Chief Ministers & Governors of Indian States
Last Updated on : 21 June 2011
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Last Updated on : 21 June 2011
Sports Current Affairs 2011. Czech Republic won Fed Cup title after Lucie Hradecka & Kveta Peschke defeated Maria Kirilenko & Elena Vesnina to secure a 3-2 win over Russia in the final
The funding will help determine whether the Electronic Nose is able to detect TB immediately and non-invasively from the patient's breath, in order to replace time-consuming testing with sputum. It is estimated that up to 400000 lives a year can be saved in the developing world by early diagnosis, immediate treatment and reduced transmission of this killer disease. TB claims close to 1.7 million lives yearly and is second only to HIV/AIDs as the world's most deadly infectious disease.The two-year grant given to Electronic Nose will be used to validate the finding in four centres throughout India. Dr. Ranjan Nanda of the New Delhi-based International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, one of the lead researchers on the electronic nose project, aims to have a validated prototype by December 2013. About Electronic Nose The development of the Electronic Nose marks the collaboration between the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in New Delhi, India, and Next Dimension Technologiesin California. The New Delhi innovators are currently working with sensors developed in California to track biomarkers in the breath. Grand Challenges Canada is funded by the Government of Canada through the Development Innovation Fund announced in the 2008 Budget. Grand Challenges Canada works in a consortium with Canada's International Development Research Centre and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. 5. The government prepared a draft of Citizens Right to Grievance Redress Bill 2011 in the first week of November 2011. The bill aims at creating institutionalize mechanism to ensure delivery of public services in a time bound manner and redressal of public grievances. Key recommendations in the Draft Bill are: • There will be a Citizens Charter, and a protocol will be put in place. • Bill can be enacted as a central legislation under the concurrent list Item 8 (actionable wrongs) and can cover Central Schemes and Central Government Departments. • Provide a Platform to States to make this a Grievance Redressal Mechanism for State Schemes and Departments • Bill will incorporate the institution of Information and Facilitation Centre in all public authorities to ensure that Citizens can be facilitated and grievances are systematically recorded and tracked using telephone, sms, web etc. • First level Redress should be within concerned department as proposed. This should be done through a Grievance Redress Officer in each department • The second level redress/ appeal will be at the level of Head of the Department of the public authority. • State Grievance Commissions should be set up as second level appellate authorities. 6. India-Japan Defence Ministers’ Meeting was held in Tokyo on 2 November 2011. The delegation level talks, led by the Defence Minister AK Antony and his Japanese counterpart Yasuo Ichikawa, recognized the importance of sea lanes and decided to actively pursue consultations and cooperation in the field of maritime security both bilaterally and in association with all other countries in the region. India and Japan agreed to hold their first bilateral naval exercises in 2012. The two nations exchanged views on regional and international security and decided to step up defence cooperation and exchanges between the two countries. India-Japan defence cooperation is geared towards peace and prosperity of the region and is transparent. The Indian delegation included the Defence Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma, the Indian Ambassador to Japan, Aloke Prasad, the Vice Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral RK Dhowan and GoC-in-C, Central Command, Lt Gen VK Ahluwalia. Anti-piracy efforts need to be supplemented by adoption of better security measures by the world maritime community. There is a need to not only have a legal framework for prosecuting the pirates, but concerted efforts are also necessary to track the money-trail and to stop it from being channelized for funding terrorist activities, worldwide. 7. Tribal Affairs Ministry launched a scheme, Adivasi Shiksha Rinn Yojana (ASRY) on 2 November 2011 to offer subsidised education loans to Scheduled Tribe students at concessional rate for higher, professional and technical education in government-approved institutions. The scheme will provide concessional loan at six per cent interest which is payable only after completion of the course or after getting a job. 8. Malaysian squash superstar Nicol David won a record sixth women's World Open title on 6 November 2011 by defeating England's Jenny Duncalf at Luxor Theatre, Rotterdam. With this victory David surpassed Sarah Fitz-gerald's record five world titles. She won her first world title in Hong Kong in 2005.
Nicol defeated world No. 2 Jenny Duncalf of England 11-2, 11-5, 11-0 in just 29 minutes in the final of the World Open. David was five points ahead before Duncalf could score at all, won 11 of the first 13 rallies with frightening speed, and hurtled through the third game without losing a rally. Nicol, who turned pro in 2000, won her other world titles in Hong Kong (2005), Belfast, Northern Ireland (2006), Manchester (2008), Amsterdam (2009) and Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt (2010). The world crown won in Rotterdam was also Nicol’s 56th Wispa title and ninth in the year 2011. It was her 27th win over Duncalf in 29 meetings.
Nicol received US$21188 while Duncalf pocketed US$13656. Nicol David was inducted into the Hall of Fame for her outstanding accomplishments. 9. The Calcutta High Court on 3 November 2011 granted continuation of the stay of the trial court order validating the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act. The Act was challenged by the Tatas. A division bench of justices Pinaki Chandra Ghose and Mrinal Kanti Chaudhuri passed the order granting continuation of the stay until disposal of the appeal.
On 28 September 2011, Justice I P Mukherjee while validating the Singur Act had stayed the operation of the order until 2 November 2011 so that any aggrieved party was able to file an appeal. While Kalyan Bandopadhyay appearing on behalf of the West Bengal government prayed that the stay be restricted to 645 acres of leased out land to the Tatas, the division bench rejected the appeal and said that stay would be applicable to the entire 997 acres. Tata Motors had moved the division bench challenging the order of the trial court, praying for continuation of the stay of the operation of the judgement and also the validity of the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act, 2011. The legislation provided for return of 400 acres of land to unwilling farmers who had given their holding for Tata Motor's Nano car project at Singur in Hooghly district. 10. Union Rural Development Ministry announced on 4 November 2011 that Comptroller and Auditor-General of India (CAG) will audit performance of all schemes under the Ministries of Rural Development and Drinking Water and Sanitation. CAG is to conduct an audit on expenditure incurred over a period spanning the past five years in 12 States.
The CAG audit that is to cover the outgo of an estimated Rs.3.5 crore during the past five years is expected to plug the loopholes and ensure proper execution of development and welfare schemes. In the first phase, the CAG will audit the expenditures under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). It will be the second such exercise related to MGNREGA. The earlier audit was a limited exercise to gauge its impact after its launch. In the first phase, CAG will conduct financial as well as performance audits in 12 states that get the most money from the programmes— Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Orissa and Uttar Pradesh. These States were selected for the first phase of audit as they accounted for the major share of the expenditure incurred during the past five years. Apart from drawing up a checklist to monitor expenditure at the Central and State levels, an expert committee was also set up to prepare a common accounting format for all schemes in consultation with the CAG. The audit, apart from MGNREGA will also include other major programmes like the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana and drinking water supply and sanitation schemes. 11. The leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Guillermo Leon Saenz alias Alfanso Cano was killed in a government bombing raid in the Cauca department, southwest Colombia in the first week of November 2011. The guerrilla leader's body was found in the municipality of Suarez.
Alfanso Cano was a rebel leader with both political experience and military credibility. Cano went from being a middle-class youth in the capital Bogota to the top FARC leader after taking part in peace talks in neighbouring Venezuela and Mexico during the 1990s. He took over the leadership of the rebel group after founder Pedro Antonio Marin Marin, alias Manuel Marulanda died of natural causes in May 2008. Cano had been the country's top target since September 2010, when the group's military chief was killed. The government offered up to $3.7m (£2.3m) for information that would lead to his capture. About FARC The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC is a Marxist–Leninist revolutionary guerrilla organization based in Colombia which is involved in the Colombian armed conflict. FARC is a peasant army which claims to represent the rural poor in a struggle against Colombia's wealthier classes, and opposes United States influence in Colombia. It funds itself principally through ransom kidnappings, gold miningand production and distribution of illegal drugs. The group is on a US list of terrorist organisations and the Colombian government’s military campaign, which began in 2002, has been backed by the American administration. Current Position of FARC The FARC rebels lost four member of the ruling Secretariat since 2008, thereby suffering major blows to the leadership of the guerrilla army. After Cano, there is no one with the profile to keep the FARC together and fragmentation and criminalization is expected to follow. As a result any further peace process with the government would deliver only a fraction of the rebel ranks. Cano’s killing is the latest in a series of blows delivered to Latin America's last remaining leftist rebel army that began in March 2008, when the FARC's foreign minister, Raul Reyes, was killed in a bombing across the border in Ecuador. FARC's revered co-founder, Manuel Marulanda, died in a mountain hideout of a heart attack. Later, Mono Jojoy was killed in late 2010. Cano's death is a strategic victory for President Juan Manuel Santos who came to office in 2010 with a promise to keep up a hard-line stance against the guerrillas. 12. Union Minister of Power Sushilkumar Shinde represented India at the meeting of the Heads of Governments of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in St. Petersburg on 7 November 2011.
