Space Week
October 2430 - Disarmament Week

1961
1965
1967
1968
1969
1970
1971

1974
1975
1979
1981
1982

1983
1984
1985

Racial Discrimination
World Population Year
International Women's Year
International Year of the Child
International Year of Disabled Persons
International Year of Mobilization for Sanctions against
South Africa
- World Communications Year
- Year of Women in South Africa
- Year of the United Nations

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1985
1986
1987
1990
1992
1993
1994
1994
1995

International Youth Year

International Year of Peace
International Year of Shelter for the Homeless
International Literacy Year
International Space Year
International Year of the World's Indigenous People
International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal
International Year of the Family
World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of Victims of
the Second World War
1995 - United Nations Year for Tolerance
1996 - International Year for the Eradication of Poverty
1998 - International Year of the Ocean
1999 - International Year of Older Persons
2000 - International Year of Thanksgiving
2000 - International Year for the Culture of Peace
2000 - World Mathematical Year
2001 - International Year of Mobilization against Racism,
Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related
Intolerance
2001 - International Year of Volunteers
2001 - United Nations Year of Dialogue among Civilizations
2002 - International Year of Ecotourism
2002 - International Year of Mountains
2002 - United Nations Year for Cultural Heritage
2003 - International Year of Freshwater
2003 - European Disability Year
2004 - International Year to Commemorate the Struggle
against Slavery and its Abolition
2004 - International Year of Rice
2005 - International Year for Sport and Physical Education
2005 - International Year of Microcredit
2005 - World Year of Physics
2006 - International Year of Deserts and Desertification
2007 - Year of the Dolphin (extended to 2008)
2007 - International Year of the Scout
2007-2008 - International Heliophysical Year
2008 - International Year of Languages
2008 - International Year of the Potato

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2008
2008
2009
2009
2009
2009
2009
2010
2010
2010
2011
2011
2011
2011

International Year of Sanitation

International Year of the Frog
International Year of Astronomy
International Year of Natural Fibres
International Year of Reconciliation
Year of the Gorilla
International Year of the Shark
International Year of Communications
International Year of Biodiversity
International Year of Youth
International Year of Forests
International Year of Chemistry
International Year for People of African descent
World Veterinary Year 2011

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Important Decades
UN
M
M
19761985 - United Nations Decade
for Women
O
1990s
- International Decade
for Natural Disaster Reduc
C
tion
IA Decade of the World's Indig19942004 - First International
enous D
People
E
19972006 - First United Nations Decade for the Eradication of
M
EPoverty
20002010 E- Second International Decade for the Eradication
SR of Colonialism
2000-2010 - Bone and Joint Decade
20012010
2001-2010
20032012
20052014
20052014
20052015

- International Decade for a Culture of Peace and

Non-violence for the Children of the World
- Decade to Roll Back Malaria in Developing
Countries, Particularly in Africa (2001-2010)
- United Nations Literacy Decade
- United Nations Decade on Education for Sustainable Development
- Second International Decade of the World's
Indigenous People
- Water for Life Decade

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ABBREVIATIONS

AA

: Anti-Aircraft; Authors Alterations

AAAS
: American Association of Ad
vancement of Science
AAFI
: Amateur Athletics Federation
of Afro-Asian Games
AAI
: Airport Authority of India
AAOU
: Asian Association for Open Uni
versities
APSO
: Afro-Asian Peoples Solidarity
Organisation
AASU
: All-Assam Students Union
ABC
: Audit Bureau of Circulations
ABM
: Anti-Ballistic Missiles
ABSU
: All Bodo Students Union
ABU
: Asian Broadcasting Union
AC
: Alternating Current
ACAS
: Airborne Collision Avoidance
System
ACC
: Auxiliary Cadet Corps;
Air Coordinating Committee
ACD
: Asian Co-operation Dialogue
ACL
: Access Control List
ACU
: Asian Clearing Union
ADB
: Asian Development Bank
ADBS
: Advanced Data Broadcast
System
ADF
: Asian Development Fund
ADRs
: American Depository Receipts
AEC
: Atomic Energy Commission
AERB
: Atomic Energy Regulation
Board
AF
: Audio Frequency
AFC
: Asian Football Confederation
AFNET : Air Force Network
AFP
: Agence France-Presse
AIIMS
: All India Institute of Medical
Sciences
AILTA
: All India Lawn Tennis
Association
AIMA
: All India Management
Association
AIMO
: All India Manufacturers
Organisation
AIMPLB : All India Muslim Personal Law
Board
AINEC : All India Newspaper Editors
Conference

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AIR
: All India Radio
AISNEC : All India Small Newspaper
Editors Conference
AISSF
: All India Sikh Students
Federation
AITUC : All India Trade Union Congress
AIWHA : All India Women Hockey
Association
AJT
: Advance Jet Trainer
ALGOL : Algorithmic Language
ALH
: Advanced Light Helicopter
AMC
: Army Medical Corps
AMICE : Associate Member of the
Institute of Civil Engineers
AMU
: Asian Monetary Union
ANANDI : Area Networking Development
Initiative
ANC
: African National Congress
ANCA
: Alternative Nuclear Command
Authority
ANERT : Agency for Non-Conventional
Energy and Rural Technology
ANN
: Asian News Network
AOC
: Air Officer Commanding
AP
: Associated Press
APASL : Asia Pacific Association for
Study of Liver
APCTT : Asia and Pacific Centre for
Transfer of Technology
APEC
: Asia Pacific Economic
Community
APHLC : All Parties Hill Leaders
Conference
APM
: Administered Price Mechanism
APPLE : Ariane Passenger Payload
Experiment
APPU
: Asian Pacific Postal Union
APT
: Asia Pacific Tele community
ARC
: Administrative Reforms
Commission
ARDC
: Agricultural Refinance and
Development Corporation
ARF
: ASEAN Regional Forum
ARP
: Air Raid Precaution
ARPANET: Advanced Research Project
Agency Network
ARTRAC : Army Training Command

