LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL IN TAMIL NADU: Note: On April 12, 2012 the Union cabinet decided to introduce a bill in the

e Parliament for the abolition of the State Legislative Council in Tamil Nadu. Before this a resolution in Tamil Nadu Assembly was passed with 2/3rd majority for the same. A Legislative Council can be established or abolished by the parliament under the provisions of Article 169 of the Indian Constitution. GUNDIA POWER PROJECT: The proposed Gundia Power project in Karnataka (Hasan and Dakshina Kannada districts) can cause significant environmental impact and biodiversity loss, as per the reports of WGEEP (Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel). The proposed project is in the Gundia river basin to generate 200MW. SUPREME COURT: The year 2011 saw the highest number of cases disposed of in recent years, with more than 79,000 cases cleared under the leadership of CJI S H Kapadia. AMBEDKAR MEMORIAL: The Central government announced that it allots the 12.5 acres of Indu Mills land to the state government for the construction of an international memorial for Dr. B R Ambedkar. PURI: Gajapati King Dibya Singha Deb of Puri said on December 31, 2011 that there was no restriction on the entry of non-Hindus into temples of Lord Jagannath across the Globe, except the 12th century shrine at Puri. KNIGHTHOOD: Venkataraman Ramakrishnan the renowned Indian-American scientist whose path-breaking work in molecular Biology won him the 2009 Nobel prize in Chemistry, is to be Knighted with 2 other foreign-born Nobel Laureates, Professors Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov of Russia. Foreigners are rarely knighted and cannot officially use the title Sir.

India celebrates the year 2012 as THE YEAR OF MATHEMATICS, which is also the 125th birth anniversary of Srinivasa Ramanujam. The Union government has decided to allow foreigners to invest directly in the equity market. This would encourage long term investment and reduce dependence on FII (Foreign Institutional Investment) hot money. FIJI: The military ruler of Fiji Voreqe Bainimarama announced that emergency law will end on January 7, 2012. Bainimarama came to the rule through a coup in 2006.

 The US broadens the definition of rape to include male victims: The Department of Justice announced a major change in the definition of rape towards one that took cognizance of male victims and also did away with ambiguities surrounding the question of consent. 42 percent of Indian children are malnourished. THE REPORT OF HUNGAMA (Hunger and Malnutrition) of Naandi Foundation revealed the facts. The 100 Focus districts are located across Bihar, Jharkhand, MP, Orissa, and Rajasthan and UP. The birth weight is an important risk factor for child malnutrition. The TRIPURA UNIVERSITY conferred an honorary Doctorate to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheik Hasina. This is the first visit of a PM of Bangladesh to Tripura since the formation of Bangladesh in 1971. The Tripura state shares 856 km border with Bangladesh. The DATE OF BIRTH OF ARMY CHIEF V K SINGH in the records of the AG (Adjunct-General) shows it as May 10, 1951, while it is May 10, 1950 in MS (Military Secretary). The AG branch is the official record keeper for salary and pension and while the MS branch is responsible for promotions and postings. V K Singhs date of birth in school leaving certificate is mentioned as May 10, 1951 and the UPSC application form for the National Defense Academy examination recorded it a year before. Bobby Jindal has been elected as the Governor of Luciana state for the 2 nd term. He was the first Indian American to become the Governor of a state in USA. NASA: Grail-A and Grail-B are the NASA aircrafts as part of a mission to study lunar gravity were fired into the moons orbit. NH-5: Chennai-Vijayawada-Kolkata. This is now called NH-16. WORLD ENVIRONMENT SUMMIT was held in Durban (South Africa) from November 28, 2011 to December 11, 2011. JARAWA is a tribe located in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The tribe is there in the news as the women of this tribe were bribed to naked dance for tourists. (January 2012). SURYA NAMASKAR, the yogic exercise in government schools in MP has become controversial with the city Qazi issuing a fatwa against the practice and the state government in gearing to ensure maximum participation of students in order to set a World record. The government is being accused of attempting to saffronise school education and divide students along communal lines. POLIO ERADICATION: On January 13, 2012 India reached a major milestone in the History of polio eradication. India registered zero cases of polio. According to GPEI (Global Polio Eradication Initiative) the next step should be look at a polio-free South East Asian Region in 2014. According to NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau) the total number of deaths due to road accidents in India every year is over 1, 35,000. The main reasons are speeding and drunken driving.