The meeting hosted by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin considered providing full membership to India and Pakistan as well as granting observer status to Afghanistan and making Turkey a dialogue partner. The meeting was attended by Heads of Governments of the member-States of the SCO, namely, Russia, China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyz Republic and Kazakhstan. While India, Pakistan, Iran and Mongolia are observer States, Afghanistan is a Special Invitee at the forum. The SCO & India The SCO was founded in 2001 at Shanghai. SCO has six full members and aims at strengthening mutual trust and good-neighbourliness and friendship among member states. India joined this regional organisation as an observer in 2005. Within the existing participatory mechanisms open to the observer countries, India has demonstrated its strong commitment to the SCO by engaging actively in several areas related to development and security. 13. A traditional tribal institution of Meghalaya on 4 November 2011 announced Former South African President Nelson Mandela the winner of People's Parliament Global Award.
Grand Council of Chiefs of Meghalaya (GCCM) chairman John F. Kharshiing declared that Mandela was chosen for the award because of his sacrifice for the struggle against apartheid. Besides, three journalists — Aroon Purie, Rajdeep Sardesai and Arnab Goswami would also be given the People's Parliament National Awards for their unbiased, ethical and investigative reporting. These awards, instituted by GCCM, would be conferred at a function to be held at Asananggre near Tura in West Garo Hills District on 14 November 2011. Earlier, former United States Vice-President Al Gore was conferred the People's Parliament Global Award for promoting awareness on climate change. 14. Legendary singer-composer and Padma Bhushan awardee Bhupen Hazarika died in Mumbai on 5 November 2011. He is also known for his poetic compositions that covered a variety of subjects ranging from politics to society and from love to eroticism. Hazarika was a multi-talented personality. He was a poet, music composer, singer, actor, journalist, author and filmmaker.
About Bhupen Hazarika Bhupen Hazarika was born on 8 September 1926, in Sadiya, Assam. Hazarika studied at Cotton College and then moved to the Banaras Hindu University to complete his Bachelor in Arts in 1944. He completed his MA in Political Science and was honoured with a doctorate by the Columbia University in New York in the 1952. He also received the Lisle Fellowship from Chicago University, US to study the use of educational project development through cinema. He was the chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi from 1999-2004. He was chosen as a member of the Assam Legislative Assembly from 1967-72. Works of Bhupen Hazarika At the age of 12, Hazarika sang his first song Biswa Bijoy No Jowan for an Assamese film Indramalati. He was involved with the Assamese film industry ever since its inception. He worked to bring tradition of Assamese music to a platform where the world could listen. Era Batar Sur, Shakuntala, Loti ghoti, Pratidhwani, Chick Mick Bijul, Swikarokti and Sirajare some of the Assamese films that were directed by him. He lent his voice and composed songs for the film. His soulful compositions for Hindi films Rudali, Chingaari, Daman introduced a new dimension in Bollywood music. His song Dil Hoom Hoom Kare from Rudali is a legend. Legendary black singer Pual Robenson inspired him to compose his magnum opus O Ganga behti ho kyon. He wrote over 1000 lyrics and covered a wide range of topics that included short stories, essays, travelogues, poems and children's rhymes. Hazarika featured in his first music video -Our Northeast, Our Star with Shantanu Moitra and Swanand Kirkire. The veretan also sang Mahatma Gandhi’s favourite bhajanVaishnav Jan To for the film Gandhi To Hitler. He had moved to Mumbai to work as an artist with Indian People's Theatre Movement (IPTA) with music composer Salil Chowdhury, actor Balraj Sahni and a few others. Awards conferred on Bhupen Hazarika He was awarded the National Award in 1975 for Chameli Memsaab. He also won the Dada Saheb Phalke Award in 1992. The legendary composer was conferred the Indian Music Director award for best music Internationally for the film Rudaali at the Asia Pacific International Film Festival 1993 held in Japan. He won President's medal for his films Shakuntala (1960), Pratidhwani (1964) andLotighoti (1967). He was also awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1987. 15. A human resources graduate from Venezuela, Ivian Sarcos was crowned Miss World 2011 at the 61st Miss World contest at a glittering beauty pageant at Earls Court exhibition Centre in London on 6 November 2011. She was crowned winner by Miss World 2010, Alexandra Mills, who competed for the United States.
Facts
• The first Miss World competition was staged in 1951 in London.
16. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 4 November 2011 announced that transfer of shares between Indians and non-resident Indians (NRIs) would not require its permission in several key areas such as financial services. RBI initiated measures to ease foreign direct investment (FDI) procedures with an objective to woo global investors. The central bank Amended the Foreign Exchange Management Regulations. It mentioned that prior permission would not be necessary where the company whose shares were being transferred was engaged in any financial service. The RBI permission had also been done away with for transfer of shares between residents and non-residents in cases where the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) had already given its clearances and the SEBI guidelines were met. The steps had been taken as a measure to further liberalise and rationalise the procedures and policies governing foreign direct investment in India. However, RBI clarified that the transactions would have to comply with the SEBI regulations, FDI sectoral caps, and the pricing guidelines as specified by the RBI. FDI inflows shot up by 95 per cent to $17.37 billion between April and August 2011. The government and the RBI want to maintain robust foreign exchange reserves as volatility in the stock market has led to outflows. 17. According to the Finance Ministry’s statement released in the first week of November 2011, the gross direct tax collection jumped 20.28 per cent during the April-October period of 2011-12 to Rs 284081 crore due to an increase in corporate tax mop-up. The figure was Rs 236176 crore in the same period in 2010-11. The gross tax collection in the first seven months of 2011-12 fiscal is only about 48.5 per cent of the Rs 5.85 lakh crore target for the entire fiscal.
Net direct tax collection for the seven-month period(April-October) of the fiscal 2011-12 stood at Rs.218850 crore and it marked an increase of a mere 7.1 per cent as compared to the previous fiscal 2010-11 owing to the huge outgo on refunds. Although the direct revenue garnered during the April-October 2011 was higher than the Rs.236176 crore collected during the same period of 2010-11, the percentage-wise shortfall in collection has been attributed to the ongoing economic slowdown. However, the gross corporate tax collection was a robust 20.35 per cent higher at Rs.189872 crore during April-October 2011-12 as against Rs.157767 crore mopped up in the same period in 2010. Gross personal income tax collection was up by 20.17 per cent at Rs.93769 crore. The mop-up by way of wealth tax grew by 10.6 per cent to Rs.418 crore from Rs.378 crore in the same period last fiscal. However, owing to the absence of boom in the stock market during the current fiscal year, collection through securities transaction tax (STT) declined by 17.9 per cent to Rs.2958 crore during April-October period in 2011 as against a mop-up of Rs.3602 crore in the same period in 2010. 18. State-owned oil companies on 3 November 2011 raised petrol prices by Rs 1.80 per litre at a time when the nation is already battling high double-digit food inflation. This is the 13th increase in petrol prices since the fuel was decontrolled in June 2010. Petrol prices were last raised by over Rs 3 a litre on 15 September 2011. With the latest price rise, the fuel's price has risen 33.5% since it was decontrolled in June 2010.
The latest rise in petrol prices came after Brent crude oil fell for four consecutive days before rising about half a dollar on 3 November. The sharp rise is due to high crude prices particularly Brent as well as rupee deprecation. As per RBI reference rate, $1 was equivalent to Rs 49.3748. The India crude oil basket for the fortnight ended 31 October was recorded at $108.59 a barrel. the average exchange rate for the fortnight stood at Rs 49.36 to a dollar. The Indian basket of crude oil touched $ 108.40 a barrel on 3 November 2011. A litre of petrol now cost nearly Rs 28 more than diesel. The gap was barely Rs 11 in the middle of 2010 but the government controls diesel prices and has not raised diesel rates. Diesel prices have risen barely 2% sice June 2010 thereby accelerating sales of diesel vehicles and dampening demand for petrol cars. The government's pricing policy and absence compensation to oil companies for selling kerosene and cooking gas below cost has hurt oil marketing companies. 19. According to the WPI data released released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry on 3 November 2011, food inflation surged further to 12.21 per cent for the week ended 22 October 2011 from 11.43 per cent in the previous week owing to soaring prices of various edibles such as vegetables, fruits, pulses, milk and all other protein-rich items.
Prices of vegetables during the week ended 22 October 2011 were higher by 28.89 per cent on a year-on-year basis while pulses turned dearer by 11.65 per cent, fruits by 11.63 per cent and milk by 11.73 per cent. Alongside, eggs, meat and fish were also more expensive by 13.36 per cent while prices of even cereals were 4.13 higher on a yearly basis. The only edibles that turned cheaper as compared to last year were onions by 20.33 per cent and wheat by 1.54 per cent, which provided hardly any relief to the common man. Demand for vegetables, milk, egg, meat and fish shot up in recent times due to rising incomes and changing dietary preferences. But despite promises of improving supplies, the situation on the ground has remained unchanged. The index for food articles group rose by 0.7% to 202.2 from 200.8 due to higher prices for river fish (9%), chicken and sea fish (4% each), egg, condiments & spices and ragi (2% each) and gram, tea and bajra (1% each). The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised interest rates 13 times since March 2010 to tame inflation. 20. Joint study by industry association FICCI and Ernst & Young predicted Indian mobile devices market to reach 350 million a year by 2020. The handset companies currently sell about 150 million mobile phones annually in India.