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ASCI

: Administrative Staff College of

India
ASCON : Army Static Switched
Communication Network
ASEAN : Association of South East Asian
Nations
ASEM
: Asia Europe Meeting
ASI
: Archaeological Survey of India
ASK
: Aaykar Sampark Kendra
ASLV
: Augmented Satellite Launch
Vehicle
ASSOCHAM : Associated Chamber of
Commerce and Industry
ATC
: Air Traffic Control
ATGM
: Anti-Tank Guided Missile
ATM
: Automatic Teller Machine
ATR
: Action Taken Report
ATS
: Anti Tetanus Serum
AU
: African Union
AVARD : Association of Voluntary
Agencies for Rural Development
AVC
: Army Veterinary Corps
AVSM
: Ati Vishisht Seva Medal
AVTAR : Army Vocational Training and
Rehabilitation
AWACS : Airborne Warning and Control
System
AWWA : Army Wives Welfare
Association
BITS
: Birla Institute of Technology &
Sciences
BJP
: Bharatiya Janata Party
BKKP
: Bhartiya Kisan Kamgar Party
B2B
: Business to Business
B2C
: Business to Consumer
BAC
: Business Advisory Committee
BAI
: Badminton Association of India
BALCO : Bharat Aluminium Company ltd
BARC
: Bhabha Atomic Research
Centre
BBC
: British Broadcasting Corporation
BCCI
: Board of Control for Cricket in
India
BCG
: Bacillus Calmette-Guerin
BCL
: Bachelor of Civil law
BDO
: Block Development Officer
BEL
: Bharat Electronics Limited
BGA
: Blue Green Algae
BHEL
: Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd.
BHU
: Banaras Hindu University

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BICP

: Bureau of Industrial Costs and

Prices
BIFR
: Board for Industrial and
Financial Reconstruction
BIMSTEC : Bangladesh, India, Myanmar.
Sri Lanka, Thailand Economic
Cooperation.
BIPPA
: Bilateral Investment Promotion
and Protection Agreement
BIS
: Bureau of Indian Standards
BKU
: Bharatiya Kisan Union
BLOB
: Binary Large Objects
BMW
: Bayerische Motoren Warke AG
BOAC
: British Overseas Airways
Corporation
BOLT
: Build-Own-Lease-Transfer
BPE
: Bureau of Public Enterprises
BPO
: Business Process Outsourcing
BRAI
: Broadcast Regulatory
Authorities of India
BRIC
: Brazil. Russia, India and China
BRO
: Border Roads Organisation
BSE
: Bombay Stock Exchange
BSF
: Border Security Force
BSI
: Botanical Survey of India
BSNL
: Bharat Sanchar Nigam
BSP
: Bahujan Samaj Party
CAB
: Civil Aeronautics Board
CABE
: Central Advisory Board for
education
CACCI : Confederation of Asia-Pacific
Chambers of Commerce &
Industry
CACP
: Commission on Agricultural
Costs and Prices
CADA
: Command Area Development
Agency
CAG
: Comptroller and AuditorGeneral
CAN
: Calcium Ammonium Nitrate
CAPART : Council for Advancement of
Peoples Action and Rural
Technology
CAPD
: Continuous Ambulatory
Peritoneal Dialysis
CAPES : Computer-Aided Paperless
Examination System
CARD
: Centre for Astronomical
Research and Development
CARE
: Cooperative for American
Relief Everywhere

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CAS
CASE

: Conditional Access System

: Commission on Alternative
Sources of Energy
CASI
: Centre for the Advanced Study
of India
CAT
: Computerised Axial Tomogra
phy
CAZRI : Central Arid Zone Research
Institute Ltd.
CBDT
: Central Board of Direct Taxes
CBEC
: Central Board of Excise and
British Customs
CBFC
: Central Board of Film
Certification
CBI
: Central Bureau of investigation
CBM
: Confidence Building Measures
Central
CBR
: Central Board of Revenue
CBRI
: Central Building Research
Institute
CBSE
: Central Board of Secondary
Education
CBT
: Childrens Book Trust
CCEA
: Cabinet Committee on
Economic Affairs
CCI
: Cement Corporation of India
CCP
: Cabinet Committee on Prices
CCS
: Cash Compensatory Support
C-DAC : Centre for Development of
Advanced Computing
CDMA
: Code Division Multiple Access
C-DOT : Centre for Development of
Telematics
CDRI
: Central Drug Research Institute
CDROM : Compact Disc-Read Only
Memory
CDS
: Compulsory Deposit Scheme
CEC
: Chief Election Commissioner
CECRI : Central Electro Chemical
Research institute
CEERI : Central Electronic Engineering
Research Institute
CENTO : Central Treaty Organisation
CENVAT : Central Value Added Tax
CEO
: Chief Executive Officer
CERC
: Consumer Education and
Research Centre
CFC
: Chloro Fluoro Carbon
CFSL
: Central Forensic Science
Laboratory
CGA
: Central Ganga Authority
CGF
: Commonwealth Games
Federation

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CGHS

: Central Government Health

Scheme
CGI
: Common Gateway Interface
CGIAR : Consultative Group on Interna
tional Agricultural Research
CHOGM : Commonwealth Heads of Gov
ernment Meeting
CHOGRM: Commonwealth Heads of
Government Regional Meeting
CIA
: Central Intelligence Agency
CIB
: Credit information Bureau
CICA
: Conference on Interaction and
confidence-building Measures in
Asia
CID
: Criminal Investigation
Department
CIET
: Central Institute of Educational
Technology
CII
: Confederation of Indian
Industry
CIIL
: Central Institute of Indian
Languages
CISF
: Central Industrial Security
Force
CITES
: Convention on International
Trade on Endangered Species
CITU
: Centre of Indian Trade Unions
CIWTC : Central Inland Water Transport
Corporation
CKD
: Completely Knocked Down
CLASP : Child Labour Action and
Support Project
CLAWS : Centre for Land Warfare
Studies
CLB
: Company Law Board
CM
: Common Market
CMA
: Coal Mines Authority
CMAG
: Commonwealth Ministerial
Action Group
CMC
: Computer Maintenance
Corporation
CMEA
: Council for Mutual Economic
Assistance
CMERI : Central Mechanical Engineering
Research Institute
CMIE
: Centre for Monitoring Indian
Economy
CMP
: Common Minimum Programme
CNC
: Computerised Numerical
Control
CNG
: Compressed Natural Gas
CNN
: Cable News Network
CNS
: Chief of Naval Staff

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CO
: Commanding Officer
COAS
: Chief of Army Staff
COL
: Commonwealth of Learning
COMECON: Council for Mutual Economic
Assistance
COMESA: Common Market for Eastern
and Southern Africa
COMEX : Commonwealth Expedition
COMPS : Coastal Ocean Monitoring and
Prediction Centre
CONCORD: Council of North Indian States
for Cooperation and Regional
Development
COPO
: Citizens Organisation for Public
Opinion
COPRA : Consumer Protection Act
COPU
: Committee on Public
Undertakings
CPC
: Civil Procedure Code
CPCB
: Central Pollution Control Board
CPF
: Contributory Provident Fund
CPHERI : Central Public health Engineering
Research Institute
CPI(ML) : Communist Party of India
(Marxist-Leninist)
CPI
: Communist Party of India
CPI-IW : Consumer Price Index for
industrial Workers
CPMT
: Combined Pre-Medical Tests
CPR
: Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation
CPSU
: Communist Party of the Soviet
Union
CPU
: Committee on Public
Undertakings
CPWD : Central Public Works Department
CRIDA : Central Research Institute for
Dry-land Agriculture
CRISIL : Credit Rating Information
Services of India
CRPF
: Central Reserve Police Force
CRR
: Cash Reserve Ratio
CRRI
: Central Road Research Institute
CRRID : Centre for Research in Rural and
Industrial Development
CRY
: Child Relief and You
CSAT
: Civil Services Aptitude Test
CSCAP : Council for Security Cooperation
in Asia Pacific
CSCE
: Conference on Security and
Cooperation in Europe
CSIO
: Central Scientific Instruments
Organisation