 The Karnataka government passed an interim order permitting the JSS Medical College to increase number of seats from 150 to 200 during 2011-12. This was against the decision of MCI. The Supreme Court ordered the High Court not to pass such type of interim orders. MARS Probe: The Russian Mars probe Phobos-Grunt fell in Indian Ocean west of Indonesia. The mission was launched on November 9, 2011 to Phobos, the larger of the Mars 2 Moons. First Woman: Padma Vibushan awardee Homai Vyarawalla, passed away at the age of 98 is the first woman to take up the profession of Photojournalist. E.Sreedharan who successfully introduced metro rail system in Calcutta, Delhi and Bangalore retired on December 29, 2011. He was also credited with the construction of Pamban bridge in a record time of 45 days after the massive cyclone wiped the bridge in December 1964. Protests flared up in Afghanistan over the burning of copies of Quran, Islams holy book at NATOs main base in the country. (Later Obama apologized for desecration). The CHIEF MINISTER of Gujarat Narendra Modi opposed the proposal of the railway ministry with relation to the Railway Protection Force amendment bill. The RPF Act came into effect in 1957. The proposed bill is intended to confer the powers of the state police officers to RPF is unwarranted and violation of the constitutional spirit and blow to federal structure of India. (This is not consonance with the article 246 of the Constitution). Public order and Police are the state subjects and proposing an amendment on these subjects under entry 22, 30 and 93 of the Union List with entry 2 of the concurrent list in schedule VII of the constitution is not only a step to infringe up on powers of the state but also a serious blow to the federal structure of the country. (the powers to the police officers were provided under Indian Police Act of 1861). CLEMENCY: On February 9, 2012 the President of India accepted the clemency petition of Sushil Murmu pending since 2004, who was convicted for giving Bali (sacrifice) of a 9 year old boy in Jharkhand for his own property. Since 1981, 91 convicts sought commutation of their death sentences to life imprisonment and out of this 31 were accepted and 23 were accepted during the tenure of the President Pratiba Patil. Pankaj Singh a 6 year old dalit boy died after 55 days after he was locked in the school bath room by the teacher after the boy failed to turn his homework. RESERVATION: 4.5% quota (within 27% quota of OBCs) for minorities in the IIT-JEE admissions from the academic year 2012-13. This would benefit around 430 minority candidates in the 17 IITs across the country.

 Indian diplomat Neena Malhotra and her husband be required to pay $ 1.5 million for forcing an Indian girl Shanti Gurung at the time said to be under age, to work without pay and meeting out barbaric treatment to her. This was ordered by a New York City Magistrate judge. FALKLAND ISLANDS: Argentina has sought Indian assistance in pressing its claim over Malvinas Islands (Falkland Islands) which were forcibly occupied by the British in the year 1833 and saw a brief conflict in the year 1982. ESIC (Employees State Insurance Corporation) one of the largest social security organizations of the World has completed 60 years on February 24, 2012. ESIC was started in the year 1952. ESIC is a part of Ministry of Labor and Employment of Government of India. The head office is located in New Delhi.

