Current Affairs - January 12 to July 12

INSTITUTE FOR CAREER

ADVANCEMENT

Institute for Career Advancement, Gangail Road, Melarmath, Agartala-799001, Tripura (W).

Contact: 8794365719, 9206042944 Website: www.icaacademy.in E-mail: [email protected]

CURRENT AFFAIRS (From January 2012 to July 2012)

Institute For Career Advancement

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bkjfhf kjhjfj jfjkh njkh fkfds JANUARY 2012

Noted cartoonist Mario Miranda has died aged 85. The cartoonist, who was based in Loutolim

village, was awarded the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award, in 2002 and Padma

Shri in 1988.

Assamese litterateur Indira Raisom Goswami, who had taken the initiative to bring the ULFA

to the negotiating table, passed away at a hospital in Guwahati, aged 69.Popularly called

'Mamoni Baideu', Ms Goswami, a Ramayani scholar, received the Jnanpith award in 2000 for her

overall contribution to Assamese literature. She authored several award-winning books which

include 'Datal Hathi Uwe Khowa', 'Neelakantha Braja' and 'Adha Lekha Dastavej'. Goswami's

celebrated works include Mamore Dhora Tarowalfor which she was awarded the Sahitya

Akademi Award in 1982, Ahiron, Chenabor Srot, Dasarathir Khoj, Tej aru Dhulire Dhusarita

Prishta and Udaybhanur Charitra. She refused the Padma Shri in 2002

Sarangi maestro and classical singer Ustad Sultan Khan, the soulful voice behind hits like 'Piya

basanti' and 'Albela sajan aayo re', passed away in Mumbai, aged 71. Apart from Padma

Bhushan, Khan won numerous musical awards including the Sangeet Natya Academy Award

twice, the Gold Medalist Award of Maharashtra and the American Academy of Artists Award in

1998.

Tunisia's opposition veteran Moncef Marzouki was sworn in as the country's first elected

president since the north African nation's revolution sparked the Arab Spring.

Legendary actor Dev Anand the 'evergreen romantic superstar' of Indian cinema, died

in London, aged 88.For his outstanding contribution to Indian cinema, Dev Anand was honoured

with the prestigious the 'Padma Bhushan' in 2001 and 'Dada Saheb Phalke Award' in 2002. In

1993, he received a Filmfare 'Lifetime Achievement Award' and in 1996 he received a Screen

Videocon 'Lifetime Achievement Award'.

Eligibility rules for Bharat Ratna modified

The Union Government has modified rules to pave way for eligibility of sportspersons for the

highest civilian award of the country. The new rules, providing for eligibility of persons

excelling in fields other than art, literature, science and public service for Bharat Ratna, were

notified in the second week of November.Instead of the fields of art, literature, science and

public services, the Government has notified that for performance of highest order in any field of

human endeavour Bharat Ratna could be awarded. The decision has paved the way for any

sportsperson to get Bharat Ratna, India‘s highest civilian award. The move comes amid clamour

for conferring of Bharat Ratna on Sachin Tendulkar for his outstanding contribution to cricket.

Bharat Ratna was instituted in 1954. Any person without distinction of race, occupation, position

or sex is eligible for these awards. The recommendations for Bharat Ratna are made by the Prime

Minister himself to the President. No formal recommendations for this are necessary.


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Sports

Col. CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award: Ajit Wadekar

Polly Umrigar Award: Rahul Dravid

MA Chidambaram Trophy for Best Woman Cricketer of 2010-11: Jhulan Goswami (21 wickets

at an average of 7.62 in eight matches, inclusive of one 5WI).

CRICKET

Australia in South Africa

Test Series Result: SA & Aus draw the 2-match series 1-1.

Player of the Series: Vernon Philander (SA)

New Zealand in Australia

Test Series Result: NZL & Aus draw the 2-match series 1-1.

Player of the Series: James Pattinson (Aus)

Pakistan v Sri Lanka, UAE

ODI Series Result: Pak won the 5-match series 4-1.

Players of the Series: Shahid Afridi (Pak)

West Indies in India

Test Series Result: India won the 3-match series 2-0.

Player of the Series: Ravichandran Ashwin (India)

ODI Series Result: India won the 5-match series 4-1.

Player of the Series: Rohit Sharma (India)

MOTORRACING

Brazilian Grand Prix, Sao Paulo

Winner: Mark Webber (Australia / Red Bull-Renault)

Second: Sebastian Vettel (Great Britain / Red Bull-Renault)

Third: Jenson Button (Great Britain / McLaren-Mercedes)

TENNIS

Davis Cup Final

Winner: Spain

Runner-up: Argentina

ATP World Tour Finals, London

Winner: Roger Federer (Switzerland)

Runner-up: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France)


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Tata Sons, the holding company of over U.S.$80 billion conglomerate Tata Group, announced

that Cyrus P. Mistry (right), the 43-year-old Managing Director of Shapoorji Pallonji Group,

will succeed Ratan Tata.

The Reserve Bank of India has notified new rules doing away with automatic approval

for foreign direct investment (FDI) in existing pharmaceutical companies. Tightening the

norms, the Government of India had in November this year done away with automatic approval

of FDI in the existing pharmaceutical companies. "FDI, up to 100 per cent, would be permitted

for Brownfield investment (i.e. investments in existing companies), in the pharmaceutical sector,

under the Government approval route," the RBI said in a notification. Under the new rules, for

any merger or acquisition, the overseas investor will have to seek permission from the Foreign

Investment Promotion Board (FIPB). After six months, it will be the monopoly watchdog

Competition Commission of India (CCI) which will vet such deals. For the new investment, 100

per cent FDI will be allowed under the automatic route, under which investors only inform the

Reserve Bank about the inflows and no specific government nod is required.

India and Nepal have signed a revised Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA), which

will facilitate exchange of information on banking between the two countries and help prevent

tax evasion. It will replace an earlier agreement signed between the two countries in 1987. The

agreement is also likely to boost confidence of investors and help Nepal attract more investment

from India. India is the biggest source of foreign investments in Nepal, as also its largest trading

partner. However, Nepal accounts for only 0.44 per cent of India‘s total trade.

The U.S. economy grew by an annual rate of 2%, rather than the 2.5% that was released in an

official first estimate. However, there was some positive news as data showed unemployment

falling in 36 states in October, and rising in just five.

In the wake of the ongoing eurozone debt crisis, the unemployment rate in the euro zone reached

another high, standing at 10.3% in October; however, it was lower for the wider European

Union, at 9.8%. Also, in the eurozone area, the average youth unemployment rate, i.e. for those

under 25, was 21.4%.

The world‘s biggest extra-terrestrial explorer, NASA’s Curiosity rover, rocketed toward Mars

on a search for evidence that the red planet might once have been home to itsy-bitsy life. It will

take eight-and-a-half months for Curiosity to reach Mars following a journey of 354 million

miles. An unmanned Atlas V rocket hoisted the rover, officially known as Mars Science

Laboratory. This was NASA‘s first launch to Earth‘s next-door neighbor in four years, and the

first send-off of a Martian rover in eight years. The primary goal of the U.S.$2.5 billion mission

is to see whether cold, dry, barren Mars might have been hospitable for microbial life once upon

a time – or might even still be conducive to life now. No actual life detectors are on board;

rather, the instruments will hunt for organic compounds. Curiosity‘s 7-foot arm has a

jackhammer on the end to drill into the Martian red rock, and the 7-foot mast on the rover is


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topped with high-definition and laser cameras. No previous Martian rover has been so

sophisticated or capable. With Mars the ultimate goal for astronauts, NASA also will use

Curiosity to measure radiation at the red planet. The rover also has a weather station on board

that will provide temperature, wind and humidity readings; a computer software app with daily

weather updates is planned. The world has launched more than three dozen missions to the ever-

alluring Mars, which is more like Earth than the other solar-system planets. Yet fewer than half

those quests have succeeded. Curiosity will spend a minimum of two years roaming around Gale

Crater, chosen as the landing site because it is rich in minerals. Scientists said if there is any

place on Mars that might have been ripe for life, it would be there.

Canada‘s prime minister, Stephen Harper, and the U.S. president, Barack Obama, signed an

agreement called Beyond the Border under which Canada will share information about people

entering and leaving the country while the United Stateswill ease some security checks on cross-

border trade.


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FEBRUARY 2012

The embattled head of the Switzerland National Bank (SNB), the Swiss central bank, Philipp

Hildebrand, stepped down after being caught up in a scandal over foreign exchange trades by

his wife.

Joseph Kabila is reelected as the president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Portia Simpson Miller is sworn in for the second time as the Prime Minister of Jamaica.

Ma Ying-jeou has been reelected as the president of Taiwan.

2012 Golden Globe Awards

Best Director: Martin Scorcese, Hugo

Best Motion Picture (Comedy): The Artist

Best Motion Picture (Drama): The Descendants

Best Actress in a Motion Picture (Comedy): Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn

Best Actress in a Motion Picture (Drama): Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady

Best Actor in a Motion Picture (Comedy): Jean Dujardin, The Artist

Best Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama): George Clooney, The Descendants

Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture: Octavia Spencer, The Help

Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture: Christopher Plummer, Beginners

CRICKET

India in Australia

Test Series Partial Result: Aus win the first three matches in the four-match Border-Gavaskar

Trophy Test Series.

Pakistan in Bangladesh, UAE

ODI Series Result: Pak blank Bangladesh with a 3-0 win.

Players of the Series: Umar Akmal (Pak)

Test Series Result: Pak won the 2-match series 2-0.

Player of the Series: Younis Khan (Pak)

Sri Lanka in South Africa

Test Series Result: SA won the 3-match series 2-1.

Players of the Series: AB De Villiers (SA)

TENNIS

Aircel Chennai Open, Chennai

Men‘s Singles

Winner: Milos Raonic (Canada)

Runner-up: Janko Tipsarevic (Serbia)

Men‘s Doubles


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Winners: Leander Paes (India) / Janko Tipsarevic (Serbia)

Runners-up: Jonathan Erlich / Andy Ram (Israel)

Hopman Cup, Perth

Winner: Czech Republic

Runner-up: France

Qatar Open, Doha

Winner: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France)

Runner-up: Gael Monfils (Slovakia)

Sunil Chhetri (right) has been declared the AIFF Player of the Year after a prolific run that saw

the diminutive India striker score 13 goals in 17 international appearances. He will receive a cash

award of 2 lakhs plus a silver plaque.

Yahoo! appointed a new chief executive, poaching Scott Thompson from PayPal to fill the

position. Last September Yahoo! sacked Carol Bartz from the job after she failed to revive the

internet firm‘s sagging fortunes.

Fulfilling a long-standing demand, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh announced a new

pension and life insurance scheme for overseas Indian workers that would allow over five

million workers, especially those working in the Gulf, to save money for the future. Announcing

the government‘s decision to introduce and sponsor the Pension and Life Insurance Fund

(PLIF) at the 10th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, Dr Singh said the scheme will encourage the

overseas workers to voluntarily save money for their resettlement and old age. The scheme will

also provide a low-cost life insurance cover against natural death. Under the scheme, the

government will co-contribute '1,000 per annum for all subscribers who contribute between

`1,000 and `12,000 per year. Women overseas workers will enjoy a special additional co-

contribution of Rs.1000 a year.

The Constitution 111th Amendment Bill relating to professional management of co-operative

societies was passed in Lok Sabha after various amendments to it were voted upon. The Bill

seeks to insert a new Article 43B in the constitution to facilitate more transparency in

cooperatives. It aims at improving the working of the multi-state cooperative bodies to provide

benefits to farmers. It also aims at setting up of an independent body which would conduct

elections in these cooperatives while monitoring their functioning. Besides helping the farmers in

securing better margins for their produce, the Bill would take a holistic view on the welfare of

farmers.

The Pacific Island nations of Samoa and Tokelau move from east to west of the International

Date Line in order to align their time zone better with their main trading partners, meaning that

they will not mark December 30 this year.


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For the first time, India has gone a full year without a new polio case , the World Health

Organization announced.Polio eradication officials described a year without new cases as a

"game-changer" and a "milestone" because India was for decades one of the biggest centres of

the disease. But the country won‘t be certified as polio-free until it has gone three years without a

new case, and there have been new cases recently in three nearby

countries: Pakistan, Afghanistan and China.

Iran is stepping nuke weapons programme, says IAEA

The UN atomic agency confirmed that Iran has started enriching uranium at a new site in a

difficult–to–bomb mountain bunker, in a move set to further heighten tensions with the West.

Iran , which insists its nuclear programme is exclusively for peaceful purposes, has repeatedly

said it will not abandon uranium enrichment despite four rounds of UN Security Council

resolutions calling on Tehran to desist.

Govt wins half the battle as LS passes Lokpal Bill

A landmark bill for creation of Lokpal was passed by the Lok Sabha with the government

making it clear that setting up of Lokayuktas by the states would not be mandatory, amending a

contentious provision in view of opposition from allies and others.

The Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill, 2011 was approved after the government moved a few other key

amendments, including keeping the defence forces and coast guard personnel out of the purview

of the anti-graft ombudsman and increasing the exemption time of former MPs from five to

seven years.

U.S. ends Iraq War

America‘s contentious and costly war in Iraq ended officially with an understated ceremony

in Baghdad that contrasted sharply with its thundering start almost nine years ago.

The U.S. troops lowered the flag of command that flew over the Iraqi capital, carefully rolled it

and cased it in camouflage in accordance with Army tradition.

WB warns of massive global economic slowdown in 2012

The World Bank warned developing countries to prepare for the ―real‖ risk that an escalation in

the euro area debt crisis could tip the world into a slump on par with the global downturn in

2008-09. In a report sharply cutting its world economic growth expectations, the World Bank

said Europe was probably already in recession. If the euro area debt crisis deepened, global

economic forecasts would be significantly lower.