According to this study, rural market will provide the next phase of growth for handset players. The study also stated that about 500 million handsets will be manufactured in India by 2020. However, this will be possible only if the country were to create a manufacturing ecosystem to produce handsets. India is the world's second-largest telecom market after China, with the total wireless subscriber base crossing 850 million at the end of June, 2011. The study stated that In India, handsets are categorised as high, medium, low, and ultra low cost ASP devices. The medium ASP segment is likely to be the fastest growing segment in terms of volume. The estimation that number of 3G subscribers is expected to cross 300 million by 2020 fuelled the growth of 3G-enabled handsets. A favourable policy and regulatory initiative conducive for handset manufacturing in India is expected to drive sustainable growth in this segment. The study recommended that there is need to set up handset manufacturing cluster parks that would enable a sustainable ecosystem for the manufacture of mobile handsets in the country. Affordability of feature-rich handsets is also expected to be a key enabler of handset adoption. Recommendations
The study recommended that detailed component supply roadmap needs to be developed by starting to manufacture certain parts such as chip-sets, keyboard, plastic elements and battery. The study also suggested creation of sizeable export promotion fund by the government for the telecom equipment and services export and handset exports from India may be included in bilateral trade agreements with emerging markets in regions such as South Asia, Africa, Latin America, Russia and Eastern Europe. 21. Anirban Lahiri became the first Indian golfer to shoot a spectacular round of 12-under 60 on home soil when he took a three-stroke lead on the second day of the Rs. one-crore BILT Open golf championship at the Jaypee Greens golf course on 3 November 2011.
The defending champion, Lahiri has a two-round aggregate of 13-under 131 that saw him jump to the top of the leaderboard. Lahiri smashed Jyoti Randhawa's previous course record of 64, recorded in the 2008 edition of the championship. Lahiri also matched the score recorded in the country by China's Liang Wen-Chong during the 2008 Indian Open in New Delhi. 22. In order to improve transparency, market regulator SEBI ordered all mutual funds to disclose names of distributors, who receive commission in excess of Rs 1 crore annually, on their respective websites.
Fund houses, according to a Sebi circular, will have to disclose names of distributors who have their presence in more than 20 locations or those who have received over Rs 1 crore commission in a year. They would also have to disclose the amount of commission paid to distributors. The disclosure, which would also be uploaded on the MF industry body AMFI's website, was made mandatory from 10 November 2011. Experts are of the opinion that the move is aimed at tracking the payouts to big distributors like global and domestic banks and large independent financial advisors. Distributors earn a upfront commission from the mutual funds in the first year which is generally higher for selling equity schemes and lower for debt schemes. They also earn a Trail Commission, which is a percentage of total business brought by the distributor. This commission is paid in the subsequent years and accounts for a huge earning for the distributors. SEBI board decided that as a first step towards regulating distributors of MFs, selected distributors will be regulated through Asset Management Companies (AMCs) by putting in place the due diligence process to be conducted by AMCs. 23. Three Pakistan cricketers and an agent were sentenced imprisonment in Britain for their involvement in one of the biggest fixing scandals. Former captain Salman Butt received two and a half years, the longest term of the three players and was called the “orchastrator” of the entire event. Mohammad Asif was sentenced to 1 year, while 19-year-old Mohammad Amir will serve six months. Agent Mazhar Majeed was sentenced to 2 years, 8 months. All four may be released for good behavior after serving half their terms.
Butt, Asif and Majeed are expected to begin their sentences at Wandsworth prison in south London, Amir is due to be sent to Feltham young offenders' institute in west London. The players were found guilty of conspiring with Majeed to bowl deliberate no-balls as part of a betting scam during the test match against England at Lord's in August 2010. The conspiracy was exposed following a sting by undercover reporters working for the News of the World, who filmed Majeed accepting £150000. The scandal is being described as the biggest fixing scandal in cricket since South Africa captain Hansie Cronje was banned for life in 2000 for taking bribes from bookmakers. 24. Legendary Bollywood playback singer Asha Bhosle on 20 October 2011 entered the Guinness World Records for the most number of single studio recordings. Asha recorded up to 11000 solo, duets and chorus backed songs and several others in over 20 Indian languages since 1947.
The 78-year-old was conferred with the Guinness honour at the Asian awards function held in London. Asha has evergreen numbers like Dum maro dum, Mehbooba mehbooba (Sholay), Piya tu ab to aaja (Caravan) and Chura liya hai tumne jo dil ko (Yaadon ki Baraat) to her credit. Bhosle's work includes film music, pop, ghazals, bhajans, traditional Indian classical music, folk songs, qawwalis, and Rabindra Sangeets. Apart from Hindi, she has sung in over 20 Indian and foreign languages. The World Records Academy, an international organization which certifies world records, recognised her as the Most Recorded Artist in the world, in September 2009. The Government of India honoured her with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2000 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2008. 25. According to the Delhi Statistical Handbook-2011 released by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on 3 November 2011, Delhi's per capita income at current prices was Rs 116886 during 2009-10, recording an increase of Rs.13446 over 2008-09. Delhi therefore ranked third in the country behind Goa at Rs.132719 and Chandigarh at Rs.120912.
On an average, a Delhiite earns Rs.1.16 lakh a year, owns 2.5 mobile phones, watches nearly two movies annually, gets a supply of 50 gallons of water each day and consumes over a case and quarter of liquor in a year. Delhi CM pointed out that it was rapidly acquiring a very urban look and noted that the rural population declined by over 55 per cent over the past decade. Of Delhi's total population of 1.68 crore, the urban population constitutes 1.65 crore. Delhi registered a 26 per cent growth in urban population over the past decade with North-West Delhi recording the highest growth rate of 21.79 per cent and New Delhi district the lowest at 0.80 per cent. Despite the high population growth, the literacy rate in Delhi managed to keep pace and there are currently 86.34 per cent literates in Delhi. About 92 per cent of males are literate, while among females this percentage is 80.99. 79.65 per cent of the rural population is literate as against 87.06 per cent in the urban areas. Mobile Phone Usage in Delhi The report highlighted that Delhi's economic well-being was reflected in its mobile phone use. The number of connections rose by over a crore to touch 3.88 crore in 2011 as against 2.82 crore in 2010. The growth of landline connections was comparatively moderate – rising by about 11.28 lakh during the same period and increasing to 28.38 lakh in 2011. Increase in No. of Vehicles The number of vehicles rose sharply from 6451883 in 2009-10 to 6932706 in 2010-11, an addition of 5 lakh vehicles to the city roads. About the Handbook The handbook has been brought out by the Delhi Government's Directorate of Economics and Statistics. The book is the 36th issue of the handbook has 23 chapters covering various socio- economic parameters of the city. 26. Finance Ministry gave its nod to mining company Coal India Ltd (CIL) for acquiring stake in overseas unlisted firms.
The Finance Ministry however did not grant complete relaxation to the norm of minimum 12 per cent internal rate of return (IRR) from such acquisitions. The Finance Ministry declared that it was prepared to go ahead with the proposals even if the return is below 12 per cent if they are for strategic reasons. CIL, the world's largest coal miner, failed to strike any deal due to procedural delays in approval by the government. It had sought relaxation in two parameters of overseas acquisition norms, which were allowing them to acquire stake in unlisted firms, including those offering below 12 per cent IRR. 27. The Supreme Court of India directed Motor Accident Claims Tribunals to award just and adequate compensation to the victims. The bench ruled that in cases involving partial or total disablement, the term compensation used in Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act will cover not only the expenses for immediate treatment but also for future medical treatment.
The Supreme Court bench including Justice GS Singhvi and Justice SS Nijjar gave the ruling. The bench observed that the majority of accident victims can’t engage lawyers for proving negligence on the part of the wrongdoer. In the instant case, Govind Yadav’s leg was amputed following an accident in November 2004. He claimed 107000 rupees as compensation but was awarded only 256000 rupees by the accident tribunal in Jabalpur. 28. The Table Tennis Federation of India in October 2011 appointed Poland’s Leszek Kucharski as the Indian TT coach on a one-year contract. Kucharski is to take over in December 2011 at a salary of $6,000 per month including free accommodation and internal travel expenses.