THE DEPARTMENT OF ATOMIC ENERGY plans to set up three more nuclear fuel complexes in the wake of a massive plan to increase the capacity of nuclear power plants to 63,000 MW by 2032, from the current level of 4780 MW. At present only Hyderabad has such complex. It produces fuel bundles and other components for all the 20 reactors that are in operation in the country. RAMLILA CRACKDOWN AN ASSAULT ON BASIC DEMOCRATIC VALUES: SUPREME COURT: The Supreme Court strongly deprecated the midnight eviction of yoga guru baba Ramdev and his followers. The Supreme Court opinioned that it was a glaring example of trust deficit between the police and the people. Holding that right to sleep is a fundamental right and a basic requirement without which the existence of life itself would be in peril. To disturb sleep is now accepted as a violation of human right. It would be similar to third degree method. UNCLOS (United Nation Conference on the Law of Sea): the name of the Italian vessel was Enrica Lexie. The Central Government is to come up with a new uniform surrender policy for all left Wing Extremism afftcted states, offering Rs. 5 Lakh to anyone laying down a Light Machine Gun (LMG) and Rs 3 lakh to those depositing an AK-47 assault rifle. The DUBAI METRO is a driverless, fully automated metro network in the UAE city of Dubai. The red line and green line are operational. The 75 km, the Dubai metro is frequently cited as the Worlds longest fully automated net work. FOREIGN EDUCATION BILL: this bill will be introduced in the Parliament during budget session. If passed it will allow foreign universities to set up campuses in India. This would curb the outflow of the Indian students to foreign universities. Yudh Abhyas 2011-12 is a 5 day long joint exercise of India and US military aimed at improving bilateral cooperation would be held in March 2012 in Mahajan field firing range in Bikaner in North Rajasthan.

 Qatar: The per capita Income is Rs. 43, 06, 733/- ($ 88, 000/-). This is announced by the Forbes magazine. Democratic Republic of Congo is at the last place with Rs. 15, 288/-. The information is released by the Forbes with data from International Monitory Fund. Shortest Person ever: Nepals Chandra Bahdur Dangi is the new Guinness World record holder as the shortest man ever recorded. He is 72 years old and measured about 21.5 inches (54.6 cms). The Indian Mens Hockey team is qualified to Olympics 2012 after defeating France in New Delhi. The mens team failed to qualify to reach the Olympics in 2008. Rajasthan: The additional DGP of Rajasthan A K Jain, who was charged with fake encounter Dara Singh in illicit liquor case is on run. The CBI is planning to issue Red corner notice to him with the support of Interpol. A K Jain surrendered before the CBI court on February 27, 2012. CWC (Concerned for Working Children): This is an organization that is working for working for the welfare of Child labor has been nominated for Nobel peace prize. WHO: India has been removed from the list of polio-endemic countries by the World Health Organization in the year 2012 after it did not report any polio case for a year. The Government of India will now focus on elimination of measles and neonatal tetanus on the country. Thousands of children die of these two diseases in India every year. WADIA (GUJARAT): This village is termed as a Village of Prostitutes. The image is going to be erased soon since many women today want to lead a normal life, get married and settle soon. 2012 Olympics: The Union Sports Ministry has written to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) urging it to cancel the sponsorship of Dow Chemical for London Olympics. The Dow Chemical is the successor of Union Carbide that was responsible for the unprecedented gas tragedy that occurred in Bhopal in 1984. On February 27, 2012 the WikiLeaks released a cache of 5.5 million emails from the Texas-based intelligence company Stratfor, which revealed that regular monitoring reports of NGO activity as well as media coverage were sent to Dow and Union Carbide communication directors. (All the data is available in public domain and can be accessed by anyone interested). The High Court of AP directed the ACB (Anti Corruption Bureau) to submit a report within 3 weeks on status of enquiry into the liquor scam in a sealed cover. NORWAY CHILD CARE SERVICE: Abhigyan (3) andn Aishwarya (1) children of Anurup and Sagarika Bhattarya an NRI couple living in Stavanger, Norway were taken under protective care by Barnavernet (Norwegian Child Welfare Services) in May 2011 on the grounds that they were not looked after properly by their parents. The Barnavernet has placed