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CSIR

: Council of Scientific and

Industrial Research
CSIRO : Commonwealth Scientific
and
Industrial
Research
Organisation
CSO
: Central
Statistical
Organisation
CSP
: Concentrated Solar Power
CSSRI : Central Soil Salinity Research
I n stitute
CST
: Central Sales lax
CT
: Computerised Tomography
CTBT
: Comprehensive Test Ban
Treaty
CTO
: Central Telegraph Office
CTV
: Colour Television
CV
: Curriculum Vitae
CVC
: Central Vigilance
Commission
CVR
: Cockpit Voice Recorder
CVRDE : Combat Vehicles Research
Development Establishment
CWC
: Central Warehousing
Corporation
CWF
: Consumer Welfare Fund
CWPC : Central Water and Power
Commission
CWPRS : Central Water and Power
Research Station
DA
: Dearness Allowance
DAE
: Department of Atomic
Energy
DAP
: Di-Ammonium Phosphate
DAVP
: Directorate of Advertising
and Visual Publicity
DCL
: Doctor of Civil Law
DDT
: Dichloro Diphenyl
Trichloroethane
DEAL
: Defence Electronics
Applications Laboratory
DEG
: German Investment and
Development Company
DFDR
: Digital Flight Data Recorder
DGCA
: Director General of Civil
Aviation
DGCEI : Directorate General of
Central Excise Intelligence
DGMS
: Directorate General of Mines
Safety

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DGTD
DHSD
DIA
DIG
DIR
DMA
DMK
DMRC
DMRTS
DOD
DOE
DOTS
DPBS
DPI
DPSA
DRDO
DRES
DRF
DRI
DSB
DSC
DSIDC
DSL
DST
DTAA
DTH
DTS
DVC
DVD
DVM
DWT
EAC
EARC
EAS
ECA
ECAFE

: Directorate General of
Technical Development
: Duplex-High Speed Data
Service
: Defence Intelligence Agency
: Deputy Inspector General
: Defence of India Rules
: Direct Memory Access
: Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
: Delhi Metro Rail Corporation
: Delhi Metro Rapid Transport
System
: Department of Ocean
Development
: Department of Electronics
: Directly Observed Treatment
Short-Course
: Developmental Press Bulletin
Service
: Director of Public Instruction
: Deep Penetration Strike Air
craft
: Defence Research and
Development Organisation
: Department of Renewable
Energy Sources
: Depreciation Reserve Fund
: Differential Rate of Interest
: Digital Satellite Broadcasting
: Distinguished Service Cross
: Defence Scientific Information
and Documentation Centre
: Digital Subscriber Line
: Department of Science and
Technology
: Double Taxation Avoidance
Agreement
: Direct-to-Home
: Digital Theatre System
: Damodar Valley Corporation
: Digital Versatile/Video Disc
: Doctor of Veterinary Medicine
: Dead Weight Tonnes
: Employment Assistance
Centre
: Economic Administrative
Reforms Commission
: Employment Assurance
Scheme
: Essential Commodities Act
: Economic Commission for
Asia and Far East

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ECE

: Economic Commission for

Europe
ECG
: Electrocardiogram
ECGC
: Export Credit and Guarantee
Corporation
ECHR
: European Commission on
Human Rights
ECM
: European Common Market
ECOSOC: Economic and Social Council
ECS
: Electronic Clearance Service
EDBI
: Educational Development
Bank of India
EDCIL : Educational Consultants India
Ltd.
EDI
: Electronic Data Interchange
EDMS
: Electronic Document
Management System
EEC
: European Economic
Community
EEC
: Electro Encephalogram
EEZ
: Exclusive Economic Zone
EFA
: Education For All
EFF
: Extended Fund Facility
EGP
: Exterior Gateway Protocol
EIL
: Engineers India Limited
EIS
: Executive Information
System
ELJSA : Enzyme Linked Immuno
Sorbent Assay
ELSS
: Equity Linked Saving Scheme
E-mail
: Electronic Mailing
EMF
: Electro Motive Force
EMG
: Electro Myograni
EMS
: European Monetary System
EMU
: European Monetary Union
ENS
: Eastern Newspapers Society
EOU
: Export Oriented Units
EPCG
: Export Promotion Capital
Goods
EPCH
: Export Promotion Council for
Handicrafts
EPCJ
: Enhanced Proliferation
Control Initiative
EPF
: Employees Provident Fund
EPO
: Earth Parking Orbit
EPZ
: Export Processing Zone
ERM
: Exchange Rate Mechanism
ERNET : Educational and Research
Network
ERS
: European Remote Sensing
ESA
: European Space Agency

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ESC
ESIC
ESMA
ESP
EST
Est
ETT
ETV
EVM
EVR
FACT
FAO
FBI
FBTR
FBW
FCI
FCRA
FDI
FEDEX
FEMA
FERA
FICCI
FIEO
FIFA
FIH
FII
FIPB
FIPC
FIR
FIRE
FLAG
FM
FMCT
FORE
FRCP
FRCS
FRGS
FRN
FRS

: Electronics and Computer

Software Export Promotion
Council
: Employees State Insurance
Corporation
: Essential Services
Maintenance Act
: Extra Sensory Perception
: Eastern Standard Time
: Established
: Embryo Transfer Technology
: Educational Television
: Electronic Voting Machine
: Electro video Recording
: Fertilizers & Chemicals
Travancore limited
: Food and Agriculture Organisation
: Federal Bureau of Investigation
: Fast Breeder Test Reactor
: Fly-By-Wire
: Food Corporation of India
: Foreign Contribution Regulation
Act
: Foreign Direct Investment
: Federal Express
: Foreign Exchange Management
: Foreign Exchange Regulation Act
: Federation of Indian Chambers of
Commerce and Industry
: Federation of Indian Exports
Organisations
: International Football Federation
: International Hockey Federation
: Foreign Institutional Investors
: Foreign Investment Promotion
Board
: Foreign Investment Promotion
Council
: First Information Report
: Fully Integrated Robotised Engine
: Fibre-optic Link Around the Globe
: Field Marshal
: Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty
: Foundation for Organisational
Research and Education
: Fellow of Royal College of
Physicians
: Fellow of Royal College of
Surgeons
: Fellow of Royal Geographical
Society
: Floating Rate Note
: Fellow of Royal Society