Kucharski had reached No 11 in rankings as a player and has had a successful career as coach in his country. Those in the running were Kucharski, Michael Hajek of the Czech Republic and 1988 Seoul Olympics bronze medallist Erik Lindh of Sweden. The 53-year-old Pole finished his international career in the beginning of 1990s and served the Polish Table Tennis Federation (PTTA) in various capacities from 1994 to 2009, including as head coach of the men's and women's national teams. Italian Massimo Constantini was India’s TT coach before Kucharski and his contract expired after the Guangzhou Asian Games in 2010. 29. Pakistan on 2 November 2011 decided to grant India most-favoured-nation(MFN) trade status. The Pakistani cabinet voted unanimously to grant most-favored-nation status to India, which in effect gives Indian businesses lower tariffs and fewer trade barriers. It will allow Pakistan to start removing formidable barriers to sales of Indian goods. India had granted Pakistan most favoured nation (MFN) status in 1996. However, Pakistan had shown reluctance to reciprocate until the dispute over Kashmir was resolved. 30. A UN study ranked India at 134 out of 187 countries in terms of Human Development Index. The study however observed that life expectancy at birth in India has increased by 10.1 per cent a year over the last two decades.
In the 2010 Human Development Report, prepared by UNDP, India had been ranked at 119 out of 169 countries. However, according to the new report for 2011, it is misleading to compare values and rankings with those of previously published reports as the underlying data and methods have changed, as well as the number of countries included in the Human Development Index. India's Human Development Index (HDI) The report highlighted India's Human Development Index (HDI) value for 2011 was 0.547 positioning the country in the medium human development category. Between 1980 and 2011, India's HDI value increased from 0.344 to 0.547, an increase of 59 per cent or an average annual increase of about 1.5 per cent. The report pointed out that the India's HDI of 0.547 was below the average of 0.630 for countries in the medium human development group and below the average of 0.548 for countries in South Asia. The report mentioned that mean year of schooling for the country increased by 3.9 years between 1980 and 2011 and expected years of schooling increased by 3.9 years. Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh admitted that the biggest block in the human development indices for India is in the field of sanitation where 58 per cent of open defecation in the world takes place in India. The UN report also mentioned that between 1980 and 2011, India's life expectancy at birth increased by 10.1 years. Gender Inquality Index In terms of gender inquality index, the report highlighted that in India, 10.7 per cent of Parliamentary seats are held by women and 26.6 per cent of adult women have reached a secondary or higher level of education compared to 50.4 per cent of their male counterparts. For every 100000 live births, 230 women die from pregnancy-related causes and the adolescent fertility rate is 86.3 births per 1000 live births. Female participation in the labour market is 32.8 per cent compared to 81.1 per men, the report says. The gender inequality index reflects gender-based inequalities in three dimensions - reproductive health, empowerment and economic activity. Human Development Index (HDI) The HDI is a measure for assessing long-term progress in three basic dimensions of human development such as a long and healthy life, access to knowledge and a decent standard of living. The five countries who topped the Human Development Index study are as follows (The countries'sequence follow their respective ranks): Norway, Australia, Netherlands, US, New Zealand
Neighbouring countries Pakistan was ranked at 145 (0.504) and Bangladesh at 146 (0.500) respectively in terms of HDI as per the UN study. 31. M. Ravindran took over as Indraprastha Gas Limited 's (IGL) new Managing Director. He succeeded Rajesh Vedvyas.
S. Venkatraman, Director (Business Development), GAIL (India) Ltd took over as the Chairman of IGL Ravindran, a mechanical engineering graduate from NIT Kurukshetra and Diploma in Management has over 31-years' experience in the fertilizers, petrochemicals, gas pipelines, transmission and city gas business. Prior to joining the current assignment, he served as Chief Executive Officer of GAIL Gas Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of GAIL (India) Limited. IGL is the supplier of Compressed Natural Gas and Piped Natural Gas in Delhi, Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad. 32. Indian scientists succeeded in decoding the genome of the arhar dal, which is also known as pigeon pea. This will help not only in developing new varieties but also in increasing the productivity.
Indian Council of Agriculture Research and Banaras Hindu University (BHU) carried out the research. The scientists discovered 152 genes, which can tolerate drought and over 1200 disease resistant genes that can make the pulse crop resilient. Professor Nagendra Kumar Singh spearheaded the project. In fact, 85 per cent of the world's arhar dal is produced and consumed in India. Therefore, this discovery will help decrease the inflated cost of pulses in India. 33. Rahul Bhattacharya bagged the The Hindu Literary Prize for Best Fiction 2011 for hisThe Sly Company of People Who Care on 30 October 2011. According to The Hindu, The Sly Company of People Who Care won the prize for its consummate artistry, its refusal to exoticise India. The award was presented by author, writer, politician and a Member of Parliament (MP) Shashi Tharoor. A debut novel won The Hindu's Literature Prize in the Lit for Life literary festival for the second successive year. The award carries a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh. In his book The Sly Company of People Who Care, Rahul Bhattacharya captured the heady adventures of travel, the overheated restlessness of youth, and the paradoxes of searching for life’s meaning in the escape from home. The book narrates a young Indian's Caribbean adventures in the company of a Guyanese diamond-hunter. Rahul Bhattacharya has been working as a cricket journalist since 2000. He is currently a contributing editor with Wisden Asia Cricket and has been writing for the Wisden Almanack since 2003, when he compiled the series overview of India in England, 2002. He also writes for the Guardian. 34. Bengali film Chaplin directed by Anindo Banerjee was selected as the inaugural film at the 11 th edition of River to River Florence Indian Film Festival, 2011, in Florence, Italy. The film is about street artiste Bangshi Das, who dresses up like Charlie Chaplin and performs at household parties. The protaganist, Bangshi had seen only one Chaplin film in his childhood and got hooked to them. As he grew up amid grinding poverty he became a sort of a street performer, regaling guests at birthday parties for Rs. 500 a month by copying the legend's mannerisms. The film also dwells on how as a single father, Bangshi managed to face all the obstacles in life with the help, support and camaraderie that he shared with his only son. The festival, the 11th edition is scheduled to be held from 2 to 8 December 2011. 35. Bangladesh and Russia on 2 November 2011 signed a deal to build a nuclear power plant at Rooppur in Pabna district. It would be Bangladesh’s first nuclear plant. Russia will provide technical support for setting up two generators each capable of producing 1000 megawatts of electricity. Russia will also supply fund and fuel rods for safe storage. The new safety features will also be implemented in the plant. Bangladesh’s junior science and technology minister Yeafesh Osman and Russia’s State Atomic energy corporation director-general Sergei Kiriyenko signed the agreement. Bangladesh relies heavily on gas-fired plants for power. Power generation falls 2000 megawatts short of its daily requirement, which hampers its industrial production and economic growth. 36. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on 31 October 2011 inaugurated a fully secure government e-payment system that will enable the Central government to directly credit dues into the accounts of beneficiaries.
Developed by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) the GePG is a portal which enables successful delivery of payment services from Pay & Accounts Offices (PAOs) for online payment into beneficiaries' accounts in a seamless manner under a secure environment. The Government e-Payment Gateway (GePG) will use digitally signed electronic advice (e-advice). The GePG has been designed to serve as middleware between COMPACT (computerised payment and accounts) application at PAOs and the core banking solution (CBS) of the agency banks/Reserve Bank of India, to facilitate paperless transaction. It will thus reduce the overall transaction cost and promoting green banking. The system will usher in transparency and expedite direct payments from Central paying units with respect to subsidies to users and consumers of fertiliser, kerosene and cooking gas. Its efficiency and ease-of-use for all Ministries and departments will lead to an increased adoption of other e-services for online payment transactions. The e-payment system will save both time and effort in effecting payments and also facilitate the elimination of physical cheques and their manual processing. Under the traditional system of government transactions, payments to employees and vendors are made through cheque, cash and demand draft or by Electronic Clearing Service (ECS) in a few Ministries. Ministries in the past few years used the RBI's facilities of Real Time Gross Settlement and National Electronic Funds Transfer to make payments through the banking channel. Besides revolutionizing payments to individual beneficiaries, the government's e-payment gateway (GePG) - linking 1.3 lakh agencies down to the level of panchayats - has been developed to capture all data on receipt, payments, borrowings and deficit real time. The government will borrow Rs 40000 crore-Rs-50000 crore less every year due to availability of real time data. It will also help the Centre in more effectively channelizing plan expenditure on development schemes. The government spends nearly Rs 4 lakh crore every year on 140 centrally sponsored plan schemes and over 800 central sector schemes along with state schemes and additional central assistance. The new payment gateway will help monitor the entire disbursement. 37. Data released by the commerce and industry ministry on 31 October 2011 showed that the eight core infrastructure industries growth slowed down to 2.3 per cent for September 2011 as against 3.3 per cent in September 2010. The slowdown was attributed to rising cost of credit and inputs and weak demand. The core sector spanning coal, crude oil, natural gas, petroleum refinery products, fertilisers, steel, registered growth slower than the 3.7% growth in August. During the first half of the current fiscal (April-September 2011), key industries expanded by 4.9 per cent as against 5.6 per cent during the corresponding period in 2010-11 fiscal. Growth in the country’s eight key infrastructure sectors slowed in September, dragged down by decline in coal, natural gas and fertiliser output, raising fresh concerns about the state of the industrial segment, which was hit by rising interest rates and input costs. In September 2010, the core sector had grown 3.3%. In the first six months of 2011-12, cumulative growth rate of core industries stood at 4.9%, slower than the 5.6% registered in the same period in 2010-11. The core sector growth was hit by rising cost of credit as the RBI has been making money expensive by raising key interest rates 13 times since March 2010 to contain inflation. The eight infrastructure sectors account for 37.9% of overall industrial production. Economists are of the opinion that September data could have an impact on industrial output numbers, to be released on 10 November 2011. Coal production fell 17.8% in September 2011 compared to a decline of 1.8% in September 2010. Rains in key coal mining areas and a strike in state-run Coal India is believed to have hurt output during the month. Natural gas production declined by 6.4 per cent in September 2011 as against expansion of 12.6 per cent during 2010 period. Fertilisers were down 2.1 per cent. Production in both the steel and cement sectors also grew at a slower pace at 6.6 per cent and 0.9 per cent as against 11.7 per cent and 5.2 per cent in September 2010. Experts attributed the decline in coal production and natural gas to long term policy issues. Electricity generation in September 2011 grew by 8.9 per cent generation while refinery products posted a growth of 4.4 per cent during the month. Production of crude oil (weight of 5.22 per cent in IIP) grew 0.1 per cent in September 2011 against a growth of 12.5 per cent in September 2010. Crude oil production grew 5.1 per cent during April-September 2011-12 against a growth of 10.2 per cent during the same period of 2010-11. The index of eight core sector industries having a combined weight of 37.90 per cent in the index of industrial production (IIP) stood at 131.50 in September 2011, showing a growth rate of 2.3 per cent year-on-year. Inflation measured on the consumer price index for industrial workers (CPI-IW) touched the doubledigit mark at 10.06% for September 2011. 38. Czech tennis player Petra Kvitova defeated Victoria Azarenka 7-5 4-6 6-3 to win the WTA Championships on 30 October 2011 in Istanbul. Kvitova took home $1.75 million and Azarenka collected $775000.