FDI into China touches U.S.$116 bn, amid signs of slowdown

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in China rose 9.7 per cent in 2011 to a record U.S.$116 billion,

though December‘s inflow of U.S.$12.24 billion was down 12.7 per cent versus year-ago levels,

the Commerce Ministry said. It was the second consecutive month that China‘s non-financial

foreign direct investment (FDI) fell versus year-ago levels, signaling that once unabated capital

flow into the world‘s second-biggest economy is stuttering.


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RIL’s U.S. $1.5 bn KG investment approved

The Central Government approved Reliance Industries‘ U.S.$1.529 billion investment plan for

developing four satellite fields in the flagging KG-D6 block after sitting on the proposal for

months. The investment plan, which will help boost falling output in the Krishna-Godavari Basin

KG-D6 block, has been pending with the authorities for two years and it took some prodding

from top government functionaries for it to be cleared.

WTO admits Russia into its fold

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has given its second and final approval for Russia‘s

membership in the trade body after a record 18-year quest to join. The 153-nation global trade

body approved by consensus Russia‘s application for membership, giving a boost to the ailing

economy of its biggest trading partner, the European Union.


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MARCH 2012

Ma Ying-jeou has been re-elected as Taiwan‘s president.

Otto Pérez Molina, a former general, was sworn in as president of Guatemala. He has promised

to crack down on organised crime in what is one of the world‘s most violent nations.

Pakistan’s Supreme Court charged Yousaf Raza Gilani, the prime minister, with contempt of

court. Mr Gilani is accused of ignoring instructions to open a corruption case against the

president, Asif Ali Zardari. Mr Gilani insists the president has immunity.

Author Salman Rushdie withdrew from Jaipur Literature Festival, India‘s biggest literary

festival, saying that he feared assassination after influential Muslim clerics protested against his

participation. Mr Rushdie sparked anger in the Muslim world with his book The Satanic Verses,

which many see as blasphemous. He lived in hiding for many years after Iran‘s Ayatollah

Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for his execution in 1989.

Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov was re-elected for a second term as president of

Turkmenistan.

American singer and actress Whitney Houston has died in Los Angeles at the age of 48. She

sold more than 170m records sold worldwide. She won six Grammys, including three for Best

Female Pop Vocal Performance, 30 Billboard Awards and 22 American Music Awards.

The government led by Romania’s prime minister, Emil Boc, stepped down. The

president, Traian Basescu, chose as his replacement a former head of the intelligence service,

Mihai Razvan Ungureanu.

Finland’s presidential election was won by Sauli Niinistö, the main centre-right candidate.

65th British Film Academy Awards (BAFTA)

Best Director: Michael Hazanavicius, The Artist

Best Film: The Artist

Best Actor: Jean Dujardin, The Artist

Best Actress: Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady

Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer, The Help

Amartya Sen conferred U.S. National Medal of Humanities

India-born Nobel laureate Amartya Sen was felicitated with the prestigious National Medal of

Humanities by the U.S. President Barack Obama for his efforts to increase the understanding of

fighting hunger and poverty. Mr Sen is a recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1998.


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India in Australia

Test Series Result: Aus whitewash India 4-0 in the four-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test

Series.

Player of the Series: Michael Clarke (Australia)

T20 Series Result: India & Australia drew the two-match series 1-1.

FOOTBALL

2012 African Cup of Nations, Gabon & Equatorial Guinea

Winner: Zambia

Runner-up: Cote d‘Ivoire

TENNIS

2012 Australian Open, Melbourne

Men‘s Singles

Winner: Novak Djokovic (Serbia)

Runner-up: Rafael Nadal (Spain)

Women‘s Singles

Winner: Victoria Azarenka (Belarus)

Runner-up: Maria Sharapova (Russia)

Men‘s Doubles

Winners: Leander Paes / Radek Stepanek (Czech Republic)

Runners-up: Bob Bryan / Mike Bryan (USA)

Women‘s Doubles

Winners: Svetlana Kuznetsova / Vera Zvonareva (Russia)

Runners-up: Sara Errani / Roberta Vinci (Italy)

Mixed Doubles

Winners: Bethanie Mattek-Sands (U.S.) / Horia Tecau (Serbia)

Runners-up: Elena Vesnina (Russia) / Leander Paes (India)

Sony Corporation confirmed that Kazuo Hirai will become its new CEO when Sir Howard

Stringer steps down in April this year. Mr Hirai takes over the reins of an ailing company that

has had four consecutive years of losses

Japan recorded its first trade deficit since 1980. The earthquake and tsunami in March hurt

exporting manufacturers, and the subsequent nuclear shutdown caused the country to import

more energy. Japan is the world‘s third largest economy, with GDP of U.S.$5.3 trillion.

However, it is likely to contract by 0.5% in 2011 due to the twin disasters (earthquake and

tsunami) that ravaged large parts of the country.

Research In Motion shook up its senior management team and appointed Thorsten Heins as

chief executive, replacing Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie, the company‘s long-serving joint


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CEOs. The BlackBerry maker is struggling to preserve investors‘ confidence as its share of the

smartphone market continues to slide.

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) sold Aviation Capital, its aircraft-leasing business, to Japan‘s

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group for U.S.$7.3 billion.

China’s economy grew by 9.2% in 2011, which is slower than the 10.4% it chalked up in 2010.

For the last several years now, China has been the fastest growing major economy in the world.

It is also the world‘s second largest economy, with GDP of nearly U.S.$7 trillion in 2011. Also,

it is the globe‘s largest reserves of foreign exchange of U.S.$3.18 trillion.

The U.S. economy, the world‘s largest, grew by a strong 2.8% in the final quarter of 2011, the

fastest pace of growth since mid-2010.

Britain’s economy has contracted by 0.2% in the final quarter of 2011. Latest government

figures showed total net public-sector debt (excluding bank bail-outs) rising above U.S. $1.6

trillion, which puts Britain‘s debt-to-GDP ratio at 64.2%.

The U.S. Congress has put in abeyance two controversial anti-piracy bills – SOPA and PIPA.

SOPA stands for Stop Online Piracy Act while PIPA‘s full form is Protect Intellectual Property

Act. The moves came after several lawmakers flipped their position on the bills in the wake of

widespread online and offline protests against them. Both PIPA and SOPA aim to crack down on

copyright infringement by restricting access and services to sites that host or facilitate the trading

of pirated content.

Former ISRO chief G. Madhavan Nair and three other senior scientists, who were barred from

holding any government posts, have been indicted by the country‘s top space body-appointed

committee for acts of commission in the Antrix-Devas deal. The report prepared by a committee

headed by Pratyush Sinha, former Chief Vigilance Commissioner, said Antrix-Devas deal lacked

transparency and recommended that action needs to be taken against Mr Nair, A.

Bhaskaranarayana, K. R. Sridhara Murthi, and K. N. Shankara, all of whom have retired. Antrix

Corporation is the commercial arm of ISRO and Devas.

Iran and India have agreed on a new arrangement for India to make up to 45 per cent of the

total payment in rupee for its crude oil import from Iran. The Bank Markazi Jomhouri

Islami Iran—the central bank of the Persian republic—has opened rupee accounts in three Indian

banks. Indian companies will make up to 45 per cent of the total payment for their crude oil

import from Iran through the rupee accounts of the BMJII. India is the second largest buyer of

crude oil from Iran, importing about 352,000 bpd (barrels per day), which amount to 13.5 per

cent of the latter‘s export of 2.6 million bpd. India now pays Iran, the world‘s fourth largest oil

producer, about U.S.$1 billion every month. India has been making payments for Iranian crude

oil through Halk Bank of Turkey since the middle of last year.


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The Government of India has approved Defence Ministry guidelines for its public sector units

(PSUs) to establish joint ventures with private firms, a step that will increase opportunities to

obtain advanced technologies from foreign sources. The guidelines will help in enhancing

fairness and transparency in the selection of the JV partner by the DPSUs while ensuring a well-

defined nature and scope of the tie up. Also, DPSUs will retain the affirmative rights for taking

key decisions in the joint-venture as well as have the ‗exit‘ provision in the Joint Venture

companies.

U.S.-EU tighten screws on Iran, impose oil embargo

The European Union (EU) has adopted an embargo on Iranian oil as part of sanctions over the

Islamic Republic‘s disputed nuclear programme.

The EU sanctions follow financial punishments signed into law by the U.S. on December 31 last

year, and mainly target the oil sector, which accounts for some 90 per cent of Iranian exports to

the EU.The oil ban, along with sanctions against Iran‘s central bank and other measures, came as

Western powers stepped up pressure on Iran to return to negotiations amid concerns that it is

moving closer to building nuclear weapons.

Growth blues: GDP rate for Indian economy lowered to 6.9% for 2011-12

With uncertainty in the Euro Zone, the Indian economy is estimated to grow at 6.9 per cent

during fiscal 2011-12 after two consecutive years of 8 per cent-plus growth. In 2010-11, the

economy expanded 8.4 per cent. But the good news is that the national per capita income is set to

exceed the `60,000 level during this fiscal.

To stimulate growth, RBI lowers CRR

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) injected `32,000 crore into the system by lowering the Cash

Reserve Ratio (CRR) by half-a-percentage point but kept the short-term lending rate unchanged

in view of persisting inflationary concerns.

The followings are the highlights of the third-quarter review of the Monetary Policy announced

by RBI Governor D. Subbarao:

CRR lowered by 0.5% to 5.5%

Short term lending rate (repo) retained at 8.5%

Short-term borrowing rate unchanged at 7.5%

CRR cut to infuse additional `32,000 crore liquidity

GDP growth estimate for 2011-12 cut to 7% from 7.6%

Downside risks to growth have increased

March-end inflation projection at 7%

Bank rate retained at 6%

Fiscal slippages threat to economic stability

Investment, capital inflows have slowed down

Fiscal deficit to overshoot Budget estimate

Injected `70,000 crores in November-January through OMOs

Next review of monetary policy on March 15


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APRIL 2012

Akhilesh Yadav, son of SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, was sworn in as the Chief Minister of

Uttar Pradesh, the youngest-ever to hold the office. Akhilesh Yadav, 38, will be the 33th Chief

Minister of the most populous state.

Sixty-three year old Congress leader Okram Ibobi Singh was sworn in as the 23rd Chief

Minister of Manipur for a third consecutive term. The Congress had won 42 of the 60 seats in the

state assembly securing two thirds majority in the assembly elections.

Congress MP Vijay Bahuguna was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand after the

Congress overruled a revolt by another MP Harish Rawat, who is said to have offered to resign

from the Union government. The Congress won 32 seats in the 70-member Assembly, one more

than BJP‘s 31.

85-year-old year old SAD leader Parkash Singh Badal was sworn in as the Chief Minister

of Punjab for a record fifth time along with 17 other Cabinet rank ministers, including his son

Sukhbir, for a second successive term of the SAD-BJP alliance government. The SAD has

created a record in the state since 1966 when Punjab was reorganized by becoming the first party

ever to retain power in alliance with the BJP with an improved tally of 68 seats against 67 which

the two parties secured in 2007.

Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi (right) became Yemen‘s new president, formally removing autocrat

Ali Abdullah Saleh from power, as a car bombing in the south of the country underscored the

violence that will be the new leader‘s greatest challenge.

Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov was re-elected for a second term as president

of Turkmenistan. There were seven other candidates, all from his own (and the only) party. He

picked up only 97% of the vote.

Joachim Guack is the new President of Germany. He succeeds Christian Wulff who resigned

due to corruption allegations.

Pakistan appointed Lieutenant-General Zaheer ul Islam as the new head of the Directorate of

Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), its military spy agency. The ISI wields enormous power in

Pakistani politics and has been accused of colluding with militants. General Islam‘s most recent

post was as commander of a Karachi-based army corps.

84rd

Academy Awards (Oscars)

Actor in a Leading Role: Jean Dujardin, The Artist

Actor in a Supporting Role: Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Actress in a Leading Role: Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady

Actress in a Supporting Role: Octavia Spencer, The Help

Animated Feature Film: Rango by Gore Verbinski


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Best Director: Michael Hazanavicius, The Artist

Best Foreign Language Film: A Separation (Iran)

Best Music: The Artist by Ludovic Bource

Best Picture: The Artist¸ produced by Thomas Langmann

Best Original Screenplay: Midnight in Paris by Woody Allen

62nd

Berlin Film Festival

Golden Bear for Best Film: Cesare deve morire (Caesar Must Die), Paolo and Vittorio

Taviani, Italy

Silver Bear Jury Grand Prix: Csak a szél (Just The Wind), Bence

Fliegauf, Hungary, Germany and France

Silver Bear for Special Mention: L‘Enfant d‘en haut (Sister), Ursula

Meier, Switzerland and France

Silver Bear for Best Director: Christian Petzold for Barbara, Germany

Silver Bear for Best Actress: Rachel Mwanza in Rebelle (War Witch), Kim Nguyen, Canada

Silver Bear for Best Actor: Mikkel Følsgaard in En Kongelig Affære (A Royal Affair)

TENNIS

ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament, Rotterdam


Runner-up: Juan Martin del Potro (Argentina)

Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship, Dubai

Men‘s Winner: Roger Federer (Switzerland)

Runner-up: Andy Murray (Great Britain)

Women‘s Winner: Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland)

Runner-up: Julia Gorges (Germany)

Men‘s Doubles Winners: Mahesh Bhupathi / Rohan Bopanna (India)

Runners-up: Mariusz Frystenberg / Marcin Matkowski (Poland)

Women‘s Doubles Winners: Liezel Huber / Lisa Raymond (U.S.)