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FTP
FTS
FTU
FTZ
GAAP

:
:
:
:
:

GAEL

GAIL

GAP
GATE

:
:

File Transfer Protocol

Foreign Travel Scheme
Free Trade Union
Free Trade Zone
Generally Accepted
Accounting Practices
Global Alliance for The
Elimination of Leprosy
Gas Authority of India
Limited
Ganga Action Plan
Graduate Aptitude Test in
Engineering
General Agreement on Tariff
and Trade
Great Britain
Gulf Cooperation Council
Greatest Common Factor
Greatest Common Measure
Gender-related Development
Index
Gross Domestic Product
Global Environment Facility
Gender Empowerment
Measure
General Headquarters
Gateway Internet Access
Services
General Insurance
Corporation
Global Indian Entrepreneurs
Conference
Global Information System
Graphics and Intelligencebased Script Technology
Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the
Environment
General Motors
Graduate Management
Admission Test
Global Maritime Distress and
Safety System
Global Mobile Personnel
Communications System
Giant Metrewave Radio
Telescope
Greenwich Mean Time
Gorkha National Liberation
Front
Gross National Product

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GATT

GB
GCC
GCF
GCM
GDI

:
:
:
:
:

GDP
GEF
GEM

:
:
:

GHQ
GIAS

:
:

GIC

GIEC

GIS
GIST

:
:

GLOBE

GM
GMAT

:
:

GMDSS :
GMPS

GMRT

GMT
GNLF

:
:

GNP

203
GOC
GOI
GOP
Govt
GPF
GPO
GPRS

:
:
:
:
:
:
:

GRAM

GRE

GRT
GSI
GSLV

:
:
:

GSM

GSP

GSTP

GTICL

HAI
HAL
HCF
HDI
HDML

:
:
:
:
:

HEMRL

HESSI

HF
HHEC

:
:

HITEC

HIV
HMI

:
:

HMT
HP
HRD
HSD
HSL
HSTS
HTCG

:
:
:
:
:
:
:

HTML
HTR

:
:

General Officer Commanding

Government of India
Grand Old Party
Government
General Provident Fund
General Post Office
General Pocket Radio
System
Geo Reference Area
Management
Graduate Record
Examination
Gross Rated Tonnage
Geological Survey of India
Geo-synchronous Satellite
Launch Vehicle
Global System for Mobile
Communication
Generalised System of
Preferences
Global System of Trade
Practices
Gas Transportation &
infrastructure Co. Ltd.
Health Action International
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
Highest Common Factor
Human Development Index
Hyper Devices Markup
Language
High Energy Materials Research
Laboratory
High Energy Solar Spectroscopic
Imager
High Frequency
Handicrafts and Handloom
Exports Corporation
Hyderabad Information
Technology Engineering
Consultancy
Human Immunodeficiency Virus
Himalayan Mountaineering
Institute
Hindustan Machine Tools
Harmonic Progression
Human Resource Development
High Speed Diesel
Hindustan Steel Limited
High Speed Tram System
High Technology Cooperation
Group
Hyper Text Markup Language
High Temperature Reactor

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HTTP
: Hypertext Transfer Protocol
HUDCO : Housing and Urban
Development Corporation
HVNET : High Speed VSAF Network
HZL
: Hindustan Zinc Limited
I&B
: Information and Broadcasting
IAAF
: International Amateur Athletic
Federation
IAAS
: Indian Audit and Accounts
Service
IAC
: Indian Airlines Corporation
IAEA
: International Atomic Energy
Agency
IAF
: Indian Air Force
IAMC
: Indian Army Medical Corps
IAMR
: Institute of Applied Manpower
Research
IARI
: Indian Agricultural Research
Institute
IAS
: Indian Administrative Service
IASRI
: Indian Agricultural Statistical
Research Institute
IATA
: International Air Transport
Association
IATP
: Income Adjusted to Total
Population
IBEF
: India Brand Equity Fund
IBM
: International Business
Machines
IBRD
: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
ICAA
: International Civil Airports
Association
ICAAN : Internet Corporation for
Assigned Names & Numbers
ICADR : The International Centre for
Alternate Dispute Resolution
ICAI
: Institute of Chartered
Accountants of India
ICAO
: International Civil Aviation
Organisation
ICAR
: Indian Council of Agricultural
Research
ICBL
: International Campaign to Ban
Landmines
ICBM
: Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile
ICC
: International Cricket Council
ICCR
: Indian Council for Cultural
Relations
ICCS
: International Commission of
Control and Supervision

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ICCW
ICDS

: Indian Council of Child Welfare

: Integrated Child Development
Scheme
ICE
: InfoTech Communications
And Entertainment
ICFTU : International Confederation of
Free Trade Unions
ICHR
: Indian Council of Historical
Research
ICJ
: International Court of Justice
ICMR
: Indian Council of Medical
Research
ICOR
: International Capital Output
Ratio
ICPD
: International Conference on
Population and Development
ICRA
: Investment Information and
Credit Rating Agency of India
ICRC
: International Committee of
Red Cross
ICRIER : Indian Council for Research on
International Economic Relations
ICRISAT : International Crops Research
Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics
ICS
: Indian Civil Service
ICSI
: Institute of Company
Secretaries of India
ICSSR : Indian Council of social Sciences
Research
ICSW
: Indian Council of Social Welfare
ICW
: International Council of Women
ICWA
: Indian Council of World Affairs
IDA
: International Development Agencies
IDBI
: Industrial Development Bank of
India
IDC
: Industrial Development Corporation
IDD
: International Direct Dialing
IDE
: Integrated deice Electronics
IDN
: Internationalised Domain Names
IDPL
: Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuti
cals Limited
IDRC
: International Development
Research Centre
IDSA
: Institute of Defence Studies and
Analysis
IELTS
: International English Language
Testing System
IES
: Indian Economic Service
IFA
: Indian Football Association
IFAD
: International Fund for Agricultural
Development

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IFCI
IFFCO
IFFI
IFRI
IFRS
IFS
IFTU