them in foster parental care as per the directive of the local Norwegian Court, mandated under Norwegian laws. On February 28, 2012, the Barnavernet announced that it had decided to award the custody of two Indian children of 2 Indian children taken into foster care in May 2011 to their uncle. Note: The children were handed over to their uncle and were brought back to India in April 2012. The Supreme Court directed the Center on February 27, 2012 to constitute a special committee for inter linking of river. CITIZENSHIP: The Mumbai High Court on February 27, 2012 served a fresh notice to the Singapore consulate Generals office to provide all the relevant documents in the case of Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sules (daughter of Sharad Pawar) citizenship. The court was hearing an application from Mrinalini Kakade who alleged hindrances in gathering information with respect to Sules citizenship. The initial petition challenged MS. Supriyas election to the Lok Sabha from Baramati in 2009, stating her election be declared null and void as she was a nonIndian after acquiring citizenship of Singapore by buying property there. The Secretary for Municipalities and Urban Development of Andhra Pradesh is awarded with the best election officer by the Central election commission. He issues 100 percent voter Id cards to the people in Anantapur district of AP when he was the collector in the year 20102011. ONGC: As a part of disinvestment policy the government decided to sell 5 percent of its equity in the ONGC. At present the government has 74.14 equity in ONGC. BHEL takes a decision on acquisition of BHVP (Bharat Heavy Plates and Vessels) on March 2, 2012. The decision is pending for the last 4 years. In the year 2011 there were 644 mergers and acquisitions in the country according to former Secretary for Central Corporate Affairs. The Military secretary issued a retirement note to the Army Chief. He is retiring on May 31, 2012. The government is announcing the new army chief latest by April 1, since it follows the norm of appointing a successor at least 60 days in advance. This period allows the successor to set up his staff and office for a smooth transition. (Army chief has 4 star). GANDHI: A church in USA The Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints issued Baptism to Mahatmam Gandhi. The Church is located in Utah state near salt lake city. This was conferred on Gandhiji on March 27, 1996 and approved on November 17, 2007 as per a scholar Helen Radki in salt lake city. (This led a controversy). The Central Government has decided to link payment of pension for the elderly, widows and disabled persons to the Aadhaar to ensure timely delivery. WGEEP (WESTERN GHATS ECOLOGY EXPERT PANEL): It slammed the government of Maharashtra for clearing the Andhra Lake Wind Power Project Promoted by Enercon (India) Limited. The proposed site is located near to the Bhimashankar Wildlife

Sanctury. This is a 113 MW wind energy project. It is a Rs. 772 crore project covers 194.66 hecters of reserve forest land.

ISRAELI AUTHOR: Susan Nathan an Israeli author facing deportation for overstaying without valid travel documents is under pressure to leave the country. The Quit notice was issued by the district collector and she appealed against his and is rejected by the Kerala High court. Her visa expired on September 16, 2010. Ms Susan says that she applied for a resident permit. Her application for extending the visa is still pending with the Ministry of Home Affairs Foreign Division and the Ministry of External Affairs. The MHA instructed that Nathans X-visa be converted to Medical Visa. The lawyer says that it is not communicated to Nathan. The erroneous Malayalam translation of her book The Other Side of Israel published by Other Books, Kozhikode, on permission from original publishers Harper Collins, had also caused some misunderstanding.