Runners-up: Sania Mirza (India) / Elena Vesnina (Russia)

Qatar Total Open, Doha


Runner-up: Samantha Stosur (Australia)

Sachin scores a Century of Centuries


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Iconic Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar (left) scripted history by becoming the first cricketer in

the world to score 100 international centuries, a phenomenal feat which may remain

unconquered for years to come. Tendulkar, who already has a pile of runs and records to his

credit, achieved the incredible milestone in the Asia Cup match against Bangladesh in Mirpur on

March 16. It was the end of a long wait for the 38-year-old veteran, who had gone 33 innings and

a year without a century. The right-hander made his 99th international ton in a World Cup match

against South Africa in Nagpur on 12 March last year. Much before his debut on November 15,

1989, Sachin‘s precocious talent was there to be seen when he shared an unbeaten 664-run stand

with Vinod Kambli in the Lord Harris Shield Inter-School Game in 1988. The 1989 international

debut was far less spectacular, in fact forgettable. A Waqar Younis bouncer left him with a

bleeding nose but Sachin did not wince and the next two decades saw him punishing bowlers all

over the world on all kind of surfaces. His first Test century came in England next year at Old

Trafford and the Indian rose in stature after the 1991-92 tour ofAustralia, hitting sublime

centuries on a Sydney turner and a Perth minefield. The rest is history. No existing batting record

seemed safe. Other than Brian Lara‘s Test match highest of 400 not out and first class highest

score of 501 not out, every batting record became Sachin‘s. He is also the first batsman in the

world to score a double ton in ODIs, a feat he achieved in Gwalior against South Africa in

February last year. A staggering 15470 runs scored in 188 Tests at a robust average of 55.44

confirmed Sachin‘s greatness in the longer version of the game. And in the 462 ODIs he played,

a whopping 18,260 (before the Asia Cup match against Bangladesh) were added to his mountain

of runs at an average of 44.64.

Iran has stopped selling crude to British and French companies in a retaliatory measure against

fresh EU sanctions on the Islamic state‘s lifeblood, oil. The European Union in January decided

to stop importing crude from Iran from July 1 this year over its disputed nuclear programme,

which the West says is aimed at building bombs. Iran denies this. The European Commission

said that the group would not be short of oil if Iran stopped crude exports, as they have enough in

stock to meet their needs for around 120 days. Among European nations, debt-ridden Greece is

most exposed to Iranian oil disruption. EU‘s new sanctions includes a range of extra restrictions

on Iran that went well beyond UN sanctions agreed in February this year and included a ban on

dealing with Iranian banks and insurance companies and steps to prevent investment in Tehran‘s

lucrative oil and gas sector, including refining. The mounting sanctions are aimed at putting

financial pressure on the world‘s fifth largest crude oil exporter, which has little refining capacity

and has to import about 40 per cent of its gasoline needs for its domestic consumption, into

giving up its nuclear programme.

Johnson & Johnson promoted Alex Gorsky from Vice-Chairman to Chief Executive Officer

(CEO). He will replace William Weldon, who has held the job since 2002, in April. Mr Gorsky,

a former army captain and marathon runner, is expected to instil discipline at J&J, which has

seen its brand image tarnished by a number of product recalls.


16

Driven by strong performance of the manufacturing sector, India‘s industrial output rose to 7-

month high of 6.8 per cent in January, suggesting that economic recovery may be round the

corner. On the back of 8.5 per cent growth in manufacturing during the month, the Index of

Industrial Production (IIP) grew at a faster pace than 2.5 per cent recorded in December. On

the other hand, output of the mining and capital goods sectors contracted by 1.5 per cent and 2.7

per cent respectively during the month. However, the Planning Commission cautioned that one

will have to wait for February data before concluding that downturn is over. Although the growth

in industrial output during January 2012 at 6.8 per cent, it is less than 7.5 per cent recorded in the

same month last year. On sequential basis, this is the highest growth since June 2011 when it was

9.5 per cent. During the April-January 2011-12 period, the IIP growth stood at 4 per cent, as

against 8.3 per cent in same period in 2010-11. Recently, the Central Statistical Organisation

(CSO) had estimated that the economy would grow at a slower pace of 6.9 per cent this fiscal, as

against 8.4 percent in 2010-11.

The Union Government has slashed interest rate on deposits in Employees Provident

Fund (EPF) from 9.5 per cent to 8.25 per cent for 2011-12, affecting over 4.7 crore subscribers.

This cut was proposed by the Finance Ministry and a notification was issued by the Labour

Ministry. The Employees‘ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) had provided 9.5 per cent

interest rate to its subscribers for 2010-11 after it found `1,731 crore surplus in its books of

account. The Labour Ministry had recommended 8.6 per cent rate of interest for this fiscal on

provident fund deposits to EPFO subscribers.

China posted a trade deficit of U.S.$31.48 billion in February, the country‘s biggest in almost a

decade. The massive trade deficit was due partly to seasonal distortions but also to faltering

demand for the country‘s exports. Factories were closed during the Chinese new-year

celebrations, which may be one factor behind the slacker exports. The weak export performance,

even as imports grew at twice the rate of exports, comes on top of a raft of disappointing

economic data that economists said will add to the likelihood of additional easing by the central

bank and other policy makers. The deficit of U.S.$31.48 billion in February comes on the back

of a U.S.$27.28 billion surplus in January, according to data released by China‘s General

Administration of Customs.

Brazil’s economy, the second largest in the Western Hemisphere, grew by just 2.7% last year, a

huge drop from the 7.5% growth rate in 2010. Brazil‘s economy is forecast to grow by around

3% this calendar year.

China has lowered its target for GDP growth rate to 7.5% for this year, the first time in eight

years that the official target has been under 8%. Economists fear that Beijing‘s growth slowdown

might adversely impact the region and commodity-rich countries (like Australia), that feed the

Middle Kingdom‘s massive hunger for raw materials.


17

MAY 2012

Facebook has acquired Instagram – the popular photo-sharing smartphone app, for U.S.$1

billion in cash and stock. Instagram was launched in October 2010, initially just for the iPhone

before being offered as an Android app only recently. The app is free and allows users to apply

17 filters to the pictures they take - changing the colour balance to give the images a different

feel - before they are uploaded. It has proven hugely popular. The firm says that it has more than

30 million users uploading more than 5 million new pictures every day. Facebooks‘ founder and

CEO Mark Zuckerberg (right) has pledged to continue to develop Instagram as a separate brand,

allowing it to post to rival networks.

Glencore, the world‘s biggest commodities-trading company, acquired Viterra, a Canadian

grain-exporting business, for U.S.$6.1 billion.

India‘s exports recorded the slowest pace of growth in three months, 4.2 per cent year-on-

year, at U.S.$24.6 billion in February due to the global slowdown. In sharp contrast, imports

grew at a faster rate of 20.6 per cent year-on-year to U.S.$39.7 billion in February, translating

into a trade deficit of U.S.$15.1 billion. The Union Government has expressed concerns over the

ballooning trade deficit, saying that since October exports are decelerating faster than imports.

From a peak of 82 per cent in July, export growth slipped to 44.25 per cent in August, 36.36 per

cent in September and 10.8 per cent in October, 3.8 per cent in November 2011. However,

exports grew 6.7 per cent in December, and over 10 per cent in January. During the April-

February period in 2011-12, exports aggregated to U.S.$267.4 billion, a year-on-year growth of

21.4 per cent, thanks to the surge witnessed in the early months of the fiscal. It is believed that

the country‘s exports would be around U.S.$292-U.S.$298 billion during 2011-12. During the

11-month period, imports increased by 29.4 per cent to U.S.$434.1 billion. Trade gap during the

period stood at U.S.$166.7 billion. Oil imports in February grew by 39.4 per cent to U.S.$12.65

billion from U.S.$9 billion in the same period last year. Non-oil imports increased by 13.5 per

cent to U.S.$27.12 billion.

Cisco, the world‘s biggest maker of networking equipment, has bought NDS for U.S.$5 billion

to bolster its business in video software.

UPS, the world‘s largest logistics services company, has acquired TNT Express, a rival logistics

company based in theNetherlands, for U.S.$6.8 billion, as it seeks to extend its global operations.

The President of Hungary, Pal Schmitt, has resigned in the wake of allegations of plagiarising

his doctorate. The resignation came soon after Budapest‘s Semmelweis University stripped him

of his doctorate because of plagiarism. Hungary is a parliamentary democracy; the current prime

minister is Viktor Orban.

Greece’s Prime Minister Lucas Papademos has resigned, setting the stage for early elections

on May 6 after a five-month rescue mission to save the country from bankruptcy. He formally


18

handed his resignation to President Carolos Papoulias after telling his coalition cabinet a May 6

ballot was needed to secure a new mandate for reforms to return Greece to growth and secure its

place in the euro zone. Mr Papademos, 64, a former European Central Bank vice president, was

appointed as caretaker prime minister in November, heading a coalition backed by the

conservative New Democracy party and the socialist Pasok party, to complete a euro 130 billion

debt-saving deal for Greece. But the country, now in its fifth consecutive year of recession, must

pursue structural reforms to restore growth and stay in the eurozone.

2012 Pulitzer Prize:

Journalism (abridged list)

Public Service: The Philadelphia Inquirer

Breaking News Reporting: The Tuscaloosa (Ala.) News Staff

Investigative Reporting: Matt Apuzzo, Adam Goldman, Eileen Sullivan and Chris Hawley of the

Associated Press and Michael J. Berens and Ken Armstrong of The Seattle Times

Explanatory Reporting: David Kocieniewski of The New York Times

National Reporting: David Wood of The Huffington Post

International Reporting: Jeffrey Gettleman of The New York Times

Breaking News Photography: Massoud Hossaini of Agence France-Presse

Letters, Drama and Music (abridged list)

Drama: ‗Water by the Spoonful‘ by Quiara Alegría Hudes

History: ‗Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention‘ by the late Manning Marable

Biography: ‗George F. Kennan: An American Life‘ by John Lewis Gaddis

Poetry: ‗Life on Mars‘ by Tracy K. Smith

General Nonfiction: ‗The Swerve: How the World Became Modern‘ by Stephen Greenblatt

Music: ‗Silent Night: Opera in Two Acts‘ by Kevin Puts

TENNIS (BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, California)

Men‘s


Runner-up: John Isner (U.S.)

Women‘s


Runner-up: Maria Sharapova (Russia)

India has inducted Russian-made nuclear powered submarine ‘INS Chakra’ into the Navy,

joining an elite group of five nations possessing such sophisticated warships. The Akula II class

Nerpa, rechristened INS Chakra, was commissioned into the Navy at the Ship Building Complex

in Visakhapatnam. With INS Chakra and indigenously built INS Arihant expected to start

operational patrols soon, India will soon have two nuclear submarines guarding its vast maritime

boundary. With a maximum speed of 30 knots, the submarine can go up to a depth of 600 metres

and has an endurance of 100 days with a crew of 73. The vessel is armed with four 533mm

torpedo tubes and four 650mm torpedo tubes. India had leased and operated a Charlie class


19

Russian nuclear submarine in 1988 for training its personnel on such submarines. INS Chakra

has been taken on lease from Russia for 10 years and would provide the Navy the opportunity to

train personnel and operate such nuclear-powered vessels. India had signed a deal with Russia in

2004 worth over U.S.$900 million for leasing the submarine. It was expected to be inducted a

couple of years back, but after an on-board accident in 2008, in which several Russian sailors

died, the delivery schedule was changed.

Madhya Pradesh is the first state in the country to ban tobacco, magnesium and nicotine-based

‗gutkha‘ following provisions of the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restriction on

Sales) Regulation 2011. The move was aimed at checking oral cancer. More than 80,000 new

cases of oral cancer are being detected in the country each year, across age groups.

To boost cooperation in nuclear safety and security, leaders of the Association of Southeast

Asian Nations (ASEAN) plan to set up an information sharing network among nuclear agencies

in the region. The move comes in the wake of theFukushima nuclear crisis triggered by last

year‘s earthquake and tsunami disaster in north-eastern Japan. With many ASEAN countries

planning to develop nuclear energy, the crisis raised awareness about the need to harmonise

nuclear safety standards so as to minimise and avert the risk of trans-boundary effects of nuclear

accidents. A draft statement issued by leaders of the 10 ASEAN countries at the end of their two-

day summit said they have agreed to ―develop a network amongst nuclear regulatory bodies in

Southeast Asia which would enable regulators to exchange nuclear-related information and

experiences on best practices, enhance cooperation and develop capacities on nuclear safety,

security and safeguards. It is expected to help promote information sharing and transparency on

nuclear-related issues in the region. Nuclear safety is a term generally used to refer to the safe

operation of nuclear plants, nuclear security is aimed at preventing the proliferation of weapons

of mass destruction, while nuclear safeguards are meant to ensure the accountancy of nuclear

materials. Such a move is necessary for ASEAN in its pursuit of a nuclear-free region through

the Treaty on Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapons Free Zone.‖

The Union Government said it will take 10 years to achieve total sanitation in the country, the

aim of the government is to make India open air defecation free country in the next 10 years.

There are about 2.60 lakh gram panchayats in the country and as per the latest population Census

data, only about 28,000 of them have achieved total sanitation. Replying to supplementary

questions, the minister said while data provided by state governments show sanitation coverage

is 68 per cent in the country, the Census puts the figure at only about 33 per cent. There is a huge

difference between the data provided by the state governments and Census. Sikkim has become

the first Nirmal state achieving full sanitation coverage and Himachal Pradesh would soon get

the distinction. The Central government administers Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) to

facilitate states to ensure sanitation facilities in rural areas with the aim of eradicating the

practice of open defecation and ensuring clean environment. TCS, at present, is being

implemented in 607 rural districts not having sanitation facilities.