The 21-year-old Czech had shot to fame by winning Wimbledon 2011. She remained undefeated at the year-ending event that featured the world’s top eight players. Victory also confirmed Kvitova at a career-high second in the WTA rankings after ending 2010 in 34th spot. She is the first Czech to win the WTA Championships since Jana Novotna in 1997. Kvitova had also defeated Azarenka in the Wimbledon semifinals on her way to winning her first Grand Slam title in 2011. Kvitova has won six titles in 2011, the same number as No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki and twice as many as Azarenka. Czech holds a 4-2 head-to-head record over Azarenka, who was playing in the championships for the third time and will return to a career-high No. 3 in the new rankings by reaching the final. It was the first time she advanced beyond the round-robin stage. Istanbul’s ability to host the tournament was perceived as integral to the national campaign to host the 2020 Olympics. 39. China launched its unmanned spacecraft, Shenzhou-8 on 1 November 2011. Long March-2F rocket propelled the unmanned spacecraft into orbit in the next step towards China's ambitious plans for a manned space station by 2020. Shenzhou-8 carried an experimental facility developed by German and Chinese scientists.
It is to join with the Tiangong-1 or Heavenly Palace experimental module. Once it is done it would be China's first space docking. Shenzhou 8 was launched from North Gobi desert in China which entered into the orbit successfully. Once China masters technology of rendezvous and docking China will possess the basic technology and capacity to build a space station which further will open up possibilities for even larger activities in space. The mission was considered China's most important since its first manned space flight in 2003. In September 2008, the Shenzhou 7, piloted by three astronauts, carried out China's first spacewalk. 40. Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma was re-appointed to the coveted post on 30 October 2011. The Commonwealth Leaders agreed to re-appoint him at the 21st Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Perth in Australia. Sharma who served as a veteran Indian diplomat was re-appointed for a four-year term beginning in April 2012. Kamlesh Sharma’s Background Sharma was first elected to as the Secretary General of Commonwealth during the biennial summit of the 54-nation grouping in Kampala, Uganda, in 2007. He took over from Sir Don McKinnon of New Zealand on 1 April, 2008. Kamalesh Sharma previously served as India's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, where he was closely involved in Commonwealth activities. In that capacity, he served as a member of the Board of Governors of the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Commonwealth Foundation. He was associated with the Commonwealth since 2004 when he was a member of the Board of Governors of the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Commonwealth Foundation. From 2002 to 2004, Mr Sharma served as the special representative of the United Nations secretary-general to Timor Leste, with the rank of Under Secretary-General. He helped building up a newly independent Timor Leste by strengthening internal security and public administration, including justice, financial administration, policing and protection of human rights. From 1988 to 1990, he was India's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva. There he acted as the spokesperson for developing countries in the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) during the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade talks. During his tenure as an Ambassador and the Indian Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, from 1997 to 2002, Kamlesh Sharma chaired the Working Group on Financing for Development, which led to the Monterrey Consensus 41. TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) extended the 100 sms per day limit to 200 sms per day, per sim. Earlier, TRAI had restricted the number of commercial non-commercial sms that can be sent from a sim, to 100.
TRAI received representations from some of the service providers and consumers to increase the limit of 100 sms per day, per sim. TRAI has decided that the New cap of 200 sms per day, per sim will be effective from today onwards. 42. Pakistan cricketers Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif were found guilty of their part in a spot-fixing scam. A jury at London's Crown Court found Butt guilty of both charges and Asif guilty of conspiring to cheat. The Court heard the players, along with fast bowler Mohammad Amir who has already pleaded guilty to the charges.
Former Pak cricket team captain Butt and bowler Asif had denied conspiracy to cheat and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments. The two players plotted to deliberately bowl no-balls during a Lord's Test match against England in 2010. 43. India's exports grew by over 36 per cent on an annual basis to 24.8 billion dollars in September, 2011, demonstrating impressive year-on-year expansion despite a slowdown in the US and Europe. In September 2010, the country's outbound shipments were valued at 18.2 billion dollars.
India's imports also registered growth in September, rising by 17.2 per cent in comparison to the corresponding period of the previous year leaving a trade deficit of 9.7 billion dollars. 44. Andhra Pradesh Government on 1 November 2011 launched one rupee a kilo rice scheme in the state. Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy launched the scheme at a special programme held in Hyderabad on the occasion of the 56th State Formation Day.
The scheme would benefit about 7.50 crore people in the state. With the new initiative, the subsidy burden over the state Government will go up by 600 crore rupees to a total of 2600 crore rupees. 45. The Union Cabinet of India on 1 November 2011 approved the proposal of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for pursuing the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Amendment Bill, 2010. The Cabinet also approved the action taken on the recommendations made in the Eighteenth Report on Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Amendment Bill, 2010 of the Standing Committee on Information Technology. The Cabinet further approved the amendment to section 11(2) of the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Amendment Bill, 2010 pending in the Rajya Sabha by the addition of the words and until their retirement at the end of the section. This will make the status of the employees recruited between 23 November 1997 and 5 October 2007. It makes the status of employees on deemed deputation to Prasar Bharati until their retirement, absolutely clear and unambiguous. The Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Amendment Bill 2010 was introduced in the Rajya Sabha in August, 2010. The Bill is for making amendments to the existing section 11 of the Prasar Bharati Act, 1990, regarding Transfer of service of existing employees to the Corporation, which deals with the transfer of services of employees to Prasar Bharati upon its creation as a Corporation in the year 1997. 46. Cricket personality M.S. Dhoni and Shooting personality Abhinav Bindra were commissioned as Honorary Lieutenant Colonels in the Territorial Army on 1 November 2011.
The honour was bestowed upon Dhoni and Bindra for their outstanding contribution to sports and their commitment to the Indian Army on various occasions. They were pipped-in by Army chief General V K Singh. Dhoni was chosen to represent the Parachute Regiment of the Indian Army while Bindra joined a TA battalion of the Sikh Regiment.
Dr Deepak Rao, a trainer for combating terrorism was chosen as Honorary Major in the Territorial Army on 1 November 2011. He is the first Indian to specialise in modern Close Quarter Battle Training. He imparted his expertise for 17 years to soldiers from various forces of India. He was also an Instructor in Reflex Shooting and Deep Sea Diving. The three honorary officers became brand ambassadors of the Indian Army after the grand honour. 47.. East India Hotels inducted Nita Ambani on its board on 31 October 2011. Nita Ambani is the wife of Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani. RIL had bought a 14.9 percent stake in EIH in August 2010. East India Hotels runs the Oberoi Hotels chain.
Nita Ambani is the founder chairperson of the Dhirubhai Ambani International School and co-owner of the Mumbai Indians cricket team. 48. Scientists found a new species of trap-door spider, the albino spider, near Northam in Australia. The albino spider is white-headed and the colour of its legs is black and brown. It is about the size of a 50-cent piece. Scientists called it a new type of spider because of subtle differences on the pedipalp and front leg of the male.
This new spider belongs to the family of Idiopidae. These spiders make burrows in the soil that have tight-fitting trap-door lid. 49. Nabam Tuki was sworn in as the seventh Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh on 1 November 2011. He replaced Jarbon Gamlin. Gamlin resigned from office on 31 October 2011. Arunachal Pradesh Governor JJ Singh administered the oath of office and secrecy at the Raj Bhavan in Itanagar.