CBI Special Court in Bangalore: The Court in Bangalore issued body warrant against Gali Janardhan Reddy to bring him from chanchalguda jail (Hyderabad) to Bangalore for interrogation. CBI Special Court in Hyderabad: The Court allowed the CBI to issue LR (Letter Rogatory) to take up inquiry in foreign countries in connection with the disproportionate assets case aginst Kadapa MP YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. (LR is a formal request from a court to a foreign court for judicial assistance like recording evidence). The AP Assembly passed a bill amending the Andhra Pradesh Land Reforms (Ceiling on agriculture holdings) Act 1973, facilitating reopening of such cases where cases had been decided basing on fraud and misinterpretation facts. (February 28, 2012). The NCTC that was supposed to be operational from March 1, 2012 has been postponed in view of opposition from non-congress Chief Ministers. AGNI V: V K Saraswat Scientific Advisor to the Prime Minister and Head of the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) announced that the surface to surface missile nuclear missile Agni V is likely to be test fired for the for the first time in the last week of March from the Wheeler Island, off the coast of Odisha. This will have a range of 5,000 km and is capable of carrying 1 one-tonne nuclear war heads. It weights 50 tonnes and the lengthis 17.2 meter long and a diameter of 2 meters. Note: Agni V was successfully test fired on April 19, 2012. Andhra Pradesh Assembly passed a bill (February 2012) empowering the state government to extend the term of the cooperative credit societies by 6 months and not more than 2 years all together. The foreign reserves in India stood at $ 322billion at the end of August 2011.

 The Gold reserves with RBI is 555.75 tonnes as on September 30, 2011. Of these 265.49 tonnes are held abroad in deposits/safe custody with the bank of England and the Bank for International settlements.

Jamaican Passport: A 12 week old boy Emperor Kioyous who was born to surrogate Indian mother and while his biological parents were an American woman and Jamaican father got the Jamican passport after the External Affairs Ministry and US consulate intervention. AIMPLB (All India Muslim Personal Law Board): The AIMPLB and Apostolic Churches Alliance have strongly opposed the Delhi High Court judgment decriminalizing homosexuality between two consenting adults. The AIMPLB argued in Supreme Court that privacy by itself was not a fundamental right, but only penumbra right and only certain facets of privacy would fall within the ambit of Article 19 (1) (a) or 21 of the Indian Constitution. It argues that even if comes under the right to privacy and dignity it could be restricted on the principle of morality. Even today 76 countries in the World treat homosexuality as a crime. The council of AIMPLB Mr Ahmadi pointed out that religious texts such as the Koran and the Bible, Arthasastra and Manusmriti condemned homosexuality. He argued that the section 377 of the Indian Penal Code did not suffer from the vice of being irrational, nor was it based on intelligible differentia. The IPC 377 does not by itself bring about a classification of individuals as homosexuals, heterosexuals and bisexuals. It only criminalizes sexual acts which are against the order of the nature.

MFN (Most Favored Nation): India granted MFN status to Pakistan in the year 1996. On February 29, 2012 Pakistan decided to switch to the negative list approach trade with India and phase it out by the end of December 2012. The Cabinet cleared a 1209 strong negative list of items in which bilateral trade is barred. The business opportunity will be in 6850 commodities against the 1900 odd item now traded. National Tourism award 2010-11for excellence: Noopur Kumars Threads of Hope The Magical Weaves of Andhra Pradesh. The President gave away the award. The book is about the life and legacy of weavers and their craft including Kalamkari, Ikat or Mangalagiri. CHINA There are 70 richest delegates in the 3,000 member in the National Peoples Congress (Parliament) together valued at $89.8 billion or 565.8 billion yuan. (Hurun , a Shanghai based company that publishes a Chinese rich list every year). In Indian Parliament (Lok Sabha) 36 richest members worth $ 252 million or Rs. 1,238 core as of 2009 according to Association of Democratic Reforms a non-political group campaigns for electoral reforms. AFGHANISTAN: The Taliban negotiators involved in ongoing talks in Doha (Qatar) are seeking dramatic Constitutional changes which would make Mullah Omar Afghanistans supreme religious and political leader. The Taliban wants that Mullah Omar become a kind of

guardian figure for the Afghan state not dissimilar to Irans Supreme leader (Maghame rahbari).