BRICS propose common development bank, a la World Bank

In an initiative to promote trade in local currencies, the BRICS nations signed two agreements to

provide line of credit to business community and decided to examine the possibility of setting up

a development bank on lines of multilateral lending agencies. The agreements were signed by at

the fourth BRICS summit in New Delhi. BRICS is an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China,


20

and South Africa. The Master Agreement on Extending Credit Facility in Local Currency and the

Multilateral Letter of Credit Confirmation Facility Agreement are being perceived as a step

towards replacing the dollar as the main unit of trade between them. Such intra-BRICS

initiatives, according to officials, will not only contribute to enhanced trade and investments

among the nations but would also facilitate economic growth in difficult economic times. As

regards the initiative to set up a BRICS development bank on the lines of multilateral lending

agency, Dr Singh said the proposal would be examined by the finance ministers. The init iative to

set up a BRICS development bank on the lines of the World Bank would allow the member

countries to pool resources for infrastructure development and could also be used to lend during

the difficult global environment. Intra-BRICS trade is about U.S.$230 billion and has the

potential of more than doubling to U.S.$500 billion by 2015.

RBI slashes key rates to stimulate growth

After a gap of three years, Reserve Bank Governor D. Subbarao has slashed short term lending

rate by 0.50 per cent to 8 per cent, a move that will reduce the cost of home, auto and corporate

loans. The reduction in the repo rate at which RBI lends to banks, has been prompted by

deceleration in growth and softening of inflation. The cut is aimed at spurring growth to 9 per

cent levels, seen before the global financial crisis that began in 2008, Dr Subbarao said while

unveiling the annual credit policy at the RBI headquarters in Mumbai. RBI has pegged the GDP

growth rate for 2012-13 at 7.3 per cent. It is expected to be 6.9 per cent in 2011-12. After two

consecutive cuts since January, the Governor, however, retained the cash reserve ratio (CRR) at

4.75 per cent. Dr Subbarao, however, ruled out further reduction in policy rate in the immediate

future citing persistent upside risks to inflation and possible fiscal slippages driven by higher oil

subsidies. It expects the inflation to be around 6.5 per cent by March 2013. The decision is likely

to prompt the banks to cut lending rates for home, auto and corporate loans. RBI has raised

lending rates 13 times between March 2010 and October 2011 to contain inflation that had been

hovering near double-digit. This had led to clamour by industry to cut rates and spur industrial

and economic growth that has slowed down considerably during the past few quarters. In order

to ease tight liquidity situation, the RBI Governor announced doubling the borrowing under the

Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) for banks to 2 per cent of their deposits with immediate effect.

It also permitted banks to borrow under the MSF even if they have excess government securities

holdings.

On the growth front, RBI expects FY‘13 to be moderately better than the fiscal gone by. It has

pegged GDP growth at 7.3 per cent, which is 0.3 per cent lower than the government projection

for 2012-13. Growth in 2011-12 is seen at a 3-year low of 6.9 per cent.

Inflation was the key driver that guided the Reserve Bank to tighten money supply, and later

hold rates during the past 36 months. The period also saw it inflicting 13 simultaneous hikes, by

3.75 per cent in repo rates over the 19-month period, making it one of the most aggressive

central banks in the world.

Apart from hurting investment activity, the rate hikes severely hurt the retail borrowers as higher

loan repayments put household budgets for a toss. RBI made a conscious effort at placating this

class by reiterating that banks should not charge prepayment penalties from home loan

borrowers. It also announced to set up a working group to assess the possibility of having long-

term fixed interest products which will not be exposed to interest rate changes.

The followings are the highlights of the Annual Monetary Policy for 2012-13 announced by

Reserve Bank of India (RBI).


21

Short term lending rate (repo) lowered by 0.50 per cent to 8 per cent;

Cash reserve ratio retained at 4.75 per cent;

GDP growth for 2012-13 projected at 7.3 per cent;

March-end, 2012-13 inflation expected at 6.5 per cent;

Bank rate cut by 0.50 pc to 9 per cent;

Deposit growth pegged at 16 per cent, credit growth at 17 per cent;

Upside risk to fiscal deficit target of 5.1 per cent;

Govt borrowing may decrease credit flow to private sector;

Liquidity conditions moving towards comfort zone;

To issue final guidelines on Basel III by May 2012;

Tightens norms for lending against gold by NBFCs, and

Next mid-quarterly monetary review on June 18.

Widening trade deficit pulls down macroeconomic indicators

Widening trade deficit and slowdown in capital inflows are weighing down India‘s key

macroeconomic indicators. The country‘s current account deficit (CAD) jumped to 4.3 per cent

of GDP in the October-December 2011 period (Q3) against 2.3 per cent in the corresponding

year-ago period. Current account deficit occurs when a country‘s total imports of goods, services

and transfers exceed exports, making it a net debtor to the rest of the world. Balance of payments

is the difference between the amount of exports and imports, including all financial exports and

imports, by a country. In absolute terms, the current account deficit has widened to U.S.$19.6

billion in the reporting Q3 against U.S.$10.1 billion in Q3 of 2010-11. It is feared that widening

deficit will weaken the rupee which, in turn, will have an inflationary impact (India imports

almost 80 per cent of its crude oil requirement). The rupee has depreciated by about 13 per cent

(or `5.75) against the dollar between April 2011 and March 2012. During Q3, India‘s balance of

payments was significantly stressed. The Reserve Bank of India attributed the stress to widening

trade deficit and capital inflows falling short of financing requirement, resulting in significant

drawdown of foreign exchange reserves. In the April-December 2011 period too current account

deficit rose to 4 per cent of GDP (3.3 per cent in the April-December 2010 period) to U.S.$53.7

billion (U.S.$39.6 billion), RBI data on Balance of Payments showed. The RBI said the rise in

current account deficit in the first nine months of the current financial year reflects higher trade

deficit on account of imports of petroleum, oil and lubricants, and gold and silver. The Finance

Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, in his Budget speech had said that one of the primary drivers of

current account deficit has been the growth of almost 50 per cent in imports of gold and other

precious metals.


22

JUNE 2012

Seventh G20 Summit held in Los Cabos, Mexico Aimed at boosting World Economy

The seventh G20 summit took place on 18,19 June 2012.Mexico chaired the summit.The summit

took place in the city of Los Cabos in Mexico. It is a twenty member brigade, the summit

includes countries, South Africa, Canada, India, Mexico, United States, China, Japan, South

Korea, Russia, Turkey, Argentina, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, European Union,

France, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom, Australia.The objectives and highlights of the summit

is as follows :

THE G 20 DECLARATION

• The leaders of the world's largest economies will help in boosting growth and job creation to

repair the wounded global economy because of the European financial crisis.

• The statement also included the importance of easing the Spanish Crisis.

• The Summit declaration also included investment in infrastructure in the developing

countries, this decision would help in achieving global growth which was hauled due to the

falling state of the world economy and the Eurozone crisis.

• All the Euro members of the G 20 will indulge in necessary policy measures to not only safe

guard the integrity, but also stabilize the whole area. This would be done only by breaking the

feedback loop between the sovereigns and the banks.

• The summit has also recognized the progress made by China in market-determined

exchanged rates.

• The summit has singled out Saudi Arabia, by bringing in a Saudi pledge to keep the oil prices

at bay and low. This is a step to ensure global economic well being.

• European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Council President

Herman Van Rompuy asked markets to focus on a European summit at the end of the month. It

would eventually help the continent move deeper and help the economic and political integration

to match its single currency.

• The 14-page statement emphasized the need for growth because this is the only way they will

solve the debt problem of the Eurozone.

• The non-European members of the G20 have sent a message to Europe that it has to find a

way that the Eurozone‘s finances can be supervised by a triumvirate comprising the European

Central Bank, the IMF and the EU.

FJP Leader Mohammed Mursi won the Egyptian Presidential Election 2012

Mohammed Mursi, leader of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), on 24 June 2012 was

declared victorious in Egypt's historical presidential election. Mursi bagged 51.73 per cent of the

total 13.23 million votes cast, while his closest rival Ahmed Shafiq, the former Egyptian PM and

the independent candidate, polled 48.3 per cent votes. The FJP is an independent political party,

which enjoys a strong political support from the Muslim Brotherhood, the largest and best-

organized political group in Egypt


23

The first Presidential election, which was alo the first free elections in the history of the country,

was held on 23 and 24 May 2012 followed by the main election, held on 16 and 17 June 2012.

The presidential election 2012 was the first presidential election in the country after the 2011

Egyptian revolution during the Arab Spring, which ousted the autocratic president Hosne

Mubarak from the office.

India and Israel inked Pact to Promote Bilateral Relation in the Tourism Sector

India and Israel inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to expand the bilateral relation in

the tourism sector on 24 June 2012. Israel, under the MoU, will open a tourism office in Mumbai

and increase the frequency of flights to India. The MoU was signed between Israeli Tourism

Minister Stas Misezhnikov and his Indian counterpart Minister Subodh Kant Sahai in Jerusalam

in Israel. Israel is also set to invest 660000 dollar to draw more Indian tourists to the country.

The MoU also set the foundation to establish a tourism development forum, which will seek the

advice from various stakeholders including travel agents, hoteliers, tour operators and from the

media, to expand tourism market in both the countries. The two countries have a great scope of

tourism development by engaging into mutual cooperation as nearly 40000 Indian tourists visit

Israel every year, and the same number of Israeli citizens come to India annually.

Raja Parvez Ashraf appointed the 17th Prime Minister of Pakistan

Raja Parvez Ashraf, the senior Pakistan People‘s Party leader, was appointed the 17th Prime

Minister of Pakistan on 22 June 2012. In a poll held in the Pakistan‘s National Assembly to elect

new Prime Minister, Raja received 211 votes of the total 342 votes while the Opposition PML

(N) candidate, Sardar Mehtab Abbasi, bagged only 89 votes. Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari

administered oath to the new Prime Ministerat in a special oath taking ceremony held at the

Presidency at Islamabad in Pakistan. Ashraf was elected as the Prime Minister following the

Supreme Court‘s verdict to debar Yousaf Raza Gilani from his office on 19 June 2012 in a

contempt of court case. Born on 26 December 1950, in Sanghar town in Sindh province, Ashraf

completed his higher education from Sindh University in Pakistan in 1970. A successful real

estate businessman Ashraf is considered as a key PPP leader in the Rawalpindi region. He was

twice elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan from Gujar Khan constituency of Rawalpindi

District. Before being elected as the Prime Minister of the country, he served as the federal

minister for water and power, and information and technology in the cabinet headed by former

prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.

Aung Saan Suu Kyi visited Thailand in Her First Foreign Visit since 1988

Myanmar‘s pro-democracy leader Aung Saan Suu Kyi carried out her first trip outside the

country since 1988. Suu Kyi, who is also Myanmar‘s principal opposition leader, visited

Thailand as her first foreign visit after she was elected to the country‘s parliament following the

by-elections. The Nobel laureate arrived Thailand on 29 May 2012 on a six-day visit. During her

visit to the neighboring country Suu Kyi addressed the world leaders at the World Economic

Forum. She also visited a sprawling camp on Thailand's border which is home to up to 140000

ethnic Karen refugees. After her trip to Thailand she would visit to Europe in June 2012. During


24

her visit to Europe, she is also intended to formally receive her Nobel Prize which she had won

in 1991. Suu Kyi will also visit her family residing in the UK. She is also scheduled to address

the British parliament on 21 June 2012.

Saina Nehwal beat China's Xuerui Li to win her Third Indonesia Open Title

Ace Indian badminton player Saina Nehwal clinched her third Indonesia Open Super Series title

after beating China's Xuerui Li in title clash in Jakarta on 17 June 2012. With this victory, the

fifth seed, Saina took the total number of her title in the calendar year 2012 to 3. The Olympic-

bound shuttler had won the Thailand Open on 9 June 2012. 22-year-old Saina had earlier claimed

the Indonesia Open title in 2009 and 2010. Prior to the final clash of Indonesia Open Saina had

suffered defeat at the hands of Xuerui Li on four occassions and had registered victory on just

one occassion in year 2010.

Roger Federer defeated Tomas Berdych to win Madrid Open Title

Swiss tennis star Roger Federer defeated Czech Tomas Berdych to win Madrid Open title on 13

May 2012. The Madrid Open title is set to reinstate Federer as the no. 2 spot in the world tennis

ranking, the position he had earlier lost to his rival Rafael Nadal. The third seeded Federer also

leveled the record of Spaniard Rafael Nadal to win 20 Masters titles. Federer held the no.1

position for record 285 weeks, just one week short of the record 286 weeks occupied by

American tennis legend Pete Sampras. Federer has to his credit a record 16 Grand Slam singles

titles. He was named the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for a record four consecutive

years from 2005 to 2008. He also topped the list of the "100 greatest tennis players of all time"

(male or female) by Tennis Channel in 2012.

RBI hiked Foreign Investment Limit in Government Bonds by 5 billion dollar

In a move aimed at arresting the unrelenting fall of Indian rupee, India‘s central bank the

Reserve Bank of India on 25 June 2012 hiked the limit of foreign investment in government

bonds by 5 billion dollar to 20 billion dollar. The bank also raised limit of external commercial

borrowing (ECB) to 10 bilion dollar. Currently, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) are allowed

to invest upto 20 billion dollar in Indian corporate bonds. While the limit in government bonds is

at 15 billion dollar, FIIs are barred to invest in infrastructure bonds upto 25 billion dollar. The

central bank also cut down the time period for the maturity of government securities (g-secs) to

three years from earlier five years.