Gamlin had taken over as chief minister on 5 May 2011 following the death of Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu in a helicopter crash. Arunachal Pradesh went through political instability since July 2011 after a group of Congress legislators led by Tuki revolted against Gamlin's leadership. Prem Khandu Thungan (Indian National Congress) was the first chief minister of Aruncahla Pradesh. 50. Palestine won the membership of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) on 31 October 2011 with 107 votes in favour and 14 votes against. There were 52 abstentions. Eighty-one votes were required for approval with 173 UNESCO member delegations present. The USA, Canada, Germany, The Netherlands, Australia and the Czech Republic voted against. Britain, Italy and many Pacific and Caribbean island nations absented themselves from the voting. India, Russia, Brazil, China, South Africa and France voted in favour. UNESCO is the first UN agency Palestine has joined as a full member. UNESCO protects historic heritage sites and works to improve world literacy and cultural understanding. Its headquarters are located at Place de Fontenoy in Paris, capital of France. In fact, Palestine is seeking full membership in the UN (United Nations), but USA has threatened that it will veto it unless there is a peace deal with Israel. Full membership of UNESCO is a small but crucial step forward for the Palestine in its attempts to achieve international recognition and statehood. However, the issues of borders of an eventual Palestine state, security troubles and other disputes remain unsolved. 51. Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary: It is located in Goa; 60 kms from state capital Panaji. The state government of Goa gave its approval to 60 non-operational mines in the Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary under the Regional Plan 2021. The sanctuary is located 60 kms from Panaji. The Sanctuary is one of the five sanctuaries, which are located in Goa. It is home to animals like slender loris, deer, black panther and leopard. The environmentalists expressed their concern over the state government’s decision as the mining activities can have harmful effects on the animals in the sanctuary. 52. Gustavo Petro was elected mayor of the Colombian capital, Bogota as Colombians voted in local elections. The elections concluded on 30 October 2011. Petro won 32 percent of the votes. His main opponent Enrique Penalosa was the favoured candidate of former President Alvaro Uribe. He could manage only 25 percent of the votes. Petro was a former guerrilla with the defunct M-19 Movement. Petro helped uncover a bid-rigging scandal in Bogota in 2010 that sent its previous elected mayor, Samuel Moreno, to jail for corruption charges. The voting in the capital was part of nationwide regional and municipal elections, with 32 governorships and more than 1,100 mayoral and municipal council post being contested. What is M-19 Movement The 19th of April Movement or M-19,was a Colombian guerrilla movement. After its demobilization it became a political party, the M-19 Democratic Alliance (Alianza Democrática M-19), or AD/M-19. The M-19 traced its origins to the allegedly fraudulent presidential elections of 19 April 1970. 53. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga became the first Frenchman to win the Austrian Open with a 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4 defeat of Juan Martin del Petro on 30 October 2011. It was the seventh career title for Tsonga. Juan del Potro had won all three of the pair's previous meetings. Tsonga’s victory sent him past American Mardy Fish into provisional seventh place for the ATP World Tour Finals in London scheduled to take place on 20-27 November 2011. 54.. Uttarakhand state cabinet on 29 October 2011 cleared Uttarakhand Lokayukta Bill, 2011 with the objective of curbing corruption in the state. The Chief Minister of the state, all ministers, MLAs and lower judiciary will be under the purview of Lokayukta. It is important to note that judges of the Uttarakhand High Court will not be covered under the purview of Lokayukta. Former chief ministers, former ministers and retired officers will also be within the purview of the Lokayukta.
The Features of Uttarakhand Lokayukta Bill As per the bill, the Lokayukta will have a chairperson and five members. The number of members could be increased to seven as per the requirement. The bill envisioned that the members of Lokayukta should have legal background and should possess integrity and outstanding ability. The term of the chairperson of the Lokayukta would be of five years or upto the age of 70 years whichever is earlier. The bill says that once the investigations are over, the chargesheet will be filed by the Lokayukta in a special court set up under the Prevention of Corruption Act for a speedy trial. The bill further adds that the period of investigation should not exceed twelve months. The Lokayukta will be empowered to recommend punishment of dismissal, removal or demotion against government servants after giving them full opportunity of being heard. The recommendation will be binding on the appointing or disciplinary authority of the government. For any act of corruption, the punishment will not be less than six months of rigorous imprisonment and could be extended upto 10-year imprisonment. In the rarest of rare case, the punishment could be extended upto life imprisonment. 55. Niira Radia,Corporate lobbyist and provider of public relations services for the Tata group and Reliance Industries on 30 October 2011 announced her exit from the business of communication consultancy. She cited her personal priorities of family and health behind taking the decision after much consideration.
Niira Radia had been in news related to the 2G controversy in the recent past when leaked tapes of her conversations appeared in the media. The 2G spectrum controversy involved officials in the government of India illegally undercharging mobile telephony companies for frequency allocation licenses, which they would use to create 2G subscriptions for cell phones. 56. Union Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Textiles sanctioned 21 new Textiles Parks under the Scheme for Integrated Textiles Parks with a project cost of 2100 crores rupees to be implemented over a period of 36 months. The approval came in the 4th week of October 2011. Among these 21 new Textiles Parks, 6 were sanctioned in Maharashtra, 4 in Rajasthan, 2 each in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, 1 each in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Jammu & Kashmir and West Bengal.
Minister for Commerce, Industry and Textiles Anand Sharma as Chairman of the Project Approval Committee under the Scheme accorded approval. Earlier, Inter Ministerial Project Scrutiny Committee which examined 55 proposals for new Textiles Parks in the country gave its recommendations for the setting-up new textiles parks. Proposals received were scrutinised by an inter ministerial Project Scrutiny Committee on the basis of project cost, land size, net worth of investors, employment generation and value chain to be developed by the industry. Government also sought to ensure balanced regional development, promote textiles industry in North Eastern States and in States where the industry is in a nascent stage of development and promote textiles parks in cooperative & handloom sectors. Government received a huge response to the roadshows held at Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Mumbai for seeking proposals for Textiles Parks under the Scheme for Integrated Textiles Parks for development of common infrastructure and the Technology Upgradation Funds Scheme (TUFS). Government enhanced the allocation under TUFS from Rs. 8000 crores to 15404 crores rupees under the 11th Five Year Plan. The new Textiles Parks would leverage an investment of over 9000 crores rupees and provide employment to 4 lac textiles workers. Government would finance common infrastructure with a subsidy upto Rs. 40 crores per Textiles park. Considerable demand for Textiles Parks in India and given the success of the Scheme in the 11th Five Year Plan, Textiles Ministry would be seeking a higher allocation under the 12th Five Year Plan. Of the 40 textiles parks sanctioned under the 11th Five Year Plan, 24 Textiles Parks have started operations and have attracted investments of 18880 crores rupees, with a Government subsidy of 1420 crores rupees.