: Industrial Finance Corporation

of India
: Indian Farmers Fertilisers
Corporation Limited
: International Film Festival of
India
: Indian Forest Research
Institute
: International Financial
Reporting standards
: Indian Foreign Service; Indian
Forest Service
: International Federation of
Trade Unions
: Indian Federation of Working
Journalists
: Indira Gandhi Centre for
Atomic Research
: Indira Gandhi International
Airport
: Integrated Guided Missile
Development Programme.
: Indira Gandhi National
Centre for Arts
: Indira Gandhi National Forest
Academy
: Indira Gandhi National Open
University
: Indira Gandhi Nahar
Pariyojana
: Indian Hockey Federation
: Indian institute of Advanced
Studies
: Indian Institute of Foreign
Trade
: Indian Institute of Information
Technology
: Indian Institute of Mass
Communications
: Indian Institute of Petroleum
: Indian Institute of Public
Administration
: International Intellectual
Property Alliance
: Indian Institute of Remote
Sensing
: International Institute of
Strategic Studies
: Indian Institute of Technology
: International Law Association
: International Labour
Organisation

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IFWJ

IGCAR
IGIA

IGMDP
IGNCA
IGNFA

IGNOU
IGNP
IHF
IIAS
IIFT
IIIT
IIMC
IIP
IIPA
IIPA
IIRS
IISS
IIT
ILA
ILO

205
ILS
IMAP
IMC
IMDT

:
:
:
:

Instrument Landing System

Internet Mail Access Protocol
Indian Medical Council
Illegal Migrants Determination
by Tribunal Act
IMF
: International Monetary Fund
IMS
: Indian Medical Service
IMY
: Indira Mahila Yojana
INA
: Indian National Army
INL
: Indian National League
INPEX
: Indian National Philatelic
Exhibition
INS
: Indian Navy Ship
INSA
: Indian National Science
Academy
INSAT
: Indian National Satellite
INTACFI : Indian National Trust for Art
and Cultural Heritage
INTELEX : International Teleprinter
Exchange
INTELSAT: International Telecommunica
tion Satellite Consortium
INTERPOL: International Criminal Police
Organisation
INTUC : Indian National Trade Union
Congress
IOA
: Indian Olympic Association
IOC
: International Olympic Committee
IOCOM : Indian Ocean Commonwealth
IOR-ARC : Indian Ocean Rim Association
for Regional Cooperation
IOSCO : International Organisation of
Securities Commission
IP
: Internet Protocol
IPBA
: Inter-Pacific Bar Association
IPC
: Indian Penal Code
IPCL
: Indian Petro-chemicals
Corporation Limited
IPKF
: Indian Peace Keeping Force
IPO
: Initial Public Offering
IPR
: Intellectual Property Rights
IPS
: Indian Police Service
IPSA
: International Peace & Security
Advancement
IPU
: International Parliamentary
Union
IQ
: Intelligence Quotient
IRBM
: Intermediate Range Ballistic
Missile
IRC
: International Red Cross
IRCI
: International Reconstruction
Corporation of India

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IRCON

: Indian Railway Construction

Company
IRCS
: International Red Cross
Society
IRDA
: Insurance Regulatory
Development Authority
IRDP
: Integrated Rural Development
Programme
IREDA : Indian Renewable Energy
Development Agency
IRNA
: Iranian News Agency
IRRI
: International Rice Research
Institute
IRS
: Indian Remote Sensing
IRSE
: Indian Railway Service of
Engineers
ISAF
: International Security
Assistance Force
ISB
: Indian School of Business
ISBA
: International Sea-Bed Authority
ISBN
: International Standard book
Number
ISC
: Indian Science Congress
ISCON : Indian Steel Construction
Company
ISD
: International Subscriber Dialing
ISDN
: Integrated Services Digital Net
work
ISI
: Indian Standards Institute
ISP
: Internet Service Provider
ISRO
: Indian Space Research
Organisation
IST
: Indian Standard Time
ISTRAC : ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and
Command Centre
ITBP
: Indo-Tibetan Border Police
ITDC
: India Tourism Development
Corporation
ITES
: Infotech Enabled Services
ITI
: Industrial Training Institute
ITIR
: Information Technology
Investment Region
ITO
: International Trade Organisation
ITPO
: Indian Trade Promotion
Oganisation
ITR
: Interim Test Range
ITU
: International Telecommunica
tion Union
IUCD
: Intra-Uterine contraceptive
device
IUML
: Indian Union Muslim League
IUPEP : Integrated Urban Poverty
Eradication Programme

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IVF
IWAI
TWDP
IWRS
IYC
J&K
JAAC
JBRI
JCC
JCO
JKLF
JMM
JNU
JPC
JRC
JRY
JVM
JVP
KBE
KMBY
KRC
KVA
KVIC
KVS
Kw
LAC
LAN
LASER
LCA
LCD
LCH
LCM
LDC
LED
LERMS
LES
LIC
LIPS
LMG
LNG
LOAC
LPG

: In-Vitro Fertilisation
: Inland Waterways Authority of
India
: Integrated Watershed Development Programme
: Isolated Word Re-organisation
System
: Indian Youth Congress
: Jammu and Kashmir
: Jharkhand Area Autonomous
Council
: Japanese Bond Research
Institute
: Junior Chamber of Commerce
: Junior Commissioned Officer
: Jammu and Kashmir Liberation
Front
: Jhatkund Mukthi Morcha
: Jawaharlal Nehru University
: Joint Parliamentary Committee
: Junior Red Cross
: Jawahar Rozgar Yojana
: Janata Vidyarthi Morcha
: Janata Vimukthi Peramuna
: Knight of British Empire
: Khetihar Mazdoor Bima Yojana
: Konkan Railway Corporation
: Kilo-Volt-Ampere
: Khadi and Village Industries
Commission
: Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan
: Kilowatt
: Line of Actual Control
: Local Area Network
: Light Amplification by Stimulated
Emission of Radiation
: Light combat Aircraft
: Liquid Crystal Display
: Light Combat Helicopter
: Lowest Common Multiple.
: Least Developed Countries;
Lower Division Clerk
: Light Emitting Diode
: Liberalised Exchange Rate
Management Scheme
: Lunar Escape System
: Life Insurance Corporation
: Language Independent
Programme Sub-titles
: Light Machine Gun
: Liquefied Natural Gas
: Line of Actual Control
: Liquefied Petroleum Gas