Indian Railways and IIT-Kanpur developed the Real-Time Train Running Information

System

A joint team of Indian railways and IIT-Kanpur developed the real-time train running

information system, a technology which will help a mobile user to get the information about the

exact location of a train. Under the new technology the user will have to type the train number

and SMS it to 09415139139 or 09664139139 for getting the exact location of a train on real-time

basis. The satelite-based train tracking system was jointly developed by the Centre For Railway


25

Information Systems (CRIS), the IT arm of Indian railways and Indian Institute of Technology

(IIT), Kanpur to overcome the limitations of the existing Train Running Information System.

Capital Markets Regulator SEBI notified Norms for Listing of Stock Exchange

Capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 21 June 2012

notified new rules for ownership and governance of stock exchanges to encourage the setting up

of new bourses and enable exchanges to get listed. The amendments were announced following

the legal tussle between the regulator and MCX Stock Exchange, which had earlier sought

approval to start an equity platform. The new norms require the recognised stock exchange to

have a minimum net worth of Rs 100 crore at all times and at least 51 per cent of stake has to be

held by public. The ownership of a single investor was capped at 5% with an exemption for stock

exchanges, depositories, insurance and banking companies and public financial institutions,

which has been permitted to hold up to 15 per cent. The shareholders who hold stake in excess

of the new limits would have to comply with new norms within a period to be decided by SEBI

and such period could be of up to three years. SEBI also specified that direct and indirect

exposure to any stock exchange will be considered while calculating the prescribed shareholding

limit. The new rules permits stock exchanges to list on any recognised stock exchange other than

itself and its associated stock exchanges, within three years of commencing operations. It was

highlighted that for a stock exchange that is not listed, an FII may acquire shares through

transactions outside of a recognised stock exchange provided it is not an initial allotment of

shares. For listed bourses, the FIIs can transact through the exchange where the shares are listed.

The market regulator had earlier in April 2012 approved changes to the Manner of Increasing

and Maintaining Public Shareholding (MIMPS) in recognised stock exchanges at a board

meeting.

Shekhar Basu appointed as the Director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre

Shekhar Basu was appointed as the Director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) on 19

June 2012. Basu, who earlier served as the Chief Executive of Nuclear Recycle Board of the

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Trombay succeeded Ratan Kumar Sinha on the top

position. Sinha was appointed as the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission on 30 April

2012. 59-year-old Basu, an engineering graduate from Victoria Jubilee Technical Institute

(VJTI), joined BARC Training School in 1974. During his 38-year service at BARC, Basu

served in various capacities including the Chief Executive of Nuclear Recycle Board. Basu was

the Project Director of the Plutonium Recycling Project at Kalpakkam, which built India's first

indigenous Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR) which is powered by enriched uranium.

Antonis Samara sworn in as the Prime Minister of Greece

The New Democracy Party leader Antonis Samara sworn in as the Prime Minister of Greece on

20 June 2012. Samaras's centre-right New Democracy party bagged 129 seats of 300 in the

parliamentary elections held on 17 June 2012.

The New Democracy Party formed the new government with the support of socialist party Pasok

(with 33 seats) and the Democratic Left party (with 17 seats). The fresh elections were held in


26

Greece following the political parties failure to reach an agreement on the results of the first

election held on 6 May 2012.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni Appointed as a Brand Ambassador of Nepal Cricket Association

Indian Criket Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was appointed as a brand ambassador of Nepal

Cricket Association, Nepal on 17 June 2012.The announcement was made by Posta Bahadur

Bogati, Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation of Nepal. Dhoni will promote and develop

cricket in Nepal. Dhoni also advised Nepal cricket officials to get permission from International

Cricket Council to construct a stadium. The stadium would likely to promote cricket in the

country. Mahendra Singh Dhoni was born on 7 July 1981 in Ranchi, Bihar. At present, he is the

captain of the Indian ODI, Twenty20 team and Indian Test team. India won the 2011 Cricket

World Cup under his captaincy.

Tejaswini Mule won Silver medal at International Junior Shooting Championship

Tejaswini Mule won Silver medal at International Junior Shooting Championship in Suhl,

Germany on 17 June 2012. She won the silver medal in the 50 metre rifle prone women‘s event.

She shot around 592 and was occupied in a three-way tie with Jaqueline Orth of Germany and

Jennifer Messaggiero of Italy. Tejaswini was closer to 10 shots and won silver medal. The gold

medal was won by Jolyn Beer of Germany and Orth won bronze medal.

Harmeet Desai won Under- 21 Men’s Final Brazil Open Table Tennis

Harmeet Desai won Under- 21 Men‘s Final Brazil Open Table Tennis on 17 June 2012. He had

defeated Belgian Cedric Nuytin by 4-2 and won gold medal. He became first Indian to achieve

such an accomplishment. Desai won by 11-3, 6-11, 11-6, 11-9, 5-11, 11-6. Previously, the fourth

seed had defeated his compatriot Soumyajit Ghosh by 10-12, 11-8, 6-11, 11-1, 11-4, 11-4 in the

semi-final. After that he was competed with with Nuytin. Desai was up to his rival tricks in the

decider and won the title with three straight points.

RBI kept Key Policy Rates Unchanged in its Mid-quarterly Monetary Policy Review

The Reserve Bank of India in its mid-quarterly monetary policy review on 18 June 2012, decided

to keep the cash reserve ratio and the policy repo rate unchanged at 4.75 per cent and 8.0 per cent

respectively. The reverse repo rate remain unchanged at 7.0 per cent. The marginal standing

facility rate and the Bank Rate is to stand at 9.0 per cent. International credit rating agency

Standard & Poor's had warned that India could be the first BRIC nation to lose its investment-

level credit rating due to its fragile outlook of economy and frozen policy reforms.

China launched its Fourth Human Spaceflight Shenzhou-9 into Space

China on 16 June 2012 launched its fourth human spaceflight Shenzhou-9 from the Jiuquan

satellite launch centre in north-western Gansu state. The 30.3 feet long and 9.1 feet diameter,

Shenzhou -9 spacecraft will conduct the first manned docking mission and set the foundation for

Chinese plans to build a space station by 2020. Shenzhou-9 is expected to take at least 20 days to

complete its space mission. In the course of the mission the crew will accomplish automated


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docking procedure followed by scientific experiments, technical tests and physical exercises

conducted in the space lab. The crew will conduct manual docking with the Tiangong-1 or

heavenly palace space laboratory module, which has been orbiting the earth since 29 September

2011.

Indu Chaudhary and Sakshi Malik won Gold Medals in Asian junior wrestling

championship 2012

Indu Chaudhary and Sakshi Malik won gold Medals in Asian Junior Wrestling Championship

2012 at Almaty, Kazakhstan on 13 June 2012. Indu Chaudhay and Sakshi Malik are from Uttar

Pradesh and Haryana respectively. The former won the gold medal in 44 Kg and latter in 63 kg.

In addition, Pooja Danda won the silver by lifting 59kg of weight. In addition, Lalit, Seema,

Ruby Chaudhry, Ritu and Kiran won bronze medals by lifting the weight of 51 kg, 67 Kg, 48 Kg,

55 Kg and 72 Kg respectively. In the freestyle section of boys Satender, Bajrang and Somveer

won the silver medals by lifting the weights of 120kg, 60kg and 84kg respectively. Whereas, the

bronze medal won by Devi Singh, Praveen Rana, Deepak and Yudhvir by 50kg , 66kg, 74kg and

96kg respectively. Asian Junior Wrestling Championship 2012 held at championship held at

Kazakhstan from 30 May 2012 to 3 June 2012.

Israeli Scientist Daniel Hillel won World Food Prize 2012

Daniel Hillel won World Food Prize 2012 on 13 June 2012. He is a scientist from Israel. The

work and motivation of Daniel Hillel built the bridge between the divisions and to promote peace

and understanding in the Middle East by advancing a breakthrough achievement. His work is

relevant for agriculture-dominated economies. He applied the method of micro-irrigation, which

maximizes the efficiency of water usage in agriculture. World Food Prize is an international

award. This award recognizes the importance of water for agricultural purposes. Dr. Hillel will

be formally presented with the cash prize of 250000 dollar award in October 2012 at United

States. This award was recognized by Norman Borlaug in 1987. This award indicates to that

person who is pioneer in radical innovative way of bringing water to crops in arid and dry-land

regions. Norman Borlaug is a Nobal Prize winner and champion in Green Revolution. The World

Food Prize award is chaired by M.S. Swaminathan. He is Indian agricultural scientist Professor

and the first World Food Prize laureate. Norman Ernest Borlaug was an American agronomist,

humanitarian and also known as the the father of the Green Revolution. He won Padma

Vibhushan which is the India's second highest civilian honour.

NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array launched to explore Black Holes

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on 13 May 2012 launchedNuclear

Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) on a Pegasus rocket. The jet was launched from

Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. NuSTAR will help scientists find the most subtle and

energetic black holes, which will enable them to understand the structure of the universe. The

project aims to study energetic phenomena such as clusters of galaxies, black holes and the

explosions of massive stars. It will also study the Sun's atmosphere for hints on how it is heated.

The NuSTAR will work in coordination with other telescopes in space, including NASA's


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Chandra X-ray Observatory, which observes lower-energy X-rays. The project will open a new

avenue on the universe and will provide complementary data to NASA's larger missions

including Fermi, Chandra, Hubble and Spitzer. The total budget of the project is estimated to be

180 million dollar, including the cost of development, the launch vehicle and two years of in-

orbit operations. The entire project including the telescope and Pegasus launcher was developed

by Orbital Sciences Corp.

Pakistani Ghazal Maestro Mehdi Hassan died in Karachi

Pakistani ghazal maestro Mehdi Hassan passed away in Karachi on 13 June 2012 following a

prolonged illness. The legendary ghazal singer had not been well for last several years. He was

suffering from suffering from lung, chest and urinary tract ailments.

Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince of Bahrain visited India

Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince of Bahrain visited India on 30-31 May

2012. During this visit, the following Agreement/ Memorandum of Understanding were signed:

(i) Agreement between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the

Kingdom of Bahrain for Exchange of Information with respect to Taxes.

(ii) Memorandum of Understanding between Government of the Republic of India and

Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain on Cooperation in the Field Of Information and

Communication Technology.

Russian Tennis Player Maria Yuryevna Sharapova won French Open 2012

Maria Yuryevna Sharapova won French Open 2012 on 9 June 2012. She defeated Saria Erani

from Italy by 6-3 and 6-2. Sharapova is a Russian Lawn Tennis Player. She won French open

for the first time in her career. French open was held at Rolland Garros in Paris. The tournament

was run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF). French Open 2012 was a sixteen-day long

tournament. The tournament consists of both men's and women's singles and doubles and as well

as a mixed doubles events. Moreover, Sharapova was the winner of Wimbledon in 2004, the US

Open in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008.

Sachin Tendulkar was presented the Wisden India Outstanding Achievement Award

India‘s Batting great Sachin Tendulkar was conferred upon the Wisden India Outstanding

Achievement award for completing a century of 100 international hundreds, in Dubai on 11 June

2012. The legendary batsman was presented a trophy at an event organised by FidelisWorld. The

trophy was made from crystal, it resembles a cricket ball resting on the open pages of a book.

Tendulakar achieved the incredible feat while playing against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup in

March 2012. The batting genius has total 49 One-Day International centuries and 51 Test

centuries to his credit. Tendulkar, while receiving the award spoke on range of aspects of his

career, like his favourite innings, the match-winning fourth innings hundred against England at

Chennai in December 2008, balancing play and personal life, and the influence that his late

father had in shaping his career.


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Rafael Nadal beat Novak Djokovic to claim his Seventh French Open Singles Title

Spaniard Rafael Nadal on 11 June 2012 defeated Serbian Novak Djokovic to clinch French Open

Singles Title 2012. Second seeded Nadal beat top seed Djokovic in a final clash which lasted

four sets. With this victory the Spaniard also surpassed the Legend Bjorn Borg‘s 6 French Open

title feat. Earlier Nadal had defeated Daid Ferrer in the Semi Finals to make to the finals of the

tournament; While Djokovic had overwhelmed Swiss Roger Federer. The French Open title

marked his 11th Gand Slam in a career marked by 16 Grand Slam finals. Currently he is one

short off Roy Emerson, three off Pete Sampras and five title away from the arch rival Roger

Federer‘s record 16 grand slam titles.

Union Government suspended BEML Chief VRS Natarajan

The Union Government of India on 11 June 2012 suspended VRS Natarajan, the head of the

state-run defence enterprise Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML). The government‘s move

came in the wake of CBI‘s recommendations to remove him from his position given his role in

the controversial Tatra truck deal. The investigating agency had accused Natarajan of trying to

influence the investigation against him. The Bangalore based BEML supplies Tatra trucks to the

Army. Former Army Chief VK Singh had accused that he was offered a 14 crore rupees

kickback to approve the purchase of 600 sub-standard Tatara trucks for the Army. The

government had ordered a CBI inquiry in the Army Chief‘s allegations. The CBI is investigating

whether the defence public sector unit violated guidelines in buying and supplying the trucks to

the Army. Natarajan, as the head of the BEML had maintained that the Army Chief's assessment

of the trucks was grossly wrong. The legal cell of the Criminal Investigations Department in

Hyderabad had also recommended the prosecution of Natarajan for cheating, criminal breach of

trust, and falsification of accounts in the same case.