CHENNAI: A German Sonnteg Reiner Hermann was deported to Germany after he was found to be closely associated with anti-nuclear protest organizations. NORTH KOREA: North Korea agreed to halt nuclear tests and activities and implement a moratorium on nuclear and long range missile development in exchange for a US package of 240,000 metric tons of food aid. The Tata Tele Services moved Supreme Court seeking review of the judgment cancelling its licenses for the 2G spectrum in 3 circles. The apex court on February 2, 2012 had cancelled 122, 2G licenses granted to 9 telecom companies including Tata Tele Services based on FCFS (first come first serve). VIGYAN PRASAR an autonomous organization under the department of Science and Technology and the IGNOU jointly introduced the service of science lessons on mobile phones. Motor Vehicles Act 1988: A bill proposing the amendments to this act will be introduced in the Rajya Sabha during the budget session in March. This is in a bid to curb the rising number of road accidents. FIR OR PROBE first? : A Bench of Justices Dalveer Bhandari, T S Thakur and Dipak Mishra referred to CJI S H Kapadia a writ petition which raised the important issue. Whether it is imperative on the part of the officer in charge of a police station to register a case under section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 or whether he or she has the option of conducting some sort of preliminary enquiry before registering it. (In santosh Kumar and Dr. Suresh Gupta a preliminary enquiry has been postulated before registering an FIR). MAHA LOK ADALTS: The Maha Lok Adalats that are being conducted by the Maharashtra is giving good results NEW ARMY CHIEF: The Eastern Army Chief Commander Lieutenant General Bikram Singh will be the next Chief of Staff of the 1.3 million-strong Indian army. He will succeed General V K Singh (Vikram Kumar Singh) who retires on May 31, 2012. Lt. Gen. Bikram Singh was commissioned into the Sikh Light Infantry Regiment on March 31, 1972.

In the year 1971 the State Government of Tamil Nadu abolished hereditary appointment of temple priests, opening door for appointing people with due training. Though the government is serious about the reforms organizations like Adi Saiva Sivachariyargal Nala Sangam have

mounted a legal challenge in the Supreme Court. The case is still pending in the Supreme Court. FILM ON OSAMA BIN LADEN: Kathryn Bigelows is being produced by Oscarwinning screen writer, film producer and American journalist Mark Boal in Chandigarh and other parts of India. The VHP and other Muslim groups objected for the shooting on the grounds that it would disturb the communal harmony in the country. NTPC: NTPC is proposing two STPP (Super Thermal Power Projects) with 1600 MW capacity each at Darlipali Sundargarh and Gajmara in Dhenkanal districts odisha. ANANTHA PADMANABHASWAMY: The treasury of the Lord is to be digitalized by Keltron. (Keltron, Kerala State Electronics Development Corporation Limited, is a public sector electronics company located in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala).

The Womens Kabadi World cup won by India by defeating Iran by 25-19. The tournament was held in Patna. In the semi finals India defeated Japan by 60-21 points and Iran defeated Thailand by 46-26. Mamata Pujari is the captain of Indian team. Indian Mens Kabadi team also won the World Cup title for the 2 consecutive terms. FIFA: The FIFA gave green signal for the usage of technology in goal line. YUVRAJ SINGH: Is being treated in Indiana University Simon Cancer Hospital, Indiana Polis, USA. Cancer specialist Lawrence Ionhaun is treating Yuvraj. Armstrong also took the treatment here. IIT-JEE: IIT-JEE will be replaced with a common test Indian Science Engineering Eligibility Test (ISEET) at the national level from the year 2013-14. BRAHMOS: It is successfully test fired in Pokhran range on March 4, 2012. This is a surface to surface supersonic cruise missile. This hit the target at 290 km. China test fired J- 10 FIGHTERS. These are indigenously developed by China. NUCLEAR SECURITY SUMMIT: Held in Seoul, South korea from March 26 to 27th, 2012. The RAJIV GANDHI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT In Hyderabad has bagged the ISO 14064-1: 2006 certification for its Greenhouse Gas inventory. This is the second airport in India after the Mumbai and the third in Asia and this indicated the airports commitment towards environmental issues. The audit of GHG which includes both greenhouse gas and removals was conducted by M/S Bureau Veritas that submitted its independent report on March 31, 2012. (GHG: Water Vapor, Carbondioxide, Methane, nitrous oxide and Ozone).