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LPT

: Licentiate in Printing technology

Lt. Col : Lieutenant Colonel
LTC
: Leave Travel Concession
LTTE
: Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam.
MAD
: Mutual Assured Destruction
MAT
: Management Aptitude Test
MBFC
: Mutual Benefit Financial
Company
MBRS
: Multi-Barrel Rocket System
MBT
: Main Battle Tank
MCA
: Monetary Compensatory
Account
MCC
: Missile Control Centre
MCD
: Municipal Corporation of
Delhi
MCI
: Medical Council of India
MCOCA : Maharashtra Control of
Organised Crime Act
MDA
: Market Development Assistance
MDMA
: Multi Disciplinary Monitoring
Agency
MDS
: Master of Dental Surgery
MEA
: Ministry of External Affairs
MES
: Military Engineering Service
MFA
: Multi-Fibre Agreement
MFN
: Most Favoured Nation
MI
: Military Intelligence
MIBOR : Mumbai Inter-Bank Offered
Rate
MIC
: Methyle isocyanate
MIGA
: Multilateral Investment
Guarantee Agency
MISA
: Maintenance of Internal
Security Act
MLA
: Member of Legislative
Assembly
MLC
: Member of Legislative
Council
MMDS
: Multi-Channel Microwave
Distribution System
MMMF
: Money Market Mutual Fund
MMS
: Multimedia Messaging
Service
MMT
: Million Metric Tonnes
MMTC
: Minerals and Metals Trading
Corporation
MNAMS : Member of the National
Academy of Medical Sciences
MNC
: Multinational Corporation
MNP
: Mobile Number Portability

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MODEM
MODVAT
MONEX
MOU
MOX
MPA
MPF

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:

MPFI
:
MPLADS :
MRTPC

MRTS
MRVC

:
:

MSS
MSW
MSY
MTCR

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:
:
:

MTV

Modulator demodulator
Modified Value Added Tax
Monsoon Experiment
Memorandum of Understanding
Mixed Oxide Fuel
Master of Public Administration
Multinational Protection.
Force
Multiple Fuel Infection System
Member of Parliament Local
Area Development Scheme
Monopolies and Restrictive
Trade Practices Commission
Mass Rapid Transit System
Mumbai Railway Vikas
Corporation
Manuscripts
Master of Social Work
Mahila Sainriddhi Yojna
Missile Technology Control
Regime
Music Television

NAAI

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: Narmada Bachao Andolan

: National Building Construction
Corporation
NBDB
: National Book Development
Board
NBFC
: Non-banking Finance Company
NBS
: National Business Register
NBT
: National Book Trust
NCA
: National Commission on
Agriculture
NCAER : National Council of Applied
Economic Research
NCB
: Narcotics Control Board
NCBC
: National Commission for
Backward Classes
NCBE
: National Confederation of Bank
Employees
NCC
: National Cadet Corps
NCDC : National Coal Development
Corporation
NCERT : National Council of Educational
Research and Training
NCL
: National Centre for Labour
NCNA
: New China News Agency
NCO
: Non-Commissioned Officer
NCRB
: National Capital Region Board
NCTE
: National Council for Teachers
Education
NCW
: National Commission on
Women
NDA
: National Defence Academy;
National Democratic Alliance
NDC
: National Development Council
NDDB
: National Dairy Development
Board
NDMA
: National Disaster Management
Authority
NDRI
: National Dairy Research institute
NDTF
: National Democratic Teachers
Front
NEC
: North-Eastern Council
NEDC
: National Economic
Development Council
NEEM
: National Elementary Education
Mission
NEERI : National Environmental
Engineering Research Institute
NEFA
: North East Frontier Agency
NEHU
: North-Eastern Hill University
NEP
: New Education Policy
NER
: North Eastern Railway
NES
: National Extension Service
NEW
: Net Economic Welfare

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: National Airport Authority of

India
NABARD : National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development
NAC
: National Advisory Council
NAECL : National Authority on Elimination of Child Labour
NAFTA : North America Free Trade
Agreement
NALCO : National Aluminium
Company Limited
NAM
: Non-Aligned Movement
NAMS
: National Academy of Medical
Science
NAPP
: Narora Atomic Power Plant
NARO
: National Amnesty and
Redemption Organisation
NASA
: National Aeronautics and Space
Administration
NASDAQ : National Association of
Securities Dealers Automated
Quotation
NASSCOM : National Association of
Software and Service Companies
NATO
: North Atlantic Treaty
Organisation
NAV
: Net Asset Value
NAWO : National Alliance for Women
NAYE
: National Alliance of Young
Entrepreneurs

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NBA
NBCC

NFAI
NFC
NFDC

: National Film Archives of India

: Nuclear Fuel Complex
: National Film Development
Corporation
NFR
: Northeast Frontier Railway
NGO
: Non-Governmental
Organisation
NGRI
: National Geophysical Research
Institute
NHAI
: National Highway Authority of
India
NHB
: National Housing Bank
NHPC
: National Hydro-electric Power
Corporation
NHRC : National Human Rights
Commission
NIB
: National investment Bank
NIC
: National Informatics Centre
NICD
: National Institute of
Communicable Diseases
NID
: National Institute of Designs
NIDC
: National Industrial Development
Corporation
NIDS
: National Immunisation Days
NIFT
: National Institute of Fashion
Technology
NII
: National Institute of Immunology;
National Information infrastructure
NIIT
: National Institute of
Information Technology
NIM
: Nehru Institute of Mountaineering
NIMHANS : National Institute of Mental
Health and Neuro Sciences
NIO
: National Institute of Oceanography
NIPFP : National institute of Public
Finance and Policy
NIS
: Netaji Subhash Institute of
Sports
NIV
: National Institute of Virology
NKN
: National Knowledge Network
NLM
: National literacy Mission
NLTA
: National Lawn Tennis Association
NMD
: National Missile Defence
NMDC : National Mineral Development
Corporation
NMEP
: National Malaria Eradication
Programme
NMNH : National Museum of Natural History
NMR
: Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
NNP
: National Nutrition Policy
NOC
: No Objection Certificate
NPC
: National Productivity Council

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NPCC

: National Projects Construction

Corporation
NPCL
: Nuclear Power Corporation of
India
NPP
: National Perspective Plan
NPR
: National Population Register
NPT
: Non-Proliferation Treaty
NRDC : National Research Development
Corporation
NREGA : National Rural Employment
Guarantee Act
NREGP : National Rural Employment
Guarantee Programme
NRF
: National Renewable Fund
NRHM : National Rural Health Mission
NRI
: Non-Resident Indian
NRSA
: National Remote Sensing
Agency
NRT
: Net Registered Tonnes
NRY
: Nehru Rozgar Yojana
NSAP
: National Social Assistance
Programme
NSC
: National Security Council
National Saving Certificate
NSCI
: National Sports Club of India
NSD
: National School of Drama
NSEI
: National Stock Exchange of India
NSG
: National Security Guards
NSIC
: National Small Industries
Corporation
NSS
: National Service Scheme
NSSO
: National Sample Survey
Organisation
NSUI
: National Students Union of India
NTC
: National Textile Corporation
NTP
: National Temperature and Pressure
NTPC
: National Thermal Power
Corporation
NTS
: National Testing Service
NUJ
: National Union of Journalists
NVF
: National Volunteer Force
NWDA : National Water Development
Agency
NWGP : National Working Group on
Power
NWRC : National Water Resources
Council
OAS
: Organisation of American
States
OBC
: Other Backward Classes