Saina Nehwal clinched Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold Title

Ace Indian Badminton player Saina Nehwal clinched her 16th career title as she defeated

Thailand's Ratchanok Inathon in the Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold title in Bangkok on 10

June 2012. The Thailand Open Grand Prix is Saina‘s second title in the year 2012. Earlier, in

April 2012 she had won the Swiss Open Title. The World No. 5 Saina Nehwal is India‘s one of

the biggest hopes for the London Olympics 2012. Saina had reached the women singles

quarterfinals round at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, which made her the first Indian woman

shuttler to reach the singles quarterfinals at the Olympics. She is also the first Indian to win the

World Junior Badminton Championships. Saina Nehwal created a history on 21 June 2009, when

she became the first Indian to win a Super Series tournament, by clinching the Indonesia Open

Title in Jakarta.

Vice Admiral DK Joshi named the New Chief of the Indian Navy

Government of India on 5 June 2012 nominated Vice Admiral Devender Kumar Joshi as the new

Navy chief. Joshi will assume the charge after Admiral Nirmal Verma retires on 31 August

2012. Joshi, 58 is currently the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Western Naval

Command, the Indian Navy's sword arm. DK Joshi has been awarded the Param Vishist Seva


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Medal, the Ati Vishist Seva medal, Yudh Seva Medal, Nau Sena Medal and the Vishist Seva

Medal.

Veeravalli Sundaram Sampath appointed New Chief Election Commissioner of India

President Pratibha Patil appointed senior-most Election Commissioner Veeravalli Sundaram

Sampath as the 18th Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India. He replaced S.Y. Quraishi on

the constitutional position, whose term as the CEC is coming to an end on 10 June 2012.

Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi won Mixed Doubles Title of the French Open

Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi on 7 June 2012 won their second Grand Slam title together

and first French Open trophy after beating Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico and Klaudia Jans

Ignacik of Poland in the mixed doubles final, in Paris. Playing their third Grand Slam final

together, the seventh seeded Indian pair scored a 7-6, 6-1 win over the Polish-Mexican pair in

one hour and 13 minutes at the Court Philippe Chatrier. It is the second career Grand Slam title

for Sania, while the 12th Major trophy for Bhupathi, who now has won eight mixed doubles

trophies. Sania and Bhupathi had won the 2009 Australia Open and it is their first Grand Slam

title since then. Sania had become the first woman tennis player from India to win a Grand Slam

with that Australian Open trophy.

US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta visited India, vowed to strengthen Tie with India

US defence secretary Leon Panetta arrived India on a two-day visit on 5 June 2012. The visit was

aimed at strengthening bilateral strategic and defence cooperation between the two nations. US

specified the Indian role in the world politics and its significance as a link between East and

West Asia and how the United States views India as a net provider of security from the Indian

Ocean to Afghanistan and beyond.

Panetta visited India as the part of his week-long visit to Asia to formulate a new US defence

strategy to allies and partners in the region. The strategy, which was released in January 2012,

calls for a shift in US strategic focus to the Asia-Pacific.

World Environment Day 2012 observed across the World

he world community observed the World Environment Day (WED) on 5 June 2012. The World

Environment Day is observed every year on 5 June to raise public awareness on the issues

related to global environment. The World Environment Day activities keep going on through out

the year, but culminate on 5 June every year.

Theme for the World Environment Day 2012 is: Green Economy: Does it include you? The host

for World Environment Day 2012 was the Federative Republic of Brazil. Theme for the World

Environment Day 2011 was Forests-Nature At Your Service and India was the global host for the

year's events. World Environment Day 2012 is the 40th edition of the global. The UN General

Assembly started observing the day in 1972 to mark the opening of the Stockholm Conference

on the Human Environment.


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Tiger Woods claimed Memorial Tournament, won his 73rd PGA Tour Title

Former world no. 1 golfer Tiger Woods defeated Spencer Levin and Rory Sabbatini to win his

73rd PGA Tour title by two shots at the Memorial tournament on 4 June 2012. The Memorial

tournament victory is Wood‘s second PGA Tour victory in the current season. Now the ace

golfer will be seen competing in the US Open from 14-17 June 2012.

Sachin Tendulkar sworn in as the Member of Rajya Sabha

Legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar sworn in as the member of the Rajya

Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament on 4 June 2012. Sachin along with hindi film actress

Rekha and business woman Anu Aga was nominated by the President of India as Rajya Sabha

MP on 27 April 2012. Since Parliament is not in session, Sachin was administered the oath in the

chamber of the Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari. The Vice President administered him the

oath. He took oath in Hindi. Sachin, 39, is the first active cricketer who has been nominated to

Rajya Sabha for 6-year term. The President of India under article 80 of the Indian constitution

nominates 12 members belonging from the various fields like art, literature, business, sports to

the 250-member Rajya Sabha.

Awards & Honours

2012 National Film Awards

Best Feature Film: Shared by Deool (Marathi) and Byari (Byari)

Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director: Aaranyakandam (Tamil)

Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment: Azhagarsamiyin Kuthirai (Tamil)

Best Children‘s Film: Chillar Party (Hindi)

Best Direction: GurvinderSingh for Anhe Ghorey Da Daan (Punjabi)

Best Actor: Girish Kulkarni for Deool (Marathi)

Best Actress: Vidya Balan for The Dirty Picture (Hindi)

Best Supporting Actor: Appu Kutty for Azhagarsamiyin Kuthirai (Tamil)

Best Supporting Actress: Leishangthem Tonthoingambi Devi for Phijigee Mani (Manipuri)

Best Child Artist (Shared): Partho Gupte for Stanley ka Dabba (Hindi); Irrfan Khan, Sanath

Menon, Rohan Grover, Naman Jain, Aarav Khanna, Vishesh Tiwari, Chinmai Chandranshuh,

Vedant Desai, Divij Handa and Shriya Sharma for Chillar Party (Hindi)

Special Jury Award: Anjan Dutt for Ranjana Ami Ar Ashbo Na (Bengali)

Best Film on Social Issues (Jointly being given to two Films): Mindscapes… of Love and

Longing (Hindi & English);Inshallah, Football (Kashmiri, Urdu & English)

Soumitra Chatterjee receives Dada Saheb Phalke Award

Legendary Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee (right) was conferred with the prestigious Dada

Saheb Phalke Award by Vice President Hamid Ansari. The 77-year-old Mr Chatterjee was given

a huge round of applause and a standing ovation by the audience as he received the Swarna

Kamal (golden lotus) medallion, a cash prize of 10 lakh and a shawl.


32

Dylan conferred with Presidential Medal of Freedom

Legendary singer Bob Dylan was conferred with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest

civilian honour given in the United States. The 71-year-old vocalist was among the 13 recipients

of America‘s highest civilian honour. The president chooses the recipients of the medal, which is

awarded to people who have made major contributions to the security of the United States, world

peace or culture, or have undertaken other significant public or private endeavors.

2012 Cannes Film Festival

Palme d‘Or: Amour (Love), directed by Michael Haneke

Grand Prix: Reality, directed by Matteo Garrone

Best Actor: Mads Mikkelsen, The Hunt

Best Actress: Cosmina Straten & Cristina Flutur, Beyond the Hills (tied)

Best Director: Carlos Reygadas, Post Tenebras Lux

Jury Prize: Ken Loach, The Angels’ Share

2012 Polar Music Prize

U.S. singer Paul Simon and cellist Yo-Yo Ma are to be the recipients of the 2012 Polar Music

Prize. The award, which is Sweden‘s highest music honour, is presented annually to both a pop

act and classical performer. It is given in recognition of ―exceptional achievements in the

creation and advancement of music‖. The pair will collect their one million kronor (£91,000)

prize from King Carl XVI Gustaf at a Stockholm ceremony in August this year. The prize was

founded by Stig Anderson, the manager of Swedish pop group ABBA, in 1989. Previous

recipients include Sir Elton John, Sir Paul McCartney, Ravi Shankar, Bob Dylan and Ennio

Morricone.

Sports

ARCHERY

India‘s Olympic prospect Deepika Kumari won her first World Cup individual recurve gold

medal at Antalya, Turkey. Deepika, who has already qualified for London Olympics, is the

current junior world champion and a gold medalist at the Delhi Commonwealth Games. She had

also won the Cadet World Title in 2009.

Vishy Anand wins World Chess Championship

Viswanathan Anand retained his World Chess Championship title after defeating his challenger

Boris Gelfand of Israel 2.5-1.5 in a crunch four-game tiebreaker in Moscow. With this, Anand

won his fifth World Chess Championship title after winning the ultimate glory in 2000, 2007,

2008, and 2010. There have been only three World Chess Championship matches that have been

decided on tiebreaks: Vishy Anand‘s loss to Anatoly Karpov of Russia in the 1998 final

at Lucerne, Rustam Kasimdzhanov‘s title win in 2004, and Vladimir Kramnik‘s success against

Veselin Topalov in 2006.


33

SNOOKER

Aditya Mehta stunned fancied compatriot Pankaj Advani to become only the third Indian ever

to clinch the Asian Snooker Championships, held in Doha. He is the third Indian to lift the

Asian Snooker Title and gets the championship trophy home after an eight year long wait.

Grandmaster Parimarjan Negi won the Asian Continental Chess Championship despite

losing to A. R. Saleh Salem of UAE in the final round, held in Ho Chi Minh City.

TENNIS

Barcelona Open, Barcelona

Winner: Rafael Nadal (Spain)

Runner-up: David Ferrer (Spain)

Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin

Winner: Rafael Nadal (Spain)

Runner-up: Novak Djokovic (Serbia)

Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, Stuttgart

Winner: Maria Sharapova (Russia)

Runner-up: Victoria Azarenka (Belarus)

Vladimir Putin has become President of Russia for the third time. Just before this, he had served

as prime minister for four years.

Laurent Lamothe is Haiti‘s new Prime Minister. A businessman and former tennis player, he

was nominated by the country‘s President Michel Martelly.

François Hollande, the Socialist candidate, won France‘s presidential election, beating Nicolas

Sarkozy, the centre-right incumbent, by 51.6% to 48.4%.

Tomislav Nikolic is the new President of Serbia. He defeated Boris Tadic, the liberal incumbent.

Former SPG chief B. V. Wanchoo was named the new Governor of Goa while E. S. L.

Narasimhan and K. Sankaranarayanan will have fresh terms as Governors of Andhra Pradesh

and Maharashtra respectively. Former Madhya Pradesh minister and ex-MP Aziz Qureshi was

appointed as the next Governor of Uttarakhand replacingMargaret Alva who will move to

Rajasthan as Governor for the remainder of her term.

The government of Mark Rutte, the prime minister of The Netherlands, has resigned. The

resignation came after one of the ruling coalition‘s constitutents - Freedom Party – withdrew

support, over disagreements in budget cuts. However, Mr Rutte will continue as the interim PM

till elections are held in September this year.


34

JULY 2012

CII in Partnership with the Government of India and Afghanistan held Delhi Investment

Summit

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in partnership with Government of India and

Afghanistan along with Afghan investment and business organizations organized a Delhi

Investment Summit on Afghanistan on 28 June, 2012. The summit took place at Hotel Taj

Palace, New Delhi. The official language for the summit was English.

Key Highlights:

• India and US to enhance defense cooperation through increased technology transfer,

collaborative joint research and development, and co-production of defense items in

Afghanistan.

• Eight grants awarded under the Obama-Singh Knowledge Initiative. Next call for proposals in

July 2012.

• India to establish 100 Community Colleges

• CV Raman Fellowship will place 300 Post-Doctoral fellows in US higher education institutions

• India and USA to launch a web portal for educational and research collaboration and

exchanges

• India proposed to organize a regional South Asia Women‘s Entrepreneurship Conference that

will bring key policy makers, women entrepreneurs, civil society organizations, private sector

institutions, and corporations.

• To facilitate travel between the two countries, an interview waiver pilot program is being

introduced to further streamline U.S. visa processing and facilitate legitimate travel.

The participants in the summit were investors not only from the public sectors, but also private

sectors. The summit was expected to provide an extraordinary opportunity to get information on

investment opportunities in Afghanistan.

Objective of the Summit:

• The primary objective was to attract foreign investment into Afghanistan opening in areas like

Hydrocarbons, mining and infrastructure

• It envisioned fruitful partnerships to help invest in Afghanistan.

• The summit also included presentations in regard to Investment Climate in Afghanistan.


35

• To throw light on Afghanistan‘s national growth strategy, long term and short term investment

opportunities.

India‘s Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh and Afghanistan‘s President Hamid Karzai have

already met in the past year, 2011 for tenure of two days to hold one-to-one and delegation level

talks on a wide range of bilateral, regional and global issues.

UNESCO inscribes Western Ghats Mountain Chain on the List of World Heritage Sites

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the science and

cultural body of UN, inscribed India's 1600-km long Western Ghats mountain chain on the list of

its world heritage sites on 1 June 2012. The Western Ghats mountain chain is globally renowned

for its enormous biological diversity. The mountain‘s chain, which are older than the Himalaya,

are widely responsible for the Indian monsoon weather pattern.

The Western Ghats are also considered to be one of the world's eight hottest hotspots of

biological diversity.

The 1600-km long ghats, begins at the border of Gujarat and Maharashtra and passes through as

many as 5 states including Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Kanyakumari

in Tamil Nadu marks the ending point of the ghats.

The World Heritage Committee of UNESCO holds its meeting once every year where it reviews

its list of World Heritage sites. The committee also looks into the implementation of the

UNESCO World Heritage Convention, which defines the kind of natural or cultural sites which

can be considered for inclusion on the World Heritage List.

HDFC launched Superia and Platinum Credit Cards for Doctors

Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) bank on 1 July 2012 launched two credits

cards Superia and Platinum for doctors. It will furnish their special needs including lifestyle,

travel and other needs. Hdfc planned to open one million credit cards to the fiscal year 2012.