The product mix in these parks would include apparels and garments parks, hosiery parks, silk parks, processing parks, technical textiles including medical textiles, carpet parks, powerloom parks. The focus of Government has been to ensure value addition through aggregation to best utilize India’s raw material surplus in cotton and cotton yarn for enhanced labor employment and export earnings. The Scheme for Integrated Textiles Parks seeks green field investments in textiles sector on a public private partnership basis with the objective of setting up world class infrastructure for Textiles industry. 57. Renowned litterateur Srilal Shukla died at a hospital in Lucknow on 28 October 2011 following prolonged illness. He was 86. Srilal Shukla wrote Sooni Ghaati Ka Sooraj (1957), Agyaatvaas (1962), Rag Darbari (1968), Aadmi Ka Zahar (1972),Bisrampur Ka Sant (1998), Raag Viraag (2001) and many other novels. English translation of his novel Rag Darbari was published under the same title in 1993 by Penguin Books. The novel was also translated and published by National Book Trust, India in 15 Indian languages. A television serial based on this novel continued for several months on the DD National in the 1980s. He wrote many satires like Angad Ka Paanv, Yahaan Se Vahaan, Meri Shreshtha Vyangya Rachnayein (1979), Kuchh Zameen Mein Kuchh Hava Mein (1990), Jahaalat Ke Pachaas Saal (2003), Khabron Ki Jugaali (2005) and many more. Yeh Ghar Mera Nahin, Suraksha Tatha Anya Kahaaniyan, Iss Umra Mein, Dus Pratinidhi Kahaaniyanare his short story collections. Mere Saakshaatkaar (2002) and Kuchh Saahitya Charcha Bhi (2008) are his memoirs. His detective novel entitled Aadmi Ka Zaharwas serialised in the weekly magazine Hindustan. His works throw light on the falling moral values of society in post-independence era. Raag Darbaari portrayed a feudal, crumbling Shivpalganj- the archetypal village of the Hindi heartland with its politico-cultural tensions and administrative neglect. Shukla delved upon almost everything that was decadent in the system, but stopped short of making a moral statement. Noted Hindi writer, Shrilal Shukla was born in Atrauli village of Lucknow district on 31 December 1925. He had graduated from Allahabad University. He began his career as a state civil servant (UPPCS) in 1949. Later on, he was inducted into the IAS but in 1983 he left the services and continued to pursue his literary dreams. Shrilal Shukla was presented the India’s highest literary honour Jnanpith award on his hospital bed by Uttar Pradesh Governor B L Joshi on 18 October 2011. He and another Hindi author Amar Kant were chosen on 19 September 2011 for the Jnanpith award for the year 2009. He was honoured with the Sahitya Akademi Award for novel Raag Darbari for the year 1969. He was also a recipient of Vyas Samman (1999), Lohia Sammaan (1994) of Uttar Pradesh Hindi Sansthaan, Sharad Joshi and Maithili Sharan Gupta Sammaan of Madhya Pradesh Government. He was awarded with national civilian honour Padma Bhushan in 2008. 58. 27 October 2011: World Day for Audiovisual Heritage 2011 UNESCO decided Audiovisual Heritage: See, Hear, and Learn as theme for celebration of the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage 2011. On the occasion of World Day for Audiovisual Heritage 2011, the Radio Heritage Foundation released six new features celebrating AFRS radio stations in India and Burma during the 1940's at its global websitewww.radioheritage.com. UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) adopted 27 October as the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage to better focus global attention on the issues at stake, in cooperation with the Co-ordinating Council of Audiovisual Archives Associations (CCAAA) and other partners. All of the world's audiovisual heritage is endangered. Through initiatives such as the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage and the Memory of the World Programme, the precious work of preservation professionals is given impetus to manage a range of technical, political, social, financial and other factors that threaten the safeguard of heritage. Film, television and radio are our common heritage. They help to maintain the cultural identity of a people but countless documentary treasures have disappeared since the invention of image and sound technologies that permit the peoples of the world to better share their experiences, creativity and knowledge. 59. India won 5 matches one-day series by 5-0 by defeating England in 5th and final match played in Kolkata on 26 October 2011. India scored a challenging 271 for eight and stopped England at 176 in 37 overs in the day-night match at the Eden Gardens. Ravindra Jadeja grabbed 4-33 and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin claimed 3-28.
Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja of team India was declared Man of the Match, while Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was awarded with Man of the Series. India achieved a 5-0 verdict in a bilateral One Day International series only 3 times. The two earlier instances were against England (2008-09) and New Zealand (2010-11).
• India won 4th ODI by 6 wickets (with 59 balls remaining). 4th ODI between India and England was played at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on 23 October 2011. • India defeated England to won 3rd ODI of 5 matches series by 5 wickets (with 4 balls remaining). Match was played at Mohali stadium, Chandigarh on 20 October 2011. • India beat England by eight wickets in 2nd ODI. The match was played at Feroz Shah Kotla stadium, Delhi on 17 October 2011. • India won 1st ODI by 126-run in Hyderabad on 15 October 2011. 60. Tehelka and The Week were jointly chosen for the International Press Institute (IPI) – India award for excellence in journalism, 2011for their outstanding journalistic work in 2010. The award was declared by the Indian chapter of the International Press Institute (IPI). The award comprises of a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh, a trophy and a citation. Led by Tarun J Tejpal weekly Tehelka was selected for its expose of the rent a riot tactics of the Sree Rama Sene in Karnataka, which admitted taking money to organise attacks on innocent persons and institutions. The Week was selected for its sustained investigative reporting on sham medical and dental colleges which had no doctors, no patients and no facilities and yet were permitted to award medical and dental degrees to thousands of students.
The International Press Institute (IPI) is an active forum of editors, publishers and senior executives of newspapers, magazines and news agencies committed to promotion of free exchange of accurate and balanced news among nations. The IPI was founded in October 1950. Its members are spread in over120 countries. 61 The Supreme Court of India ruled that the Centre has absolute powers to decide the terms and conditions for telecom operators as neither the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, TRAI, nor the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal, TDSAT, can overrule it. The apex court ruled, though TRAI was conferred with the statutory power to recommend the terms and conditions of the license and the Central Government was bound to seek its recommendations, yet, the same was not binding on it. A Bench of Justices R V Raveendran and A K Patanaik passed the ruling while upholding an appeal filed by the Union Government challenging a TDSAT direction of 2007 to the Government to prepare a revised term and conditions for the licensees vis-a-vis adjusted gross revenue. 62 Scientists identified a new biochemical mechanism, which allows brain tumours to survive and grow. This finding will pave the way for new and effective treatments for some of the most aggressive tumours. An international team, led by the University Hospital of Heidelberg made the discovery. Scientists identified the major role played by kynurenine, in favouring the brain tumour growth and at the same time suppressing anti-tumour immune response. Kynurenine is a by-product of metabolism of essential amino acid tryptophan. 63 The Union government of India prepared a blueprint to provide jobs to three-lakh youths in 60 naxal affected districts in India. The government will start a programme for placement-linked jobs for unemployed youth in these districts by the end of 2016. They will be trained and provided jobs. The government also decided to start major developmental initiatives in these districts in a bid to tackle the Naxal menace. These initiatives include Indira Awas Yojana housing for people whose homes were destroyed and construction of concrete roads. The Rural Development Ministry also planned a Public Private Partnership initiative for value addition in non-timber forest produce in six districts of Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh as a pilot project. 64 Egypt and Israel on 24 October 2011 reached an agreement to swap an alleged Israeli spy for 25 Egyptians held in Israeli jails. Egypt agreed to release Ilan Grapel and at Egypt’s request, Israel agreed to free 25 Egyptian prisoners. Grapel is a former paratrooper in the Israel Defense Forces. 65 Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal, won re-election on 22 October 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party. Jindal won 66% of the vote with his nearest challenger, Tara Hollis of the Democratic party, got 18%. On 20 October, 2007, Jindal was elected governor of Louisiana for the first time. Bobby Jindal is the first Indian-American to occupy the post of a governor. His real name was Piyush Jindal. He started calling himself Bobby from an early age and converted from Hinduism to Catholicism as a teenager. He was born in Baton Rouge, the capital of the southern state of Louisiana, to Indian parents who had immigrated from the Punjab. He is 37 years old. Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge.
Astronomers discovered a mysterious little dwarf planet which is believed to be covered in ice. The planet was nicknamed Snow White. It orbits the Sun as part of the Kuiper belt( the ring of the icy body that orbit the Sun beyond Neptune). The planet is located outside Neptune. Officially known as 2007 OR10, it is actually red, half of its surface is covered by water ice that probably emitted from ancient cryovolcanoes. The official name of the planet is 2007 OR 10. It is red in colour and half of its surface is covered by water ice. The planet is red because of the thin layer of the methane. Snow White had broken off long ago from another dwarf planet, called Haumea. 67 An earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale killed many people in eastern Turkey on 23 October 2011. Approximately, 93 people died in Van province alone and 45 in the Ercis district. The death toll is likely to increase. Serious damage and casualties were also reported in the district of Celebibag, near Ercis. The US Geological Survey initially measured the quake at 7.3 magnitude but later downgraded it to 7.2. The earthquake struck at at a depth of 20 kilometres with its epicentre 16 kilometres north-east of Van in eastern Turkey. It was followed by a series of powerful aftershocks, also centred north of Van, including two of magnitude 5.6 soon after the quake and one of 6.0. Turkey is particularly vulnerable to earthquakes because it sits on major geological fault lines. 68 The Minority Affairs Ministry on 20 October 2011 in its official release stated that the 7 States have utilized over 60 percent of the total Funds till September 2011, which was released to them under Multi Sector Development Programme, MSDP, for the Welfare of Minorities. Jammu and Kashmir topped among them which has utilized over 74 percent of the allocated fund of about six crore rupees. Five other States including Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka West Bangal and Haryana have also reported over 60 percent expenditure of the fund released to them. The average percentage of the expenditure of the 20 States under this Programme is about fifty percent. MSDP is a Special Area Development Programme for the welfare of the Minorities. It was implemented in 90 Minority Concentration Districts identified on the basis of substantial minority population and relative backwardness. 