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OCS
ODA
OECD
OECF
OEEC
OGL
OIC
OIL
ONGC
OPEC
OPF
OPV
ORT
OTCEI
OTS
P&T
PAC
PAL
PAN
PATA
PBS
PCC
PCI
PCM
PCRA
PCS
PDA
PDPA
PBS
PEC
PERT
PESB
PETA
PFC
PFRDA
PGA
PHC
PIA

: Overseas Communication
Service
: Official Development
Assistance
: Organisation of Economic
Cooperation and Development
: Overseas Economic
Cooperative Fund
: Organisation for European
Economic Cooperation
: Open General Licence
: Organisation of Islamic
Conference
: Oil India Limited
: Oil and Natural Gas Corporation
: Organisation of Petroleum
Exporting Countries
: Ordnance Parachute Factory
: Oral Polio Vaccine
: Oral Rehydration Therapy
: Over the Counter Exchange of
India
: Officers Training School
: Posts & Telegraphs
: Public Accounts Committee
: Phase Alternative Line
: Permanent Account Number
: Pacific Asia Travel Association
: Public Broadcasting Service
: Pradesh Congress Committee
: Press Council of India
: Public Code Modulation
: Petroleum Conservation
Research Association
: Provincial Civil Service
: Personal Digital Assistant
Preventive Detention Act
: Peoples Democratic Party of
Afghanistan
: Public Distribution System
: Projects and Equipment Corporation
: Project Evaluation and Review
Technique
: Public Enterprises Selection
Board
: People for the Ethical Treatment
of Animals
: Power Finance Corporation
: Pension Fund Regulatory and
Development Authority
: Parliamentarians for Global
Action
: Primary Health Centre
: Pakistan International Airways

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PIB
PIL
PIM

: Press Information Bureau

: Public Interest Litigation
: Personal Information Management
PIN-Code: Postal Index Number Code
PIO
: Persons of Indian Origin
PLO
: Palestine
Liberation
Organisation
PLR
: Prime Lending Rates
PM
: Prime Minister
PMG
: Post Master General
PML
: Pakistan Muslim League.
POTA
: Prevention of Terrorism Act
POW
: Prisoner of War
PPF
: Planet Protection Fund
PRCL
: Pipavav Railway Corporation
Ltd.
PRO
: Public Relations Officer
PROLOG: Programming Logic
PSC
: Public Service Commission
PSLV
: Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle
PTBT
: Partial Test Ban Treaty
PTI
: Press Trust of India
PTO
: Please Turn Over
PUCL
: Peoples Union of Civil Liberties
PVC
: Param Vir Chakra; Poly Vinyl
Chloride
PVSM
: Param Vishisht Seva Medal
PWD
: Public Works Department
PWG
: Peoples War Group
QCT
: Quality Council of India
QMG
: Quarter Master General
QMT
: Quantitative Management Technique
QR
: Quantitative Restriction
R&D
: Research and Development
RABMN : Remote Area Business Message
Network
RAD
: Research And Development
RADAR : Radio Detecting and Ranging
RAF
: Rapid Action Force
RAM
: Random Access Memory
RAW
: Research and Analysis Wing
RAX
: Random Access Exchange
RBI
: Reserve Bank of India
RBS
: Risk Based Supervision
RCC
: Reinforced Cement Concrete
RCI
: Rehabilitation Council of India
RDA
: Rural Development Agency
REC
: Rural Electrification Corporation
REM
: Rapid Eye Movement
REP
: Replenishment Export Permit

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RIA
RIMC
RITA

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RITES

RMO
RMS
RNA
RNO
ROM
ROO
RPF
RPM
RPV

:
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RRB
RRC
RSE
RSP
RSS

:
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:

RTA
RTC
RTG

:
:
:

RTIA

SAARC

SAC

SADCC :
SADF

SAEC

SAFMA

SAFTA

SAHR
SAI
SAIL
SALT
SAM
SAPTA

:
:
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:
:
:

SARF
SARS

:
:

SASEC

Rigorous Imprisonment
Radio Immuno Assay
Rashtriya Indian Military College
Regional Trade & Investment
Agreement
Rail India Technical and
Economic Services
Resident Medical Officer
Railway Mail Service
Ribonucleic Acid
Resident Naval Officer
Read Only Memory
Rules of Origin
Railway Protection Force
Revolutions Per Minute
Remote-controlled Pilotless
Vehicle
Rural Regional Bank
Regional Reactor Centre
Renewable Source of Energy
Rourkela Steel Plant
Rashtriya Swayamsewak
Sangh
Railway Territorial Army
Round Table Conference
Radio-isotope Thermo-electric
Generator
Regional Trade & Investment
Area
South Asian Association fir
Regional Cooperation
Space Application Centre
Science Advisory Council
South African Development
Coordination Council
South Asian Development
Fund
South Asian Economic
Community
South Asia Free Media
Association
South-Asian Free Trade
Agreement
South Asians Human Rights Forum
Sports Authority of India
Steel Authority of India Limited
Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty
Surface-to-Air Missile
South Asian Preferential Trading
Arrangement
South Asia Regional Fund
Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome
South Asian Sub-regional
Economic Co-operation

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SAT
SATTE
SAVE
SCBA
SCI
SCOPE
SDI
SDO
SDR
SEATO
SEBC

: Scholastic Aptitude Test

: South Asia Travel and Tourism
Exchange
: SAARC Audio Visual Exchange
: Supreme Court Bar Association
: Shipping Corporation of India
: Standing Committee of Public
Enterprises
: Strategic Defence Initiative
: Sub-Divisional Officer
: Special Drawing Rights
: South Fast Asia Treaty
Organisation
: Socially and Educationally
Backward
: Securities Exchange Board of
India
: Self-Employment Programme
for the Urban Poor
: South Eastern Railway
: Self-Employed Womens
Association
: Special Economic Zone
: State Financial Corporation
Strategic Forces Command
: Students Global Aptitude Index
: Sriharikota Tracking Station
: Stock Holding Corporation of
India Ltd.
: Society for Indian Automobile
Manufacturers
: Small Industries Development
Bank of India
: State Industrial Development
Corporation
: Southern India Engineering
Manufacturers Association
: Stock Index Futures
: Students Islamic Movement of
India
: Stockholm International Peace
Research Institute
: Special Investigation Team
: Suppression of Immoral
Traffic Act
: Satellite Instructional Television
Experiment
: Sea-Launch Ballistic Missile
: Sri Lanka Freedom Party
: Statutory Liquidity Ratio
: Satellite Launch Vehicle
: Short Messaging Service
: Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
: Society for the Prevention of
to Animals