The doctors will be able to access credit card in more than 600 airports lounges in the world

despite of the class or the airlines they are travelling. They will also get benefit from the reward

point redemption across all major airlines in India.


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India’s Exports slipped by 4.16 Per Cent to 25.68 Billion Dollar in May 2012

According to the latest foreign trade data released by the Union Commerce Ministry, on 2 June

2012, India‘s exports slipped by 4.16 percent to 25.68 billion dollar in May 2012. The slump was

largely attributed to sluggish global economic outlook and declining domestic industrial growth.

Imports during the May 2012, also saw a sharp plunge of 7.36 per cent to 41.9 billion dollar. The

trade deficit also contracted to 16.3 billion dollar in May, from 18.5 dollar in May 2011.

B. Surender Mohan appointed as the Chairman and MD of NLC

B. Surender Mohan was appointed as the new Chairman and Managing Director of Neyveli

Lignite Corporation (NLC) on 1 July 2012. A R Ansari was the former Managing Director of

Neyveli Lignite Corporation. Neyveli Lignite Corporation is the government organization and

the leading company in mining, thermal power plants and innovative researches. B. Surender

Mohan is 56 years old. He served as the Mines Director in his earlier stage of life. He started his

career from Rourkela Steel Plant and he was the Deputy General Manager at Rashtriya Ispat

Nigam in the year 1998.

PRI Leader Enrique Peña Nieto elected the New President of Mexico

The Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) leader Enrique Peña Nieto was elected the new

President of Mexico on 2 July 2012. In the Presidential Election held on 1 July 2012, Enrique

Peña Nieto beat Party of the Democratic Revolution candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Of the total 98 percent votes counted, Pena Nieto bagged 38 percent votes, while former Mexico

City Mayor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador got 31 percent votes. Nieto succeeded Felipe

Calderón on the top most position of the country. Enrique Peña Nieto, 45, the PRI leader, was

earlier the governor of the State of Mexico from 2005 to 2011. The Institutional Revolutionary

Party had ruled Mexico for nearly 71 years, before being voted out of power in 2000 presidential

elections.

Three Russian Female Athletes were Suspended

Russian Athletics Federation on 3 July 2012 decided to suspend three Russian female athletes

with the European Marathon Champion, Naiva Tulamanova. The three women are Svetlana

Klyuka, Yevgenia Zinurova, Lithuania's Zivile Balciunaite. European Marathon Champion

2010 Naiva Tulamanova was banned for two years. While Second winner in 800 meters

European Champions in 2006 Svetlana Klyukaand 2011 European 800 indoor winner Yevgenia


37

Zinurova, were suspended for anomalous indexes in their biometric passports and Lithuania's

Zivile Balciunaite was disqualified and banned for using steroids.

Dell Inc announced to buy Quest Software Inc for 2.4 billion dollar cash

Dell Inc on 3 July 2012 announced to buy Quest Software Inc for 2.4 billion dollar to increase its

software and reduce its dependence on personal computer souk. There was a bidding war

between Dell and Insight Initial offer to buy Quest Software. In this, Insight Initial Offer bid on

23 dollar per share in March 2012 where Dell bid on 25.50 dollar per share and bough the Quest

Software Inc. Dell decided to buy Quest because it founded itself a step behind its rivals

Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) and International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) to become one-stop

shops for corporate information technology needs. Quest is Dell's biggest purchase after Perot

Systems for 3.9 billion dollar in 2009. Dell Inc. is an American multinational computer

technology corporation in US. It was founded by Michael Dell. It is one of the largest

technological corporations in the world. It is the third largest PC vendor across the world after

HP and Lenovo.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon released UN Millenium Development Goal 2012

Report

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon released United Nations Millenium

Development Goal 2012. Report on 2 July 2012. The report noted that three important targets on

poverty, slums and water have already been met three years ahead of 2015, the target year. The

UN Millenium Development Goal Report presents the most comprehensive global assessment of

progress to date, based on data provided by a large number of international organizations within

and outside the United Nations system. The aggregate figures in the report provide an overview

of regional progress under the eight goals and are a convenient way to track advances over time.

The report is coordinated and published by the Statistics Division of the United Nations

Department of Economic and Social Affairs. The Millenium Development Goal has its origin in

the Millennium Declaration produced by the United Nations following the Millennium Summit

in 2000. The Declaration asserts that every individual has the right to dignity, freedom, equality,

a basic standard of living that includes freedom from hunger and violence, and encourages

tolerance and solidarity. In order to achieve its target of providing every individual a basic

standard of living along with freedom, equality, the member nations had adopted the Eight goals


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which has to be achieved by 2015. The eight areas which comprises the UN Millennium

Development Goal are as follows:

Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education

Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women

Goal 4: Reduce child mortality

Goal 5: Improve maternal health

Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability

Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development

Iran test-fired Medium Range Ballistic Missile Shahab-3

Iran on 3 July 2012, test-fired a medium range ballistic missile Shahab-3. The Shahab-3 has a

range of up to 2000 kilometers. The Shahab-1 and Shahab-2, the two short-range missiles, with

ranges of 300 to 500 kilometers, were also launched. The missile launch was the part of Iran‘s

Great Prophet 7 exercise. Great Prophet 7 exercise was announced by Iran on 1 July 2012 in the

wake of latest European Union sanctions on Iran. The exercise, which involved test of dozens of

missiles and domestically-built drones came following European Union‘s decision to ban the

purchase of Iranian crude oil. The EU's decision is the clear repercussion of failed dialogue held

between Iran and world powers on Iran‘s ambitious nuclear programme.

Vodafone Captured 1.04 billion euro of British firm Cable and Wireless

Vodafone on 3 July 2012 agreed to takeover 1.04 billion euro of British firm cable and Wireless

Worldwide (C & WW). The decision was taken after Tata Communications withdrew itself when

it failed to agree on a price.

State Bank of Patiala launched Gold Loan (Swarn Shakti) for Farmers

State Bank of Patiala (SBOP) on 2 July 2012 launched gold loan (Swarn Shakti) for farmers

against the security of gold ornaments to provide free loans to the farmers without taking loan on

land. It would help farmers meet their small and long term agricultural needs with crop

production, investment and consumption.


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Myanmar’s Vice President Tin Aung Myint Oo stepped down

Myanmar‘s first Vice President Tin Aung Myint Oo resigned on 4 July 2012 due to health

reasons. Tin Aung Myint Oo, a former army general is widely regarded as a hard-liner. He took

over as the vice president in 2011 after being selected by a bloc of military officers in the

country's legislature.

Jawahar Thakur assumed the Charge as the Controller General of Accounts

Jawahar Thakur, a 1979-batch Indian Civil Accounts Service officer took over as the new

Controller General of Accounts (CGA) of India, the post earlier held by C.R. Sundaramurti. Prior

to his appointment as the CGA, Thakur was the Principal Chief Controller of Accounts in the

Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) under the Department of Revenue in the Finance

Ministry.

Celebrated Assamese Poet Hiren Bhattacharyya passed away

Renowned Assamese Poet Hiren Bhattacharyya, who was fondly called Hiru-da by his admirers,

passed away on 4 July 2012. He was 80. Hiren Bhattacharya was well known as Prem aru

Rodalir Kobi (Poet of Love and Sunshine) in the Assamese literature. Hiren Bhattacharya was

the recipient of numerous literary awards including Bishnu Rava Bota, (1958) Rajaji Puroskar (

1984-85) awarded by Bharatiya Bidya Bhawan, Soviet Desh Neheru Bota (1987), Sahitya

Akademi Award ( 1992), and Asom Upotyoka Sahitya Bota, (Assam Valley Literary Award) in

2000.

Scientists at CERN discovered a New Sub-Atomic Particle called Higgs Boson

Scientists at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, on 4 July 2012, discovered

a new sub-atomic particle called Higgs Boson or God‘s Particle. The new discovery is being

considered as a gateway to a new era in understanding the universe's great mysteries including

dark matter. Scientists had predicted the existence of Higgs Boson, which is also referred to as

God‘s Particle, in 1964. The particle was named Higgs Boson after Peter Higgs and Indian

physicist Satyendra Nath Bose. Peter Higgs was one of six authors who wrote the revolutionary

papers covering what is now known as the Higgs mechanism and described the related Higgs

field and boson. The term God particle was first used by Nobel Prize-winning physicist Leon

Lederman. The term is now a more popular term for Higgs Boson which explains how the

subatomic universe works and got started.


40

Anup Sankar Bhattacharya appointed as the Director of IBPS

Anup Sankar Bhattacharya was appointed as the Director of the Institute of Banking Personnel

Selection (IBPS) on 2 July 2012. M Balachandran was the former director of Institute of Banking

Personnel Selection. After the abolition of Banking Services Recruitment Board, IBPS plays a

vital role for candidates who are interested in Bank Jobs. In 2011, all the nationalized banks

authorized Institute of Banking Personnel Selection to conduct a common written test to get

admission in the government banks. IBPS conducts separate test for SBI (State Bank of India)

and its associate banks.

UNHRC adopted Resolution to protect the Online Human Rights of Global Citizens

United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), the Geneva based human rights wing of UN,

on 5 July 2012, adopted a first ever resolution to protect the online human rights of global

citizens. The resolution adopted by consensus, stated that citizens of the world are as much

entitled to the human rights online as they are offline. The resolution noted that there can be no

double standard with regard to people‘s right of fundamental freedom and since internet makes a

major part of present world‘s communication process, all governments must endeavour to protect

the online rights of its citizens. The landmark resolution was sponsored by Sweden and co-

sponsored by over 80 countries that include United States, Brazil, Turkey, Nigeria, and Tunisia.

Union Government of India unveiled New Free Drug Policy

In a policy aimed at benefitting country‘s 120 crore population, the Union Government of India

on 4 July 2012 unveiled the 5.4 billion dollar free drug policy. Under the new policy, every

citizen of the country will be provided free medicines in all public health centres spreaded across

the country. As the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare kept branded drugs out of this policy,

the patients will be given only generic drugs. The policy which will remain effective over the

next five years will provide a much needed support to nearly 40 percent people of the country,

which spends 1.25 dollar or less a day on health.

Bank of India and United Bank of India reduced rate by 0.25 and 1.75 percent

Bank of India (BOI) and United Bank of India (UBI) on 5 July 2012 reduced the rate of interest

by 0.25 percent and 1.75 percent. BOI slashed the rate on fixed deposits where as UBI reduced

the rate for farm loans. BOI slashed interest rate on fixed deposit of 2-3 years by 0.25 percent to

9 percent and for 1 to 111 days the term deposit will be 9.10 percent beside 9.30 percent. The


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new rates are effective from 2 July 2012. While the interest rates on other maturities remain

unchanged. The other bank UBI slashed interest rate on various categories of farm loans by up to

1.75 per cent. It will offer crop loans, investment credit and loans up to 50 thousand rupees at

base rate only. The revised interest rates are effective from 1 July 2012. Currently, UBI base rate

or bank lending rate is 10.50 percent.

Sprint Star Usain Bolt Quit from Diamond League Meet in Monaco

Sprint star Usain Bolt on 5 July 2012 withdrew his name from the Samsung Diamond League

meet in Monaco on 20 July 2012 due to slight problem at Jamaican Olympics trials. He was

prepared for 200 meter race at Diamond League. Bolt is the three-time Olympic champion and

five times world record holder. He was the record holder in 100 meters, 200 meters and 4X100

meters relay race.

EIL signed Integrated Refinery Expansion Project of BPCL at Kochi

Engineers India Ltd. (EIL) on 6 June 2012 announced to secure Consultancy Services Contract

from Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL) for Integrated Refinery Expansion Project

(IREP) at Kochi. It costs around 720 crores rupees. The project involves expanding crude oil

refining capacity from 9.5 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) to 15.5 MMTPA. Besides

all this, EIL also providing its services to various refineries in India like Indian Oil Corporation

Ltd (IOC), BPCL, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), KRL, Chennai Petroleum

Corporation Limited (CPCL), Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL )and Mangalore Refinery and

Petrochemicals Ltd. (MRPL).

Roger Federer beat Andy Murray to claim Wimbledon Open Title 2012

Swiss (Switzerland) Tennis maestro Roger Federer beat British player Andy Murray 4-6, 7-5, 6-

3, 6-4 to win the Wimbledon Open Championship Gentlemen‘s Singles Final 2012 in London on

8 July 2012. Federer, with this victory also reclaimed the world No. 1 ranking surpassing Pete

Sampras' record of 286 weeks at the top of the game. The Wimbledon Open marked 17th career

Grand Slam for Federer, who had earlier claimed the Wimbeldon title on 6 different occasions

from 2003 to 2007 and again in 2009. Only William Renshaw's and Pete Sampras have got the

distinction of winning the coveted Wimbledon singles title on seven occasions.


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Yannis Stournaras took oath as the New Finance Minister of Greece

Yannis Stournaras took oath as the new finance minister of Greece on 5 July 2012. He succeeded

Vassilis Rapanos. Yannis took his oath in his office with the two deputy ministers. He was the

former Governor of European Investment Banking. He was the development Minister in the

caretaker government of Greece. He was also the part of the team that negotiates Greece's entry

to the Zone of Euro.

SEBI permitted MCX Stock Exchange (MCX-SX) to operate as a Full-fledged Stock

Exchange

Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 10 July 2012 permitted

MCX Stock Exchange (MCX-SX) to operate as a full-fledged stock exchange thereby ending

nearly four-year-long wait of the bourse. With the grant of the permission MCX-SX will from

hereon be able to offer additional asset classes such as equity and equity F&O (Futures and

Options), interest rate futures and wholesale debt segments.