69 U Thein Sein, the President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar visited India from 12 October 2011 to 15 October 2011. This was the first State visit of any political head from Myanmar to India following the swearing in of a new government in Myanmar in March 2011. Apart from his official engagement in New Delhi, President U Thein Sein visited places of economic, historical and religious interest, including Bodhgaya, Kushinagar and Varanasi. During his visit, the President of Myanmar signed several agreements with India including cooperation in Oil and Natural gas. Apart from this, both nations also issued a joint statement. 70 Muammar Gaddafi, who ruled Libya for over 40 years, was killed on 20 October 2011 while trying to flee from his hometown, Sirte. Muammar Gaddafi ruled Libya autocratically for 42 years after coming to power in a coup. Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi was born to nomadic parents in the desert region of Sirte in 1942. He went to study history at the University of Libya in 1961 and then entered the Benghazi Military Academy. He remained the autocratic ruler of Libya from 1969, when he seized power in a bloodless military coup that overthrew King Idris I until 2011 when his government was overthrown in a civil war. His 42-year rule prior to the uprising made him the fourth longest-ruling non-royal leader since 1900, as well as the longest-ruling Arab leader. He pinned several titles to himself- the Brother Leader and Guide of the Revolution, in 2008 a meeting of traditional African rulers bestowed on him the title King of Kings. After seizing power in 1969, he abolished the Libyan Constitution of 1951 and civil liberties enshrined in it. He imposed laws based on the political ideology which he had formulated and called it the Third International Theory. He also published The Green Book. The United Nations called Libya under Gaddafi a pariah state. In the 1980s, countries around the world imposed sanctions against Gaddafi. A leading advocate for a United States of Africa, he served as Chairperson of the African Union (AU) from 2 February 2009 to 31 January 2010. 2011 Libyan Civil War Following revolutions in neighbouring Egypt and Tunisia, protests against Gaddafi's rule began in February 2011. Soon an uprising that spread across the country, with the forces opposing Gaddafi establishing a government based in Benghazi named the National Transitional Council (NTC). This led to the 2011 Libyan Civil War, which included a military intervention by a NATO-led coalition to enforce a UN Security Council Resolution 1973 calling for a no-fly zone and protection of civilians in Libya. The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants on 27 June 2011 for Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam, and his brother-in-law Abdullah al-Senussi, head of state security for charges, concerning crimes against humanity. In August, rebel forces engaged in a coastal offensive and took most of their lost territory, and captured the capital city of Tripoli. Gaddafi evaded capture and loyalists engaged in a rearguard campaign. He remained in hiding until 20 October 2011, when he was captured and killed in Sirte. 71 Data released by the commerce and industry ministry on 20 October 2011 showed food inflation stood at 10.6% in the week ended 8 October 2011 up from 9.32% recorded in the week ended 2 October 2011. It stood at 15.72% in the same period in 2010. Food inflation entered double-digit territory after 20 August 2011. According to commerce ministry data, the week witnessed a broad rise in prices of vegetables, fruit and protein-based items such as egg, meat and fish. On an annual basis, prices of vegetables rose 17.59%, fruit 12.39%, milk 10.80%, pulses 7.42%, cereals 4.73% and eggs, meat and fish 14.10%. Among food items which became cheaper were onion (11.27%) and wheat (0.18%). Export restrictions in the form of high minimum prices and a bumper kharif production combined to increase domestic availability of onion, pulling down its price. Onion prices, which had shot up sharply, fell 11.27% in the week ended 8 October. In the previous week, onion prices had dropped 10.15%. The index for food articles group rose by 0.4% to 200.3 due to higher prices of poultry chicken (4%), bajra (2%) and fish-inland, masur, fruits and vegetables, urad and condiments and spices (1% each). But prices of jowar and ragi (2% each) and barley, maize, fish-marine and moong (1% each) declined. 72 A new report from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the World Bank titled- Doing Business 2012: Doing Business in a More Transparent World was released on 20 October 2011. Doing Business 2012: Doing Business in a More Transparent World assessed regulations affecting domestic firms in 183 economies and ranked the economies in 10 areas of business regulation, such as starting a business, resolving insolvency, and trading across borders. Singapore topped the rankings on ease of doing business for the sixth straight year. Hong Kong SAR, China, held onto the second spot. In the report, the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation mentioned that between June 2010 and May 2011, there were 245 business regulatory reforms worldwide, which was 13 per cent more reforms than in the previous year. China, India, and the Russian Federation were among the 30 economies that improved the most over time. Singapore led on the overall ease of doing business, followed by Hong Kong, New Zealand, the U.S. and Denmark. The Republic of Korea was the new entrant to the top ten list that ranked countries according to their business environment. India ranked low overall in the Doing Business assessment, with its rank improving marginally from 139 to 132 between the 2011 and 2012 reports. When India dismantled a strict licensing regime controlling business entry and production the benefits were greater in states that had more flexible labour regulations. The report noted that the progressive elimination of the licence raj led to a 6 per cent increase in new firm registrations in India, and resulted in highly productive firms entering the market larger increases in real output than less productive firms. The report claimed that at a time when persistent unemployment and the need for job creation are in the headlines, governments around the world continue sought ways to improve the regulatory climate for domestic business. Small and medium businesses that benefit most from these improvements are the key engines for job creation in many parts of the world. The report noted that Indonesia's ranking on regulatory environments for local entrepreneurs dropped three levels from 123 to 126. In spite of the fall, Indonesia is still ranked better than India (132) and the Philippines (136th). Singapore and Hong Kong SAR, China, provide the friendliest regulatory environments for local entrepreneurs. Indonesia is left far behind other Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand (17), Malaysia (18) and Brunei Darussalam (86). Indonesia is even behind Vietnam (98) and Papua New Guinea (101). 73 The Agriculture Ministry on 20 October 2011 proposed a hike of Rs 115 per quintal in the minimum support price (MSP) of wheat to Rs 1285 per quintal to cover rising farm input cost and encourage farmers to increase acreage. The ministry circulated a CCEA note among various ministries recommending Rs 1285 per quintal as MSP for wheat for the 2012-13 marketing year begining 1 April 2012. Wheat's support price for 2011-12 was Rs 1170 per quintal, including a bonus of Rs 50 per quintal. The government announced the support price for more than 20 crops just before the sowing season. The government buys wheat and paddy from farmers at the MSP to ensure assured returns to growers. The MSP also acts as benchmark price for the market. The Ministry recommended a significant hike in wheat MSP in view of rising input cost of labour, electricity, diesel and fertilisers. Since the UPA government came into power in 2004, the MSP of wheat has been raised from Rs 630 per quintal to Rs 1170 per quintal. Country’s wheat production touched an all-time of 85.93 million tonnes in the 2010-11 crop year. According to experts, higher support price played a big role in the record wheat output. 74 Union Ministry of Rural Development cleared the proposal to construct one playground in each village, falling under the 60 Integrated Action Plan (IAP) districts under the Mahatma Gandhi NREGS works. The playground would be used for games like football, volleyball, hockey and kabbadi. The Ministry of Rural Development decided to revive sports for the tribal boys and girls in the 60 left-wing extremist-affected districts where the Integrated Action Plan (IAP) has been implemented. The idea was not just to spread the scope of sports and games to cover all the tribals but also to wean them away from being tapped by the Naxalite outfits in these districts. It will be the responsibility of the gram panchayat to provide the land and execute the construction of the playground. For all villages under the IAP districts, the ministry allowed cement concrete roads within the residential habitations in the villages. The objective was to clean up surroundings and improve hygiene and sanitation in these villages particularly during the rainy season. 75 Dr M K Mani, pioneer of nephrology in India and currently chief nephrologist at the Apollo Hospital was on 20 October 2011 declared the winner of the 40th Dhanvantari Award. Mani pioneered innovative techniques and new regimen in management of kidney disorders. He is the recipient of many awards including Padma Bhushan and the Ravindranath Tagore award and has over 125 publications to his credit. He was awarded honorary Doctorate of Science from several universities. Mani became well-known after he gave a fresh lease of life to Jairakash Narayan, who was suffering from kidney ailment. The prestigious award, which recognises contribution in medical science, is being awarded annually since 1972. The other recipients include Dr Denton A Cooley from Houston and pioneer heart transplant surgeon Dr Christian Bernard from South Africa. 76 Infrastructure firm IVRCL Limited's buildings, transportation and water divisions bagged orders worth Rs 5.52 billion. The building division won orders worth INR 418.51 crore, which include construction of low cost housing for urban poor in Delhi, civil and structural steel works at Bhilai steel plant in Chhattisgarh and infrastructure for a reserve battalion Central Industrial Security Force in Tamil Nadu. The transportation division won orders for widening to 2-lane and improvement in km 0.00 to km 45.535 of Govindapalli- Salimi-mahupadar road awarded by Chief Engineer, Orissa. The water division bagged INR 59.31 crore for the Muzaffarpur water supply project in Bihar. 77
The 125th Assembly of the Inter-parliamentary union was held in Bern, Switzerland from 16 October 2011 to 19 October 2011. Bern was also the headquarters of the IPU from 1892 to 1911 78 India and Vietnam signed six agreements on 12 October 2011 during the visit of Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang to India. The agreements are as following: • India and Vietnam signed an extradition treaty • Oil exploration agreement in South China Sea • Friendship pact to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the diplomatic relations in 2012 • Agreement in the field of agriculture and fisheries • Cooperation in sports and tourism • Agreement on Cultural Exchanges India and Vietnam also decided to launch a biennial Security Dialogue between their home ministries. The two nations also decided to increase the trade target to 7 billion US dollars by 2015 from the present mark of 2.7 billion US dollars. Both nations also agreed to work towards early finalisation of the India-Asean Free Trade Agreement in Services and Investment. India and Vietnam also discussed the situation in the Vietnamese Eastern Sea (South China Sea). Yüklə 0,55 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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