 A girl of 10 year old Aishwarya Parashar sought an answer through RTI from the PMO for the question When did Mahatma Gandhi become Father of the Nation?

The OMCS (Oil Marketing Companies) on April 17, 2012 threatened to increase the petrol prices by Rs. 8.04 a liter. They demanded that the government should either cut the excise duty on petrol and give them Rs. 49 crore a day in compensation or face a sharp price hike. NOTE: The petrol prices were deregulated in June 2010. The government is collecting Rs. 14.78 a liter when a consumer buys petrol. The states levy VAT (Value Added Tax) or sales tax from 15 to 33 percent that ranges between RS. 10.30 And 18.74 a liter). The international prices have gone up and stand at $132.45 a barrel and the selling price by OMCs is $ 109,03 a barrel.

On April 18, 2012 the Haryana government has banned the use of the expression handicapped saying it violates and undermines the dignity of persons with disabilities.

The plan outlay for Andhra Pradesh for 2012-13 has been fixed at Rs. 48, 935 crore which is 13.8 percent higher than the previous year.

UN CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY: The 11th convention will be held in Hyderabad from October 1st to 19th, 2012. Environment and Foreign Ministers from various countries will be attending the convention. The countries will discuss issues relating to bio diversity and bio safety.

MYANMAR: The opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is planning for a trip to Oslo to receive Nobel Prize for Peace which was announced to her in 1991 for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights.

WOORI BANK: The Seoul headquartered Woori bank one of the oldest and largest banks in South Korea has set up its first Indian branch in Chennai in April 2012. The Indian City of Chennai hosts 170 Korean companies.

 TUBERCULOSIS: India stands at the top of the list of countrys considered highly burdened by TB with an estimated population of 2.3 million affected people. This is contributing 21 percent of the Worlds affected population.

TEA A NATIONAL DRINK:

The Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said that Tea would be declared as a National Drink on April 17, 2013. This day coincided with the 212th birth anniversary of first Assamese Tea planter and Sepoy Mutiny leader Maniram Dewan. The deputy commissioner said that he would take up the matter to the Ministry of Commerce.

ELECTION COMMISSION: The Election Commission member H S Brahma called for setting up an independent Secretariat for the Election Commission in the lines of Lok Sabha Secretariat.

E-PANCHAYAT:

The Central Panchayat Raj Minister Kishore Chandrad Deo announced first Prize to Maharashtra for e-Panchayat. PRIME MINISTER OF PAKISTAN: Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani on April 26, 2012 was held in contempt of court and sentenced to imprisonment till the rising of a 7 judge Bench of the Supreme Court hearing the case. Mr. Gilani was found guilty of and convicted for contempt of court as the contempt committed by him is substantially detrimental to the administration of justice and tends to bring this court and the judiciary of this country into ridicule. The Prime Minister was punished under Article 5 of the contempt of court ordinance with imprisonment till the rising of the court.

INS TEG: This is also called F45. This is a Talwar-Class Frigate (Warship). This is constructed for Indian Navy. This is built by Yantar Shipyard in Kaliningrad, Russia. This is commissioned on April 27, 2012.