Serena Williams beat Agnieszka Radwanska to claim Wimbledon Women’s Singles 2012

Ace US tennis player Serena Williams beat Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 in

Wimbledon women‘s singles Title at the All England Club in London on 7 July 2012. William,

the world no.6, beat the third seed, Radwanska who was playing her first grand slam final and

striving to become the first Polish to win a Grand Slam. Radwanska made a history by becoming

the first Polish tennis player to reach a grand slam final.

DV Sadananda Gowda resigned as Karnataka Chief Minister

Ending a month-long tussle within the state BJP, Devaragunda Venkappa Sadananda Gowda

stepped down as the Chief Minister of Karnataka on 11 July 2012. He handed over his

resignation to Karnataka Governor HR Bharadwaj at Raj Bhavan. The resignation of Gowda

paved the way for Jagdish Settar to be sworn in as the next Chief Minister of the state.

United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Laos

Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state visited Southeast Asian nation Laos (Lao People's

Democratic Republic) on 10 July 2012. The historic visit marked the first to the Laos, a

communist nation, by any US secretary of state over the past 57 years. John Foster Dulles‘ visit

in 1955 marked the last visit by any top US diplomat to Laos.


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International Donors Conference held in Tokyo

An international donor meeting was held here to discuss the peace building process in

Afghanistan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan. International donors meeting was held in Tokyo, on 8

July 2012. The conference was held to discuss the peace building process in the war-torn nation,

Afghanistan. The participants agreed to provide 16 billion dollar as the development aid to the

country over the next four years. The Tokyo conference was attended by nearly 70 countries.

Champion Wrestler and Bollywood Actor Dara Singh passed away in Mumbai

Rustam-E-Hind, Dara Singh, who won India numerous accolades globally in wrestling, passed

away on 12 July 2012 in Mumbai following a protracted illness. He was 84.He had suffered a

cardiac arrest on 7 July 2012.

England beat Australia 4-0 to claim NatWest Cricket Series

England beat Australia in the fifth and final one-day international cricket played at Old Trafford

on 11 July 2012 to complete a 4-0 victory in the NatWest cricket series played in England. The

English team was led by Alistair Cook while the Aussie team was led by Michael Clarke.

Jagdish Shettar sworn in as the 27th Chief Minister of Karnataka

Jagadish Shivappa Shettar was sworn in as the 27th Chief Minister of Karnataka on 12 July

2012. Shettar was administered the oath of the office by Governor HR Bharadwaj at an oath

taking ceremony held at Raj Bhawan. Shettar, 56, was unanimously chosen the leader of the BJP

legislature party following the resignation of DV Sadananda Gowda on 11 July 2012. He is the

third CM of state, within the period of 4 years.

Derek Mitchell assumed the Charge as the First US Ambassador to Myanmar since 1990

Derek Mitchell on 11 July 2012 assumed the charge as the first US Ambassador to Myanmar in

the past 22 year. Mitchell met President Thein Sein in Myanmar‘s capital Naypyitaw before

assuming the charge.

India successfully test-fired Nuclear Capable Agni-I Missile

India on 13 July 2012 successfully test-fired domestically built surface-to-surface single stage

Agni-I ballistic missile. The missile was launched from a test range at Wheeler Island off Odisha

coast. The nuclear capable missile with a strike range of 700 km was first test fired on 25

January 2002.


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Singapore Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong visited India

Singaporean prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong visited India on a three day trip in July 2012.

Where India and Singapore signed three key bilateral agreements and a Memorandum of

Understanding (MOU) on 11 July 2012, New Delhi. The two countries are working on

deepening economic relations even outside south-east Asia, building linkages with companies

where India and Singapore were associated.

Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma became the First Female Chairperson of African Union

Commission

African Union Commission (AUC) on 15 July 2012 elected South Africa's home affairs minister

Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma as its new Chairperson, making her the first female head of the union.

Sunita Williams embarked on her Second Space Mission

Sunita Williams, the Indian-American astronaut, set off for her second space mission on 15 July

2012. NASA astronaut Williams was accompanied by Russian cosmonaut Yury Malenchenko

and Japan's Akihito Hoshide aboard Russian Soyuz Spacecraft.

Marissa Mayer appointed as the New President and CEO of Yahoo

Yahoo, world‘s second largest search engine by query volume, appointed Marissa Mayer as its

new President and CEO. Mayer prior to this appointment served as the top executive at Google.

Mayer, who assumed the charge on 17 July 2012 will lead the product innovation in troubled

internet company by bringing out the new perspective.

India’s Retail Inflation dropped to 10.02 Percent in June 2012

According to the annual Consumer price index (CPI) data released by the Central Statistics

Office (CSO) and Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on 17 July 2012,

India‘s retail inflation dropped marginally to 10.02 percent in the month of June 2012 from 10.36

percent in May 2012.

Yesteryear Bollywood Superstar Rajesh Khanna passed away

Yesteryear Bollywood superstar Rajesh Khanna passed away at his Mumbai

residence Ashirwad on 18 July 2012. He was 69. He was severely ill over the past few months.

Rajesh Khanna, who was fondly called Kaka by his fans, is considered to be the first superstar of

Indian cinema.


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Seventh G20 summit took place in Mexican City Los Cabos

The seventh G20 summit took place in the city of Los Cabos in Mexico on 18 and 19 June 2012.

The summit was attended by the leaders of 20 nations including South Africa, Canada, India,

Mexico, United States, China, Japan, South Korea, Russia, Turkey, Argentina, Brazil, India,

Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, France, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom, Australia.

HDFC Banker Deepak Parekh appointed as new Chairman of Financing Infrastructure

The government on 16 July 2012 appointed HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh as the new

chairman of the High Level Committee on Financing Infrastructure. He would function in an

honorary capacity with the rank of minister of state. He was elected after the approval from

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in first week of July 2012.

Pranab Mukherjee won the Presidential Election 2012

Pranab Mukherjee was elected as the 13th President (in person) of India on 22 July 2012. Pranab

Mukherjee defeated his rival PA Sangma with a huge margin as he secured nearly 69 percent of

total valid votes. In an electoral college of 10.5 lakh, Pranab Mukherjee secured a vote value of

713763, while, PA Sangma managed to get only a vote value 315987. The victory of Pranab

Mukherjee was announced by Returning Officer for the Presidential election VK Agnihotri.

Pranab Mukherjee will be sworn in as the thirteenth President of India on 25 July 2012.

Eminent Freedom Fighter and social activist Captain Lakshmi Sehgal passed away

Eminent Freedom Fighter and social activist Captain Lakshmi Sehgal passed away in Kanpur on

23 July 2012. She was 97. She suffered a severe heart attack and was admitted to the hospital on

19 July 2012.

SEBI tightened Eligibility & Exit Criteria for Stocks in Derivatives Segment to curb

Manipulation

The market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 23 July 2012 tightened

eligibility and exit criteria for stocks in the derivatives segment by increasing the benchmark

liquidity level for any scrip to be eligible for trading in the derivatives segments. By doing away

with illiquid stocks SEBI aims to check manipulation. According to the circular issued by SEBI,

scrips with a minimum trading volume value of Rs 10 lakh and market wide position limit


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(MWPL) or market capitalisation of Rs 300 crore cannot be eligible for entry into the Future and

Options (F&O) segment.

Pranab Mukherjee Sworn-in as the 14th President of India

Pranab Mukherjee took oath of office and secrecy as the 14th President of India at the Central

Hall of Parliament on 25 July 2012. The oath was administered by the Chief Justice of India,

Justice SH Kapadia, at an elegant ceremony attended by top leaders and officials. In his first

address as the President, Pranab Mukherjee termed corruption as an evil.The new President of

India was given a twenty one gun salute, following which he signed the oath register after which

a thunderous applause followed.One should note that Pranab Mukherjee is the 13th President of

India in person and chronologically he is the 17th President of India.

Government approved 14 Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Proposals worth Rs 1584.11

crore

The finance ministry declared on 24 July 2012 that the government based on the

recommendation of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board approved 14 foreign direct

investment (FDI) proposals worth Rs 1584.11 crore. The FDI proposal which received

government approval included 225-crore investment in the Indian operations of Asian equity

research firm CLSA.

Hesham Kandil Appointed Egypt's New Prime Minister

Egypt‘s President Mohamed Morsi elected fifty year old Hisham Kandil as the country‘s Prime

Minister. Morsi ordered the country‘s former minister of water resources and irrigation, Kandil

to form a new government.

Kulandei Francis, Indian Social Activist Won Magsaysay Awards 2012

Indian social activist Kulandei Francis, age sixty six will be felicitated with the Magsaysay

Award. In the year 1979, Francis begun with his organisation, Integrated Village Development

Project (IVDP) in Krishnagiri, wherein he initially started with small projects, amongst his

achievements, he has conducted night schools in the light of gas lamps, set up first aid centres.

Then, with the help of development organizations, he undertook a micro-watershed programme

that, over twenty-two years, built three thirty one mostly small check dams benefitting

cultivators and their families in sixty villages.


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World Bank approved 1100 Crore Rupees Loan for Himachal Pradesh

The World Bank approved an 1100 crore rupees loan for Himachal Pradesh to promote green

initiatives and sustainable development in the state. The loan agreement was signed between the

World Bank and the state government in New Delhi on 28 July 2012.

30th Edition of Summer Olympics inaugurated in London

Summer Olympic games 2012 inaugurated at Olympic Stadium at the Olympic Park in East

London on 27 July 2012. Queen Elizabeth II officially declared the commencement of the 30th

Olympics Game, popularly called the London Olympics, amidst the sparkling fireworks. The

games, which will conclude on 12 August 2012, will see nearly 10500 athletes from 204

National Olympic Committees participating in as many as 26 sports events.

London was selected to host the 30th Summer Olympics on 6 July 2005 after it defeated bids

from Moscow, New The York City, Madrid and Paris during the 117th IOC Session in

Singapore. London also got a distinction to host the modern Olympic Games three times. The

city had previously host the games in 1908 and in 1948.

Below are some of the major facts related to London Olympics 2012

1. 100 heads of states were present at the three and a half hour long opening ceremony

2. More than 10000 performers participated in the opening ceremony

3. The opening ceremony was directed by celebrated Hollywood director Danny Boyle

4. Motto of the London Olympics is - Inspire a Generation

5. 10500 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees participating in as many as 26 sports

events

India at London Olympics 2012

Champion wrestler and the winner of bronze medal in Beijing Olympics 2008, Sushil Kumar

was the official flag bearer of 83-member Indian contingent at the opening ceremony of

Olympics. India has sent 83-member team in the London Olympics 2012, which is the highest

ever sent by Indian Olympic Association in the Olympics.

DRDO successfully test-fired Brahmos Supersonic Cruise Missile

Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) successfully test-fired Brahmos

supersonic cruise missile from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur, in Balasore

district, Orissa on 29 July 2012. The missile was test-fired as the developmental trial as it has

already been inducted into the Indian Army and Indian Navy.


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Gagan Narang won Bronze in the men's 10 meter air rifle event at London Olympics

Ace Indian Shooter won India its first medal in the London Olympics 2012 after he clinched the

bronze medal in the men's 10 meter air rifle event on 30 July 2012. While Abhinav Bindra, who

had won a gold medal in the Beijing Olympics 2008, failed to qualify for finals and finished

sixteenth.

Ravneet Gill appointed as the New CEO of Deutsche Bank India

Deutsche Bank, the largest German lender, appointed Ravneet Gill as the new CEO of the bank‘s

Indian operations. Gill replaced Gunit Chadha to the top position, who was elevated as co-chief

executive of Asia Pacific along with Alan Cloete in June 2012.

RBI left the Repo Rate unchanged at 8 % in Quarterly Monetary Policy Review

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its April-June quarter monetary policy review released on 31

July 2012 left the key policy rates unchanged. The repo rate - the rate at which banks borrow

from RBI - thus remained unchanged at 8 percent while the reverse repo rate – the rate at which,

the banks lend to RBI – remained stable at 7 percent. Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) - the amount of

total deposits that banks are required to keep with the central bank - also remained unchanged at

4.75.

India, China Agreed to step up Defence, Security Dialogue, Achieve USD 100 Billion Trade

Target

India and China agreed to take the defence and security dialogue to a higher level and work to

take steps to ensure that the two countries achieve a USD 100 billion trade target by 2015 on 26

July 2012. The dialogue of forty minutes took place on the sidelines of the Rio+20 Environment

Summit by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabo. Post

the dialogue, Prime Minister Singh invited Chinese investment in infrastructure in India.

P Chidambaram appointed as the Union Finance Minister

In a small cabinet reshuffle carried out on 31 July 2012, the United Progressive Alliance

government allocated P Chaidambaram the portfolio of Union Finance Ministry. Previously

Chidambaram was serving as the Union Home Minister. Sushilkumar Shinde, was given the

charge of Union Home Ministry while, Corporate Affairs Minister Virappa Moily was given the

additional charge of Power Ministry. President of India Pranb Mukherjee signed the notification

on the reallocation of ministries.

Michel Phelps became the Most Successful Athlete in the Olympic History

US swimmer Michel Phelps became the most successful athlete in the history of Olympic games

after he won the gold medal in 4x200 metre freestyle relay in final race at the Aquatic Centre on

31 July 2012. Phelps, who is playing his 4th Olympics, with this victory took his individual

Olympic tally to 19 (15 gold, two silver and two bronze), surpassing the 18 won by Soviet

gymnast Larisa Latynina between 1956 and 1964.

Current Affairs - January 12 to July 12

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Transcript of Current Affairs - January 12 to July 12