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SEBI

SEPUR
SER
SEWA
SEZ
SFC

SGAI
SHAR
SHCIL
SIAM

SIDBI
SIDC
SIEMA
SIF
SIMI
SIPRI
SIT
SITA
SITE
SLBM
SLFP
SLR
SLV
SMS
SMTP
SPCA

211
SPE
SPG
SRAM
SRI
SRO
SSA
SSB
SSC
SSI

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:
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:

SSM
START
STC
STD
STEP

:
:
:
:
:

STF
STPI

:
:

SUV
:
SVP
:
SWAPO :
SWIFT

TAC
TACDE

:
:

TAFE
TAFTA

:
:

TAPS
TAX
TCAS

:
:
:

TCIL

TDA
TDMA
TDP
TDS
TELCO

:
:
:
:
:

TELEX
TERI
TERLS

:
:
:

TFAI
TFT
TGS
THDP

:
:
:
:

THI

Special Police Establishment

Special Protection Group
Short Range Attack Missile
Systems Research Institute
Statutory Rules and Orders
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
Service Selection Board
Staff Selection Commission
Supplemental Security Income
Small Scale Industry
Surface to Surface Missile
Strategic Arms Reduction Talks
State Trading Corporation
Subscriber Trunk Dialing
Satellite Telecommunication
Experiment Project
Special Task Force
Software Technology Parks of
India
Sports Utility Vehicle
Saturated Vapour Pressure
South-West Africa People
Organisation
Society for World-wide International Financial Transactions,
Technical Advisory Committee
Tactics and Aircraft Development Establishment
Technical and Further Education
Trans-Atlantic Free Travel
Agreement
Tarapur Atomic Power Station
Trunk Automatic Exchange
Tactical Collision Avoidance
System
Telecommunication Consultants
India Limited
Trade Development Authority
Time Division Multiple Access
Telugu Desam Party
Tax-Deduction at Source
Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company
Teleprinter Exchange
Tata Energy Research Institute
Thumba Equatorial Rocket
Launching Station
Trade Fair Authority of India
Thin Film Transistor
Trade Guarantee Scheme
Tehri Hydro Development
Project
Temperature Humidity Index

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TIFR
TISCO
TMC
TMO
TNC
TNT
TNV
TOEFL
TPDS
TRACT

: Tata Institute of Fundamental

Research
: Tata Iron and Steel Company
: Tamil Maanila Congress
: Telegraph Money Order
: Transnational Corporation
: Tri nitro toluene
: Tripura National Volunteers
: Test of English as a Foreign
language
: Targeted Public Distribution
System
: Transportable Remote Area
Communications Terminal
: Telecom Regulatory Authority
of India
: Tribal Cooperative Marketing
Development Federation of
India Ltd.
: Trade Related Investment
Measures
: Trade-Related Intellectual
Property Rights
: Television Rating Points
: National Scheme of Training
for Rural Youth for SelfEmployment
: Tea Trading Corporation of
India
: Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam
: Travelling Ticket Examiner
: Tamil United Liberation Front
: United Arab Emirates
: Unlawful Activities
: United Arab Republic
: Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
: Upper Division Clerk
: United Democratic Front
: Unilateral Declaration
Independence
: Unidentified Flying Object
: University Grants Commission
: Ultra High Frequency
: Unique Identification
: United Legislature Front
: United Liberation Front of
Assam
: United Nations
: United Nations Atomic Energy
Commission
: United Nations Conference on
Environment and
Development

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TRIFED
TRIMS
TRIPS

TRP
TRYSEM
TTCI

TTD
TTE
TULF
UAE
UAPA
UAR
UAV
UDC
UDF
UDI
UFO
UGC
UHF
UID
ULF
ULFA

UN
UNAEC
UNCED

UNCLOS : United Nations Conference on

the Law of the Sea
UNCOD : United Nations Conference on
Desertification
UNCSTD : United Nations Conference on
Science and Technology for
Development
UNCTAD : United Nations Conference on
Trade and Development
UNDC : United Nations Disarmament
Commission
UNDOF : United Nations Disengagement Observer Force
UNDP
: United Nations Development
Programme
UNESCO : United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural
Organisation
UNFCC : United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change
UNFPA : United Nations Fund for
Population Activities
UNHCR : United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees
UNI
: United News of India
UNIC
: United Nations information
Centre
UNICEF : United Nations Childrens Fund
UNIDO : United Nations Industrial
Development Organisation
UNSC
: United Nations Security Council
UNSCOM: UN Special Commission
UNTAG : United Nations Transition
Assistance Group
UPA
: United Progressive Alliance
UPC
: Under Postal Certificate
UPS
: Uninterrupted Power Supply
UPSC
: Union Public Service
Commission
UPU
: Universal Postal Union
UTI
: Unit Trust of India
VAM
: Virtual Area Network
VAT
: Value-Added Tax
VCR
: Video Cassette Recorder
VCRC
: Vector Control Research
Centre
VDIS
: Voluntary Disclosure Income
Scheme
VECC
: Variable Energy Cyclotron
Centre
VHF
: Very High Frequency
VHP
: Vishwa Hindu Parishad
VHRR
: Very High Resolution
Radiometre

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VHS
VIP
VIRUS

: Video Home System

: Very Important Person
: Vital Information Resources
Under Siege
VOA
: Voice of America
VPP
: Value Payable Post
VRDE
: Vehicles Research and
Development Establishment
VRS
: Voluntary Retirement
Scheme
VSAT
: Very Small Aperture Terminal
VSNL
: Videsh Sanchar Nigam
Limited
VSP
: Visakhapatnam Steel Plant
VSSC
: Vikram Sarabhai Space
Centre
WADA : World Anti-Doping Agency
WAP
: Wireless Application Protocol
WASME : World Assembly of Small and
Medium Enterprises
WAY
: World Assembly of Youth
WCAR : World Conference Against
WCD
: World Commission of Dams
WCO
: World Customs Organisation
WEF
: World Economic Forum
World Environment Forum
WFP
: World Food Programme
WFS
: World Food Summit
WFTU
: World Federation of Trade
Unions
WHO
: World Health Organisation
WILL
: Wireless in Local Loop
WIFO
: World Intellectual Property
Organisation
WMD
: Weapons of Mass
Destruction
WMO
: World Meteorological
Organisation
WPI
: Wholesale Price Index
WSIS
: World Summit on Information
Society
WTO
: World Trade Organisation
WWF
: World Wildlife Fund
WWW
: World Wide Web
YMCA
: Young Mens Christian
Association
YWCA : Young Womens Christian
Association
ZBB
: Zero-Based Budgeting
ZETA
: Zero Energy Thermonuclear
Assembly
ZPG
: Zero Population Growth
ZS
: Zoological Society
ZSI
: Zoological Survey of India

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