INDO PAK TIES: Pakistan to give India the MFN status by the end of 2012. Both countries to allow opening bank branches. RBI is the apex bank in India. State Bank of Pakistan is the apex bank in Pakistan. SBI and Bank of India had their branches in Karachi and Lahore till 1965 when India and Pakistan went to war for 5 weeks. The Punjab and Sindh banks also interested in opening the branches in Pakistan. These 2 banks got 75 percent of branches in Pakistan at the time of Partition. STANDING COMMITTEE ON FINANCE: This is headed by the former Finance Minister Yashwanth Sinha. He demanded that IRDA must investigate into the buying of shares by LIC in ONGC disinvestment. 2G: The Supreme Court on April 24, 2012 ordered the government to conduct the 2G spectrum actions and grant licenses by August 31, 2012. The SC rejected the centers plea that it required 400 days to complete the process. DIAGEO STAKE IN UNITED SPIRITS:

 Diageo (UK), the worlds largest spirits company by value has mandated investment banking firm JM Financials to negotiate a deal which could result in owning a minority stake in Vijay Mallya owned united spirits. United Spirits is worlds number 1 company by volume. This exports to 37 countries. Diageo has network in 180 countries. AGRICULTURE: India consumes about 76 million tones of wheat every year. For the year 2011-12 the wheat production was 90.23 mt. It prompts for the export of wheat to Iran which could partially settle Indias oil import bill with western sanctions hit Tehran. The total grain output for the year 2011-12 is 252.56 mt. This is the record for India.

S&P: The Standard and Poor revised the outlook on long term credit rating from Stable to negative. SACHIN TENDULKAR: Sachin, Rekha (Actress) and Anu Aga (industrialist) are nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the President of India on April 26, 2012. Article 80 of the Indian Constitution empowers the President of India to nominate 12 members to Rajya Sabha. The names were sent by the Prime Minister to the Home Ministry for the approval of the President on April 25, 2012 and approved by the President on April 26, 2012. IMF: India decided to shell out $ 11 billion for bigger quota in IMF. Indias current quota is 2.44 percent and the proposed quota is 2.75 %. Indias current vote is 2.34 % and the proposed one is 2.63%. The quotas are assigned on the basis of countrys relative position in the World economy. Under the current rules of IMF up to 25% of the quota has to be paid in SDRs or in USD, Euro, Yen or British Pound.

 The balance is to be paid in Indian Rupees. INDIA & AFGHANISTAN: SAIL, Nalco, HCL (Hindustan Copper Limited) and MECL (Mineral Exploration Corporation Ltd) have been shortlisted as potential investors for the lucrative new gold and copper deposits in Afghanistan. NEW ANTI-MALARIA DRUG: On April 25, 2012, the Ranbaxy Laboratories has introduced first indigenously developed antiMalarial new-age drug Synriam. This is priced at Rs. 130/- for a course of 3 tablets.

GAAR: General Anti-Avoidance Rules. This may be implemented from April 1, 2013. The GAAR is aimed at preventing abuse and misuse of tax policy. This will allow tax authorities to deny tax benefit if sole purpose of arrangement is tax benefit. BANKING LAWS (AMENDMENT) BILL: The Union Cabinet decided to retain the voting rights in the private sector banks at 10 percent and felt it could be raised progressively to 26 percent as suggested by the standing committee. EX-BJP CHIEF: The CBI special Court on April 27, 2012 convicted Bangaru Laxman of the charge of accepting money to facilitate government contracts from Tehelka journalists in the year 2001. ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION: R K Sinha (Director, BARC) is appointed as the Chairman of Atomic Energy Commision. R K Sinha replaces Sri Kumar Benerjee on April 30, 2012. THE CENTRAL EDUCATIONAL ADMISSIONS) BILL 2010: INSTITUTIONS (RESERVATION IN

The bill originally meant for providing reservations to SC, ST and OBCs in the central institutions within in a time frame of 3 years.

 In the year 2012 the time limit has been extended to 6 years as some of the institutions felt difficult to provide the same in 3 years. FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES: As on April 20, 2012 Indias Foreign exchange reserves are at $ 294.60 billion. RAILWAY PLATFORM TICKET: The ticket will cost Rs. 5/- from May 1, 2012. Earlier it was Rs. 3/KALAKSHETRA: Leela Samson, stepped down as Director of Kalakshetra.